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Bionicle 2016 Sets Discussion

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I'll be the first to admit it if these really come together in meatspace, but wow this wave is a massive downgrade from 2015's Toa. It's like the line forgot all the design lessons learned when it debuted in 2015, with messy technic builds and no sense of aesthetics.

I'm gonna agree with you there, Caboose. While I'm certainly very excited about the new mechanism and the recoloured parts, these really do pale in comparison to 2015's Toa. Awkward Technic-based limb builds and new parts with unfittingly dense detail make this wave feel like it's trying too hard to emulate G1's styling, which undoes the delicately executed balance we saw this year.

Same with me. The new parts and molds sure looks great, but the overall execution of the sets seems to been downgraded when compared with the 2015 sets. I does appreciate the complexity of the sets, but the Technic-based limb build looks terrible and overall looks awkward on most of the Toa. The masks and the chest plate is also a huge dissapointment too.

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Well, count me in the minority here, but I quite like how the sets look! The Creatures are amazing and I'm getting them all. I'm glad the Toa have some form of unique Technic build - it differentiates them from each other more than 2015 did.

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I think I'm the only one who actually likes the Mask of Control. Sure, it's not the exactly like its depiction in the animation, but it's pretty snazzy.

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I think I'm the only one who actually likes the Mask of Control. Sure, it's not the exactly like its depiction in the animation, but it's pretty snazzy.

I like it too. I really like the shapes and curves of it. The only thing I don't particularly like about it are its 'cheeks.' They just look kinda chimpmunk-y.

After giving the sets another look, they don't look too bad. Can't say for sure how they compare to the 2015 versions, though. There're some neat things going on and some... Not so neat things. Looking at you, Pohatu.

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I find it funny how there were people who were complaining about 2015 because the sets weren't complex enough, and now there are people who complain about the 2016 sets because they're too complex. Can't please everybody, haha.

I actually don't mind the more technic-oriented builds and the uneccesary complex limbs - they at least give us more useful pieces, and as a MOCist I can't complain :grin: Plus I've always found technic-based builds superior to CCBS, so I'm pleased with these sets. And the asthetic they have is very reminiscent of G1, they're more "Bionicle-like" than anything we've got since the introduction of CCBS to this day, and I absolutely love it. Sure, not not everyone's gonna like it, but that's just matter of opinions.

The Mask of Control doesn't bug me, in fact, I don't think it's changed from the earlier pictures we saw - I think it's just the fact that the paper was folded which made the mask look slightly different. Sure, it's not the same as in the animations, but still has that sinister look, which works perfectly for the person who's supposed to be wearing it. As for the sets, I like most of them. The Creatures are kinda meh, but at least provide a lot of useful and new parts (for example Ikir has this piece, but with only one axle). The only set that doesn't seem all that good for me is Pohatu, mainly because of his colorscheme - I'll be definitely swapping those silver shells on his lower legs and the transparent neon green shells on his lower arms to dark orange ones.

Overall, I'm very pleased with this wave. Can't wait to see what the summer wave has to offer (especially since this year's summer sets were kinda disappointing in my opinion).

Edited by Voxovan

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What if this is a bad case of "be careful what you wish for" many wanted more technic involved before the 2015 prelims came out (I might have been one of them), and even after the sets came many were dissatisfied because of "hero factory parts". So now here's that wish granted with more technic, and it's... well, I'm not thrilled. I think the 2015 forms were better, but I'll warm up to these eventually.

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As unlikely as it is, maybe the new torso shell is 2 pieces instead of just one lump? It kind of looks like a new version of the superhero chest on top of the torso shell to me.

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Am I the only one who really likes Kopaka's shoulders? I like the technic with the Vorox armor. I think the sets overall look great, the one that I find most lackluster is Gali with her odd looking unnecessary asymmetry.

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As unlikely as it is, maybe the new torso shell is 2 pieces instead of just one lump? It kind of looks like a new version of the superhero chest on top of the torso shell to me.

It's far more likely that it is one large piece, as the 'Superhero Chest' part would be pretty dang thin.

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Keep in mind that these sets really couldn't have been made with feedback on 2015 stuff in mind - they would have been in the heat of development before we even knew BIONICLE was returning.

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So far, I really like the diversity of the Creatures and the general idea of them (animal companions for the Toa). The designs also seem cool and I look forward to finding out more about their functions! The shadow traps are a great concept as well, and nicely designed.

Of the Toa, I really like Lewa and Gali so far. Lewa has maybe the most coherent design (though I almost think he might have done well with a contrasting color like red), and Gali has some very tasteful asymmetry as well as an awesome color scheme. Kopaka seems alright as well, though his shield is not as distinctive as this year's and his color distribution is a bit weird. Those are the three Toa I got this year, so I suppose it's good that they're on the way to becoming my favorites for next year.

Not so thrilled with the other three. Onua's got a good color scheme, but he's lost a lot of the unique, super-muscular-tunnel-dwarf proportions that made him so appealing for me. Pohatu's got bizarre color distribution, a strange weapon, and he's lost his distinctive asymmetry. Tahu's weapons look cool but the rest of him feels oddly proportioned and more than a bit cluttered. Realistically a character's femurs SHOULD be longer than their tibia, as it is on most of these sets, but Tahu's design takes it too far with eight-module upper legs and five-module lower legs. And all those textures...

It also bothers me a bit that ALL (yes, all) of the Toa have friction extenders on their ankles, which generally makes the foot proportions awkward. If we do at any point get a new standard foot piece, it'd be nice if it could be two modules tall rather than three modules so it can use friction extenders without making the ankle look preposterous at certain angles. There might be some technical reason that this isn't practical, though. The waist-swivel function seems promising, and I'm interested to see how all of these characters combine with the creatures, but it's frustrating that a lot of them feel so underwhelming on their own. On the plus side, the new Toa masks in general look nice, and I like the new elemental crystal weapons and add-ons. A bunch of great recolors in these sets as well.

I do think Umarak is a very nice villain design, with some creative building techniques and a cool color scheme. And I think the Mask of Control is very nicely designed as well. It keeps a lot of the iconic characteristics of the version we saw in the webisodes, and feels about as regal as the Mask of Creation, just with a slightly more brutal look to it.

Edited by Aanchir

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I don't think these sets pale in comparison to the 2015 sets, but I don't think 2016 is better either. I think both years are pretty even. 2015 did somethings that I liked, ditto for 2016. It also had certain things I did not like. The Toa in general though I feel are better over all than last year.

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I'm in the camp that loves the technic, it just looks cooler in my opinion.

Same. Unique Technic builds are always a favorite for me, especially as they can create such diversity among CCBS builds.

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I'm feeling that these sets are more or less on-par with their 2015 versions. I appreciate the inclusion of custom builds, but there are some areas where I feel it wasn't used to its full potential (Pohatu and Lewa's upper arms). The color distribution this year is.... lackluster at best. The clashing textures is another issue entirely, and one that gives me fears for the future of CCBS. I would be very disappointed if they continued this cluttered style (or rather lack of style). Probably the biggest issue for me is the huge loss of individuality in the Toa. What happened to Tahu's samurai inspiration? Or Onua's Dwarvish look? Pohatu's asymmetry, Gali's subtle femininity, or Kopaka's paladin bulk? The only one who continued his design quirk would be Lewa, and he suffers from the same problems that plague the rest of the sets.

Edited by Dr_Chronos

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I'm in the camp that loves the technic, it just looks cooler in my opinion.

Same. I love the technic aesthetic, I mean, that is Bionicle. The only thing I don't like is how they all use the same weapon, but that's not an issue of the parts aesthetic. And the limbs made of technic is awesome. Edited by One Very Agile Cat

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I love the inclusion of Technic, on similar lines to what One Very Agile Cat said, Bionicle came from Technic. I know there will be people that jump on me here with "This isn't G1!", but what is Bionicle G2 without some similarities? Both in set and story form. Also Technic is cheaper to produce, so more for my money. That's just my opinion, though. Everybody is entitled to one, I just think some are too entitled. The designers designed sets, that's what they do, and 2016 just happens to appeal to my tastes more.

Besides, does anybody really feel kids will go crazy over "clashing textures", or the use of Technic?

Edited by MakutaOfWar

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I don't mind that the Toa use more Technic oriented builds. I just think they could have been done better. Gali especially since her asymmetry looks so off. I think once the sets are released and we can see there instructions and how they're built a lot of us will have changed our minds about them.

I do love all the creature designs save for Ketar. Even if Melum and Terak are clones of each other at least they offer slightly different builds and part recolors.

As for the Mask of Control. While it does look a bit weird it might have had the same problem that transformers Beast Machines had. Where the animation model was based on an early version of the mask/toy then they changed the design later in production. The legend animation was basically done and the animators didn't have time to change the Mask of Control before New York Comic Con

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If you look really close,the respective nuva symbol is molded into each toad mask. It's really easy to see on Gali and Lewa. Although there doesn't seem to be one on Pohatu and Onua.

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They also show the nuva-symbol on the top of the box, even Umarak has his own, it kinda resembles a trap.

Shoving lore in the box art sure makes me happy.

Overall, while I'm all in for increased parts count and the diversity of the build, but some decisions seem like missteps, especially Onua's torso+shoulders and I can't stand Tahu's weapon. Pohatu's weapon is kinda goofy and would had made more sense without the energyblade, but I for one sure don't hate the build of his arms, I quite like them as I do like Lewa's. Gali is as as good as I hoped for, though the mask... not saying it isn't any less feminine than the last one but now she looks more like a... granny.

I hope the dualinjected masks idea gets trashed for 2017 and they return to a bit more streamlined design with a fair balance of 2015-2016.

Creatures are pretty good, Melum still looks like a poor tablescrap, but Akida, Terak and Ikir are fabulous, Uxar almost goes to the same cast. Pohatu is gonna rock with a scorpio on his back but it sure looks poor alone.

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If you look really close,the respective nuva symbol is molded into each toad mask. It's really easy to see on Gali and Lewa. Although there doesn't seem to be one on Pohatu and Onua.

I think I see one on Pohatu, in the center of his forehead, and whileOnua's is harder to see, I think I might see it on his right brow (like Kopaka, who has it on his left brow due to the eyepiece on his right). I seriously doubt they'd only include the Nuva symbols on some of the Toa's masks, rather than all of them.

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Onua and Tahu remain my favourites.

Lewa and Gali look alright, I suppose.

Pohatu and Kopaka, they seem iffy. Especially their shoulders. How will they look when they don't have CGI Box-art to hide how they look from the back or the side?

Also, IDK if anyone's noticed this but you can see an outline of the creature, the Toa, and the resulting unification in glowing blue on pillars and platforms in the background of the box art. Tahu/Ikir and Lewa/Uxar seem to have the same general combination, as do Kopaka/Melum and Onua/Terak - they even seem to use the exact same 'outlines' for Tahu/Lewa's boxart and Kopaka/Onua's boxart.. Seems Gali gains Akida's gatling guns on the shoulders when united, and Pohatu's unification outline is obscured by the foreground.

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I think I see one on Pohatu, in the center of his forehead, and whileOnua's is harder to see, I think I might see it on his right brow (like Kopaka, who has it on his left brow due to the eyepiece on his right). I seriously doubt they'd only include the Nuva symbols on some of the Toa's masks, rather than all of them.

Oh, no doubt they all have them, some are just more visible than others.

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Personally, I don't think these new sets are too bad. Are there things that could've been done better? Almost certainly—but it's a rare set where that's not the case. Onua being taller and less bulky? A bummer, for sure, but nonetheless he's still recognizable and is a solid-looking set in his own right. Tahu's overabundance of contrasting textures and poor color organization? Yeah, it's a bummer—but then, his set this year was also the weakest of the lot as far as I was concerned. Lewa's color scheme could've done with a contrasting color like Tahu and Gali have, and the upper arms are slightly odd on Kopaka and Pohatu (though I do like the way Pohatu's echo his original design).

But overall, I look at these sets and see a lot of potential. The heavy Technic constructions of the torsos suggest that the new "torso beam" with waist articulation is heavily customizable, which is a boon both to original builds and revamps of these Toa to correct their perceived flaws (it's even possible that you could create a model with both this year's and next year's gearbox, to allow for double the functionality). The general aesthetic of the new masks/weapons/armor is solid. The return of the Skrall/Vorox armor is welcome, given that part's high level of compatibility with CCBS, and the new Technic-based shell looks like it'll make for a fantastic connector piece (like the Kalmah armor, but with a much more usable texture). The Nuva symbol details on the torsos and masks are amazing (especially considering this is their debut in plastic, having never been featured in the actual G1 sets). Some of the sets are better than others. Lewa's build is incredibly solid. Pohatu looks fantastic, wonky arms or no, and Gali looks great in terms of both her build and color scheme. The creatures are also amazing (the return of function-based wildlife sets? Count me in!), the shadow traps are wonderfully clever, and the unification gimmick seems like a great direction to take the sets in. Finally, the sets are chock full of useful parts and recolors, with many new shell and bone colors.

Do I think the new sets are better than this year's? No, I don't think I'd jump to that conclusion. But I don't think they're necessarily worse, either. If anything, it's more of a lateral move, and considering how many new opportunities these sets open up (especially combined with earlier CCBS parts), it's a move I can get behind.

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I will say I like the creatures and the Nuva symbols being featured so heavily is a real treat, especially in a story about unity.

There are some ideas I like here, but unlike 2015 these sets look like they'd need some serious work before I'd really like them. Mostly starting with stripping out all the technic in favor of superior CCBS body builds.

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