The biggest thing about Exo Force for me was that it really tried to do something different. Lego had never really dipped into Anime, or dedicated a theme to mecha, or had such a cold, unfeeling villain. But Exo Force did all that. (Oh, the color scheme for the robots special forces division was awesome too! Love lime green and black together.)
This kicks me right in the feels. My family had made a huge move in 2006 and my mom bought me almost every set listed. This video stirred up a lot of lost memories and I remember stringing these lego sets up to the ceiling with rope in action poses while listening to fallout boy. We had a huge yard sale and we donated all of those Legos to kids who were in need. I don't care about how much they are worth now but I really hope they gave other kids the memories that I had. Thank you for making this video
It astounds me. I remember this theme so fondly, and yet.. I only had two sets. Uplink and Sentry. I always thought they were so much bigger, the mechs. They felt so much bigger and more substantial. I guess it goes to show how incredible the mind of a child can be.
That is kind of cool though. If you never had the larger mechs, you'd really have nothing to compare them too which probably kept those two all the more special!
Maaaaaan my all time favorite theme. Funny enough, I was loving Exo Force as a kid, now as an adult I’m building Gundam model kits. I see Exo Force as Lego’s version of Gundam. I miss this line so much, these sets were all designed so beautifully
I need a lot of these heads to make some custom AOT figures, they look so good! Also, the tubing is reminiscent of the sides of the mountain that the two factions are on, the humans are on the left half, and their tubes are on the left, while the robots are on the right half, so their tubes are on the right.
@@CheeseyStudios yeah, it’s something really out of the blue that I picked up when you were talking about the tubes, I remembered the scene where the mountain split, then everything just came together, I guess…
Ahh yes, The Exo force. Though I only own Stealth Hunter and Stealth Hunter MK2 in my childhood. I still consider this series to be one of the best toy line in LEGO. The design, the build are all great. LEGO use this to tell the world they can make a good mecha toys too. Too bad most of the mecha type LEGO kits after this series are not as cool.
It was 20 years ago today, exo force was in shelves I swear They’ve been going in and out of style But they’re guaranteed to raise a smile So let me introduce to you…
Yesss, I absolutely loved this theme as kid! It even surpassed and overshadowed my love for star wars and bionicle, so my parents would bought me some exoforce instead of these themes in that era
I remember seeing these sets in a local store in my country. I really would have wanted one, because they looked so cool, but unfortunately I was on high-school, so I didn't have money to buy one, and it was a time in which if I ask for a LEGO set, I would have received some weird looks u_u I love all the actually accurate kanji on the heroes mechs n_n I'm surprised LEGO did something so animesque at this time.
Thank you! Yeah, I just built that specifically for the video here. Here's a better picture of the whole thing: instagram.com/p/CqpA9b8OOC6/?igsh=cDhpNGE1cHQ0dnd1
@@CheeseyStudios Oh hey, that’s great! I didn’t know if you’d even see the comment so thanks, I have an unhealthy obsession with Exo-Force. It’s awesome seeing other people give it the love it deserves! Good job!
Lol I love that they actually had anime hair and huge eyes to ensure that they were indeed trying to go for the anime craze that was going on because of toonami
I remember when these came out and I was running errands with my grandfather at a department store and he doted on me so we went to the toy section. saw these wicked cool mechs and immediately wanted to have one, grandfather said okay pick one and I picked the white one initially, but I legit took 20min to decide between the white and the red one once at the register my grandfather saw me still comparing the two sets from the back of the box and he went back and just grabbed the red one as well I still remember that. Miss you grandpa
Exo-Force was an absolute gem of a theme! Completely unique at the time, and criminally underrated nowadays. The Manga style heads and hairs were fantastic and haven't been matched since, while the mecha helped set up for modern mechs in themes like Marvel and Ninjago. Exo-Force, I salute you!
Exo Force is the earliest theme I remember having the “lego dream” about. Going to Toys R Us and seeing a whole shelf of existing sets and sets that never existed years after it retired. Loved this theme
@@scruffmaster0185 Same. Late 2000’s, my parents could only afford the small sets. Now I’m adult with some money, and all the sets I want still too expensive.
Exo-Force was a big hit at our house right behind Bionicle. My son had all of the first wave and many hours were spent saving the humans from the robots.
Lego was really at its prime back in 2006-2012. I really miss their original themes, they were all bangers through that time, especially the Space Ones.
Hearing you call them “Galidor joints” in this video made my day! 😊 I loved watching your retrospective on these sets here - great “Revisiting” video, as always!
E-lo! I'm the one of the artists for the motion comics in the Exo-force website. I did the pencils while another artist, Ernest, did the inks which where then colored and then animated in flash (Geez, does anyone still remember flash?) I also drew the main character art on the manual at 5:10. I love your revisit of the line, it was one of the most fun gigs I ever had. So much that I actually also bought most of the wave 1 sets and made my own mechs and vehicles.
Out of the entire Lego catalog I think a lot of exo force sets offer the most bang for your buck. A lot of the drone sets feel like they are the physical size of a modern $70 set. Especially the striking venom from the next wave, that set is obnoxiously big and pretty cheap. Don't look at the piece counts though.
this is a theme i totally forgot i had. considering i had most of the first and second wave. the fortress and the big spider thing with lots of guns i remember being really fun.
@@CheeseyStudios That set was amazing, especially since I found it years after release in a toy store for 50€. It was a blast to build, and to play with!
As a proud Thunder Fury owner from back in the day, I appreciated that parts usage even as a 11ish year old and I still use that technique for machine guns to this day
@@tracytron7162 if you want to get really technical, the M134 Minigun is a specific design and designation of rotary machine gun, being an American-made six-barrelled electrically-powered weapon chambered for 7.62×51mm NATO. As a eight-barrelled weapon in a futuristic, Japanese-inspired setting that is likely supposed to be an energy weapon, it can't be considered a Minigun.
I am honestly blown away by the alternate builts of this theme. Every single one looks so well thought through and could easily be a set on their own. Id love for Lego to go back to simpler buildings with more variety possible.
Considering the fact that some of these alt or combo models were Canon to the story events, you could easily see these all as canon in some way, such as maybe the Humans or Robots taking the standard Battle Machines they already have reusing the parts in new ways, such as the Sentry Walker I can see the Robots easily mass producing those with the hordes of Sentry units they already had, sendign the walkers out to battle and seeing how effective they are.
I'll definitely have to do a video covering the alt builds once I make my way through all the main models. I never built them as a kid, so it'll be fun to experience them for the first time!
That wedge armor is actually a bit older than exo-force; they were just the first theme to use the part unprinted. Its actual first appearance was from a Racers set in 2003, interestingly called Exo Stealth. Strange little coincidence there.
I always liked that this line got mech designs right where most modern ones fell short. They had a ton of character, clever parts usage, and did so much in spite of a much more limited pool of parts. I wish we got more like them outside lines like Ninjago or marvel. I’d even like to just see designers take a crack at this line one more time with modern parts
Ah man, Exo Force! I managed to snag a few of the first sets after I entered my "anime phase" as a teen. Absolutely loved them, BENDABLE KNEES, and those hair pieces are so great!
Lol, yah bendable knees is something modern mechs are sorely lacking. Especially the newest ones desighned like Ninjago Core mechs, jeez I HATE those, they don't have bendable knees OR ELBOWS, and sometimes not even rotating hands. LIke I get not havign bendable knees for say MASSIVE mechs, fine. But ones this small not having them is rediculous.
Never realised how affordable Exo Force was back then. Altough I was a kid back then, I somehow passed the theme and only have one set (not of the first waves; my brother has another one).
Out of all the original LEGO themes, I would have to say that I want a reboot/revisit of Exo-Force the most. Even if it was just a tribute thing like with the recent Blacktron and Bionicle stuff, the theme deserves it.
Exo-Force was what basically brought me out of my "Dark age" of Lego. From 2003 to 2006 I barely bought any sets, if any. I was too focused on my x-box and gaming in general, but seeing those mechs was jaw-dropping for me. I still remember the first I ever saw (and bought on the spot) was Fire Vulture. I so wish they would bring it back, but then again Ninjago and Monkey Kid already make mechs like you mentioned, in a way, Exo-Force was the grandfather of the mechs in those themes.
The Uplink and Sentry were some of my first Lego sets and I still have them to this day, I also had the collectors guide which is where I got all my information about the story from. It’s definitely one of the coolest and most unique Lego themes to this day in my opinion
FINALLY, the day has come for Exo-force! 1:00 can't forget about the endless Marvel mechs. I wish I grew up with this gem of a theme as a kid. Really had no idea these sets had this much depth. The story, characters, and playability really is something special.
I have such fond memories of exoforce even though I was really young at the time. looking back at it now just makes me appreciate the artistry of the lego designers even more. an immediate thought i had upon revisiting is how perfect the exoforce stickers (although not necessarily the parts they're supposed to go on) would be absolutely perfect for fleshing out any cyberpunk moc. that banner especially looks like something straight out of bladerunner. great video!
This is a great retrospective man, I never got any exo force sets, but I had friends who did, and when I was a kid I always loved looking at the sets in the catalogues. I honestly wish they would bring it back. Anime and Manag are so much more popular than they were back in the 2000s, I feel the line could honestly appeal to the new wave of people getting into the genre if they brought t back and adjusted it a bit to reflect less of the 90's shounen/battle mech style that Exo force seems to take clear inspiration from
If you havent seen it cheesy, the knight's and magic anime (yes that's how they spelled it) reminds me a lot of exo force, except between nations instead of against robots. The main guy is a reincarnated otaku who loves mechs so much, he learns all he could about em and the first season is all about him building it. He looks SO happy when he finally gets the reactor blueprints, (they were a trade secret the kingdom protected so he had to help them) and seeing the terror in the eyes of the enemy as he attacks is so much fun. Dude's pretty much Ryo on steriods, the other nations call him the "devil."
I'm overjoyed seeing my favorite theme get more love! All the childhood nostalgia's coming back. If you have the time, could you do a video showcasing all the alternate builds? I'd like to see what they all look like in glorious 3D since the instructions' prints don't do them justice.
Even though I was already firmly a Star Wars kid at the time, I had quite a lot of Exo-Force - most of this first wave in fact, except for Thunder Fury and the gate battle. I have them all (re)assembled today, with Stealth Hunter proudly displayed in my Lego room. Definitely my favourite out of this selection. Exo-Force was a fun theme with a number of cool sets and parts, and as you said, the first time Lego properly dove into mechs. Looking forward to the series; we're off to a great start!
I still vividly remember my father introducing me to Exo-Force, when I got my first set back in 2006:"it's like Bionicle and Star Wars had a baby". He couldn't understand at the time but I was instantly hooked!
I miss being a kid hahaha i remember when this theme was released and the builds were too complex for my child brain 😂 "dad !!! Help me with this Lego piece?!"
As a kid, I always thought Exo-force was the coolest thing ever, but could never afford it. I think I had one of the robots; I always thought their design was so cool
Man, this brings back so many memories! Definitely my favorite Lego theme. I never considered how much this theme pulls from Knights Kingdom. I had the 7700 set and the light blue Knights Kingdom knight (I can't remember his name). My brothers and I each had our own knight and later Exo-Force mech.
Great retrospective! Never owned any exo force, but it reminds me of my small colelction of technic robo rider disk cobsidering they have robot pictures on them abd kinda look like something from exo force. Would probably enjoy picking one of these up someday.
I certainly think you'd enjoy a mech or too! They can be tricky to find though. I was surprised to only see one Exo-Force set at the entirety of Brickworld this weekend
@@CheeseyStudios I definitely put it up there with the likes of Life On Mars, Alpha Team: Mission Deepsea, and Adventurers: Orient Expedition themes. Very fun, inspired, and unique theme.
it's still absurd to me that most of the larger mechs were only ever $15-$20 each even with the light brick and the abundance of large and complicated pieces, nowadays $15 wouldn't even afford the smallest mechs of Exo-Force.
these prices are making me cry at the value i missed out on. these mechs were so intuitive and affordable! now if i wanna buy a ninjago mech, i need to convince myself its a "treat" or a "reward" 😭
I love every mention of Dino Attack, as we just... Didn't get it here. In Europe we got Dino 2010, which replaced all the literal guns of Dino Attack with net launchers and stuff. It feels like the Dino series in 2012 is a halfway house between the two.
Back when mechs weren't corny, overdone, jumbled color schemes, lacking knees, and elbows. Even the names where better. The virgin Billy's evo mech vs the thad Assault Tiger.
I’d love to see a Exo-Force 2.0 where they redesign the waves with newer parts. I still have my most of my sets either in their base forms or modified. Such a good thene
Absolutely. The original wave 1 sets redesigned with new parts would be great! I just would hope they try to retain more of the original articulation, as many modern LEGO mechs can be a bit stiff in places.
This series is probably what inspired my love for giant robots and mecha in general as a kid. I had the yellow mech from the Jungle wave, and it was awesome. It completely stood out compared to the other themes we had, which even included Lego Star Wars in it's prime. It was honestly _built_ different.
I remember so vividly how my aunt gifted me that orange Exo-Force set when I was 5. I assembled it, disassembled it, tried out this purple hair piece (it was a little bit too loose) on every minifigure I had, and then lost pretty much every piece of this set throughout the years. My aunty died of cancer shortly after she gifted me this set, and I didn't have much more to remember her for. But I think this is enough.
I miss Exo-Force immensely. I only had one set, the Sky Guardian, and it was the best set I had at the time. I'd rebuild it, but with age a few of the pieces have snapped or gone missing
I put together my old blade titan the other day for the first time in over 15 years and I'm so excited to see it in a video. I can't find one of his ankles though and couldn't find a replacement on bricklink :(
Oh man, I feel very nostalgic lately and watch a lot of Lego content. Videos like yours make me realize how much Lego I had and how I loved playing and building back then. (Still do, just treated myself with the Watchtower from Funwhole). I was about 15 when this series came out and that was when my Lego obsession started to fade. But I’m sure I had at least those two small sets. Ach, good old times. Alpha Team (ice theme) was such a banger, my cousin and I had the entire collection and when I visited her in the holidays, you bet I brought all my sets along 😁
Not sure how I'm just now seeing and watching these, but thanks for the content in revisiting this awesome theme! I think the last one I watched was the one where the creator makes the allusion to TMNT with their hair colors. All in all, one of my all time favorite themes and I actually managed to complete the ENTIRE Exo Force collection (including the Bridge Walker set) and plan to make some videos on it and possibly do a crossover series with TWO very popular Lego series (guess which ones?!) Cheers! Edit: Anyone have the alternate build instructions?! I had printed copies around the time but lost them!
Exo-force felt so cohesive. Rather than being "theme first", it was more like "concept first", which to me always gives out the best Lego waves. My main problem with basically every Lego wave in recent memory has been the utter generic vibes they give off. Like sure, the sets themselves might be cool, but the theme itself is not. Like take the biggest wave: Ninjago. To me, it's just a mess of vaguely Japanese/Chinese aesthetic motifs mixed with clutter and whatever: Planes, cars, robots... It's hardly "period piece" type of thing you'd expect from Ninjas which makes it a very confusing theme for me. Ninjago feels like they came up with "Ninja theme" first, and even to this day, struggle with what the overall concept even is. Like the original concept was basically Bayblades = Spinning. But that's a gimmick more than anything so it would naturally not last... So when that main concept was taken out, what did you have left? Yeah: Different color Ninjas. It's basically Knights Kingdom all over again!!
I need to try and rebuild my dino attack helicopter and EXO Force stuff.. The pieces are somewhere.. Omg. I remember I built a cardboard bridge and base for my Exo Force base, the Huge orange one from Wave 2 I believe! And painted black and red caution marks on the bridge.
The sentry just flushed back a special feeling. I miss these cool themes. They were kind of serious but completely over the top. Also I got the fire vulture and I remember sitting in the car thoroughly reading the box and there were all these warnings like “fire hazard” and my dumbass thought he could actually make fire. I got nervous for real :D The sets back then were so much better. You got so much more value out of them. Even if you add the inflation.
Back when I was in middle school the school counselor had some random LEGO in a bin for kids to fiddle with while in there. I remember distinctively parts with the stickers for the red mech. Tried putting it together once probably, I just remember those Japanese lettered red parts ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
I love Exo-force... and I also wish it should comeback someday but I guess it would be hard having Ninjago on the markets now and soon the return of Bionicle will arrive but only time will say if Exo-force may have a chance to rebirth or not
Exoforce was one of those concepts that fascinated me, yea its anime but at the time, when I say the mechs, there was an idea that I like, simply put, the mechs in a way feel 'grounded', ok that sounds weird, let me take it from the top. Now I should correct myself, slightly grounded, there is as much ground as Battletech, the mechs at best are a few stories tall, you do not have human like movements/limbs. In a way it reminds me of early and spin off of some Gundam animes which treated the mechs as additional military hardware. Now I am sure you are like "whats the difference" Simply put, what is fantasy and what is grounded? the question is, do the mechs move in a way the concept of weight doesn't exist? Do they move very human like?
I will try and get a Brickworld recap video edited soon! Got a lot to do clean up from the convention first haha. Hope you enjoyed this video in the meantime!
@@CheeseyStudios I did. Especially since I’ve never heard about it before last year unlike other themes at the time I grew up with like Agents & Dino Attack.
Man seeing some of the sets that I probably still have still dismantled around. But this probably explains part of the reason I like the mecha/ Gundam genre
