Lego Exo-Force

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LEGO Exo-Force is a LEGO toy line based on the popular mecha genre from Japanese manga and anime. Mecha fans have long used LEGO bricks to build both imaginative new designs and their interpretations of classic mecha, but Exo-Force is the first time LEGO has dedicated a whole toy line to this theme.

Contents 1 Story 2 Characters 2.1 Humans 2.2 Robots 3 Comics 4 Books 4.1 Chapter books 4.2 Other 5 Television episodes 6 Toys 6.1 2006 sets 6.2 2007 sets 6.3 Combined models 6.4 Key chains 6.5 Magnets 6.6 Promotional sets 7 Influences 8 Criticism 9 Trivia 10 Machine specs (more in depth) 11 External links

[edit] Story

The story of Exo-Force centers around the conflict between humans and machines. The story features the training and battles of brave young pilots using battle machines and teamwork to overcome overwhelming odds against an army of evil robots.

On Sentai (戦隊 "battle squad") Mountain, there was a peaceful civilization where advanced robots and the ancient way of life went hand in hand. But one day, a golden robot named Meca One led the robots to turn upon the humans. Fights between the humans and robots broke out, unleashing uncontrollable energies that split the mountain in two. The humans eventually overcame the robots, and cast them into the gorge.

The humans built bridges to link the two halves of the mountain, the most important of which was the Tenchi (天地 "heaven & earth") Bridge. Some humans, like Sensei Keiken, feared the robots might come back someday so he began to build armored battle machines for defense. But before the humans' preparations were complete, the robot legions, armed with battle machines of their own, caught the humans by surprise and quickly took over the southern half of the mountain. More powerful than ever, they have just one aim: to completely drive humanity from Sentai Mountain. Sensei Keiken hurriedly recruited new pilots to man the battle machines and Exo-Force was born!

The Exo-Force storyline for 2006 culminated in the Battle of Sentai Fortress when Meca One unleashed an all-out assault on the humans led by the Striking Venom. After a narrow victory, Keiken made the decision that Exo-Force was too vulnerable in Sentai Fortress and that they needed an "edge" to defeat the robots.

The 2007 storyline centers around Exo-Force's search for the legendary Golden City at the top of Sentai Mountain. Keiken's hope is that discovering this place of powerful technology will hold the key to defeating the robots. Takeshi, Hikaru, and Ryo were able to locate the Golden City and the powerful battle machines within it. They also discovered the existence of mysterious codes. However, Meca One has sent robots to tail the Exo-Force team into the Golden City ...

[edit] Characters

[edit] Humans

Although Exo-Force has many members, the LEGO sets and official storyline focus on the following characters.

Hikaru (光 light, shining) - Age: 18. Hikaru is serious, silent, and wants to win. He is highly skilled and prefers to work solo, but has learned to count on his teammates. Before joining Exo-Force, he did the risky work of a robot buster on a robot ranch. He was good at it, but he never bragged or expected a lot of applause for what he did. Cool and collected, Hikaru is the type who is often underestimated – the guy who lags behind early in the race and then comes out of nowhere to win.

Takeshi (武 military, warrior, chivalry) - Age: 19. Takeshi is grim, fierce, and a little crazy. It is tough to talk him into ever leaving the machine and taking a rest. Takeshi originally worked as a miner alongside some of the very robots that are now rebelling. He was separated from his family during his escape to the northern peak, and had no idea what happened to them. This had the effect of making Takeshi extremely driven and reckless in combat. After his family was rescued by Hikaru, Takeshi claims that he has "calmed down a lot."

Ryo (亮 bright, clear) - Age: 18. Ryo is an engineer that talks and moves fast. He was previously employed in a northern factory and is now part of Exo-Force's battle machine design team. He is a whiz with any kind of tool or circuit and specializes in repairs on the run. With the discovery of the Golden City and the massive computer therein, Ryo has become even more important to Exo-Force.

Ha-Ya-To (隼人 falcon person) - Age: 18. Ha-Ya-To is adventurous, a joker, and loves to fly. He's at his happiest and most comfortable in the air, even if it means putting himself in harm's way. He is addicted to the adrenaline rush of battle and usually has a joke on his lips no matter how bad the situation. He rarely talks about his past because his family and whole town were destroyed in the second robot rebellion.

Keiken (経験 experience) - As Exo-Force's founder and sensei, Keiken (Kai-Ken) is the stern parental figure to the Exo-Force team members, training them for battle and guiding them to be their best. It was he who first designed Meca One, the robot who is leading the rebellion against the humans.

Hitomi (瞳 pupil) - As the granddaughter of Sensei Keiken, she wants nothing more than to be a member of the Exo-Force, but her grandfather believes that it's too dangerous. Hitomi appears in the Exo-Force storyline for 2007 and she is to be featured in the Sentai Golden Tower set and fifth Exo-Force chapter book.

[edit] Robots

Meca One - Meca One is cold, ruthless, and arrogant. As the first robot to rebel against the humans, Meca One is now the leader of the revolution. While it realizes humans created robots, it believes that the robots deserve to rule because they are smarter and more powerful. Meca One has replicated itself as a safety measure, which makes it more difficult for Exo-Force to simply target Meca One and try to end the rebellion that way. It is also the only robot with an emotion function.

Devastator - Devastators are sly, cunning, and cruel. These silver robots are found in multiple colors, which are believed to be more advanced models, but so far none have been captured intact for study. Devastators have been known to go out of their way to cause damage to civilian dwellings, or to pursue wounded battle machines long distances just to finish them off. Exo-Force pilots have reported seeing Devastators of various colors.

Iron Drone - Iron Drones are strong and durable. As the foot soldiers for the robot army, they are very good at following orders, but terrible at improvising in an unexpected situation or devising any kind of strategy.

[edit] Comics

The Exo-Force story is told through a series of online comics on the official website. In 2007, a new comic is released approximately every month. Below is a list of the titles and release date of each episode.

#	Name	Release date
0	The First Battle	November 15, 2005
1	Stealth Hunter vs. Fire Vulture	January 5, 2006
2	Takeshi and Hikaru Continue the Battle	January 18, 2006
3	Hikaru's Mission	February 1, 2006
4	A Fierce Fight	February 16, 2006
5	Ryo's Experiment	March 2, 2006
6	Training Day	March 16, 2006
7	Dark Storm Rising	March 29, 2006
8	Assault on the Gate	April 12, 2006
9	The Blaze of Battle	April 26, 2006
10	A Desperate Plan	May 10, 2006
11	The Rescue	May 24, 2006
12	All-Out Attack	June 12, 2006
13	Assault on Robot H.Q.	June 22, 2006
14	Uplink Alone	July 4, 2006
15	Mobile Defense Tank in Action	July 18, 2006
16	Into the Mountain	August 1, 2006
17	Bridge Walker vs. White Lightning	August 16, 2006
18	Beginning of the End	August 29, 2006
19	Secret Strike	September 12, 2006
20	The Fall of Takeshi	September 26, 2006
21	Battle in the Sky	October 10, 2006
22	Origin of Exo-Force	October 24, 2006
23	Sensei's Secret	November 7, 2006
24	Eyes of the Enemy	November 26, 2006
25	The Final Battle	December 4, 2006
26	Epilogue	December 20, 2006
27	Quest for the Golden City	January 26, 2007
28	Mystery of the Codes	February 28, 2007
29	A New Battle Begins	March 27, 2007

[edit] Books

[edit] Chapter books

#	Name	Release date
1	Escape From Sentai Mountain	September 1, 2006
2	Attack of the Robots	December 1, 2006
3	Search for the Golden City	March 1, 2007
4	Ghost of the Past	June 2007
5	Race to the Golden City	September 2007
6	Title to be announced	December 2007

[edit] Other

Name	Release Date
Play-Along Sticker Storybook	September 1, 2006
Collector's Guide	March 1, 2007
Activity Book	June 1, 2007
Action Manual	September 2007

[edit] Television episodes

LEGO developed a series of long-format commercials composed of 5 two-minute episodes that aired on Nickelodeon and NickToons during late January 2006. The five episodes can be seen at the official website. The full-length Exo-Force video can be found at Ghost Digital Production House's website (the Danish studio responsible for Exo-Force animation). [1]

Title	Airdate
Legend of Sentai Mountain	January 23, 2006
Best of Human Exo-Force!	January 24, 2006
Harsh Training of Exo-Force?!	January 25, 2006
Failure of Exo-Force!	January 26, 2006
War Starts...!	January 27, 2006

[edit] Toys

The following list of LEGO Exo-Force sets includes all known official names found on packaging or in the official LEGO website and magazine. Note there are several battle machines and alternative models that have not been given official names by LEGO.

[edit] 2006 sets

7700 Stealth Hunter - Protected by a prototype stealth coating that makes it invisible to sensors, the Stealth Hunter uses its ultra-light exo-glider wings to fly undetected behind enemy lines and take out the robot targets using its dual-blade electro-sword and high-precision laser rifle. It has 8 cm (3") of intractium armor.

• Unit Designation: A.01 龍翼 (Dragon Wing)
• Minifig: Hikaru
• Alternative Model: Stealth Wasp

7701 Grand Titan - The Grand Titan is heavily armored with 20 cm (8") of intractium armor. It is equipped with an electro-magnetic pulse (EMP) "Fang" pincer and a rotating laser cannon.

• Unit Designation: L.01 龍牙 (Dragon Fang)
• Minifig: Takeshi
• Alternative Model: Titan Tracker

7702 Thunder Fury - Surprisingly fast given its size and 20 cm (8") of tenatium armor, the Thunder Fury's titanium razorblade powersaw (v2.0) and automatic high-density laser cannon make it a major threat to the humans of Sentai Mountain.

• Unit Designation: TF.7702
• Minifig: Devastator (Red)
• Alternative Model: Fire Fury

7703 Fire Vulture - The Fire Vulture is part of the air arm of the Robot rebellion. It has 10 cm (4") of tenatium armor and flies using a hyper-turbine jet engine mounted on its back. It is armed with a powerful long-range flamethrower and electro-vulture claws that can tear enemy armor to bits.

• Unit Designation: FV.7703
• Minifig: Devastator (Blue)
• Alternative Model: Hover Hawk

7704 Sonic Phantom - Powered by four nuclear engines, the Sonic Phantom is perfect at making quick, dangerous air raids with its wide-angle laser cannons, twin rotating laser guns, and missile launcher.

• Unit Designation: SP.7704
• Minifig: Devastator (Green)
• Alternative Model: Speeder Phantom

7705 Gate Assault - The humans must stop the robots from taking the First Gate. Ha-Ya-To pilots the Gate Defender micro battle machine to defend against the robots' Sentry II micro battle machine and R-1 Robot Rammer (a reconditioned mining vehicle).

• Gate Defender Unit Designation: A.02 鷹 (Falcon)
• Sentry II Unit Designation: 7705
• Minifigs: Ha-Ya-To, Human Soldier, 3 Iron Drones
• Alternative Models: Swift, Blockade Bulldozer

7706 Mobile Defense Tank - Armed with machine laser cannons and an energy disc launcher, this tracked vehicle is designed to battle the robots on even the roughest terrain.

• Unit Designation: AT.02 登山車 (Climb Mountain Vehicle)
• Minifigs: Ryo, Human Soldier
• Alternative Model: Advance Tactical Unit

7707 Striking Venom - A massive mobile battle station, Striking Venom can carry and recharge robots in battle. Its shovels are used for digging in and hiding to surprise its enemies.

• Unit Designation: SV.7707
• Minifigs: Meca One, 6 Iron Drones, Devastator (upper body only)
• Alternative Model: Frontline Barricade

7708 Uplink - In addition to being a battle machine, the Uplink is designed to be a "medic" for other battle machines. It contains a wide-array of built-in maintenance equipment which can get a damaged battle machine up and running rapidly.

• Unit Designation: AT.01 虎 (Tiger)
• Minifig: Ryo
• Alternative Model: Link Transporter

7709 Sentai Fortress - The robot army is attacking Sentai Fortress! Meca One pilots his personal battle machine, Venom One (note: Venom One is a fan-created name, not an official name from Lego), and is accompanied by two Iron Drones and a mini Venom Walker. To counter-attack, Hikaru pilots a full-sized blue battle machine, the Silent Strike.

• Silent Strike Unit Designation: A.04 天王 (Sky King)
• Minifigs: Keiken, Hikaru, Takeshi, Ryo, Ha-Ya-To, Meca One, 2 Iron Drones
• Alternative Models: Sentai Tower, Blightrunner

7711 Sentry - The mass-produced Sentries attack in large numbers to overwhelm opponents. The robots fully expect that most Sentries sent into battle will not come back, and they do not care – they will just make more.

• Unit Designation: 7711
• Minifig: Iron Drone
• Alternative Model: Laser Sentry

7712 Supernova - Powered by the sun, Supernova uses its solar-powered laser staff and double-barreled laser cannon to defeat the robots.

• Unit Designation: L.02 炎王 (Flame King)
• Minifig: Takeshi
• Alternative Model: Nova Crawler

7713 Bridge Walker vs. White Lightning - Ha-Ya-To pilots the White Lightning to take on Meca One's Bridge Walker.

• White Lightning Unit Designation: A.03 白雷 (White Thunder)
• Bridge Walker Unit Designation: BW.7713
• Minifigs: Ha-Ya-To, Meca One, 2 Devastators
• Alternative Models: Fire Eagle, Raven Attacker

[edit] 2007 sets

7714 Golden Guardian - Discovered in a secret Golden City vault, the Golden Guardian is a legendary battle machine that has been assigned to Ha-Ya-To who uses it to protect the Golden Tower. Although initially land-bound, the Golden Guardian has been fitted with jump jets to enable it to make rocket-powered leaps and even fly for short distances. It is armed with a massively powerful mega-cannon arm and a nearly impenetrable blast shield.

• Unit Designation: A.11 金武 (Gold Warrior)
• Minifig: Ha-Ya-To

8100 Cyclone Defender - Found by Ryo in the Golden Tower, the Cyclone Defender has 6" of zaylium armor, a variable-pulse blaster and rotating bladed defense shield.

• Unit Designation: AT.10 虎 (Tiger)
• Minifig: Ryo

8101 Claw Crusher - Armored with 8" of tenatium armor and armed with rotating blaster cannons and gigantic ripping claws, these mass-produced mini battle machines are a great threat in close combat.

• Unit Designation: 8101
• Minifig: Devastator

8102 Blade Titan - Massively armored with 12" of zaylium armor, this battle machine carries an arsenal of heavy-duty weapons including a multi-barreled proton cannon and double-bladed assault shield that expands and rotates automatically.

• Unit Designation: L.10 銳刃 (Sharp Blade)
• Minifig: Takeshi

8103 Sky Guardian - This multi-winged, jet-powered battle machine has 5" zaylium armor and is the fastest and most agile opponent the robots have ever faced. What the Sky Guardian’s long-range launching energy sphere and particle beam rifle does not take care of, its massive armor-slicing energy sword will!

• Unit Designation: A.10 音速 (Sound Speed)
• Minifig: Hikaru

8104 Shadow Crawler - The Shadow Crawler is armed with laser cannons and a destroyer disk launcher. With 10" of tenatium armor covered with a stealth coating, the Shadow Crawler is able to operate in full stealth mode and scale any surface. Mounted atop each Shadow Crawler is a prison pod for human captives.

• Unit Designation: 8104
• Minifig: Devastator (Green), skeleton

8105 Iron Condor - With a metallic screech, Iron Condors almost always attack in pairs. It has 6" of tenatium armor, razor-sharp talons and a missile that magnetizes its target, robbing enemy battle machines of their ability to maneuver.

• Unit Designation: 8105
• Minifig: Devastator (Red)

8106 Aero Booster

• Unit Designation: A.12
• Minifig: Ha-Ya-To

8107 Sentai Golden Tower

• Sonic Raven Unit Designation: 8107
• Minifigs: Hitomi, Devastator

8108 Mobile Devastator

• Blazing Falcon Unit Designation: A.13
• Minifigs: Ryo, Meca One, 3 Devastators, 6 Iron Drones, 2 skeletons

[edit] Combined models

One of the features of the Exo-Force toy line is that two or more battle machines can be combined to make a super battle machine.

• Mountain Warrior (7700 and 7701) [2]
• Raging Storm (7702 and 7703) [3]
• Robot Reaper 1.0 (7700 and 7703)
• Blazing Hunter (7700 and 7703)
• Magnalink (7706 and 7709)
• Sky Titan (8100, 8102, and 8103) [4]
• Iron Crusher (8101, 8104, and 8105) [5]

[edit] Key chains

• Takeshi
• Hikaru

[edit] Magnets

• Takeshi
• Hikaru
• Ryo
• Ha-Ya-To

[edit] Promotional sets

These promotional sets were released in Europe and are not part of the main toy line

• 5965 Robot Walker - Devastator[6]
• 5966 Flyer - Hikaru[7]
• 5967 Walker - Takeshi [8]

[edit] Influences

Exo-Force was likely influenced by the visual style of Mobile Suit Gundam, Macross/Robotech and similar anime and manga franchises, which feature mecha in combat against one another.

[edit] Criticism

While popular, Exo-Force has had its fair share of criticism. Long-time LEGO fans have been quick to complain about the heavy use of deadly weaponery, but other fans point out LEGO has already done this for years with other themes such as in the popular Lego Star Wars products. Those fluent in the Japanese language have objected to words used that make no sense or are incorrectly romanized, such as Sentai (Sendai) and Ha-Ya-To (Hayato). Exo-Force has also drawn criticism for being pseudo-anime, or a cheap attempt on LEGO to "cash in" on the growing popularity of anime and manga. The mecha have also received criticism for their hindside appearance, and the fact that some pieces fall off easily, even without rough play.

[edit] Trivia

• The "catch phrase" for Exo-Force is "Time to Power Up!"
• Exo-Force members hair colors are the same as the original four Knights armor in Knights Kingdom. Hikaru/Jayko:Blue. Takeshi/Rascus:Green. Ha-ya-to/Santis:Red. Ryo/Danju: Purple.
• Originally, Takeshi was going to pilot Uplink, and Ryo and Ha-ya-to did not exist.

• The name "Genki" has appeared on the Exo-Force website (in both a quote on Ha-Ya-To's profile and in the online comic). Although Genki may have originally been slated to be an Exo-Force character, Lego writer Greg Farshtey has confirmed that the idea for Genki as a character was dropped, and the minifigs with black hair and orange suits are unnamed "generic" Exo-Force members. However, the name "Genki" is still often used by the Exo-Force fan community in referring to the generic soldier.
• In 2006, Lego commissioned Shoji Kawamori to design combination models using various Exo-Force sets. The combo-units were called VAN-Force; they featured custom decals, which were given away with purchase of bundled Exo-Force sets in Japan. The first VAN-Force design used the Stealth Hunter and Grand Titan. [9] A second combination design called "Raiden" (which uses the Stealth Hunter, Grand Titan, and Thunder Fury) was revealed in December 2006. [10] In Kawamori's Macross fashion, the units can transform between from robot to vehicle. According to Exo-Force writer, Greg Farshtey, Lego does not have the rights to reproduce the VAN-Force design for sale in stores.

[edit] Machine specs (more in depth)

Shadow crawler: Land-based robot battle machine Armor: 10 inches tenatium armor Additional Features: Stealth coating; prison pod Weapons: Destroyer disk launcher; laser cannons; missile launcher Power Source: Magnetized nuclear plasma Pilot: 1

Iron condor: Flying robot battle machine Sensors: Enhanced sensor package: night vision, telescopic zoom, infrared vision, 360-degree vision, mobile targeting array Armor: Six inches tentatium armor Weapons: Razor-sharp talons; magnetic missile Power Source: Magnetized nuclear plasma Pilot: 1

Claw crusher: Land-based robot battle machine Armor: Eight inches tenatium armor Weapons: Rotating blaster cannons; powerful ripping claws Power Source: Magnetized nuclear plasma Pilot: 1

Sky guardian: Flying EXO-FORCE battle machine Armor: Five inches zaylium armor Weapons: Energy sword; particle beam rifle; missile launcher Sensors: Enhanced sensor package with radar, acoustic, sonar, thermo, seismic, infrared, telescopic, and motion sensors able to detect movement as small as one-ten-thousandth of an inch. Power source: Magnetized oroniate Pilot: 1

Blade titan: Land-based EXO-FORCE battle machine Sensors: Enhanced sensor package Armor: 12 inches zaylium armor Weapons: Multi-barreled proton cannon; double-bladed assault shield that expands and rotates automatically Power Source: Magnetized oroniate Pilot: 1

Cyclone defender: Land-based EXO-FORCE battle machine Sensors: Enhanced sensor package Armor: Six inches zaylium armor Weapons: Variable-pulse blaster and rotating bladed defense shield Power Source: Magnetized oroniate Pilot: 1

[edit] External links

• Official Exo-Force website
• BZP Forum Exo-Force topic
• Exo-Dice - A strategic wargame for Exo-Force