Logan McOwen

That Brickset description from Huw is pitiful. "More of the same"? Umurak is hardly very different? Really Huw? Good grief. We have a gargantuan figure with digitigrade legs, massive gold horns and clawed hands, who is an upgraded form to an earlier character. We have five new humanoid beasts with large jawed heads, different kinds of weaponry and Technic-based lower legs. And finally, we have an upgraded version of a previously very diminutive character, with a trans-light blue version of an important mask. This "they're nothing that new or unique" angle would be like saying "oh look, more spaceships, what a surprise" about SW, or "wow, another police station, revolutionary" about City. It's just needless, unprofessional facetiousness. As somebody who acts as a journalist for AFOLs, he could be at least somewhat impartial instead of going "I'm not an expert, so here's a really lacking overview with hardly any detail whatsoever, with an additional pinch of snark". That's just petty, and again very unprofessional. A lack of knowledge is no excuse for skimming over information a large portion of your readership will want to know, let alone being rude about it. EDIT: Cartoon from BlueCel on the TTV forums

Oh damn, cool.

The more I look at them, the more the Beasts grow on me. Lava Beast's scissor blades are interesting, and give him a somewhat dragon-like look. Quake Beast's crystalline punching arm looks great, and suits the new hip mechanism excellently - that is, if he uses it. And while Storm Beast is arguably the weakest design of the three, I just can't help but be fascinated by that bar going from the pelvis to the shoulder - what does it do? I'm still sorely disappointed with the lower leg builds however, they really don't look good at all. In terms of new parts, I am somewhat let down by the sheer lack of them. The new crystal pieces seem to be standalone shells rather than addons, which will likely impede their usefulness quite a bit. The heads might also prove to be a bit cumbersome, especially if they indeed are like the IFB Beast heads. That all said though, the presence of trans-yellow is a treat, and ties these guys together nicely, much like trans-orange did with the Skull Creatures. I sense that this will be a common theme with G2 villains - the big bad will have one special colour, which his or her minions will wear alongside their predominant colour.

Here's a more elegant mechanism I came up with. This little critter still doesn't really do much good United, but at least he/she/it has some friction at the shoulders now.

I'm surprised to see Skull Creatures stylised in a similar manner to the Toa. Does that mean we'll see them in the show?

Hey, thanks! I'm glad you like my Kulta. The back build is indeed a little over-complicated, but a suppose in being such it's a little more stable. I like to build figures both for look and for play, hence the addition of gear mechanisms and launchers. While I don't play with my models, it's still interesting to take things like sturdiness, mobility and playability into consideration. It can be constraining sometimes, but it's a good thought exercise all the same. Thank you! I've been brain-storming that weapon concept for quite some time, and I'm glad that it works as planned. Seriously, it's so fun to shoot the thing. And as for the leg pistons, they're something I've wanted to integrate into something for quite some time. Admittedly, they do make moving his legs a little tricky, but certainly not impossible.

What sort of customs? 3D prints, painted pieces?

KULTA, THE SKULL GRINDER This is a more titan-sized revamp of last year's main Bionicle villain, Kulta. He uses my TW2 gearbox, alongside a standard 2015 gearbox. The stud shooter in his weapon is fired by spinning the largest bladed head, which can also be separated from the smaller end to form the two weapons he had in his official set appearance. Pose, full weapon Pose, weapon seperated Front Back Pose, looming Weapons Pose, admiring his bounty Pose, looming in the Mask of Creation Torso build, front Torso build, back Leg build BONUS

I'm pretty his upper arms just have different bone pieces, like Onua's.

It was late last night when these leaks hit, and I feel that I was a little to ready to jump on the anti-hype train. Ignoring the awful lower legs, the beasts really aren't that bad. Quake Beast actually looks really cool with that big crystalline smashing arm. Also, looking at Storm Beast, it appears that there's some from of linkage between his shoulders and his pelvis, which could mean he has a double-action mechanism. As for the reuse of the Skull Creature torso armour, I can't say I'm particularly upset about it, as it's a nice piece. As for Ekimu, I'm still not that happy about the mask, and hope to god that it's blended in the final version. But, as long as his torso has gold prints, I don't think he'll look *too* bad finalised. Umarak I still have no qualms with, he's awesome.

The descriptions for the creatures are exceedingly well written.

I have no need for more gold or dark tan. The only things on Tahu that I want are his masks. Nothing about Pohatu interests me. As figures, neither of them look that great anyway.

Thanks! Vulpi's build started with that head design. It was originally going to go on a werewolf-type thing, but I decided against that.

Thanks! Yeah, I loved the idea of toxic/acidic characters that Hero Factory introduced. I hope its explored again in G2 Bionicle. Thank you! It was hard to choose an animal to go with the acid theme, so I went with something vibrant and poisonous - the poison dart frog. Thanks! I've been working with more Technic lately, which is really interesting,

Well, I got Gali in the mail on Saturday. As soon as I built her, I set to modding her. While the mask and weapon are great, and the inclusion of orange is nice, the official build just feels pretty... Off. I'll be taking pictures of my modded Toa soon. Kopaka has received the most attention, to the extent where I now consider him a titan build. EDIT: I just ordered Ketar and a duplicate of Gali for parts. After that, I'll be waiting for the Summer sets. I'm still skipping Tahu, Pohatu and Akida.

TOA ARAUN AND VULPI This is a 2016-esque revamp and 4th version of my self-MOC, Araun. While Araun does have an animal companion in the form of Vupli, the two do not "unite" like this year's Toa do with the elemental creatures. Araun uses my TW2 gearbox design, a torso shell from a "Fusion Warriors" set, a chestplate from an XSZ Iron Man figure, and a custom painted Mask of Fire. Araun - Front Araun - Back Araun - Front, unarmed Araun - Torso build Vulpi - Front 4/5 Vulpi - Back 3/4 Vupli - Head build Vulpi - Torso build Vupli - Blaster build

TOA CETRO AND DENDRO A 2016-esque revamp of my 2015 MOC, Cetro. While Cetro does have an animal companion in the form of Dendro, the two don't "unite" like this year's Toa do with the elemental creatures. Cetro uses my TW2 gearbox design. Cetro - Front Cetro - Back Cetro - Torso build Cetro - Lower arm build Cetro - Lower leg build Dendro - Front 3/4 Dendro - Back 3/4 Dendro - Underside

Oh my god, that is so much better.

Well, I got and built the sets I ordered last night! Here's my thoughts: Lewa - This guy looks pretty damn good. The use of Vorox armour on all four of his limbs helps to give him a superb, cohesive look. His mask is superb, channelling both the 2015 Mask of Jungle and the 2001 Kanohi Miru excellently. The build is interesting, especially around the legs and shoulders, but I do find that his shoulder joints are somewhat restricted. The only area I'm not happy with are his lower arms, as they're not only much too short, but the crystal armour also doesn't really look very good there. Uxar - You really can't buy Lewa without Uxar, as they look excellent combined. Uxar is a great little figure, with a fantastic function. He has a very impressive wingspan, and a really great colour scheme. While his rear legs don't have much in the way of manoeuvrability, you can still put him in a variety of interesting positions when he's on the ground. The Shadow Trap he comes with is pretty odd with it's vine legs, but it does its job so I can't really complain. Onua - I put Onua on-par with Lewa in regards to aesthetics, as much like Lewa, the use of piston armour on all four of his limbs creates an excellently cohesive look. The colours are gorgeous, and are arranged really nicely. His mask looks pretty good, especially in the golden form with the trans-purple blending bleeding around the eyeholes. His hammer is excellent, although it does have a little bit too much freedom to rotate. My only gripe is the crystal armour's colouration, which doesn't look that great and also just doesn't make much sense. Terak- Unlike Uxar, you could go without Terak if you buy Onua, as he doesn't really add much when combined. However, as a standalone figure, he's superb. While I found the function to be a little loose, it's still a lot of fun to play with. He has a great top-heavy shape, which makes him look really strong, making him a good match to Onua. His little ears are adorable. The Shadow Trap Terak comes with is hilarious - while the rest have curved legs, this guy has straight, pointy legs, which constantly make it look like it's on edge. I imagine it jitters about like an angry Chihuahua. Ikir - Even if you're not getting Tahu (like me), I recommend Ikir. This little bird has tons of personality. The wings look great, and the function which drives them works excellently and has a really decent amount of friction. His talons are ingenious, although it's a little difficult to get him to perch on anything. My only gripe is that you can't really fold his wings closely to his body without flipping them upside-down, which is very unnatural. The Shadow Trap included with this set is very generic, but honestly I don't mind that. Kopaka and Melum - A mixed bag, this one. Kopaka looks good up top, but as soon as you get to his legs, everything goes downhill. The legs are an absolute travesty, with the fat crystalline thighs and cluttered lower legs. The upper arms aren't too bad, but the lower arms just don't mesh with the rest of his colour scheme at all. It feels as though four different design ideas were just smashed into one figure, and Kopaka really suffers for it. All that aside, his masks and weapons are absolutely superb. Melum on the other hand, is absolutely adorable - he's so tiny! The function is great, using the same mechanism as Ikir and Uxar. Much like Onua and Terak though, the combination between Kopaka and Melum doesn't really do much other than balance out the gold in the overal figure's colour scheme. And yes, there's no Shadow Trap with this set, which is a major bummer. Umarak - Umarak is brilliant. His build is pretty good, the unique lower legs and the antlers obviously stealing the show. I'm a big fan of the use of Shadow Trap halves as shoulder pads, as they can be adjusted so as to make the low shoulders seem much less of an issue. The weaponry is pretty standard, but definitely suits the character. Umarak's mask is fine, if a bit too character-specific, but the Mask of Control is the real star. I was however surprised with how small it was, and I'm not too keen on how round the top of the mask is. United with a creature like Ikir or Uxar, Umarak looks really imposing. However, I find it quite tricky to get the creature head over Umarak's, thanks to the antlers. The shoulder pads can also get in the way if they're not positioned properly.

tea is bland you should feel bad for liking it When I placed the order on the Lego site, I left instructions for them to, if nobody was around, leave my package in the greenhouse. I assume that's where it'll be when I return home tonight, unless somebody was home to sign for it.

i got somebody at yodel to say thing it spreads

MY SETS ARE ON THE WAY RAISE UR BONKLE ヽ༼ຈل͜ຈ༽ﾉ

No complaints here. Oh wait, just the one - Trans. clear crystals? Really?

Well, I've gone and ordered the sets I wanted from Lego. They should be here soon. Lewa and Uxar Onua and Terak Kopaka and Melum Ikir Umarak