Review:Stringer 3.0

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Review:Stringer 3.0
Review Information
Name	Stringer 3.0
Set Number	2183
Number of Reviews	2
Side	Heroes
Colors	Black, Orange-Yellow
Weapons	Multi-Functional Claw
Number of Pieces	30
Availability	Available Summer 2011

Review 1

This review was bought to you by: KingDonfin ^{For every choice has a large and often unforeseen repercussion.}

Well, I had some Christmas money left over, so I decided to purchase Nex 3.0 and Stringer 3.0. At the start of the series, I was unsure I wanted to buy any of the sets, but my mind was soon changed by a friend who bought Bulk 3.0.

Box/Instructions

The box in the Savage Planet series offers the same general aesthetic look as the previous Hero Factory boxes. The artwork for Stringer is set on Quatros and it stars a very grumpy looking Stringer. Oh wait, Stringer was never grumpy!!! The forest itself is quite a spectacle, and in the background we can see Stormer and Furno jumping out of a Hero Craft. When we flip the box, we see a rather awesome combiner of Stringer and Nex (lucky I bought him too).

As for the instructions we have your average Hero build. The steps are fairly simple and I had no need to use them. At the end of the instruction manual we can see the epic combiner model I mentioned earlier, an advertisement for the Comic Builder and a ad for the Hero Recon Team. I also noticed that a sticker was included with the set with Hero Recon Team on it.

Parts

The pieces found in the set Stringer are amazing. He is the first black Hero from the 2.0 and 3.0 series so he is great for MOCing. He comes with the standard Hero body pieces, but his left arm is shorter then the right (probably to compensate for the loss of his hand). He also comes with two of the pieces that are at the bottom of the Hero Core Armor piece (one rests on his shoulder). This makes him look amazing and bulkier then Bulk is, which makes no sense to me, but then again he is a bear and Bulk is a wolf. He comes with two of the 2.0 spikes, one on his claw and one on his shoulder piece. His claw in itself is an amazing weapon. You have the freedom to swap the weapon around to change it into a different style of weapon, which is cool for us MOCers. The piece on the back with the spike is a bit...odd, but it would be good for a backhanded slap :) Stringer’s helmet is also a very cool piece, although he looks uncharacteristically angry. They’ve obviously put a lot of effort into this piece as there is so much detail. It mimics the teeth well and the ears of a bear. Another main point is the colour that Stringer is in. I’ve mentioned him being a black Hero, but the orangey-yellow really complements the black making it an amazing colour scheme. All in all, some really good pieces for MOCing and a new colour.

The Build

The build for this Hero is the same as the 2.0s, so nothing really new here. Something to note would be his weapon though as we haven’t come across that before, but it is fairly easy to master. Nex’s weapon, however, is harder to get right I though, but I’ll go into more detail with his review. Again I wish they wouldn’t use the new heads, I preferred the Agori/Glatorian styled heads. It is even more stupid when you realize that the 2012 heads are the old Agori ones! One good thing about Stringer’s build is that his helmet doesn’t fall off, which is really good!

Overall

Overall, wow. Stringer is amazing. He stands tall and proud, but he looks fierce. If you haven’t watched the TV Series then this probably doesn’t matter to you, but we Hero Factory fans know that Stringer is a really happy, positive character that jokes a lot. His colour scheme is, quite frankly, the best colour scheme any Hero has. Quoting my friend Matoro 1: “Everything looks better in black.” I would like to comment that the grey lower leg pieces look really out of place, they’ve already used these pieces in black on Surge 2.0, so why not use them? I really like Stringer, they’ve done him brilliantly.

Pros and Cons

Pros

• Colour Scheme
• Weapon is awesome
• Effort put into his helmet
• Large armor on his shoulder
• Black pieces, new for us MOCers

Cons

• Why is he angry?
• Green....shoulder....plate.

Final Words

Stringer is the (in my opinion) the best looking Hero to date. He comes geared with new colours and pieces and a really cool weapon. He’d get full marks if he didn’t look so angry and if he didn’t have the green plate, so 9/10 for you Stringer best set EVER!

Review 2

Review from Brickset by user: Kalhiki

I was originally going to get Nex, but since I got Stormer and I planned on getting Bulk, I thought I might as well complete the Alpha Team.

Box/Instructions

The box is, like all sets in this wave, a vibrant, eye-catching lime green. Stringer stands in a heroic pose with some glowing plants (possibly a fungus), Furno jumping from a Hero Craft, and Stormer in the background. The back features a Combiner with Nex along with the actual size Hero Core, and legal disclaimers.

Instructions feature the aforementioned combiner, an ad for Recon Team and the comic maker, and a picture of Bulk fighting Raw Jaw (not to mention the actual building steps).

Parts

The parts, while few are new molds, are great. Since he's the first black Hero with the 2.0 build, you get some much needed recolors. These include the black feet, size 3 cladding, Hero Chest Plate, and Keetorange (or medium yellow, I think) Head and Core. As far as new molds, he has the large cladding piece used for his weapon (in black), curved claws (which I'll call talons), and the Helmet. The nametag is worth mentioning which is the same layout as the other nametags with the animal (this time a black bear) under the name of the Hero. Like always, the name is stylized with a somewhat wing like design.

The helmet is a very nice piece. It's designed with the appearance of having teeth, which is cool. It also has two bumps on the top which look very mechanical, but could also be pictured as ears. Finally, he has a very low brow which gives him a very stern look. The only bad part about this is that the eye holes don't quite line up with his eyes.

As for other details, he has some dents (think golf ball) on his forehead and back sides of the helmet which could be reminiscent of a speaker, which carries over his "power" of sound from his 1.0 form.

The build

The build was the same as last wave and every other Hero in this wave. That's the only reason I rated it a three. Otherwise, it still is an interesting design, and I'd like to see where Lego can take it.

The completed model

Despite using the same build, the completed model looks fantastic. The black is so striking and really makes the Keetorange stand out and pop. Since he does use the same build we've seen, there isn't much to go over, but his weapon is worth looking at.

The Bear Claw (I always think of donuts when I say that) is wonderful. I love how the connection points are designed which causes the fingers to be angled giving it a more realistic movement. And since they're on hinges, he can grip, make a fist, point, and whatever else you can do with three fingers. the only part I don't like is the random spike on the back of the claw. I admit it, it would look bare (heh heh, get it, bare? 'Cuz, he's a bear? Nevermind...) without it, but something else probably would have looked better.

I do have some complaints, though. the design still suffers from the empty back, and this is more obvious since his under armor is a light color. And like I said before, the eyes of the head don't line up with the eye holes of the helmet.

Summary

Overall, Stringer does not disappoint. The figure is amazing, and I'm really glad I decided on him over Nex. The complaints I have can be overlooked, except for maybe his back, but if you have some extra parts, you could probably find a way to cover that up. So, I'd say definitely pick him up. Stringer has always been a fan favorite, and this new incarnation meets expectations.

5/5 highly recommended.