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Bionicle 2016 Sets Discussion

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I really need to know this: does anybody else always think of

when he/she reads "Umarak the Hunter"? Since last august I have this song stuck in my head more than usual whenever I read it :tongue:

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Kopaka looks incredible! I told myself that I'd limit myself to 1-2 Toa sets next year, and he's definitely on the top of my list. After the whole knight motif he got this year (which I didn't mind) I'm glad we're getting sleek Kopaka back. I'm loving that new Akaku, too. My only gripe with his set is that Melum looks a bit too similar to Terak, but whatever. He's going on Kopaka's back anyway.

As for the rest... I'm loving the diversity on all the creatures (God help me if I don't get them all), but the Toa... I'll wait for better pics/reviews before deciding my opinion on them. I'm loving Kopaka so far and maybe Onua, but the rest don't appeal much to me for now.

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Remember when I said Umarak should have a tehcnic torso? Technically, he does, and so do all the Toa because of the new torso!(that doesn't have shoulder ball joints) I guess I was right after all...

Seriously, I'll probably get Onua, Terak, Lewa, Uxar, and Umarak. Even though I love Kopaka to death, I want some money for other themes as well.

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Thoughts:

Umarak: 'Custom legs are good' until you see the gappy and hugely out-of-place lower legs of Umarak. Plus, what is even the point of the extra foot-leg connection? It doesn't make the legs more stable since it doesn't even reconnect to the torso or upper legs, it just connects to the lower legs...that's hardly going to prevent Umarak from falling over if his/her thighs are to be placed in some positions. The legs are Evo XL bad. And the bow.. what kind of bow has a shape like that? Completely impractical. Horrible colour scheme too - thre's no order to it, it's just a mish-mash of silver, trans dark green, dark red, burnt orange, brown, black, and grey. Umbra, wheel-less dark colour edition is what we have here. If that's the best set of the wave to most, then wow, this wave is utterly abysmal to most people.

I guess BIONICLE's getting abandoned considering Star Wars will be more profitable, will get a higher budget. Goodbye BIONICLE, this seems to be your last year considering we're already getting the Mask of Control. Guess you sold really poorly in year 1, huh?

Bow in the middle looks a lot like Umarak's bow...I don't think it's that impractical. Just oddly shaped. Also, lol this is really pessimistic.

https://legioilynx.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/typesofbow.jpg

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Bow in the middle looks a lot like Umarak's bow...I don't think it's that impractical. Just oddly shaped. Also, lol this is really pessimistic.

https://legioilynx.files.wordpress.com/2012/04/typesofbow.jpg

Disregard that user, he's been pessimistic for the sake of being pessimistic for weeks now. Until we have concrete data nothing can be said about BIONICLE's state.

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I guess BIONICLE's getting abandoned considering Star Wars will be more profitable, will get a higher budget. Goodbye BIONICLE, this seems to be your last year considering we're already getting the Mask of Control. Guess you sold really poorly in year 1, huh?

I couldn't count the ways in which this statement is wrong. Firstly, I'm not exactly sure what the MoCo has to do with this- we got the MoCr in 2015, the MoCo in 2016, and likely the MoUP in 2017. Three masks, three years. And with that said, don't forget that Bionicle has a 3 year development plan, which is far more than just "Hey lets make this theme for three years." There are agreements with vendors, publishers, etc that all tie in to the plans, and 2017's plans are likely already far in the development process. In fact what was made in 2015 likely took into account plans for the 2016 and 2017 waves- and from my findings Bionicle 2015 did quite well (being a Finance guy I'd love to see the hard financials but I'm going off word-of-mouth from vendors here) and I suspect 2016 will as well.

And as it was stated elsewhere, the budget for the Star Wars figures was taken from the overall Star Wars budget. Each year has allocations of various things, that's why you see only certain amounts of sets and certain numbers of each theme.

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Speaking of the MoCo, if we have the mask in the first wave what is Umarak's Destroyer form going to wear? A recolored MoCo? I doubt it will be the MoUP.

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Also, if anyone still doesn't understand how the new armour piece attaches, you can take a look at his left leg - it isn't via a ball joint? Seems an odd decision, and that will severely limit the part's usefulness if it can't attach to ball joints at all. And also a huge negative because this is CCBS, not G1. I'd rather a regular shell than an overdetailed waste of money. Think of all the WASTED, WASTED, WASTED money that went into designing that stupidly overdetailed part that just doesn't get along with the other CCBS parts, Versatile? Definitely not - it can't even attach to a ball joint. If more parts like this come in summer then we are witnessing the downfall of CCBS as designers begin to misunderstand their own building system.

So a piece is immediately useless because it won't attach to CCBS limbs (spoiler alert: it does) but will attach to virtually every other piece in LEGO's entire piece library?

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Hum, most of the Toa seem lackluster compared to their 2015 counterparts, though that's probably more out of my preference for those that look closer to their G1 brothers than out of any dislike for the 2016 wave.

Onua and his beast will be aquired for the sake of purple parts. Umarak intrigues me, and will be a must-have if only for what appears to be the Mask of Control.

Also, I'm curious to see what function those gears on their rears have; perhaps a swiveling waist function? If that's a thing, I'll have to pick up more than the aforementioned three just for parts.

Oh, and one last thing I noticed: It looks like we'll finally have 1x1 studs in tr. purple!

Edited by The Kumquat Alchemist

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Speaking of the MoCo, if we have the mask in the first wave what is Umarak's Destroyer form going to wear? A recolored MoCo? I doubt it will be the MoUP.

How about a MoCo melded in black and trans neon orange to match Makuta as seen when he donned the MoUP? Not canon, but if Makuta has stayed transformed it would be cool for him to have his mask in matching colors. There's also the possibility that Ekimu might feature a MoCr recolored in melded gold and trans light blue (ala his Protector mask) and as such there could be a gold-and-trans-purple MoCo to match it. Just throwing ideas out, y'know.

Which reminds me that, at this point, we will never see a melded Mask of Fire or melded Mask of Water. sigh.

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How about a MoCo melded in black and trans neon orange to match Makuta as seen when he donned the MoUP? Not canon, but if Makuta has stayed transformed it would be cool for him to have his mask in matching colors. There's also the possibility that Ekimu might feature a MoCr recolored in melded gold and trans light blue (ala his Protector mask) and as such there could be a gold-and-trans-purple MoCo to match it. Just throwing ideas out, y'know.

Which reminds me that, at this point, we will never see a melded Mask of Fire or melded Mask of Water. sigh.

*cough*deleted booster pack*cough*.

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I don't interested much in the 2016 winter sets, except Umarak. Hope we get something better at summer wave of next year.

Edited by ArmstrongYong

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These... initial impulse is that they feel like a step backwards in every way. Like they took the bad parts of the original BIONICLE line's visual cues and used them all at once. Especially noticeable in that clustercuss of a lower leg design on the villain. Yeesh.

Disappointed in single-piece torso armours too. I like the nuva symbol, but I liked how the HF torsos and the superhero plates looked a lot better, and having those designs on the superhero chests would have been fab.

Otherwise... definite meh at the moment. We'll see how they look in final shots.

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Personally, I feel that a: the Mask of Control featured in Umarak the Hunter is a broken version, which will be restored to a more animation-accurate version in his summer set. Also, it seems strange that only certain parts of the toa have been replaced with technic constructions, and that it's often asymmetrical. Maybe they got injured by the bear traps and they needed bandages/artificial limbs? A bit too dark I think, but it could explain the weird mismatch of textures.

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Lewa looks like the Joker, with two deep slits going up to the cheeks. "Wanna know how I got these scars? I asked Tahu and Kopaka WHY SO SERIOUS, and they stuck their blades into my mouth / mask."

Edited by nguyengiangoc

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These... initial impulse is that they feel like a step backwards in every way. Like they took the bad parts of the original BIONICLE line's visual cues and used them all at once. Especially noticeable in that clustercuss of a lower leg design on the villain. Yeesh.

Yeah, but even when G1 made a Technic-built leg they were at least decent.

After thinking about the new Technic shell, I'm actually really excited for it. I've noticed that because it uses pin and axle holes on the sides, it will be able to be implemented sideways on a leg.I've also noticed that Onua's arms are attached by the Glatorian necks, and his shoulder armor (probably late on this) is Skull Basher's torso. Also noticed some gears on Ketar, possibly confirming that the Creatures have their own functions. Haven't read the last few pages, so sorry if I'm late on all this :wink:

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leg.I've also noticed that Onua's arms are attached by the Glatorian necks

Actually, if you look closely, Kopaka and Pohatu have those as well. It seems as if all the new Toa have it. I guess it's also used as a way to connect the Skrall Armor.

-Iben

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Ikir uses new type of gear piece. It seems to be like 3-long axle with a gear in the middle. Pretty sure it gives some kind of flapping function for him and will be repeated on Uxar. I really like those two fellas. Others... not so much, Melum is the most disappointing set of them all being just a Terak with a boring colorscheme and even less claws.

In my opinion some of the sets look worse than they are because of their pose. This shows especially with Tahu and Gali and even with Kopaka. And for people saying that Gali's mask is bad look at the golden one in the Tahu/Onua pic instead I think it's on the same par as this years. Kinda has a "punK" look to it with what looks like a spiky hair and lip piercing.

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Personally, I feel that a: the Mask of Control featured in Umarak the Hunter is a broken version, which will be restored to a more animation-accurate version in his summer set.

It looks fairly animation accurate to me, and it certainly doesn't look broken. (For starters, if anything it's got more on it than the animation mask, not less.) Chances are the differences can be chalked up to working with a preliminary design and/or the simplification involved in the current animation style.

Also, it seems strange that only certain parts of the toa have been replaced with technic constructions, and that it's often asymmetrical. Maybe they got injured by the bear traps and they needed bandages/artificial limbs? A bit too dark I think, but it could explain the weird mismatch of textures.

Huh? As near as I can tell, the Toa's builds are all completely symmetrical barring weapons and Gali's shoulders. I'm pretty sure the technic is just an attempt to try some different ways of building limbs. Which, in my opinion, is a little hit-or-miss right now.

Anyway, I gotta agree with DV; these don't seem to quite live up to the 2015 Toa's standard. (Though it could just be the same reason I haven't fallen in love with an Ace Attorney Pursuit theme since the first one; the original was so iconic and defining for what it should be that attempts to recreate it just can't live up to the expectation.) I'll need better pictures to pass final judgement, but I can't say I'm the biggest fan right now.

And Umarak's legs are quite the mess. It's like if you built legs the same way Gadunka built a body. It's not a good look.

The creatures look cool, though the Creature of Stone is rather lackluster, and I can't quite get a good enough look at the Creature of Water, but its build looks a little iffy as well. Still, it's not every day you see more than one arthropod as a good guy.

(I'm a little disappointed the Creature of Fire is the only dinosaur, though.)

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Alright, massive opinion dump time, since everyone seems to be doing it.

Creatures:

Terak: Can't express how much I love this guy. The gold and trans-purple work fantastically together, and his appearance is simple, yet not boring. I actually really like the generic Creature face, too.

Ikir and Uxar look pretty good. The wings are actually done well, instead of just being slapped on there.

Akida and Ketar seem the most lacking to me. It could be that I'm biased against the unorthodox body design, but I think it's more the color schemes. The way that orange is used on Akida clashes too heavily, and Ketar is just a mess.

The "bear traps", as everyone seems to be calling them, are cute. I like them more than the Skull Spiders for sure.

Toa/Uniters:

Onua looks pretty cool. While I don't like how his hammer/drill is suddenly two-handed, I really do like that color scheme, and I think he pulls it off better than his '15 incarnation. And wow that mask resembles movie Ruru.

Tahu is... eh. My complaints seem to be the same as others': His mask is weird, there's too much gold, the blue printing on his chest plate seems out of place. Another one I have to add to the list is his weapons. The function looks cool, but having massive chunks of technic sticking out in the middle like that just doesn't appeal to me.

Gali has a nice build, but I feel like her color scheme has dipped from last year, and that orange asymmetrical shoulder armor isn't helping anything. I'll reserve judgment on her weapon until we get clearer pictures.

Lewa I definitely like, all around, but I'm disappointed at the loss of Keetorange. Still, the color scheme isn't too bad, and the armor design and weapons look awesome.

Pohatu is... ugh. I really don't know why they're mixing so many colors into our Stone characters. It just doesn't work well in my opinion. The ball on a chain is nice, but it's definitely going to be awkward for posing. And yep, he has a two-handed weapon now. Sigh.

Large:

Kopaka is... interesting. His overall appearance is definitely cool (GET IT?!!!!?!?!?!?), but the technic shoulders, as others have mentioned, may have mixed results. I like his weapons, and I think the gold is done better than it was last year, but dear Mata Nui that technic.

Melum I don't really have much to say about. Until we get clearer pictures, he/she/it really does look like a recolored Terak. That's not necessarily a bad thing--- I like Terak--- but it's an odd choice. I think his combination with Kopaka improves the design overall, though I really hope we get some valid story reason for why the heck the Creatures are being worn as pelts.

Umarak. Ah, Umarak. This guy is... complicated. I'm of the opinion that his misshapen feet and strange color scheme actually add to his charm as a villain. He looks evil, far more than the spoopy skeletons, and I like nearly every aspect of his appearance. The horns are very creative, and the mask is beautiful. The spikes and chains all over his body add to the aesthetic wonderfully, and the strange leg design really just enhances things overall. The bow is great too. I'm just not sure it'll be worth getting him if we have an "updated" version coming out in the following wave.

I'd like to point out that I disagree with the idea that this Mask of Control is somehow a "mutation" or unfaithful to the "original". I'm convinced that this was intended to be the original design of the mask, and that we're simply biased against it because we're used to seeing it in a cartoon, 2-d format which we already know is not an accurate representation of the sets.

Edited by DuplexBeGreat

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Disregard that user, he's been pessimistic for the sake of being pessimistic for weeks now. Until we have concrete data nothing can be said about BIONICLE's state.

I'm sorry, I didn't realise my opinions must align exactly with yours. Are the other people who don't like the wave also pessimistic? Pessimism is also a superior option to optimism anyway. Furthermore, the SW sets will be more profitable than BIONICLE. Look, SW constraction sets sold out in their first few weeks. Did that happen to bionicle this year? No, it didn't. It's a very clear indicator of what's popular and what's an increasingly half-hearted revival of its original self.

So a piece is immediately useless because it won't attach to CCBS limbs (spoiler alert: it does (spoiler alert: only the largest four types)) but will attach to virtually every other piece in LEGO's entire piece library?

If you look at Kopaka's lower limbs, you can clearly see it's not attaching to the ball joint. It's attaching via a technic construction. So, spoiler alert: it doesn't attach to a ccbs limb unless they have two holes for the technic attachment. Look at this image.

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If you look at Kopaka's lower limbs, you can clearly see it's not attaching to the ball joint. It's attaching via a technic construction. So, spoiler alert: it doesn't attach to a ccbs limb unless they have two holes for the technic attachment. Look at this image.

Actually, it does attach to a CCBS limb because it's attached, no?

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Yeah, but even when G1 made a Technic-built leg they were at least decent.

We built very different G1 sets, you and I.

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Actually, if you look closely, Kopaka and Pohatu have those as well. It seems as if all the new Toa have it. I guess it's also used as a way to connect the Skrall Armor.

-Iben

edit: whoops, forgot I had this quote here. Can't spot what you're talking about, sorry.

I'm sorry, I didn't realise my opinions must align exactly with yours. Are the other people who don't like the wave also pessimistic? Pessimism is also a superior option to optimism anyway. Furthermore, the SW sets will be more profitable than BIONICLE. Look, SW constraction sets sold out in their first few weeks. Did that happen to bionicle this year? No, it didn't. It's a very clear indicator of what's popular and what's an increasingly half-hearted revival of its original self.

Your argument is relying on the idea that LEGO manufactured equal amounts of Star Wars sets as they did BIONICLE

If you look at Kopaka's lower limbs, you can clearly see it's not attaching to the ball joint. It's attaching via a technic construction. So, spoiler alert: it doesn't attach to a ccbs limb unless they have two holes for the technic attachment. Look at this image.

Love what you did there by ignoring what I said. Do these pieces attach, in some way, to CCBS limbs? If so, then you're agreeing with what I stated. But what's your point? You've gone on about how this piece is so useless because it can't even attach to ball joints. Except that it can, because if you look closely you'll notice a ball socket.tucked away behind some axle holes. I'm in full support of this piece's existence: unlike your average CCBS shell it's not going to be virtually impossible to use in a System or Technic MOC, and it's perfect for usage on vehicles. It combines the best of all thee worlds: axle holes, pin holes and a ball socket. If you want to keep hating it: you've already got an abundance of perfectly good CCBS shells that are still in production, no one is forcing you to use it or buy Kopaka, Tahu and the Creatures.

We built very different G1 sets, you and I.

Unless you're talking about Krekka or Toa Mata Nui, I'm not sure what you're referring to. Virtually every set that constructed the lower legs of a character was a titan, and the pistons on the back of the legs were hardly out of place. Even so, none of them are as awful and gappy as Umarak's.

Edited by Mandate

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