Bionicle 2016 Sets Discussion

[ToaDraco]

I think the beasts are mutated fusions of 2 creatures. Lava Beast is Ikir and Ketar, Quake Beast is Terak and Uxar, and Storm Beast is Akida and Melum. Also, is anyone else getting a Rancor vibe from the Destroyer? The more I look at these sets the more I like them, even better than the Skull gang from last year, they look pretty great, especially Umarak's Uber form, so big and menacing! Ekimu is now the G2 Takanuva I guess, he's growing on me too but he's still a bit of a let down considering his only new piece is the crystal piece on his hammer and the color scheme is still unbalanced. Hopefully torso printing will help distribute more gold to the color scheme.

[Aethersprite]

If anything, don't you think Storm Beast would be a corruption of Melum, since it has Kopaka's mask? I do note that they picked the three largest Toa to have corrupted masks, rather than the strange four we got last year. And who knows, maybe this year they'll actually be "corrupted", and Umarak will control some of the Toa. I think I'd prefer them as new beasts, but it sort of depends on how they play into the story.

Oops. I completely overlooked that fact about Kopaka's mask. Yeah, Storm Beast as Melum might make sense as well - the use of Metru blue, plus his claws could be analogous to Melum's. It's probably its tail that got me convinced that it's Akida.

[CabooseBM]

neon green

transparent neon green

I AM SO MAD RIGHT NOW

[DuplexBeGreat]

I think the beasts are mutated fusions of 2 creatures. Lava Beast is Ikir and Ketar, Quake Beast is Terak and Uxar, and Storm Beast is Akida and Melum.

I've been in disagreement with this theory from before we had leaked images, and these new pictures only further suggest to me that they are anything but fusions. Nothing in their color schemes supports this theory (Storm Beast has trans-light blue but that's because it's Water obviously) and their humanoid builds with humanoid weapons don't imply that they were created from a bird and a scorpion, or an "ape-lizard" and a dragonfly (Really, look at Quake Beast and tell me there's a dragonfly hidden in that bulk. A GREEN dragonfly), or a rhino and a shark.

The entire idea of "fused creatures" was originally born based on the seeming "element combinations" present in the names "Lava Beast" and "Storm Beast"--- but if you recall, that was before we even knew the name Quake Beast, and the connection is considerably weakened after that. There's no reason Lava can't simply mean Fire and Storm can't simply mean Water. This is an example of facts being imagined in order to support a pre-existing theory, not a theory being drawn based on known facts.

[Aethersprite]

I've been in disagreement with this theory from before we had leaked images, and these new pictures only further suggest to me that they are anything but fusions. Nothing in their color schemes supports this theory (Storm Beast has trans-light blue but that's because it's Water obviously) and their humanoid builds with humanoid weapons don't imply that they were created from a bird and a scorpion, or an "ape-lizard" and a dragonfly (Really, look at Quake Beast and tell me there's a dragonfly hidden in that bulk. A GREEN dragonfly), or a rhino and a shark.

The entire idea of "fused creatures" was originally born based on the seeming "element combinations" present in the names "Lava Beast" and "Storm Beast"--- but if you recall, that was before we even knew the name Quake Beast, and the connection is considerably weakened after that. There's no reason Lava can't simply mean Fire and Storm can't simply mean Water. This is an example of facts being imagined in order to support a pre-existing theory, not a theory being drawn based on known facts.

Woah there - valid point, but this all just fun speculation on our part! We all know that 90% of what we speculate ends up wrong anyway.

Part of me just wants the Beasts to have some bigger storyline significance than simply "oh, Umarak summoned these Beasts to help him".

[Iben]

Not two but three dark blue shells on Storm Beast ? :o YES !

I'm slightly disappointed that we're getting trans-neon-green instead of trans-yellow; but I'm not surprised. It was what I expected even though I hoped it wasn't.

-Iben

[Logan McOwen]

So uh... I took a closer look at Quake Beast, and....

...I believe we may be getting trans-lime G2 head pieces on the Beasts.

If not, it could be that 2013 Hero Factory head piece, back from the grave.

Edited January 27, 2016 by Logan McOwen

[Shakar]

With the way things are going, I think we really are getting transparent G2 heads. All villains have used masks so far, it wouldn't make sense to return to an helmet based system.

The masks stop just above the chin, like Batman's mask. I think the idea is that the lower jaw opens and you can see their heads underneath. At least I hope that's what they're going for. Adding humanoid elements to monsters adds something fundamentally wrong and makes them creepy.

[Bbrink1996]

I do hope for transparant heads and I hope you can see them when the Beasts open their jaws for some Xenomorph goodness. :D

[VBBN]

That, and all of the blended Toa masks have trans neon green, implying they would match the beasts if they wore them (every set so far has made a point of being able to wear the masks its included with) so I would assume they would keep the same head so you can attach the Toa's masks too.

EDIT: Well actually lava beast doesn't seem to have trans neon green other than the head which is odd, makes the blended Tahu mask even more random.

[TwistLaw]

High quality pictures of the new summer sets are on Facebook.

THE ELEMENTAL BEASTS HAVE POSEABLE FINGERS

THE MASK OF CREATION IS GLORIOUS IN TRANS LIGHT BLUE

And I want Umarak to have my babies.

Fire Beast has instantly become my favourite creature thanks to that glorious red/black mask. And Ekimu, my god.

summer 2016>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>summer 2015

[Aethersprite]

Trans-lime heads confirmed from the new pics.

Also, Lava Beast looks surprisingly good! That hand function is very interesting. It's a shame his legs are so horrible.

[VBBN]

Yikes, the solid purple face on quake looks really off with the trans purple everywhere else in such huge amounts.

[TwistLaw]

Yikes, the solid purple face on quake looks really off with the trans purple everywhere else in such huge amounts.

I've noticed that too, I hope it's just a prototype matter.

Edited January 27, 2016 by TwistLaw

[Iben]

I'm slightly disappointed by how the lower jaws are connected to the heads. They're stationary I presume and I just don't like it that much.

However, I can see a multitude of nice pieces. Storm Beast has two 4M Dark Blue shells and a 3M one on its tail. Its head looks amazing too, much like the other beasts. Umarak The Destroyer is magnificent; eventhough I would have preferred a trans-yellow version. The Dark purple in Quake Beast being a prototype is wishful thinking though; given how the others have solid and trans blended masks chances are low Quake Beast will get a dual trans blended mask.

Overall, this is slightly better than what we got last year. I'm looking forward to these !

-Iben

[Ikaatril]

I'm loving that torso print on Ekimu. Not so much the shoulders. Those look rather awkward from the front. Doesn't seem to have a piece of unification on his back, looks more like a gear box except missing the gears.Not sure what's going on there.

Also, is that trans-red on Umarak's mask?

Lava Beast certainly looks much better. Hands and weapons especially. Interesting that Lava Beast is the only beast with the geared lower-torso. Also seems that the crystal-seeming add-on piece isn't an add-on but an entirely new shell - which is disappointing, as it would be more useful as an add-on.

Storm Beast looks horrible. Awkward claws, awkward arms, awkward legs, and seems to have the same function as Skull Basher.

Quake Beast definitely looked much better when you could only see one side of it. The shoulder trap doesn't really work well. And the black's really out of place.

Umarak's clearly the best set of the wave. Which isn't saying much. The skull armour on the hands is too far away, the hands look really awkward with the gears, and that back is a huge mess. Not to mention that the lower jaw really doesn't work. On all of the sets, to be honest. How did we go from the posable jaws of the HF beasts to the ugly, stationary piece that are these jaws?

The crystal armour piece really doesn't work well, does it? It barely covers the arm and sticks out so much it looks awkward, and, given the track record for these things, be forgotten about after this wave. Should've been an add-on.

Reminds me, always hated that about BIONICLE, both G1, and also G2: it introduces many new pieces yet never ever uses them again. Of the pieces that were introduced last year, only three or so are still being used, and that's the skull ribcage piece, the skull limb armour add-on and the piston armour add-on. The axes, Onua's claws, Pohatu's boomerangs, the skull weapons, Tahu's swords, the skeletal bones, they've all been forgotten about. Wastes of molds and plastic. With few exceptions, LEGO was far more efficient with molds and pieces in HF: almost every piece was used more than once, for more than one purpose. This seems to have gone with BIONICLE. Why? Why waste the money on molds that'll only eve be used once? It'll add up in the long run, LEGO - please stop wasting money on one-use, one-note molds.

[Bbrink1996]

High quality pictures of the new summer sets are on Facebook.

THE ELEMENTAL BEASTS HAVE POSEABLE FINGERS

THE MASK OF CREATION IS GLORIOUS IN TRANS LIGHT BLUE

And I want Umarak to have my babies.

Fire Beast has instantly become my favourite creature thanks to that glorious red/black mask. And Ekimu, my god.

summer 2016>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>summer 2015

Lol at Uxar and Terak in those photo's. Probably partied to hard the night before. XD

Anyway, They look really good, The Destroyer looks amazing, shame we didn't get a full frontal shot instead of the angle at which the current picture is taken. And the exposed sockets on Storm Beast's hands don't look as horrible as I thought it would look.

[bacem]

Awesome! Looking at the technic construction behind umarak's head, it feels like the set has a gimmick, where if you push a lever on the back, it makes the head swings forward.

[TwistLaw]

Reminds me, always hated that about BIONICLE, both G1, and also G2: it introduces many new pieces yet never ever uses them again. Of the pieces that were introduced last year, only three or so are still being used, and that's the skull ribcage piece, the skull limb armour add-on and the piston armour add-on. The axes, Onua's claws, Pohatu's boomerangs, the skull weapons, Tahu's swords, the skeletal bones, they've all been forgotten about. Wastes of molds and plastic. With few exceptions, LEGO was far more efficient with molds and pieces in HF: almost every piece was used more than once, for more than one purpose. This seems to have gone with BIONICLE. Why? Why waste the money on molds that'll only eve be used once? It'll add up in the long run, LEGO - please stop wasting money on one-use, one-note molds.

Actually G1 did an awesome job in reusing pieces, especially with titans. And I'd love to remind you that from 2006 onward the amount of new molds introduced declined dramatically, causing the well known Inika syndrome.

The reuse of pieces greatly helps not only LEGO's pockets, but in conveing the idea we're dealing with beings from the same universe. In like, you know, the way Brutaka used Rahshki legs as arms, symbolizing somewhat that it was one of the basic pieces used in the Matoran Universe for long limbs. The very same way we have bones similar to those of apes and other mammals, and even reptiles, you may find identical pieces used across the universe for different purposes.

The same is happening in G2, although in a weaker way. Umarak uses the sword from last summer, and personally I really dislike the overabundance of the ribcage this year. While it may be fine with Umarak, it really looks out of place with the beasts.

Edited January 27, 2016 by TwistLaw

[VBBN]

Directly linking the photos to reference for the frontpage. Again these images come from Promobricks.

[Fulcrumfan91]

Nice! Lava beast looks like a balrog....which I think is AWESOME

[Bbrink1996]

Ouch, just noticed the jaws are locked in place. That is pretty bad to be honest. :/

[ToaDraco]

I've been in disagreement with this theory from before we had leaked images, and these new pictures only further suggest to me that they are anything but fusions. Nothing in their color schemes supports this theory (Storm Beast has trans-light blue but that's because it's Water obviously) and their humanoid builds with humanoid weapons don't imply that they were created from a bird and a scorpion, or an "ape-lizard" and a dragonfly (Really, look at Quake Beast and tell me there's a dragonfly hidden in that bulk. A GREEN dragonfly), or a rhino and a shark.

The entire idea of "fused creatures" was originally born based on the seeming "element combinations" present in the names "Lava Beast" and "Storm Beast"--- but if you recall, that was before we even knew the name Quake Beast, and the connection is considerably weakened after that. There's no reason Lava can't simply mean Fire and Storm can't simply mean Water. This is an example of facts being imagined in order to support a pre-existing theory, not a theory being drawn based on known facts.

Woah, calm down. It was just some imaginative thinking(which is kinda what we do in the forums) and there is certainly some potential for fusions. The blade pieces on Quake Beast's back could be part of Uxar's wings, Storm Beast would have gotten the humanoid proportions form Melum and the tail from Akida and Lava Beast very much looks like a mutation of Ikir, the only thing linking Ketar in this instance would be the name and implied elemental combination. I think they could be combined mutations, but it really doesn't matter that much to me I was simply pointing out the possibility.

Awesome, some better pictures! They look pretty great. The prelims, as usual, leave something to be desired but these look fantastic.

Edited January 27, 2016 by ToaDraco

[Leewan]

Hehe, looks like I was right about Ekimu's shield.

[DraikNova]

These look pretty bad. Locked and gappy jaws*, use of the out of place looking tr. apple green for the head, lots of bones with questionable shell choices (looking at you Umarak the Destroyer) and while that new mace-like shell is cool, it doesn't make up for stuff like Umarak's clown hair tufts. And why does he have only two fingers now?

Also, ditto-ing that G2 doesn't reuse parts as often as HF. It mostly seems to be a result of G2 trying to copy G1's over-detailed style.

*Seriously, if they had such a hard time making poseable jaws, why couldn't they simply reuse an Invasion from Below jaw piece?

Edited January 27, 2016 by DraikNova