Zarkan

All I have to say is that Toa Mata prototype might as well be the ugliest thing I have ever seen. It's amazing that we were able to get anything half-way decent out of something as bizare and cartoonish as that, much less something that set the standard for all later sets.

That doesn't make sense, because the figure there looks final. And even if it isn't, I can't imagine TLC displaying a figure if they've decided not to actually put it in any sets.

I dunno about you guys, but I'd much prefer an Incredibles line to either Marvel or DC. Seriously, as people like Batbrick have said, the figures would be brilliant, and there's plenty of ideas for buildings and playsets. We could have the Omnidroid, the flying disks, Mr. Incredible's transforming car, etc. Now that's one disney line I'd invest in for sure. If I had to chose between Marvel and DC, though, I'd definitely pick Marvel, mainly because I'd love to see a range of Spiderman figures as great as the ones we got in the Batman line. But, it will never happen, as Spiderman is not vehicle friendy like Batman is. That is an awesome idea. In fact, this could be the perfect sucessor to Agents - and if done with the same quality as that line, we could expect to see lots of incredible fiigures and vehicles.

As I've said before, it's because they sound very uncreative and like something out of Power Rangers or a little kids toy. Heck, the names are about one small step away from being ripped right out of Rescue Heroes. William Blaze, Billy Blazes - you get the picture. Oh, and once again, Antrozek wins the entire topic with another fabulous reinvisioning of the Hero Factory sets. Man, if you don't already have a job doing this, 'trozy, there's probably a lot of companies that would pay good money for this kind of talent.

Hey, I started a topic just like this a long time ago, back when I was a newer member on eurobricks. And not suprisingly, there's a topic almost exactly like this on BZP - after all, it's hard not to laugh at how silly the lego message boards really are. I've lost count of how many horror stories I've heard from members, about how good posts are continually not let through while spammy posts are.

For once, I actually agree with you. Seriously, I don't see anything wrong with the discussion in this topic - it's for the most part very polite, and sure a lot calmer than much of the discussion in the Bionicle 2010 topic. And really, if you're allowed to criticize Bionicle as much as you like on this forum, why shouldn't you be alowed to do the same with Hero Factory, if you truly don't like it?

Well, as I explained in some of my previous posts in this topic, I'd much rather have masks that are more spefically tailored to the character's personality, rather than simply having generic masks that can be worn on any character. After all, since it's been established that one kind of kanohi mask can have multiple shapes (the hau, for example), I don't see why masks made for specific sets can't have at least slight variations. Of course, from a production cost standpoint, making unique masks for every single new character isn't possible, which is why we get things like Voyatoran with the masks of the Toa Metru. But, I can't always dream, can't I?

And good riddens, cause he was probably the most pointless element of 2007 storyline. I mean, I understand how Greg had to put him in somewhere, since he was one of the main titan sets, but that doesn't mean I'm a fan of his appearance. But really, unless nearly all of BZP demands for the Gadunkadunk to appear again, I'd say that the chance of him turning up again is about as likely as us getting a two year serial focusing totally on an alternate dimension Takea shark.

I personally didn't like Nokama's Toa mask as much as I liked some of the other Toa metru masks, but I still thought it was pretty decent. Actually, it's probably the most feminine mask ever made for a Bionicle set, and I think it personally fits her character very well. Best of all, however, I like that, as with all the other 2004 Toa masks, it shared similarities with the noble turaga masks - which, looking back on the utter failure of the Toa Mistika's masks, is something that we should have probably appreciated more back then.

Woah, where'd my last few posts go? And for that matter, where'd Darth Vader's post that I just replied to go?

Well, even he said that he didn't like that one as much as some of the other ones, and I agreed with him on that. But seriously, I don't get how his masks sucked the life out of the Kanohi. Is there a particular reason why you feel this way? See, when I think of Jaller and Tahu, I don't think of similarly "stern" personalities, I think of how the former is extremely calm and collected, while the latter is a hothead. Problem is, that hau is used on both of them, and I don't really identify it with either one of them as much as I identify, say, Malum's helmet with Malum. Perhaps that's why I've never liked the whole mask hunting storyline as much as other people. Personally, if TLC had never made masks packs and instead made unique masks for the Toa and Mctoran, I would have prefered the original Toa's Kanohi to all be tailored more specifically to their unique elements and personalities. Since Tahu is typically portrayed as a hothead, for example, making his Kanohi just a bit more ferocious would sit well with me. Actually, perhaps the Toa's masks could have simply been slightly different or more elemental versions of the Tohunga's kanohi, rather than exact copies of each other. That IMO would really help give make the original Toa more distinct, and would also emphasize how they are the only ones on Mata Nui who have elemental powers. See, this I don't really understand at all. From the moment I saw Jaller Mahri's mask, I was completely in love with it, as it did something that no previous Fire Toa mask had done before. In contrast to the original Hau, the Hau nuva, the Great Huna, etc, it actually looked like fire, thanks to the beautiful dual-layered coloring. In the same way, however, since it didn't have actual fire-like patterns on it (which the Glatoran helmets had) it signified that Jaller was much calmer and more controled than the average fire Toa. It confounds me how anyone can say that it's "the absoluite worst Kanohi ever, when there have been so many worse ones in my mind (Kongu, Halhi, and Jaller Inika's, the Garai and Tryna, Gali Mistika's, etc). I think what I'm getting here is that some people on Eurobricks seem to have a mindset where "simple" > "complex," and that "complex" never = elegant. And I don't really understand this, because I've always had the belief that "what works best for the character" > "any single design style," and that Bionicle is, to put in bonesiii's words, "ruthless elegance." What I mean is, Bionicle's true strength is that it stands apart from the rest of Lego by using complex and more detailed parts than simple bricks. Things like the ridges, sharp points, and deep textures give the feeling of more sophisticated designs, and make them feel less like human-based action figures. In the same way, the combination of both rigid features and some smoother features give the feeling of biomechanicality, rather than simply one way or the other. I think one of my problems with the Toa Mata has always been that they simply look too much like pure robots, rather than the biomechanical beings that they've always been described as. Their utterly stiff limbs and use of gears may didn't give the feeling of truly alive beings, and as I said before, their masks were simply too generic for me to get as much personality out of them as I have with later masks. Later Toa designs, starting with the Toa Metru, gave them more articulation points and multi-piece armor, as well as masks that were more detailed and were tied to a distinct individual. Of course, if you had seen the character artwork I mentioned in my previous post, this post would seem kind of odd, as the masks my characters wear are all somewhat simple as well. And in fact, that was one of the big reasons why I abandoned my first concept sketches (which looked a lot like actual Bionicle sets) and went for a more human-like approach that gave all of the characters mouths and more expressionable eyes. Though the mask designs in the original drawings are very similar to the ones in my later drawings, their simplicity failed to display enough character, and the only way to truly show the personalities of my various characters was to give them actual expressions. This is simply impossible with real bionicle sets, as their cold eyes and general lack of mouths make it hard to show any real emotion. That is why I prefer more complex masks, as the complexity generally helps to show the personality of the characters, in a way that simple masks paired with expressionless faces can not. And I never said that it was any more significant. On the contrary, the reason I made that post is because I often feel as though some of the more critical members here feel as though their taste and talents are superior. A common theme I've been trying to drive home in posts for years is that people who like Bionicle's later years can also be extremely talented, and that their tastes are just as valid as the tastes of people who hate Bionicle's later years. The problem is, as Algernon clearly showed in his response to me a while back, the idea that "some tastes are more valid than others" is actually held by some members here. And that's exteemely problematic, because that kind of view cultivates disrespect and angry conversations. Again though, this is all a matter of taste, and there are lots of people (including myself) who prefer their Bionicle toys to be more complex. But really, the problem with Hero Factory isn't even really about their simplicity, IMO - it's about the fact that they are look very similar to each other, masks included. At least the Toa Mata Masks all look very different - with the Hero Factory guys, they all look like generic robot helmets. And that frontal torso has got to be one of the ugliest parts I have ever seen, IMO - as I said before, it looks like something out of Neo Shifters or Power Rangers, and I can't imagine it being useful in MOCing when it has that annoying "Hero" symbol on it. Finally, something I can agree with! Preach on, brother!

I fail to see what is wrong with sharp edges and thin lines, or how using those suck all the fun out of the masks. And seriously, the Calix is probably the absolute worst example to back up your statement, IMO, since the original looked like a female alien on vodka (hence the huge circles around the eyes). Plus, Bonesiii specifically said that the Inika masks he drew were "normalfied" versions of the original (not coolified), since the official set versions were already nearly as complex as some of the masks he has made. Just not nearly as good.

Simple - if a person knows how to make good art, he no doubt has at least a decent sense of artistic style. Seriously, how is that anywhere hard to understand - and more importantly, how are Bonesii's masks boring in any way? With all the ones he's made, I'm sure you could find at least a few you like, especially since they're extremely varried. But this is really off topic. To get back to what we were taking about, keep in mind that my previous post was in no means an outright disaproval of the 2001 Kanohi. Seriously, I love them just as much as anyone, but for different reasons. Simple and elegant they may be, but it's hard for me to see any true personality in them when "personality" to me generally indicates that there's something unique about them that portrays the personality of the character identified with them. The problem is, when you have a mask like the original Hau worn by characters with completely opposite personalites (Ie. Tahu Mata and Jaller), that kind of muddies the waters a bit. That's why I appreciate later masks just as much. While the 2001 mask were good basic designs that are amazing for MOCing, later masks like some of the Mahri's and practically every 2009 mask are a lot more unique when compared with each other. When I see a Hau, I don't particularly identify it with any character or element, but when I see Malum's helmet, I see a fiery warior with an antagonistic pesonality. And yet, at the same time, while I see the fiery part in Raanu and Ackar's masks, I also see different personalities. Raanu's looks something like a Hau with flames coming out of it, which suggests a noble personality, while Ackar's extremely small and uncovering helmet suggests that he is such an experienced fighter that he doesn't need to hide behind a metal face. Heck, I think the reason Bara Magna's helemts have so much more character-acurate personality in them is because they are tied to the individual beings, rather than special masks powers. In that sense, 2001's masks fit their actual powers a lot better than they do their characters - the Akaku has multiple eyes, for example, and the Kaukau looks like a diving mask. But honestly, I'd much rather have masks that match the character rather than a specific power - which is something that is reflected in the official artwork for my current Bionicle fan-fiction. In my Bionicle-esque world, every single character that wears a mask has a unique one, and I've tried as hard as possible to make the designs match the personalities of the characters themselves. Trust me, it's not easy to come up with 20+ mask designs that all work with my characters while not having them look too similar to each other. In that sense, I envy Bonesiii, who is able to come up with a nearly limitless number of unique mask designs without ever losing his artistic touch. Anyway, the point I'm trying to make is that I prefer mask designs that emphasize the character and their element, and I've never really seen much of either in the 2001 masks. But, even if you don't agree with me on that, that doesn't mean that the Hero Factory masks are automatically win. Because, really, I can't see them comparing to most of Bionicle's good mask designs, whether they're from 2001 or 2009. These just seem... boring. They're almost completely devoid of any real personality, IMO, whether that means looking like their elements, mirroring their character, or something else. They look like generic robots, nothing else.

Typical, since you were like the only one who replied to that entry and didn't like it. If you ask me though, it's hard to discredit bonesiii when he makes some of the best vector art on BZP - in Powerpoint, of all things. Tell me with a straight face that you didn't think his coolified kanohi were, well, cool. Character? You mean like how the same twelve masks were used on every character in 2001, which robbed them of their uniqueness? As opposed to much later masks, which actually had an elemntal flair rather than being super smooth and unidentifiable with any particular character or element? As opposed to Bara Magna, where almost every character got a unqiue mask that was very detailed and fit their personality? Nope, sorry, still not seeing why 2001 owns all other years.

*sigh* remakes, remakes, remakes - can't Hollywood come out with any original movies these days? Yes, this is an exaggeration, but I'm still not happy about how many reboots we're getting this year. So, in that sense, it's not like the PoTC Kraken at all, which was basically just a really ugly squid.

Careful what you say, Ryan - it might come back to bite you.

Yep, I knew Sahmad would be an awesome character once he got the spotlight. Otherwise, it's interesting to know that only the first chapter will be a flashback - I orginally thought that the entire serial would be set in the past. But, the direction Greg is taking the story in instead is probably for the better, as it looks like we'll be getting an explanation for how the plague happened. Oh, and the Iron tribe armor color explanation was a bit bland, but I suppose it makes a lot more sense on a primative planet like Bara Magna then in the Matoran Universe. Only question is, what were their original colors?

I think I had this problem once myself, and I probably used the same solution. Dunno what could be causing it, though.

Er, what? Is this a joke, or did I miss something very important?

If most AFOL's weren't so opposed to using clone bricks in MOC's, I'm betting that this set would become a hot commodity. Seriously, Purple rules, whether it's Lego or Megabloks.

Antrozek, I'm convinced that there isn't a thing in the world you can't make look awesome in your artwork style.

What's more disturbing is that the hand "holding" the gun appears to be molded right onto the same part, instead of being a separate part. Which reduces the already extremely limited MOCing possibilities even more.

I think this is a natural progression for forums as they grow and gain more members. In the begining, Eurobricks was a lot smaller, and a large percent of the members knew each other fairly well. However, as more people joined and the site became bigger, it got to the point where there were a lot of outsiders joining - people who didn't know the customs of the site as well as people who actually knew the core group in person or on other online places. Now that Eurobricks has thousands of members and is more well known, a single written rule and several unwritten rules probably won't cut it, and a slightly larger set of guidlines would be necessary to regulate the community. Basically, the way I picture the old Eurobricks versus the new Eurobricks is that the former was just a small club of people that were familiar with one another, while the latter is akin to an Ancient Greek forum where anyone can share their opinions. Another analogy would be that, if Lego was politics, then the early Eurobricks would be a few college students discussing country election in a dorm room, while the new Eurobricks is a major govermental Senate. Since the people in the former are very likely to know and understand each other well, there's no need for any guildines - but in the latter setting, the relationships are far less close, and a few basic rules are necessary to keep the discussion from getting too out-of-control. Of course, I wasn't around when Eurobricks was started, so I might be wrong about this, but that is the impression I've gotten as I've learned more about Eurobrick's history. Please correct me if I'm wrong.

Probably has been mentioned already by now, but I encountered my first real color variations in the City Combine Harvester I got for my birthday. Until now, I've either not had any problems with color inconsistency or have simply not been noticing them, but this time it was clear to me that there was an inconsistency in the yellow. While most of the colors were okay, the few yellow pieces included had a noticeable milky tint to them - enough that it looked fairly close to some of the Megabloks pieces I have had over the years. And when I mean Megabloks, I mean the very early sets, which were far worse qualitywise then they are now.

So, the story doesn't revolve around humans in armor... that's an interesting and pleasant development. However, the storyline itself doesn't sound like it will be interesting at all, and I don't see how it's possibly going to be interesting than Bionicle's storyline - which, BTW, included at least one year of story that nobody seems to dislike. I doubt the storyline of Hero Factory will be hated, but I sure don't think it's going to win any awards for originality, based on those character descriptions. As for the sets themselves, they're a mixed bag. On the one hand, they've done something no one thought possible less than a year ago - make impulse sets look nearly as sophisticated as canister sets. On the other hand, this is not suprising, as they're technically not using the Av-Matoran build. Every piece on these sets (except the hands and perhaps the heads) are brand new, including the arms, armor, body, and feet. This is both good and bad - good, because we're finally getting lots of new pieces in the small sets, and bad, because most of them don't look very useful. I mean, come on, those chestplates and leg armors look more like something out of Neo-Shifters! Some of the weapons look interesting, I'll give them that, especially the green blades and the electric swords. However, they seem to have an almost total lack of attachment points, which incidentally is a "feature" that the Ben 10 set parts also have. And the masks/helmets, while not bad by any means, don't have any real personality IMO. They just all look like generic robots, rather than having any distinct elemental features like the helmets of 2009. Overall, this line is looking to be a big step down from some of Bionicle's best years, and I'm having a hard time viewing it in the same light as the latter theme when they seem to be very different in many ways.