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Toy Fair 2013: Hero Factory
 Monday, February 11th, 2013 at 1:45pm by Andrew, BZPower News ManagerYesterday I had the pleasure of going to the LEGO Collector's Party at Toy Fair 2013 (along with the main expo afterwards). I, along with a bunch of others, got to see the full line of LEGO sets coming out this year (except for store exclusives). To start off sharing this with you all, why don't we take a look at Hero Factory, the line most of you seem the most interested in. Read on to see what's coming! Winter Sets
I think we're all familiar with these guys and have seen the reviews that have been posted on BZPower. I'm not going to go into any detail here, other than to tell you that they were on display. 44008 Surge
Surge is one of the larger bag sets retailing at $12.99. I like the color scheme with blue and gunmetal being the primary colors with some splashes of trans-neon green to mix it up. He's got some nice printing on his faceplate, although, like most of this year's heroes, it means he's not instantly recognizable as Mark. He's got a cool jetpack that fills in his back nicely and also features some flick-fire missiles. I can't say I'm a huge fan of the projectiles, but at least they're inconspicuous here. 44009 Dragon Bolt
I think this set is the highlight of the summer wave of Hero Factory sets for me. At $19.99, Dragon Bolt was the largest bag set on display. While certainly not without its faults, the dragon is impressive and has a color scheme to match Surge. This is a nice trend I've noticed this year - more cohesive color schemes across multiple sets means more parts in the same color or colors. On the downside, I found the proportions to be off, with the head being much too big. There were also a couple gaps here and there that ruined the flow. My favorite part is the red button on the back that, when pressed, causes the dragon's wings to flap. More action features please! 440110 Stormer
Our heroic leader Preston of course returns to the hero team, coming in at a pricepoint of $12.99. Other than some more pieces, I didn't really see much that seemed to justify the price. He does have some flick-fires like Surge though, and these are much more obvious and annoying than they were on the previous set. The trans-light blue compliments the white very well and he looks like an overall solid set. 44011 Frost Beast
The Frost Beast apes Stormer's color scheme and price, also stacking up at $12.99. I like the overall look and think it flows very well - the addition of some red helps rather than hinders the color scheme. The axe it's wielding is also pretty great, with a definite ice theme that's of course appropriate. 44012 Evo
Another returning hero, Evo rolls in at a nice low $9.99. His color scheme seems more simple than the larger sets', focusing on yellow and gunmetal with just a splash of trans-light blue. I think his weapon might help compensate for his smaller size, with the round click hinges adding some poseability and play possibilities to it. 44013 Aquagon
Aquagon is a rather silly name, but what are you going to do? This $9.99 set is rocking a nice yellow, gunmetal, and transparent blue pattern that looks quite nice. His swords are especially awesome and will likely see some heavy use in MOCs. Other than that though, I don't think there's a whole lot that's exciting here. 44014 Jet Rocka
Rocka wins out with the largest set of the year. The $34.99 Jet Rocka features a second version of the hero (he's working on catching up to Bill Furno who's on his sixth iteration) and a rocket pack for fighting the brain attackers I guess. The accessory is actually pretty cool - when you pull a trigger on the back the wings pop out and the Zamor launchers shoot forward. I enjoy play features like these (unlike the flick-fires that are also included) but I'm not sure if they're worth the steep price. It definitely looks really cool though, and I'm looking forward to seeing someone review it. Overall, I'm quite pleased with the simpler color schemes and clean designs of this year's Hero Factory sets. I'm definitely planning on picking up a few for my collection, as they include some very nice parts. And this ends our first Toy Fair 2013 story, but there's still a lot more to come. You can go vote for what themes you'd like to see next. What goes up on the front page is up to you!
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