1083 replies to this topic

[Plague]

I just noticed that Lego S@H has put the ​entire breakout winter wave on clearance. Does that mean Hero Factory is selling poorly now?

Nah, probably because they are older sets and are about to release the new ones (?)

EDIT: Ninja'd.

Edited by Plague, Jun 29 2012 - 08:58 PM.

[Wind Elemental]

I just noticed that Lego S@H has put the ​entire breakout winter wave on clearance. Does that mean Hero Factory is selling poorly now?

Nah, probably because they are older sets and are about to release the new ones (?)

EDIT: Ninja'd.

I agree with this. Maybe it's a way of saying "get them now to expand your collection."

[Overmegasixwave]

Gah. Those prices. They're so tempting. It's like forty dollars to finish off my Breakout winter collection. Gah. Much consideration required...

[Plague]

I agree with this. Maybe it's a way of saying "get them now to expand your collection or we will kill you."

Not a very good one, as they've been out since WINTER

EDIT: Twice in a row, ninja'd.

Edited by Plague, Jun 29 2012 - 09:10 PM.

[Gatanui]

I just noticed that Lego S@H has put the ​entire breakout winter wave on clearance. Does that mean Hero Factory is selling poorly now?

I´m not sure. They also have the summer 2011 sets on clearance, but they haven´t been available in Europe for months. The winter 2012 sets are not on sale in the European S@H, but they are in LEGO Stores. I´m not sure if we can say that they are selling poorly, but it´s possible they haven´t been selling as good as they expected or as good as the winter 2011 sets. Or maybe their warehouses are full since it´s harder to store the bags than the canisters and boxes were. Or, as others have already suggested, maybe they are simply trying to sell a bunch before the summer sets appear.

-Gata

Edited by Gatanui, Jun 30 2012 - 06:16 AM.

[unknown_user2596]

The following sets can now be bought from Toys R Us as of this writing (obviously w/ TRU markup):
6221 Nex
6227 Breez
6228 Thornraxx
6229 XT4
6231 Speeda Demon
6282 Stringer
6283 Voltix

Obviously the markup sucks, but for those who couldn't wait...

EDIT: Walmart.com has them too as well as Stormer XL Core Hunter Bulk

Edited by unknown_user2596, Jul 06 2012 - 02:25 PM.

[GeluNumber1]

The following sets can now be bought from Toys R Us as of this writing (obviously w/ TRU markup):
*snip for space *
Obviously the markup sucks, but for those who couldn't wait...

I sooo want to order these now. Hopefully this means they'll be out in stores soon.

[Hurricane iBrow]

This confirms it: they have ruined Bulk. He's just a jumbled mess of parts. Even Nex looks like he might have a redeeming quality, and his legs can be fixed by a simple armour swap. But Bulk... there's just no fixing that.

-ibrow

[Lyichir]

This confirms it: they have ruined Bulk. He's just a jumbled mess of parts. Even Nex looks like he might have a redeeming quality, and his legs can be fixed by a simple armour swap. But Bulk... there's just no fixing that.

-ibrow

I don't know what you're talking about. Bulk's one of my favorites in the next wave, what with his heavy armor and stylish color organization. I don't see anything wrong with Nex either, apart from that his hand may have looked better in white than in black.

[Plague]

Sets available to order on TRU website now. Didn't see them in stores yet though, hoping to get them soon!

[Hurricane iBrow]

This confirms it: they have ruined Bulk. He's just a jumbled mess of parts. Even Nex looks like he might have a redeeming quality, and his legs can be fixed by a simple armour swap. But Bulk... there's just no fixing that.

-ibrow

I don't know what you're talking about. Bulk's one of my favorites in the next wave, what with his heavy armor and stylish color organization. I don't see anything wrong with Nex either, apart from that his hand may have looked better in white than in black.

Bulk is supposed to be silver, not gunmetal and black and orange. And the fact that they threw in three or four silver pieces just rubs it into your face, and helps ruin the colour scheme to boot.

As for Nex, his helmet tries to be too faithful to the 2.0 version without changing anything, his weapon is ugly, the colour placement in terms of his armour s horrendous, and he should have orange torso armour.

-ibrow

Edited by iBrow Hearts Rarity, Jul 15 2012 - 06:36 PM.

[Plague]

This confirms it: they have ruined Bulk. He's just a jumbled mess of parts. Even Nex looks like he might have a redeeming quality, and his legs can be fixed by a simple armour swap. But Bulk... there's just no fixing that.

-ibrow

I don't know what you're talking about. Bulk's one of my favorites in the next wave, what with his heavy armor and stylish color organization. I don't see anything wrong with Nex either, apart from that his hand may have looked better in white than in black.

Bulk is supposed to be silver, not gunmetal and black and orange. And the fact that they threw in three or four silver pieces just rubs it into your face, and helps ruin the colour scheme to boot.

As for Nex, his helmet tries to be too faithful to the 2.0 version without changing anything, his weapon is ugly, the colour placement in terms of his armour s horrendous, and he should have orange torso armour.

-ibrow

I agree about Nex's helmet. It looks a littile big, too.

[Lyichir]

This confirms it: they have ruined Bulk. He's just a jumbled mess of parts. Even Nex looks like he might have a redeeming quality, and his legs can be fixed by a simple armour swap. But Bulk... there's just no fixing that.

-ibrow

I don't know what you're talking about. Bulk's one of my favorites in the next wave, what with his heavy armor and stylish color organization. I don't see anything wrong with Nex either, apart from that his hand may have looked better in white than in black.

Bulk is supposed to be silver, not gunmetal and black and orange. And the fact that they threw in three or four silver pieces just rubs it into your face, and helps ruin the colour scheme to boot.

As for Nex, his helmet tries to be too faithful to the 2.0 version without changing anything, his weapon is ugly, the colour placement in terms of his armour s horrendous, and he should have orange torso armour.

-ibrow

I don't think the silver parts in Bulk ruin his color scheme at all. He has a neutral base color (black), gunmetal armor with orange and gold accents, and heavier silver armor around his head and on his hands. It's all very well organized, and personally this is my favorite version of Bulk yet. He's the first one to really be genuinely bulk-y. As for him being supposed to be silver, there's really no hard and fast rule for Hero Factory color schemes, and personally I like the sparing use of silver far more than the overload of it in his previous depictions.

As for Nex, while I don't like him quite as much as some of the other heroes this year, I love his color scheme, which reminds me of both his classic color scheme as well as the color scheme of the Mars Mission theme. I feel an orange torso would just overpower his color scheme. And while I don't like his helmet quite as much as his compatriate Evo's, I still think it looks fabulous the way it calls back to his 2.0 helmet while also continuing the circuitboard pattern from his chestplate. As for his weapon, I feel its function-over-form appearance suits a techie like Nex.

In general, my only concern with this year's Hero Factory sets is how they plan to follow it up. They've come up with such awesome, iconic depictions of every Hero character that I'm worried next year will return us to the same sort of overly-specialized thematic upgrades we had to deal with in the Savage Planet wave.

[Zakann The Diabolical]

I recently picked up Breez, Bulk and Core Hunter from TRU. Not sure if this is news or not, but I haven't seen any mention of them being available in US stores yet so I thought I'd let you all know.

Breez is pretty much old news at this point I guess, but she holds up well even after waiting an additional six months for her release here. That shield looks great in red, and since I never got the Batman set the swords are nice to finally have too. Other than that she's sort of generic, but has a nice overall aesthetic.

I'm seeing some complaints about Bulk's color scheme, but I think it looks fine in person. Yes, the silver is kind of bunched up toward the top, but somehow it just... works. I don't know, but I really like the way his colors are organized. The one thing I will concede is that the black feet bother me. Sometimes I feel like Lego whips out random colors or neglects an opportunity to please the fans just to mess with our heads. How hard would it have been to make them gunmetal, especially when feet already exist in that color? Also, the posability in his upper half isn't great. His head can't really turn side to side because of the shoulder armor(which I do think looks cool) and the rocket launcher thing has a limited range as well. That said, he looks really awesome if you can pose him right, and the way the cuffs connect to his chest is TOTALLY RAD, BRO.

Core Hunter has been my favorite for quite a while, and definitely lives up to my expectations. Though he's the same size as Breez or Bulk, the choice of armor makes him look much thicker and more imposing. Unlike the little issues with Bulk, Hunter's color scheme is perfectly balanced, and the gunmetal doesn't really look out of place since it's only on the weapons. My only real gripe is that the right arm can be diffcult to pose, due to a combination of its general shortness, the red fin on the launcher, and the ammo belt. The short gun arms don't bother me on Rocka or Bulk, but because Hunter already has big shoulder armor the fin can often bump into it and restrict movement. Other than that minor issue, he's pretty much perfect. His left arm is extremely menacing with that core remover tool, and his helmet is a work of art. Big recommendation for this guy.

I also ordered Thornraxx, Nex, and XT4, who should be here around Monday. I'll offer up some more thoughts when they arrive.

[Xalen: Shadowed Spirit of]

They've been out in the US for a while at LEGO stores. I've got Stringer, Bulk, Nex, and XT4. My uncle is working on actual reviews for the latter two for a different site, but I personally love them both. XT4's tubes get in the way a little bit and he looks a little cluttered from the back, but his new torso is awesome and he gets into some frigging cool poses with his four arms and weapons. Nex has a very Spartan feel that suits his character and his color scheme is highly tasteful, and the fact that all his armor shells are 3 long makes him one of the most flexible Heroes, which is funny because that's one of his powers in universe too!

[Terra Nuva]

I love the Black Phantom but his head is kinda odd in my opinion.

[kalhiki]

Hero Factory Breakout Wave 2 is finally out on LegoShop. I'll get them in stores though, but at least this means they may be more widespread.

Kalhiki

[rahkshi guurahk]

I saw (and bought) XT-4, Voltix, and Breez in u.s. ! ! ! ! ! ! Uploading pictures after next post now
I edited my face out .

Edited by rahkshi guurahk, Jul 23 2012 - 09:00 PM.

[Space Marine]

Anyone else feel Breakout Wave 2 is a lot better than previous sets? Granted, villains still need to be more villainous, but the Hero builds are a lot better. Seems to be going the BIONICLE route with the gradually getting bigger sets. I do wonder how they're going to make this ball and socket building system endure throughout the years, and what new system they will come up with next.

Bulk IMO was the best Breakout W2 hero, maybe for even all of BO, at least for build. I do like his shoulder pad things but they could have done something better. The rocket was wayyy too bad, and a big detriment to the figure.

I also think that they definitely were improving on flaws like open backs and lack of cladding add ons. They fixed that with the gunmetal pieces that came with Bulk and Stringer's speaker pieces on his shoulders.
I don't like how the new chest is so thin though. 2.0 chests made the hero's not so thin and flat.

[Wind Elemental]

Anyone else feel Breakout Wave 2 is a lot better than previous sets? Granted, villains still need to be more villainous, but the Hero builds are a lot better. Seems to be going the BIONICLE route with the gradually getting bigger sets. I do wonder how they're going to make this ball and socket building system endure throughout the years, and what new system they will come up with next.

Bulk IMO was the best Breakout W2 hero, maybe for even all of BO, at least for build. I do like his shoulder pad things but they could have done something better. The rocket was wayyy too bad, and a big detriment to the figure.

I also think that they definitely were improving on flaws like open backs and lack of cladding add ons. They fixed that with the gunmetal pieces that came with Bulk and Stringer's speaker pieces on his shoulders.
I don't like how the new chest is so thin though. 2.0 chests made the hero's not so thin and flat.

Yah. Breakout Wave 2 sets are way better than the Wave 1 sets. It seems like the creators are getting better on how to improve their products. That's a good thing if you want the products to sell well.

[Solo]

Anyone else feel Breakout Wave 2 is a lot better than previous sets? Granted, villains still need to be more villainous, but the Hero builds are a lot better. Seems to be going the BIONICLE route with the gradually getting bigger sets. I do wonder how they're going to make this ball and socket building system endure throughout the years, and what new system they will come up with next.

Bulk IMO was the best Breakout W2 hero, maybe for even all of BO, at least for build. I do like his shoulder pad things but they could have done something better. The rocket was wayyy too bad, and a big detriment to the figure.

I also think that they definitely were improving on flaws like open backs and lack of cladding add ons. They fixed that with the gunmetal pieces that came with Bulk and Stringer's speaker pieces on his shoulders.
I don't like how the new chest is so thin though. 2.0 chests made the hero's not so thin and flat.

Yah. Breakout Wave 2 sets are way better than the Wave 1 sets. It seems like the creators are getting better on how to improve their products. That's a good thing if you want the products to sell well.

I wouldn't call BO2 "better" than BO1, but some of the common design traits are better. I still think Rocka is the best hero in either BO; the addition of one of the jungle planet claws on the back of Core Hunter instead of a foot peice really makes him seem well built and not see through like some villans, and I hope they keep up with trends like this.

Hopefully there will be a 4th year, I do really want to see what they come up with next, since 3.0 had such great improvements on the 2.0. (I just hope they don't get stuck in 3.0 like they did with Inika style bodies)

[fauxname]

I couldn't find a better place to post this, but the Breakout episode will air again tomorrow if you missed it.

On the topic of the sets, the summer wave looks great, but I need more pictures of Nex and XT4 to form an better opinion about them.

[Smitty]

I couldn't find a better place to post this, but the Breakout episode will air again tomorrow if you missed it.

On the topic of the sets, the summer wave looks great, but I need more pictures of Nex and XT4 to form an better opinion about them.

Google LegoJang.

I hope the get the parts from the Summer sets on pick a brick soon.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

Anyone else feel Breakout Wave 2 is a lot better than previous sets? Granted, villains still need to be more villainous, but the Hero builds are a lot better. Seems to be going the BIONICLE route with the gradually getting bigger sets. I do wonder how they're going to make this ball and socket building system endure throughout the years, and what new system they will come up with next.

Bulk IMO was the best Breakout W2 hero, maybe for even all of BO, at least for build. I do like his shoulder pad things but they could have done something better. The rocket was wayyy too bad, and a big detriment to the figure.

I also think that they definitely were improving on flaws like open backs and lack of cladding add ons. They fixed that with the gunmetal pieces that came with Bulk and Stringer's speaker pieces on his shoulders.
I don't like how the new chest is so thin though. 2.0 chests made the hero's not so thin and flat.

Well, the sets aren't really getting bigger so much as they're becoming more balanced in size. Instead of all the villain sets being medium- to large-scale sets and the Heroes all being smaller sets, there's a variety of sizes within both the hero and villain lineups. Ironically, some of my favorite villain sets this year are the ones within the small set price point: Jawblade, Thornraxx, Toxic Reapa, and XT4 all have very unique designs, whereas Splitface, Voltix, and Core Hunter, while great "theme villains," tend to have more generic builds.

With that said, if you're talking about size in terms of piece count, then you're right: the smaller sets this year have more pieces than in previous years, though that also comes with a bump in price.

I think so far TLG has done a good job preserving the versatility of the ball-and-socket system without having to introduce too many new parts to the system every year. However, we do see some useful new parts in the summer lineup. Stormer XL and Speeda Demon have a new piece that resembles a 3M Technic beam/liftarm but with a ball joint in the center, which will be great for attaching back armor to heroes, adding armor to both sides of a Hero leg/arm joint, etc. XT4 has a new 5x6 torso beam which has a Technic pin hole through the center ball joint, which could be useful for smaller-scale heroes and also for potentially adding less bulky back armor to certain heroes in the style of the Ultrabuild Super Heroes sets. Overall, I don't see much likelihood of this building system being replaced, though it might be expanded over time with new connection methods, just as BIONICLE's building system gradually introduced new innovations like knee joints.

The new torso shell is pretty thin compared to the 2.0 torso shell with full chest armor, but I actually think it looks pretty nice in terms of proportions. I also like its design: the segmented abdomen looks nice and flexible, the printed chest patterns add uniqueness to the characters without being quite as character-specific as the "name badges" of previous waves, and the "utility belt" section makes the heroes feel ready for action (though obviously this didn't occur to the TV show producers, who added the Heroes' utility belts over the already well-shaped belt line of the characters).

Overall, yeah, the Breakout line has amazed me with its creativity and versatility. It doesn't box itself into a corner the way the previous "themed" waves did, and yet there's still a lot of consistency between the various Hero sets in terms of design. Like my brother Lyichir, I'm mostly wondering how TLG could possibly follow it up with sets that can compare to these ones. But I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised!

[Space Marine]

Anyone else feel Breakout Wave 2 is a lot better than previous sets? Granted, villains still need to be more villainous, but the Hero builds are a lot better. Seems to be going the BIONICLE route with the gradually getting bigger sets. I do wonder how they're going to make this ball and socket building system endure throughout the years, and what new system they will come up with next.

Bulk IMO was the best Breakout W2 hero, maybe for even all of BO, at least for build. I do like his shoulder pad things but they could have done something better. The rocket was wayyy too bad, and a big detriment to the figure.

I also think that they definitely were improving on flaws like open backs and lack of cladding add ons. They fixed that with the gunmetal pieces that came with Bulk and Stringer's speaker pieces on his shoulders.
I don't like how the new chest is so thin though. 2.0 chests made the hero's not so thin and flat.

Well, the sets aren't really getting bigger so much as they're becoming more balanced in size. Instead of all the villain sets being medium- to large-scale sets and the Heroes all being smaller sets, there's a variety of sizes within both the hero and villain lineups. Ironically, some of my favorite villain sets this year are the ones within the small set price point: Jawblade, Thornraxx, Toxic Reapa, and XT4 all have very unique designs, whereas Splitface, Voltix, and Core Hunter, while great "theme villains," tend to have more generic builds.

With that said, if you're talking about size in terms of piece count, then you're right: the smaller sets this year have more pieces than in previous years, though that also comes with a bump in price.

I think so far TLG has done a good job preserving the versatility of the ball-and-socket system without having to introduce too many new parts to the system every year. However, we do see some useful new parts in the summer lineup. Stormer XL and Speeda Demon have a new piece that resembles a 3M Technic beam/liftarm but with a ball joint in the center, which will be great for attaching back armor to heroes, adding armor to both sides of a Hero leg/arm joint, etc. XT4 has a new 5x6 torso beam which has a Technic pin hole through the center ball joint, which could be useful for smaller-scale heroes and also for potentially adding less bulky back armor to certain heroes in the style of the Ultrabuild Super Heroes sets. Overall, I don't see much likelihood of this building system being replaced, though it might be expanded over time with new connection methods, just as BIONICLE's building system gradually introduced new innovations like knee joints.

The new torso shell is pretty thin compared to the 2.0 torso shell with full chest armor, but I actually think it looks pretty nice in terms of proportions. I also like its design: the segmented abdomen looks nice and flexible, the printed chest patterns add uniqueness to the characters without being quite as character-specific as the "name badges" of previous waves, and the "utility belt" section makes the heroes feel ready for action (though obviously this didn't occur to the TV show producers, who added the Heroes' utility belts over the already well-shaped belt line of the characters).

Overall, yeah, the Breakout line has amazed me with its creativity and versatility. It doesn't box itself into a corner the way the previous "themed" waves did, and yet there's still a lot of consistency between the various Hero sets in terms of design. Like my brother Lyichir, I'm mostly wondering how TLG could possibly follow it up with sets that can compare to these ones. But I'm hoping to be pleasantly surprised!

You definitely raise some good points. I do like the idea of smaller Heroes and taller Heroes with cost differences for people who want to buy a figure but not spend so much.
I agree with you on the fact that the summer sets have more innovative pieces. I would like to see more villains that aren't bipedal humanoids with two arms. XT4 and Jawblade were great non humanoid sets.
However, I think they should have more cladding add on pieces for extra customization in MOCs.

[Lyichir]

I agree with you on the fact that the summer sets have more innovative pieces. I would like to see more villains that aren't bipedal humanoids with two arms. XT4 and Jawblade were great non humanoid sets.

Don't forget about Thornraxx!

[rahkshi guurahk]

Has anyone else found summer sets in stores?

[kalhiki]

Has anyone else found summer sets in stores?

I've only found the larger sets at TRU. But the fact that they're available at Legoshop gives me hope that they're out elsewhere. Hopefully I'll be going shopping tomorrow to confirm this.

Kalhiki

[rahkshi guurahk]

I only found xt-4, voltix, and breez.

[Zakann The Diabolical]

Nex, Thornraxx, and XT4 arrived yesterday. I ended up liking all of them a lot better than I thought I would.

Nex is simple, but has a nice aesthetic, namely the kind of unorthodox orange/white combo which seems to be equal parts loved and hated. I'm definitely in the love group, I thought it looked great on Nex 2.0 and still does here. The semi-custom laser weapon looks pretty cool, not a lot to say about it. The helmet's very nice, and much like Evo's it manages to capture the look of its 2.0 version while still adding new elements, like the circuitry pattern seen on his chest.

Everyone's seen most of Thornraxx by this point, but I cannot stress how awesome he is. The color combo is one of the weirdest things ever, but it works toward making Thornraxx look like an exotic, not to mention venomous, predator. Even for a small set, he has so much going on in his design that he looks like he could easily hold his own against Breez- or even Bulk, for that matter. I always loved Gorast's wings, so the reuse of those (on a much better set) is a welcome sight. I have to say, he is so far the only set I have that can challenge Core Hunter as my favorite.

XT4 is odd, but interesting. I didn't think much of him from pictures, but seeing him in person he's growing on me quite a bit. His plethora of weapons makes him look pretty ruthless and intimidating, though he still doesn't hold a candle to the menace of Core Hunter. In his defense, I don't mind his unamored limbs. Unlike some of the Barraki of old, the spindly limbs actually work toward this guy's persona, I think. I read the comparison a while back to some kind of junkyard bot, and that's not necessarily a bad thing. XT4 may be an unusual set, but he does have a lot of personality for a piece of plastic.

All very nice sets, though if I had to recommend only one it would be, without a doubt, Thornraxx. I will possibly be heading by TRU later today to see if they have the remaining four sets, so expect more mini-reviews soonish. Maybe.

Edited by Zakann The Diabolical, Jul 26 2012 - 02:38 PM.

[mdiggler]

I haven't been seeing the Summer sets in stores- I've been depending on Amazon for this stuff. Of the heroes, I'd say that Stringer is my favorite. They really emphasized the whole "sonic power" theme. Those loudspeaker parts could be used for a "toa of sound" MOC...

My only gripe is the hollow back. Ugh.

[Space Marine]

I haven't been seeing the Summer sets in stores- I've been depending on Amazon for this stuff. Of the heroes, I'd say that Stringer is my favorite. They really emphasized the whole "sonic power" theme. Those loudspeaker parts could be used for a "toa of sound" MOC...

My only gripe is the hollow back. Ugh.

Definitely agree. IMO LEGO should give a bit more attention to smaller sets.

[kalhiki]

Stringer's great. Just got him. Loveing pretty much everything. Especially those speaker shoulder armor pieces and the trans-torso.
But I don't like the balljoint connection in the "guitar". I feel there should be a better way to attach it together.

Kalhiki

Edited by kalhiki, Jul 27 2012 - 08:00 PM.

[Wind Elemental]

I can't really decide on who to get: Stringer, Nex, or Thornraxx. Who should I get?

Edited by FF Ice Master, Jul 27 2012 - 08:06 PM.

[fauxname]

I found some of the summer sets at TRU. I didn't get any, though, because they didn't have Voltix. (And I have no money.)

[mdiggler]

I can't really decide on who to get: Stringer, Nex, or Thornraxx. Who should I get?

For interesting colors in MOC, I would go Thornaxx
For an all-around better assembled set, go Stringer.

[kalhiki]

I can't really decide on who to get: Stringer, Nex, or Thornraxx. Who should I get?

Though I don't have the others, I'd say Stringer. Thornraxx has an interesting and unique build though, if that interests you. And the most off-putting thing about Nex is the fact that both of his arms have guns.

Kalhiki

[Plague]

Went to my local Target yesterday.
They had Stormer XL, Stringer, Nex, Voltix, and Core Hunter.

Core hunter is awesome. Good pieces, fun build, looks epic.

[Xalen: Shadowed Spirit of]

I'd get Nex, but I may be biased because he's my personal favorite.

[Randy Disher]

I can't really decide on who to get: Stringer, Nex, or Thornraxx. Who should I get?

I would recommend Thornraxx. Great pieces and an awesome design.