Visorak-kal

I agree with all that you said, Grevious. For me, the Titans have always been BIONICLE's best products--although I do still get canisters sets. I think that your idea for sets is superb. I'd like to see more sets like Karzahni, how it included three figures and a trap. This is why I like the vehicles this year, I think they're a step in the right direction. If vehicles sell well, then the next step is figure-size playsets and perhaps eventually technic-size structures! VK

VBBN, your thoughts are very interesting. I will go through your post from top to bottom, because I do agree with some of what you said. Pretty much the same for me in terms of how I got into BIONICLE, sans the MOC. I don't and never have MOC, so the value I see in any BIONICLE set is in terms of what it is. If it looks good, it merits my money. If it doesn't appeal to me or doesn't have enough value to waste space and money on, then it doesn't merit my money. Gears and complex builds very accurately describe a great 2001. I know a lot of people dislike the Rahi, but some of them were great builds. In 2002, LEGO improved upon this tremendously with the Bahrag, to this day one of my favorite sets. Good story? Not so much. Sadly, in those days, the medium of good story was online and I didn't have internet connection. The #1 storytelling medium, the comics, was sadly lacking. Still, the "newness" of BIONICLE and the mystery I think intrigued me to remain a fan despite the fact that the story wasn't that deep. Lol, I remember my shock at the "You are not the first Toa!" thing. I remember seeing that picture of something in that comic and seeing the name "Vakama" and thinking, "Oh, new enemies must capture the Turaga!" How little I knew. 2004, I think, marks the spot where BIONICLE took a turn for the better and escaped the confines of the typical 1-3 year LEGO line. If you look, hardly any story-based LEGO line lasts more than three years. Only generic things like Creator and City do, because they have no story. It was in 2004 that BIONICLE expanded itself to thrive and last. It overcame the repetition that was obvious at the end of 2003. BZPower as I recall was screaming to get off Mata Nui. So they did, and that really changed things, as you said, VBBN. Where I disagree with you here is with the Visorak--I think the Visorak were a great step forward, as although they were shells they had an innovative design and were as close to non-clonism as BIONICLE had ever come. Apparently, this was the turning point for BIONICLE as it recorded its first profit since 2002, I believe. Now, 2006. From what I've seen, this is really where the love/hate started and the "schism" began, the major split in fans who supported the new direction and those who despised it. This I don't understand. You say this as if it was a bad thing, yet the Rahaga in 2005 had only Rhotuka for new pieces and you say you didn't like the runaway Rhotuka. Neither of these pleased you? Correction. Most fans did not hate the Mahri. Very few hated them. I am not seeing what is so unexpected about them? The return of real masks? And the Mahri are not mutated--I think it really unfair to judge a set based on what its predecessor looked like. Many hated the design of the Inika, yet here you say they mutated "our" favorite characters. Did you like the Inika? Secondly, you seem to be ignoring one little detail; they are not clones. That comes with a price, VBBN. That price is less new pieces. On BZP, many complainers complained about clone sets; sales research showed that the majority of fans agreed with that. So clone sets were thrown out the window, but the cost of this is less new pieces. So, after putting out all this drama that he universe will end when Mata Nui dies, you are saying they should have killed him? And the entire universe is destroyed, slowly, over the span of three days? I think that the Matoro was done masterfully. Kill Mata Nui at the end of the September comic, and then force fans to wait in suspense for two months until you reveal how Matoro sacrifices himself for the life of the great spirit. Nobody suspected what was going to happen--BZPower was filled with theories of how Mata Nui could be saved. And yet I saw not a single theory of the simplest solution of all; that the Ignika, combined with the life of another, could in fact revive the Great Spirit. I see you have not read the Karda Nui section on BIONICLEstory.com. Karda Nui, the core of the universe is a gigantic cave, that originally had a sandy bottom and a water source from which emits light. The waterfall that originally fell from the skies turned this sand into a swamp. The Matoran were originally living in the underground above Karda Nui, and the cataclysm of 2004 brought their homes down in the form of stalactytes and are suspended amongst each other and whose bottoms are embedded in the swamp below. I think you have been judging Karda Nui by the single thematical image of the lone stalactyte. Gali Nuva is a she? The mask looks like Tahu's Hau! As InnerRayg has stated many, many times, females do not look like females in BIONICLE, with the exception of Roodaka. This is nothing new. Exo-Toa could easily be considered a vehicle, as could the Boxors. Vehicles are not new in BIONICLE. I think, storyline-wise, that rereleasing characters capable of shifting their apperance is wise as it removes the curse of having too many characters, something very obvious in 2006. How do you know there is no point to Vultraz? It isn't even summer yet and his character has not even been defined. The three winter Matoran will be making an apperance this summer, so I think your opinion on the Matoran's screentime may be premature. As I have said before, there is nothing stupid about hijacking a vehicle. Antroz is evil, if he sees someone flying a vehicle at him he's going to try and go inside. What would be stupid is if none of the Makuta even attempted to hijack one of those vehicles. And how do you define "continues to crash"? Millions of fans like a crashing toy line? I think what we are seeing here is the divide between new and old. The kids that BIONICLE was targeted at in 2001 and 2002 were just not there. Let's face it. Technic fans just weren't interested. However it has been realized that a different type of fan was interested. Those kids, like us, who loved Bionicle back then have grown up. Let's face it--we've all grown up. And as kids, we were not the same kids that inhabit today's world. Who ever heard of an iPhone or a Blackberry in 2001? Whoever heard of the XBox or World of Warcraft? We're a different generation, those of us who love 2001 for what it was. And, sadly, we're outnumbered. Those who buy BIONICLE are not interested in the same things that interested us. They like launchers, they could care less if the Toa Nuva look like their old selves-- they obviously didn't like that style. the choice was not LEGOs, but theirs. If BIONICLE existed for the purpose of pleasing us it would die. Some of you might wish that. But the majority of us don't. I lucked out. The styles of today are just as appealing to me as those styles of yesteryear. Obviously they aren't the same for you. I mean, look at it. You and I practically agree on everything pre-2006. The schism year. After that, our tastes differ. But thanks for writing this--it is always intersting to read and respond to the thoughts of another older fan(s.) It is especially interesting to see how two fans of BIONICLE in 2001 can split into two different people. Perhaps it is because you are older than I am, but I think it is mostly because every person is unique in many ways. VK

Sad news for all those who like this comic... New post on the Official Greg Discussion topic on BZP. Due to the fact that they've got a lot of CGI movies/animation planned for the summer, money was taken from the comics. Grievous (I believe it was Grievous) was correct in his note that the small thing on the bottom says "coming in July." There will be no May comic. Only four issues this year. However, we do get overall more comic pages. There are a total of 64 pages of comic this year, while last year there were only 48. VK

Great comic, from what I can see. Can't wait to get it. I like this artist's style much better than Stuart Sayger's, although his 2006 artwork was not too bad. I just kept getting the feeling of stick figures from him. Maybe that is because he was told not to make them look like the sets, and this artist was told the opposite. As for the comic itself, I liked it a lot. I agree with Grievous that there is not too much battle and instead come-back lines, but for this introductory comic I actually think that is good. Many times dialogue gives a good impression of character, even if it is in the form of comeback lines. I think that the story was well-laid out this time, and gave a thorough imprinet of what is going on. I as actually able to fully understand each page without having to read it twice. :-P I am liking this increased length, though of course it is because of one less comic. But it's still good. Those Toa Ignika pages are sweet, and I love the way that artist has drawn Icarax in those scenes. Icarax is a killer. No I'm really interested in getting BL9 and finding out how this winter story plays out. Good thing I ordered it yesterday! :-D VK

For those interested, U.S. LEGO fans can now purchase the Troll Battle Wheel from Shop@Home if they like. Still no sign of the other castle sets in the U.S., and no sign of the Troll Battle Wheel on European Shop at Home. VK

I'm so glad to see this! While I will probably not buy these sets (my set purchases being more and more limited as time goes by) I am just enamored with the new direction that these take LEGO in. As many others have stated, releasing more of these as normal sets would be fantastic. Combined with other things like the new MarsMission, it seems that LEGO is looking back to their Space roots and creating some great sets. Okay, minus the MM aliens. From the pics I've seen, I really like the design of that open space station, I have always believed in more open things since they allow for more playability than a closed structure, especially in non-UCS sets. These sets I don't think are large enough or detailed enough to be classified as UCS, but they are very well designed and I like the inclusion of some great complexity of build. Plus whoever thought of those two rockets on top of that station is a GENIUS. The little ship that comes with the space station is also good, and I like the overall design of that skull--ship. My only worry is that those pieces used as its "tentacles" are pretty flimsy as far as my history with those pieces. I wonder if they will be too flimsy and that skull ship will not be able to stand upright? Design-wise, though, the tentacles are cool. So, not a real Space fan, but I had to post because I am so glad that LEGO is taking this direction and allowing great designer fans to create some sets. Combined with the news that AFOLs contributed to this year's castle line, this is turning out to be a spectacular LEGO 2008! Hopefully this is just the beginning! And call me boring, but I think that white/blue color scheme for the Space Justice is my favorite space color scheme of all-time. VK

The answer's simple, Icesaber. Take a look at Tahu Nuva or Tahu Mata for that matter; his weapons, his style, his swords, his mask style, etc. Then look at Tahu Mistika. Different all around, in color scheme, style (notice the ninja-theme) etc. Just as we like the style of the Toa Mata, the focus groups don't like that style, and instead preferred this style. It is the same reason a lot of people don't like the Toa Mahri, and another lot do. There's no discernable loss in quality between the Mahri from the Inika, but their style is clearly different and it is a style that some like and some don't. Remember that we, for the most part, are older than the focus groups, so what we like is not necessariliy what the younger generation likes. VK

Thank you for asking so respectfully, Jetrax99. The answer is really simple; many here and on BZP just don't like them. I myself, who have been a thorough BIONICLE fan for many years, have not been a fan of all the sets. I don't like Rockoh T3, for example, because I believe its design is too cluttered and many of the weapons look slapped on in angles that do not appeal to me. The general concensus, though, is the lack of resemblance between the new Nuva and their 2001-2002 forms in addition to the usage of the same body types on Toa for the last three years. The no resemblance comment is understandable, but the rest of what you say is unfounded. Whether or not you or myself like a design has no bearing on whether or not it is a good design. And there is no way anyone could know how long the designers spent on these sets. A lot of time is spent on sets by LEGO designers (as GregF has stated multiple times, they go through levels and levels of focus group testing), and it is insulting to say that they took no time on a set. I'm sure you didn't mean it that way, though. :-) New news by the way, guys! In a recent BZP post, GregF explained some of the Nuva's lack of resemblance! It was a response to Black Six I believe, the BZP Admin. He said that firstly, resemblance was not a priority for the set designers as there is no nostalgia market. Secondly, though, he explained that older Nuva prototypes did look more like the original sets, but they were shot down in the focus testing. "Shot Down" BTW are the exact words he used. These focus groups are shooting down our flying Nuva like they were tin cans! The accursed focus groups! Why must they torture us so! :'-( VK

I agree, Shakar. I have a feeling that we all (myself included, mind you) may be judging these sets based on what they are NOT, rather than what they are. Tahu, on his own, looks good, as does Onua. Gali would make a great villain, lol. And the Makuta Mistika are not bad in reality. My only worry is that BIONICLE may be headed in a downgraded direction. Look at Krika, for example; his arms and limbs have less points of articulation than we have had in recent years. they are pre-bent like the Mata's and Bohrok's, rather than articulated like the Inika, Piraka or Mahri. Yet we are being charged 3 dollars more than usual, at least in the U.S. VK

My point being that it isn't right to assume that if LEGO tries something it will fail. I wasn't referring specifically to transforming BIONICLE sets, only to assumption that LEGO will fail at any attempt to do so. Previous transforming lines haven't work, and I'm not approving of transforming anything, I would be against the idea. I think I might have been misunderstood. I was referring to the general statement that LEGO in their current state would mess things up, not actually to the specific idea of LEGO messing up a transforming line. VK

But, Jinzo, have you ever considered that these "failings" work or, dare I speak it, sell? If these didn't sell, LEGO would discontinue them, just as they discontinued Technic Rahi and collectible masks. LEGO, as we can see, doesn't stick with things even if they happen to be some of the earliest BIONICLE core ideas. If it don't sell, it goes. However, I agree with you Jinzo that eventually they are bound to run out of ideas. Slime---ugh. Save me from the slime, my brother has one of those slime things and I shudder at the sight of it. The feel just bugs me. The question put to you if you're LEGO is this: Do you stick with the large launchers that--apparently--sell but may eventually run out of ideas, or do you take a risk now in altering your launcher ideas and going with what you, Jinzo, suggest? If you stick with what you have, you are guaranteed sales in the short run until you run out of ideas. If you go your way, you could either end up with a long-term launcher success, or doom the line now if the kids don't like it. It is the same issue with the vehicles this year. They are clearly technic. If they work, they could help BIONICLE grow in a new direction- technic vehicles and perhaps one day the return of technic Rahi. Or they could flop and BIONICLE suffers this year, causing a complete reverse to less complex figures. What is the amount of risk that LEGO is willing to take? Perhaps one day I think they might go your route, Jinzo, but right now their marketing plan seems to be stabilization in their lines, so I doubt they will try something radical when they are sure that (for now, at least) these large launchers are selling. And by the way, if you look at the tail ends of those Nynrah blasters, you'll see they fit in just like Cordaks. LEGO is already taking your advice! (Okay, so maybe not in the way you wanted. :-D ) If LEGO thought like that, there wouldn't be a BIONICLE, because they would have thought that they would mess up a storyline-based theme with their own story. VK

I agree that Agents does seem do infringe on this policy, but Antroz hijacking the Jetrax? What is so violent about an EVIL Makuta going into a one-man vehicle, throwing out the guy in the vehicle (who can FLY so he won't get hurt) and driving it around? It isn't any more violent than BIONICLE or LEGO has been since the early Wild West or Orient Expedition themes. I think the term hijacking has been given a very violent connotation in recent times, but if you look at the dictionary, it says this: Nothing more violent that gun-bearing bandits in the west robbing from banks at gunpoint. They are actually supposed to be trans-blue visors. And I don't think they are spikes, Grievous, I think they are the small wings as seen on Tahu and the Mistika Nuva only attached to the new visors. And I agree, that new Lewa mask is superb! VK

I thought that, too, but it isn't like the spaces are empty. Instead, they are taken up mostly with stuff like Star Wars, Castle, Mars Mission, etc. It is just that City is not given much shelf space. But that could just be my area. BIONICLE is the only space that is pretty much empty a lot, but they still give it a load of shelf room. Really makes no difference to me, though, as I order most of my sets online. VK

So, LEGO City was the year's top line? Surprising, actually, as I really don't see loads of city products when I go to stores. BIONICLE seems to take up most of the shelf space, in fact. Glad to see that City is remaining strong, as although I don't buy any of it I believe it is a very educational and thoughtful theme. The world would be in a sad state indeed if its children had no interest in city themes. The 2008 CITY seems to be just as good, I wonder how its sales will do. LEGO Star Wars I knew would remain a hit, and LEGO Creator came out with some great stuff this year. I was also overjoyed to see that BIONICLE remained a top-selling line, though from news I heard via Greg Farshtey, I was not surprised to see that it did not grow. 2008 BIONICLE should be very interesting, as the implementation of those large vehicles could either cause the line to grow or diminish it. Furthermore, we've got those price increases which LEGO believes the line can survive... For those Exo-Force fans, remember that the sales did not meet expectations. That doesn't mean that the sales dropped tremendously or anything like that, it merely means that they weren't high enough to merit continuing the line through 2009. I wonder how Castle did. I like this new LEGO corporate strategy of creating long-lasting dependable lines. I remember the days of Orient Expedition, Sports here, Sports there, and single-year lines that didn't last long at all. Also, notice how sales improved with the "realistic" LEGO City. I agree, definitely an improvement over the way-<insert that tiresome argument> World City from 2003-2004. Mars Mission seems to be selling well, as it was continued into summer. Still, I don't see how far you can take a line like that. Certainly not as far as Castle. We've got skeletons and now trolls and dwarves, there is still room for elves if they want to go that route or even more human factions such as rogues or dark armies. So long as they avoid the KK2 route. As for exclusives, within the report I noticed they advertised the Millenium Falcon UCE, something I doubt they would have mentioned if it had been a failure. So at least large SW exclusives seem to be surviving. I think Green Grocer this year is a sign that Market Street and Cafe Corner may have sold well enough to try another. As for the U.S. remember that Recession is bound to hit rock bottom and them come up again. It is only a matter of time before things fluctuate again and the dollar rebounds. Economy is an up and down thing, but in any case I'm sure the government doesn't want to end up with rock bottom. VK

I don't know the story either, I am just saying that typically BIONICLE story has suffered from an overload of characters, so I feel it is better that the riders of the three vehicles are prior characters rather than entirely new characters. And there will be a new BIONICLE movie in 2009, for the new direction stuff. It has been confirmed, they're working on the script now if they aren't done already. I'm hoping the movie will be big and dramatic, at least it's bound to be more understandable since the new direction will allow new fans to hop in. I hope the movie won't seem so convoluted and will instead seem fresh and new, almost as if they had made a movie in 2001. VK

Great review, pictures and all! Thanks for showing all the mechanisms of the tower, I didn't notice them from either the pics we had or the instructions--it didn't hit me that when you knock down the wall the second floor breaks. That is a genius idea. This looks like a superb set, unfortunately my priority right now is the Troll Warship. Still, if that really is U.S. $80, I might skip it and go for this instead, which is only $20 US. One note, though. I think there might not be a back cage on the second floor of the tower so that the mechanism can work. Did you try to see if the second floor ground still falls if you add it a fourth cage wall? Also, you could just pretend that the tower is built against a mountainside. It would fit perfectly and add more defense to the Knights. Great review! :-) VK

To join in the conversation... I for one made no comment or decision on the sets until now, at which point I confess I do like the majority of them. As for red and silver, I really don't find it bad at all, though my finest preference remains red and orange, or two red tones as on Hakann. The only things that really bug me are things like green and orange. Eye-killer! If you're speaking on Jaller Mahri, there's my point. Red and orange. My only complaint might be that, on Tahu at least, the silver seems to be more his primary color than the red, making him less of a red canister set and more of a silver one. And silver stands out much more than grey. With the Phantoka, the grey was bland enough that each Phantoka looked like their correctly intended color. With the Mistika, it could be that the silver might be too bright. Nonetheless, I am overjoyed to finally see silver Piraka legs! And I fail to see the problem with re-releasing Lewa, Pohatu and Antroz in different forms on the three vehicles. Many of you here seem to agree with whoever posted that opinion article on BZP last night. They don't like it either. I think it is a great move for both sets and storyline. Firstly, they are in slightly different forms, which means for Lewa we get a sweet new mask, and Pohatu now has full armor, arms, and legs. In addition, we get a new Antroz mask. Plus it is an addition reason to get Axalara if you're not a completist--skip Lewa Phantoka, get Axalara. Storyline-wise, its perfect. Greg has said multiple times that a minor problem with BIONICLE is the sheer amount of characters each year (21+ in 2006). It is very hard to tell a story with so many characters and give everyone fair screen time. This year, you'll notice that the vehicles have taken the place of three more new characters. All of this amounts to less characters and what could be a better (even if slightly) story because of it. Look at Time Trap, to this day my favorite Bionicle book. Compare the number of characters there to the number in Inferno or Downfall. 2007 had so many characters that Lesovikk and Krazahni ended up getting a serial instead of being in books. In 2006, Umbra got about four pages in the whole year, as did Irnakk. This year, we might get more screen time for those characters, since they are being re-released and can be focused in summer as well as spring story. VK

Just to clarify: it has already been explained why those odd-color pins are used. (Though I wish they were color-coordinated to the set as much as the next guy.) They are those colors so that they can be more easily identified from the rest of the pieces in the set such as the black axles or other colors, etc. That is the official word on that from what I have heard. I do not think the set designers want weird colors. Remember that, as I saw in one Greg post, even the COLORS of sets are sometimes determined by the focus groups. So everything is done for a sales reason. VK

To tell the truth, this does not come as a big surprise to me. Exo-Force from the beginning I always saw as a three-year line. The surprise I have is that they are not giving it an ending and there will be (apparently) no summer sets. Exo-Force was a good line while it lasted, though I agree that 2006 in terms of both sets and story was much more thought out than 2007. 2008 looks good, shame it is the last year. Just look at Striking Venom and compare it to the Combat Crawler. The first is far better than the second. I think that what others have said about Exo-Force failing to change directions fast enough is true. Look at BIONICLE; sales dropped when they used the same set/story tactics for 2001-2003. But since BIONICLE was popular enough, it survived until they were able to change directions and improve the line in 2004. Exo-Force just wasn't popular enough to survive the repetition. And the code bricks could in no way replace the light-up feature. Like Knight's Kingdom (another 3-year-line) Exo-Force died of repetition. Let us hope that Castle does not suffer the same fate! VK

Excellent review, pictures and all! I agree with your sentiments entirely, if that price is in American dollars (Which I assume it is) then you get a great amount of pieces for it. And six minifigures is superb, especially since three of them are trolls! I agree that the armament seems useless for any practical reasons, but it does serve a unique purpose in this set. You do know that it is specifically designed to counter the battle wheel? When the wheel rolls over the armament, the spears lock into the wheels and bring it down. You can see a picture of it in the Castle downloads section on the lego castle website. There is a wallpaper of the Battle Wheel on the U.S. version of the site that shows it. So the armament isn't entirely useless..it's just useless for anything except the wheel. The only grip I have is the long thing sticking out of the back, but I think it is there to hold the wheel up (besides being the shooting mechanism), otherwise wouldn't it fall down flat on its face like it did in your comic? VK

How do you know they didn't sell well? I know I didn't buy them, but I'm sure littler kids would love them. Remember, guys, I wouldn't get too upset on this stuff, but it really has no bearing on the rest of what BIONICLE does. These are promotional items; little kids see the guns, think they're cool, buy them, then go take a look at the rest of Phantoka since that is how it's labeled. It's only a typical marketing scheme to sell more, like everybody does. 1. I would not try to guess LEGO's marketing tactics; they're making money. 2. I am not sure LEGO is the actual producer of these items, and in any case I highly suspect that the plastic here is far cheaper than the high-quality plastic of most LEGO bricks. 3. The price of the high-quality plastic has to do with oil and its rising costs. LEGO already has to pay more for plastic. Adding new pieces increases the cost of the steel molding, not the plastic. So this really only costs about the price of one new mold, since the shooter balls are certainly not plastic. I don't think so, Ignika, because if you look, the shooting mechanism is facing the outside. There is no way, even if that was a trigger, for it to pull that little shooter. However, I do think you're right that the sides may flip open. What I'm hoping is that there is another of those Nuparu Mahri shield landing pads on the other side of this thing. Not just a handle, I think, it may help the machine to hold up straight when you put it flat on the ground. VK

I don't know about the controls, but the rubber bands are for the saw function. When the wheels turn, the rubber band causes the blades to spin as well. Great new pics, I am definitely planning to get that Attackship, not sure if I have room for the others. But the Attackship is superb! I like the gold hues on the dragon, I was afraid it was going to be green and yellow. All these sets are great, though, wish I could get them all but I need room and money for other sets. VK

As Jinzoningen said, this is indeed a tough question, as I wouldn't have bought BIONICLE sets from a line I did not like, and I have sets from every year. Overall, though, I would have to say 2007. 2007 I find was the best of both worlds. It featured the return of complex builds (Karzahni and Maxilos) which I felt had been too much discarded in 2006, it had a technic gear-like function (the trap), and the sets were even more diverse than the Toa Mata without giving me the feeling that the Toa Mahri did not belong as a single Toa team. I am also looking forward to 2008, which so far seems to be the year most similar to 2001/2002 in terms of the Titans and the more complex looks of the summer vehicles. Now those should be fun builds. :'-) In the time they came out, the Mata were the meaning of technic innovation. Of course, as the years have gone by the poseability of the Mata has been downgraded by newer functions. I do like the Mata and Nuva, but I must agree that I don't really see them as better than today's sets. Different, but neither better nor worse. I only find it fair to say IMO that the Metru were better than the Mata seeing as they had both better gears and poseability. And how did the Metru not have enough armor? While I thought they were too-cloney, too-villanous, and a little sub-par, I don't really see liking the Hordika as bad taste in any way. They had good legs (for villains) and a great gear-arm that I have seen used in a variety of ways since they came out. I do think that the Hordika were good sets of their own right, but I also think that compared to every other BIONICLE set released they are lacking far behind. Hey, it appears that most of the fan-base agrees with you on the Inika-masks, otherwise LEGO would not have switched back. Also, I like the Cordaks and Midaks not because of their size but because I find them very amusing and playable. The Midaks I like better as they seem more streamlined and less wide than the Cordaks. Gear-wise, I love gears and always have. But I can see the frustration with the majority of the kids who buy canister sets. They want to build an action figure, and they don't want to have to deal with gears. It isn't just the extra time, it's the hassle that the majority doesn't want. So if you take away gears you have to put in some other function and the most obvious and popular way to do that is to put in launchers. Educational system it may be, but I honestly don't see the designers having any other choice. GregF said the other day that they want mask packs and gears, but they can't find a single shred of evidene that would persuade the head management to allow it. If they go up to them and say, "we're thinking of putting gears on this year's canister sets," management will say, "uh, no." Good example on Pohatu Phantoka. New parts are good, but sometimes they can take away on innovativeness. Thought I disagree on the usefulness of the Inika parts and with someone's opinion on the Inika. Barring the masks and the oversized swords (due clearly to the addition of the strobe light battery box) the Inika frames were pretty good. Their arms were not as oversized as the Mahri's; stick the straight down and you'll notice. They had arms that were shorter than their legs, which makes sense to me. And they had some pieces that I found useful. Their bodies can be used as a single body or as part of a body (Gadunka), their thigh and shoulder armor are great pieces, and their frontal armor has come out in a variety of great colors and looks good. So I don't find them useless. On the downside, I wish that frontal armor was flatter and didn't have those holsters sticking out of their sides which make it hard to put them on wider surfaces. VK

I know, I'm trying to get him ASAP. The only thing cooler than that set is the awesome background behind it. That Kraahkan, without Icarax in front, would make a superb wallpaper! There's more than one matoran in an air vehicle? Or are you talking about the canister-size sets in the vehicles? Also, I don't think a Hewkii-Mahri style mask would be bad, I thought that was a great mask, though its size did not work too well with Hewkii's shoulder-blade armor, my brother has the set and the wideness of the mask got in the way. VK