TwistLaw

>literally a worse DV with just a cool helmet costs TEN DOLLARS MORE than the original lmao They killed G2 to leave us with this? No amount of sand green shells will convince me that constraction fans deserved such a treatment. As I've already said SW CCBS has had its high points, I have no objections here, but it's just unfair to see the whole category continued only by an overpriced, repetitive theme. I really hope that summer 2018 constraction theme is real, because there's a part of me stupid enough that still wants to give money to LEGO.

Since I was a kid I've never been particularly fascinated by bricks. When I was 5 I got my first LEGO set, the cars were cool, but it didn't strike me enough to ask my mother to buy other LEGO sets. Until of course I (belatedly) enterd the world of Bionicle, but that's another story. In short I know that you can build everything with bricks, but to me biomechanical warriors with mythical powers have always been way, way cooler than your average police station. And that leads to my conclusion, that is I only like System in a Bionicle moc when the moccer is particularly talented and the percentage of bricks is kept low.

I'd agree with you if not for a detail: the blade sports three small holes for spikes. That makes it way more constraction-ish than your average rotor (like the one introduced in Ninjago in 2012). Me neither. But it might be a sign, and it speaks volumes the fact a single piece constitues the biggest proof we got in the last 12 months that constraction may still have a future.

Believe it or not, as soon as I saw the picture on 4chan (that is literally 3 minutes ago) the second thing I thought was "I need to spread my joy at EB" The first, of course, was that finally I can make something in that sweet shade.

It's the same people saying the same things with the same outcomes. At least I managed to reach a better understanding of the whole "constraction is building the same shape over and over again" thing. Btw bricks stink, I can accept them only in very small quantities on works made by the few people that know how to mix them with constraction.

The Exo-Force sword was a one-time thing that wasn't even close to G1's design language; it would have probably stuck out if recycled in BIONICLE, or at least that was what the designer thought since the piece disappeared immediately after. Besides it appeared in a System theme that mostly consisted of action figures built with bricks - it was right at home, instead of a constraction sword (the one I mentioned in my last message) being used in... a System bike. Ninjago has plenty of mechs, but creating a new mould for a theme where CCBS is a side dish, at best, sounds a little bit of an exaggeration. The tribal flame piece is an interesting case indeed, but its purpose is more ornamental than anything, and in that way it has been used since its introduction. Sure, it wouldn't have hurt to see it during Chima's CCBS run, or maybe even in G2, but it wasn't a huge loss; not using a constraction sword in a constraction theme (aside frome the aforementioned case, which had its precise context) on the other hand is just nonsense. In short, that piece isn't solid proof of anything, but may be the strongest hint that something may be happening in the near future. + clearly a constraction sword + Star Wars doesn't have any relevant character using a similar weapon + R&D has had two full years by now (BIONICLE G2 was axed in late 2015/ very early 2016 at best) to design a new CCBS theme, a system that LEGO itself has repeatedly say to have a key role in the company's future - I ain't no Nostradamus and LEGO is always ready to bamboozle us poor constraction fans

A recently leaked 2018 Ninjago sets uses a piece (a blade, to be specific) that was clearly designed with constraction in mind. Most importantly, it doesn't really look like something that may be also used in Star Wars Ultrabuilds. Could we say this is the first strong hint that something new may be on the horizon for CCBS?

It literally had one ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

I'm still buttmad that Boba doesn't have any sand green shells. This year introduced Protector feet in sand green, and one of the last things I'd like from constraction before it gets buried are the pieces required to build at least a small figure in that color. A man can dream IMHO, at the top of the SW CCBS pyramid are allowed to sit sets like Vader 1, Grievous, Scout Trooper & Speeder Bike, Praetorian Guard. They combine great/unusual (or even both in the same set) builds for CCBS, intriguing pieces, interesting recolors. Baze doesn't have anything really cool going for him. Dull colours (the Technic parts are interesting, I admit), the head needs to be purged from this world like any other human head appearing in constraction since Galidor, the weapon is triple A boring (a rifle? again?). Source material sure puts serious limits to the direction SW Ultrabuilds may take, but it doesn't mean we don't have the right to find repetitive or uninteresting the final result.

Actually Skorpio does use a torso+limbs build, in that regard being like the vast majority of constraction sets. That's exactly what I meant, thank you Aanchir. Also I'd like to note that until action figures (and constraction) will exist, most of the times they're gonna have a humanoid shape. It's not rocket science we're talking about, but just that human beings have a... humanoid shape (duh) and they'll always prefer that one over any other. Just like Magic the Gathering has almost exclusively humanoid Planeswalkers, because players want to see themselves in what they play, kids are no different in that aspect. Once you know you'll always have (basically) just one shape to work with, you have to take countermeasures to keep the whole thing fresh. And while especially G2 did an amazing job in reinventing CCBS (2015 structurally, 2016 aesthetically and structurally again), until two years ago the exterior aspect of the figures was still strongly similar to earlier HF sets. We all remember the response when G2 was launched, with fans saying all over Facebook "this is so wrong, they look like Hero Factory": that was a key aspect in the warm reaction at G2, a red flag that should have said something important to LEGO. If AFOLs are a minority, people like us who loved G2 since day 1 are a minority of a minority, and 2016 was a clear proof that LEGO was aware of all this with aesthetics much closer to classic BIONICLE. God knows what we would have seen in 2017, and it embitters me once again to be reminded what we lost for reasons we may never truly know.

But Rey isn't. The 2018 catalog has began leaking, can't wait for better pictures of Vader and Boba. By the way, do we currently know all the names from next winter's wave?

But how, since the last huge "parts update" happened in 2006, and the decision to axe BIONICLE happened in 2008, after three full years of the infamous Inika build on the shelves? Genuinely curious, since I always thought that from 2007 onwards new moulds were introduced according to much stronger necessities than in the past (weapons, launchers, gimmick-based torsos).

Of course I remember about them, but all of them, at their core, were still a "torso+limbs" sets. Again, this is a huge limit of constraction it literally can't overcome (otherwise it wouldn't be constraction). And CCBS does not compete with action figures, but with other LEGO themes (and systems) to whom is often compared, with all the shortcomings this comparison highlights.

The biggest problem with CCBS is that LEGO decided to design a full system for something that would have had at best three themes running at the same time. That's a fairly low number when compared to System, which has an outstanding array of bricks for a dozen of themes per year. In other words CCBS is too big for itself: with bricks you can build everything, with CCBS 99% of the times you're going to build a humanoid. That's the biggest limit of constraction, the fact you're basically going to assemble the same thing over and over again, and say what you want but G1 did one thing right for most of its run: it tried to overcome the biggest limit of its system (that is, of course, building four-limbed bipedals most of the times) by introducing wich each year an acceptable amount of new pieces. That's why a BIONICLE set from 2001 is vastly different from another one released in 2005, that's why a Hero Factory set from 2011 is visually extremely similar to a BIONICLE set from 2015. Parents are not stupid, kids neither, and they know when something is resembling beyond reason something else already seen for years. With 50 identical bricks you could build a spaceship just like a cottage. With the pieces from Protector of Earth, you could build a Protector of Earth and not much else. This alone speaks volumes about how constraction should have been handled ("Do you think you know more than LEGO?": I'll stop you right there, probably not. But considering the current state of constraction, neither LEGO knew best.) And no, kids do still like action figures in this decade, so that argument is not gonna work. Sorry.

You make a good point, but the problem remains: SW CCBS has a high and limited range of price tags. We all know System has way more expensive sets, but it also has way cheaper ones, and I think history has proven CCBS and bricks can't be compared that easily. The Chewbacca part is subjective, the lack of interest towards SW CCBS can be proven by this very same forum and basically any Facebook group dedicated to Bionicle. It's not being negative, it's just... noting the current state of things. It'd doesn't take rocket science to understand that Star Wars Ultrabuilds didn't do a stellar job in keeping alive the flame of constraction. And I'm a HUGE fan of Bionicle, both G1 both G2, kind on the fanboy side in both cases. So yeah, I'm actually an avid supporter of constraction as long as Bionicle is concerned, and after a whole year I'm still quite pissed of about how G2 ended, especially considering what we got since then. The situation is still kinda mixed, even when we consider all of the SW CCBS that came out in the last two years. I mean, in 2017 we got stuff like this or this, and I'm not exactly sure they can be called "steps forward". And guys like this one might even be kind of misleading, since most of the "extra" pieces compared to the older sets go into a huge, Technic-based rifle (a comprehensibily overused weapon in SW CCBS). I'd love to be happy about CCBS, and I was until a little more than a year ago. But since then all that's left for me are mocs, fanmade stories and occasional shopping at bricklink: as someone who has given A LOT of money to LEGO, and would still be doing if we had gotten a third year for G2, I think I have the right to be disappointed about the current state of the only LEGO theme I care about. I mean, ranting is free ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

Most probably it won't. The price of standard SW CCBS figures was raised from 20$ to 25$ last year, without any actual improvement on the build or piece counts (just compare this to this), so it's safe to assume that this year's DV won't be an actual step forward compared to the already good 2015 version. But well, we're talking SW CCBS here. A repetitive line with a limited range of colours, builds and price tags - no wonder so many people, both in the constraction fandom both in the LEGO SW fandom, care so little about it-.

It was, but I admit I'm somewhat of a controversial figure in this forum, so I really didn't care if my words were misinterpreted. Anyway, I find it funny to read topics made in 2015 (or even 2016!) discussing how ridicolous and counterproductive would have been for LEGO to "kill" constraction. In a sense it really is, and I'm still deeply confused about LEGO's decision to axe BIONICLE G2 so early - Hero Factory lasted five years, and I refuse to acknowledge the fact that G2 was less successful than HF. It must have happened something else, something that we may really never know; we have just lots of theories, and very few of them put the blame on BIONICLE, but rather on LEGO itself. G2 made its fair share of mistakes (mostly lore wise, the sets were near-perfect), but none of them are big enough to justify such a strong decision. The LEGO company, on the other hand... In topic, I think that chances of a 2018 CCBS IP are decrasing with each passing day. If nothing happens next year, would it be a confirmaton of the end of constraction as we know it? I'm not saying it will be dead forever, but that it will come back in a much more different form in god knows hoy many years, just like they made Scala and years later they finally got it right with Friends.

Cool, thank you very much! I truly hope he brings some tasty dark red pieces, but just like Shakar I fear he might be a Kylo Ren 2.0. The one from the CN series would have been way cooler, but I guess they need to sell characters as recognizable as possible...?

This forum is already pretty dead as it is, if we rule out speculation wouldn't it be a bit too much?

Well, I don't know if that's an appropriate comparison System has at least half a dozen of successful themes currently running, not counting licensed ones. CCBS, as of now, has... zero themes, and SW is still mostly a brick-based (licensed) theme. I like your optimism, though, and I'll give you that we're only halfway into July, so anything may still be happening. But as for now constraction's future looks to me as dark as it did a year ago, when the announcement of G2's discontinuation was made. I truly hope the next few months will prove me wrong. On topic, am I wrong or there's still one Ultrabuild to be leaked?

It's a fact SW CCBS figures are shelfwarming. Sets from early 2016 are still pretty common everywhere, and with their prices raised once again with the RO wave (basic figures now cost 25 dollars!) I don't see them going anywhere. Most stuff from 2018 has leaked by now and there's nothing hinting at a new CCBS IP, so it's safe to assume that by now LEGO has stopped bothering about the system. Not that it's a big news, sure, and the chances that even SW Ultrabuilds will rest in pieces () are pretty high. By the way, the 34$ dollars set seems to be Chewie. Now, that's a disappointment. Definitely looks less promising than Vader or Grievous.

Same here bro. And we should consider ourselves lucky that we got at least those copy-pasted, overpriced figures, chances are that next year we won't get a new CCBS theme with even SW abandoning the constraction niche.

I'll be honest, the first thing they reminded me were Hakann's tool. But I guess you're right, their smaller size puts them closer to Kopaka Phantoka's Blizzard Blade. Whatever the similarities, I see great potential for those pieces (the shoulder armour looks perfect for a "Ekimu guard"-style moc).

The red guy that recently leaked is cool, he has a dagger that is very BIONICLE-like and an interesting add-on that seems to fit pretty well G2. Chewbacca is hilariously bad, the rest is generic, overpriced SW figures. I may be getting the Praetorian Guard, but most probably I'm just gonna bricklink the pieces I need.

Another Vader figure and a recolored Jango Fett? That's a triple A disappointment. I seriously hope more interesting stuff leaks in the next few weeks.