Many of the sets of the Hero Factory line could be rebuilt into Combiners (or Combination Models), like BIONICLE. No Alternate Models were released, however. These models reused the pieces from Hero Factory sets to construct an additional figure. Instructions for combiners were released in various formats, such as being posted online or being featured in magazines published by LEGO. Most of the combiners are not canon while all but one of the others are questionable in canon since they only appear in one or two mediums, and one of these combiners' physical appearance looks very different from other 1.0 Heroes. The other one could happen in the canon, according to HeroFactory.com, but did not happen. Most of the combiners do not have official names.
"Crunchy sez… don't use a flash!" ― Crunchy, HeroFactory.com
One combination model was released in 2010 through the September-October issue of the LEGO Club BrickMaster Magazine. It combines three of the first wave heroes to make Lucas Valor, a Hero who did a mission called Mission: Pirates of the Constellations, though his physical appearance is questionable in the canon.
"Crunchy", a combination model used as an example of a Hero Factory creation in the Prototype Photography Tips section of HeroFactory.com's Gallery page
There is a combination model made of parts from sets 7147 XPlode and 7156 Corroder. It was named "Crunchy" by webmaster Kelly McKiernan, who designed and only used the model as an example of a Hero Factory creation in HeroFactory.com's Gallery page, in the Prototype Photography Tips section.[Prototype Photography Tips] Crunchy is also the name of the Robo-Dog owned by Kay Byte. It is evident that the model and the Robo-Dog are not the one and the same because the model does not look like a dog, despite being able to stand on all fours, and the model had a quote in HeroFactory.com, which is about the Prototype Photography Tips rather than Kay Byte's testimonial. Thus, the model is not canon. Instructions for it were never released by LEGO for an unknown reason.
Six combiner models were released online in 2011 - three for the winter wave, three for the summer wave. These combined the heroes in pairs to create larger Hero-like models. Each of the models has double-jointed legs, and two appendages on its back. However, these never appeared in the story, so they are not canon. Some, if not all, of these models were also made available in two-pack sets in Korea.
Like in the prior year, a combination model was released through the March-April issue of the LEGO Club Brickmaster Magazine. This one combines all six 2.0 heroes to create the villainous character called Makuro-X1 though the villain is questionable in the canon because the villain only appeared in the Lego magazine.
Each of the nine hero and villain pairs released in 2012 featured a combiner model for which instructions could be found online, depicting a different version of the villain. However, these never appeared in the story, so they are not canon. Some, if not all, of these models were also made available in two-pack "Mission Packs" in Korea.
Two combiner models were released through the May-June issue of the LEGO Club Magazine in the year. However, unlike past years, building instructions for both were released on the LEGO Club website, but one required a Club Code for each of the combiners from the magazine. The first combined the pieces from three of the winter wave Hero sets to create a rookie member of the Alpha 1 Team. The other combined the Heroes' assigned villains to create an unnamed villain. However, these characters are questionable in the canon due to the fact that they only appeared in the Lego magazine.
Like the previous year, each of the hero and creature pairs released in 2013 featured a combiner model for which instructions could be found online. In this case, they were said to depict "Ultimate" versions of the heroes, using parts of the creatures to upgrade the heroes, however these never appeared in the story, so they are not canon. Some, if not all, of these models were also made available in two-pack sets in Korea.
44000 FURNO XL can also be combined with set 70200 CHI Laval, a constraction set from LEGO's Legends of Chima line, to create a new bulkier version of the Laval set, using instructions obtained from a code, LAVAL, present in the September-October issue of the LEGO Club Magazine. This is the first combiner to be made of sets from two Lego themes.
In 2014, a combiner model was released online depicting a "Powered-Up" version of the Evo XL Machine, using arms from the other four winter-wave hero machines, though this was not shown in the story, but according to HeroFactory.com, it can happen in the story.
Other instructions for combiner models were also released online, depicting beasts and machines different from those seen in the main models of the sets, though these were also not shown in the story, so they are non-canon. Each combiner used two or three sets. The mini-figures, the canisters, the cocoons, and the Heroes' hand-held equipment do not have to be disassembled to build the combiner models.
