Large HF piece bulk?

[Indigogeek]

Hey guys, now I don't follow what lego releases as far as hf that much, all I know is this: I really enjoy the building system they use, with the black sceletal system of pieces. I really want to get a bunch of these pieces for the holidays, and my question is this: Does lego sell bulks of hf pieces (limbs, armor plating, etc) to buy? If not, would you buy this?

[Wazdakka]

I can't claim I'm an expert, but I do not believe so.

 

That said, if they did sell large quantities of certain pieces (at a good price), I would certainly buy them.

[Disciple]

If you're lucky, you might happen across a LEGO store that sells off old inventory in "grab bags." Back in 2011, the store at my local mall was selling these things for $8.00 a pop. Mine had a ton of HF 2.0 pieces and some System thrown in. I got most of my HF parts that way, and I was able to build like ten figures for the price of two. I believe it was a one-weekend sale or something like that, so it would be a good idea to ask an employee about it.

[Lyichir]

If you're lucky, you might happen across a LEGO store that sells off old inventory in "grab bags." Back in 2011, the store at my local mall was selling these things for $8.00 a pop. Mine had a ton of HF 2.0 pieces and some System thrown in. I got most of my HF parts that way, and I was able to build like ten figures for the price of two. I believe it was a one-weekend sale or something like that, so it would be a good idea to ask an employee about it.

Lego discontinued grab bags more than a year ago. They were just a way of selling parts from damaged sets, and as such failed to meet the same quality standards as other Lego available for sale in stores.

 

As for the original poster's question, there are a number of ways to get Hero Factory parts. There's a decent selection on Lego's Pick-a-Brick, but the prices there leave a lot to be desired if you're starting from scratch (they're much more reasonable if you're trying to supplement an existing collection with rarer parts). Really, if you're interested in getting a large number of Hero Factory parts, the best advice would be to find a set that has the parts you need and buy it (or even buy multiples of it). Larger sets like Dragon Bolt tend to have a great selection of parts, including multiple torsos and useful elements like the high-friction joint attachments. Or you can get multiples of a smaller set in a color you're keen on using.

[Aanchir]

Yeah, the online Pick-A-Brick is one of the easiest ways to get parts if you don't want to buy complete sets for them. There's also Bricklink, which has a wider selection (pretty much any part that's appeared in sets can be found for sale from one seller or another), but there you're much more limited when it comes to quantity.

 

There are no bulk buckets of Hero Factory parts like there used to be of BIONICLE parts. I think the old BIONICLE buckets were largely a way to get more use out of elements from retired sets, like Vahki parts in the buckets from 2005–2006. These days I think the LEGO Group plans their production a bit better so they don't end up with a bunch of specialized parts they can't use in sets later on.

 

If you visit LEGO conventions, sometimes you can get lucky and get a bunch of loose parts for a great rate. At Brickfair VA in 2012 I got a bunch of excellent Hero Factory parts at low prices from a vendor that called themselves Brick Blizzard. I wasn't nearly as lucky at Brickfair VA this year, though I DID get two Legends of Chima action figure sets (70204 CHI Worriz and 70205 CHI Razar) used at less than half price.

 

But if you want to buy either from a brick-and-mortar store or direct from LEGO, you'll probably get the best value for money by buying a packaged set, particularly if you get it on sale. As Lyi said, Dragon Bolt has pretty great value for money, as does next year's Evo XL Machine. And if you can find older sets anywhere, Witch Doctor had a lot of great parts at a VERY equitable price-per-piece — even better than many System sets! Of course, a lot of those are Technic parts, but there are still enough useful beams and shells to get you started.

 

There is also the LUGBULK service that the LEGO Group offers, giving LUGs (LEGO User Groups) discount rates on large quantities of current parts for group projects. Unfortunately, most LUGs are System-oriented, and BZPower's own BIONILUG is not (currently) eligible to participate in LUGBULK.