Official 2012 Set Discussion

[Mesonak]

Breez and Thornraxx have appeared nowhere in the USA as of yet, however, they are for sale in European countries. Furthermore, they have not been featured or even mentioned in any of the promo videos for Breakout as of yet. Kind of concerning: I wonder if they will be released at all, and if so, if they will be featured in the story whatsoever?I've sent an email to Lego Customer Service incquiring as to what's going on with their international-exclusive release, and hope to hear back soon.-Mesonak

[Dralcax]

Uh-oh,Thornraxx had always been my favorite. Hmm... Does the literal Hero Factory have an inoperative mold or two that prevents US production?

[Solaris Magnus]

Breez and Thornraxx have appeared nowhere in the USA as of yet, however, they are for sale in European countries. Furthermore, they have not been featured or even mentioned in any of the promo videos for Breakout as of yet. Kind of concerning: I wonder if they will be released at all, and if so, if they will be featured in the story whatsoever?I've sent an email to Lego Customer Service incquiring as to what's going on with their international-exclusive release, and hope to hear back soon.-Mesonak

I see what You Mean. LEGO Shop@home Britain has Breez. I hope they answer soon, I am eager to purchase Breez, who I consider one of the best HF Sets produced so far-Star Edited December 28, 2011 by Starparu

[unknown_user2596]

Methinks Breez and Thornraxx may be in the spring wave....the Jan-Feb 2012 club mag has an ad featuring the new sets in "missions". Only 4 were pictured; mission 5: Breez and Thornraxx was not. Edited December 28, 2011 by unknown_user2596

[Element Lord of Milk]

Methinks Breez and Thornraxx may be in the spring wave....the Jan-Feb 2012 club mag has an ad featuring the new sets in "missions". Only 4 were pictured; mission 5: Breez and Thornraxx was not.

You mean the Summer wave?Brees and thornraxx are definitely part of the Winter wave, a few people have them, it just seems they're not nearly as common as the other sets in most places.I really hope this is just a one-time thing, i hate how this wave's release seems to be staggered.~ELM~

[Mesonak]

Methinks Breez and Thornraxx may be in the spring wave....the Jan-Feb 2012 club mag has an ad featuring the new sets in "missions". Only 4 were pictured; mission 5: Breez and Thornraxx was not.

You mean the Summer wave?Brees and thornraxx are definitely part of the Winter wave, a few people have them, it just seems they're not nearly as common as the other sets in most places.I really hope this is just a one-time thing, i hate how this wave's release seems to be staggered.~ELM~

The few people that have them live in European countries, which they are available in. The dilemma here is that they're not available in the United States. =/-Mesonak

[Zakann the Delirious]

I'm really starting to think Breez and Thornraxx are summer sets in the US, kind of like how the release of the Hordika and the Visorak were reversed according to regions way back in 2005.

[Solaris Magnus]

I fail to see why they would do this ? Perhaps the summer wave is too thin, but then that wouldn't apply in Europe....Perhaps they are holding out on them for a while, as it still is not even 2012 yet. Even Furno is a exceedingly difficult figure to find in Stores, but not online...-Star

[Toa Zaz]

Evex is back, I think your hopes are are a little high here. Most likely, Black Phantom is a guy from Stormer's past who wants "revenge" on Hero Factory for no apparent reason, Toxic Reapa is similar to Nitroblast, and the rest are either like Thunder or Rotor.

[Squishyfrog]

Evex is back, I think your hopes are are a little high here. Most likely, Black Phantom is a guy from Stormer's past who wants "revenge" on Hero Factory for no apparent reason, Toxic Reapa is similar to Nitroblast, and the rest are either like Thunder or Rotor.

where did you even get this i don'tThere is practically no chance of Black Phantom somehow also being Von Nebula. Toxic Reapa looks about nothing like Nitroblast, more closely resembling Meltdown and Corroder. If you're comparing Splitface to Thunder, have you noticed that Splitface is, I don't know, split? Which Thunder is not? And Splitface has arms? And then Thornraxx being like Rotor. Thornraxx has wings and is like a bug, Rotor has a rotor and is a humanoid. There are so many differences and wrong things in your post it's just aargh.

[King Joe]

Evex is back, I think your hopes are are a little high here. Most likely, Black Phantom is a guy from Stormer's past who wants "revenge" on Hero Factory for no apparent reason, Toxic Reapa is similar to Nitroblast, and the rest are either like Thunder or Rotor.

where did you even get this i don'tThere is practically no chance of Black Phantom somehow also being Von Nebula. Toxic Reapa looks about nothing like Nitroblast, more closely resembling Meltdown and Corroder. If you're comparing Splitface to Thunder, have you noticed that Splitface is, I don't know, split? Which Thunder is not? And Splitface has arms? And then Thornraxx being like Rotor. Thornraxx has wings and is like a bug, Rotor has a rotor and is a humanoid. There are so many differences and wrong things in your post it's just aargh.

I think what he's doing is not saying that each character is this character, but that his idea is that their personality would resemble the characters he mentioned. Not comparing the sets, comparing personalites, or assumed personalities at least.

[Squishyfrog]

Evex is back, I think your hopes are are a little high here. Most likely, Black Phantom is a guy from Stormer's past who wants "revenge" on Hero Factory for no apparent reason, Toxic Reapa is similar to Nitroblast, and the rest are either like Thunder or Rotor.

where did you even get this i don'tThere is practically no chance of Black Phantom somehow also being Von Nebula. Toxic Reapa looks about nothing like Nitroblast, more closely resembling Meltdown and Corroder. If you're comparing Splitface to Thunder, have you noticed that Splitface is, I don't know, split? Which Thunder is not? And Splitface has arms? And then Thornraxx being like Rotor. Thornraxx has wings and is like a bug, Rotor has a rotor and is a humanoid. There are so many differences and wrong things in your post it's just aargh.

I think what he's doing is not saying that each character is this character, but that his idea is that their personality would resemble the characters he mentioned. Not comparing the sets, comparing personalites, or assumed personalities at least.

Ah, I'm sorry. A little misunderstanding on my part.

[Smitty]

I fail to see why they would do this ? Perhaps the summer wave is too thin, but then that wouldn't apply in Europe....Perhaps they are holding out on them for a while, as it still is not even 2012 yet. Even Furno is a exceedingly difficult figure to find in Stores, but not online...-Star

Furno is selling out quicker because he is red. Red is more eye catching than other colors and he was there poster bot for the first three waves.

...Black Phantom is a guy from Stormer's past who wants "revenge" on Hero Factory for no apparent reason...

So he's stealing Von Nebula's shtick?

[Squishyfrog]

...he was there poster bot for the first three waves.

Wrong. Furno was the poster boy for the first wave. OoF had Evo, Savage Planet had Rocka, and Breakout also has Rocka.

[Evex_Wolfwing]

Evex is back, I think your hopes are are a little high here. Most likely, Black Phantom is a guy from Stormer's past who wants "revenge" on Hero Factory for no apparent reason, Toxic Reapa is similar to Nitroblast, and the rest are either like Thunder or Rotor.

I know. I said it was speculation. And they probably will botch it up. But I said what I want, and I can hope.Also, lack of Breez and Thornraxx makes me a sad floofy.

[Dorek]

Got Surge and Splitface via S@H; haven't built Splitface yet. Surge is pretty cool; generic, but fun. He does indeed have an extra cufflink; maybe because Splitface is a larger set, so this is just another reflection of the intent to pair them? I dunno. I notice that he is also the only Hero not able to hold his cuffs without removing one of his weapons XD. Pretty silly, but oh well. I'm so glad they include an extra clip; it allows you to secure the cuffs on his leg properly. I had a feeling they would, but couldn't confirm until now. Recolors ftw, and his color scheme isn't as awful as it could be.Haven't built Splitface yet; definitely looking forward to that.

[Evex_Wolfwing]

Oh, and I got Black Phantom for Christmas. I can't believe we all thought he was terrible. He is tied with Toxic Reapa as my favorite villain thus-far. Just fits together so well, not a jumbled as Fire Lord.

[Mesonak]

Just got word from Customer Service that Breez and Thornraxx are expected to be available for purchase on January 1st.So for some odd reason, they withheld those two sets from US shipments and their website until the beginning of the year, while releasing the rest of the wave weeks ahead of schedule. Whatever, at least they'll be available soon.-Mesonak Edited December 28, 2011 by Mesonak

[Kojol]

I fail to see why they would do this ? Perhaps the summer wave is too thin, but then that wouldn't apply in Europe....Perhaps they are holding out on them for a while, as it still is not even 2012 yet. Even Furno is a exceedingly difficult figure to find in Stores, but not online...-Star

Furno is selling out quicker because he is red. Red is more eye catching than other colors and he was there poster bot for the first three waves.

...Black Phantom is a guy from Stormer's past who wants "revenge" on Hero Factory for no apparent reason...

So he's stealing Von Nebula's shtick?

And half of Fire Lord and Witch Doctor's shticks. All of the villains thus far have known Stormer (though Fire Lord's connection was kind of one-sided, Stormer had no idea who he was), it's becoming ridiculous.

[Dorek]

Who else are they going to know? Furno, Breez, and Surge were all created at the beginning of the story, so there's no room for past villains. In OoF, we have two more rookies, so again, no room to explore past connections, because there aren't any. With Witch Doctor, I suppose it could be bulk or Stringer, but they've been absent for the past wave anyway; Stormer is the only one who has been present for all three who can possibly have a connection to the villains. The way the story is set up, it's pretty much the only way to give the villains any background.tl;dr: Stormer is the oldest Hero we know, so it makes sense that he's encountered all of these villains at some point or another.

[Mesonak]

Using knowledge of Stormer to create motive for a crime/crimes committed repeatedly? That's understandably ridiculous. Having villains that know who Stormer is, or have encountered him at one point? Not ridiculous at all, and that's what HF has done. As Dorek said, it's perfectly reasonable to assume that, because of his fame and the vast array of missions under his belt, he's encountered many a villain before.-Mesonak

[Kojol]

Who else are they going to know? Furno, Breez, and Surge were all created at the beginning of the story, so there's no room for past villains. In OoF, we have two more rookies, so again, no room to explore past connections, because there aren't any. With Witch Doctor, I suppose it could be bulk or Stringer, but they've been absent for the past wave anyway; Stormer is the only one who has been present for all three who can possibly have a connection to the villains. The way the story is set up, it's pretty much the only way to give the villains any background.tl;dr: Stormer is the oldest Hero we know, so it makes sense that he's encountered all of these villains at some point or another.

My point is how two out of three villains thus far were former Hero Factory associates, not how it's specifically Stormer who they know. I can accept Von Nebula's motive being hatred of Stormer. I can accept that Fire Lord met Stormer once, and remembers it as an important event, as Stormer is obviously a bit of a celebrity. Aldous Witch having taught the heroes in the past is stretching my suspension of disbelief. If Black Phantom is an ex-Hero Factory associate with a personal grudge against any of the heroes, it's going to be a blatantly recurring theme.Actually, as a character, Fire Lord was kind of refreshing. He's the only villain who is not an old friend of Stormer's, and his associated storyline is, while anvilicious, slightly more realistic as a criminal's motive (basically, he's stealing in order to fund a drug habit) than Von Nebula's "destroy ALL the Hero Factory" or Witch Doctor's "mine ALL the Quaza", which is both grandiose and anvilicious.

[Toa Zaz]

The problem is, every single villain we've seen thus far has known Stormer somehow, and it's become a recurring (and cliche) theme. It would help if the villains' association with Stormer wasn't what consisted of 99% of their wafer-thin backstories. Hopefully they try to differentiate a little with Black Phantom, because this is getting kind of old.

[Evex_Wolfwing]

Fact is, Von Nebula's backstory was something that would have to be done at some point. But I feel that out of all the Villians, Fire Lord had to be one of the best. Sure, he was a terrible set. But he had personality, a motive, and he didn't afraid of anything.And a great accent.You know what? We need a villian with a British accent. Give it to Toxic Reapa. Help separate him from Corroder, and strengthen the whole Jack the Ripper thing I want to see from him.

[Squishyfrog]

A British accent on Toxic Reapa would rock.Also, I have to agree that Fire Lord is a great villain, probably HF's best so far.

[Furno]

Got my hands on Splitface and Furno today. Furno is ok, but splitface is something special! I just like the split look and the printing on the torso is awsome!

[Protodite Karzahni]

Fact is, Von Nebula's backstory was something that would have to be done at some point. But I feel that out of all the Villians, Fire Lord had to be one of the best. Sure, he was a terrible set. But he had personality, a motive, and he didn't afraid of anything.And a great accent.

Wait, really? I just couldn't place his accent. His entire voice was just silly.Fire Lord probably had my favourite backstory, the whole drug abuse thing being a nice message with the line "What is "evil" more than wanting something so much you'll do ANYTHING, hurt ANYONE, TO GET IT?!". It probably helps that I read it as him justifying his actions and begging not to be seen as evil instead of merely declaring himself evil. Of course, the fact he seems to have some random grudge against Stormer seems forced.

You know what? We need a villian with a British accent.

I always thought of Black Phantom as having a British accent. In my headcanon, I always saw him as an incredibly agile (Swinging the mace around like a ninja) and mysterious mercenary who was incredibly proud of his work.

[Dorek]

Who else are they going to know? Furno, Breez, and Surge were all created at the beginning of the story, so there's no room for past villains. In OoF, we have two more rookies, so again, no room to explore past connections, because there aren't any. With Witch Doctor, I suppose it could be bulk or Stringer, but they've been absent for the past wave anyway; Stormer is the only one who has been present for all three who can possibly have a connection to the villains. The way the story is set up, it's pretty much the only way to give the villains any background.tl;dr: Stormer is the oldest Hero we know, so it makes sense that he's encountered all of these villains at some point or another.

My point is how two out of three villains thus far were former Hero Factory associates, not how it's specifically Stormer who they know. I can accept Von Nebula's motive being hatred of Stormer. I can accept that Fire Lord met Stormer once, and remembers it as an important event, as Stormer is obviously a bit of a celebrity. Aldous Witch having taught the heroes in the past is stretching my suspension of disbelief. If Black Phantom is an ex-Hero Factory associate with a personal grudge against any of the heroes, it's going to be a blatantly recurring theme.Actually, as a character, Fire Lord was kind of refreshing. He's the only villain who is not an old friend of Stormer's, and his associated storyline is, while anvilicious, slightly more realistic as a criminal's motive (basically, he's stealing in order to fund a drug habit) than Von Nebula's "destroy ALL the Hero Factory" or Witch Doctor's "mine ALL the Quaza", which is both grandiose and anvilicious.

How is it suspending disbelief? They aren't programmed with every kind of knowledge available. They have educators, and mentors. It humanizes them, which is often the point.

The problem is, every single villain we've seen thus far has known Stormer somehow, and it's become a recurring (and cliche) theme. It would help if the villains' association with Stormer wasn't what consisted of 99% of their wafer-thin backstories. Hopefully they try to differentiate a little with Black Phantom, because this is getting kind of old.

Von Nebula was the only part where it was actually relevant. The other ones were just mentions, to add a small bit of depth. His association with these villains doesn't change how they fight or why they fight (again, VN being the relative exception), it just adds credence to the fact that Stormer is a veteran Hero, who has, believe it or not, a backstory.I wouldn't at all be surprised if BP knows Stormer in some way; it's hard to think of a situation where the Heroes don't have any foreknowledge of the villains; if they had no idea who a villain is or where he's coming from, that would probably ultimately be the point of said villain.

[Kojol]

Who else are they going to know? Furno, Breez, and Surge were all created at the beginning of the story, so there's no room for past villains. In OoF, we have two more rookies, so again, no room to explore past connections, because there aren't any. With Witch Doctor, I suppose it could be bulk or Stringer, but they've been absent for the past wave anyway; Stormer is the only one who has been present for all three who can possibly have a connection to the villains. The way the story is set up, it's pretty much the only way to give the villains any background.tl;dr: Stormer is the oldest Hero we know, so it makes sense that he's encountered all of these villains at some point or another.

My point is how two out of three villains thus far were former Hero Factory associates, not how it's specifically Stormer who they know. I can accept Von Nebula's motive being hatred of Stormer. I can accept that Fire Lord met Stormer once, and remembers it as an important event, as Stormer is obviously a bit of a celebrity. Aldous Witch having taught the heroes in the past is stretching my suspension of disbelief. If Black Phantom is an ex-Hero Factory associate with a personal grudge against any of the heroes, it's going to be a blatantly recurring theme.Actually, as a character, Fire Lord was kind of refreshing. He's the only villain who is not an old friend of Stormer's, and his associated storyline is, while anvilicious, slightly more realistic as a criminal's motive (basically, he's stealing in order to fund a drug habit) than Von Nebula's "destroy ALL the Hero Factory" or Witch Doctor's "mine ALL the Quaza", which is both grandiose and anvilicious.

How is it suspending disbelief? They aren't programmed with every kind of knowledge available. They have educators, and mentors. It humanizes them, which is often the point.

Witch's job isn't what makes it hard for me to believe the storyline, it's the part where two out of three main villains used to work for Hero Factory.Obviously there's something going on in Hero Factory which makes for a lot of members turning to a life of crime.

[Nuvaguy]

You know what? We need a villian with a British accent.

We've already had a villain with a Biritsh accent, though. Remember Meltdown?There is also an 'Evo VS Toxic Reapa' video on a certain website. From what I can tell, Toxic Reapa won't have a British accent.

[Toa Zaz]

Videos for Evo, Surge, and Furno have been released now. Oh, yes.The apparent non-existence of Breez and Thornraxx disturbs me.

[Smitty]

Videos for Evo, Surge, and Furno have been released now. Oh, yes.The apparent non-existence of Breez and Thornraxx disturbs me.

where?

[Toa Zaz]

Videos for Evo, Surge, and Furno have been released now. Oh, yes.The apparent non-existence of Breez and Thornraxx disturbs me.

where?

Right now, just on "that video-sharing website."

[Smitty]

Videos for Evo, Surge, and Furno have been released now. Oh, yes.The apparent non-existence of Breez and Thornraxx disturbs me.

where?

Right now, just on "that video-sharing website."

OK I found it now key word is "breakout". Edited December 29, 2011 by Smitty

[Nuvaguy]

The apparent non-existence of Breez and Thornraxx disturbs me.

What makes it even worse is the fact that in one of the Breakout ads, it says 'new heroes Surge, Rocka, Furno, and Evo!' It doesn't even mention Breez...

[FrozenFlash]

The apparent non-existence of Breez and Thornraxx disturbs me.

What makes it even worse is the fact that in one of the Breakout ads, it says 'new heroes Surge, Rocka, Furno, and Evo!' It doesn't even mention Breez...

Don't tell me they already forgot a Hero.

[Smitty]

I jot got Toxic Repa. It was fun for my son and I to put together but I don't think he's all that exciting. I'm not too keen on the three peaces of armor that are used to make his chest and I don't really like the way the hoses work...

[Furno]

I tried the Furno/Jawblade combiner. It's interesting, but kinda odd.

[Protodite Karzahni]

Wow, Lego delivered faster than I expected. They promised ten days, I got two. Howsabout that.Gotta say, I have mixed opinions about the sets. They only have a few ways they can be posed while looking awesome, but they really do when you place them successfully. Splitface is a little more awkward looking than I expected and the white thighs don't suit Breez. Also, the mace half of Black Phantom's weapon is faaaaar too short, compared to the blade half. It seems really overbalanced. There's nothing really special about Evo, although the gun arm is awesome, and Rocka is hard to pose with his weapon. His arm's too short.That said, I like a lot of other things, it's just a couple of things get in the way.

[Dralcax]

Villain origin speculations commence!I think Black Phantom is a bot Stormer arrested under false accusation and became a real villain in his quest for revenge.Splitface was once two villains who always argued and were very weak. They were easily captured. Black Phantom saw their potential and combined them into one, stronger robot.Toxic Reapa was a bot working in a chemical plant, but was arrested for stealing a cache of dangerous chemicals. However, they were never found. With the help of Black Phantom, Reapa was able to recover them and use them as weapons.Jawblade was once a "sweeper" drone with the function of eating and recycling remains of damaged aquatic vehicles found on the sea floor.. However, he found a cache of precious metals. He disobeyed his orders and kept them for himself, winding up in jail. Later, he upgraded into a sleeker, shark-like form.Thornraxx used to be a mindless guard robot, keeping watch for long hours, longer than anyone else would or could wait before necessities called them away. However, one became sentient, and could feel boredom. He started to attack anything that moved, regardless of security clearance. He was caught and almost scrapped, but when his sentience was observed, he was arrested instead. He later adopted azure markings to distinguish himself from the other drones and got the capability to control them, and set them upon Makuhero city. They were captured but jailed under false assumption of intelligence.