Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[CM4Sci]

Picked up the Mask Maker & Skull Grinder set, I love it! I usually don't get BIONICLE sets, but I had only Tahu and it was getting kinda boring just having only him.

[MakutaOfWar]

Well, as I've no hope for a golden Skull mask in the North of the Americas I ordered my first batch of Skull villains, MMvsSG and Basher. Now I wait.

[TheDesuComplex]

Well, as I've no hope for a golden Skull mask in the North of the Americas I ordered my first batch of Skull villains, MMvsSG and Basher. Now I wait.

It has been confirmed for not appearing in September, which still leaves three more months for it to crop up. I'm betting that it will be a freebie in October.

[Kalhiki]

It has been confirmed for not appearing in September, which still leaves three more months for it to crop up. I'm betting that it will be a freebie in October.

Super spooky promotion just in time for Halloween? I could see that happening.

Sadly I've already gotten the whole lineup for the summer sets. However, wasn't the trans orange Mask of Fire promotion a gift with any purchase? Hopefully that's the case again with this.

[Mandate]

Bought Mask Grinder VS Skull Maker MMvsSG today. Instant favorite, and there's not much I can complain about really. Grinder's arm actually can hold up his weapon in some (very few) poses, and Ekimu is better than most Toa! That being said, I didn't like the underbite the MoCr has, and I think his Protector mask actually suits him better. Skull Grinder is pretty cool, but for the "big bad" of the year it's kinda sad that he's no match for Ekimu. Also that useless mask stand, I cannot overstate how useless it is. I really like Grinder's staff, it's capable of pulling most masks off easily, and his overall look is incredibly well done, even if his skelleton bones are a little... thin.

[GK733]

There's a really easy fix, stretch the thing enough so it gives friction or put a black pin in there. One has to wonder why Lego didn't make it so in the first place. I would liked to have a stand that had even tried to represent the forge.

[Mandate]

There's a really easy fix, stretch the thing enough so it gives friction or put a black pin in there. One has to wonder why Lego didn't make it so in the first place. I would liked to have a stand that had even tried to represent the forge.

Yeah, I modified mine shortly after I finished building it with the pin technique. I would assume it's too tight to be considered a "legal" technique, it might warp the plastic over time unlike the normal heads. Speaking of which, why did they even bother custom-building the top section of the mask stand when they simply could have put a ball joint and a head without an eye stalk there? It's simpler, easier and works far better than the current version.

[MakutaOfWar]

Random question; is Lewa 2015's green a new constraction color or is it like his Mata form(I only got Tahu way back when so my Mata colors knowledge isn't so great :3)? It's hard to tell from the CGI covers and such.

[Voxovan]

Random question; is Lewa 2015's green a new constraction color or is it like his Mata form(I only got Tahu way back when so my Mata colors knowledge isn't so great :3)? It's hard to tell from the CGI covers and such.

It's a new shade of green (first appeared in Green Lantern Ultrabuild in 2012). It's slighty brighter than Mata Green, but these two colors are really similar and look near identical next to each other.

[MakutaOfWar]

It's a new shade of green (first appeared in Green Lantern Ultrabuild in 2012). It's slighty brighter than Mata Green, but these two colors are really similar and look near identical next to each other.

Ah, I completely forgot about that ultrabuild. XD Thanks.

[Mandate]

It's a new shade of green (first appeared in Green Lantern Ultrabuild in 2012). It's slighty brighter than Mata Green, but these two colors are really similar and look near identical next to each other.

I disagree. Mata green is a dark (but thankfully not Metru dark) shade of green, the new green is a light green and there's a noticeable difference between the two of them, and I've actually got Lewa Mata's Miru right next to one of the new bright green shells. I think the brighter shade of green might have been the driving force behind giving Lewa Keetorange, lime and bright green look awful next to each other.

[Lyichir]

Yeah, I modified mine shortly after I finished building it with the pin technique. I would assume it's too tight to be considered a "legal" technique, it might warp the plastic over time unlike the normal heads. Speaking of which, why did they even bother custom-building the top section of the mask stand when they simply could have put a ball joint and a head without an eye stalk there? It's simpler, easier and works far better than the current version.

Probably more expensive, and would look more obviously like a disembodied head. The real question is why they didn't use this piece, considering it works much, much better and was already included in the set to boot.

I disagree. Mata green is a dark (but thankfully not Metru dark) shade of green, the new green is a light green and there's a noticeable difference between the two of them, and I've actually got Lewa Mata's Miru right next to one of the new bright green shells. I think the brighter shade of green might have been the driving force behind giving Lewa Keetorange, lime and bright green look awful next to each other.

The "new green" was introduced back in 1993, a full eight years before the Bionicle theme even debuted. Green Lantern may have been the first Constraction set to use it, but it's far from a brand-new color.

I also doubt that Lewa would've used Bright Yellowish Green (lime) regardless of his primary color, considering that for the most part the new Toa only feature three main colors in their color schemes—a primary color, a transparent secondary color, and a metallic color. If anything, the question is why Lewa didn't use Tr. Bright Green like the Protector of Jungle, but I figure the Flame Yellowish Orange was considered more visually appealing due to how vibrant it looked compared to Tr. Bright Green. It's also possible that they considered using Warm Gold on Lewa, but switched it to Flame Yellowish Orange to limit gold accents to the $20 Toa.

Edited August 23, 2015 by Lyichir

[DuckBricks]

Probably more expensive, and would look more obviously like a disembodied head. The real question is why they didn't use this piece, considering it works much, much better and was already included in the set to boot.

The "new green" was introduced back in 1993, a full eight years before the Bionicle theme even debuted. Green Lantern may have been the first Constraction set to use it, but it's far from a brand-new color.

I also doubt that Lewa would've used Bright Yellowish Green (lime) regardless of his primary color, considering that for the most part the new Toa only feature three main colors in their color schemes—a primary color, a transparent secondary color, and a metallic color. If anything, the question is why Lewa didn't use Tr. Bright Green like the Protector of Jungle, but I figure the Flame Yellowish Orange was considered more visually appealing due to how vibrant it looked compared to Tr. Bright Green. It's also possible that they considered using Warm Gold on Lewa, but switched it to Flame Yellowish Orange to limit gold accents to the $20 Toa.

I wonder if that thing damages the masks or something...

[Aanchir]

I wonder if that thing damages the masks or something...

I can't imagine why it would. It's the exact same width as the new heads, and the holes in the sides are actually larger (you can stick a 3.2mm bar into a cross axle hole, but you can't stick one into the holes in the sides of the new head pieces). Granted, it does require a more complex mold than the actual pieces used due to having holes pointing in perpendicular directions. So naturally it's a more expensive part than the parts that were used, at least taken individually.

However, the price for 92907 on Bricks & Pieces is 45 cents, while the price for 6632 and 74695 is 15 cents each, so it still seems as though 92907 would be cheaper than two of 6632, one of 74695, and one of 32062. But the consumer prices might not be 100% proportionate to the production costs.

[DuckBricks]

I can't imagine why it would. It's the exact same width as the new heads, and the holes in the sides are actually larger (you can stick a 3.2mm bar into a cross axle hole, but you can't stick one into the holes in the sides of the new head pieces). Granted, it does require a more complex mold than the actual pieces used due to having holes pointing in perpendicular directions. So naturally it's a more expensive part than the parts that were used, at least taken individually.

However, the price for 92907 on Bricks & Pieces is 45 cents, while the price for 6632 and 74695 is 15 cents each, so it still seems as though 92907 would be cheaper than two of 6632, one of 74695, and one of 32062. But the consumer prices might not be 100% proportionate to the production costs.

Hmm, that's really interesting. The only reason I can think of is that the designer wanted the perpendicular Technic element in the assembly so the mask could rest on it (but it doesn't help...)

Edited August 23, 2015 by legozebra

[Lyichir]

Hmm, that's really interesting. The only reason I can think of is that the designer wanted the perpendicular Technic element in the assembly so the mask could rest on it (but it doesn't help...)

It really doesn't, and the part I linked doesn't even need a connection like that, since there's enough friction for the mask to hold steady without flopping down (and if that weren't enough, the perpendicular connection itself can hold the mask's position as if it were the head's "jaw").

The best explanation I've come up for the parts they used with is that they wanted to make it easier for Skull Grinder to remove the mask from its stand using only his weapon. But even then, you'd have to hold the base of the stand so that it didn't just lift up the whole construction, and at that point a sturdier connection would hardly make a difference.

[DuckBricks]

It really doesn't, and the part I linked doesn't even need a connection like that, since there's enough friction for the mask to hold steady without flopping down (and if that weren't enough, the perpendicular connection itself can hold the mask's position as if it were the head's "jaw").

The best explanation I've come up for the parts they used with is that they wanted to make it easier for Skull Grinder to remove the mask from its stand using only his weapon. But even then, you'd have to hold the base of the stand so that it didn't just lift up the whole construction, and at that point a sturdier connection would hardly make a difference.

Yeah, I've used the part you linked several times for the same purpose and it works beautifully...

Really quite a mystery only the designer is aware of. But for some reason even in the "Villain Pack," the mask stand uses the same design as if it's uniform... Could it have been to boost piece count? (By 3 more than it would have been.... )

[Refy L.S.]

If you look on the inside of the masks, most of them seem to have a little notch designed to sit on the 2 length technic beam of the official design. Obviously this works better in theory than practice.

So I guess the "official" design worked better originally, but the masks have since changed slightly?

[GK733]

If you look on the inside of the masks, most of them seem to have a little notch designed to sit on the 2 length technic beam of the official design. Obviously this works better in theory than practice.

So I guess the "official" design worked better originally, but the masks have since changed slightly?

I don't get why they made skullspiders fit so stiff but the rest of the masks just wobble. The skullspider one should have been the standard.

[Voxovan]

Soooooo the book is out. Anyone has it? Is there anything more worth mentioning than what we've seen in the previews?

[Logan McOwen]

I preordered a physical copy on Amazon, it should be with me in a few days... I hope.

[Dorek]

I keep forgetting to order the book, maybe I'll do that. Gotta help sales and all.

[Shakar]

Anyone noticed that

, at 0:19, Kopaka's back shell is tr. light blue? Would've been cool to get it, though it might be just a mistake. Edited August 25, 2015 by Shakar

[wghost]

Likely a mistake imo, even though it's definitely not white at 0:22 either.

Edited August 25, 2015 by wghost

[BrandonJames]

Picked up the book at Barnes and Noble today. It wasn't on shelves yet they had to get it from the back. The book itself, obviously attended for younger audience. That being said I find similar to some of the older Bionicle chapter books, in terms of reading levels. The  first half of the book pretty much focuses on the winter animation. However they used terms such as Toa, mention the mask of time, are not as focused on tahu, and have good amounts focusing on each Toa and protector. The second half seems to follow the summer animations even using the same dialogue at points. All in all the book while meant for kids is very enjoyable to the average collector and for me is a lot better than the animations. The book is a little over a hundred pages it brings back a lot of the good things from generation 1. I cannot wait to see more books in the future. One last thing and this was great: Lewa mentions there is a breeze in the cave and Kopaka sarcasticly asks: "Are you the Master of Air?"