Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[GK733]

Yet people despite Lewa so much.

[Quisoves Pugnat]

Hey, guys! We've got leaked development notes on the summer animations. Not only will they be more talky, but LEGO's taking a page from Disney!

I bet Lewa gets a dance number.

I figure it makes a change from the various "Skull blank" videos. =P

[Clone 01354 Productions]

^Can there be some kind of a rule against pretending to get an exciting development, only for it to be some lame joke? (I'm always fooled by those posts..... )

[One Very Agile Cat]

I'm a little tired of the trans-shells, to be honest.

2011- I overlooked the trans in Jetbug and 3.0's.

2012- More noticeable in the line-ups.

2013- Fairly abundant.

2014- Here and there.

2015- 2013 repeat.

I suppose I just prefer solid colors more. :P Don't get me wrong, I used to freak over trans armor but I feel it's increasing prominence is trowing off some of the color balance in these Badassicles. With the mix of color solids, metallics, and trans.

Now trans bones, that's where it's at... for now. c_c

Funny, the mix of solids, metallics, and clear parts is exatcly what makes the new sets exciting to me. Like Gali is my favourite CCBS set, and it's all because of the very cool and unified colours. Then on the flip side, characters like Tahu offer constrasting colours for a unique design. (I've never felt compelled to replace the silver feet and hands on him) I also really like Kopaka's colours. I like them all, really. I dunno, I guess I just consider mono-colour schemes a G1 thing, and G2 is all about new and different.

Edited May 27, 2015 by One Very Agile Cat

[DuckBricks]

^Can there be some kind of a rule against pretending to get an exciting development, only for it to be some lame joke? (I'm always fooled by those posts..... )

I got fooled as well... Good one Pugnat...

Anyway, I agree with One Very Agile Cat in that the mix of metals, trans colors, and solid colors while retaining a solid colorscheme is exactly what makes the new sets so compelling in my opinion in terms of color...

[Toa of Gallifrey]

I agree, something that makes sets like Gali stand out for me is the use of their color scheme. Gali's combination of azure, gunmetal and silver works perfectly in my eyes.

[Dorek]

Really? I think the opposite. Her colors are a complete mess. But I'll save that for my review...

[Phoenix_Flare]

Really? I think the opposite. Her colors are a complete mess. But I'll save that for my review...

Well being the artist that I am, I can say that Gali's colors ARE actually evenly distributed. I'm looking at her right now (Un-modded BTW) and to me they don't clash all that much. Now that I think about it Her armor reminds me of the LoZ TP Zora tunic.

[Dorek]

They might be evenly distributed, but there's way too many to be reasonably considered a "scheme", and they're often haphazardly applied. I think they clash a ton =P.

[Aanchir]

Really? I think the opposite. Her colors are a complete mess. But I'll save that for my review...

C'mon, don't give me another reason to cringe at BS01 set reviews. I have enough of those as it is...

Nah, in all seriousness, I won't hold it against you if I end up disagreeing with your conclusion in the review. It wouldn't be the first time I've disagreed with a review and certainly won't be the last. And at any rate, your Pohatu review is easily the best review the site's had, in terms of picture quality and actual, meaningful insights. But you're still totally wrong about Gali. :P

As I see it, Gali has an excellent color scheme. After all, it's just Dark Azur and Tr. Light Blue plus a few shades of grey and Bright Yellow accents. Even if you count every neutral color separately, you end up with just eight colors for her entire body (not counting colored pins and axles). Applying the same rules, that's the same as the number of colors as Makuta or the Gukko (not counting Jaller) from 2003, or Evo XL Machine (not counting Evo) or Queen Beast from last year. Actually, Evo XL Machine has TEN colors by those rules.

[Dorek]

C'mon, don't give me another reason to cringe at BS01 set reviews. I have enough of those as it is...

Nah, in all seriousness, I won't hold it against you if I end up disagreeing with your conclusion in the review. It wouldn't be the first time I've disagreed with a review and certainly won't be the last. And at any rate, your Pohatu review is easily the best review the site's had, in terms of picture quality and actual, meaningful insights. But you're still totally wrong about Gali. :P

As I see it, Gali has an excellent color scheme. After all, it's just Dark Azur and Tr. Light Blue plus a few shades of grey and Bright Yellow accents. Even if you count every neutral color separately, you end up with just eight colors for her entire body (not counting colored pins and axles). Applying the same rules, that's the same as the number of colors as Makuta or the Gukko (not counting Jaller) from 2003, or Evo XL Machine (not counting Evo) or Queen Beast from last year. Actually, Evo XL Machine has TEN colors by those rules.

Ouch =P

And I'd probably agree with you on most of those (although I thought Queen Beast worked for the most part? Might just be because it's the only IFB set I have). But Gali has Dark Azure, Tr. Light Blue, gunmetal, silver, and the yellow accents (which I actually thought were handy, but again, in due time), as well as the slight gold for the spear and the eye color. Given the distribution, that's four primary colors, which is at least one too many. Cutting out any one of the primaries (preferably silver) would have made it a lot more cohesive, or if she had maybe been a bigger set it could have been less noticeable.

(spoiler alert: not a bad set otherwise!)

[Aanchir]

Ouch =P

And I'd probably agree with you on most of those (although I thought Queen Beast worked for the most part? Might just be because it's the only IFB set I have). But Gali has Dark Azure, Tr. Light Blue, gunmetal, silver, and the yellow accents (which I actually thought were handy, but again, in due time), as well as the slight gold for the spear and the eye color. Given the distribution, that's four primary colors, which is at least one too many. Cutting out any one of the primaries (preferably silver) would have made it a lot more cohesive, or if she had maybe been a bigger set it could have been less noticeable.

(spoiler alert: not a bad set otherwise!)

Nah, don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing any of those other sets, or saying that you're looking at Gali all wrong. Just pointing out that the "three main colors" rule (or analyzing a set based on the number of colors in general) can be a bit of an oversimplification. After all, Queen Beast also had at least four main colors when you get right down to it (black, Tr. Flu. Green, Tr. Light Blue, and Medium Azur). And if you conflate the Tr. Light Blue and Medium Azur as one color, I think that Tr. Light Blue and Dark Azur are close enough to one another that you ought to extend Gali that same courtesy.

Speaking of Gali, just today I saw a video from TTV that I think really effectively reinforces why she's my favorite of the new Toa:

This is the first of their "Product Showcase" videos but it definitely makes me enthusiastic to see more! Amazing presentation quality, detailed coverage, and no chatter/gossip. Obviously it performs a different function than a review, because there's nothing there that will give you a sense of how enjoyable the set is when it comes to building and play or other opinions of that sort. Still, it does an amazing job showing off the set's beauty from every angle, and in a variety of poses, showing that it doesn't take any trick photography or super-specific poses and angles to make her look her best. To think that some people don't think she looks feminine!

Edited May 27, 2015 by Aanchir

[Dorek]

Nah, don't get me wrong, I'm not criticizing any of those other sets, or saying that you're looking at Gali all wrong. Just pointing out that the "three main colors" rule (or analyzing a set based on the number of colors in general) can be a bit of an oversimplification. After all, Queen Beast also had at least four main colors when you get right down to it (black, Tr. Flu. Green, Tr. Light Blue, and Medium Azur). And if you conflate the Tr. Light Blue and Medium Azur as one color, I think that Tr. Light Blue and Dark Azur are close enough to one another that you ought to extend Gali that same courtesy.

Right, there's no hard-and-fast rule; it works in some cases, but not necessarily in others. I'm inclined to think Gali's a case where it doesn't, and since she's a basic humanoid not trying for much else, it sticks out all the more. But they can't be perfect, neh?

[One Very Agile Cat]

Gali has the most unified colour scheme of all, though. You act like the dark azure and trans light blue are contrasting colours. They're not. Same with the silver and gunmetal. They're just different shades of the same colour, and two of them are neutrals! That's the exact oppsite of a "mess," it may be the most thoughtfully planned out and excellently executed of all the Toa. (also, does anyone else think biased reviews on a resource site is kinda of an oxymoron?)

Monotone/duotone colourschemes are so damn bland. I'm more than sick of all my favourite characters become one solid shape of a colour with minor accents made of neutrals. While the monotonous colours of the original Toa won't sour in my mind anytime soon, some of my other favourite designs from anything ever are characters like Transmetal Tarantulas from Beast Wars, or Genesic GaoGaiGar. All use multicoloured schemes that are so unified and cleverly executed because the similar colours work with eachother and the contrasting colours contrast well.

EDIT: BTW, Aanchir, that video is cool. Though I personally think the tracking shots would've been better as still images being zoomed around, and the blaring techno music is ill-fitting, mad props to TTV for doing something like that. You'd think in this day an age, super high-rez pics and video of anything could be found, but that's the best quality I've personally seen of Gali besides with my own eyes, obviously. Also:

To think that some people don't think she looks feminine!

I know, right? And best of all, she's not overtly feminine. She has the same pectoral chest as 4/5ths the reast of the Toa, but just clever armour placement and limbs sizes evoke a female form without being gratuitous. (perfectly complimenting the mask) Edited May 27, 2015 by One Very Agile Cat

[Dorek]

(why am I defending a review that hasn't even come out yet :U)

Gali has the most unified colour scheme of all, though. You act like the dark azure and trans light blue are contrasting colours. They're not. Same with the silver and gunmetal. They're just different shades of the same colour, and two of them are neutrals! That's the exact oppsite of a "mess," it may be the most thoughtfully planned out and excellently executed of all the Toa.

Right, but there's a difference between contrasting colors and clashing colors. If they were the same, people wouldn't flip out over MoCs that use the newer grey alongside the older one. Just because they're complementary shades doesn't mean they go well together. They're all placed haphazardly on things anyway; transblue on grey, gunmetal on transblue, silver on dark azure on transblue, dark azure on black, etc. There's barely any consistency. You want well-thought-out, go look at Kopaka.

(also, does anyone else think biased reviews on a resource site is kinda of an oxymoron?)

Reviews by nature are opinionated, so... no? I must have missed where having a thought was automatically a bias. We're a full LUG, this is how we serve the member base.

Edited May 27, 2015 by Dorek

[Aanchir]

Right, but there's a difference between contrasting colors and clashing colors. If they were the same, people wouldn't flip out over MoCs that use the newer grey alongside the older one. Just because they're complementary shades doesn't mean they go well together. They're all placed haphazardly on things anyway; transblue on grey, gunmetal on transblue, silver on dark azure on transblue, dark azure on black, etc. There's barely any consistency. You want well-thought-out, go look at Kopaka.

Seems pretty consistent to me: grey and black inner layer, blue middle layer, metallic outer layer. In clothing terms, you could think of her as wearing a blue bodysuit with metallic gloves, boots, torso armor, and shoulder armor. I'd consider Kopaka's color scheme a heck of a lot less consistent, seeing as it can't quite decide whether gold is the outermost layer (torso, shoulders) or a middle layer (upper arms and lower legs). That's not to say that Kopaka's color scheme doesn't work. Color layering is a useful technique, not an inviolable law. But Kopaka is certainly no champion of sensible color layering.

And I'm generally not one to flip out over MOCs that use multiple types of gray or silver together, provided they distribute them sensibly (a MOC where the entire upper half uses the new gray and the entire lower half uses the old gray would be quite awkward).

[Dorek]

Seems pretty consistent to me: grey and black inner layer, blue middle layer, metallic outer layer. In clothing terms, you could think of her as wearing a blue bodysuit with metallic gloves, boots, torso armor, and shoulder armor. I'd consider Kopaka's color scheme a heck of a lot less consistent, seeing as it can't quite decide whether gold is the outermost layer (torso, shoulders) or a middle layer (upper arms and lower legs). That's not to say that Kopaka's color scheme doesn't work. Color layering is a useful technique, not an inviolable law. But Kopaka is certainly no champion of sensible color layering.

But the blue is inconsistently on the outside vs the inside, so the bodysuit analogy doesn't really work, since the "layers" have to be imagined in that case as opposed to what's actually there. Kopaka's coloring is smart in terms of how it breaks things down; trans-blue underlayer, white armor, gold on top, but only occasionally inverting the white and the gold to prevent it from being overpowering (the opposite of Gali, who can't figure out what color she actually wants to be).

At this point I'm just going to leave the rest to be said in my review, although we're still not going to agree on it =P. Thank goodness we're all entitled to opinions~

And I'm generally not one to flip out over MOCs that use multiple types of gray or silver together, provided they distribute them sensibly (a MOC where the entire upper half uses the new gray and the entire lower half uses the old gray would be quite awkward).

You'd be a saint among critics :U

[Aanchir]

But the blue is inconsistently on the outside vs the inside, so the bodysuit analogy doesn't really work, since the "layers" have to be imagined in that case as opposed to what's actually there.

Not really. The lowest layer (black and gray) has to be imagined in some places, but this is pretty much always the case. Look at the Toa Metru. They didn't actually have Dark Stone Gray parts underneath their lower leg armor, but that doesn't stop Dark Stone Grey from representing that lowest layer of their bodies.

[Phoenix_Flare]

I personally think that it depends on the contrast of clashing colors. Just look at combiners; most of the time their colors clash due to the major gradient difference of the sets being individually colored to a specific element (greens, light blues, purples, silver, and so on), but when you look at sets by themselves, like Gali MoW, her colors don't exactly clash.

For example: If I was painting a Bob Ross style of picture I would use reds, blues, greens, browns, oranges, and many other colors. Would those be conidered "clashing colors"? Yes, but He knew how to work with similar colors to one another and his paintings turned out beautiful. This is why Gali's colors DO NOT clash together because they're similar in shading and tone. They work well together.

So what I'm saying is that Gali MoW is like an underwater painting: You have your gradients of Azure, Tr. light blue, gunmatal, and silver which compliment each other not clash with each other. The ocean has many different colors in it. I took several Intro To Art classes in Jr. High AND High School; I should know this stuff.

Edited May 28, 2015 by Phoenix_Flare

[Logan McOwen]

Yeah, Gali's colour scheme is gorgeous. Very, very nicely done. She's honestly one of the best CCBS sets that've been out so far, IMHO.

[DraikNova]

Personally, I think that Gali's colorscheme looks nice, although it's hard to say why considering the fact that usually, translucent colors and their "solid" equivalents clash quite badly. The use of both gunmetal and silver doesn't really bother me. You don't use the same metal for every part of a piece of armor, you use different alloys depending on what sort of stresses each part will be put under.

[Kalhiki]

For example: If I was painting a Bob Ross style of picture I would use reds, blues, greens, browns, oranges, and many other colors. Would those be conidered "clashing colors"? Yes, but He knew how to work with similar colors to one another and his paintings turned out beautiful. This is why Gali's colors DO NOT clash together because they're similar in shading and tone. They work well together.

So what you're saying is that Gali would look better with happy little clouds? :P

Joking aside, personally, I like Gali's colors. Well balanced, and I don't find them at all clashing.

Now Protector of Water. There's a color scheme I can't stand. Way too much going on. Three types of blue, black, and silver. Not to mention those gray thighs.

[Clone 01354 Productions]

I quite like Gali's color scheme--are the colors distributed in a sensible way? No.....But why does it need to? Personally, I think that Onua and Kopaka have the worst color scheme--gold and silver do not go together........

That reminds me, I was thinking the other day that maybe the $20 Toa (Kopaka, Onua, and Tahu) should not have used gold as one of their secondary colors, because it makes the golden mask seem less special. On Gali, Lewa, and Pohatu, the gold mask looks out of place, and it draws more attention. But on the other Toa, the gold mask blends in......Too bad Tahu and Kopaka have the printed gold chest plates, because if they didn't, I would have switched both of them to all elemental colors.

[Voxovan]

I quite like Gali's color scheme--are the colors distributed in a sensible way? No.....But why does it need to? Personally, I think that Onua and Kopaka have the worst color scheme--gold and silver do not go together........

That reminds me, I was thinking the other day that maybe the $20 Toa (Kopaka, Onua, and Tahu) should not have used gold as one of their secondary colors, because it makes the golden mask seem less special. On Gali, Lewa, and Pohatu, the gold mask looks out of place, and it draws more attention. But on the other Toa, the gold mask blends in......Too bad Tahu and Kopaka have the printed gold chest plates, because if they didn't, I would have switched both of them to all elemental colors.

There's plenty of examples where gold and silver go well together, so no.

And yeah, I kinda agree with what you said about Tahu, Kopaka and Onua... I'd either make all of the Toa have golden elements, or none of them. Having only 3 with those elements seems a little... weird? Especially when there's no explanation why these three have them and the others don't.

[Dorek]

There's plenty of examples where gold and silver go well together, so no.

And yeah, I kinda agree with what you said about Tahu, Kopaka and Onua... I'd either make all of the Toa have golden elements, or none of them. Having only 3 with those elements seems a little... weird? Especially when there's no explanation why these three have them and the others don't.

They're the larger sets, so I can only imagine that's why.