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16: 8734, Brutaka. 2006, Titan set. Brutaka 17: 8980, Gresh and 8989, Mata Nui. 2009, 1st and 2nd Canister set. Gresh, Mata Nui 18: 8729, Toa Nuparu and 8900, Reidak. 2006, 1st and 2nd Canister set. Toa Nuparu, Reidak

I bought this set a few weeks ago, got air-tank, etc. 9641, Pneumatics Add-On Set ...and yes the actuators/pumps are not yellow but trans-blue.

It might be that the discs contains both the translated and the original sounds and voices in English.

A lot of times I've stumbled into a problem like this, swearing at the non-perfect packaging, only to find out later I've built something wrong. You ought to check that before contacting costumer service on lego.com.

13: 8755, Keetongu. 2005, Box set. Keetongu 14: 8694, Krika. 2008, 2nd, Canister set. Krika 15: 8986, Vastus. 2009, 2nd, Canister set. Vastus .......... comments: I've had Voporak for some years and only had it assemblied for a month or so. I never got to build the three individual sets of this combiner-set. I am very impressed with the these three builds, one of which is Keetongu. Note that his shield is rotated in different positions duing the 30 second exposure. I spent some enjoyable weeks in 2007 drawing and modelling this Krika-head, designed by Dave. Vastus: his mask is modelled by a guy who has made probably more than 500 Lego parts.

To put these news in perspective, 2008 was the best year ever for Lego. Check my year old post: TLG half year result 2008 Please remember to buy bricks for christmas too

What this slot enables is that a tool can make the large diameter inside the tube, which ensure that technic bushings will snap in place. It is much like the "slot" discussed in this old thread, regarding the new panels. Moldy Panels by Blakbird

10: 8917, Kalmah and 8919, Mantax. 2007, 1st. Canister sets. Kalmah, Mantax 11: 8699, Takanuva and 8998, Toa Mata Nui. 2008 and 2009 Titan sets. Takanuva, Toa Mata Nui 12: 8728, Toa Hahli. 2006, 2nd, Canister set. Toa Hahli Notice that in most of the pictures, you can see a background matching the launch that year. I have several A2 sized Bionicle posters, that I use as background.

Photographing is much more about technic than equipement. But these pictures here are taken in a dark room, using a flash-light and 20-30 second exposure. To get good results with this technic, a DSLR camera is probably needed. And a good macro lens. To make the eyes glow, I point the flash-light up on the head from the inside for a considerable amount of the total exposure time of e.g. 30 seconds. Then I "paint" the rest of the sets in the remaining time, from above, front etc. So I have full control over which parts get the brightest light, and from which direction. So, more or less like Darth Vader described in his post. ... Regarding mask designs, I don't think the designer of Krika and Stronius did any of the masks used in Baranus or the old Rahkshii head. I only see the skull like shape in Krika and Rahkshii, first of all because of the way the eyes appear. But maybe I'm not seeing everything you do, or understand it completely.

Some thoughts on these sets .... 4: Toa Matoro. His mask reminds me of a clown, with the arched eye-holes. Otherwise it looks cool with a visor. The Cordak blaster was a great relief, after dealing with the squid-launchers of the Baraki. Nice weapon too, I think it's the first time we saw that arched blade, and it's seen in varies colours since. 5: Toa Pohatu, Photok. Orange, I like it, not sure if dark grey would have been better if switched with black. Might get too contrasty. The Midak Skyblaster of Pohatu was seen on all three Toa this first half 2008. The two orange masks was the first two I engineered. Quite a challenge, but I learned a lot about plastic mould design. 6: Skrall and Atakus. I'm a sucker for dark sets. bring on evil. What a nice two-coloured sword they have, fantastic visual effect. The masks are top-notch, the stoned-cut design is awesome. 7: Gelu. His blade is cool, another effective use of two-coloured moulding. The two snow-flake shields on the shoulders are quite nice. These weapons were originally not designed to fit a ball-cup arm, but we changed it during the engineering process, so it not only fits around a hand. 8: Mazeka. The best executed vehicle set. It's small, can hardly move, but very sturdy technic building, and the gunner fits very well. 9: Gorast. If I have to pick one set I don't like, it's Gorast. Lots of nice pieces, but it can hardly stand up without falling. A six-legged creature with a strange mask, and very nice wings with a special optical effect.

7: 8988, Gelu. 2009, 2nd. Canister set. Gelu 8: 8954, Mazeka. 2008, 2nd. Vehicle set. Mazeka 9: 8695, Gorast. 2008, 2nd. Canister set. Gorast

A chance to see Kiina now talking and in action too. Clip #7, fight vs. Skopio.....

I just checked the box where I currently just have the model sitting, and in there I have 3 black technic connectors, and 1 grey with no friction. A couple of gears and other small stuff too.

This is a very detailed review you've done here. And it's very fair too, I mostly aggree on your views. I would have enjoyed having the pictures shown in the thread (deep-linked pictures), but they would of course need to have been smaller. One thing to remember, Toa Mata Nui is quite bigger and heavier than Takanuva. I guess that explains the price difference between the two. I think it's a better design too, compared to that 2008 Titan. But, a titan like Tuma is much more to my liking.

I am not the guy to ask about future sets, so that's why I haven't participated in this topic. You are always welcome to "pm" me about something, but don't expect to get any answers that you would not be able to get from me in a thread. An example (I'm not saying who asked me): Question: Can you confirm if the list of names in this topic are real? (there was a link to this thread here) Reply: I'm working on 2011 right now, and already forgot what we did for 2010.

I think so, but don't know. .... Regarding the voices and how they match the characters: I think it was a bit unwise to show clips of the actors speaking for the movie on bionicle.com, without at the same time showing the characters. It has resulted in fans thinking the voices don't match the movie characters at all. I actually think the voices added to the characters are very cool. They reinforce the impressions you get when you see them move around in the movie.

Yes, you're right. I think the head is a nice peice too as e.g. shoulder armor. 4: 8915, Toa Matoro. 2007, 2nd, Canister set. Toa Matoro 5: 8687, Toa Pohatu and 8946, Photok. 2008, 1st, Canister and small set. Toa Pohatu, Photok 6: 8978, Skrall and 8972, Atakus. 2009, 1st. Canister and small set. Skrall, Atakus

The Rahkshi has been on display for quite some time, and I can tell you he was really dusty and dirty, 20 minutes before me photographing him. I clean Bionicle sets by showering them in hand-warm water (not hot), giving them a work over with the kind of big brush used to wash cars. I dry the set by putting it in my hand, legs and arms folded in, and then shaking him violently, so that most of the water flies off (kind of making repeated throwing movement with my arm downwards). Then I just wait for it to dry completely. I don't really keep my Lego clean But I will fix it before I start photographing. Of the three masks shown here, I think Kiina has the nicest one, regarding finish. It has a rough but even surface, compared to the kind of shiny but bumpy surface of Hydraxon. Rahkshi's mask has sharp edges, and the mould surface must have a nice finish, because the resulting plastic is very even and smooth. I think that Rahkshi's mask has the most clean design expression of the three. And it looks like some kind of reptile head, maybe a snake or something. But I like all these three masks. Front

They are really nice. I think it was the first Bionicle sets I saw, when I was introduced to the theme three years ago. Good point which I haven't noticed. They were the first sets to include legs with two links.

I would like to show some pictures of different Bionicle sets caught up close, showing of the masks. I will only add a few pictures each day, and not everyday. Please consider this thread as a picture tribute to the Bionicle sets. Comments on the sets shown would be highly appreciated. It could be discussions on the released sets of that half-year, new parts that were really cool or really bad, or just comments on the characters relation to the Bionicle universe. 1: 8923, Hydraxon. 2007, 2nd, Titan set. Hydraxon 2: 8987, Kiina 2009, 2nd, Canister set. Kiina 3: 8589, Rahkshi Lerahk 2003, 2nd, Canister set Rahkshi Lerahk I will be back Front

Well if the DVD is unavailable in your country, I can tell about the movie after it is released. You will probably be able to see bits of the movie on Bionicle.com But the movie will be released in a LOT of countries. And answering the question about comparing to the other three movies: I have only seen short bits of these movies on youtube, but the old ones seem to be a lot of conversations etc. and not so action packed. I can't judge the quality of storylines etc. between the movies. I simply don't know much about the Bionicle story, and certainly not what the first three movies were about story-wise. Front

Yes, just came back from Billund. We started out recieving our tickets at the main gate at Legoland, and me and two fellow part designers had a walk round the park, looking at all the displays (e.g. Norwegian city Bergen, L.A. and lots of Danish castles). At 17:30 we went to the closed area, and had our sandwish and soda, and later popcorn, before we headed into the cinema. This was included in the ticket. Keld K. Kristiansen was a guest too, as was quite a lot of kids, who was there with their parents. Most of the Bionicle core team was there, as was a lot of other Lego employees who had been part of the creation of the toys or the movie itself. We then watched a Legends Return Video, with a Danish singer, featuring clips from the movie. The movie was ok. Well I'm 40 and not the main target group, and watch maybe two movies on TV each year. I'm not a movie man, find watching movies boring. Animation was great, rendering of characters was great, the blend between the characters and surroundings was less than great. The flow of the story was probably what is appropiate for kids. Not very complicated. Battle scenes was plenty, absolutely dominating. Conversation scenes was shorter, including a lot of humor, and Kiina doing female moves. Quite funny. The darker characters were avesome, Tuma was so mean and mighty, at least he thought highly of himself. Atakus, Skrall and Stronius was there to give the Glatorians a hard fight. There were four Glatorians who had main roles in the movie, and several others with lesser roles. The traitor got what he deserved. I really enjoyed seeing these toys, the Bionicle 2009 line up, put on screen. Front

I think I better stick to basic things like telling about a great fighting scene, or a character appearing in the movie, or something non-spoling. I look foreward to see Tuma in the movie, together with his elite Skrall fighters.

It would be cool if I could invite some EB-bionicle fans to come to Denmark, from far abroad like NZ. btw. the movie is shown in English language (original). Just saw and heard some clips from the Danish language version. Quite funny, Mata Nui still with a deep voice, but obviously a different man behind that voice. Front

I will be watching the movie on wensday the 12th of July. That is two days from now. It is the Danish premier in Legoland, Billund, at 17:30 CET. I can bring one friend to come and watch the movie. Anyone here on EB wanna come, and are able to with such a short notice, let me know. Front