JekPorkchops

Did you receive that sheet for free? I dunno, I usually order new parts or stickers if something's wrong with them and Lego kindly sends new copies, but what about that set? I mean, if you messed up it's kinda your fault, but then again it is sooo difficult to do on that set that it really can't be your own fault if you don't apply it correctly the first time. Lego kinda expected and solved this with the 2013 UCS X-wing by including two sticker sheets, though printing would be better of course.

Ah that makes sense. I really like Ekimu's bird. At first I thought the leg design was weird but it's quite clever that you can clip him on Ekimu's arm in place of his shield.

If he's gonna be as big as Ikir I hope he won't perch on Ekimu's arm then. Ekimu really needs to train some friction extenders if he wants to hold that bird up!

Yeah I think we're not gonna get anymore Rahkshi or Bohrok or Piraka levels of unique villains anymore. I was actually fine with the Skull Villains. Bionicle just came back with the Toa, maybe bringing back too many of the classics wouldn't be a good idea. The Skullies were nothing out of the ordinary as far as villains go in, say, about everything villainy, but it was a first for Bionicle to have an undead type of theme. That's why I appreciate them. But yeah, it's time for G2's equivalent to a Rahkshi, something that truly stands out.

Episode 1 tried to have a same-ish structure (yet was very different) but it failed as a movie, and while TFA succeeded as a movie, it's just so god damn unoriginal that it's cringeworthy. I don't think Disney is toning down RO but I don't really know what's actually going on there and how much power over a movie an exec has. I don't think this is really related to the topic however. I just meant to say that whatever the final product will be, the things that the sets are based on will not change in looks. The sets won't be inaccurate, though in the System range the occasional minifig lineup might not make sense, but that's nothing new.

I thought only the tank had a higher resolution pic. Also, I think the U-wing looks very star warsy. Feels like something out of both the PT and the OT.

I agree that added gold would be nice, but the masks are meant to look out of place as they are corropted.

Ever since the golden Skull Spider mask and the golden Kulta mask were released, their purpose remained unknown to me. Sure, it is mentioned that the Skull Spider mask has a telepathic link with the Skull Spiders, through which Lord of Skull Spiders controls them, but this has never been shown in any form of media (well not that I know of). In the 2015 animations he is shown to naturally have this telepathic link already. So if you know anything more about these two masks or if you have some kind of story to go along with them, please explain it here. Here's my take on the story: The golden Skull Spider mask is said to have a telepathic link to all of the Skull Spiders. After the Toa defeated LoSS at the bridge of the City of the Mask Makers, they found this mask in a hidden shrine somewhere on the bridge. One of the Toa put it on (presumably Tahu, since he's the poster boy) and he sent all of the Skull Spiders away from the villages around Okoto that they were threatening (much like Vakama sends the Visorak away in Bionicle 3: Web of Shadows). The Toa continued to march toward the city. I see Kulta as a being who has been revived by Makuta to serve him, much like Kulta has the power to revive and commandeer his own undead army. He received this reviving ability from Makuta. Since Kullta isn't just some wizard type of (regular Bionicle-looking) character, but an undead-looking skull creature himself, that's why I think Makuta revived him. The same red energy that flows through Kulta flows through parts of the Skull Creatures that he possesses, as a means of attaching several replacement pieces to the warriors. Skull Warriors are mainly revived and augmented humanoid Okotans, while Skull Scorpio is a unique creation made from all kinds of creatures. Skull Basher is made of an ancient minotaur. Skull Slicer was a warrior that has been revived by LoSS, but he has been augmented by Kulta as well. Kulta and LoSS worked in tandem to control him, so it might not be weird that although LoSS has been defeated, Slicer still serves Kulta (but we'll get to that later). After the Toa went through many obstacles in the city, they awakened Ekimu. To their surprise, amongst the ranks of the Skull Army was LoSS. The Toa were once again attacked by Skull Spiders and LoSS commandeered an army of them to (once again) attack the villages on Okoto. The Toa realized the golden Mask of Skull Spiders was just a decoy, just a trinket (like in the set, a collectible). They angrily threw it away and, after fighting their way through the Skull Army, reached the main entrance of the Forge. Kulta has been tasked by Makuta to guard the Mask of Creation, though when the Toa and the awakened Ekimu get closer to the Forge, Makuta orders Kulta to destroy it. Kulta doesn't destroy it, but puts it on, which Makuta forbade. (This differs a little from the original story.) After he defeated the Toa and destroyed their golden masks, Ekimu defeated him and reclaimed the MoCr. Kulta's spirit remains somewhere outside of his lifeless body. While the Okotans are gradually moving from their villages to the City of the Mask Makers, they are still being attacked by remaining Skull Spiders, which means LoSS is still active. Ekimu has been very busy the past few weeks, as he is making the new Masks of Unity (while also creating new armor and helping the villages to build up the city). The Toa temporarily wear their old regular elemental masks. (This is ignoring the fact that he made new golden masks for them as seen in the 2015 animations, as it is implied that he immediately started creating the Unity masks in JtO, which is a lot more logical). LoSS still possesses Skull Slicer. He tells him to go to a secret shrine, that Makuta has once built as a backup plan. The shrine contains a golden Skull Mask, also crafted by Makuta. The mask is able to revive Kulta or any other Skull Creature (even though Kulta disobeyed direct orders from Makuta, he could still be useful). Slicer travels to the shrine and obtains it. Skull Spiders attack the Toa and they possess half of them, which leads to the Toa fighting each other. The city is defenseless and Slicer sneaks past everyone. Kulta's body has been stowed away in a storage room beneath the Forge. Slicer puts the mask on the body, which revives Kulta and makes him even more powerful (essentially creating the combiner model of Kulta and Scorpio). Kulta again pledges his allegiance to Makuta. The Toa are reunited and their task is to defeat Kulta and his small makeshift army once more. When all of Makuta's plans go south again, he calls for the help of Umarak to deal with his problems. The Toa receive new armor and masks and are told to find the Elemental Creatures, though the occasional (last) Skull Creatures or Skull Spiders might get in their way.

Yeah I find these new Bionicle sets far superior to all the standard builds we got in HF (though HF had some very nice exceptions, it's just that the average humanoid HF figure is very simple and they completely redefined that with the new Bionicle). At first I thought today's kids would totally love Bionicle, even those that grew up with HF, because of all of the functionality, builds, looks and the general setting. I guess not, but I just can't think of a reason why this would not be selling as well as HF...

There were rumors of a sixth summer set that would be released later, but I don't think that will happen. Shortly after that, it was revealed that there would be a bionicle magazine with a freebie. This is the second magazine and I like this freebie as well.

I hope there won't be another embargo that keeps us from TALKING about the sets here. No pictures, I can understand that, but just posting your thoughts about this stuff... Doesn't seem that harmfull to me.

God I hope so. They have zero talent anyways. Well, these sets look great. Better than the first TFA wave as far as accuracy is concerned I believe. Love the U-wing and the tank.

This is Disney we're talking about. Edwards is apparently a risk-taking director, which means the Disney execs want to make this movie less creative and more copy-paste like TFA. Those figures would still sell well I think, though I do not understand the price point of Jyn. Lego thinks that by adding those terrible friction joints everywhere they can justify the price.

Well the criticism for both is justified IMO, the prequels just utterly fail as movies in being entertaining (though I like Episode III) and TFA could've delivered the same OT feeling with a different (simple perhaps, but entertaining) story, yet it became a shameless nostalgic ripoff that literally copied too much. Oh well, it's all a matter of opinions I guess, though I do not understand that the majority likes TFA. I don't hate it that much, but I expected a 50/50 split of opinions at least. Copying a movie doesn't give it the same feel, they had years to write something decent and this is the best they could come up with?

Encounter on Jakku has been marked down to 10 dollars?

I hope that is a good sign for Bionicle.

Yeah they're both $80 in the US. That's where my complaint comes from, not only are the prices incredibly steep elsewhere, there's also an unnecessary difference in price between the two.

Really weird that they're charging 100 euros for the Resistance X-wing in the Netherlands. Poe's black and orange one was 90 euros which was pretty steep for an X-wing already! How are they trying to justify the 10 euro increase for what is basically the same set?

If there's one UCS set that's absolutely worth it it's the Slave I. It's actually a star wars set that I feel I paid too little for, which is great of course.

Uhm why would biomechanical creatures have (metal) beards floating just in front of their transparent skulls?

That is a somewhat creative, yet very dangerous user name you got there Anyway, the official worldwide release date is usually June 1st, though they can appear a couple weeks earlier in some stores.

Looks even better now! Any news of the way this fig will be distributed/available?

It looks great! It's definitely the same mold as before, so the visor is printed on the face. I still really like it, though I kinda hoped there would be another A-wing set that had this figure (preferably the blue one with the white arrow from the McQuarrie concept art). The set number of that rumored set still appears on Brickset but the set name has vanished. I guess it won't be coming anymore then, but chances were very slim because of set 75150 anyway.

It's great that we are getting that male red suited pilot, since the A-wing was released I really wanted both the male and female versions. Also, it's another generic minifigure to add to the non-existent 'generic' crew of the upcoming Rebel Combat Frigate.

Well 69 euros is actually a fair price for the X-wing. But yeah, within Europe it's because of the different VAT rates, which really sucks. A 90 dollar set will be around 90 or 100 euros in Germany, but will always be 110 euros in Belgium or in the Netherlands. Even when 90 (enter your currency here) seems a lot for a set like the Tie vs A-wing, you'll have to pay even more for it here. (I don't want to whine about my local prices, it's ridiculous in countries like Australia as well.)