Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[TheBrickPal]

It's funny, but the Mistika/Phantoka sets were what finally put me into a Bionicle collectors frenzy.

I suppose part of it is that I had no pre-conceived ideas of what the Toa should look like. I didn't know what Lewa Mata or Lewa Nuva looked like, so Lewa Phantoka looked good to me. That and he had a seriously oversized, bad-megablocks sword.

BTW: why were those sets called Pantoka and Mistika? I don't recall those terms ever appearing in the story.

I guess that might be why. Thinking of the Phantoka Lewa as Lewa's appearance at that point kind of threw me off, but I loved the look of the set on its own.

And to answer your question, Phantoka means "spirits of the air", and "Mistika means "spirits of the mist" in the Matoran language. But... looks like Aanchir beat me to it!

Edited October 2, 2014 by Puffle Pal26

[Shakar]

I would've liked the Mistika more if they had more interesting weapons and builds... the problem is that, even if you ignored the characters they were supposed to represent they were terrible sets to me. Dull colour schemes, weak weapons (save for Onua's shield), and terrible builds for "Gali" and "Tahu" (I hope that whoever thought of using the Piraka torso backwards and uncovered has been fired). Onua was the only good one, his shield is still one of the coolest and most versatile weapons and his mask, though closer to a Kraahkan than a Pakari, was great.

I liked the Phantoka a bit better (I'm keeping Lewa Phantoka built, standing on my desk along Lewa Mata, he's one of my favourite "Inika mods"), though I didn't like that Pohatu was so absurdly short (I'm fine with height differences, but that's too much) and Kopaka's bayonet was pretty bad. And the Midak Skyblaster was a lot better than that awful Nynnrah thing.

[DuckBricks]

And the Midak Skyblaster was a lot better than that awful Nynnrah thing.

I guess the Nyrah Ghost Blasters were ok when they worked, but far inferior to the Midak Skyblasters...

[TheDesuComplex]

To be fair, I loved the Nyrah Ghostblasters. Their pneumatic function was awesome, and I liked that I was able to actually built them. I liked the Mistika too, but that's definitely an unpopular opinion.

[Toa of Gallifrey]

I really liked the three Phantoka Toa, quite liked Onua and thought Tahu and Gali were alright. The last two were cool but I would've preferred lighter shades of their primary colors, since the Metru shades looked weird on them. I liked the use of gray and silver, it made them feel like they actually were wearing the Adaptive Armor. Just wish the Mistika had better melee weapons (I'm okay with Kopaka's bayonet and Pohatu's claws). I also really liked all their Kanohi, save for Gali's (though only for the waffle iron eye and how weird it looks without the wing pieces)

At any rate, I'm glad these are more faithful since they'll be awesome to have side-by-side with their Nuva forms (since I only have 3 of the Mata, the Wairhua ones).

[Agent Fusion]

On the mysterious island of Okoto, six elemental tribes of fire, water, ice, jungle, stone and earth lived in peace, each tribe watched over by their own elemental Master. Using the mystic power of their masks, nothing could defeat them. But that all changed, when a legion of spider-like creatures rose from beneath the ground and caused chaos throughout the land. The Masters fought bravely, but the swarm was too powerful. The only being that can save the island is the Great Spirit Robot, which was destroyed long ago in a battle with its twin, the Makuta. To resurrect the Great Spirit, the Masters must find the legendary Mask of Creation, but first, they must claim their own golden masks to unlock their full elemental powers.

[Grima]

...even if this were to be a continuation (it's not) it would be highly bizarre to have the entire plot hinge on a giant robot that cannot be made as a set, especially not to scale with other sets. It was different when it was a robot that contained the universe, but now? Now, having something that important be unavailable as a toy would be a terrible decision.

(plus, y'know, the robot is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay too big to function properly on the planet without killing entire civilizations.)

[Agent Fusion]

I never said it was a giant robot, though if it was and it was to be released as a set, it would probably be Witch Doctor sized and maybe even include some minifig sized Masters. You do have a fair point though.

[Grima]

If it's a continuation, it would be the same Great Spirit Robot, would it not? Also, even a set the size of Witch Doctor and minifig-sized Masters wouldn't work; the head, which once contained Metru Nui, wouldn't even fit one minifig. Metru Nui had a population of 1000.

Shoehorning a functioning GSR back into the story is the worst thing to do with a continuation.

[Agent Fusion]

I was thinking more along the lines of a reboot, as sort of a re-imagining of the original story. I agree that it wouldn't work in a continuation.

[GK733]

If it's a continuation, it would be the same Great Spirit Robot, would it not? Also, even a set the size of Witch Doctor and minifig-sized Masters wouldn't work; the head, which once contained Metru Nui, wouldn't even fit one minifig. Metru Nui had a population of 1000.

Shoehorning a functioning GSR back into the story is the worst thing to do with a continuation.

A Mata Nui as toy to represent primarly it's form not size would be absolutely nice and I believe could be produced under 50 dollars, it should include concept art and stuff and size difference to the "real" one. Also, changeable eyes. I t wouldn really need more than some recolours and a new mold for head pieces.

[Grima]

I was thinking more along the lines of a reboot, as sort of a re-imagining of the original story. I agree that it wouldn't work in a continuation.

The wording of the backstory you gave implies continuation, though. "Destroyed in a battle with its twin, Makuta"? that sounds like an attempt to simplify the battle on Bara Magna.

I think a reboot should pretty much avoid a GSR in the general; the GSR was the original line's main story engine. If it's not the driving force of the story, I see no reason to have a giant robot at all. And relying on a giant robot to defeat the skull spiders seems like overkill; I'd be far more willing to bet that what's pressing isn't the Skull Spiders as an overpowering force, but stopping them from getting their claws on the Mask of Creation, whether for themselves or for some master.

[Lord-Vorahk]

The wording of the backstory you gave implies continuation, though. "Destroyed in a battle with its twin, Makuta"? that sounds like an attempt to simplify the battle on Bara Magna.

Could also refer to the original story of Terry striking Mata Nui down before it turned out to be a virus.

[Grima]

Could also refer to the original story of Terry striking Mata Nui down before it turned out to be a virus.

... except that wasn't "destroyed", Mata Nui wasn't known as a robot, and it wasn't really a battle, or described as such at all.

[Matsuoka Nui]

As I finally got to see what Onua looked like, I now understand for what is going on. (took me forever to find him back with the leaks)

But I think the redesigns are overall not too bad but once we get more photos and when the sets are out, we'll know for sure.

Oh and does anyone know the arrangement of the sets for the Winter and Summer of 2015? (Like are the newer leaks just pretty much for Winter Releases?)

Edited October 2, 2014 by Matsuoka Nui

[Grima]

Any leaks right now are winter wave. I don't know when summer sets leak, but it's not now.

[arc]

IIRC summer sets are usually at the NY toy fair, which is in February.

[Shakar]

Summer leaks usually appear around Christmas.

[Jetrax99]

As I finally got to see what Onua looked like, I now understand for what is going on. (took me forever to find him back with the leaks)

But I think the redesigns are overall not too bad but once we get more photos and when the sets are out, we'll know for sure.

Oh and does anyone know the arrangement of the sets for the Winter and Summer of 2015? (Like are the newer leaks just pretty much for Winter Releases?)

There are only supposedly 18 sets for the entirety of 2015. 13 of them are all the winter set, which leaves only 5 sets for the summer. If this is indeed the case, those 5 sets will most likely be in the $25-$30 range.

Edited October 2, 2014 by Jetrax99

[VBBN]

I would certainly like for the entire summer wave to be "titan" sets, but I would guess the sizes will be more varied. A range of $12-$25 or something like that. Regardless of what the wave sizes are, I hope we see some bipedal villains. I mean I'd be okay with figures like Bohrok or Rahkshi, I'm just tired of spiders/arachnid/crawling things.

[Matsuoka Nui]

Interesting, so it appears that we'll have a large wave for the winter sets. I thought maybe there would be a lot for the summer? *shrugs*

Again, it's still a bit early to say anything.

Thanks Grima, arc, Shakar, and Jetrax99!

[Chimaninja454]

I would certainly like for the entire summer wave to be "titan" sets, but I would guess the sizes will be more varied. A range of $12-$25 or something like that. Regardless of what the wave sizes are, I hope we see some bipedal villains. I mean I'd be okay with figures like Bohrok or Rahkshi, I'm just tired of spiders/arachnid/crawling things.

Thank you VBBN!

[Loki]

I would certainly like for the entire summer wave to be "titan" sets, but I would guess the sizes will be more varied. A range of $12-$25 or something like that. Regardless of what the wave sizes are, I hope we see some bipedal villains. I mean I'd be okay with figures like Bohrok or Rahkshi, I'm just tired of spiders/arachnid/crawling things.

To be honest, I'd rather see more variance of rahi as titan sets again. I always felt a little disappointed when future lines, like Metru Nui, etc... didn't have sets of the wildlife (but they had some combiners, which I built as I just like seeing the animals/wildlife of fictional worlds).

We got a lot of bipedal/humanoid titans in the latterish years of the last Bionicle line (save for Vezon/Fenrakk from what I remember, though Vezon's rather humanoid... but the set's focus always seemed to be Fenrakk). Of course, with the abundance of spiders as of late, I'd much prefer to see like... a re-imagining of Nui-Jaga or Muaka (or other wildlife that is native to Okoto, I'm pulling at 2001 rahi sets as they're the only examples I can think of).

Dunno if Hero Factory had a particular affinity for crawling things, or for animals, as I didn't follow that line (at all), so I am pulling off what I remember before Bionicle was canceled.

[Grima]

Hero Factory didn't focus on non-humanoid/sapient creatures until Savage Planet, which still notably relied on the humanoid builds save for Scorpio, whose body was a mess of limb and torso bones, then took another break until its last two waves, which had Dragon Bolt (who is to date the most hideous LEGO dragon I've ever seen) and this year's Beasts, only two of which are notably non-humanoid: Tunneler Beast, who is actually pretty well built, and Queen Beast, who, prior to her murder at the hands of Preston Stormer, was basically a really long torso plugged onto four legs and a cocoon abdomen.

I'd love to see a variety of creatures, especially if we can move away from using the big, blocky torso blocks in them. I was done with blocky monopiece torsos when the Av-Matoran first introduced them.

(fun fact: this post is a mess because I completely forgot Savage Planet until after I had written it. i'm not surprised I forgot it, though; it's very forgettable, at least as far as story goes.)

Edited October 2, 2014 by Grima

[slugdude]

I must say, as an avid Bionicle fan, that these are simply the most disappointing thing Lego has ever put out. After about three waves of Hero Factory with spider themed bad guys we immediately receive a poorly-designed, boring spider. The Toa are Hero factory figs with bad recreations of old masks and weapons. Lastly, the print on their chests is nonsensical. This is extremely disheartening.