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    Discuss This Story ReviewWednesday, December 21st, 2011 at 8:59pm by Benjamin, BZPower Reporter

    Our fiery leader of the Hero Factory heroes dives underwater in pursuit of more baddies. Here we see an under-water-ready Furno equipped with the latest armor and weapons, but will it be enough for any new challenges he must face? Read on for a review of Furno, simply Furno.

    Presentation
    From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.

    Bag Front Bag back Bag size comparison

    The container, like the others in our 2012 Hero Factory reviews so far, is a shiny plastic bag. Not a canister, not a box, but a thick, plastic bag. It sure it a pain to get into though�scissors are required. No more building it in the car ride home. Also surprising is that its size is larger than Jawblade's bag�I would assume this is also reflected in both of their prices if I knew them.

    Everything we've come to expect is displayed on the front except for a piece count. How peculiar and inconvenient. But Furno looks fantastic as he breezes through the water, being chased by a Jawblade seen in the background. Maybe it's a game of tag? The back looks cool too, showing off the modified Zamor launcher-like gun and other features, like the fact that points can be had on the HF website. The outside of the set looks attractive. So far, so good. But what about what is inside? Are the pieces worth the purchase? Is the overall build and set going to be a good use of your building time? Only one way to find out...

    Building
    Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

    Contents Pieces!

    Inside we see a sizable amount of pieces consisting of red, just like one would expect from Furno. There are also some bits of black, grey and silver thrown in there like any usual set these days, but there is also...white? And a transparent orange piece (maybe like the transparent green armor from 3.0). These pieces definitely stand out, but luckily the other pretty pieces distract from any unsettling thoughts pre-build.

    Isn Looking good so far

    Immediately we can see that Furno is going to be significantly taller than the standard Hero because of his extra long limbs. The rest of the build goes along as a standard HF design and pace�nothing too interesting aside from pieces placed here and there.

    You put your left arm in You put your right arm in

    The armor starts piling on and suddenly Furno looks like he can pack quite a punch.

    Chest connection

    What was especially nice about the design of the new chest armor was how snugly the joints fit with it. However, later in the build those will move around, but being flush at the beginning was one of the (few) interesting points of the build.

    Almost done

    With each step, Furno becomes bigger and bulkier. Now some propellers and tubing appear, quite worthy equipment for someone who is going to dive deep.

    Right angle Left angle Front

    The final result is a stern-looking character, ready to get to the bottom of the situat...ocean. Surely nothing can pierce through his armor, and he has plenty of defenses should he find his foes.

    Set Design
    Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.

    Cool pieces Handcuffs

    There are some new pieces, mainly the chest plate and the gun piece. The flames on the chest plate are painted on, they do not come as stickers. For me, that is a big disappointment that will have to be overcome in MOCs. Other fancy HF pieces come with Furno, perhaps in a new color, which I find are noteworthy. Most interesting however would be the new handcuff piece. The trans-orange armor, however out of place, and the return of the original Furno helmet are both cool as well.

    Zamor Gun

    The revamped Thornax-turned-Zamor-launcher is pretty awesome. It is a more modern, Hero-worthy take on the weapon. Unfortunately the zamor ball does not stay inside any better than a regular Thornax launcher would hold it.

    He means business

    What we have is a heavily-armored fellow that means business. But will armor be enough? He has a pretty sweet gun, but that is possibly the only highlight of the entire build, aside from pieces. His left hand is completely empty and I can not help but wish he had something sharp in it.

    Right Front Left Back

    Try as I might to like this guy, the lack of more white clashes with the red, the transparent orange piece looks out of place, and the silver is really just one big chunk on his left arm. There are some cool ideas here, but not enough to prove interesting and where LEGO tried, they fell short.

    Playability
    The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with.

    What

    Playability is what you make of it. He has a high-functioning zamor launcher, he can arrest baddies with handcuffs, and he is all ready to dive underwater. He poses pretty well, showing off his armor or his gun, or both. But beyond that, he does not really do much. No extra claws, sleek sword, or whatever else he could have. Booooooring.

    Final Thoughts
    Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

    Furno offers no challenges in building and very few surprises. He has some neat pieces though that are certainly a nice addition to my collection. He will look cool posed on a shelf, but not that cool. Seeing him now, I would not buy him. There are more interesting characters coming out this year with nice builds and pieces too.

    Pros
    What's to like?

    • New pieces
    • Cool, old pieces
    • Poses well
    • Ready to dive underwater.
    • Zamor gun
    • Handcuffs

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    • Good ideas, poorly executed.
    • Basic build
    • Weird color scheme
    • Does not do much.

    There you have it. Be sure to give you own thoughts in the talkback topic and feel free to compare him to the other Heroes that are set out to save the galaxy.

    Bust shotDiscuss This Story

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