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Because the existence of other female stereotypes in a storyline (and an extreme minority of them to boot [ones that are all batshit insane or extremely aggressive (sexually [Roodaka] or violently [Chiara])]) somehow nullifies the sexism inherent in this explanation that is used as an example of wise and valid thinking. Makes perfect sense to me! Missing from this equation: Actual average female personalities and traits.

Disgustingly sexist explanation is disgustingly sexist.

Bulk and Vapour is a store exclusive. You can only find it at Toys R Us, and maybe the Lego Store. That's why it's labeled as hard to find.

Okay. So, let's go back two years. To BZPower BBC Contest 50. I built this, and was pretty proud of it. It won BBC 50, and that was also neat. However, there were parts that bothered me. Like how bad the back legs and tail were. Plus, I didn't like the shape of the wings. So, I decided I would re-do it after Brickfair '08. Well, right before Brickfair '10 is still technically after Brickfair '08. The Vayland Dragon had actually never left the baggies I put him in after BF08, and so I had to basically start all over on the MOC outside of the head and neck. Which was okay, because this was mostly a really enjoyable build, and it went by a lot faster than I thought it would! Anyway, I had originally named it the Vayland Dragon after Bryce McGlone's pseudonym (Cajun Vayland), because he sent me many of the pieces I used in the MOC, and I also jacked that wing design from him. Just in case anyone is wondering! So, on to the pictures! | | | |

Weirdly enough, there was only one Miru, but two visors.

There are lots of some, and only one of others. I got the only silver Miru Nuva T9, and the only silver Ackar helm that Andrew had, and he only had one of a few others that are now out there too. But others he had entire ziploc bags full of, like the Strakk helmets, or the Tarix helmets.

There's a whole bag of those MoLs last I checked. I don't know, and I don't know how many Andrew's given out. Since we're on prototypes, these are the ones I brought home from Brickfair. I really wish that Miru had come in more colours, because it was so much closer to the original Miru Nuva than the Phantoka mask was.

There will be a Hero Factory winter assortment. That was stated specifically by a LEGO employee at Brickfair.

This, this, one thousand times this.

The islands are landmasses that exist within the body. Voya Nui broke off and burst through the body, and part of the plot was that to bring Mata Nui back on-line (I prefer 'awake' but he's a giant robot, so...) Voya Nui needed to be back in the body, because it was like he was missing his liver or a vital organ, you know?

Bink put that there because he loves us.

Something we can agree on! Stickers are far preferable to printed pieces. I consider 'cleaning' the print off of bricks something I won't do, and so stickers let me either use the design or not (usually or not). Also, this way the stickers could potentially be used for something else too. Saved for a MOC, or something.

Maybe I'm blind, but I stared at that photo for a really long time and I don't see any differences. :/

Lol, they're talking about my Furno review like I hated the set or something. I was incredibly positive about the set in my review. Seriously, this is hilarious. :) Oh my god I am having the best time of my recent life reading through that topic. Thanks for linking it! :D

It's weird to open a topic and see a picture you took pop up like that! Also, for MOCing, don't be afraid to dip into a bin of yellow system bits. Contrary to a lot of AFOL beliefs, the two styles are perfectly integratable.

You can enjoy something all you want. That's fine, and even I've enjoyed parts of it myself. But no, I'm not just arguing from my opinions. Like it or not, there are foundational elements to good storytelling, and you can go to any library and find books and books on the matter. There are actual rules and forms and things that a good writer and a good story will understand and utilize. Storytelling is one of the oldest and most powerful forms of human communication, and there are reasons good stories resonate with large groups of people. And then there are reasons bad stories are universally understood to be bad (the "Last Airbender" film, for instance). The fact of it is that Bionicle as it went on became more and more a cliched 'group of generic good guys go against generic bad guys in a one-element-specific land with generic dialogue and random plot expositions shoehorned into random conversations'. One-dimensional characters in one-dimensional lands is not good storytelling. There can (and are) still enjoyable moments in the story, no one will deny that. Not to mention that any accusation of trolling is inaccurate. You asked a question, I answered, you replied, etc.

It's supposed to be getting a cartoon mini-series. Like four twenty-two minute episodes. Basically, a film cut up into television episodes.

I'm sorry, but no. Greg is great at handling other people's stories and scripts and ideas, but when he is given control of things, his weak writing and cliched characters, his misunderstanding of what 'violence and maturity' really mean to a story, come through and things become bad. The moment Greg is given creative control of any parts of Hero Factory is the moment this fledgling theme with glints of promise should be discarded by anyone who enjoys proper or engaging storytelling. And really, if you think the characters in Bionicle were anywhere rich, or somehow blew a good chunk of popular children or adult storylines out of the water, I'm afraid you might be underexposed to proper storytelling. There are many great stories out there, and the things that make them work were largely absent from Bionicle. Not to mention that when it comes to 'expanding the universe,' there is a great way, and a bad way to do it. Throwing random information into the storyline just so it exists? Bad. Like the awkward "Av-toran become Bohrok" thing. Just kind of shoehorned in there. But a side book, a guide book, or a collection of side stories that barely interact with the main plotlines, that would be fantastic. There are entire continents and literally thousands of years that could be explored, but instead most of it just ends up awkwardly shoehorned in as fanservice.

To put it frankly, the Bionicle storyline the last few years just got worse, and worse, and worse, and worse. It was not a good story, it had very few compelling characters, and was very poorly written. A lot of us like the idea of this new theme because so far, it's not bloated with unnecessary and ridiculous details thrown in for little more than cheap attempts at fan-service, and it finally helps stop the bleeding out Bionicle has suffered through for years with a new emphasis and new theme. Plus, so far, it looks like Greg hasn't touched Hero Factory, and that's the best news out of all of it.

Easy- The Bahrag twins. A bunch of white friction pins, a bevy of red and blue technic connectors, Bohrok bodies, etc.

I've got a long and detailed William Furno review up on the BZP frontpage. Thought you guys might like it, if you haven't already seen it.

We're not going anywhere anytime soon.

This is a MOC I've been formulating since October. It is a MOC representing BZPower staff member Smeagol4, who asked me why I had never built him a MOC, even though I build in white so often. This was a good point. So! Image links to Brickshelf gallery: | | | | | | The swords are indeed sheathed on his hips inside the wing plates. They are flex tubes that my cat had gotten to, and so, as they were ruined for anything else, I flattened them with some pliers. Now they look like sword blades! The sword made out of green flames stores on his back (as you can see in the pictues above). I bought the green flames on the Internet in bulk, just so in case anyone is wondering. I don't think I've ever used sand green in a MOC before, and I mean like, ever. So even though I bought a bunch of the sand green pieces on-line years ago, Smeagol4 here gets to use it first.

The Legends popped up on the Toys R Us website in mid-to-late May, and that was the first time they were available, and the only time until they hit stores proper in mid-June. That's why I got to review Mata Nui on the BZP frontpage, because I ordered him on-line before he was available elsewhere, and beat the other staff members to it.