Project G3 | Year 1 | Season 1 | Journey to the Red City

[VBBN]

Hello everyone, and welcome to the official kickoff of my #VBBNG3 project!

For the past few years I have done some minor teases & hints at such a project, and truthfully the project has taken a lot longer to get off the ground than I expected. As a longtime fan of Bionicle, I wanted to do my part in contributing to the community with some kind of project. An important aspect to me with this project is that I wanted to do something that would have some kind of meaningful purpose or impact, no matter how big or small. As such, I decided to embrace the world of 3D printing, which I truly believe is a huge player in the future of Bionicle MOCs (and we have already seen this making an impact in the new canon contests that have been going on.)

I wanted to do something that would allow me a chance to showcase the dozens of designers who have been pouring years of work into creating new tools, masks, armor etc for us all to use and enjoy. I wanted to show how these parts look in real life, in different colors, and most importantly, how they all come together to form new and interesting design potential for your figures.

With that in mind, I set forth on this project. The idea behind this project is that it will be a mockup of a “Lego set inspired” series of figures, all using a majority printed pieces. This project will encompass four “Years” of sets, each year including two seasons of MOCs. Designers will all be credited along the way. In some cases, I may work with designers on commissions for custom pieces. In other cases, I have worked on my own designs and remixes, all of which will be made available on Thingiverse for you to utilize as you see fit. A story is in development, but expect this to be delayed a bit.

One thing is for certain: This project will take time. Time to print pieces. Time to clean them up and make them look decent. Time to playtest them and make sure they function correctly. Time to design new pieces. Time to design the actual MOCs - all of which will be keeping a “Set viable” aspect to them. (I love a complicated MOC as the next person, but I want the pieces to shine, and to show how they would look in a standard set style environment. Plus, complicated MOCs would elongate this project longer than I would like. Such kinds of artistic builds are not the goal of this project.) I'm taking this project 1 season at a time. It's a common issue that people get burned out over long projects, and I will do my best to avoid that. Most likely I will take a break between seasons to pursue other projects, but I believe this is how I will bet manage to keep this going in the long run. 

Today, I begin Year 1, Season 1: Journey to the Red City. You can see from the graphic how many MOCs are planned for this particular season. They will be revealed over the course of the next few months, as most of these are currently WIPs. I will be commenting and highlighting the pieces used, where to get them, and technical details such as the filament & printing process, troubleshooting, etc. As mentioned, a story is planned to be developed in some capacity, though given my current life schedule this is delayed until a later point in time.

This season will consist of 6 Matoran (M) sized sets, 6 Canister (C) sized sets, 1 Titan (T) sized set, and 2 Impulse (I) sets. I have already noted in the graphic above which characters will take up these slots.

#WeAreG3 

C001 Toa Tahu

I debated at first if I even wanted to include the classic Toa in this project as so many people tend to base their projects off them, off that nostalgia. However, in the end, I decided to create them, for two reasons. First, one of my goals with this project is to show people that you can viably create brand new figures that are almost entirely 3D printed and to really push the limits of the system. This gave me a good, approachable starting point to showcase this idea. Second, because of this love for these characters, there’s a ton of fantastic designs out there that people have created, and I felt it would be an injustice not to showcase some of these parts.

Next, the design. I know that continuing the “Inika” platform will be a point of contention. Everyone has their own idea of what they want Bionicle to be, and everyone will express their projects differently. For my project, I wanted to get into the headspace of LEGO. To think about some of the limitations they may face, and what “could have been” had G1 gone on. With that in mind, I absolutely think the building system in 2006-2009 would continue forth. It was truly a prototype of the eventual CCBS system, where a more standardized building system was created. They reused parts, but it gave us more recolors of these parts. It allowed for more variety in character builds and created a more uniform scale of characters. I kept the general idea of an Inika build in mind. By 2010+, my thought is that Lego would have been ready to once again invest in creating more limbs, armor plates, etc, and this is where I made my selections for new elements with these figures. 

Tahu is very much a “basic” character. He features many parts that would be “new” for this wave, and doesn’t do much as far as a unique build or special features goes. It is worth noting that I removed the launcher gimmick that sets would have. From the previous graphic, you can see set I001 is a return to the mask pack idea of the past. I will discuss this more when I reveal the concept, but to be brief I believe it would make sense to return to such a collectible, given the success of blind-bag products now.

As we dive into this first MOC, let me be clear that I do not adhere myself 100% to official, established story facts from either G1 or G2. Does Tahu's appearance make sense with what we know he should look like? No, most likely not. But if you desire, you can create it in your own way. I wanted to create my own ideas and to not be limited by the past, I felt it was very important for me to enjoy this process. 

My main goal with Tahu was this: I wanted to create a figure that I could drop in to my 2006-2009 shelf that would visually make sense with everyone else. I wanted the bright colors of 2001 to shine in this figure. I basically said "no thank you" to 2008 and the designs/colors used, and took a total 180 to the past. It's a new Tahu, it's one that has elements you recognize but also things that are new. At the end of the day, this figure serves the sole purpose of showcasing the pieces that were used in this particular arrangement.

 

 

 

This contains a breakdown of the parts, their creators, where you can get them, the materials used, etc.

Metru Mata Hau by KingSidorak/Rothanak
Gumroad: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/metrumatahau?layout=profile

Adaptive Nuva Shoulder Armor by Galva
Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4199046

Adaptive Nuva Chestplate by Galva
Thingiverse: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4190994

Nuva Leg & Shell Armor by M06Z [Remixed by VBBN to be longer, files will be available on Thinigiverse eventually. Unforunately, I lost the files in a computer changeover, so I'll need to rebuild them]
Original files:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4398403
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4398392

Bionicle sockets/joint connectors:
5L joint by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4161733
Hand Connector by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4204014
7L Joint by SK-Polymer: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2138349
Fists & feet: model replications by VBBN, utilizing the socket design from Lmk2332

Toa Metru Foot by GrimUrsine: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4802948

SID_L05 by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/dbuiP

Metru Eyestalk by Slides: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4735352

Metru Head by Luukka97: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5246497

 

[Lego David]

This looks incredible! The 3D printed parts look very convincing, and honestly, if you show this to a non-Bionicle fan, they might be tricked into thinking they are official parts. 

If there is one criticism that I would give about this template, though, is that the shoulders seem way too wide. I know that's the easiest piece to use in a simple build like this, but at this scale, the proportions don't really look right. 

[VBBN]

11 hours ago, Lego David said:

This looks incredible! The 3D printed parts look very convincing, and honestly, if you show this to a non-Bionicle fan, they might be tricked into thinking they are official parts. 

If there is one criticism that I would give about this template, though, is that the shoulders seem way too wide. I know that's the easiest piece to use in a simple build like this, but at this scale, the proportions don't really look right. 

Thank you! Yes, that is definitely one issue I've faced with this one and I've seen some others call that out as well. For myself I will admit it doesn't bother me, I've never minded awkward proportions as Bionicle characters don't necessarily need to follow human proportioning. But with that said -  I have a feeling you will much prefer the look of Gali when I reveal her as she has much narrower shoulders. However, due to the design of these shoulder pads, there are definitely some issues, as bringing the shoulders closer in like she will have causes them to collide with the edges of the chest armor when rotating the arms forward

It's also worth noting that these shoulder pads do not allow much for outward arm extension, given they cover the top of the socket piece. I'll be doing a more thorough review of some of these commonly used 3D elements when the team is all assembled, but there's some initial thoughts. 

[Takanuinuva]

These are neat concepts. I look forward to the rest.

Though I have to ask. Any specific reason you chose to use the Inika build rather than try for some kind of gearbox?

[Kingriedak]

Those are some very interesting choices for Matoran, can't wait to see Beltok, Khorhin, and Jarkha

[Umbra-Manis]

Very cool! Looking forward to seeing the rest of the series!

[The Outsider]

This looks really great! Can't wait to see the rest!

Are you looking for collaborators for the story development? Cause I'd love to help.

[VBBN]

Okay, well, it's taken wayyy longer than I'd have liked for an update. Right after I kicked off this project, we decided to build a new house which meant that my 3D printer was boxed up for a while. 

I've been working on things in the background, so I have much more done than what I'm showing here today, but I've also got some ideas on how I'm going to deliver updates on this project quicker, I'll talk about that shortly.

 

But first, an update has been made to Tahu - I've already updated the first post with the new pic, but here it is again (and for reference, here's the old version).

He's mostly the same with the exception of the mask, which has been changed from the Adaptive Hau by Galva to the Metru Mata Hau by KingSidorak/Rothanak. Originally, I was going to do the full team with the adaptive Kanohi, but I wasn't loving how the final aesthetics were looking in the end. I wanted to go with something that better captured the original Mata feel while still working with the 2006-2009 building system. I came across the champions pack by Galva, which you'll see more of in a moment, but one element of that pack that I wasn't a fan of was that the Hau was just Lhikans Hau. I printed it, it printed well enough, but even in red... idk, it just looked like Lhikan to me, rather than Tahu. Luckily, KingSidorak posted up this Metru Mata hau in collaboration with Rothanak, and it fits the look and style of the champions pack perfectly. 

 

Anyway, onto something much more exciting, Kopaka!

Kopaka uses a fairly similar build to Tahu for his body overall, the main differences are that incredibly cool Akaku, and figuring out his Toa tools. After giving Tahu the flame sword, I knew that all six Toa were going to have weapons inspired by their original Mata forms. Unfortunately, Kopaka's old sword would be much too small to include here - luckily, onomatopeyista on Thingiverse created a fantastic update to that sword at a much larger scale. The print came out perfectly and looks right at home here. It's also got some really unique attachment points, so I look forward to integrating this in future builds. Last, the shield - I tried dozens of different solutions for this, most of them sticking with round Lego disk-style shields as Kopaka has traditionally had, but none of them ever looked right with this figure. I decided upon this protosteel shield by vahki6 mounted to his wrist, which definitely gives me vibes of Infinity War Captain America's Vibranium shields. 

Below you can find the relevant links to all pieces used here.

Akaku by Galva: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4856168

Adaptive Nuva Shoulder Armor by Galva: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4199046

Adaptive Nuva Chestplate by Galva: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4190994

Nuva Leg & Shell Armor by M06Z [Remixed by VBBN to be longer, files will be available on Thinigiverse eventually. Unforunately, I lost the files in a computer changeover, so I'll need to rebuild them]
Original files:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4398403
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4398392

Bionicle sockets/joint connectors:
5L joint by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4161733
Hand Connector by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4204014
7L Joint by SK-Polymer: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2138349
Fists & feet: model replications by VBBN, utilizing the socket design from Lmk2332

Toa Metru Foot by GrimUrsine: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4802948

SID_L05 by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/dbuiP

Bionic Sword Toa Kopaka for Toa Nuva by onomatopeyista: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:1377807

Great Protosteel Shield by vahki6: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4415875

Metru Eyestalk by Slides: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4735352

Metru Head by Luukka97: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5246497

Materials used:
Hatchbox 1.75mm PLA White
FilaCube 1.75mm Light Gray PLA
Hatchbox 1.75mm PLA Black

Last thing, I mentioned I wanted to deliver updates more quickly on this project, and so I've decided that I'm going to start showcasing the prototyping and development process as I go along. I'll probably set up a display to show the current progress on all open pieces in this series, but rest assured, no more 1.5 year breaks will be happening on this. Next update should be within the next 1-2 weeks; Onua and Ehrye!

On 10/28/2021 at 3:11 PM, Takanuinuva said:

Though I have to ask. Any specific reason you chose to use the Inika build rather than try for some kind of gearbox?

If I'm honest, I was never really a big fan of gear functions. Even when executed well like 2015, it just hasn't been my cup of tea and so I opted to stay away from it here. With that said, when this project is done I'm going to reveal tons of behind-the-scenes prototypes, work in progress etc photos, among which will be Pohatu with a fully developed leg-kick gearbox.

On 12/5/2021 at 7:28 PM, The Outsider said:

Are you looking for collaborators for the story development? Cause I'd love to help.

Not sure if you're still around the forums, but yes I'm absolutely open to collaborators. I haven't really started this part of the project yet, I wanted to ensure the actual physical builds continued and used my energy to drive that forward, but it'll happen.

[Pisces no Aphrodite]

I'm waiting for Gali.

[VBBN]

C003 Onua, Toa of Earth

Here we have Onua! While the third figure I'm unveiling, he was actually the first one that I had basically completed, until I made a few changes with the standard limbs for these figures. I'll show more photos when the full team is complete, but true to his original forms, Onua here is shorter (both in his legs and with a shorter posture). One note, in my story continuation, Onua will pivot more towards the plantlife side of the earth element to better differentiate him from Pohatu - he'll control the "roots" of the earth whereas Pohatu will manipulate rock/stone/sand. 

 

Pakari by Galva: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4856168

Adaptive Nuva Shoulder Armor by Galva: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4199046

Adaptive Nuva Chestplate by Galva: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4190994

Nuva Leg & Shell Armor by M06Z [Remixed by VBBN to be longer, files will be available on Thinigiverse eventually. Unforunately, I lost the files in a computer changeover, so I'll need to rebuild them]
Original files:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4398403
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4398392

Bionicle sockets/joint connectors:
5L joint by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4161733
Hand Connector by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4204014
7L Joint by SK-Polymer: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2138349
Fists & feet: model replications by VBBN, utilizing the socket design from Lmk2332

SID_L05 by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/dbuiP

Beast Claws by Galva: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3842395/files

Mata themed chest plate by KingSidorak (not visible in this picture, you'll see it in a later update, but it's on his back): https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/RUTrN?layout=profile

Metru Eyestalk by Slides: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4735352

Metru Head by Luukka97: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5246497

[VBBN]

M003 Ehrye

 

Okay switching gears a bit to Ehrye. In my "post 2010" head I wanted to evolve the Av-toran build away from being so simple and difficult to customize. I've always considered the Inika/Piraka building system to be a precursor to the CCBS system, in the sense that it was a "standard" Bionicle building system and lead to the changeup away from clone builds and more consistent scaling year over year. For the small sets here, I've curated some elements that essentially provide a "mininika" build, which I'm sure many people will absolutely despise, but it's the headspace I'm in here. Keeping in mind the "parts budget" of a year like this that would blast new parts everywhere, I made sure that the limbs here are the same as what was featured on the Nuva, and you'll see that narrow Inika torso reappear in some of the other Nuva. 

I wanted my small-sets to be a good mix of old and new characters, as well as characters of different varieties; Ehrye represents a Metrutoran, which meant two very important things for me - first was giving him his classic disc launcher (I chose to eliminate the inclusion of collectible "shooters" this wave since I'm bringing the mask pack back as you'll see, but I still wanted one to make an appearance in some capacity). Second was maintaining a similar color blocking as the original figure with his gray and white. As a Matoran, the size of this figure is now pretty big and actually comparable to the Toa, but being that this is a "cheaper" set with less parts, it's far less armored and lacks some features like colored eyes. While I love the original stubby McToran design, I like the idea that Matoran and Agori were still capable characters but not nearly as amped up as the Toa. 

Regreated Mahiki by BigPhan: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4991895

Bionicle sockets/joint connectors:
5L joint by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4161733
Hand Connector by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4204014
Fists: model replications by VBBN, utilizing the socket design from Lmk2332

SID_L05 by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/dbuiP

Mata themed chest plate, hips and torso by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/RUTrN?layout=profile

Metru Head by Luukka97: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5246497

Matoran feet by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/bKnjO

[VBBN]

M005 Korhin

Agori Helmet by Rothanak: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5482977

5L joint by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4161733
Hand Connector by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4204014
Fists: model replications by VBBN, utilizing the socket design from Lmk2332

SID_L05 by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/dbuiP

Mata themed Hips and torso by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/RUTrN?layout=profile

Metru Nui Guard Chestpiece by Galva: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:3833173/files

 

[VBBN]

Happy 810NICLE Day! I've saved up a few things to show off today, so let's get into it

M001 Macku

Not too much to say about Macku, she shares the same matoran-specific elements as Ehrye, though has a slightly shorter stature. For the mask, I wanted to use a Huna that was compatible with Metru heads; Vakama Metru's mask is fine but didn't really seem to fit her aesthetic, plus I have an interesting dilemma where two figures in this wave (Macku and Balta) both wear a similar mask. I settled on this version of the Huna from Galva's City of Legends mask pack as it still keeps that recognizable Huna Metru shaping, but has a bit more of a feminine feel to it. As for her tool, I chose to try out this fantastic Matoran shield from OhluCG. The sculpt is beautiful, though I will warn that it's pretty heavy and definitely wears down 3D printed ballsockets fast, and the file itself wasn't the right scale and required tweaking to make the pinholes fit correctly. I was going to go with silver for the shield, but I really liked the black, sort of a nod to the black throwing disks. 

Huna by Galva: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4841518

5L joint by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4161733
Hand Connector by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4204014
Fists: model replications by VBBN, utilizing the socket design from Lmk2332

SID_L05 by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/dbuiP

Mata themed Hips and torso by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/RUTrN?layout=profile

Mata themed chest plate, hips and torso by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/RUTrN?layout=profile

Matoran feet by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/bKnjO

Shield by OhluCG: https://ohlustuff.gumroad.com/l/JxGFH?layout=profile

 

C005 Pohatu

Pohatu has been 100% the most difficult to design. In truth, he's unlike the other Toa in this wave as he has a geared hip system. My very first design for him didn't feature this, but later I designed the gearbox when considering to give all of the Toa gear functions. I scrapped the idea, but decided to leave it on Pohatu here. When the full season is done, more pics will be shared detailing the gearbox, but anyway, it does provide him with wide hips and places him at the same overall stature as Onua. The other challenge here was deciding upon what tool to give him. I've seen a few interesting mata-inspired foot extensions, but they've historically been locked behind Shapeways paywalls (which, I totally understand why some creators choose to only distribute elements through that platform, but for me, it's not really practical and you likely won't see any of those elements featured in this project). I debated giving him an entirely different set of tools, but ended up settling on the classic toe kicks that we all know and love. In my mind, the "reuse" of an old mold helps to justify the higher parts count that this figure would have as a set. 

P.S.: the curse of the brown set continues. Brown PLA was a nightmare to work with. Some colors are certainly better than others, but blue and brown were relentless in torturing me. No matter how many settings I tweaked, how much I dried the filament etc, it just didn't work. That's not to say I won't be using brown in the future, but It'll likely be elements printed in another color and then airbrushed brown. So, apologies if some elements look wonky in the photo above, I'll likely teak and continue finishing him up in the future, but I had to force him passed the finish line before I went insane. Next up, dealing with the pile of crumbled pieces on my desk that will one day be Gali...

Kakama by Galva: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4856168

Adaptive Nuva Shoulder Armor by Galva: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4199046

Adaptive Nuva Chestplate by Galva: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4190994

Nuva Leg & Shell Armor by M06Z 
Original files:
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4398403
https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4398392

Bionicle sockets/joint connectors:
5L joint by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4161733
Hand Connector by Lmk2332: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4204014
7L Joint by SK-Polymer: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:2138349
Fists: model replications by VBBN, utilizing the socket design from Lmk2332

SID_L05 by KingSidorak: https://kingsidorak.gumroad.com/l/dbuiP

Metru Eyestalk by Slides: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:4735352

Metru Head and Piraka Torso by Luukka97: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:5246497

 

One final note: Season 1 is wrapping up nicely behind the scenes. So much so, in fact, that I've already begun some prelim stages of Season 2. I figured in the spirit of Bionicle day I'd drop my teaser of what's coming up in S2 of this project, though obviously, this is still a ways off. I'd estimate I won't be dropping anything for this until next year's Bionicle Day, but here it is.