REVIEW: Lego Hero Factory - Evo 4.0 (Breakout)

Produced by Lego | Released December 2012

“Attention EVO! The evil villains have broken out of the Hero Factory and we have to recapture them, fast! We've equipped you with a powerful plasma shooter, anti-toxic power boots and tank arm, so you have everything you need to cuff them and put them back behind bars where they belong!”

Evo 4.0/Breakout

Evo 4.0 is the second Lego Hero Factory toy to get the Review treatment here at That Figures. In order to save some repetition, I'd suggest you read the Bulk 3.0 Review, as it covers the basics of the Hero Factory line and gives you more insight into their design and construction.

Packaging

I was a little disappointed to see Lego had done away with the excellent canister-style packaging for the release of the Breakout line (AKA Wave 4.0) and has instead opted to use a resealable foil bag, which - to be honest - is a bit of a misstep in my view. I'm guessing it's to keep costs down or for environmental purposes, but it's a shame they did away with the very cool solid canisters of previous waves.

As with the earlier packaging, there's very little in the way of character bio or story detail. I kind of like that, as it encourages the buyer to instead make-up a background for the character - although of course, for those who'd prefer to have a back-story, the Lego Hero Factory website provides that. And more...

Sculpt and Design

As you'd imagine, Evo 4.0 must - like the other Hero Factory toys - be assembled before you can play with him. The actual construction is pretty simple (and even includes a firing weapon!) so you can have your figure ready to pose within a matter of minutes. And as he uses the same basic skeleton design as the previously-seen Bulk 3.0 and many other figures in the line, construction time will be even shorter for those with experience of the other toys.

The only minor stumbling block in his construction is the fact that his forearms are asymmetrical (due to the presence of the arm-mounted gun) and the instructions aren't quite as clear as they could be on this point. I'd pretty much built the basic figure before I realised I'd mixed-up the arms. However, it's pretty easy to simply switch the two should you need to do so.

Overall, Evo 4.0's design is very cool. Unlike Bulk 3.0, this Hero is an ''out-and-out'' robot in terms of his design (Bulk 3.0 had ''wolf powers'' that were reflected in his design.) I'm reminded somewhat of the designs from 2000AD's ABC Warriors or Metalzoic, which is a good thing. Ironically, he's bulkier and heavier-looking than Bulk 3.0, but that's a cool look and I like it.

Evo 4.0 looks every bit the powerful battle robot, due mostly to the large arm-mounted cannon - or Tank Arm - he sports. This piece - despite being huge and featuring a number of armoured plates - is surprisingly light and flexible, allowing you to pose the figure with ease. He didn't, for example, tip over when the limb was extened and the flexibility allowed for a wide range of poses (more on that below.)

Perhaps coolest of all is the fact that the cannon actually works and will launch the included plasma ball projectile. Rather than using some kind of spring-loaded mechanism, the cannon is fired by pressing the two horizontal pieces together and essentially squeezes the ball out - with some gusto, I might add. If you happen to pick-up an Evo 4.0 for yourself and you've yet to fire the cannon, be wary, as it's a lot more powerful than you'd expect!

In a change from the 3.0 range, the figures in the Breakout/4.0 wave feature transparent, tinted head pieces, over which their helmets/masks are laid. It's a very cool effect, especially when the light catches the head from behind and causes the exposed eye/facial elements to glow. And again, Evo 4.0's head is much more robotic than the 3.0 figures' animal-influenced designs.

Evo 4.0 also includes two ''holding pins'' that can be slotted into the smaller ports on his body and used to hold his cuffs (see below.) It's a neat, simple solution that allows you to store his gear with ease. Interestingly, the instructions only make reference to one pin, though...

If I did have a criticism of the overall design it's that Evo 4.0 has a more ''toy-like'' design about him than the Bulk 3.0 figure we looked at earlier. My guess is that that's down to the colouring (see below) more than anything, especially as his weapon arm looks very cool. And like Bulk 3.0, the lack of rear paneling does make him look very odd when viewed from behind...

These minor points aside, though, this is a very cool-looking toy - especially if you're into your robots.

Articulation

The articulation set-up is pretty much identical to the Bulk 3.0 set-up - so in other words, it's very good. Even the gun arm - despite its armour plating and overall size - is flexible and features a ''wrist joint'' to maximise movement.

Evo 4.0 is also very steady on his feet (thanks to the super-mobile ankle joints) and you'll find yourself pretty much able to pose him in any stance or position you can imagine. As mentioned before, the gun arm is surprisingly light and doesn't put him off-balance in any manner. 

Paint

The only real complaint I have about Evo 4.0's appearance is his colour palette. The bright yellow used is a very, very strong, primary colour and although it helps highlight the sculpt detail, it does look more like something from the Bob The Builder line of toys than a butt-kicking robot.

On the plus-side, the gun-metal and gray pieces look cool and - in a feature introduced with this Wave - Evo 4.0 sports a tampo transfer chest design. It's a cool little touch that adds a little extra detail to the slightly kiddy-ish plastic of his torso and helps break it up somewhat.

Extras and Accessories

As well as including an instruction manual, Evo 4.0 comes with a pair of Hero Cuffs, which can be used to restrain escaped criminals and villains. The cuffs - which must be assembled - feature a flexible chain-link set-up and two cuffs, both of which fit easily over the figure's wrists, in his hands and into the storage pins.

Whilst the cuffs are hardly the most complex of accessories, it's nice at least to have the option to display the figure (and play) with them.

Final Thoughts

It's really difficult to say much that hasn't already been said in the Bulk 3.0 Review. Evo 4.0 is another very cool-looking, fun and well-designed toy. Yes, he has the same flaws as Bulk 3.0 (which are inherent in the line due to the way the toys are constructed) and it would be awesome if I could say Lego has fixed these issues in the new wave. But even with the lack of a waist joint, the absence of a few extra pieces to help customise the toy and the weird open-backed design, this is still a very cool figure.

If you're a fan of robots and you like construction toys, then you'll get a kick out of Evo 4.0 for sure. I've already started playing around and combining my two Hero Factory figures and even with the limited amount of parts I (currently...!) have, it's still a lot of fun. And I think that's what's so great about these toys - there's a huge sense of fun about them - which I like.

Evo 4.0 may not be to everybody's tastes aesthetically or conceptually but if you're looking for a fun, construction toy that's also a very cool-looking robot, then you could do worse than grab yourself this toy.

Scores

Sculpt and Design	A-
Articulation	A-
Paint	B
Extras and Accessories	B
Final Score	A-

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