Toy Fair 2013: Legends of Chima

[Hapori Tohu]

It's time for our next batch of Toy Fair 2013 coverage. Chima won out in our third round of voting, so here we go. It's the only theme outside of Hero Factory that has constraction sets, which makes it pretty unique. Read on to see what this year's big line is all about!View the full article

[Meiko]

Thanks for the coverage! Not the first coverage of this I've seen, but still great to have. I know for a fact that Chima will be getting an awful lot of my money this year. I also spoke with a few LEGO set designers that I'm friends with on a social network, and they gave me a lot of background on the theme and the sets' development.

[Aanchir]

The piece connecting Eris's wings is not new-- in fact, it's as old as the current Hero Factory building system itself. It made its debut in Drilldozer. Still, it's a much rarer part than it should be, and a very useful one to boot.Overall, I think the Chima constraction sets are quite wonderful. The one word that I think best describes them is "finished". No beams go without armor pieces besides Cragger's lower limbs which do so for stylistic effect, all of the sets besides the ones with wings have armored backs, every set has fingers, and all of the sets with the "paw" pieces use them together with, rather than in place of, other weapons.The System sets also look great. I'm fairly certain Gorzan's Gorilla Striker is a Mark Stafford design, as it has a lot in common with both his design style and his sense of humor, and both the Combat Lair and the Lion CHI Temple are packed with great building techniques and awesome features. The Twin Bike seemed like the most unimpressive to me until I saw its box art and realized how unique its transforming function is. Overall, I'm still not too enthusiastic about collecting Chima the way I collect Hero Factory or Ninjago, but there is a lot of appeal in this line and I'm sure I'll eventually decide to get some of these sets, lest I regret not doing so later.

[Lyichir]

The Chima constraction sets don't look bad. A few of them are built wrong here, by the way; many of them have the chest piece upside-down, which looks sort of bizarre. Regardless, they're all solid-looking, even though they offer little new in terms of construction.

 

The Speedorz aren't really always the best way to get Chima minifigures. At $15, they cost more than the spinners, and apart from the starter sets with two Speedorz, they only come with one fig apiece. That's not to say they're a bad value; Speedorz are massively fun to play with, and are easier to play with solo than the Ninjago spinners, which were typically only fun if you were actually playing against someone else.The main summer sets look positively excellent. Eglor's Twin Bike underwhelmed me until I saw its function. It's also a good example of how the Speedorz sets are not always the most economical ways to get figs: for $20 you get two figs, whereas most Speedorz sets only get you one fig for $15.

 

The Gorilla Striker looks like a load of fun no matter how you slice it. I love a set that has an obvious sense of humor, and between the banana launcher/banammo belt and the berrybomb catapult, this set has that in spades.

 

Worriz's Combat Lair reminds me of some classic Lego Space sets, what with its emphasis on modularity: one thing that B6 failed to take pictures of were the set boxes, on which the Combat Lair is proclaimed to "Convert into 5 models!" These would be the main body, the two flick-fire bikes, the helicopter, and... I don't know what else. Perhaps the head comes off as a separate vehicle? In any case, those are on top of the rugged storage boxes and prison cells clipped onto the sides.And finally, the Lion Chi Temple. It may be my favorite set this year. Again, like many of the others, it has loads of functions, the main ones being the launchable "claw" bikes which come out from behind the waterfall, and the Lion face gate/drawbridge, the former of which opens when the latter extends (and vice-versa). Architecturally it's not shabby either, reminding me positively of the Portal of Atlantis and the Battle of Metru Nui.

[J46 Nui]

The thing that really struck me with these sets is the colors. Most of them are bright, vibrant, and all together wonderful. Also, that ape mech is awesomely silly.

[KZN02]

Banana Blaster, I haven't seen a food-fed weapon since Donkey Kong 64.

[Meiko]

My friend who I've done a lot of work with in the LEGO community shared on a social network site this picture from Times Square while he was at Toy Fair. He's a set designer who did some work on Legends of Chima, so he enjoyed seeing this on a billboard (Samuel Johnson is his name).

 

[Vorahk1Panrahk2]

I was under the impression we already had a line of animal-themed Hero Factory sets.

 

In all seriousness, the constractions are okay. I like the shiny shield pieces and heads, but I think I'll pass on them. At least they don't have flick fires attached to their heads.

Edited February 13, 2013 by Vorahk1Panrahk2

[Aanchir]

I was under the impression we already had a line of animal-themed Hero Factory sets. In all seriousness, the constractions are okay. I like the shiny shield pieces and heads, but I think I'll pass on them. At least they don't have flick fires attached to their heads.

Of course not. There have never been Hero Factory or constraction models with flick fires attached to their heads. If you're talking about Stormer, those are attached to his back, which is quite obvious in several pictures of him (not sure why people seem to think they're attached to his head; I've heard that at least twice and it seems like a preposterous thing to assume). Edited February 13, 2013 by Aanchir: Rachira of Time

[Mesonak]

I was under the impression we already had a line of animal-themed Hero Factory sets. In all seriousness, the constractions are okay. I like the shiny shield pieces and heads, but I think I'll pass on them. At least they don't have flick fires attached to their heads.

Of course not. There have never been Hero Factory or constraction models with flick fires attached to their heads. If you're talking about Stormer, those are attached to his back, which is quite obvious in several pictures of him (not sure why people seem to think they're attached to his head; I've heard that at least twice and it seems like a preposterous thing to assume).

 

In Brain Attack, when the heroes are getting suited up, there's a brief scene that shows Stormer's visor being flipped down over his head and the missiles extending upwards from his back. To the casual observer, one who hasn't looked too closely at the actual Stormer set, it could be assumed that the missiles attached via the side holes on the new head piece. Of course, that's flimsy reasoning, considering there are several other scenes in the very same sequence that clearly show the missiles attaching via his back (like when he raises up his sword). That's the only explanation I can think of for people believing that, though.

 

-Mesonak

[Canis Lycaon]

I am so going to get the Wolf and maybe the Gorilla Ultrabuilds. The Worriz head is very cool in my opinion. This will help me make a Wolf Self-Moc, and I think that it is one of the better Ultrabuilds.

[Paleo]

I'm really trying to figure out what color the size 5 shells on Worriz are. I thought they were brown, but now B6 is saying they're red. Aanchir?

[Meiko]

Those shells are red. It's clearer in other sites' coverage, and at the other Toy Fairs, though there is an odd shadow on this picture. ;)Edit: Looking at Joe Meno's Nuremberg photos, I believe they are dark red.

Edited February 14, 2013 by Meiko

[Black Six]

Those shells are red. It's clearer in other sites' coverage, and at the other Toy Fairs, though there is an odd shadow on this picture. ;)Edit: Looking at Joe Meno's Nuremberg photos, I believe they are dark red.

Yep, dark red.