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Toy Fair 2010: Buildable Figures, Part I
 Saturday, February 20th, 2010 at 12:55am by Yannick, BZPower ReporterBZPower's coverage of Toy Fair 2010 continues today with the themes you've all been waiting for (sorry Andrew) -- Lego's buildable figures. 2010 is the first time in BZP's history that we can't just call this section "Bionicle," for good or for ill. Inside are the Bionicle Stars, Ben 10, and the smaller half of the new Hero Factory line. Read on for photos and keep checking back for more! First off, my apologies for not having posted this sooner. I've had one of those weeks where I've had so much to do that I literally haven't had free time to edit photos and write this up until yesterday evening and today. I hope the photos make up for the delay. But you're still going to have to wait a little more, because we're going in chronological order here. Save the best, or, well, at least most wondered-about for last, you know? Bionicle There's not much for me to say about Bionicle when we've already had pretty thorough reviews of all the year's sets. All the Stars were on display, as with a little plaque about the 2009 vehicles and Glatorian Legends. But they did look extremely lonely with a section all to themselves, given how small the Stars are. It really made me wish that either they had been bigger or there had been some bigger sets to make Bionicle a bit more of a presense. Alas...
That last picture there just captures one of the more unusual moments of Toy Fair. As the collectors' party was very very early in the morning, the sun was rising while we were inside, and at one point a ray came in through a distant window of the Javits center and just happened to land directly on Takanuva. It was far too perfect to pass up. Ben 10 However much most of us probably wish they hadn't usurped the Bionicle canister sets, they do still fall under the category of "buildable figures." I know some people had been expecting them to continue into the summer, but apparently that isn't the case, as Hero Factory fills all the slots available for summer action figures. No word on whether there are plans to continue the Ben 10 figures beyond this year.
Hero Factory And now, finally, here it is. The figures are not only fully compatible with Bionicle, as Lego promised -- an awful lot of the pieces in them are Bionicle pieces. I'm going to be focusing on the six heroes today, so we won't be seeing most of the true reuse of Bionicle parts until tomorrow, but they're there nonetheless. The description of Hero Factory from the press packet reads as follows: "Welcome to the place where real heroes are built! In this next generation story in LEGO constraction, heroes are designed, equipped and built depending on specific missions that beam in from across the galaxy and across time. Then they are dispatched in hero pods to defeat evil and solve a variety of missions."
Hey, you can even glimpse some of them in there! There are six of the Heroes (which I shall call them unless a more proper term for them exists), in white, bright red, lime green, bright blue, silver, and black. Their elemental associations have been altered somewhat from what they were in Bionicle. Construction-wise, they're almost entirely new, with the result that they have an aesthetic of their own pretty distinct from Bionicle. Lego's focus on giving them true, mostly solid armor means that on the whole they look much smoother and more streamlined, as opposed to the mechanics-visible-everywhere style of Bionicle. But they do still use the hands and Glatorian helmets introduced last year. Their builds are all of Stars-level simplicity, which I personally find disappointing -- just a snap-together frame and armor that plugs in using axle connections. Though I guess that makes sense, as they're marketed at ages six and up. I was pleased to find out that the "Hero cores" (the transparent pieces on their chest armor) are quite removable. I've tried to showcase all the interesting bits of the sets, from photos that Andrew and I took, so hopefully they'll answer any questions you have. All of them will sell for $7.99 USD / $10.99 CAD, and are packaged in what appear to be Stars canisters with new lids (see Stormer and Blaze for detailed shots). 7164 Preston Stormer "He's the Hero Factory Alpha Team leader, having completed more missions than any other hero. Brave and tough, yet proud and competitive, he is armed with a built-in multi-functional ice weapon, featuring an ice saw, bolt shooter and harpoon to stop anyone in their tracks. 17 pieces Age 6+"
What I found most interesting about Stormer (and the other two heroes built like him) was how his massive weapon-thing is built. I had assumed he had two normal arms and this thing just fit over the right one, but nope -- it's one solid, massive piece, which attaches to his shoulder via a basic socket piece. (The same kind he has for ankles.) The "hand" you see in it is molded into the weapon piece. It doesn't look bad, but I find it kinda disappointing, and the fact that this piece is really just a shell makes it lose almost all of its formidable appearance if you look at it from any angle that reveals the gaping hollow area underneath. But apart from that, his set is one of my favorites, with a basic white and bright blue color scheme and an ice blue Hero core. 7165 Natalie Breez "A Hero Factory Rookie, training alongside Blaze, she is agile, a natural diplomat and always ready to give it everything she's got. Armed with energized dual boomerangs and harpoon for climbing, she's always ready to tackle any mission. 19 pieces Ages 6+"
First things first: the fact that her 'surname' leaves off the final e in "breeze" really, really bothers me. But ignoring that, she's a good set, the same build as Blaze and Surge (who are the three "rookies" of the team). I'm always a fan of lime, myself, but I do find her mask kind of ugly. I'm pretty sure the odd reddish stripe you see on her mask in the photos isn't supposed to be there, since the piece is solid lime on her canister and in the press packets we got. 7167 William Blaze "A Hero Factory Rookie on his final training mission, Blaze is smart, highly competitive and very confident. Armed with a dual fire shooter, he always has everyone's back. 19 pieces Age 6+"
I was surprised to find that his secondary color is actually yellow-orange (see Keetongu, Mata Nui, et cetera) rather than strict orange. I think I'd have liked normal orange better, but it certainly works fine as-is. The neon green Hero core and head detract somewhat from his fiery appearance, though. But otherwise he's another one of my favorites. 7168 Duncan Bulk "The toughest, strongest hero on the Hero Factory Alpha Team, Duncan has built-in heavy multi-functional metal weapons which shoot metal spheres, helping to protect everyone from danger. 17 pieces Age 6+"
Yes, he actually is solid silver. Yes, those are silver Glatorian hands. Or rather one of them, since his left "hand" is molded into his giant weapon, which attaches just like Stormer's. As a point of interest, his left arm piece is molded so it looks like he has one finger on a trigger. Apparently Bulk's "element" is Metal, according to the press packets, but there's no word yet on whether these elemental associations figure into the story like they did in Bionicle. 7169 Mark Surge "The youngest rookie on the Hero Factory team, Surge is a little clumsy, yet highly competitive. He tends to have problems landing his hero pod, but his skill in manipulating his electrical shield, armor and lightning weapon makes up for it. 19 pieces Age 6+"
Sorry for the very few photos here -- somehow most of the ones I took were blurry or just bad, and Andrew didn't get many of him either. Anyway, Surge has a bright blue/silver color scheme for some sort of electricity/lightning affiliation, and his lightning bolts and Hero core are transparent yellow (though this is the flatter yellow of System sets rather than the slightly orange-tinted kind from the 2001-2003 eyepieces). I'm not a huge fan of the combination. His head, it should be noted, is still neon green. 7170 Jimi Stringer "The most highly advanced hero on the Factory's Alpha Team, Stringer is armed with a built-in, multi-functional sonic weapon. 17 pieces Ages 6+"
Looking at the photo we had seen of Jimi If you look closely at that last photo, you'll see that his label calls him "Riff," apparently a preliminary name. Maybe Lego thought that was too obvious? Anyway. There are the six protagonists of Hero Factory for you -- check back tomorrow (or later today, depending on where you live) for the villains and vehicles! |
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