Bionicle 2016 Sets Discussion

[Bbrink1996]

Tried to find the 2016 sets in toy stores around my city but found none. Strange since at this time last year, they had the 2015 sets already. What I also found strange is that one store had a Nexo Knights display but no sets on the shelf. The only thing I can think of is that I just came a few days to early before they stocked the shelfs with the new sets. I'll try again next week and will have more luck hopefully.

Edited January 9, 2016 by Bbrink1996

[delta7890]

Swapped some parts around on my Umarak to give him bigger antlers. I feel like this makes him look much more imposing. I also found that plugging the "extra" shadow trap hinge into his back allows you to store the crossbow onto his back when not in use.

[geezerman402]

And here I intended to make his antlers smaller because I thought they looked ridiculous :P

[GK733]

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...16/aus_1hy2016/

As they haven't shoved up anywhere listed yet I'm starting to fear they are pushed to February in Finland's case.

[Takanuinuva]

Finally got my hands on some of the 2016 sets. I picked up Lewa, Gali, Onua, Ikir, Terak, Uxar and Umarak. All of them except Umarak will be scrapped for parts for other mocs. I plan on modding Umarak and making him a lot better.

I also have a plan with Uniter Gali but that's a secret

Edited January 10, 2016 by Takanuinuva

[xboxtravis7992]

Keep reminding me how good Umarak is; it is my incentive to start looking for a new job :)

[WolfMaster]

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/

Great thanks

[santaends]

Got my Umarak, Lewa and Uxar. Built them too fast, before I could do a proper review. Is it usually this hard to separate the 2 pieces for the turnable waist?

[Kalhiki]

Got my Umarak, Lewa and Uxar. Built them too fast, before I could do a proper review. Is it usually this hard to separate the 2 pieces for the turnable waist?

Many people have reported the difficulty of separating the two. And reconnecting it apparently might make the swivel lose some friction. Seems like once they're attached, they aren't meant to come apart, much like the stud shooter.

[Dorek]

Yeah, I haven't been able to really get mine apart. I look at them as this generation's eyestalk/face combo =P.

[Chilly_Productions]

Many people have reported the difficulty of separating the two. And reconnecting it apparently might make the swivel lose some friction. Seems like once they're attached, they aren't meant to come apart, much like the stud shooter.

I guess people need to concentrate more when connecting them, they might just never be able to use the piece again.

I ordered Uxar, Lewa and Umarak (Plus a Nexo Knights set) on Monday, they should come tomorrow. I don't have the sets yet, so I can't say an awful lot about the waist gear thingamabob.

[DOTM Shockwave]

My job has some of the 2016 sets in (the creatures, Lewa, and Pohatu), I picked up Terak, Ikir, a second Lewa (for parts) and Pohatu. Ikir and Terak's gimmicks were pretty neat, but I didn't like the technic backpack on them, so I removed it. I originally was going to use Pohatu for parts, but seeing how nice his mask looked in person, I built and modified him. I'll post pictures later, but in my opinion, Pohatu looks much better with more dark orange and less silver on him.

[Dr_Chronos]

I was going to do a series of new part analysis because it's sort of a tradition I do every wave but it looks like I'm going to have to cut it. Here's just a quick summary because I doubt I'll have the time to write it:

Unity piece: A little more clunky than I would have liked and doesn't fully cover the torso, but it's an alright looking piece. It's not so much much the textures that bother me, it's more of its deceiving flat surface.

Bear trap: Nice part with a future in the claws department. It looks pretty spiffy as armor, and the fact that two of them can mesh together is fantastic. It does have a few maybe-useless pistons but since they aren't that noticeable compared to the teeth I'll let it slide.

Crystal Armor: Probably my least favorite new piece. Some colors look good on it, others don't. So far on mine the translucent half is more of a tip, with the metallic covering too much. The transition between mechanical to crystal just seems off because it looks like the crystal part was slapped on rather than integrated. Credit where credit is due it flushes nicely on the shell.

Crystal Sword: The fact that it isn't translucent doesn't really bug me, this thing looks glorious. It's a nice, thin, detailed sword piece that doesn't feel cumbersome. I actually think it looks closer to the Unity piece instead of the crystal armor, the hilt textures match with the UP and it isn't translucent in color. My only gripe is that compared to the hilt the actual blade is a bit small but the piston detail makes it look like it can extend.

New Torso Shell: Remember when I said the Crystal Armor was my least favorite piece? Scratch that, my brain was just trying to make me forget this thing.

As someone who has a monstrous pet-peeve for distracting useless piston this thing nearly made me lose it when I got it in-hand. The printing is great, the shape is nice, the lack of more than one connection point is very disappointing, all of this I could accept. The belt of useless pistons in the midsection? Nope. Burn it. Cleanse it all, it must be cleansed!

Axel-Gear: This piece is downright revolutionary. With the addition of many small Technic bits over the years it is now possible to integrate functions better than any before. It's versatility is amazing. Suspension! Tiny play functions! Switches! So many ideas and uses I could see this working for. Hands down the best new part.

Turntable Function pieces: For a function I think this is less complex and less versatile than the gearbox but I like it. The movement won't collide with set as much, plus waist articulation for everyone. I do worry about the friction. I hope it doesn't wear out after long use.

Creature Head: The ideal clone mask with more connection points to give each a bit of individuality while keeping that team look. The shape is very similar to the Protector masks of last year, which I thought was nice. It's hollowness and metallic colors may make it a nice armor piece. The eyes (or rather lack of them) are a bit disappointing, but making them more visible would have made the combiner helmet look awkward. I'm interested to see what this piece would look like with non-metallic colors.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Dr_Chronos

[santaends]

I read it all. Very interesting and humourous view.. haha. Burn the torso pistons!!

[Jetrax99]

Only have Kopaka and Melum right now as I'm working on completing my 2015 sets. Just need 7 more.

Just as with the Toa last year, I'll be looking for ways to ditch the gear functions on the creatures because, to quote TJOmega, intrusive gimmicks are evil.

[Logan McOwen]

Well, I got Gali in the mail on Saturday. As soon as I built her, I set to modding her. While the mask and weapon are great, and the inclusion of orange is nice, the official build just feels pretty... Off.

I'll be taking pictures of my modded Toa soon. Kopaka has received the most attention, to the extent where I now consider him a titan build.

EDIT: I just ordered Ketar and a duplicate of Gali for parts. After that, I'll be waiting for the Summer sets. I'm still skipping Tahu, Pohatu and Akida.

Edited January 11, 2016 by Logan McOwen

[MakutaDreadscythe]

EDIT: I just ordered Ketar and a duplicate of Gali for parts. After that, I'll be waiting for the Summer sets. I'm still skipping Tahu, Pohatu and Akida.

I would give either Tahu or Pohatu a look at some point. Having them in hand I can safely say they're my favourites. Pohatu modded without his nuclear arms looks pretty solid and his weapon demonstrates the new function really well, particularly if you swap the position of the flail and the sword.

Tahu is really not as bad IRL compared to pictures, he really just glows well. Would I prefer more red? Yeah, probably, but he sorta works somehow, and his swords are really cool IMO.

TLDR Pohatu is the best '16 toa. Try him.

[TwistLaw]

Today I bought Umarak and Terak, they just arrived at the biggest shop (italian version of Toys 'r us) in my town along with the rest of the wave.

They're both outstanding sets. The creature head is huuuuge, Umarak is just brilliant. And the piece of unification is gorgeous, dat classic BIONICLE feel.

Damn man, 2017 may be G2's last year but we had a damn fine run.

Edited January 11, 2016 by TwistLaw

[CloverMaryam]

I have 6 new monitor buddies it seems.

[Quisoves Pugnat]

But wait, those aren't monitors! :(

D'awwwwwwwww!

[Logan McOwen]

I would give either Tahu or Pohatu a look at some point. Having them in hand I can safely say they're my favourites. Pohatu modded without his nuclear arms looks pretty solid and his weapon demonstrates the new function really well, particularly if you swap the position of the flail and the sword.

Tahu is really not as bad IRL compared to pictures, he really just glows well. Would I prefer more red? Yeah, probably, but he sorta works somehow, and his swords are really cool IMO.

TLDR Pohatu is the best '16 toa. Try him.

I have no need for more gold or dark tan. The only things on Tahu that I want are his masks. Nothing about Pohatu interests me. As figures, neither of them look that great anyway.

[Shakar]

So I finally aquired my first 2016 sets today (Tahu, Ikir, Gali), but I decided to build only Tahu for now.

My fist thought was "Whoa, he's big. Too, too big". I knew that already, but you really realize it only when you put the figure together and see it with your own eyes. I do think he needs to be one or two modules shorter. On the positive side, this makes me even more optimistic about Umarak, who is Tahu's height and looks even bigger thanks to his antlers.

He's also too flat. I'll definitely try to make him and the other Toa a bit thicker while not compromising the Unity feature

Another con is the weapons, at least for me. It took me a surprisingly long time to build them and the final effect wasnt't really worth it. Only the new crystal blades save them, othwerwise the 2015 blades are on another level.

It's true, there's too much gold and trans orange. It doesn't look terrible, but I do want to give him a lot more red.

And yes, the clashing textures. At least one has to go.

On the positive side, he does really look fiery and powerful like a Toa of Fire should be. His slender yet strong built is a nice update from the 2015 version which did look a bit too boxy for my tastes. The new Hau is awesome (more on it below). I really like how the Skeleton armour looks on him, looks like fire actually.

And..waist rotation! We waited 16 years it for it to be a regular thing, and now it's here!

On the new pieces, in short:

-Unity piece: cool greebling, bigger than I thought and seems fairly useful.

-New torso bone: great, enough said. Gonna have lots of fun with this one.

-Hip piece: does its job...enough said. Friction is very good.

-Crystal add-on: the shape is pretty great. I feared Tahu's version would look too close to those HF Fire Villains fire add-on *shudders* but it still manages to look like actual armour.

-Crystal blade: a lot more elegant and thin than I thought. Eager to see it in the other colours.

-New torso shells: I..like it. I wish it was only slightly more slender, but the overall shape is good, I don't mind the pistons at all and Tahu's printing is great.

-Updated Hau: I love it. A lot more fierce than the 2015 version. Hoping for some exclusive recolour in the future, red to trans orange would be excellent because I'm still not sure about the silver top.

I know the pros seem outnumbered by the cons, but overall Tahu is acutally a pretty good figure. But he does need some modding, in my humble opinion.

Edited January 12, 2016 by Shakar

[DraikNova]

-Crystal add-on: the shape is pretty great. I feared Tahu's version would look too close to those HF Fire Villains fire add-on *shudders* but it still manages to look like actual armour.

-Crystal blade: a lot more elegant and thin than I thought. Eager to see it in the other colours.

Going to be honest with you; I prefer the Ordeal of Fire add-ons, and the blade seems like an over-the-top version of Furno's original weapons, etched with random lines of acid.

[Chilly_Productions]

I really hope that gen 2 lasts past 2017.

[Aanchir]

I really hope that gen 2 lasts past 2017.

I think it probably will. When Hero Factory was launched, it was basically given three years to prove itself, after which LEGO would decide what would happen to it in the future. In 2012 LEGO started developing the Bionicle reboot to take its place, but Hero Factory still got two more years of sets in the intervening time. Their plans for Bionicle seem about the same: three years for it to show how much life it's got in it, and then its fate after that will depend on what those three years have shown.

LEGO can't develop a successful constraction range overnight, and if they still see enough potential in the constraction category to even bother developing something to take Bionicle's place, then there's no way they'd waste that potential by going without an in-house constraction theme until the next one's ready.