Poll: 2015: The End of Hero Factory?

[Dapper-Sama]

I'd only want HF to bite the dust if New!Bionicle successfully surpasses it. If it does not, then I would be okay with HF sticking around a while longer until LEGO comes up with something better.

[Mendicant]

I wouldn't miss it. My wife has enjoyed the line. But, and perhaps it's a bit bias, I just never felt the passion for Hero Factory as I did for BIONICLE. And it maybe arrived at a different time for me; bored of excessive sci-fi and crooks and villains that the series presented just didn't appeal to me.

[Shadow Destroyer]

I think the chances of Hero Factory ending soon are good, and I will not miss the line very much. 

[ToaTahuFangar434]

I think the chances of Hero Factory ending soon are good, and I will not miss the line very much.

 

Yeah. I understand your opinion,

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

Bionicle is back, Hero Factory is dead. I say this because I doubt that Lego will have two constraction themes at once.

[Lyichir]

Bionicle is back, Hero Factory is dead. I say this because I doubt that Lego will have two constraction themes at once.

Lego has two constraction themes RIGHT NOW, at least outside of North America: Hero Factory and Legends of Chima. Last year had the same two themes, worldwide. Before that, the Super Heroes Ultrabuilds ran alongside Hero Factory in 2012. I don't think Bionicle and Hero Factory will be able to coexist (at least, not without cannibalizing each other's sales), since conceptually they're a great deal more similar to each other than the two themes that are currently available. But Lego representatives have frequently stated that it is a goal of theirs to have multiple constraction themes running at the same time, and in past years they have delivered on that promise again and again.

[Toa Green Ninja]

The only good thing about Hero Factory (in my opinion) is the great parts for MOCing. But, the CCBS is going to be in the new BIONICLE, soooo... I think HF will end next year. It had a good run.

[Lemony Lepid]

Now that I've warmed up a bit to it, I found it kind of homely on a personal level, I loved breeze because of her translation powers and color, stormer for his leadership and assertiveness. (kinda like red from that's 70's show) Now it's leaving, and Loganto is sad. I wanted more minifigs and mechs! It reminded me of exo-force! D:

[Matoro Lives]

I chose other response because to me, Hero Factory represents every possible way Lego could screw up a theme. The concept was great and it had the potential for a great story, but the characters were sooooo poorly written and easy to hate. The little story that was decent left unanswered cliffhangers. The sets (with the exception of wave 1, witch docter, and the XLs) mainly consisted of the annoying snap-on armor building system, a nuisance to creative MOCists everywhere. Many of these issues caused a divide in the constraction community itself, causing much hatred between the numerous sites with a constraction fanbase. Essentially, Lego screwed up BIG TIME! They took what could have been a great successor theme and ruined all potential for success.

[Lyichir]

I chose other response because to me, Hero Factory represents every possible way Lego could screw up a theme. The concept was great and it had the potential for a great story, but the characters were sooooo poorly written and easy to hate. The little story that was decent left unanswered cliffhangers. The sets (with the exception of wave 1, witch docter, and the XLs) mainly consisted of the annoying snap-on armor building system, a nuisance to creative MOCists everywhere. Many of these issues caused a divide in the constraction community itself, causing much hatred between the numerous sites with a constraction fanbase. Essentially, Lego screwed up BIG TIME! They took what could have been a great successor theme and ruined all potential for success.

I agree that Hero Factory represented a huge amount of squandered potential, but I would vehemently object to the "snap-on armor system" (CCBS, or Character and Creature Building System) being a nuisance to creative builders everywhere. Plenty of creative builders have created great things with it, sometimes by combining it with System or more traditional Bionicle and Technic and sometimes using the system on its own. Frankly, I would argue the opposite—it was a nuisance to builders who were not creative enough to find applications for it.

 

And divides are formed in communities all the time, because people generally hate change. The Bionicle community was already fractured between people who preferred the theme's original direction and people who preferred one of the times it reinvented itself. And when the theme ended, it got worse, and not just because of the flaws of Hero Factory, since a huge number of fans weren't even willing to give the theme that in their minds "killed" Bionicle a chance in the first place. Lego couldn't afford to pander to whiny older fans back then nor can it do so now—the new Bionicle will be using the same building system from Hero Factory, because it was created with the sole purpose of improving and standardizing constraction themes.

[Skrade]

Im pretty it sure it will end before Bionicle's new dawn. I put other for the second question, though. I don't dislike Hero Factory at all, I just really want it out of the way for Bionicle

Edited September 14, 2014 by Skrade

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

It might come back in the future but I don't see the possibility of 3 constraction themes existing at once. Hero Factory is most likely going to be dropped.

 

Which is a shame, cause they did some really creative concepts like this year with the mech suits. Also they kept all the characters consistent through all 4 years, proving Lego wrong about their whole "Kids get bored of the same characters" shtick. So hopefully Bionicle keeps this model. I hated that the focus would shift so quickly and then the old characters would be forgotten.

 

-NotS

[masterchirox580]

I'm pretty sure it's over for HF, IFB sorta confirms this to me, the fact they had to try and emulate regular lego sets shows they've lost all faith in it as a constraction theme, and I don't believe IFB has been selling all that well(if I am wrong please correct me).

[Aanchir]

I'm pretty sure it's over for HF, IFB sorta confirms this to me, the fact they had to try and emulate regular lego sets shows they've lost all faith in it as a constraction theme, and I don't believe IFB has been selling all that well(if I am wrong please correct me).

It shows no such thing. BIONICLE had actual System playsets for three years, but that didn't mean the designers didn't think it would be successful as a constraction theme, it simply meant they wanted to try something they could never do at a regular constraction scale. Meanwhile, unlike the BIONICLE playsets, the building styles used in Invasion from Below are no different than what you'd find in any other constraction set.

 

The most likely reason for the change in scale in Invasion from Below is that the LEGO Group wanted to cash in the popularity of mecha and giant monster franchises like Pacific Rim and Godzilla, and it would have been impossible to evoke that kind of colossal scale with regular constraction sets. I doubt it has anything to do with the Brain Attack sets not selling, since the number of set stayed the same between 2013 and 2014, and the average price for a set and the total price for the theme as a whole actually INCREASED. (2013 sets cost $213 total, or $14.20 on average, while 2014 sets cost $250 total, or $16.67 on average). The LEGO Group has shown time and time again what they do when they think a theme is running out of steam — they reduce both the number and average price of new sets for that theme. The BIONICLE Stars are a perfect example.

 

I have no idea how well Invasion from Below is selling, but I haven't seen any indication that it's been doing poorly. People have been saying Hero Factory has been doing poorly since it began, but LEGO still kept coming out with new sets. With that said, I do think Invasion from Below will probably be the last series of Hero Factory sets, since BIONICLE's return seems like it's going to be a pretty big deal for the LEGO Group and they might not want to jeopardize that by releasing a whole bunch of other constraction sets alongside it.

[Lyichir]

I'm pretty sure it's over for HF, IFB sorta confirms this to me, the fact they had to try and emulate regular lego sets shows they've lost all faith in it as a constraction theme, and I don't believe IFB has been selling all that well(if I am wrong please correct me).

I'm pretty sure you're wrong. Invasion From Below did probably switch to using minifigures to freshen things up (and I'd say it succeeded, given how much more diverse and unique this year's sets were than previous years), but if Lego REALLY had no faith in the theme, we'd have gotten a small wave with only a few new molds, like the Bionicle Stars—not two massive waves with plenty of new parts designed to integrate the CCBS with minifigures. And I haven't seen any indication that the Invasion From Below sets have been unpopular—the sets haven't been experiencing steep discounts anywhere that I've seen, and in terms of online reactions I've probably seen more praise for the Invasion From Below sets than I've ever seen for Hero Factory in general.

[masterchirox580]

 

I'm pretty sure it's over for HF, IFB sorta confirms this to me, the fact they had to try and emulate regular lego sets shows they've lost all faith in it as a constraction theme, and I don't believe IFB has been selling all that well(if I am wrong please correct me).

I'm pretty sure you're wrong. Invasion From Below did probably switch to using minifigures to freshen things up (and I'd say it succeeded, given how much more diverse and unique this year's sets were than previous years), but if Lego REALLY had no faith in the theme, we'd have gotten a small wave with only a few new molds, like the Bionicle Stars—not two massive waves with plenty of new parts designed to integrate the CCBS with minifigures. And I haven't seen any indication that the Invasion From Below sets have been unpopular—the sets haven't been experiencing steep discounts anywhere that I've seen, and in terms of online reactions I've probably seen more praise for the Invasion From Below sets than I've ever seen for Hero Factory in general.

 

Could you give me an example of how many new molds we got beyond the minifigures, cockpits, spider things, that monster head mold, and that backpack thing, because beyond that I don't see much.

[Aanchir]

 

 

I'm pretty sure it's over for HF, IFB sorta confirms this to me, the fact they had to try and emulate regular lego sets shows they've lost all faith in it as a constraction theme, and I don't believe IFB has been selling all that well(if I am wrong please correct me).

I'm pretty sure you're wrong. Invasion From Below did probably switch to using minifigures to freshen things up (and I'd say it succeeded, given how much more diverse and unique this year's sets were than previous years), but if Lego REALLY had no faith in the theme, we'd have gotten a small wave with only a few new molds, like the Bionicle Stars—not two massive waves with plenty of new parts designed to integrate the CCBS with minifigures. And I haven't seen any indication that the Invasion From Below sets have been unpopular—the sets haven't been experiencing steep discounts anywhere that I've seen, and in terms of online reactions I've probably seen more praise for the Invasion From Below sets than I've ever seen for Hero Factory in general.

 

Could you give me an example of how many new molds we got beyond the minifigures, cockpits, spider things, that monster head mold, and that backpack thing, because beyond that I don't see much.

 

Well, the minifigures introduced ten new molds on their own. Add in two new molds for the beast heads, three for the beast feet and talons, one for the cockpits, one for the canisters, one for the cocoons, one for Queen Beast's spikes/wings, and one for the gold armor piece on Queen Beast's abdomen, and you've got 20 new molds. Brain Attack had just slightly more than that, with eighteen new molds. That's less than Brain Attack (which boasted 26 new molds), but not by a whole lot. The BIONICLE Stars had just six new molds, not counting their canisters, and the BIONICLE theme as a whole usually had at least twice as many new molds per year as it had sets.

[fishers64]

I suspect that if HF ends, it won't be because of lackluster sets, because those sets are cool. It's probably because their arrangement with whoever produced the first five HF episodes fell though, Advance isn't doing as good as them, and they want to pitch a new theme to their media producer instead of trying to revive HF. 

Edited September 18, 2014 by fishers64

[Master Inika]

I'm not sure if it's ending. On one side, with only one paltry online episode and virtually nothing else story-wise, LEGO seems to have all but given up on the HF story. On the other, the mech building system seems to show that LEGO is confident enough in HF's popularity to experiment, but it could also be a sign that kids had lost interest in the CCBS and the mechs are a last-ditch effort to rekindle its popularity. Still, the current sets seem to be selling well enough, I don't think anyone considers them exponentially worse than the past few years of HF.

 

On the second point, I voted the fifth option. I really don't care what happens to it, I have no love for it, but I think even if BIONICLE is returning, it will be HF in BIONICLE's skin.

[Kaxix]

In my opinion, HF was okay overall. Personally I have never been really interested in its story.

I guess it hasn't been a huge success as Lego would have hoped, but still five years for a Lego line is not bad at all.

[masterchirox580]

 

I'm pretty sure it's over for HF, IFB sorta confirms this to me, the fact they had to try and emulate regular lego sets shows they've lost all faith in it as a constraction theme, and I don't believe IFB has been selling all that well(if I am wrong please correct me).

It shows no such thing. BIONICLE had actual System playsets for three years, but that didn't mean the designers didn't think it would be successful as a constraction theme, it simply meant they wanted to try something they could never do at a regular constraction scale. Meanwhile, unlike the BIONICLE playsets, the building styles used in Invasion from Below are no different than what you'd find in any other constraction set.

 

The most likely reason for the change in scale in Invasion from Below is that the LEGO Group wanted to cash in the popularity of mecha and giant monster franchises like Pacific Rim and Godzilla, and it would have been impossible to evoke that kind of colossal scale with regular constraction sets. I doubt it has anything to do with the Brain Attack sets not selling, since the number of set stayed the same between 2013 and 2014, and the average price for a set and the total price for the theme as a whole actually INCREASED. (2013 sets cost $213 total, or $14.20 on average, while 2014 sets cost $250 total, or $16.67 on average). The LEGO Group has shown time and time again what they do when they think a theme is running out of steam — they reduce both the number and average price of new sets for that theme. The BIONICLE Stars are a perfect example.

 

I have no idea how well Invasion from Below is selling, but I haven't seen any indication that it's been doing poorly. People have been saying Hero Factory has been doing poorly since it began, but LEGO still kept coming out with new sets. With that said, I do think Invasion from Below will probably be the last series of Hero Factory sets, since BIONICLE's return seems like it's going to be a pretty big deal for the LEGO Group and they might not want to jeopardize that by releasing a whole bunch of other constraction sets alongside it.

 

Well the bionicle system sets ran along side the action figures so that really doesn't count seeing as to how Hero factory has had it's style nearly replaced(with the exception of the beasts). That aside I admit I probably should have written that better, however to my understanding the marketing budget for HF has been cut yearly which would suggest lackluster sales. And I believe lego talked about this before when they were questioned about how well HF sells and there response was pretty much "meh" the fact they feel they have to bring back bionicle shows HF can't be doing all that well.

[Lyichir]

 

 

I'm pretty sure it's over for HF, IFB sorta confirms this to me, the fact they had to try and emulate regular lego sets shows they've lost all faith in it as a constraction theme, and I don't believe IFB has been selling all that well(if I am wrong please correct me).

It shows no such thing. BIONICLE had actual System playsets for three years, but that didn't mean the designers didn't think it would be successful as a constraction theme, it simply meant they wanted to try something they could never do at a regular constraction scale. Meanwhile, unlike the BIONICLE playsets, the building styles used in Invasion from Below are no different than what you'd find in any other constraction set.

 

The most likely reason for the change in scale in Invasion from Below is that the LEGO Group wanted to cash in the popularity of mecha and giant monster franchises like Pacific Rim and Godzilla, and it would have been impossible to evoke that kind of colossal scale with regular constraction sets. I doubt it has anything to do with the Brain Attack sets not selling, since the number of set stayed the same between 2013 and 2014, and the average price for a set and the total price for the theme as a whole actually INCREASED. (2013 sets cost $213 total, or $14.20 on average, while 2014 sets cost $250 total, or $16.67 on average). The LEGO Group has shown time and time again what they do when they think a theme is running out of steam — they reduce both the number and average price of new sets for that theme. The BIONICLE Stars are a perfect example.

 

I have no idea how well Invasion from Below is selling, but I haven't seen any indication that it's been doing poorly. People have been saying Hero Factory has been doing poorly since it began, but LEGO still kept coming out with new sets. With that said, I do think Invasion from Below will probably be the last series of Hero Factory sets, since BIONICLE's return seems like it's going to be a pretty big deal for the LEGO Group and they might not want to jeopardize that by releasing a whole bunch of other constraction sets alongside it.

 

Well the bionicle system sets ran along side the action figures so that really doesn't count seeing as to how Hero factory has had it's style nearly replaced(with the exception of the beasts). That aside I admit I probably should have written that better, however to my understanding the marketing budget for HF has been cut yearly which would suggest lackluster sales. And I believe lego talked about this before when they were questioned about how well HF sells and there response was pretty much "meh" the fact they feel they have to bring back bionicle shows HF can't be doing all that well.

 

To say Hero Factory had its style "nearly replaced" is an overstatement—all of the sets were still almost entirely constraction-based, to the point where the majority of beast sets would not look out of place next to full-sized Heroes from previous years. But of course, in that case they'd be a lot less impressive compared to the titanic scale they were given by virtue of the shift to minifigure-scale. And the switch to minifigure mechs rather than traditional humanoid heroes allowed for a lot more diversity in terms of set designs—a good thing whether or not Hero Factory was struggling.

 

Hero Factory has never been an exceptional success like Bionicle was in its early years, and I feel Lego was fairly content with that. Bionicle's return could certainly indicate that Hero Factory was failing, but honestly I think it has more to do with Lego being in a better state to make Bionicle a success. These days, Lego movies and TV shows are much more common, and successful, than they were back in Bionicle's day when a movie about Lego was seen as a novelty at best. This is a prime time to bring back one of Lego's first story-intensive themes. Hero Factory missed its chance to win over hearts and minds in its first year, so there's no doubt the fresh start Bionicle provides could jump-start the constraction category in general.

[masterchirox580]

 

 

 

I'm pretty sure it's over for HF, IFB sorta confirms this to me, the fact they had to try and emulate regular lego sets shows they've lost all faith in it as a constraction theme, and I don't believe IFB has been selling all that well(if I am wrong please correct me).

It shows no such thing. BIONICLE had actual System playsets for three years, but that didn't mean the designers didn't think it would be successful as a constraction theme, it simply meant they wanted to try something they could never do at a regular constraction scale. Meanwhile, unlike the BIONICLE playsets, the building styles used in Invasion from Below are no different than what you'd find in any other constraction set.

 

The most likely reason for the change in scale in Invasion from Below is that the LEGO Group wanted to cash in the popularity of mecha and giant monster franchises like Pacific Rim and Godzilla, and it would have been impossible to evoke that kind of colossal scale with regular constraction sets. I doubt it has anything to do with the Brain Attack sets not selling, since the number of set stayed the same between 2013 and 2014, and the average price for a set and the total price for the theme as a whole actually INCREASED. (2013 sets cost $213 total, or $14.20 on average, while 2014 sets cost $250 total, or $16.67 on average). The LEGO Group has shown time and time again what they do when they think a theme is running out of steam — they reduce both the number and average price of new sets for that theme. The BIONICLE Stars are a perfect example.

 

I have no idea how well Invasion from Below is selling, but I haven't seen any indication that it's been doing poorly. People have been saying Hero Factory has been doing poorly since it began, but LEGO still kept coming out with new sets. With that said, I do think Invasion from Below will probably be the last series of Hero Factory sets, since BIONICLE's return seems like it's going to be a pretty big deal for the LEGO Group and they might not want to jeopardize that by releasing a whole bunch of other constraction sets alongside it.

 

Well the bionicle system sets ran along side the action figures so that really doesn't count seeing as to how Hero factory has had it's style nearly replaced(with the exception of the beasts). That aside I admit I probably should have written that better, however to my understanding the marketing budget for HF has been cut yearly which would suggest lackluster sales. And I believe lego talked about this before when they were questioned about how well HF sells and there response was pretty much "meh" the fact they feel they have to bring back bionicle shows HF can't be doing all that well.

 

To say Hero Factory had its style "nearly replaced" is an overstatement—all of the sets were still almost entirely constraction-based, to the point where the majority of beast sets would not look out of place next to full-sized Heroes from previous years. But of course, in that case they'd be a lot less impressive compared to the titanic scale they were given by virtue of the shift to minifigure-scale. And the switch to minifigure mechs rather than traditional humanoid heroes allowed for a lot more diversity in terms of set designs—a good thing whether or not Hero Factory was struggling.

 

Hero Factory has never been an exceptional success like Bionicle was in its early years, and I feel Lego was fairly content with that. Bionicle's return could certainly indicate that Hero Factory was failing, but honestly I think it has more to do with Lego being in a better state to make Bionicle a success. These days, Lego movies and TV shows are much more common, and successful, than they were back in Bionicle's day when a movie about Lego was seen as a novelty at best. This is a prime time to bring back one of Lego's first story-intensive themes. Hero Factory missed its chance to win over hearts and minds in its first year, so there's no doubt the fresh start Bionicle provides could jump-start the constraction category in general.

 

What I meant by "had it's style nearly replaced" was that they switched from humanoid robot things to mechs, and I personally believe they're bringing back bio because HF is failing and they think bio could save that market for them(after all it did sorta save the entire company when it first came out). I hope that at some point in the future lego explain why they decided to bring it back.

[fishers64]

I thought the fig-builds were to introduce some variety in the theme and catch people's attention. I think a lot of people liked the change from the "same humanoid builds over and over" that HF was for four years. IFB broke up that pattern, which was really cool. 

 

Based on that, I don't think the IFB sets were responsible for the theme's demise. It was the story, and probably a combination of factors - it just wasn't exciting to begin with, and it just got old. 

[masterchirox580]

I thought the fig-builds were to introduce some variety in the theme and catch people's attention. I think a lot of people liked the change from the "same humanoid builds over and over" that HF was for four years. IFB broke up that pattern, which was really cool. 

 

Based on that, I don't think the IFB sets were responsible for the theme's demise. It was the story, and probably a combination of factors - it just wasn't exciting to begin with, and it just got old. 

I never said IFB was the reason why lego are likely getting rid of the theme, what I was trying to say was that in my mind IFB proved lego doesn't care about the theme anymore and don't care what gets shoveled out for it.

[Lenny7092]

 

 

I thought the fig-builds were to introduce some variety in the theme and catch people's attention. I think a lot of people liked the change from the "same humanoid builds over and over" that HF was for four years. IFB broke up that pattern, which was really cool.

 

Based on that, I don't think the IFB sets were responsible for the theme's demise. It was the story, and probably a combination of factors - it just wasn't exciting to begin with, and it just got old.

I never said IFB was the reason why lego are likely getting rid of the theme, what I was trying to say was that in my mind IFB proved lego doesn't care about the theme anymore and don't care what gets shoveled out for it.

Well, that's very sad. I think that might explain why the IFB episode did not go so well and the story in there is not expanded after that, and probably no DVD's for Episodes 8-11. Poor Hero Factory. I believe that it might suffer the same fate as Bionicle in early 2010. I have grown to like the theme. Well, I also believe that we may not be able to have two or three constraction themes in one year, except possibly the Ultra-Build sets.;(

Edited September 20, 2014 by Lenny7092

[Lyichir]

 

I thought the fig-builds were to introduce some variety in the theme and catch people's attention. I think a lot of people liked the change from the "same humanoid builds over and over" that HF was for four years. IFB broke up that pattern, which was really cool. 

 

Based on that, I don't think the IFB sets were responsible for the theme's demise. It was the story, and probably a combination of factors - it just wasn't exciting to begin with, and it just got old.

I never said IFB was the reason why lego are likely getting rid of the theme, what I was trying to say was that in my mind IFB proved lego doesn't care about the theme anymore and don't care what gets shoveled out for it.

 

If Lego didn't care about the theme anymore, we wouldn't likely have gotten a subtheme as amazing as IFB has been. If IFB was made with the knowledge of it being HF's last year (and that's entirely possible), it's quite clear from the set designs that Lego pulled out all the stops. Minifigure-scale heroes are a real treat for fans, allowing them to make greater use of the characters alongside other themes once the HF theme is no longer with us. The IFB set designs are on the whole much more creative and diverse than those of any other HF subtheme, and from what I've seen have worked wonders in terms of introducing the constraction category to audiences who hadn't previously given it the time of day. If Lego truly didn't care what got "shoveled out" for Hero Factory, we would've gotten a fairly traditional year of sets to bridge the gap between Brain Attack and Bionicle—not the most creative and experimental subtheme to date.

 

The only thing mildly disappointing about IFB was the TV episode, and let's be honest, it's far from the first TV episode to fail to meet expectations. So while it's possible that the contract with the prior production company ran out and Lego chose not to renew it in anticipation of HF's end, that doesn't mean the subtheme as a whole was halfhearted in any way, shape, or form.

[masterchirox580]

 

 

I thought the fig-builds were to introduce some variety in the theme and catch people's attention. I think a lot of people liked the change from the "same humanoid builds over and over" that HF was for four years. IFB broke up that pattern, which was really cool. 

 

Based on that, I don't think the IFB sets were responsible for the theme's demise. It was the story, and probably a combination of factors - it just wasn't exciting to begin with, and it just got old.

I never said IFB was the reason why lego are likely getting rid of the theme, what I was trying to say was that in my mind IFB proved lego doesn't care about the theme anymore and don't care what gets shoveled out for it.

 

If Lego didn't care about the theme anymore, we wouldn't likely have gotten a subtheme as amazing as IFB has been. If IFB was made with the knowledge of it being HF's last year (and that's entirely possible), it's quite clear from the set designs that Lego pulled out all the stops. Minifigure-scale heroes are a real treat for fans, allowing them to make greater use of the characters alongside other themes once the HF theme is no longer with us. The IFB set designs are on the whole much more creative and diverse than those of any other HF subtheme, and from what I've seen have worked wonders in terms of introducing the constraction category to audiences who hadn't previously given it the time of day. If Lego truly didn't care what got "shoveled out" for Hero Factory, we would've gotten a fairly traditional year of sets to bridge the gap between Brain Attack and Bionicle—not the most creative and experimental subtheme to date.

 

The only thing mildly disappointing about IFB was the TV episode, and let's be honest, it's far from the first TV episode to fail to meet expectations. So while it's possible that the contract with the prior production company ran out and Lego chose not to renew it in anticipation of HF's end, that doesn't mean the subtheme as a whole was halfhearted in any way, shape, or form.

 

Well that's your opinion on IFB so here's mine, invasion from below is a pathetic bid to try and get regular lego fans into HF, it's a mutation of exo-force gone wrong, I mean look at evo walker and rocka crawler, they look like mocs done by a five year old. And most of the sets are like this, not to mention the colouring sucks, these sets use way too much gunmetal grey, and I can barely tell any of the beasts apart, and the ones that are different just look like any other bland monsters that lego have created. The only positive I can find in these things is the minifigures, and I'm not willing to spend thirteen pounds on a minifigure. So my view on IFB is that sucks and I'm so glad they decided to bring back bionicle.

[Lyichir]

 

 

 

I thought the fig-builds were to introduce some variety in the theme and catch people's attention. I think a lot of people liked the change from the "same humanoid builds over and over" that HF was for four years. IFB broke up that pattern, which was really cool. 

 

Based on that, I don't think the IFB sets were responsible for the theme's demise. It was the story, and probably a combination of factors - it just wasn't exciting to begin with, and it just got old.

I never said IFB was the reason why lego are likely getting rid of the theme, what I was trying to say was that in my mind IFB proved lego doesn't care about the theme anymore and don't care what gets shoveled out for it.

 

If Lego didn't care about the theme anymore, we wouldn't likely have gotten a subtheme as amazing as IFB has been. If IFB was made with the knowledge of it being HF's last year (and that's entirely possible), it's quite clear from the set designs that Lego pulled out all the stops. Minifigure-scale heroes are a real treat for fans, allowing them to make greater use of the characters alongside other themes once the HF theme is no longer with us. The IFB set designs are on the whole much more creative and diverse than those of any other HF subtheme, and from what I've seen have worked wonders in terms of introducing the constraction category to audiences who hadn't previously given it the time of day. If Lego truly didn't care what got "shoveled out" for Hero Factory, we would've gotten a fairly traditional year of sets to bridge the gap between Brain Attack and Bionicle—not the most creative and experimental subtheme to date.

 

The only thing mildly disappointing about IFB was the TV episode, and let's be honest, it's far from the first TV episode to fail to meet expectations. So while it's possible that the contract with the prior production company ran out and Lego chose not to renew it in anticipation of HF's end, that doesn't mean the subtheme as a whole was halfhearted in any way, shape, or form.

 

Well that's your opinion on IFB so here's mine, invasion from below is a pathetic bid to try and get regular lego fans into HF, it's a mutation of exo-force gone wrong, I mean look at evo walker and rocka crawler, they look like mocs done by a five year old. And most of the sets are like this, not to mention the colouring sucks, these sets use way too much gunmetal grey, and I can barely tell any of the beasts apart, and the ones that are different just look like any other bland monsters that lego have created. The only positive I can find in these things is the minifigures, and I'm not willing to spend thirteen pounds on a minifigure. So my view on IFB is that sucks and I'm so glad they decided to bring back bionicle.

 

 

Evo Walker and Rocka Crawler occupy the lowest price-point of the series and are far from indicative of the line as a whole. The larger sets are much more complex—they feature unique and creative builds and designs, and I'd love you to point me to the "five-year-old" who is a good enough designer to come up with, say, the torso build of Furno Jet Machine, the elaborate build of Evo XL Machine, or the grappling claw launcher of Breez Flea Machine. The fact that you see fit to insult the actual designers (who, I might add, are PAID to do this and have to take into account many more factors than the preferences of whiny and entitled fans) is proof enough that your "opinion" is both ignorant and offensive. But then again, you seem to be just as self-important and deluded as the AFOLs who commonly decry constraction themes in general as "not real Lego", so I suppose there are bad apples in every corner of the fandom.

[-Windrider-]

Lyichir, that language was uncalled for. I know that some equally strong things were said against the line, but that does not justify such words against another member of BZPower.

[masterchirox580]

 

 

 

 

I thought the fig-builds were to introduce some variety in the theme and catch people's attention. I think a lot of people liked the change from the "same humanoid builds over and over" that HF was for four years. IFB broke up that pattern, which was really cool. 

 

Based on that, I don't think the IFB sets were responsible for the theme's demise. It was the story, and probably a combination of factors - it just wasn't exciting to begin with, and it just got old.

I never said IFB was the reason why lego are likely getting rid of the theme, what I was trying to say was that in my mind IFB proved lego doesn't care about the theme anymore and don't care what gets shoveled out for it.

 

If Lego didn't care about the theme anymore, we wouldn't likely have gotten a subtheme as amazing as IFB has been. If IFB was made with the knowledge of it being HF's last year (and that's entirely possible), it's quite clear from the set designs that Lego pulled out all the stops. Minifigure-scale heroes are a real treat for fans, allowing them to make greater use of the characters alongside other themes once the HF theme is no longer with us. The IFB set designs are on the whole much more creative and diverse than those of any other HF subtheme, and from what I've seen have worked wonders in terms of introducing the constraction category to audiences who hadn't previously given it the time of day. If Lego truly didn't care what got "shoveled out" for Hero Factory, we would've gotten a fairly traditional year of sets to bridge the gap between Brain Attack and Bionicle—not the most creative and experimental subtheme to date.

 

The only thing mildly disappointing about IFB was the TV episode, and let's be honest, it's far from the first TV episode to fail to meet expectations. So while it's possible that the contract with the prior production company ran out and Lego chose not to renew it in anticipation of HF's end, that doesn't mean the subtheme as a whole was halfhearted in any way, shape, or form.

 

Well that's your opinion on IFB so here's mine, invasion from below is a pathetic bid to try and get regular lego fans into HF, it's a mutation of exo-force gone wrong, I mean look at evo walker and rocka crawler, they look like mocs done by a five year old. And most of the sets are like this, not to mention the colouring sucks, these sets use way too much gunmetal grey, and I can barely tell any of the beasts apart, and the ones that are different just look like any other bland monsters that lego have created. The only positive I can find in these things is the minifigures, and I'm not willing to spend thirteen pounds on a minifigure. So my view on IFB is that sucks and I'm so glad they decided to bring back bionicle.

 

 

Evo Walker and Rocka Crawler occupy the lowest price-point of the series and are far from indicative of the line as a whole. The larger sets are much more complex—they feature unique and creative builds and designs, and I'd love you to point me to the "five-year-old" who is a good enough designer to come up with, say, the torso build of Furno Jet Machine, the elaborate build of Evo XL Machine, or the grappling claw launcher of Breez Flea Machine. The fact that you see fit to insult the actual designers (who, I might add, are PAID to do this and have to take into account many more factors than the preferences of whiny and entitled fans) is proof enough that your "opinion" is both ignorant and offensive. But then again, you seem to be just as self-important and deluded as the AFOLs who commonly decry constraction themes in general as "not real Lego", so I suppose there are bad apples in every corner of the fandom.

 

Didn't realize mod had already done something about this, so I've decided to remove the post.

Edited September 21, 2014 by masterchirox580

[Lyichir]

Lyichir, that language was uncalled for. I know that some equally strong things were said against the line, but that does not justify such words against another member of BZPower.

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let my emotions get to me like that, but I can't stand it when people take their dislike of a set to the point of insulting the designers themselves. I want to be a Lego set designer at some point, after all, so when someone says they were "lazy" or that a set "looks like it was designed by a five-year-old" it can drive me up the wall. Lego set designers have to take a lot of factors into consideration that many fans can't begin to comprehend—things like ease of building, price-point, the budget for new molds or recolors, and many other factors. The way I see it, people are a lot more critical of actual sets than they are of MOCs—if you wouldn't describe a person's MOC as "lazy" to their face, I don't see why you should describe a set like that, especially when in that case you know even less about the constraints the designer was working with.

[masterchirox580]

 

Lyichir, that language was uncalled for. I know that some equally strong things were said against the line, but that does not justify such words against another member of BZPower.

I'm sorry. I shouldn't have let my emotions get to me like that, but I can't stand it when people take their dislike of a set to the point of insulting the designers themselves. I want to be a Lego set designer at some point, after all, so when someone says they were "lazy" or that a set "looks like it was designed by a five-year-old" it can drive me up the wall. Lego set designers have to take a lot of factors into consideration that many fans can't begin to comprehend—things like ease of building, price-point, the budget for new molds or recolors, and many other factors. The way I see it, people are a lot more critical of actual sets than they are of MOCs—if you wouldn't describe a person's MOC as "lazy" to their face, I don't see why you should describe a set like that, especially when in that case you know even less about the constraints the designer was working with.

 

Well apology excepted, I'm not gonna bother answering the rest of your post as we'll probably be back to where we were before.

 

P.S On an off topic note could someone please explain to me how the mask thing works on this forum.

Edited September 21, 2014 by masterchirox580

[gunconvoy]

Tho I will miss the concepts that Hero Factory had brought with it, I'm not going to really miss it. 

[Toa TAK]

I vote for it to go. I would simply prefer all those resources used on Bionicle's return instead.

 

TAK

[bioniclepluslotr]

My Walmart and Target have basically clearanced all Invasion from Below and aren't stocking the Fall wave.

[Reznas]

P.S On an off topic note could someone please explain to me how the mask thing works on this forum.

 

You can find out information regarding your question here, in the Q&A Compendium. If you scroll down, you'll find an explanation for your question about "masks," which are called "yearly masks." Each year following your join date you will receive a new "yearly mask."

 

-Rez

[Stormbringer Empire791]

What about the villain who started Brain Attack? Is Von Nebula still out there? What's going to happen after invasion from below? It just all seems so unfinished, at least Bionicle had a proper ending. I really hate it when good themes like Power Miners and Alien Conquest are left with the "Who will win? You decide!" ending. I want closure, especially to themes that have as much story as Hero Factory did. 

[Lyichir]

What about the villain who started Brain Attack? Is Von Nebula still out there? What's going to happen after invasion from below? It just all seems so unfinished, at least Bionicle had a proper ending. I really hate it when good themes like Power Miners and Alien Conquest are left with the "Who will win? You decide!" ending. I want closure, especially to themes that have as much story as Hero Factory did. 

You really should have gotten the hint that there was no plan to follow up on those cliffhangers when they were ignored year after year. Creating cliffhangers with no intent to resolve them is one of the many weaknesses of Hero Factory's story, but after three years of that happening, I had basically gotten used to it. Even if Hero Factory had continued next year or for several years after that, we might never have gotten the answers you want (just like we know for certain that we'd never learn the identity of the overarching villain from the cancelled chapter books, the only really GOOD Hero Factory story medium). So the fact that the theme is ending now doesn't change much in that respect.

[Dallior]

1. Hero Factory is going to burn.

2. As the Mayor said in the Lorax: "Let it die, let it die! Let it shrivel up and die!"

 

HF was so wrong!! First of all, it had no ability to finish a dang cliffhanger. It's been 2 seasons and we still don't know anything more about the stolen plans (insert rage here). Stringer and Bulk were dropped, brought back, and dropped again. It's also confusing having two yellow heroes, and now the theme is literally back to 2006, with it's mini-scale characters. Plus, it's been proven that BIONICLE IS BACK (http://www.lego.com/en-us/bionicle), so there's no use in having HF along for the ride.