Zarkan

You misread me. I was not chiding people for having opinions - I was simply getting tired of people using the same generic statments to justify calling themes like Bionicle the worst themes ever. Like everyone else here, I strongly support opinions and heated discussion - what I do not like is when topics get to the point where half the members are saying the exact same things instead of giving good reasons. Now, I'm not saying that everyone has to go into detailed explanations of why they hate a certain theme - not everyone has the time or patience for that. However, when I hear comments like "bionicle is the worst theme because I hate it," I feel that is rather silly. Not all of the members here are doing this, however, so I'm not bashing everyone for expressing their dislike of Bionicle. The point I'm trying to make is that, while opinion has a huge part in topics like this, some people seem to take it way too far and let it cloud out any objective reasoning of why a theme is terrible. Since this topic is asking what the best and worst themes are, I think people should at least consider their answers beyond "which theme is my favorite" and "which theme do I hate the most." Ex. Someone could claim that Town is the best theme because it's the most diverse and creative theme that doesn't revolve around conflict. Or, someone could claim that Adventurers is one of the top three themes because it has a huge amount of wonderful pieces, creative sets and minifigures, and is a great alternative to licenses. Comments like manage to both be opiniated and well thought out, and IMO are the best kind of post you can make in a topic like this. Also, since I unfortunately didn't give reasons for my picks the first time around, I'll do so now: The Best Three Themes: 1. Town/City - this theme is IMO the greatest lego theme ever, because it allows for such a huge variety of buildings, vehicles, minifigs, and other sets. More so than that however, it is closer to real life than any of the other themes, and thus is more relatable to. 2. Castle - a close second, Castle allows for a rich world of fantasy and adventure while giving boys a good level of conflict. The figure and weapon variety is simply incredible, and the color scheme and set designs are beautiful. 3. Pirates - this theme falls right behind Castle only because it doesn't allow for as much variety as the latter can. However, it shares many of the same positive things that Castle does, including figures, weapons, and a great color scheme. The Worst Three Themes: 1. Galidor - Far worse than any other theme TLC has EVER produced, for the simple reason that no one can actually really call it lego. It's a generic action figure line, and nothing more, and thus it should have never been made. Also, it was based on a really pathetic TV show, and was obviously nothing more than a hopeful cash in by TLC, instead of a well thought out license agreement 2. 4+ Pirates - A complete joke, which attempted to replace the wonderful Classic Pirates with a <insert that tiresome argument>, cartoony preschool line. Terrible molds, awful one piece figures, ridiculous "missile cannons," and simplistic, boring set designs. Simply rubbish. 3. Island Extreme Stunts - A line based on Lego Island could have been decent, but somehow TLC managed to take all the charm out of the original game with a line that consisted of boring vehicles, even worse buildings, and terrible figure designs that turned the cheerful, cute figures of Lego Island 1 into ugly, "coolized" shells of their former selves. Not to mention that the figure selection was so limited that you got Pepper, the Brickster, or Snap Lockit in EVERY set. Ah, okay. I guess I just didn't understand what you meant. However, I still don't see why you hate Starwars so much. Personally, although I don't buy any sets from the theme anymore, I've found that the sets have become more and more complex and detailed over time, to the point where IMO they are some of the most well enginered kits lego currently makes. And also, the price is really no worse than any of the other themes currently. I know the price did increase last year, but now it's really the same as City, Power Miners, Pirates, and all the other themes. It's more of an issue that they make so many Starwars kits each year, thus making collecting all of them a real hassle. Also, I think you need to understand is that, while MOCing is a huge part of Lego, it isn't the whole picture. I've often felt sorry for lego fans who can't seem to enjoy any kits exactly the way they are out of the box (and no, I'm not saying you're one of those), since lego kits tend to be very well designed. A lego kit to me should be just as much about the playability as the building, and for kids this especially rings true. Yes, MOCing is wonderful, but for people who don't have the time or paitence to make tons of their own models, building kits the way they are is the ideal way to enjoy lego. And I don't think there's any reason to fault them for that. *whew* Man that took a while to type.

Wait... you're criticizing the Star Wars Theme BECAUSE it's popular? *sigh* As I predicted, this topic is rapidly descending into a "favorite and least favorite themes" topic, which is not what the topic states. Look, if you hate a theme, fine, but you can't automatically rule it out as the worst. This is where Bionicle always takes a ton of bashing that it doesn't deserve. Comments like "oh, I can't pronounce the names, so it's terrible" and "the pieces are totally useless" are not only not true but are also rather silly. The theme was never meant to be for AFOLS - and neither are any of the other regular lego themes - but that hasn't stopped people like Jinzo, Cajun, Darth Vader, and BigFatSlob from using the pieces in amazing ways. I'm getting really tired of people using the same repetitive statements to justify their unwarranted bashing. And it's not just that. Now, it seems that some people are taking it as far as flaming those who like certain themes. Or at least, you seem to be, Peppermint. I don't think it's very nice of you to bash all the people who love the Starwars theme so much. Have they committed some unforseen crime against you for liking a theme that you despise? Ugh, this is seriously getting annoying.

Honestly, if TLC made sets based on POTC in the future, I wouldn't be suprised. It would be a logical step foward after a couple years of their non-licensed pirate line, and the kits would undoubtedly sell like hotcakes. And honestly, I think I'd enjoy a Pirates of the Carribean line a lot. Don't forget Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, and the first two Spiderman movies. I think TLC's policy is just to refrain from making kits based on really violent movies, which is why we never saw kits based off of The Dark Knight. But making sets based off of PG-13 movies has never been totally out of the question.

Uh oh, I see a trend here... it seems that this topic is already rapidly going from "best and worst themes" to "favorite and least favorite themes," which are two totally different premises. Just because you guys may hate a certain theme doesn't make it the worst theme - the worst theme would simply be a theme that has the least use or enjoyment overall. Anyway, here's my picks. Best three themes: 1. City 2. Castle 3. Space Worst three themes: 1. Galidor 2. 4+ Pirates 3. Lego Island Extreme Stunts That's quite an interesting choice, considering that you both have a Lego IJ avatar and said you love IJ.

Okay, I guess I better finally comment on the summer wave, now that we have good pictures. Kiina: Honestly, I like him/her a lot. The design is original and fairly decent, the color scheme is great, and there are some wonderful new molds and recolors – especially the light blue limb and the new socket joint. Gelu: He/she’s not particularly interesting to me, but I do love the mask and weapon. Other than that and the extra Metus snowflakes however, she’s really kinda boring. Vastus: Some people may be hating on him, but I personally love Vastus. Yes, the body design isn’t that great, but everything else is wonderful. While Gresh seemed to go with a leaf-like design, this guy seems more made to look like vines – and that has lead to some awesome side armor parts and a wicked mask. And FINALLY, after so many years of waiting, we actually get a scythe in Bionicle! I bet it will look good with a Nidhiki MOC. Ackar: Sweet cousin of Tahu Nuva – this set ROCKS! An amazing fire sword, wonderful mask, some great recolors, and the coolest color scheme for a fire set EVER make this the best set of the entire summer line. In fact, I may even have to get him, despite swearing off buying any Bionicle sets this year other than Tuma and Mata Nui. He’s that cool. Stronius: SICK. Amazing club, amazing mask, a possibly new body mold, black hewkii spike armor, new shoulder armor, and an awesome design. Honestly, I liked the Skrall, but this just blows that set away. Even the color scheme is better – black and metro red looks awesome. I may have to get him too. Mata Nui: Well, he’s yellow, sadly – but fortunately Mata Nui wears it well. Plus, he has a great design and TONS of recolors. Those armor pieces and yellow limbs are going to be awesome MOCing parts. So, while not perfect, this set manages to do justice to Mata Nui. I just wish he was gold… Cendox V1: This looks far better than Vultrax – the design is bulkier and more complex. Plus, the mask of the rider is awesome, and I like the idea of a “sandmobile.” Kaxium V3: Okay, so despite the fact that a motorbike just seems a bit out of place in Bionicle, this set actually looks good. A great design, cool helmets, more silver Takanuva armor, silver pohatu propeller shafts, and dark blue heads make this a great set, if not spectacular. Thornatus V9: Easily the best vehicle of them all. It’s tan, it’s a cool design, and it doesn’t seem nearly as technologically advanced as the others. Like Ikki has said, it looks like something that the Glatorian assembled out of scrap and spare parts, which fits perfectly in the new setting. Only one problem – what the HECK are those Midak Skyblasters doing on the back? Skopio XV-1: Ugh, I’m not liking this one much. It’s not nearly as huge or impressive as it seemed originally, and it’s reusing the panels from the Axalara T9. Also, again with the out-of-place Midaks. Oh well, at least the figure has new orange limes and a different color of the Spikit mask. Baranus V7: Terrible. Looks really thrown together, especially the awful Spikit. Where’s my awesome two-headed rahi titan? All we’ve got here is a two headed Spinax with a Gresh blade on its back. This set is probably the worst of the entire 2009 line. Honestly, I feel that 2009 may be the best year of Bionicle ever. The sets are simply amazing this year, the colors, masks and weapons are awesome, and the storyline and movie are shaping up to be wonderful. I'm really hoping that TLC can pull this off.

I agree with everyone who said this topic was silly. Seriously, you guys are taking this "issue" of lego "racism" way too seriously. It's obvious that TLC is just trying to sell toys - not viewpoints - and the current way of doing their sets is not going to change if the kids don't want it to. Honestly, the mere fact that all the alien bad guys look ugly is a sign to me that TLC is not trying to imply anything. Whenever you see good aliens in movies or comics, they almost always look noble and somewhat humanlike. On the other hand, the bad aliens always look like monsters, which is lining up with how TLC is handling aliens. Now, if they started producing bad guy aliens that looked like blue skinned humans or something, I might be a bit worried - but I don't think that will ever happen. Come on guys, just stop worrying about this. This isn't a major deal at all, and I hardly think kids are going to be influenced to be racists through playing with kits that have imaginary butt-ugly aliens as the bad guys. Wrong. The lego club magazine gave a summary of the storyline of Mars Mission back in 2007, and it clearly states that the ailens attacked first, NOT the humans. When the humans first come to Mars, their vehicles are simply mining and reasearch vehicles, and only after the aliens attack do they turn them into combat vehicles. Also, in the first online Mars Mission game, the aliens are revealed to be CANIBALS, who eat any humans that they capture (if you die in this game, you hear the aliens burping). It's clear to me that the aliens are the bad guys here, and the humans are simply defending themselves from harm. I think you're reading too far into this. Personally, when I saw that set, I was thinking that the rock monster was STEALING the crystals, not mining them for the humans. Besides, once again it's shown in the actual storyline that the humans never intended to be fighting against the rock monsters, but that it was necessary to in order to save the planet from shaking apart.

These BBC contest prizes are yet another reason why Binky is awesome. YES, DO THAT. Seriously, that would be even better than the giant parts jars from 04 and 05 with at least 6 golden Vahis and disks of time inside.

As others have said, the new serial chapter was excellent. While I'm also a fan of the serials which gives tons of new revalations about the Bionicle universe, a chapter focused almost completely on emotions and battling is fine with me. I agree with you - to a point. The comic dialogue has been fairly terrible in the last few years, although I'm betting it's more TLC's fault than his. However, it has improved by miles with the first comic of 2009, and that's not even counting the dialogue in the books, which I've always felt has been fine. It mainly has to do with the fact that the books generally have far less "witty" banter than the comics, which helps a ton.

Thank you for the link, JimboJones! Man, Megabloks has done a superb job on these kits! The figures, while not to my taste, are very well detailed, and the weapons look awesome. And the vehicles and turrets are incredible! I'm glad that they are steering away from tons of huge pieces in this new line, and are instead using lots of smaller bits that will be very compatable with lego kits. I'd really like to see someone buy some of these and combine them with Brickforge Halo figures. I think my faith has been renewed in MB, and I'm glad to see that TLC will finally be getting some decent competition again.

And I thought I was fortunate to get just one Mctoran in a small lot of used bricks....

2009 is bringing a wave of changes in TLC’s set lines – civilian and farm sets in the town line, a castle village, long awaited kits of popular Starwars movie locations and spaceships – and of course, the return of Pirates. Yes, after nearly a decade and a half, and two beyond disappointing 4+ and Duplo “pirate themes,” one of TLC’s most popular and enduring lines is finally returning with the first proper System line since 1996. Today, I’ll be bringing you a review of one of the largest sets in the new line, the impressive Soldier’s Fort. Name - Soldier's Fort Set Number – 6242 Year – 2009 Theme - Pirates Pieces – 367 Minifigures – 6, plus two animals Age Recommendation – 6 to 12 years Price – $49.99 USD / 51.99 EUR / 34.25 GPB The Box and Instructions: The new pirates line has excellent boxes, and Soldier's Fort is no exception. There’s plenty of action going on in the frontal box shot, which will certainly give kids a lively and adventurous impression. I especially like the new logo – it looks like it’s made up of driftwood and bones. Also, up at the top-right corner, you can see the label pointing out that this kit has a “modular build,” and is “easy start.” The first we already know is true, but will the second hold steady as well? On the back of the box, you have a smaller action scene, shots showing the action features and modular system, a small corner shot of the big Pirate ship of the line, and my favorite - an impressive array of accessories. Note however that since the keys come attached to a plastic sprue, you get two instead of the single one pictured on the box. The instructions are arguably as good as the box art – the steps are simple and easy to follow, there’s very little color confusion, and the instructions have a weathered parchment look, complete with a “rolled up” part in some of the corners. The Pieces and Minifigures: One of the unfortunate weak points in this set is the low piece count for the price, which seems to be more a sign of the times than a notable exception to the rule (this problem is widespread through much of the 2009 lego line). Still, you do get some great pieces in this kit, both old and new. Bits I found interesting include one of the new iron bar doors introduced in 2008, a light grey iron bar window, a new fortress wall that is completely square, a large dark blue plate, a street lamp pole, and a brand new flag. Unfortunately, the flag is plastic, not cloth, probably no doubt because cloth is far more expensive to make than plastic. Also, for some reason TLC decided that it was a good idea to print their copyright ON the flag. That’s very disappointing, but at least it’s not as noticeable as it is on the Pirate ship’s sails (yes, they have the same problem ). On a much more positive note, Soldiers Fort is absolutely loaded with accessories. A cannon, three flags, a telescope, a piece of dynamite, a torch, two muskets, two pistols, two cutlasses, two keys, two oars, three barrels, a fish, a banana, three jewels, and a treasure chest filled with coins! It’s a proverbial boatload, and there’s a great mix of old and new molds. The pearl grey cannon and the fish are especially wonderful. Now, the figures! 6242 contains 6 figures – four Imperials and two pirates. I’ll start off with the imperials. As you can see, they are very sharp, with their bright uniforms and printed hats. I love the new plume, and the exclusive Governor figure is outstanding. Even better is the fact that the backs are printed! Love the satchels and coat buttons. Next, the pirates. Captain Brickbeard, while a very nice figure, is the only figure in the new line that you really need only one of, so it’s disappointing that he appears in more sets than any other figure. Still, he is wonderful, and it’s great to see the return of the peg leg and hook molds. Oh, and we also get a generic pirate. Love the new face and torso, which both look especially manly. Again, printed backsides. Brickbeard has a coat buckle! Finally, it’s worth mentioning that you get two animals in this set – a dark green crocodile and a monkey. Lego monkeys continue to look bizarre with their yellow hands, but it adds to the cartoony feel. Note that I didn’t include the fish in this picture, because he’s obviously dead and only ranks as an accessory in my mind. The Building Process: Since the box advertises this set to be an “easy start,” most would assume that the kit is fairly simple to build. And they’d be right. 6242 is really a breeze to put together – with one notable exception. You should have noticed by now that the Soldier’s Fort includes crane, and that unfortunately means tying a string to the ends of the hook and winch. Now, I know that this was necessary to achieve that function, but I highly doubt an average young kid would be able to tie the ultra-thin string included through the tiny holes. Even I had trouble with this, which was why I got my mom to do this part for me (women have more delicate and precise fingers than us men ). Otherwise though, the building went off without a hitch. The Finished Model: I’ll start off with the smallest and most simple component, the Pirate rowboat. It’s great to see this mold back, and IMO it looks fine in the new brown color. Also, the flag looks good to me, even though it has a more cartoonish skull. There’s no real build here, however, although as an interesting note, the instructions mistakenly tell you to attach the flag to the FRONT of the boat, which just looks weird. Another note is that Brickbeard can’t actually sit down in the boat, due to his peg leg. Now, onto the real meat of this set – the fort itself. It’s fairly impressive, and is bigger in real life than it may look on the box. First, let’s take a look at the jail cell. I like the little lanterns on the edges of the walls. Unfortunately, the brick wall patterns are stickers, which makes this the only kit in the line to have a DSS. Still, this does mean that the walls are more useable than if they were printed. One of the neat features is that the jail cell has a slide away wall, which allows for both easy play and a good overall look (I for one am getting a bit annoyed with lego jail cells that don’t actually have any backs). There’s not really anything inside the cell, but that’s probably fairly accurate for this time period. Oh, and did I mention that there’s also a spider web sticker? This is nice, as the actual lego spider web part is way too big for a scene like this. On top of the jail cell, there’s a nice spot for a rotating cannon, which also has two cannonballs and, oddly, an old style “torch.” Considering that there’s a much better torch in this kit as well, I don’t understand why they added that. Also, you may not know that the turntable is the free-swerve type rather than a clicking interval type, and it is actually a special base attached to one of the new circular plates. That makes it less tall than earlier turntables, which could be useful. Next, here’s the small part with the palm tree and a little bridge. I honestly feel that this bridge may be nicest part of the entire kit – it just is so effective and neatly designed. Unfortunately, the palm tree is the awful single-piece trunk type. Oh well, at least the leaves are separate… A cool feature not on the box is the ability to lift the palm tree base up, revealing a small hideaway with three jewels inside. The third part of the fort is this area with a small shack-like construction that has a barrel with a fish under it. The flagpole is attached to the very corner, and there’s a Brickbeard wanted poster sticker on one of the shack’s back pillars. Finally, the biggest part of the fort, the tower with the crane. Some black dock ends and hanging flags are nice touches. Unfortunately, there’s nothing much inside, other than an admittedly nice ale barrel with a tap. Please ignore the spiderweb – it’s actually supposed to be inside the jail cell, but I didn’t notice I had used that particular stickered piece in the tower until after I had built the kit for the second time. And of course, the crane. Despite the difficulty in attaching the string, this actually looks fairly nice, and it does offer a fair amount of playability. One final note regarding this set is the aformentioned modularity that is incorporated in this set. As you can see here, the fort breaks up into four sections, which are connected together with technic pins. This means two things - the fort can be aranged in different positions, and it will be fairly easy for fans to build their own interconnecting additions for the fort. I think this is a great new approach to Imperial forts, and I hope that TLC releases more modular buildings to add to this set. The Model In Action: Today, Port Regal has received some special guests. A Spanish trading ship has arrived at the docks, carrying plenty of booty from the New World. Governor Hastings welcomes them eagerly, hoping to score some more gold for himself. But, in the midst of this friendly meeting, the notorious Captain Brickbeard is sneaking into the port, hoping to steal all the Aztec riches for himself! “I’ll get me plunder, or ye ship shall burn to rubble!” the captain whispers, glancing at the dynamite he has aboard his boat with glee. Conclusion: Presentation – 10/10 Pieces – 8/10 (stickers, one piece palm tree trunks, and the poor quality of the flags take some points off) Minifigs – 10/10 Model – 8/10 (great, but could be better) Playability – 9/10 Price – 5/10 (Very expensive) Overall Rating – 8.3/10 Soldier’s Fort is hardly the perfect kit. The model is a bit simple, the quality of some of the pieces is not the greatest, and the price is very high. But, considering that Pirates have been gone for over a decade and a half, this kit and the others in the line are a breath of fresh air. Get it on sale, or get it normally, but I highly urge you to buy this kit if you’re a Pirate fan, or a fan of good lego in general. Other Resources: Brickshelf gallery for this review (when public) Brickset entry for set 6242 Bricklink entry for set 6242

Well, I'm late, but better that than never I guess. Thanks for the wonderful reivew, Brickster. Well, considering that this is lego's first farm ever, I think they did a great job. The stable is nice, the figures and animals are superb, the tractor and lawnmower are very well designed, and there's tons of great pieces. The only thing I'm disapointed about is the barn, but fortunately I've been planning from day one to heavily modify it when I get my hands on the kit. The problem is that now I think I'll have to wait until Christmas, as I never expected the price to be this high! I was thinking it would be around 60 or 70 dollars, depending on whether you got it online or at the usually overpriced TRU. But NINTY DOLLARS? Man, that is way too high for me right now. Oh well, I'm sure I'll get my hands on this kit eventually....

*sigh* It's too bad that they won't be doing Bionicle books anymore - they were easily my favorite way to experience the storyline. Oh well, at least we'll probably still have serials.

Lars, this MOC is simply outstanding! The detail is fantastic, the usage of pieces is great, and although I believe the color scheme is incorrect, it looks fine on this model. I'm especially astounded at the useage of the Rahkshi back pieces - and I'm glad that you and many other MOC'ers are willing to experiment with Bionicle pieces, proving that they are far from useless.

Did you even read the topic? He was taking it lightly at first, and he has for a long while, but with all the crap he gets on BZP and other sites (particularly here), I don't blame him for finally getting fed up. Seriously, I've always been shocked at how much people bash him. It seems that whenever something happens with Bionicle, Greg's always the first person they blame - even though he is as much as a slave to TLC's wishes as any other person on the story team. Also, you may think his Bionicle books aren't that great, but he's already given an explanation for that: they are written for 8-11 year olds, not teenagers and adults. That said, the simple fact that he manages to keep both kids and some teenagers entertained is a mark of excellence to me - his childrens books are generally far more sofisticated than other books written for his age level. And I agree with Refia. If you think greg's writing is crap, prove that you could do a better job in his place. Try writing your own bionicle storyline, while keeping stories in a small, 20,000 word per book format. Try writing them without resorting to tons of deep description and super-complex characters. If you can do that, and you can make something more enjoyable than what Greg writes, good for you. But I really doubt you could.

A little late, Alg. There's already a discussion about this going on here. Thanks for the news anyhow - the game sounds exciting.

As someone who has both recieved and bought Megabloks sets, I can say that this is an excellent move for MB. They've been serverly declining in quality since they switched from stud-based sets to lots of gimmicky construction toys, and so a hopeful return to lego-compatible sets is a good sign. I hope that Megabloks can pull this off, and I hope that their vehicles and minifigures are of decent quality. TLC needs some decent competition to stimulate the building toy market, and it's good to see that MB may finally be back in the game again.

This rules. Finally, a game from TT that isn't licensed and isn't based off of the same engine all the others are! Also, this very well could be the first lego RTS since Rock Raiders, and it has the potential to be far better than the latter. Thank you for bringing the news to us, SkyOtic.

Ah, now this is more like it. While I'm not particularly against it, I've been getting a bit tired of all the lego merchandise without any actual building compatibility. Thus, these brick-using games are a welcome relief, especially since they are being designed by a respectable game creator.

Your art continues to impress me, Antrozek. BTW, I wonder if Greg really opened a can of worms by stating that the Glatorian and Agori could have romantic relationships. After all, it it consistently leads to long, drawn out dicussions and crude artwork about the "other things" associated with that factor, I almost wonder if it wasn't the greatest idea...

Yeah, but the biggest remaining complaint about Power Miners has always been that "the color scheme is ugly and nonsensical." Not that I agree with that, but still. Also, I don't really mind the lime on the Mobile Devastator, since the main color scheme was consistent with the other 2007 Robot vehicles (black and a bright secondary color). It's the OTHER colors that bother m - the dark red, normal red, trans red, zamor orange, and yellow. How nonsensical is that?

Boo, you're being a brandist! Those poor non-lego figures never did anything to you, and now you're treating them like this?

Great news! I think we all expected this, but it's good to get an official confirmination anyway. Since I didn't get the first game, I'll probably invest in the second version. No doubt it'll feature a new set of levels for Kingdom of the Crystal Skull.

Indeed. I'm not even considering getting the Pirate impulses at TRU (which is the only place I can currently find them in my area), since I can get a Cannon Battle set for LESS at Walmart and Target.

Actually, from what I can tell, that "piece" may not even be made out of regular ABS plastic. I have a ramp from a small technic racer set that is made out of a far cheaper, less durable plastic. If this piece is made out of that at all, then I don't think it ever deserves to be called an actual "Lego piece."