Hero Factory 3.0 2011 Savage Planet Sets

Recently the new Hero Factory sets for Summery 2011 were shown at the 2011 Toy Fair.  Check out the following links for pictures:

Hero Factory 3.0 Images on lekgodt.no

Hero Factory 3.0 Images on figures.com
(3.0 images start on the second page)

Hero Factory 3.0 Images on coolthings.com

Hot on the heels of the 2.0 sets these Hero Factory 3.0 sets look similar to the 2.0 sets, but perhaps have some improvements.  Based on the images here are some differences and points we can see:

1. The sets are planned for August release.
2. The heroes have a suggested price of $7.99, which is the same as the 2.0 sets.
3. The ball and socket system introduced with the 2.0 sets continues.
4. The body frame seems to remain the same, but some of the sets show the use of grey pieces instead of the full black framework of the 2.0 sets.  We'll have to wait until their release to see if this remains the same.
5. The sets seem to use the 2.0 heads, but do not look like they have the 3rd mask/eyepiece that the 2.0 sets have.  Instead they have distinct masks.  Whether the masks connect directly to the head or if there is still a 3rd piece connecting them remains to be seen.
6. The heroes seem to follow an animal theme:
1. Stormer = Rhino
2. Furno = Hawk
3. Bulk = Wolf
4. Stringer = Bear
5. Nex = Tiger
6. Rocka = Lion
7. Bulk and Stringer are back.  Strangely Bulk is a wolf and Stringer is a bear.
8. Stormer, Furno and Nex carry over from the 2.0 sets, which means Surge, Breez and Evo are left out this time.
9. Rocka is a new hero and also has a titan sized version called Rocka XL.
10. Each of the heroes have a translucent green armor piece that shows their name and animal.
11. It appears that Rocka and Nex's armor has more than 1 color.  Where the heroes of the 2.0 sets contained armor of 1 color (white, red, blue, yellow, orange, green), Rocka and Nex have their colored armor plus some grey (Nex) or black (Rocka) pieces.
12. Stringer has an orange under armor
13. Stringer and Stormer appear to have larger armor pieces on their arms.  It looks like the same armor as their under body armor.
14. Furno has no armor on his thigh, but does seem to have additional wing-like attachments on his arms.
15. All the hero body armor appear to use the same molds as the 2.0 sets.
16. There is a new type of shield mold that looks like it can have claw appendages attached to it.
17. Heroes with shields only come with 1 hand like the 2.0 sets.
18. The container caps are green instead of orange.
19. Bulk appears to have a new type of weapon attachment that attaches to his arm armor using the double peg socket.
20. All the villians except for the Witch Doctor are animal or insect-like.
1. Fangz = Dog/Wolf
2. Waspix = Wasp
3. Raw Jaw = Dog?
4. Scorpio = Scorpion
21. The villains seem to have a new armor accessory that looks like 3 spiked plates and attaches using the 2 peg socket.  
22. The villains also show other new armor accessories that look similar to what Rocka XL, Bulk and Furno have.

I'm not sure if all of the sets shown are final or if these are all the sets that will be released this summer.  From what I can see the heroes are very similar to the 2.0 heroes.  There are more colors and some new pieces mostly in the form of accessories that attach to the armor.  I like the new helmets as they give each hero a distinct look like the 1.0 helmets did (and which the 2.0 visors did not).  I wish a few of the heroes had a unique chest armor piece as well, like the 1.0 ones did.

The villains are much different than the 2.0 villains.  These new villains are all animal-like whereas the 2.0 villains were humanoid.  Waspix seems to be the closest to a humanoid other than the Witch Doctor.

The titan sized sets Rocka XL and the Witch Doctor seem to improve upon how the Fire Lord was built, though it's hard to tell if it is really an improvement or not.