Random set of the day: Bulk and Vapour
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 7179 Bulk and Vapour, released during 2010. It's one of 15 HERO Factory sets produced that year. It contains 89 pieces, and its retail price was US$24.99/£19.99.
It's owned by 558 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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It's Hero Time!
Will this have the same level of Lore as Bionicle? Also, those are some sweet cuban heels.
Never seen any solid vapour, but if it's possible, it's possible, I guess.
Are we suuuuuuuuure that this isn't just a picture of it as a solid *before* it vapourized?
From before Hero Factory got the revolutionary articulation that was initially promised.
Doesn't look a thing like 'Bulk'...and besides: Where's 'Skull'...:D
Man, it somehow slipped my mind that the first year of HERO Factory had no printed parts, to the extent of quite a few of them featuring substantial sticker sheets. Just. Not ideal.
I'll say it. I like Zamor spheres.
My man out here toting dual Meteor Blasters.
@Randomness:
Sometimes you think you’re going to let out a little vapor, and you get some bulk instead.
@MeisterDad:
A member of my LUG got a bag of them for use in Great Ball Contraption, only to discover they were just a bit larger than two studs in diameter, which is spec for the format. So he was left with a sack full of blue balls.
The 'lore' of this set is that the 'Bulk' used in this set was retconned into the hero Thresher, one of the very first Heroes created and part of the original Alpha Team (no, not that Alpha Team.) He was featured heavily in the book 'Legion of Darkness' as a mentor to Stormer and was later involved in Von Ness' desertion from the Hero Factory, becoming the villain Von Nebula and being the primary antagonist of the 2010 storyline.
@PurpleDave said:
" @Randomness:
Sometimes you think you’re going to let out a little vapor, and you get some bulk instead.
@MeisterDad:
A member of my LUG got a bag of them for use in Great Ball Contraption, only to discover they were just a bit larger than two studs in diameter, which is spec for the format. So he was left with a sack full of blue balls."
I had something similar. I was doing the little modular marble run from JK brickworks, and asked if anyone had some balls for it. Was given a bag of red Zamor spheres. Luckily I found enough soccerballs to make it work.
Duncan Bulk was a longstanding member of the Alpha Team at HERO Factory, serving as the team's heavy muscle. During this 1.0 phase of HERO Factory, one of the more notable things Bulk did was push Mark Surge out of the way of some falling debris. While Surge got out unscathed, Bulk ended up trapped under some steel beams and Stringer and Surge were forced to protect him from the villain Corroder until help arrived. While low on book-smarts, Bulk has a great deal of emotional intelligence, and always seems to know what to say to keep his teammates happy in their offtime and calm during danger.
This set's model of Bulk with a jetpack and extra gun was recolored green and used as Thresher for the HERO Factory TV show. In fact, I've heard some say this set's parts were changed from green to silver late in production for unknown reasons, but can't confirm the validity of that.
Thresher was the original leader of Alpha Team. Long ago he led a mission to New Stellac City to stop a giant rampaging robot* alongside rookies Preston Stormer and Von Ness. During the fight, Thresher was injured and taken out of the fight. Fearing they couldn't win, Ness fled the scene in their dropship and deserted the HERO Factory, eventually becoming the villain Von Nebula. Stormer managed to single handedly defeat the giant robot and save the city.
Some years after this battle it was time for Thresher's retirement. Thresher refused to quit hero work whole turkey, and so was instead sent to a planet in the far reaches of the galaxy to act as security on a top secret mission. While whatever he was guarding out there was certainly important, it required far less physical exertion than full duty. After Thresher retired, Stormer took over Alpha Team.
Vapor/Vapour Is the one HERO Factory villain with no real lore. We know he works for Von Nebula and Bulk once had to take him into custody with a jetpack, as this set depicts. He gets his name from his weapons, which can fire a corrosive mist that melts whatever it touches. His only appearance in the main story was as a wanted poster on a TV monitor in an episode of the TV show.
*And you know what, lets throw in some BIONICLE lore while we're at it. During BIONICLE's run, LEGO held a series of canon contests to design characters that would appear exclusively in the books/online serials. One of the winners of these contests was a giant robot, but shortly after the contest was finished BIONICLE was cancelled. LEGO decided to recycle the giant robot's design for an antagonist in the HERO Factory TV show, leading to the New Stellac Drone.
What book character this contest was for hasn't been flat out confirmed, but most of the BIONICLE community has agreed it had to have been Marendar. When the Great Beings originally built the Matoran Universe, they came to fear the Toa's power. Some of the Great Beings decided to build a machine resistant to elemental powers, programed to hunt down and kill Toa if they were ever detected on the planet. The result was Marendar. Other Great Beings disagreed with this plan and were enraged such a destructive thing would be created. Eventually the two compromised by sealing the machine away in a vault.
During the unfished Story Serials, one of the dangling plot threads was Marendar activating and breaking out of his vault before the Great Beings could stop him. How many Toa he killed and weather or not he was stopped remain a mystery.
Interestingly enough, this was the only Hero Factory set to be released as a retail exclusive. While pretty much every Bionicle wave got at least one, or even two retail exclusive sets, this was the only time they did it for Hero Factory.
It's not a particularly amazing set, but the recolors of the Rotor mask and the Corroder blades were pretty nice.
To me this is the most forgettable one of the first year after the dropship.
Fun fact: both of Bulk's arms are hollow shells meant to convey specialized arm attachments from the regular Duncan Bulk and Jimi Stringer sets. The result is that this Bulk has no actual arms or hand parts.
@LegoDavid said:
"Interestingly enough, this was the only Hero Factory set to be released as a retail exclusive. While pretty much every Bionicle wave got at least one, or even two retail exclusive sets, this was the only time they did it for Hero Factory.
It's not a particularly amazing set, but the recolors of the Rotor mask and the Corroder blades were pretty nice. "
Over here the drophip and Furno bike were both 'exclusives'. I.e. they where not available for regular release.
Initially I was confused that the one called Bulk was in fact not the bigger looking robot; but in fairness Bulk is definitely chunkier than his somewhat gangly foe so probably does deserve the name more
Finally a set I have! Found 3 of these in a store at a museum maybe 3-4 years ago. Sealed but boxes weren’t looking that good anymore. Went for retail (!) price. Still have them boxed
My two favourite Spice Girls
@MeisterDad: I'd say they were better than squid launchers, but that's a very low bar to clear. I liked Zamor spheres, but preferred them to use the launchers that were designed for them; the Thornax launchers worked better with a Thornax fruit in them, as it could hold on better due to the Thornax' ring around the perimeter.
Ahh here's another set with great memories! Got this for Christmas back in 2010! Good times...
Paul Schrier looks different than I remember.
@Jackthenipper said:
"My two favourite Spice Girls"
They can probably sing better, at least…
@Brickmasterboy said:
"Finally a set I have! Found 3 of these in a store at a museum maybe 3-4 years ago. Sealed but boxes weren’t looking that good anymore. Went for retail (!) price. Still have them boxed"
Are you willing to sell one of those? :) Been hunting this one down to complete the HF collection.