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.)
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 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.
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.
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.
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.
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!
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!
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.
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!
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.
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
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.
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
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).
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.
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!
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.
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!
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 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!
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
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.
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."
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.
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.
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 😁
What a great video. So many memories came back while watching this. Especially the ones of my grandma and me playing with these sets while she was in hospital for her cancer treatment. Man, you made me cry. Keep on making more great videos.
Exo-force was what brought me into the lego hobby. Still have some of my old sets tucked away somewhere in my attic. Every now and then, I'd take a trip up there, open up bins full of my old stuff and start reminiscing about my younger days, back when adulting wasn't in the forefront of my mind.
Can't wait for tge rest of these to show. I see them sitting in the back. I started my new lego life with exotic force to help quit smoking and to keep my mind busy while losing ny mom and dad to cancer and these have such a deep place in my heart and where so underrated.
I remember having some of these as a Kid, I just didn't remember what they where called. Thank you for making this video and bringing back those memories.
Exo Force was a huge part of my childhood. I remember countless hours playing with these and the later sets and imagining the epic battles on Sentai Mountain. Thank you so much for this nostalgia trip ^^
Exo-Force was the line that brought me back to Lego after a 12-year gap. The box design jumped off the shelf, and a trip to the store for deodorant and dish soap suddenly included Grand Titan. A few months later, I had the entire first wave on display in my living room. 😅 Great video, can’t wait to watch more.
You ve just given me such a nostalgic trip back to my childhood. My week couldn’t end any better. I thank you for this project and I look forward for the next episodes! ☺️
@@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.
The video I was looking forward to the most! It was a joy and nostalgis trip seeing slowly collect the sets in the background of your minecraft builds and other videos, and now to finally see it feels so wholesome. I did not get all sets (also due to me prioritizing bionicle), but I did have e.g all the main mechs like grand titan, minus the fire vulture which I really, really wanted but never got. Its also surreal to see the prices of them in 2023, I really think that if they came out now they could easily cost 25-30. Additionally, I am one of those proud owners who has an exo-force bed spread! As a kid I enjoyed this theme so much and remember having many, many battles with these mechs. The alternate builds were also quite fun, I often tried to build them just from looking at the pictures. I am happy that I still own these sets, and tend to keep them for a while. I never managed to get all sets, but at least have some from every wave. I look forward to the subsequent wave videos❤🙌
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.
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
I simply picked up a flying, bad-guy robot piloted by something called a ‘Devastator’ as my first *ever* Lego set. The art was incredibly striking, intimidating, and showed the walls of a golden city in the background. I got to the end of the instructions and found that there was a full-colour comic in the back, showing a losing battle where these awesome coloured mechs actually took casualties, and one of them had its power core ripped out. The pacing and illustration had way more effort put into it than was necessary. Even after all these years, I still remember the characters and shots from that comic vividly. I continued to buy and play Lego for another ten years, but nothing ever quite felt like that first Exo-Force comic, and even though it’s incredibly worn nowadays from my childhood self, it’s one of my fondest memories from that time. It was just so damn cool. It didn’t need to exist, but so much love had been put into making sure it did. Going into adulthood, the spark of creativity and wonder those early Lego sets helped spark in me has been incredible. I’d like to create something like that for someone else, someday, and keep those instructions on my bookshelf as a reminder.
That's really cool. I can feel how this theme in particular oozes so much passion, and I think that's what made it so appealing to so many - even people like me, who up until Exo-Force really only cared about medieval themes!
@@CheeseyStudios I’d really love to see a second video if you’re working on it, and the style of your videos has a lot of passion it in themselves. Subscribed with the notifications on for anything you do in future, and looking forward to watching your other content, this is a really cool channel :)
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 :(
I had many of these as a kid. And some of I guess wave 2 which I hope we'll see. Man these were the coolest. Some of my current builds still use pieces I got from these guys.
Oh the smile on my face from that pristine fire vulture in the thumbnail 😷 Love the excitement for each set too, though that's prominent in most of your videos haha
so much love for this theme and for your video. Really takes me back :') Can't wait to see your coverage of the next wave, especially that cool blue version of the Supernova!
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
Man, I remember getting every single set from the first wave growing up, even including the mountain base and the giant four legged spider walker later on. This video is making me want to go home and rebuild every single set I had, or maybe go rebuild one of the mechs in a more modernized build method
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.
I remember my brother getting the stealth hunter an me getting the grand titan. totally loved these sets and I remember getting that orange attack tack for christmas, these sets were endless fun tbh
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.
Darn this is cool! I remember being born bit too late to have any of these sets. It’s a neat memory, looking through old catalogs at some of those sets and thinking about how it feels to build one of them. The Mobile devastator was definitely memorable. Now, with the power of Bricklink and BrickBy brick, I can procure myself almost any of them and they are as cool as I imagined them. It’s actually a very good time, scrolling through the OG instructions and attempting to redesign a mech with more modern techniques and components. Also, Uplink.
Never owned any of these, but I used to want them a lot after discovering them on the Lego instructions archive thing back in the day. Its good to see a proper review of them!
I had the stealth hunter as a kid. Honestly, most of my memories with it is finding the pieces in the buckets and wondering what I had that used these. Especially the blue hair. So I’m glad I found this video since it gave me the answers I needed. I think I’ll see if I can rebuild it. Minus the tube. I’m pretty sure that’s lost forever. Plus, I really love the robot minifigs. Those look amazing.
ah man, the first couple of minutes made me think of my childhood. i was born in the mid 90s and those were my childhood legos. I should still have them in some boxes but obviously in parts scattered.
These sets were so cool to me back then and still are. Didn't know one of the sets had Toa Nuva armor in lime green, bet that'd be great for mocs! Looking forward to you covering the rest of the waves!
I got back into the theme some time last year and re-bought all of the stuff from the first two waves I'd dismantled and then some; only some select few alt modes are missing until I have my whole bucket list now, still overjoyed with this line.
I have really good memories with the Hikaru’s mech set. It’s one of the first LEGO sets I ever had, and my dad got it for me when we were moving around so I would have something to play with. I got a few more exo force sets but that was always my favorite
I loved the exo-force theme and it was a treat to have this video pop up in my recs for the nostalgia alone. Great video, looking forward to the next four :)
This is by far my favorite original Lego System theme from my childhood. I got the Sentry set from my Lego Club subscription and even had a birthday party in the back of the Lego store where we all got to build Ryo’s green mech from the jungle wave I believe. The rubberized hair pieces are so cool and something I wish Lego would go back to for some new anime licenses. Hikaru was by far my favorite character in terms of character and mech design, but his hair piece never matched it’s comic depiction at all lol
I'm glad I found this video when I was a kid and these came out I spent my whole allowance on on every medium mech. Lego mechs are still something I find cool!
Thank you for the amazing and nostalgic video!!! I had the 2 small 5-dollar sets and I would take them apart to make new mech creations with my Bionicles but it's such a fun and imaginative theme!! Thank you again!! I got so happy seeing you bring out that magazine!!
Lego battles made me love the drone figures, got a bag of mixed exo force parts for some last year also remember the minifig faces from the lego lets go song
Wow, I remember reading a couple of the Exo Force books a long time ago at my local library and it never occurred to me that this was an actual Lego line you could buy. Seeing the Stealth Hunter and Grand Titan brings me back, those books were a good read.
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!
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" 😭
Hearing these prices from back in the day really brings back some good memories- I used to feel bad asking my parents to get me anything above $10- now smaller sets are like $30 💀😭
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.)
It was such a bold move, and truly ahead of its time.
Exactly, and as a Asian who lives in Asia and growing with those things. Exo force fxxking rocks!!
Evil Ogel would like to object!
@@davidhalliganfilmsI'd say that's closer to classic cartoons than anime, something like Captain planet.
@@thunderspark1536 I'd say it's more of an "early 2000 western anime" style than a cartoon imho.
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
That's such a wonderful memory
I love that story so much!!💖
Legendary grandpa, what an awesome core memory
W grandpa
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.
That's awesome! It was certainly a hit for my brother and I too. I've got a lot of good memories from the theme!
Same with me and my brother growing up - Bionicle and Exo-Force right behind it.
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!
The theme really did change the game. It was so bold and adventurous for its time, and I really do think the risk paid off.
Oh, no gem, i think. Mostly open cockpits, nude backsides, poor articulation with the big ones. But i agree with you in every other regard.
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
Wish I could’ve got my hands on some of these
@@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.
For me it was Bionicle.
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.
It was a great time to be a kid - I feel like you couldn't go wrong. LEGO's in-house themes were so amazing. I miss them a lot.
It was 84 years ago, but I still loved it 🫠
lol indeed
I don’t think it was 84 years ago
Am i missing the reference?
@@tenyearsinthejoint1 yes
@@tenyearsinthejoint1 "It's been 84 years" is a Titanic meme
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.
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!
Ha! I had hoped you'd catch that :)
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.
The alternate builds for the mech look so much cooler than the actual mechs
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!
For me, the best alternative building of all sets belongs to the mobile defence tank. It's simply astonishing...
Can we talk about the literal MACHINE GUN included in set 7702 Thunder Fury made out of binoculars? gotta admit that's some pretty clever parts usage
There's some really great parts usage throughout these first two waves especially. Always makes me smile!
this trick has also been used for the gatling gun on the The Lone Ranger train set
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
You mean minigun or gatling gun?... Machine gun literally just means pretty much any automatic gun
@@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.
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.
100% Sentai Fortress especially is one of those sets that even inflation-adjusted makes for an incredible deal. Can't wait to look at that next wave!
It definitely helped also that it wasn't a licensed set by someone else
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!
My one complaint was some of weapons and arms were a tad flimsy
That hockey helmet piece immediately brought back a mix of nostalgia and horror, those hockey robots had a I have no mouth and I want to scream vibe
Lolol you're so right 🤣
Thanks for the throwback!
I grew up with the medium-size sets alongside BIONICLE, and it's only now that I learned you can eject the lightbrick lol
I'm pretty sure I never figured that feature out as a kid either 🤣 We were all too busy just making them light up!
I mean, same? I looooved Exo Force, was hoping a throwback like this was coming out soon. Also that lightbrick ejecting, jawdropping.
Same, I was too dense to notice the fearure, in my mocs I always used studded plates instead of tiles underneath the light bricks XD
I'M SAYINGGG
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.
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
That's because they were going for military mecha as well as heavily leaning on Japanese mecha design traditions.
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.
Oh! That's pretty cool. I had no idea that set even existed!
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
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).
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.
Fire Vulture's so good! Glad that one caught your eye too
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!
Some of the stickers are just so dope. Lots of fun detail! I could definitely see them being great for cyberpunk details.
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.
Unlocked a childhood memory i had totally forgotten with this video. Some of my favourite sets!
These are classics! I'm glad I've been able to take so many people back down memory lane.
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!
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.
There was a lot of passion poured into these in-house themes back in the day. It really made them so enjoyable and memorable!
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!
That's a very accurate description 😂
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
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.
I'd love to do the alt builds at some point! I never built them as a kid, so they'd be really fun to experience for the first time
Can't wait to see more exo-force content! I have a ton of nostalgia for Uplink and Sentry along with other sets in later waves.
This is a solid exploration of this theme, I've been waiting for someone to make a good Exo-Force video! A true lost gem.
It really is! I'm really looking forward to covering the rest too.
My kind of content!! Thanks for the retrospective Caleb, I’m so excited to watch you recap the rest of the waves.
I'm very excited to get to the later waves too - all sorts of fun sets yet to come. :)
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."
Cheesey, I can’t get enough of your content! You make such great videos.
Really appreciate it!
18:55 Funny how the Gate Guard uses the same face print as Hikaru, except it's missing the visor print, yet he looks surprisingly different.
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.
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.
Ironically, the yellow jungle one was the LAST one I got just a few months ago! But I can see why you enjoyed it - it's an awesome mech!
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 😁
These look incredible! How did I never hear of this? Beautiful, sleek designs that spark the imagination. Thank you for the presentation.
No problem! Really glad you enjoyed it!
What a great video. So many memories came back while watching this. Especially the ones of my grandma and me playing with these sets while she was in hospital for her cancer treatment. Man, you made me cry.
Keep on making more great videos.
Exo-force was what brought me into the lego hobby. Still have some of my old sets tucked away somewhere in my attic. Every now and then, I'd take a trip up there, open up bins full of my old stuff and start reminiscing about my younger days, back when adulting wasn't in the forefront of my mind.
That's great. Love that this theme gave so many others happy memories too :D
Can't wait for tge rest of these to show. I see them sitting in the back. I started my new lego life with exotic force to help quit smoking and to keep my mind busy while losing ny mom and dad to cancer and these have such a deep place in my heart and where so underrated.
I had the Grand Titan, and my friend had the Stealth Hunter and the Fire Vulture. Fantastic sets. I wish I had all 4 of them, they are so iconic.
I remember having some of these as a Kid, I just didn't remember what they where called. Thank you for making this video and bringing back those memories.
It's my pleasure! Really glad you enjoyed
Exo Force was a huge part of my childhood. I remember countless hours playing with these and the later sets and imagining the epic battles on Sentai Mountain. Thank you so much for this nostalgia trip ^^
Glad you enjoyed! Love that so many people have great memories of this theme too
Exo-Force was the line that brought me back to Lego after a 12-year gap. The box design jumped off the shelf, and a trip to the store for deodorant and dish soap suddenly included Grand Titan. A few months later, I had the entire first wave on display in my living room. 😅
Great video, can’t wait to watch more.
I wish I had had a box or two to show in this video - I did love the packaging too! Excited to get to the remaining waves :)
You ve just given me such a nostalgic trip back to my childhood. My week couldn’t end any better. I thank you for this project and I look forward for the next episodes! ☺️
Really glad you enjoyed it! I'm excited to get to work in more episodes too ❤️
Stealth Hunter was my first and only exo-force set from wave 1. Seeing it in the Lego magazine is what got me into the exo-force line.
Getting little teasers in the magazine like that was the coolest thing ever
Exo-FOrce was my Childhood. great to see you revisit it.
One of the best Lego themes ever. There aren't many Lego themes where if they rereleased these sets today I would pick up all of them in a heartbeat.
There's something real special about this one that I don't think they've captured since, even with the many many mechs that have been done.
@@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.
The video I was looking forward to the most! It was a joy and nostalgis trip seeing slowly collect the sets in the background of your minecraft builds and other videos, and now to finally see it feels so wholesome. I did not get all sets (also due to me prioritizing bionicle), but I did have e.g all the main mechs like grand titan, minus the fire vulture which I really, really wanted but never got. Its also surreal to see the prices of them in 2023, I really think that if they came out now they could easily cost 25-30. Additionally, I am one of those proud owners who has an exo-force bed spread! As a kid I enjoyed this theme so much and remember having many, many battles with these mechs. The alternate builds were also quite fun, I often tried to build them just from looking at the pictures. I am happy that I still own these sets, and tend to keep them for a while. I never managed to get all sets, but at least have some from every wave. I look forward to the subsequent wave videos❤🙌
You owned the bed spread??? That's so epic 🤣 Glad this video brought back a lot of good memories for you!
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'm glad this theme gives you something to remember her by ❤️
Finally, i have been waiting for so long for this video, always being teased with the mechs on the shelf behind you.
So glad I could finally get this uploaded too! Very much looking forward to future episodes :)
@@CheeseyStudios And you even got the Polybags i told you about, impressive
God I had so many of these. I loved this theme! The white mech and red mech were my favorite.
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
That's really wholesome ❤️ Hope they brought a lot of joy too! I love the idea of hanging them from the ceiling too for some epic action scenes
I remember loving Exo-force and getting almost every wave 1 set, I still have the small orange mech sitting on my desk after all these years
That's awesome! Uplink's a classic
Great roundup. As someone who owned a few of these sets as a kid, I was very delighted with this videos overview and nostalgia 😍
Really glad you enjoyed!
I loved these and really enjoyed seeing them through your eyes. You added so much context that I had no idea about.
Really glad you enjoyed this and got something out of it! Started working on episode 2 last night which is very exciting. It's such a fun theme!
I simply picked up a flying, bad-guy robot piloted by something called a ‘Devastator’ as my first *ever* Lego set. The art was incredibly striking, intimidating, and showed the walls of a golden city in the background.
I got to the end of the instructions and found that there was a full-colour comic in the back, showing a losing battle where these awesome coloured mechs actually took casualties, and one of them had its power core ripped out. The pacing and illustration had way more effort put into it than was necessary.
Even after all these years, I still remember the characters and shots from that comic vividly. I continued to buy and play Lego for another ten years, but nothing ever quite felt like that first Exo-Force comic, and even though it’s incredibly worn nowadays from my childhood self, it’s one of my fondest memories from that time.
It was just so damn cool. It didn’t need to exist, but so much love had been put into making sure it did.
Going into adulthood, the spark of creativity and wonder those early Lego sets helped spark in me has been incredible. I’d like to create something like that for someone else, someday, and keep those instructions on my bookshelf as a reminder.
That's really cool. I can feel how this theme in particular oozes so much passion, and I think that's what made it so appealing to so many - even people like me, who up until Exo-Force really only cared about medieval themes!
@@CheeseyStudios I’d really love to see a second video if you’re working on it, and the style of your videos has a lot of passion it in themselves. Subscribed with the notifications on for anything you do in future, and looking forward to watching your other content, this is a really cool channel :)
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 :(
The stickered parts can be so hard to find 😭
@CheeseyStudios luckily I have all the stickered parts still I'm just missing the ankle joint, I can only find the ones that bend the wrong direction
I had an old Exo Force comic book I used to read all the time, even long after I lost the Lego. probably my favorite theme to this day
I loved playing the online game as a kid. Loved this theme and brought back CRAZY memories
I'm sure I played it, but I cannot for the life of me remember anything!
i totally forgot about these but i remember having the bigger hikaru mech set and absolutely loving it. the rubbery hair was so unique
I'm surprised they've never really remade anything like those hairpieces. They're so much fun!
I had many of these as a kid. And some of I guess wave 2 which I hope we'll see. Man these were the coolest. Some of my current builds still use pieces I got from these guys.
Oh the smile on my face from that pristine fire vulture in the thumbnail 😷
Love the excitement for each set too, though that's prominent in most of your videos haha
I love my LEGO, what can I say 🤣
so much love for this theme and for your video. Really takes me back :')
Can't wait to see your coverage of the next wave, especially that cool blue version of the Supernova!
The video is about 80% done even! Very excited to share it with everyone
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
I think the Ryo Uplink set is one of the coolest sets of all time. It does so much with so little.
It really does! And I adore that hockey helmet parts usage
Man, I remember getting every single set from the first wave growing up, even including the mountain base and the giant four legged spider walker later on. This video is making me want to go home and rebuild every single set I had, or maybe go rebuild one of the mechs in a more modernized build method
The first two waves were bangers! Cannot wait to look at those larger sets - they're incredible.
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.
The whole Dino 2010 thing is so auls! LEGO would never do something like that today
I remember my brother getting the stealth hunter an me getting the grand titan. totally loved these sets and I remember getting that orange attack tack for christmas, these sets were endless fun tbh
Had all of the small mechs and the large yellow. Loved this set as a kid.
Very nice. Supernova is one of the greatest sets ever
Very nice moc in the beginning! Love the detail! Such a great theme to build mocs in. Great video👍
Thank you! I had a lot of fun building that little vignette, and would love to try my hand at revamping one of the larger mechs in the future
@@CheeseyStudios Great idea!
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
Exo-Force today would be amazing with the quality of mechs the company is producing!
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.
i remember getting Takeshi with the minigun mech, it brought so much life to my gray looking star wars collection
I do love that about original LEGO themes - they're always so colorful!
Darn this is cool!
I remember being born bit too late to have any of these sets.
It’s a neat memory, looking through old catalogs at some of those sets and thinking about how it feels to build one of them.
The Mobile devastator was definitely memorable.
Now, with the power of Bricklink and BrickBy brick, I can procure myself almost any of them and they are as cool as I imagined them.
It’s actually a very good time, scrolling through the OG instructions and attempting to redesign a mech with more modern techniques and components.
Also, Uplink.
Yeah, with modern parts and techniques, you can make some truly epic Exo-Force mechs!
Never owned any of these, but I used to want them a lot after discovering them on the Lego instructions archive thing back in the day. Its good to see a proper review of them!
It's definitely something that needed to be shared with the world - it's such a unique LEGO theme!
I had the stealth hunter as a kid. Honestly, most of my memories with it is finding the pieces in the buckets and wondering what I had that used these. Especially the blue hair.
So I’m glad I found this video since it gave me the answers I needed. I think I’ll see if I can rebuild it. Minus the tube. I’m pretty sure that’s lost forever. Plus, I really love the robot minifigs. Those look amazing.
The robots are peak minifig design. Not sure LEGO has ever made better robots!
ah man, the first couple of minutes made me think of my childhood. i was born in the mid 90s and those were my childhood legos. I should still have them in some boxes but obviously in parts scattered.
These sets were so cool to me back then and still are. Didn't know one of the sets had Toa Nuva armor in lime green, bet that'd be great for mocs! Looking forward to you covering the rest of the waves!
So excited especially for the next wave. I'm hoping I can even start filming tomorrow!
@@CheeseyStudios looking forward to that! 🤩
I got back into the theme some time last year and re-bought all of the stuff from the first two waves I'd dismantled and then some; only some select few alt modes are missing until I have my whole bucket list now, still overjoyed with this line.
It really is something special. Glad you were able to pick up all the kits too! They're super fun to collect.
I have really good memories with the Hikaru’s mech set. It’s one of the first LEGO sets I ever had, and my dad got it for me when we were moving around so I would have something to play with. I got a few more exo force sets but that was always my favorite
That one there's a classic for sure 👌 Glad you got to experience it!
Damn I loved Exoforce, now I have to look through all of my lego to find it. I just have to do it! Amazing video!
I loved the exo-force theme and it was a treat to have this video pop up in my recs for the nostalgia alone. Great video, looking forward to the next four :)
Stealth Hunter being referenced in that new City roller coaster set is so cool.
Right? So excited for that set! Exo-Force lives!
That big car with the giant green wheels and the tower was my favourite Lego set, Lego have never made a set as fun as that ever.
Mobile Devastator, yeah? Such a good set! This theme was all around good fun.
I just recently got the Sonic Phantom after some years of collecting Exo Force the build is one of my favorites.
It's pretty sweet - great use of those fan pieces!
This is by far my favorite original Lego System theme from my childhood. I got the Sentry set from my Lego Club subscription and even had a birthday party in the back of the Lego store where we all got to build Ryo’s green mech from the jungle wave I believe. The rubberized hair pieces are so cool and something I wish Lego would go back to for some new anime licenses. Hikaru was by far my favorite character in terms of character and mech design, but his hair piece never matched it’s comic depiction at all lol
They definitely need to bring something like these hairpieces back. They're just too much fun!
I'm glad I found this video when I was a kid and these came out I spent my whole allowance on on every medium mech. Lego mechs are still something I find cool!
Ha! Sounds just like what my brother and I did. These were are everything back then. Such good times...
I only had one exo force set, but it left enough of an impression on me that I now play both Imperial and Chaos Knights in Warhammer 40k
Exo-Force definitely helped define a generation. I think it really introduced us all to so many new things!
so much memories there, need the other waves please!
This brings back some very old memories. I got the sticker book back in like 1st grade.
That's awesome! I'd love to get that sticker book even now 🤣
Dino Attack was so cool! Knight's kingdom too, my god, the nostalgia. I forgot about Kingdom and Exo Force
Thank you for the amazing and nostalgic video!!! I had the 2 small 5-dollar sets and I would take them apart to make new mech creations with my Bionicles but it's such a fun and imaginative theme!! Thank you again!! I got so happy seeing you bring out that magazine!!
I do miss getting the magazines - those were always so much fun!
Lego battles made me love the drone figures, got a bag of mixed exo force parts for some last year
also remember the minifig faces from the lego lets go song
Wow, I remember reading a couple of the Exo Force books a long time ago at my local library and it never occurred to me that this was an actual Lego line you could buy. Seeing the Stealth Hunter and Grand Titan brings me back, those books were a good read.
I had multiple of these sets as a kid haha I could never remember the name of the theme but damn I loved these as a kid!!!
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!
@@CheeseyStudios Right?? It's stellar knowing how impactful 10 dollars of lego ended up being to me.
I had these and i totally forgot these existed, what a trip.
Yeah, it's definitely been overshadowed by Ninjago these days 😪
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" 😭
Yeah... The prices were amazing given the size of these, though they don't hold together nearly as well as modern mechs
Hearing these prices from back in the day really brings back some good memories- I used to feel bad asking my parents to get me anything above $10- now smaller sets are like $30 💀😭
Ugh, right? The sizes of sets these days are definitely out of hand...