Random set of the day: Stormer 3.0
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 2145 Stormer 3.0, released during 2011. It's one of 26 HERO Factory sets produced that year. It contains 31 pieces, and its retail price was US$7.99/£7.99.
It's owned by 1,491 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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26 comments on this article
Ah yes, the Hero Factory line where they all looked like animals and had abnormally swollen hands
I'm struggling to come up with anything funny to say other than it's Hero Factory, and even then, while simple and clean looking, this guy actually does look pretty cool... and there's the ice pun.
Oh ho ho! I have this guy! I’m pretty sure he was my first Hero Factory set. I won’t debate anyone who thinks Bionicle is better (I just wasn’t a LEGO fan at the time; I’m sure I would have loved Bionicle), but Hero Factory needs some love too.
I've got a headache so I'll keep lore short
Hero Factory was an interstellar police force that constructed robot officers.
Preston Stormer was a hero with various ice capabilities that eventually became leader of Alpha 1 Team.
A villain known as Witch Doctor traveled to the planet Quatros and began harvesting the world's precious Quaza core (the stuff they make the HF robot's hearts out of.) He then used Quaza spikes to mind control the animals of the planet to help him mine.
Stormer and gang were outfitted with animal gear to travel through the jungle and apprehend Witch Doctor.
That is a pretty cool helmet, would be neat to use in a larger creation.
@GSR_MataNui said:
"I've got a headache so I'll keep lore short"
I think that's already a pretty accurate description of the Hero Factory theme as a whole...
(Thx for your lore dumps, as per usual)
How has this been 10 years already!? Seems like only yesterday.... Hero Factory was one of the first themes to really hook me big time (after power miners and atlantis prior). I loved the robot police officers and the animal themed line was one of my favorites. I was determined to collect them all! Stormer 3.0 was the second one I got, right after Rocka 3.0. I had to have the new character of course, but then I wanted to upgrade those I hadn't managed to collect 2.0's for. Loved having this guy around to punch villains with his mighty ice fist!
In some parts of Canada, ice stormers are pretty common.
That printed RHS upper arm part kicks butt.
I’ve heard of this guy. I didn’t realize the theme lasted long enough for anyone to get a third iteration.
Heh, Rhino Stormer, back when the CCBS was still new and fresh and exciting new parts and colors were getting introduced. I always liked the aesthetic of this wave.
@PurpleDave said:
"I’ve heard of this guy. I didn’t realize the theme lasted long enough for anyone to get a third iteration."
Honey, Furno had 5 canon iterations, a noncanon iteration, and a minifigure. Stormer here is not far behind that count. HF had a bigger impact than most people give it credit for!
This version of Stormer is so ugly compared to my awesome 44010 (my only constraction figure).
Ah, Stormed. I like the use of blue as an accent color, especially with that blue face surrounded by the white helmet. Of course, the fact that blue is my favorite color and I've always liked ice=themed Lego sets may have something to do with why I like this guy...
This seems lie a very reasonable buildable figure, except for the hand situation. They could have gone with two regular hands and an exaggerated gun.
Looking back, I really liked Hero Factory. At the time I didn't cause Bionicle fans didn't and of course being 9 I had to follow the crowd. But Savage Planet was a masterpiece of a wave, those sets were fantastic. Witch Doctor I hope to see again one day...
This set brings so many fond memories... I remember back in 2011, me and my brother were all over this theme. We got a bunch of sets from the previous two waves, and couldn't wait to get more. From this wave in particular, I ended up getting 2191 Furno 3.0, and my brother got this guy. Both of those sets came as a gift from our grandmother.
Furno ended up being taken apart for MOCs, but somehow Stormer here has survived that, and currently it is still proudly sitting on my shelf. Perhaps I should rebuild Furno too so he won't be alone anymore.
As @GSR_MataNui has stated, this theme has had a far bigger impact than most people give it credit for. At the very least, it definitely had a huge impact on me.
@Mr__Thrawn said:
"Ah yes, the Hero Factory line where they all looked like animals and had abnormally swollen hands"
Wait, this is that wave? I remember seeing the sets for those and think it was kind of cool that some had a wolf or lion or whatever theme going. This guy just looks generically spiky, like he's just jumped out of Halo
Honestly, up to this day I still believe that 6203 Black Phantom is the most menacing-looking character from Hero Factory.
Regarding Stormer, not much to say about him, always thought that Furno was the leader of their little police gang but I guess not. Honestly, Stormer seems pretty weak of a character, 6230 Stormer XL on the other hand...
I read the title really quickly and thought for a second that it was "Stoner 3.0".
It's Stormer, and it's the set of the day, so it's daily. Not a good combination.
@Brickalili said:
" @Mr__Thrawn said:
"Ah yes, the Hero Factory line where they all looked like animals and had abnormally swollen hands"
Wait, this is that wave? I remember seeing the sets for those and think it was kind of cool that some had a wolf or lion or whatever theme going. This guy just looks generically spiky, like he's just jumped out of Halo"
This one's supposed to be a rhino, but you can only really tell from the side of the helmet, not the front
At least he has more personality than the 2.0 version (2063 ). That guy is one of the blandest figures I own.
From this wave I only really liked 2231 Waspix at first. Those extra arms were great for a first CCBS set and allowed customization and alt builds with that set alone. The 3.0 heroes felt like the animal theming was slapped on and an excuse to give them meelee weapons. The animals ranged in execution. Witch doctor and Rocka XL looked like they were fighting the CCBS system to bring titans. I later got both at seperate times.
2282 Rocka XL is okay, basically the Fire Lord done right. And spikier. And edward scissorhands... Notably the head works better there than on the 3.0 figure 2282 because of its size.
2283 Witch Doctor on the other hand... A near-masterpiece. The weird doubled joints on his legs WORK, and the figure is about the same size as 75112 General Grievous, which was already huge for the system but came out years later.
As much as I know there was a large amount of distaste for hero factory as a whole, I actually very much enjoyed a lot of their sets. I also know many people were not as thrilled with the new figure parts the diverged away from the intricacies of bionicle, and that I understand a bit more. General Grievous was a perfect combo of the two styles and I wish we got more stuff like that. I still enjoy the new system though
@BrickHelix:
Granted, I’d even dropped out of Bionicle by 2004, but Hero Factory’s CCBS felt like the paint-by-numbers of constraction. It’s largely just frames and shells. And random spikes. They needed something they could endlessly recycle into new shapes without blowing through the pile of new molds the first few years of Bionicle were famous for.
10 years... Where did the time go? I remember getting him as well as a few others from the jungle wave for christmas in 2011. Good memories :)
Echoing all the posts that are shocked this was 10 years ago. Hard to believe. And I still do miss Hero Factory. It was a lot of fun.