Bionicle 2016 Sets Discussion

[Lyichir]

I picked up Akida and Gali yesterday, they're both pretty cool. The new torso looks a lot better now that I've actually seen and held it.

Having gotten the new Kopaka, I agree that the new torso isn't totally terrible, and the added space between the shell and torso beam helps to justify its existence as a single piece rather than the shell and chestpiece of last year's torso... but I still wish it had fewer pistons and/or more connection points. Imagine if it had had 3.2 mm bar connections akin to those on the Brain Attack torso shell instead of some of those side pistons! That'd make the part that much more useful, since people who DID want more detail on the sides could then add their own, and people who didn't could enjoy a slightly less busy torso design.

In other words, I don't mind the fact that they introduced a new torso, and I don't quite hate what they came up with... but I wish that they could have come up with something better and more versatile. As it is I don't see this new torso shell getting nearly as much use as the 2.0 or Brain Attack torso shells, either in sets or in MOCs.

Edited January 18, 2016 by Lyichir

[Bbrink1996]

There is a new Bionicle app available. Can't link it at the moment but thus far it's only available on the Google Playstore. IOS probably get's it later today or something. TTV also has a video on it with a direct link to the app.

It's called "Bionicle: Mask of Control" and is a beat-em-up fighter game from the looks of it. Looks better than the first app we got.

[Shakar]

It's kind of sad that the villain roster is so small they have to resort to sets/characters from past waves.

The sets are better now, but I miss Hero Factory's 1:1 Heroes/Villains ratio.

[Logan McOwen]

I'm surprised to see Skull Creatures stylised in a similar manner to the Toa. Does that mean we'll see them in the show?

[MakutaOfWar]

Nice to see they're trying different action genre's(2017FpsGunsReplaceFunctionsAgainNooooooo). And the Skull Villains must still be a threat, that will help out the hero/villain ratio I guess...

And I know people mentioned the MoCo's resemblance to Teridax's movie Kraaken(I still suck at names 14 years later), but UmarakTD's looks a lot more like it, imo.

[Strakk]

I think it has been mentioned before, but aren't they producing more heroes than villains because they sell better?

[Shakar]

And I know people mentioned the MoCo's resemblance to Teridax's movie Kraaken(I still suck at names 14 years later), but UmarakTD's looks a lot more like it, imo.

The way I see it:

1)Animated MoCo: pretty much a movie style Kraahkan (had to look it up, I always get a H or a A wrong) with ram horns

2)Umarak the Hunter's MoCo (prototype): pretty much its own thing, only the horns are similar to the animated version

2.5)Umarak the Hunter's MoCo (final): horns are pretty much an helmet now, no resemblance to the animated version at all

3)Umarak the Destroyer's MoCo (final?): face is much more similar to the movie Kraahkan, the horns are more similar to the animated version. The closest thing to the animated MoCo so far.

I've grown to like the Winter version of the Mask as its own thing, but I'd lie if I said I was 100% content with it being Makuta's default mask. It'd be like G2 Tahu wearing a mask that resembles a classic Pakari for me.

UtD's version just feels so much closer to what I imagined a revamped Kraahkan should be, to the point I like to think of it as a deliberate homage, not unlike the more obvious ones (the Toa masks).

The face looks menacing while keeping an air of arrogant serenity, and the horns are the right size and shape, looking like a twisted crown. It looks malicious yet very regal, like the face of a tyrant who deludes himself to be a saviour.

Whoever designs these Masks knows what they're doing, so I'm eager to see how the Mask of Ultimate Power looks like. I hope it looks like I think it does, in the name of supreme irony at the very least.

[Aanchir]

I think it has been mentioned before, but aren't they producing more heroes than villains because they sell better?

The difference really isn't all that great, to be honest. Last year we got six heroes, six villains, and six supporting characters. The biggest difference from what we saw with Hero Factory and the last few years of Bionicle is that LEGO has returned to having all the heroes in one wave and most of the villains in a separate wave, instead of splitting the waves more evenly between heroes and villains.

I guess that one disadvantage of the Shadow Traps compared to the Skull Spiders is that they make little sense as adversaries for the Toa... but on the other hand, I think the designers probably consciously decided they didn't need so much "conflict in a box" this year since they knew the Skull Creatures would still be available.

In several years of G1, the designers compensated for the imbalance in hero and villain sets by releasing the villains in the first half of the year with the small supporting characters, and then the heroes in the second half of the year. This way there'd still be a conflict while they waited for the heroes to arrive. However, this often meant less time in the spotlight for the hero characters, plus it wouldn't work so well for this year since then you would have to wait half a year to really get the most out of the creature sets' "unity" function.

Edited January 19, 2016 by Aanchir

[Logan McOwen]

The more I look at them, the more the Beasts grow on me. Lava Beast's scissor blades are interesting, and give him a somewhat dragon-like look. Quake Beast's crystalline punching arm looks great, and suits the new hip mechanism excellently - that is, if he uses it. And while Storm Beast is arguably the weakest design of the three, I just can't help but be fascinated by that bar going from the pelvis to the shoulder - what does it do? I'm still sorely disappointed with the lower leg builds however, they really don't look good at all.

In terms of new parts, I am somewhat let down by the sheer lack of them. The new crystal pieces seem to be standalone shells rather than addons, which will likely impede their usefulness quite a bit. The heads might also prove to be a bit cumbersome, especially if they indeed are like the IFB Beast heads. That all said though, the presence of trans-yellow is a treat, and ties these guys together nicely, much like trans-orange did with the Skull Creatures. I sense that this will be a common theme with G2 villains - the big bad will have one special colour, which his or her minions will wear alongside their predominant colour.

Edited January 19, 2016 by Logan McOwen

[Bbrink1996]

The new commercial is now in english and extended.

http://www.lego.com/...ead673a0ab2098a

It's still the same narrator. Somehow this makes me happy even though it's super generic.

Edited January 19, 2016 by Bbrink1996

[One Very Agile Cat]

Got Umarak as a gift today, may be one of my favourite Bionicle sets ever. He's just so cool. He's better in person than in pics, and he looks great in pics.

[Strakk]

The difference really isn't all that great, to be honest. Last year we got six heroes, six villains, and six supporting characters. The biggest difference from what we saw with Hero Factory and the last few years of Bionicle is that LEGO has returned to having all the heroes in one wave and most of the villains in a separate wave, instead of splitting the waves more evenly between heroes and villains.

I guess that one disadvantage of the Shadow Traps compared to the Skull Spiders is that they make little sense as adversaries for the Toa... but on the other hand, I think the designers probably consciously decided they didn't need so much "conflict in a box" this year since they knew the Skull Creatures would still be available.

In several years of G1, the designers compensated for the imbalance in hero and villain sets by releasing the villains in the first half of the year with the small supporting characters, and then the heroes in the second half of the year. This way there'd still be a conflict while they waited for the heroes to arrive. However, this often meant less time in the spotlight for the hero characters, plus it wouldn't work so well for this year since then you would have to wait half a year to really get the most out of the creature sets' "unity" function.

Yeah, thinking about it again, they are almost even. I guess the difference appears to be greater because we haven't seen many villains with an actual personality (I haven't read the books or comics though). From my point of view the only ones worthy of that title are Kulta and Umarak so far. Also, the summer wave seems to have only beasts apart from Umarak 2.0. I think we will get Makuta next year, but seeing that they are following the same spirit of 01-03, I am expecting his servants rather than actual team of good (story-wise) villains.

[VBBN]

Yeah, thinking about it again, they are almost even. I guess the difference appears to be greater because we haven't seen many villains with an actual personality (I haven't read the books or comics though). From my point of view the only ones worthy of that title are Kulta and Umarak so far. Also, the summer wave seems to have only beasts apart from Umarak 2.0. I think we will get Makuta next year, but seeing that they are following the same spirit of 01-03, I am expecting his servants rather than actual team of good (story-wise) villains.

My issue is more that the villains we do get don't really "size up" to the heroes they are supposed to fight. With Hero Factory, we had a nice balance of varying sized of both heroes and villains. With Bionicle, it was apparent last year that most of the skull villains were smaller and less imposing than the Toa counterparts, and based on what I can see from the next wave, the beasts will be no different. So far Umarak and Kulta are really the only two "large" sized ones that match up to the Toa's stature.

[DuplexBeGreat]

Umarak referred to solely as "the evil Hunter". The Mask of Control referred to solely as "the Golden Mask". Goal being to "save the world" instead of, y'know, Okoto.

I liked this commercial more when I couldn't understand what the narrator was saying.

[Bbrink1996]

Umarak referred to solely as "the evil Hunter". The Mask of Control referred to solely as "the Golden Mask". Goal being to "save the world" instead of, y'know, Okoto.

I liked this commercial more when I couldn't understand what the narrator was saying.

The Mask Of Control is referred as "The Golden Mask Of Control" in the commercial. But I agree on the hunter, it would have been if they called him Umarak.

[Kalhiki]

So I have a dilemma.

I kinda like the sets, but I kinda don't. I have Umarak, Kopaka, Pohatu, and Ketar, and I'm thinking on picking up another Toa with their respective Creature. I want to like the sets, so I'm basically wondering which is the best combo out of the remaining figures. Maybe something to turn my opinion around and get the rest.

I'm thinking Tahu and Ikir. I've heard good things about Ikir, and Tahu looks pretty cool to me. Plus, Tahu's the poster-boy. Lewa and Uxar were the other ones I was thinking about.

So what do you think I should go for?

[Zorglorfian]

So I have a dilemma.

I kinda like the sets, but I kinda don't. I have Umarak, Kopaka, Pohatu, and Ketar, and I'm thinking on picking up another Toa with their respective Creature. I want to like the sets, so I'm basically wondering which is the best combo out of the remaining figures. Maybe something to turn my opinion around and get the rest.

I'm thinking Tahu and Ikir. I've heard good things about Ikir, and Tahu looks pretty cool to me. Plus, Tahu's the poster-boy. Lewa and Uxar were the other ones I was thinking about.

So what do you think I should go for?

What I did for each G2 winter wave was get three Toa and three small sets, all of each color. Luckily I picked the best of each (Tahu, Gali, Onua - 2015, Pohatu, Kopaka, and Lewa - 2016). Lewa with Ikir is amazing. I really don't like Uxar or Tahu Uniter, and I feel like I personally made the right choice. From what I hear Onua and Terak are great (Terak is ADORABLE!). So you have a lot of options. For a great unity, I think Gali and Akida work well together. It all depends...

[santaends]

So I have a dilemma.

I kinda like the sets, but I kinda don't. I have Umarak, Kopaka, Pohatu, and Ketar, and I'm thinking on picking up another Toa with their respective Creature. I want to like the sets, so I'm basically wondering which is the best combo out of the remaining figures. Maybe something to turn my opinion around and get the rest.

I'm thinking Tahu and Ikir. I've heard good things about Ikir, and Tahu looks pretty cool to me. Plus, Tahu's the poster-boy. Lewa and Uxar were the other ones I was thinking about.

So what do you think I should go for?

Just buy all. I don't understand ccbs people. People throw so much money into creator exclusives without blinking an eye, Ferris Wheel, Brick Bank, Detective's Office etc costs same or more than all the 12 sets of the wave. Yet they don't cherry pick, feel guilt or overthink. They even buy multiples "for the parts".

Let's do some basic analysis. Ccbs has a horrible price per part ratio. But it's inherently expensive to produce. It's a non licensed theme, which means they don't give cuts to Disney, unlike SW constraction. They are as cheap as they can get. They get new mask moulds everytime, and they never come back, ever. Which means you own an important piece of history. Hell, even basic armour parts, like the Hero shields are discontinued. I understand if one would overthink when getting system sets, but doing so for limited ccbs moulds is weird, even.

If you're short of money but have lots of time, there's always the option of scalping. It's bad, but hey it works. I rarely do it, but I know bricklink sellers do it all the time. They're not saints, they're money grubbers. Hit your department stores, buy up the rare collectible minifigures. Shark suit guy is a good bet. You can sell them for higher online, try craigslist or something. Or look up brickpicker, usps shipping, packing guides if you want to go all in.

Thing is, you consume out of your lifetime earning, not what you are drawing monthly now. If you like it, and it has an extremely short lifeline of 1 year, why not just buy it?

Hope I have nudged you in the direction you wish to go. Just do it.

Edited January 22, 2016 by santaends

[Darking]

Well I guess the fact that some people can spend thousands a year on LEGO doesn't mean that everybody can. I would gladly buy every CCBS set each year, but I have to pay for other things too. A piece not getting reused isn't a problem when I don't like such piece, so things like rarity don't usually make me wanna buy a set.

Moreover, I'm not sure why he should buy the entire wave when he's not even sure he'll like them. I'm only gonna buy Umarak in fact, and just order any pieces I want from the others via Bricks & Pieces.

That said, I'd say go for either Onua and Terak or Gali and Akida. Onua looks like the best toa of the wave to me, while Gali's unity mode is the best looking out of the six.

[santaends]

Darking, I'm sure you just read the first few lines of my post. I mean no offense to anyone. Like you said, you would gladly buy them all. I offered some advice on how to make some side income to subsidise your purchases while enjoying the hobby.

I'm new to the action figures community, don't know a lot unlike you old timers, so I find lots of things strange. Merely sharing some experience.

If it makes you better, I didn't get the whole wave myself. Only Lewa, Uxar and Umarak. I'm a sucker for green, brown and tan bricks. And I live for new moulds and colours. I don't know why it offends you but it's the way I like it. Insane amounts of new moulds got me interested in ccbs in the first place. You know how long it takes for a system set to get new non minifig moulds? Like the inverted 1*3*3 curved slope from Ferris wheel, to the 1*2 brick with scroll detail from Heartlake hotel/ Mia's tourist kiosk? Had to wait for ages. And more so, to get them bulk. I live in a place without Bricks and Pieces service, unlike you lucky folks.

But I plan to get them all eventually. Knowing they cost less than a modular makes me feel better about my purchases.

[Darking]

I did read your entire post, and I never said you offended me nor anyone, I was just saying that not everybody can afford the same things or has the same needs when buying LEGO. I'm sorry if I sounded rude, though.

The thing is that I don't live in a country where scalping is really an option. There's no such second market for LEGO here in Spain, and I'm sure it is the case in a lot of other places.

Also, Bricks & Pieces is available world wide, since it is an online service. In fact, I looked for it and Singapore is included on its list of countries. You should check it out. Be aware however that the 'buying' option won't be available again until February.

Edited January 22, 2016 by Darking

[Kalhiki]

Cost of the entire wave isn't really a problem. I can afford it. Thing is, I'd rather spend money on something I really want as opposed to Bionicle figures I'm overall "meh" about.

The only reason why I feel a need to get the wave is because of the completist in me (an aspect I'm trying to break). I mean, I wouldn't mind having a complete collection, but if all the figures look like poop, did I really accomplish something? Would I be happy with a Toa team of turds on my shelf? Plus, space is also an issue (not only display, but also storage), so I'm trying to cut back. I have room still, but it's filling up. So I'm just caught in this "what should I prioritize?" limbo.

Also, I don't buy sets for parts or based on new molds. I buy things that interest me. My sets are displayed and posed, so missing out on some molds won't really bother me.

[xboxtravis7992]

Yeah, 2015 was a great year for Bionicle and quickly drained my wallet; but this year is a little meh. I think Umarak is a standout set and will be my must buy. But I will collect the Toa and creatures gradually "as money is available." I really want to focus more money on Force Awakens and Marvel stuff; modular buildings, and Bricklinking a train I've designed and more G2 style villagers. Either way Lego gets my money...

Pity that the Toa are so-so this year. I hope the 2017 Toa are a return to form.

[One Very Agile Cat]

I'm the same way. Umarak is down pat, but I'm just gonna let the Toa drizzle in. I mean I'm going to mod them all so they'll be better sets, but I feel like the more I want to mod something the less I want it immediately, you know?

[Dorek]

Despite the fact that (or maybe because?) I get my sets provided by LEGO (for which I am eternally grateful), I'm always super conscious of how people have to spend their money on getting sets. Six, seven years ago, I was a kid with a decent allowance, so I could afford everything. Now that I have to work for my money, it's a lot harder to justify dropping that kind of cash, and it's the same way for a lot of people. That's why I try and conclude my reviews with reasons you should BUY, and not just GET, a given set.

On the original question, though, either Tahu and Ikir or Lewa and Uxar. Lewa's better than Tahu, but Ikir is better than Uxar. I'd probably give the slight edge to Tahu and Ikir just because Ikir is so great.

I think part of why people are finding the Toa not as interesting this time around is a lot of same-ness; both in terms of design and look, it's the ones that stand out that are more interesting. Plus, they often drop the primary color in favor of a more even blend, which doesn't always work out.