AFOLs (Adult Fans Of LEGO) are a clannish bunch. Some focus on vignettes, miniature scenes that tell a story. There are microbuilders who craft amazingly intricate models the size of your hand. Not to mention minifig-scale builders, Castle aficionados, train fanatics, and so on.This article has been reproduced in a new format and may be missing content or contain faulty links. to report an issue. Then there are manga builders. A Flickr search shows over 2,700 photos of LEGO manga creations. Internet rumor suggests this fanatical fan base, as well as LEGO bricks’ ability to readily depict the robotic form, drove the creation of the Exo-Force line. Imagine giant battle machines crewed by big-haired martial artists battling sinister foes who — needless to say, have their own fantastic vehicles. But more than just robot models, Exo-Force sports an in-house mythology (much as Bionicle does) to provide a back story behind the bots: In ancient times, humans and robots lived in harmony on Sentai Mountain.
But the robots revolted, releasing uncontrollable forces that split the mountain in half! The robots were cast into the gorge, but they lived on while the humans built bridges between the two halves of the peak. Now, the robots have risen again to occupy half of the mountain. More powerful than ever, they have just one aim—to completely drive humanity from Sentai Mountain. But they’ll have to defeat the EXO-FORCE to do it! Entrenched in their fortress near the Tenchi Bridge, each of the four young martial artists is armed with a unique battle machine. When a member of the EXO-FORCE “powers up” his battle machine, he’s insulated in armor and ready to take on the evil robots with a unique range of weapons. The story of EXO-FORCE is a story about conflict … heroes … bravery in the face of overwhelming odds … mystery … and the ultimate battle of humans vs. machines. The showdown taking place on this mountain may well be the first spark in a firestorm that will engulf the world!
First introduced in 2006, there are already five chapter books (since discontinued by Scholastic) and nearly forty online comics featuring ten or so central characters. There are even a number of two-minute commercials that ran on Nickolodeon and can be viewed on the LEGO website. In addition to the associated products, LEGO has upped the ante with some pretty sophisticated models. For example, the Hybrid Rescue Tank uses internal gearboxes to turn the gatling gun when the tank’s treads roll, and a small knob on the side rotates the turret. Many of the models carry transforming secondary craft like drones. Both the Storm Lasher and the Hybrid Rescue Tank have insectoid UAVs that launch from the vehicles dorsal area. In addition, the rescue tank’s turret even sprouts wings and becomes a fighter. The Dark Panther can launch three robot soldiers with jetpacks! A lot of the Exo-Force bots resemble classic anthroform walkers. For instance, the River Dragon has the obligatory arms and legs and giant guns.
However, LEGO mixes it up with a lot of interesting variants. The Dark Pather, true to its name, resembles a cat. There’s a six-legged Arachnoid Stalker whose cockpit launches as a mini fighter and has a robot drone as well. The Storm Lasher is a great dual-rotored helicopter with nasty dragonfly pinchers and a robot drone. Yes, Exo-Force does harken to the classic humanoid robot, but there’s a lot of variety as well. And finally, in a tip of the hat to the genre’s long-standing tradition of transforming robots, LEGO provides downloadable PDF instructions on reconfiguring the robots into new models, either individually or as a combination of multiple Exo-Force sets. Share your video games moments with us. Be creative and build models or scenes from the games, perhaps your own level or help others by sharing a screen shot?Tyler Sky has been thinking about Friends minidolls and the retired LEGO Exo-Force theme, and perhaps eating a little too much cheese before bed. “What if Exo-Force continued to evolve, and then got assimilated by Friends?”
These six Exo-Friends were the result. The minidolls look very cute with their new hair styles even if some of their exosuits are rather more intimidating. We have an eye-catching lime exosuit, loosely-based on the alternate build suggestion for 7712 Supernova. Those clawed toes look very flexible and give the impression this Exo-Friends character is not limited by gravity and can climb any obstacle. My own favourite comes next with a balanced mix of Bionicle and System elements all rolled into one. The blues compliment the Pearl Grey very nicely, making for the most classical mecha-looking of all the Exo-Friends. This yellow Exo-Friend was inspired by [amazon_textlink asin=’B000NO9FHC’ text=’LEGO 8106 Aero Booster’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’tbbwpplugin-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’b47fbdeb-f83e-11e6-9401-9ff3660e2b43′]. The roller-feet deserve a special mention. This looks like a speedy mecha with a handy snowboard attached… just in case.
The tallest of the Exo-Friends comes next and represents Tyler’s impression of the next level of evolution in the theme. However, I can’t help but think this minidoll is wearing her father’s suit! Good positioning of a tiny kitty for scale. I know you are busy being an Exo-Friend and everything, but I only have half a bowl of nibbles left. This purple and lilac tracked Exo-Friend is more of a vehicle than a suit, and is loosely-based on [amazon_textlink asin=’B000Y8GSDG’ text=’LEGO 8118 Hybrid Rescue Tank’ template=’ProductLink’ store=’tbbwpplugin-20′ marketplace=’US’ link_id=’faaf3aa2-f83d-11e6-977c-37d07752f0dd’]. I love the bunny providing top-cover on the roof mounted weapons system. Finally, on the far right is Tyler’s spiky azure suit. This suit is not based on any particular set but was an attempt to capture in an “out of this world vehicle” that would fit into a Japanese animé cartoon. If there was a points system for hairstyle matching your exo-suit then this one would definitely win.