Bionicle 2016 Sets Discussion

[TFGuy89]

I suspect that LEGO underestimated the extent to which folks would like the simplicity afforded BIONICLE by CCBS. Given the inherent greebliness of Gen1, I suppose that's not surprising. Hopefully, 2017 will take that element of last year's reception into account.

I'm wondering, does LEGO take into account a year's reception before doing the next year's? I was under the impression they planned sets years in advance, so the designs for 2017 would have been finalised by now.

Of course, I don't really know how LEGO works.

[Quisoves Pugnat]

I'm wondering, does LEGO take into account a year's reception before doing the next year's? I was under the impression they planned sets years in advance, so the designs for 2017 would have been finalised by now.

Of course, I don't really know how LEGO works.

From what I've read, they plan themes about a year in advance. So while 2016 is highly unlikely to be affected by 2015's reception, 2017 probably will, to some extent. Takua, for example, originated in Mata Nui Online Game, so his inclusion in 2003's sets and story wouldn't have been possible, if everything was set in stone two years beforehand.

[CabooseBM]

What I'd like to know is why the torso piece is so ridiculously pistony when all the other new parts are all crystal themed. Why the break from theme? It's not like it'll ever be useful beyond it's one intended use. *Grumble grumble*

[TFGuy89]

From what I've read, they plan themes about a year in advance. So while 2016 is highly unlikely to be affected by 2015's reception, 2017 probably will, to some extent. Takua, for example, originated in Mata Nui Online Game, so his inclusion in 2003's sets and story wouldn't have been possible, if everything was set in stone two years beforehand.

I see. In that case, for 2016, they could perhaps be trying to cater to both the CCBS and the G1 piston-look judging by the initial divided reaction to the figures in late 2014. I hope the positive reaction to the 2015 figures since then will help them find a balance in 2017's designs. I have a feeling we're in for a good run next year.

[Logan McOwen]

Well, I got and built the sets I ordered last night! Here's my thoughts:

Lewa - This guy looks pretty damn good. The use of Vorox armour on all four of his limbs helps to give him a superb, cohesive look. His mask is superb, channelling both the 2015 Mask of Jungle and the 2001 Kanohi Miru excellently. The build is interesting, especially around the legs and shoulders, but I do find that his shoulder joints are somewhat restricted. The only area I'm not happy with are his lower arms, as they're not only much too short, but the crystal armour also doesn't really look very good there.

Uxar - You really can't buy Lewa without Uxar, as they look excellent combined. Uxar is a great little figure, with a fantastic function. He has a very impressive wingspan, and a really great colour scheme. While his rear legs don't have much in the way of manoeuvrability, you can still put him in a variety of interesting positions when he's on the ground. The Shadow Trap he comes with is pretty odd with it's vine legs, but it does its job so I can't really complain.

Onua - I put Onua on-par with Lewa in regards to aesthetics, as much like Lewa, the use of piston armour on all four of his limbs creates an excellently cohesive look. The colours are gorgeous, and are arranged really nicely. His mask looks pretty good, especially in the golden form with the trans-purple blending bleeding around the eyeholes. His hammer is excellent, although it does have a little bit too much freedom to rotate. My only gripe is the crystal armour's colouration, which doesn't look that great and also just doesn't make much sense.

Terak- Unlike Uxar, you could go without Terak if you buy Onua, as he doesn't really add much when combined. However, as a standalone figure, he's superb. While I found the function to be a little loose, it's still a lot of fun to play with. He has a great top-heavy shape, which makes him look really strong, making him a good match to Onua. His little ears are adorable. The Shadow Trap Terak comes with is hilarious - while the rest have curved legs, this guy has straight, pointy legs, which constantly make it look like it's on edge. I imagine it jitters about like an angry Chihuahua.

Ikir - Even if you're not getting Tahu (like me), I recommend Ikir. This little bird has tons of personality. The wings look great, and the function which drives them works excellently and has a really decent amount of friction. His talons are ingenious, although it's a little difficult to get him to perch on anything. My only gripe is that you can't really fold his wings closely to his body without flipping them upside-down, which is very unnatural. The Shadow Trap included with this set is very generic, but honestly I don't mind that.

Kopaka and Melum - A mixed bag, this one. Kopaka looks good up top, but as soon as you get to his legs, everything goes downhill. The legs are an absolute travesty, with the fat crystalline thighs and cluttered lower legs. The upper arms aren't too bad, but the lower arms just don't mesh with the rest of his colour scheme at all. It feels as though four different design ideas were just smashed into one figure, and Kopaka really suffers for it. All that aside, his masks and weapons are absolutely superb. Melum on the other hand, is absolutely adorable - he's so tiny! The function is great, using the same mechanism as Ikir and Uxar. Much like Onua and Terak though, the combination between Kopaka and Melum doesn't really do much other than balance out the gold in the overal figure's colour scheme. And yes, there's no Shadow Trap with this set, which is a major bummer.

Umarak - Umarak is brilliant. His build is pretty good, the unique lower legs and the antlers obviously stealing the show. I'm a big fan of the use of Shadow Trap halves as shoulder pads, as they can be adjusted so as to make the low shoulders seem much less of an issue. The weaponry is pretty standard, but definitely suits the character. Umarak's mask is fine, if a bit too character-specific, but the Mask of Control is the real star. I was however surprised with how small it was, and I'm not too keen on how round the top of the mask is. United with a creature like Ikir or Uxar, Umarak looks really imposing. However, I find it quite tricky to get the creature head over Umarak's, thanks to the antlers. The shoulder pads can also get in the way if they're not positioned properly.

[The Kumquat Alchemist]

I tried my hand at modding Lewa. I really, really love how well the designers positioned his armor, both the crystal addons and the Vorox shells, but I think that, while creative, their means of attachment are detriments to the figure, especially on the shoulders. I've gone for a more mundane approach, replacing Lewa's custom limbs with generic CCBS bones, while trying to maintain the original positions of his armor. The results can be found here.

Edited January 7, 2016 by The Kumquat Alchemist

[TheDesuComplex]

Kopaka and Melum - A mixed bag, this one. Kopaka looks good up top, but as soon as you get to his legs, everything goes downhill. The legs are an absolute travesty, with the fat crystalline thighs and cluttered lower legs. The upper arms aren't too bad, but the lower arms just don't mesh with the rest of his colour scheme at all. It feels as though four different design ideas were just smashed into one figure, and Kopaka really suffers for it. All that aside, his masks and weapons are absolutely superb. Melum on the other hand, is absolutely adorable - he's so tiny! The function is great, using the same mechanism as Ikir and Uxar. Much like Onua and Terak though, the combination between Kopaka and Melum doesn't really do much other than balance out the gold in the overal figure's colour scheme. And yes, there's no Shadow Trap with this set, which is a major bummer.

I can definitely see why you wouldn't like the legs, and I hated them at first too. They actually look pretty humanoid: In humans, the thigh is pretty thick and the shin tapers down to the ankle, which Kopaka conveys really well. The looks that we have been used to, bulky thighs but even bulkier shins, is more of a 'Giant Robot' aesthetic. This, combined with the shoulder joint being inset on the torso, leads me to believe that he is the most humanoid Bionicle figure we have ever gotten. I know that Bionicle figures are not humans and are never meant to BE humans, but he definitely has a level of realism that I can appreciate. For me, Melum was my least favorite part of the set because his function seems really awkward when you use paw pieces in place of wings, and because of how short his legs are it is hard to pose them in anything that isn't stock straight. Any tips for getting it to work well?

Umarak - Umarak is brilliant. His build is pretty good, the unique lower legs and the antlers obviously stealing the show. I'm a big fan of the use of Shadow Trap halves as shoulder pads, as they can be adjusted so as to make the low shoulders seem much less of an issue. The weaponry is pretty standard, but definitely suits the character. Umarak's mask is fine, if a bit too character-specific, but the Mask of Control is the real star. I was however surprised with how small it was, and I'm not too keen on how round the top of the mask is. United with a creature like Ikir or Uxar, Umarak looks really imposing. However, I find it quite tricky to get the creature head over Umarak's, thanks to the antlers. The shoulder pads can also get in the way if they're not positioned properly.

Yup, the shoulderpads where another pleasant surprise to me because of how they can swivel around and be angled in just the right way to hide his shoulders. I would recommend taking off the shoulderpads and putting Melum on, him or Terak look wonderful as shoulders for Umarak. Heck, I replaced his 'toes' with the claws from Melum so the Shadow Trap you make will be an Ice appropriate one.

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Only built Pohatu, Lewa and Umarak so far, current thoughts.

Pohatu: Colours need work but I feel he's a big improvement over the incredibly bland Pohatu 15. Torso swivel squeaks tremendously, and feels like it'll break if I try to take it apart as suggested to loosen the joint. CCBS bones on the whole feel too tight and squeak on all of them.

Lewa: Same CCBS issues as Pohatu, worse due to the Skrall connection which had I not replaced the thigh bone and hand joint with slightly older parts I have no doubt the Skrall piece would break within mere days. The friction extenders actually have less friction than the bones! And those shoulders are megabloks awful. His arms are comically short because of the shoulders and he just looks bad. It took me a half hour to build him not because it was hard but the techniques had me wondering what in god's name they were thinking. Fifteen minutes was spent sipping tea being philosophical.

Umarak: I'm beating a dead horse when I say he's the highlight of not just the wave, but G2. This is what G2 should look like IMO and he really puts the other sets this wave to shame with how awesome he is. Everything WORKS. The torso swivel isn't broken, the bow is cool, he just has character man!

[Logan McOwen]

The results can be found here.

Oh my god, that is so much better.

[Fulcrumfan91]

For me:

Gali/Pohatu: The reason I have them together is that their torso constructions are more or less the same. The only differences between the figures are evidently colours, arm constructions, armour placements, masks, and weapons. Gali is a bit of a restricted figure, as her arms are short and the vorox armour piece in orange (oh I love these two pieces so much) blocks some of the shoulder rotation upwards. I love the transparent dark blue shells as they help in making her the most colourful figure of the wave. Her crystal add ons are nice, but I HATE the friction extenders. These things were an issue when I built Tahu last year, I still can't stand them. They make the legs incredibly difficult to move. This goes for all the figures of the wave that I have. The armour placement of Gali is quite good actually...I enjoy the asymmetry on her and I was surprised by how lovely her weapon actually is. Put a certain piece in place of her hand on the staff, and she can have a one-handed weapon, which is even better for posing. I love both her masks, probably my favourite of the wave. Her combination with Akida is excellent and just adds something even cooler to her character. I actually recommend both of them together for anyone wanting a long, fun build and fun combination model.

Pohatu was the most surprising for me, as I quite love his design. The arm construction which I thought I originally would dislike actually give him excellent articulation. The colours I love very much, especially the transparent neon green. Even though his weapon seems a tad too odd to be a practical weapon, I like that you can actually split the two parts of the weapon, and have him wielding a spear, as well as a flail in both hands. It works quite will IMO. Additionally, the combiner function allows for you to put away his extra spear weapon (obviously when not in unity mode) on his back, which brings back a little bit of the spear/dagger thing he had in 2015 which I personally liked a lot. His golden mask and his dark orange mask are beautifully designed, in fact these are likely to be my favourite ever stone character mask designs, next to Nilkuu's mask. Pohatu in his unity mode is cluttered...and Ketar's odd build does make it a little loose....but I feel that it's a bit underrated. There's a lot of playability there...I feel like you need to play around with that model to get some interesting poses in order to really appreciate the quirky design of these two sets together. Regardless, I feel Pohatu is more like Onua in that....you don't necessarily need Ketar to have fun with him. I feel, however, that Ketar adds a little more to Pohatu, whereas Terak does not do too much to Onua when combined. I think both Ketar and Pohatu are great for Stone fans.

Ketar: Weird build first off. It hampers the posability of the set and the claws are extremely difficult to keep in place.....until you lock them with a three module....I don't know what it's called, but there are two axle pieces sticking out on the dark orange hordika neck-like things which allow for the claw function to be locked. This helps when in Unity mode for sure...but I like the creativity behind his function. It's a bit addictive. Not a horrible set....but he's not one of the best creatures either.

Akida: This one is super fun to build. I love the colours, I love the one function.....I suppose that's where one would find weakness with this one. It just has one function and that's it. There is some posability....but not too much. I don't mind though, as together with Gali, this set looks amazing. I really don't have much to complain with it....definitely my second favourite creature of the wave.

Ikir: Best creature of the wave for various reasons. Posable wings, excellent colours, fun build......and what is incredibly surprising (though I imagine the orange is what allows for this to work well in my eyes) is that, when combined with Gali, the two look great together! The wing function still works of course...there's not much else to say about Ikir. I really like this one.

K/M Unity: Okay, so the build was pretty fun for these two figures. Melum is finished pretty quickly and I do like his function, as well as the gold colours with blue. I don't mind them as much. Kopaka has a very odd design...but I find that it works for the most part. The moveable shoulders work well, his masks are glorious, and the weapons are well designed. I do like the stud gun...it does have a shield-like look to it..I just don't remember the style of shield that it is off the top of my head. Stickers add a bit of a model feel to the set construction. I really like the ammo pouch and the design of Kopaka's legs....however, there is one thing I noticed after having built these two. They are very fun apart. United, you have a model.....and that's really it. Kopaka and Melum united are much more restricted...and those moveable shoulders Kopaka has become a major weakness of the model, as you really cannot move them without moving Melum's paws in such a way that they get bent backwards...or worse, Melum's paws can't move that far because of the way his arms are constructed. I feel this set is more for a collector...someone who wants to build a model and display it (together I mean)...but as a play thing...I wouldn't recommend getting the set unless you wanted to keep the two figures apart, which then brings up problems of colour inconsistency and the like. Great set design, but I don't think this is a set that would survive playtime. I do like this wave so far though.

[Toa of Gallifrey]

Could you post a picture of Ikir on Gali please? I don't have them and I'm really intrigued by what you said, I'd really love to see them combined.

[Lyichir]

I tried my hand at modding Lewa. I really, really love how well the designers positioned his armor, both the crystal addons and the Vorox shells, but I think that, while creative, their means of attachment are detriments to the figure, especially on the shoulders. I've gone for a more mundane approach, replacing Lewa's custom limbs with generic CCBS bones, while trying to maintain the original positions of his armor. The results can be found here.

It's a good attempt, and probably does help the posability, but I don't really like the way it changes his silhouette. Part of what I love about Lewa's limb construction is how lean and elegant it is, while in your mod it flares out more and doesn't hug the arms to nearly the same extent.

I won't necessarily keep my Lewa the way he was designed either, but I think the easiest way to mod him to improve his posability might be to just swap the Y-joints and Hordika necks in his shoulders. Even unmodded, I definitely disagree with a lot of people who seem to think the new Lewa's build is some grave error or that its flaws outweigh its benefits. Just like with the neck on last year's Lewa, I don't mind slightly limited articulation in the service of a unique look or better armor coverage. After all, it's not like all real-world armor allows a complete range of movement either, and all the points of articulation are still there—some of them just can't move quite as freely as they would with a more generic build.

[The Kumquat Alchemist]

It's a good attempt, and probably does help the posability, but I don't really like the way it changes his silhouette. Part of what I love about Lewa's limb construction is how lean and elegant it is, while in your mod it flares out more and doesn't hug the arms to nearly the same extent.

I won't necessarily keep my Lewa the way he was designed either, but I think the easiest way to mod him to improve his posability might be to just swap the Y-joints and Hordika necks in his shoulders. Even unmodded, I definitely disagree with a lot of people who seem to think the new Lewa's build is some grave error or that its flaws outweigh its benefits. Just like with the neck on last year's Lewa, I don't mind slightly limited articulation in the service of a unique look or better armor coverage. After all, it's not like all real-world armor allows a complete range of movement either, and all the points of articulation are still there—some of them just can't move quite as freely as they would with a more generic build.

I have to admit, I agree with you somewhat. I initially considered using 4M instead of 5M bones for the upper arms so he'd keep the appearance of having high shoulders, one of Lewa's defining traits in this new iteration of BIONICLE. It certainly is his distinct "look", and if implemented well, as in 2015 Lewa, it's marvelous, but I cannot stand how awkwardly it was done for Lewa Uniter.

So yes, I will be exploring ways to make him more faithful to Lewa's unique appearance, but I do not regret separating the Vorox armor from the upper arms.

Edited January 8, 2016 by The Kumquat Alchemist

[Fulcrumfan91]

Could you post a picture of Ikir on Gali please? I don't have them and I'm really intrigued by what you said, I'd really love to see them combined.

https://board.ttvpodcast.com/uploads/db5640/original/3X/1/1/113679b47a1975e4888d97dde599fa467097a22e.jpg

[TFGuy89]

https://board.ttvpod...a467097a22e.jpg

That looks great. The red and the blue contrast well with each other.

I'm really starting to like Gali a lot, and she seems to combine rather well.

[Fulcrumfan91]

That looks great. The red and the blue contrast well with each other.

I'm really starting to like Gali a lot, and she seems to combine rather well.

Yeah she turned out to be my favourite toa of the wave :D

[bidiminished]

Lewa: And those shoulders are megabloks awful. His arms are comically short because of the shoulders and he just looks bad.

Lewa's upper arms are 5 modules long, so his arms is the standard length for G2 toa. They only end 1 module higher than they should due to the raised shoulders.

Edited January 8, 2016 by bidiminished

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Lewa's upper arms are 5 modules long, so his arms is the standard length for G2 toa. They only end 1 module higher than they should due to the raised shoulders. All the 2015 toa

That's the point I was making. He still looks bad IMO and the limits in articulation are baffling.

EDIT: Built Tahu and Gali now, as well as applied mods where possible.

Tahu: Okay so he doesn't have a lot of red, only three pieces even. However I think it's okay. The colour scheme as it is more solid red seems a bit unnecessary. It looks way better in person than on camera. His torso curiously was quite loose, so I switched it with Pohatu's more sturdy (albeit somewhat sweaky) torso. Other than that he's a lot more solid than people give him credit for. Definitely recommend along with Pohatu (my personal favourite of the toa at the moment).

Gali: Originally an afterthought I got her for the sake of free shipping (and because I don't have an immediate interest in the creatures). Unfortunately my hunch was correct and she's easily my least favourite. To sum it up she's disproportionate, the mask feels off, and she's boring, which is the worst thing a figure can be.

Edited January 8, 2016 by MakutaDreadscythe

[dviddy]

Gali feels okay to me mostly, but her mask is easily the single worst g2 mask thus far. The heavy brow and lack of flaired edges like her first g2 mask makes her look sleepy at best, high as a kite at worst. The most disappointing change in the 15-16 sets for me.

[Voxovan]

Having the new sets in hand (I've bought Tahu, Ikir, Gali and Umarak so far) I must say I'm really impressed with them. They look much better irl than in any of the photos I've seen, I'm particulary surprised by Gali, who turned out to be much better than I expected. I love how it actually takes time and effort to build these sets (especially Umarak), it makes the whole building experience much more fun and the finished figure way more satisfying. Can't wait to see what Lego has planned for the next wave.

[jhuyser]

I miss the old style of bionicle personally. They feel more organic then metal now days

[Quisoves Pugnat]

I miss the old style of bionicle personally. They feel more organic then metal now days

To each his own, and all that, but they are supposed to be biomechanical. If nothing else, it gives them a unique feel.

[WolfMaster]

Has anyone seen any of the 2016 sets in Australia? Or know when they're coming out?

[TFGuy89]

Has anyone seen any of the 2016 sets in Australia? Or know when they're coming out?

Hey WolfMaster. Unfortunately, the Bionicle sets will reach our shores only in March (as are many other themes).

Here's the full catalogue for the first half of 2016: http://catalogs.lego.com/brandcatalog/brandcatalogue1hy2016/aus_1hy2016/

[Volthoom]

As of yesterday, Lewa is mine. Only Uxar and Umarak remain.