Hero Factory... Hated by pretty much everyone, except for a select few. Well, I never got into Hero Factory while it was new; I only started to buy CCBS sets during Bionicle Gen. 2. I decided to pick up this set in a recent Bricklink haul because of the fact that Bulk shares the same first name with me, which is pretty cool. The sets didn't seem to hold their value well, I purchased my set for about five dollars.
The build is centered around an oddly shaped torso with armor attached by a Technic Axle.
On the armor is a slot that is used to hold the Hero Core. The Hero Core seems to be pretty limited in its uses as it really only fits in specific Hero Factory torsos.
Speaking of specialized pieces, take a look at the figure's left arm. The gun/arm combo is one large, specialized piece. Even more annoying than the fact that it is so large a specialized, the gun arm is shorter than the other arm by a significant amount. My mind is going nuts just looking at it. Why LEGO, why? Other than the fact that it is shorter than the other arm, it is quite a well executed mold, the attention to detail is par to that of something made in 2010 by LEGO. The design includes a magazine like design with balls in it, some thing that reminds me of the later sets that included the Bionicle Zamor spheres. The hand in the gun has the highest finger slightly outstretched, like it is holding a trigger. The gun seems to be integrated into the arm, rather than being a separate weapon. I don't understand why they would mold in a hand and such if the gun is attached to the in-universe character. The opposite side of the arm is hollow, which is just sad.
The legs are the same elements as the lone arm piece, just with armor attached to it. The armor restricts the movement of the feet, but other than that, I think they are well designed. The legs have decent articulation, but this is due to the lack of knees and the restrictions of the armor.
The feet are oddly reminiscent of the feet of a Gundam. They are what seems to be thrusters in the back of the feet. The connection of the feet to the leg is not normal. The joint is attached at a 90 degree angle rather than the more common 180 degree angles we find in modern joints.
The helmet rests atop of a Glatorian head. The design of the helmet is quite cool and futuristic. The light and the microphone are nice details on the helmet. I do like how bulky and robust it looks. (Pun not intended, but pun is appreciated.)
Buying and building this set was an interesting experience; I got to look back at how poor the figures were relative to the creations of today. Don't get me wrong, I am pleased to own this set and I think it is a cool looking model, but there are too many flaws in this set to overlook. There is a lack of articulation, there is a limited reuse for the parts, the gun/arm combo piece is unsightly and the left arm is smaller than the right. There is little redemption for the rest of the first Hero Factory wave: they all lack decent articulation and half of the sets have the unsightly arm/gun combo thing. Even worse, the other version of Bulk released in 2010 in another set had both arms replaced by arm/gun pieces, and the arms are entirely different colors! What were the designers thinking? I am glad that these issues were fixed in later waves, but this is almost as bad as The Theme That Must Not Be Named*. So overall, I have mixed feelings of this set. While I find the idea cool, the execution is terrible. The same could be said for the rest of the first wave of Hero Factory Heroes.
Anyways, that's all for know, thanks for reading
*Galidor
(From: Brickset.com)
The set consists of 17 pieces, the majority of which are exclusive to the first wave of Hero Factory. The helmet, torso, leg armor, gun and Hero Core are all exclusive to this version of Bulk, who appeared in two sets.
The build is centered around an oddly shaped torso with armor attached by a Technic Axle.
On the armor is a slot that is used to hold the Hero Core. The Hero Core seems to be pretty limited in its uses as it really only fits in specific Hero Factory torsos.
Speaking of specialized pieces, take a look at the figure's left arm. The gun/arm combo is one large, specialized piece. Even more annoying than the fact that it is so large a specialized, the gun arm is shorter than the other arm by a significant amount. My mind is going nuts just looking at it. Why LEGO, why? Other than the fact that it is shorter than the other arm, it is quite a well executed mold, the attention to detail is par to that of something made in 2010 by LEGO. The design includes a magazine like design with balls in it, some thing that reminds me of the later sets that included the Bionicle Zamor spheres. The hand in the gun has the highest finger slightly outstretched, like it is holding a trigger. The gun seems to be integrated into the arm, rather than being a separate weapon. I don't understand why they would mold in a hand and such if the gun is attached to the in-universe character. The opposite side of the arm is hollow, which is just sad.
The legs are the same elements as the lone arm piece, just with armor attached to it. The armor restricts the movement of the feet, but other than that, I think they are well designed. The legs have decent articulation, but this is due to the lack of knees and the restrictions of the armor.
The feet are oddly reminiscent of the feet of a Gundam. They are what seems to be thrusters in the back of the feet. The connection of the feet to the leg is not normal. The joint is attached at a 90 degree angle rather than the more common 180 degree angles we find in modern joints.
The helmet rests atop of a Glatorian head. The design of the helmet is quite cool and futuristic. The light and the microphone are nice details on the helmet. I do like how bulky and robust it looks. (Pun not intended, but pun is appreciated.)
Buying and building this set was an interesting experience; I got to look back at how poor the figures were relative to the creations of today. Don't get me wrong, I am pleased to own this set and I think it is a cool looking model, but there are too many flaws in this set to overlook. There is a lack of articulation, there is a limited reuse for the parts, the gun/arm combo piece is unsightly and the left arm is smaller than the right. There is little redemption for the rest of the first Hero Factory wave: they all lack decent articulation and half of the sets have the unsightly arm/gun combo thing. Even worse, the other version of Bulk released in 2010 in another set had both arms replaced by arm/gun pieces, and the arms are entirely different colors! What were the designers thinking? I am glad that these issues were fixed in later waves, but this is almost as bad as The Theme That Must Not Be Named*. So overall, I have mixed feelings of this set. While I find the idea cool, the execution is terrible. The same could be said for the rest of the first wave of Hero Factory Heroes.
Anyways, that's all for know, thanks for reading
*Galidor
Comments
Post a Comment