Bionicle 2016 Sets Discussion

[CabooseBM]

I think this year's sets are largely a horrendous misstep, but I plan on buying them all for new parts and for revamping.

[bidiminished]

In terms of maximum depth these look to be about the same as the Inika, maybe a little more depending on how far the torso shell goes out.

Speaking up the Ignika, these builds are actually pretty similar in terms of their purpose: more build options for humanoids. Not to mention they both use a single torso piece (I don't think I'll ever get around to liking it). These are far more customizable than the Ignika however, so I can't wait to see what sort of zany designs builders come up with.

Can anything be as flat as the Inika build though? These figs do look like they are a bit better than that.

iirc, the Inika torso had decent depth, but it was so ridiculously wide that it looked flat. I think the 2015 torso had too much depth because the arms were stuck back a lot, the back armour was sticking out more than intended, and the chest piece stuck out a lot. The 2016 torso design seems more versatile and the depth is better, but the lower half looks a bit thin when you look at images like this one. Still better than 2015, though.

Edited December 2, 2015 by bidiminished

[Deadshot]

Only Toa I currently have is the 2015 Onua, and I think this Uniter version is a step backwards.

The 2015 version is built like a tank, and I love it, but this one is skinny, and I didn't like those bone-look pieces on the Skull guys, and I don't like them on Onua either.

Will probably get him, but I'm not as thrilled as I was when I got my 2015 version.

[LegendsOfNinjago]

I don't want to read this all, but I like the extra studs on the side of the legs.

[dviddy]

I think this year's sets are largely a horrendous misstep, but I plan on buying them all for new parts and for revamping.

This is mostly how I feel now, but we'll see if my thoughts change when I get my review sets in soon. I'm hoping they change just because of how right I feel like 2015 got everything, but I just really don't like the over-detailed massive pistons-everywhere look. The new piston add-on from 2015 was a perfect marriage of the old and new, these don't do it anywhere near as well.

[Tarvaxx]

I prefer the more detailed look. Smooth and sleek just looks boring to me, I like intricacy and depth. Think of it this way: you got the type of sets you wanted this year, I get the type of sets I want next year. Equality.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Tarvaxx

[Dr_Chronos]

I think this year's sets are largely a horrendous misstep, but I plan on buying them all for new parts and for revamping.

I wouldn't call them a misstep, more like a side step. They do a lot of great choices with the build but some aspects of the design don't work well.

This is mostly how I feel now, but we'll see if my thoughts change when I get my review sets in soon. I'm hoping they change just because of how right I feel like 2015 got everything, but I just really don't like the over-detailed massive pistons-everywhere look. The new piston add-on from 2015 was a perfect marriage of the old and new, these don't do it anywhere near as well.

I'm anxious for reviews as well. Right now only the smaller Toa and their respective creatures interest me. The texture choices this year are great on the smaller Toa, but their larger teammates (Except Onua, who is much more moderate) use clustered detailed parts with no clear direction or purpose. I hate to put them on a pedestal, but Tahu and Kopaka are pretty good examples of what not to do. I like detail when it's used moderately. It draws attention to the design and causes you to really appreciate it. When everything's yelling for your attention it becomes saturated and completely defeats it's design purpose. Piston detail is especially hard to pull off because it demands that the part looks like it has some sort of movement. I know pistons are the staple aesthetic for BIONICLE, but there are other mecahaical details like wires, pipe, motor joints, and vents. Still haven't had many of those yet.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Dr_Chronos

[Fulcrumfan91]

I wouldn't call them a misstep, more like a side step. They do a lot of great choices with the build but some aspects of the design don't work well.

I'm anxious for reviews as well. Right now only the smaller Toa and their respective creatures interest me. The texture choices this year are great on the smaller Toa, but their larger teammates (Except Onua, who is much more moderate) use clustered detailed parts with no clear direction or purpose. I hate to put them on a pedestal, but Tahu and Kopaka are pretty good examples of what not to do. I like detail when it's used moderately. It draws attention to the design and causes you to really appreciate it. When everything's yelling for your attention it becomes saturated and completely defeats it's design purpose. Piston detail is especially hard to pull off because it demands that the part looks like it has some sort of movement. I know pistons are the staple aesthetic for BIONICLE, but there are other mecahaical details like wires, pipe, motor joints, and vents. Still haven't had many of those yet.

See, I think Kopaka looks great. Tahu is kinda the one I'm not sure about at all because of the odd choices in pieces used. I agree with the other Toa being interesting, save for Lewa. I think from a certain angle he looks great, but from other angles he looks...odd. Not saying I dislike him per se, I'm more saying the others are better...except Tahu. I'm worried about Onua though, because there are things about him I really like...but we see him posed from advantageous angles, except for the pic of him on the box. There you can see that he's 'hollow'. Don't know how I'll feel about that. Umarak is way too gappy for me...so he's a no for me

[wghost]

Of all the combos (excluding Umarak) I like Gali's and Lewa's the most. Gali gains an aquatic look as well as GUN SHOULDERS and Lewa gains insect wings and more color.

It well can be I'm just not all that hyped about the combo feature: I do believe the wings suit Lewa and Gali definitely gains more of an aquatic look, but I'm still not too keen on those combi models. I guess it's a matter of taste.

I wouldn't say the new sets are gappy, because they are nicely filled in the back. They're just flat. They lack depth. Probably to accommodate the function. Not really a fan of that.

Well, the gear area certainly looks underarmored to me. Maybe this piece could help to add some.

I personally feel like Gali+Akida is one of the most stunning "power up" model. She looks very fast, graceful, and powerful! It helps that the official pic has her in an incredible pose.

It's interesting that you mention the pic because I think the perspective and pose of Gali+Akida is rather awkward with the head seemingly photoshopped onto the torso armor in an impossible way.

Individually, Gali is my second favorite of the new Toa, after Lewa. She pulls off the asymmetrical look incredibly well, her color scheme is very dynamic with the contrasting orange accents, and her mask does a great job echoing this year's fantastic Mask of Water design while still bringing something new to the table with its crystal motif and more streamlined goggles. Even her weapon looks very impressive, and is a nice upgrade of her harpoon from this year (though I will miss the brilliance of her 2015 weapon's dual functions).

I can't really pinpoint the cause of my concern, but the proportions seem somehow really off on Gali. I think the upper legs/thighs are just way too long with the lower legs/shins being too short. The mask seems to be having a swimcap and is a little bottom-heavy. As for the weapon, I can't figure it out what that chain is supposed to be good for. The propeller is a good idea, but the use of orange tooth elements make it look really barbaric which doesn't really suit Gali imo.

Akida, individually, is a bit more of a mixed bag. It's the only creature with launchers rather than a gear function, although it does have a creative function for changing the angles of its fins and launchers.

Akida appeals to me because I’m a sucker for underwater creatures. Akida itself is very uninteresting, but it shines when paired with Gali – giving her a tail and twin Blastoise shoulder cannons. Ketar [...] comes with a pair of both the new crystal blade and crystal shell add-on. The other Creatures come with only either of the two, and poor Akida doesn’t come with either.

I don't know, but Akida feels really lackluster and the water guns, even as shoulder-mounted cannons on Gali, don't make the set any more interesting in my eyes. I'm not sure I would consider changing the angle of those guns as a function either. It's also matter of personal taste, of course.

All in all, I'm glad a lot of you see the sets in a more positive perspective than I do.

[TwistLaw]

Everytime I see people whining about BIONICLE's piston aesthetics I wonder why they liked the toys in the first place.

[Lyichir]

Everytime I see people whining about BIONICLE's piston aesthetics I wonder why they liked the toys in the first place.

Most of the people I've seen complaining about that have been MOCists, most of whom probably loved the look of the sets initially but later learned that the many contrasting textures Bionicle used over the years didn't really go together that well at all. I've seen very few complaints about the pistons alone (save for on parts like the new torso shell where they seem excessive and their "function" isn't totally apparent), and many more about how that texture clashes with other textures.

The new Tahu is a good example of this. His color scheme isn't that bad. His build isn't that much worse than any of the other Toa. But he's got so many different textures going on (the art deco lines and torn metal sheets of the Skull armor, the greebly leg shells and torso, the crystalline fragments of the new mask and new shell details, and the smooth simplicity of standard CCBS shells) that other aspects of the set suffer for it. The dominant gold in his color scheme might have worked to unify the set's color scheme and look, but because so many of those gold parts have contrasting textures, it looks like a bit of a mess.

I don't mind the textures on the new Toa that much. The new "Technic shells" on the creature sets work well and call to mind the mechanical details you might see in a normal Technic set, although I still think they're too thin to work well as leg shells as they're used on Kopaka and Tahu. The torso shells have a good blend of greebles and smooth surfaces as far as I'm concerned, though I'm disappointed by the lack of connection points. And the revival of the Vorox armor is something I've wanted for a while, since it is a great part for integrating the smooth aesthetic of CCBS with the more greebly aesthetic of weapons, shell details, and other parts.

Really the only texture that bothers me are the two different textures on the shell detail from the Skull Villains—what worked for a series of sets that used them more exclusively does not work when mixed with the more common textures in other sets. It's the same thing that happened in G1 with parts from sets like the Barraki. Kalmah's leg shell was horrible about this because its highly useful connection points made it a commonly used part in later years, even though no other parts that matched its texture appeared alongside it.

Edited December 3, 2015 by Lyichir

[Bigger Fish]

Most of the people I've seen complaining about that have been MOCists, most of whom probably loved the look of the sets initially but later learned that the many contrasting textures Bionicle used over the years didn't really go together that well at all. I've seen very few complaints about the pistons alone (save for on parts like the new torso shell where they seem excessive and their "function" isn't totally apparent), and many more about how that texture clashes with other textures.

The new Tahu is a good example of this. His color scheme isn't that bad. His build isn't that much worse than any of the other Toa. But he's got so many different textures going on (the art deco lines and torn metal sheets of the Skull armor, the greebly leg shells and torso, the crystalline fragments of the new mask and new shell details, and the smooth simplicity of standard CCBS shells) that other aspects of the set suffer for it. The dominant gold in his color scheme might have worked to unify the set's color scheme and look, but because so many of those gold parts have contrasting textures, it looks like a bit of a mess.

I don't mind the textures on the new Toa that much. The new "Technic shells" on the creature sets work well and call to mind the mechanical details you might see in a normal Technic set, although I still think they're too thin to work well as leg shells as they're used on Kopaka and Tahu. The torso shells have a good blend of greebles and smooth surfaces as far as I'm concerned, though I'm disappointed by the lack of connection points. And the revival of the Vorox armor is something I've wanted for a while, since it is a great part for integrating the smooth aesthetic of CCBS with the more greebly aesthetic of weapons, shell details, and other parts.

Really the only texture that bothers me are the two different textures on the shell detail from the Skull Villains—what worked for a series of sets that used them more exclusively does not work when mixed with the more common textures in other sets. It's the same thing that happened in G1 with parts from sets like the Barraki. Kalmah's leg shell was horrible about this because its highly useful connection points made it a commonly used part in later years, even though no other parts that matched its texture appeared alongside it.

Art Deco BIONICLE parts would be amazing.

[Lyichir]

Art Deco BIONICLE parts would be amazing.

I mean, that's kind of what the Skull Villains' weapons and armor was, with its intricate, geometric linework. And for them, it worked—largely because they DIDN'T have a lot of clashing greebles like pistons or the like. The piece just doesn't work that well on Tahu in my opinion, because there are already so many other textures at play and pretty much all of them are gold. I hope to try maybe swapping them for the crystal pieces to see if he looks any more "unified" that way.

[dviddy]

Everytime I see people whining about BIONICLE's piston aesthetics I wonder why they liked the toys in the first place.

Relevant answer sections from the explanatory post several above yours bolded:

The new piston add-on from 2015 was a perfect marriage of the old and new, these don't do it anywhere near as well.

And to be blunt, the idea that the messier, clashing, pistons-for-pistons-sake aesthetic is the definition of BIONICLE's visual style is limited and incomplete. BIONICLE, from its very beginning, married simple, geometric shapes with purposefully-placed mechanical details contrasted with smooth textures. There is a reason that a large chunk of the fanbase, even those who came in during the latter years, prefer the original masks' aesthetics over those that came later. They married the design styles and the design simplicity in a way later masks simply couldn't. It's why the original kanohi were the iconic masks the brand purposefully re-worked for the new line. It was only as the line went on and the visual design had a mostrously large number of competing textural and design elements to choose from that the messier and, frankly, lackluster sets came in. The first several years of BIONICLE G1 attempted to unify the design language for each wave, and was better for it. The later years picked and pulled from existing parts with seemingly no thought beyond "this is a lower leg, let's use it".

That said, I liked BIONICLE (and still do) because the line's beginning was marked by a fantastic, mythical story that mixed nature and technology in a brilliant way, with core conceits of mysticism and fantasy lightly sprinkled with science-fiction concepts. It was a larger than life story, and especially as originally told from the angle of the villagers instead of the Toa, it had an epic scope. The toys were super neat looking, and the ability to use other LEGO parts to make them "mine" was a massive plus. And Kopaka's sword and shield combo won me over from the moment I saw it. The community that sprang up around it became a home for me during a lot of terrible times as a teenager, and has been a source of great friendships and opportunities as an adult. I met the woman I will marry next year through it. It's been a crazy fourteen years in the fandom. I loved the story at the beginning, and merely liked it by the end. But I'm invested in it as a story, a franchise, a toy, and as someone who enjoys building MOCs.

As if "pistons everywhere!" was the only reason for someone to like the thing. I know it was an offhanded, snarky, attempt at being smart and flippant reply, but I'm not interested in that right now.

[Mesonak]

I used to really enjoy the G1 aesthetic, and I still do to an extent, but after BIONICLE returned and showed me how perfectly a meld between a clean and detailed aesthetic could be executed, these new sets look vastly inferior. I appreciate the existence of the parts for the options they'll present to MoCists, but the appearance of the sets end up suffering from their inclusion.

Seriously, every time I look at these comparisons it makes me pretty upset. They don't even look like they're from the same line. Thankfully, Tahu and Kopaka are the worst offenders and the others don't suffer from it as much (but they have their own sets of issues to balance the scales), but still...

Like, I look at Tahu 2015 and okay, fine, he could have possibly used a few more details in his lower legs or his torso plate or something, that's perfectly fine. Completely independent of whether you prefer highly detailed or smooth aesthetics, though, Tahu looked consistent. Everything in his design flowed and evoked a pretty cool look for the figure. Tahu 2016... not only is he ridiculously overly detailed and his color scheme so radically different, but he has four conflicting kinds of armor on his limbs! The smooth shell, the piston add-on, the new, blocky armor piece with holes everywhere, and the organic crystalline add-on. It looks absolutely ridiculous.

The sets are still cool, and I still enjoy them for the positives they do bring to the table, but eh.

Edited December 4, 2015 by Mesonak

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Thoughts on the whole regarding these debated and general thoughts on the wave.

I think the best word to describe the wave is "potential". For how much we've bashed the strange silver tops of the masks, I can't help but feel they express the upgrade approach better than the Nuva masks which IMO looked awkwardly organic. Some masks fare better than others but it's not a total dealbreaker.

Kopaka and Melum is a decent concept, though Melum feels like a slightly downgraded Terak, despite the differing functions. Kopaka's physique is improved, having thinner upper arms, however the colour balancing is a bit off having only two gold pieces on the thighs, and the upper arms look a bit raw. Still, at least he has a sword now.

Lewa has made a name for himself as a star set, and for good reason. Of all the toa he melds technic and CCBS the best without it looking forced. His weapons sorta remind me of Breez' tonfa from 2.0, but they spin. I almost imagine him doing a sort of Yoshimitsu-esque helicopter with them. His mask also looks improved IMO.

Gali is somewhat mixed. I love the inclusion of orange and the asymetry. It really makes the set pop colour wise. However the upper legs are too long/lower legs too short, and the mask still bugs me somewhat. Another point I neglected to mention is that she is one of the few sets to retain the hinged elbows, alongside Onua's one arm.

Pohatu is very mixed for various reasons. His upper arms are a mess and the inclusion of yet more trans-neon green is a misstep IMO, I feel he would have benefited from less trans and more of his 2015 orange shells. Definitely requires mods to work. On the plus side his weapon is a lot cooler and justifies the new waist gimmick. Oh yeah, waist articulation. Neat!

Onua...tricky. He's a bit taller and retains his bulkiness to a degree. I actually like the change, makes him seem more wise and less like a brute, though I can't fathom why one of his arms is hinged and the other isn't. Also those feet straight up don't work. Don't even try it.

Tahu is the "hot" topic of late [pun intended] due to his overuse of textured shells and gold. I feel mixed to both. I'm not a fan of the lack of pure red, having only 3 pieces in red, less still with the gold mask, and the textures...could be better. I can live with the crystal pieces and the piston legs considering the chestpiece, skull shoulders is pushing it and the arms, hmmm. Not sure. Swords are cool though I must admit, and I like the mask a lot.

Umarak is a much needed villain to kick off the wave, and boy he delivers. Something about his mask, those antlers, the bow, the colour scheme with the dashes of dark red, this guy has character! A must buy, and not just for the sake of having a villain [cough, LOSS].

The other beasts are hit and miss. I like Akida's shark physique and the twin cannon, I like Ketar's function and colours. Uxar and Ikir are sorta the same, and Terak is kinda there I guess. All that's left are the reviews.

[Quisoves Pugnat]

I met the woman I will marry next year through it.

Is this old news that I somehow managed to miss?

Regardless, congrats! I'll need to remember to MOC a Toa of Fish Knives when the occasion comes! =P

Edited December 4, 2015 by Quisoves Pugnat

[CabooseBM]

I used to really enjoy the G1 aesthetic, and I still do to an extent, but after BIONICLE returned and showed me how perfectly a meld between a clean and detailed aesthetic could be executed, these new sets look vastly inferior. I appreciate the existence of the parts for the options they'll present to MoCists, but the appearance of the sets end up suffering from their inclusion.

Seriously, every time I look at these comparisons it makes me pretty upset. They don't even look like they're from the same line. Thankfully, Tahu and Kopaka are the worst offenders and the others don't suffer from it as much (but they have their own sets of issues to balance the scales), but still...

Like, I look at Tahu 2015 and okay, fine, he could have possibly used a few more details in his lower legs or his torso plate or something, that's perfectly fine. Completely independent of whether you prefer highly detailed or smooth aesthetics, though, Tahu looked consistent. Everything in his design flowed and evoked a pretty cool look for the figure. Tahu 2016... not only is he ridiculously overly detailed and his color scheme so radically different, but he has four conflicting kinds of armor on his limbs! The smooth shell, the piston add-on, the new, blocky armor piece with holes everywhere, and the organic crystalline add-on. It looks absolutely ridiculous.

The sets are still cool, and I still enjoy them for the positives they do bring to the table, but eh.

Wow, those comparison images really do not do the 2016 wave any favors at all.

Just. Wow.

[YellowCorvette]

Yeah, the comparision images didn't represent the Toa well. If I'm not a Bionicle fan, I may through that both 2015 Kopaka and 2016 Kopaka are different characters.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

I think one of the problems of the wave is the crystal add-on. Yeah it's nice for adding multiple colours to a shell but as it's used now it feels shoe-horned in and it overpowers some sets, notably Tahu, Kopaka and Pohatu. It doesn't help that it has a bizarre texture mix.

Edited December 4, 2015 by MakutaDreadscythe

[Logan McOwen]

I'm pretty much on board with everything DV, Caboose, Lyichir and Mesonak said. This wave is a big jump back in many regards, but there's still things I love about it - the new torso bone, the new gear, the return of Vorox armour, and all the delicious recolours. But honestly, I doubt I'll keep the ones I'm buying in one piece for very long.

[Quisoves Pugnat]

Yeah, the comparision images didn't represent the Toa well. If I'm not a Bionicle fan, I may through that both 2015 Kopaka and 2016 Kopaka are different characters.

Well, I won't say that's how it necessarily should be, but it's infinitely preferable to having too little distinction between iterations.

I used to really enjoy the G1 aesthetic, and I still do to an extent, but after BIONICLE returned and showed me how perfectly a meld between a clean and detailed aesthetic could be executed, these new sets look vastly inferior. I appreciate the existence of the parts for the options they'll present to MoCists, but the appearance of the sets end up suffering from their inclusion.

Seriously, every time I look at these comparisons it makes me pretty upset. They don't even look like they're from the same line. Thankfully, Tahu and Kopaka are the worst offenders and the others don't suffer from it as much (but they have their own sets of issues to balance the scales), but still...

Tahu, yeah, though I think the insufficiently-covered knees and the gappy neck carry a good deal of the blame. Kopaka, I'm not seeing the problem with. His two versions have different aesthetics, but both hang together rather well. One looks like he'd be at home in Legends of Zelda, the other in Samus Aran.

[TFGuy89]

I confess I prefer the 2016 Kopaka over the 2015 one. Kopaka was actually one of my least favourite Toa (although I still like him) in the 2015 line, and personally I feel that the more streamlined look in the 2016 one is more appealing.

[Bbrink1996]

So the sets are released officially within a month. How long do you guys think it will take for them to show up in stores? Last year some showed up 2 weeks before the official release, I wonder if it will be the same for this year.

[Logan McOwen]

I doubt these will appear this year, at least not in the UK.