What you think about HF minifigures

[YellowKnight]

I like the minifigures. Its interesting that LEGO decided to make them a little bigger than general minifigures. I do wish they had articulated wrists but thats my only disappointment.

[KittehWubbins]

About as ugly as the Mahri Bionicle Minifigs.I will probably buy one of their sets just for the mech feel to it. Other than that, the minifigs don't mean much to me.

[Lyichir]

About as ugly as the Mahri Bionicle Minifigs.I will probably buy one of their sets just for the mech feel to it. Other than that, the minifigs don't mean much to me.

No. No no no. The HF figs are a massive improvement on the Toa Mahri figs whatever way you look at it. For one, they lack the awkward bowlegged stance of the 2006-07 Bionicle minifigs (a feature that often befuddled me because it sacrificed individual poseability for the legs only to add a point of rotation at the waist that hardly ever existed in actual Bionicle sets). The HF figs don't have the same rectangular shoulders of those Bionicle figs, either. Each HF fig has an individually designed mask that resembles their faces from previous action figure sets, like the Toa Inika figs but unlike the Toa Mahri figs which shared the same three mask designs between the six figures. Speaking of those mask designs, the HF figs all have decent-looking faces, unlike the too-tall heads of the Inika figs or the Mahri figs, some of which had their eyes printed on the TOP of their heads. Perhaps most importantly, the HF figs use parts compatible with regular minifigs. The masks of the Toa Inika and Mahri did not fit on regular minifig necks. But the torso of the HF figs is a regular Lego skeleton torso, and the head is a solid-colored minifig head, and thus the armor and masks of the HF figs can be used effectively on regular minifigures without any adjustment.

 

The HF figs aren't perfect—some of their masks look better than others, they still don't have as many points of articulation as typical minifigures, and so on. But they're not "about as ugly as the Mahri Bionicle figs". They're leagues above those in almost every measurable way.

[Aanchir]

About as ugly as the Mahri Bionicle Minifigs.I will probably buy one of their sets just for the mech feel to it. Other than that, the minifigs don't mean much to me.

What do you think is ugly about them? I didn't mind the Toa Inika and Toa Mahri minifigures too much, but their main flaws in my opinion were their lack of accurate mask details and their somewhat wonky proportions. I don't feel like these Hero Factory minifigures have either of these problems. Their masks are remarkably accurate to the full-size versions of the characters, and their proportions are nice and humanoid, without the awkward dangling arms or bowlegged stance of the Toa Inika and Toa Mahri minifigures.

[KittehWubbins]

 

About as ugly as the Mahri Bionicle Minifigs.I will probably buy one of their sets just for the mech feel to it. Other than that, the minifigs don't mean much to me.

What do you think is ugly about them? I didn't mind the Toa Inika and Toa Mahri minifigures too much, but their main flaws in my opinion were their lack of accurate mask details and their somewhat wonky proportions. I don't feel like these Hero Factory minifigures have either of these problems. Their masks are remarkably accurate to the full-size versions of the characters, and their proportions are nice and humanoid, without the awkward dangling arms or bowlegged stance of the Toa Inika and Toa Mahri minifigures.

 

I got to love the modern minifig, and when I got my first Bionicle brickset, well, I guess you could say it wasn't my thing. That was one of the Mahri bricksets, then the next year I got the Lava Stronghold Inika brickset because my Uncle forgot to give it to me a few years back. The Inika figures were much better than the Mahri, and I actually kind of like the Inika. I don't even own a Hero Factory minifigure, and I plan on getting one because so far my judgement is based off of first impressions. So far I think they look ugly, but I do not know what their sturdiness or playability is. Once I own one I will let the judgement hammer fall.

 

 

About as ugly as the Mahri Bionicle Minifigs.I will probably buy one of their sets just for the mech feel to it. Other than that, the minifigs don't mean much to me.

No. No no no. The HF figs are a massive improvement on the Toa Mahri figs whatever way you look at it. For one, they lack the awkward bowlegged stance of the 2006-07 Bionicle minifigs (a feature that often befuddled me because it sacrificed individual poseability for the legs only to add a point of rotation at the waist that hardly ever existed in actual Bionicle sets). The HF figs don't have the same rectangular shoulders of those Bionicle figs, either. Each HF fig has an individually designed mask that resembles their faces from previous action figure sets, like the Toa Inika figs but unlike the Toa Mahri figs which shared the same three mask designs between the six figures. Speaking of those mask designs, the HF figs all have decent-looking faces, unlike the too-tall heads of the Inika figs or the Mahri figs, some of which had their eyes printed on the TOP of their heads. Perhaps most importantly, the HF figs use parts compatible with regular minifigs. The masks of the Toa Inika and Mahri did not fit on regular minifig necks. But the torso of the HF figs is a regular Lego skeleton torso, and the head is a solid-colored minifig head, and thus the armor and masks of the HF figs can be used effectively on regular minifigures without any adjustment.

 

The HF figs aren't perfect—some of their masks look better than others, they still don't have as many points of articulation as typical minifigures, and so on. But they're not "about as ugly as the Mahri Bionicle figs". They're leagues above those in almost every measurable way.

 

I can see the Hero Factory figures possibly being better than the Bionicle figures, and at this point I am accepting anything over the Mahri figures (I don't like them at all). Like I said above, only once I get one I will voice what I think of them as a toy, not what their appearance is.

[Pomegranate]

As neat as they are, I can't take them seriously... the way their claws are open and their shoulders appear to be hunched all the way up, with those long legs, they all just look really really surprised or startled and it amuses me too much to notice anything else about them

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

My opinions on the figs can be expressed in one sentence: Minifigure compatible heads and helmets!!!!!!

[Manducus]

I actually like the minfigs.

 

 

They're pretty unique and very neat.

[Matoro Lives]

I actually think the Hero Factory minifigs are pretty well designed. Granted constraction minifigs were never that good, but HF figs are generally well designed and aesthetically pleasing. I thing the minifigs are probably the only area where HF has Bionicle beat, even if its just with the minifigs. I applaud HF for having at least one aspect of the theme that can compete with the Bionicle standard.

Edited May 2, 2014 by Matoro_Lives

[Lyichir]

I actually think the Hero Factory minifigs are pretty well designed. Granted constraction minifigs were never that good, but HF figs are generally well designed and aesthetically pleasing. I thing the minifigs are probably the only area where HF has Bionicle beat, even if its just with the minifigs. I applaud HF for having at least one aspect of the theme that can compete with the Bionicle standard.

The weirdness of the Bionicle figs always confused me, since rather than opting for individual leg poseability like the existing Exo-Force robots, they instead featured only waist rotation. It was a bizarre choice, since Pridak was the only character depicted as a minifig (and only one of two Bionicle sets whatsoever) that even had a rotating waist at all. Hero Factory figs do much better by having the same leg movement as a traditional minifigure.

 

The new HF limb pieces wouldn't look horrible for Bionicle characters either—they're not that different from the Toa Mata limbs, to be perfectly honest. Maybe someday...

[PlatinumApple]

I think they look pretty sweet, and they remind me of the old-school exo-force drones.

 

Also, HF Assembly Tower.

 

MAKE IT, LEGO!

[fishers64]

I think they look pretty sweet, and they remind me of the old-school exo-force drones.

 

Also, HF Assembly Tower.

 

MAKE IT, LEGO!

Couldn't someone run this up as a Cuusoo/Ideas project? I think that might work.

 

Anyway, I now have one of the HF figs. It seems like the legs are bit close together - they look narrow on top, then flare out as if the characters have bell-bottom jeans. Also the feet stop the mech glass from closing. I think the big feet was to stablize them and make it so they stand on a 2x4 brick, but it looks kinda funny.

 

Other than that I like the detailing put into them and the fact that they can attach to the back of the cockpits and not fall out.

Edited May 7, 2014 by fishers64

[Mr. Cup of Fail]

I think they look pretty sweet, and they remind me of the old-school exo-force drones.

 

Also, HF Assembly Tower.

 

MAKE IT, LEGO!

They don't remind me of the old Exo-Force Drones but that maybe just me

Also YES, Someone need to make a Lego ideas Project of that BUT we need to think of ideas to make it good and get people to say "hey this is a good idea".

[Sybre]

By now, I already have Stormer Freeze Machine and Jaw Beast vs. Stormer, and I gotta say, the minifigures are half the fun and my favorite part! I'm also getting Queen Beast in the summer and my bro is getting both of the Bulk sets, and I'm only half excited for the Queen Beast. That's right, it's the minifigures that I'm excited for! Evo, Furno, and Stormer all in one set, and Stormer was already enough for me to get the set, no questions asked! I'm in love with these little guys, and I wish I could see more of them!

 

By the end of the year, if all is going by the plan, my brother and I will have 7 HF minifigures total. I can't wait!

[Lyichir]

 

I think they look pretty sweet, and they remind me of the old-school exo-force drones.

 

Also, HF Assembly Tower.

 

MAKE IT, LEGO!

Couldn't someone run this up as a Cuusoo/Ideas project? I think that might work.

 

I've been trying to make that very thing on LDD. It's not easy, though—my goal is to make a Hero Factory playset that resembles the factory building (or at least its silhouette) from the outside and has various scenes from the building inside, and needless to say the building's shape is not entirely conducive to that. On top of that, I'm not trying to approach it as I would a typical System build—I'm attempting to use a blend of regular System and Technic to create a model that would not look or feel out of place next to the constraction mechs. I hope to have a model to propose by the end of this year, but I'm not making any promises.

[Great Mask Of ????]

I really only have two gripes.

 

The elbows have a rather sharp angle to them. The minifigs have awkward proportions altogether, and look just fine in some poses despite that, but I find the elbow angle rather bothersome and weird-looking in respect to posing them with weapons, particularly guns.

 

No Nex or Stringer. Neither of these guys have been in a single set since Breakout. If there was ever a year where we could see every hero represented, it's this year. But no. Counting summer, we get four Evos with a whopping three different machines all to himself; three Furnos, Rockas, and Stormers; and two Breezes, Surges, and Bulks IIRC. Come on.

Edited May 21, 2014 by Great Mask Of Armor

[Makaru]

The lack of Stringer is really disappointing. I really want those pieces in black.

[Mr. Cup of Fail]

The lack of Stringer is really disappointing. I really want those pieces in black.

We may get those arm and legs again but in black one day... In the next 10 years.

 

Also was Stringer the most popular character in Hero Factory :/

[Lyichir]

 

The lack of Stringer is really disappointing. I really want those pieces in black.

We may get those arm and legs again but in black one day... In the next 10 years.

 

Also was Stringer the most popular character in Hero Factory :/

 

Obviously not the most popular, or he'd still be in sets. But his rocker motif made him fairly popular among AFOLs, and, as they say, absence makes the heart grow fonder.

[Aanchir]

One thing I've been wondering about lately regarding the Hero Factory minifigures is what kinds of uses their parts might have in future sets. There are, after all, rumors of a new constraction theme next year. If it does turn out to be taking Hero Factory's place, then will it continue to use mini-robots based on the Hero Factory ones? I certainly wouldn't complain.

 

Even if a lot of people's dreams came true and the new constraction theme turned out to be a BIONICLE revival (I'm neither expecting nor hoping for this, just thinking hypothetically), the mini-robot arms and legs bear just about as much resemblance to Toa Mata limbs as they do to earlier Hero Factory limbs, so I would not have any problem at all with seeing them used for mini-Toa.

 

If Hero Factory DOES continue next year and DOES continue to use the mini-heroes, I wonder if they might see any alterations in their design to keep things fresh, like you see with the minifigures in most other ongoing story themes. Could a new armor piece be introduced, or would a simple palette swap be enough to refresh the look of the characters? Might we start to see theme-specific weapon molds, or would the heroes continue to use minifigure weapons and accessories from other themes?

 

On the other hand, it's possible that the mini-hero parts will not continue to be used in future Hero Factory sets or sets from other themes. After all, previous Hero Factory parts like the Brain Attack helmets and faceplates have been used for just one or two sets before being discontinued. I think this would be a darn shame, though. The change in scale has opened up all kinds of possibilities for the constraction category, and I feel like the Invasion from Below sets have merely scratched the surface. For instance, what if you were to introduce villains with "evil" battle machine designs, like the robot faction from Exo-Force? Or maybe even transforming battle machines like the ones in the third Alpha Team arc? Or — dare I ask — a rescue-oriented arc with buildable civilians? The sky's the limit, and it seems like it'd be a shame to discontinue the eleven minifigure-specific parts (the armor, arm, leg, cockpit, and seven helmets) that just came out this year.

[Mr. Cup of Fail]

Well I could see those arm and legs and maybe helmet being part of a Robotics Lab set along with the Exo-Force robot parts (but it unlikely we see those again but the arms). I also can the Arms being use as hands for like big robotic mechs or something.

 

That just something I think they can be use for unless they being back Exo-Force and the arms & legs are being use on evil robots because the legs do look like the exo-force robot leg. The helmet and armor I have no idea what they could use it for in future sets, maybe they could be use for a space theme set like a new space police.

[fishers64]

It doesn't seem to me that those parts have a bright future. They're sort of redundant with normal fig parts, unless you want to make more robot humanoids.

 

Making more robot humanoids isn't such a bad idea though - but if they were going to do that it would appear that they would stay HF exclusive, since HF is all about humanoid robots.

 

I don't know what the new constraction figure line will entail, however. They could have thought up something totally cool that would throw the above reasoning out the window. Who knows?

[Lyichir]

It doesn't seem to me that those parts have a bright future. They're sort of redundant with normal fig parts, unless you want to make more robot humanoids.

 

Making more robot humanoids isn't such a bad idea though - but if they were going to do that it would appear that they would stay HF exclusive, since HF is all about humanoid robots.

Well, whatever succeeds Hero Factory whenever the theme does end will most likely feature humanoid robots as well, just like the theme that preceded HF. Yes, I know they were biomechanical as far as the story was concerned. But most Bionicle sets had no obvious biological components in set form, so for all intents and purposes they might as well have been robots to the average buyer.

 

Besides that, there will always be room for robot humanoids in other themes, and there are applications where you'd want to use something other than a standard minifig for the purpose (see: Bionicle playsets, Exo-Force). I'm not saying that these parts will be sure to reappear by any means. But they aren't exactly destined for the scrap heap, either.

[The Swimming Beard]

I'm somewhat mixed about the HF minifigures. On one hand, they allow for Mechs, which are cool sets and more interesting than standard Heroes. On the other hand, the figs themselves are rather boring.

[Sumiki]

Anything looks good when you recall that LEGO's initial attempt at playset-style shrunk-constraction figs were the freaking Hordika figures.
 
I shudder at their mere mention.

[Lyichir]

Anything looks good when you recall that LEGO's initial attempt at playset-style shrunk-constraction figs were the freaking Hordika figures.

 

I shudder at their mere mention.

Don't forget the 2006 and 2007 Bionicle figures. While a great deal better than the static figurines of 2005, they still made the bizarre design decision to feature waist rotation (a feature that none of the depicted figs save Pridak included in the sets themselves) at the expense of individual leg movement (a feature that WAS featured in the contemporary Exo-Force robot figs). Not to mention the reuse of heads in the 2007 sets, which ranged from so-so to bafflingly awful (including, bizarrely, a reuse of Nuparu's mask for Hewkii in the Toa Undersea Attack, despite a head DESIGNED for Hewkii existing in the right color in other sets).

 

Frankly, the Hero Factory figures are gorgeous compared to previous attempts at scaled down constraction figures, and I can only hope that their arm and leg molds continue to find use after this year.

[Rooster Nui]

I like them quite a lot. They are so much better than the Bionicle minifigures, however i am not saying the Bionicle minifigures were bad, but there is so many more possibilities with these new minifigures as well as having more play value with the increased amount of articulation, which i feel the Bionicle minifigures partially lacked. The only thing that the Hero Factory minifigures lack is waist movement, which isn't too big of a deal as i feel the detail of the pieces helps make them still look good while maintaining the main points of articulation and thus, making them still good.

Edited July 5, 2014 by Rooster Nui

[Tahu3.0]

well the hero factory minifigures are good because there compatible with lego city minifigures and they are also better than the exo force robot minifigure.    

[Naota Takizawa]

I like the mini figures, the arms and legs remind me of the toa mata arms and the leg pieces remind me of the exo force iron drone legs. Also, I like that some pieces are compatiable with regular minifgures and it gives plenty of potential for customization. I just want to buy a few sets for the figures.