The Kumquat Alchemist

Hum, seems fairly good. Ekimu looks to be the most generic of all the sets, and I'd call him an instant pass if not for his value as a parts pack; that mask is a thing of beauty, and I also need those Chima shells to assemble a Protector-scale Makuta figure. The one thing about him that stands out is the orthodox use of a gearbox, which is a nice touch that will add a significant amount to his portfolio of action features, assuming his pauldrons don't get in the way. Still, not as interesting as the secondary action features given to the beasts. Storm Beast is a rather awkward thing. Out of all the beasts, this one has the least appealing proportions to me, though I expect I'll come to appreciate it for the action feature, once we some see in-hand reviews. Despite that and the beautiful dark blue shells, I'll probably be skipping it. Lava Beast is my favorite of the trio, having a wicked elemental color scheme that trumps Storm Beast's lackluster application of trans-blue, and a set of weapons with a range that offsets Lava Beast's small stature, and imply a far greater strength than would be guessed from such a thin-limbed being. On the topic of limbs, I love the use of trans-black armor add-ons over trans-orange bones. It really gives Lava Beast the appearance of having a molten core overlaid with a partially cooled, still-luminous outer crust, all done without any printed shells other than the chest piece. Quake Beast seems to be revisiting Bruizer's functionality, and though it is a great improvement over that first unusual attempt, I'm still skeptical about the sideways gearbox. Despite this reservation, Quake Beast is a definite buy, alongside Lava Beast. I quite can't articulate how I've come to appreciate this figure, but something about the awkward, lopsided design pleases me. Umarak the Destroyer, what a lovely beast this is! The short upper arms & thighs contrast nicely with the over sized legs, hands, & chest; it really looks like Umarak went overboard with elemental steroids! The corrupted Mask of Control is probably the only thing about this figure I don't like, as I loathe any combination of gold and trans-bright-green.

It seems kind of pointless to speculate at this point. Remember how unflattering the Summer 2015 sets looked when their first leaks appeared?

I have to admit, I agree with you somewhat. I initially considered using 4M instead of 5M bones for the upper arms so he'd keep the appearance of having high shoulders, one of Lewa's defining traits in this new iteration of BIONICLE. It certainly is his distinct "look", and if implemented well, as in 2015 Lewa, it's marvelous, but I cannot stand how awkwardly it was done for Lewa Uniter. So yes, I will be exploring ways to make him more faithful to Lewa's unique appearance, but I do not regret separating the Vorox armor from the upper arms.

I tried my hand at modding Lewa. I really, really love how well the designers positioned his armor, both the crystal addons and the Vorox shells, but I think that, while creative, their means of attachment are detriments to the figure, especially on the shoulders. I've gone for a more mundane approach, replacing Lewa's custom limbs with generic CCBS bones, while trying to maintain the original positions of his armor. The results can be found here.

I've noticed that, when I compare old instances of 6019 to part 21252, and even to instances of 6019 from 2008 sets, that the older clips used a softer variety of plastic, which had a duller sheen. This plastic was also used for Battle Droid minifigure legs and heads (Though it may no longer be used for those, it's been years since I got a set with Battle Droids in it), old 1x1 plates with vertical clips, and old flags with 2 clips. What variety of ABS was that, and why does it seem to no longer be used? When used for clips, it lost tension faster, but it never cracked like hard ABS clips are sometimes inclined to do. Edit: Oops, it truncated the title.

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!

I'd love a Roboriders reboot, on the condition that they were primarily of Technic construction. The Roboriders of old, though closer to Technic than its fellow action themes, still possessed few versatile components, thanks to LEGO's tendency to create overspecialized molds during the late 1990s and early 2000s, so even though the gap between Technic and Technic-based action themes was smaller pre-CCBS, the non-Titan Roboriders were still rather simplistic in terms of Technic construction, with exception to Dust. However, under LEGO's current philosophy of creating fewer, more versatile molds, Roboriders could be a rebirth of the action-based Technic theme, avoiding the pitfall of overspecialized parts, and perhaps making it into something similar to Competition, which married basic Technic components with fantastical, unique, and enjoyable designs perfectly.

It feels dishonorable, my first post in the Historical Themes subforum being on a thread dedicated to some absurd Knights/Sci-Fi crossover, but I must admit that this theme has me excited, as a lover of anachronistic settings. Most of all I look forward to seeing what the "Ultimate" versions of our, presumably, four heroes and two villains will be. Could it be a new Minifig-based gimmick, like Ninjago's Spinjitzu & Airjitzu? Or might they be akin to Chima's Legend Beasts? The latter would be preferable for parts, but I'd also be curious to see what further gimmicks LEGO's designers could think up.

The leaks were fake? What a shock.

I don't see how it would matter, myself. The villagers seem to have no elemental affinities beyond acclimation to their village locations, so I suppose that all the villagers are of the same race, and simply wear different types of armor based on the necessities of climate, utility, and camouflage. Because of this, I don't think that their home tribes would make any difference in their abilities, other than whatever skills they may have learned which were required to survive in their home environments.

In Hero Factory, protagonists oftentimes appeared alongside antagonists in the same waves. Though I'd first assume it's a fluke that Kopaka has yet to be shown, there's also the chance that he'll be released in the summer 2016 wave.

What? This is a surprise to me.

2007 was outstanding in the figure department. Yes, there were some hiccups in the process of moving away from cookie-cutter figures, with fellows like Pridak being very good examples of how not to create a unique build for a canister set, but despite its failings in the first half of the year, the second half truly shined when the designers showed the extent of what could be done with unique builds per character; to this day, the Toa Mahri are my favorite post-2001 wave of heroes, and one of the few waves I've managed to re-assemble in their entirety. The story, though still a bit woefully grimdark at times, at least provided a fresh setting; the underwater environs were something we'd never seen before, and also had some interesting complications that eventually tied into Mata-Nui's true nature as a giant robot.

I liked the strict segregation of Metru Nui, as it contributed towards the very totalitarian atmosphere, but in the context of Okoto, it is appealing to see a more natural, less artificially segmented city.

These parts are impressive. The basic torso might be my favorite, as its height is perfect for a variety of figures that may not merit technic-built torsos.