Shakar

I'm actually happy they're capable of reproduction this time. I know "how are Matoran born?" is still a fascinating mystery for many but really, I like it better this way. The site is obviously incomplete and has some problems, but the layout works well and the graphics look nice. Can't wait until it gets filled out with content.

Technically, you're right, we did get a new torso every year- I was aware of that when I wrote my post, so I should correct myself and say that the problem isn't the lack of new pieces, rather that the existing ones aren't used very well. The Breakout torso had a good design and came in a lot of colours but mysteriously disappeared after 2012; meanwhile the Brain Attack torso is arguably just as cool looking but disappeared during the entirety of 2013, and the 2015 sets reusing it haven't fixed its biggest problem (which is, it comes in two colours only!). There's also the 2014 "Zamor chest" Chima torso, which I really like, but, again, only two colours- and I'm sort of skecptical we're going to see it again. I don't want the 2.0 torso to be retired- as you said, its smoothness is the key to its versatility, hence why it works as a giant shell element. When I said it overstayed its welcome, I meant that it did strictly as a torso piece: it's still an excellent element for plating, even in System sets (70145 is indeed a great example- CCBS works wonders with System, it's one of the reasons I like it so much!). The problem is that, due to said simplicity, it looks too plain on the new BIONICLE sets: Lewa and Tahu have amazing details in their armour, their weapons, their masks, their amazing printed chests, and then.. a plain, generic looking torso sits there. It's just too jarring to me. I shouldn't forget this is the very first wave of the "new" theme, so the 2.0 torso could be a stand in until we get a new torso in the later waves (as I said before, maybe one harkening back to the Toa Mata torso). But I think the Breakout and Brain Attack torsos, with the proper recolours, would be enough AND would work really well together. I'm thinking about something a la Toa Inika: a more masculine, buff torso (the Breakout torso with its six-pack can that take that role) alongside a more androgynous, even feminine if you wish, slender torso (the Brain Attack torso fits, with its wider hips and more ambiguous plating design). If the right pieces existed in the right recolours, this is what I would've done for the Toa. So I'm using Breakout torsos for now (except for Gali). As for the feet, I agree we need new ones, not to replace the design we have, just to bring some variety. I wouldn't mind to see the 1.0 feet again (I use them myself from time to time), but they've disappeared from the Customer Service inventory, so I fear they have stopped producing them. The problem isn't (to me) as annoying as the 2.0 torso issue, but I'd like to see another design (again, two designs coexisting like on the Toa Inika). The idea of new chest pieces is good as well. As much as I adore the chest printing on the new Toa, I somewhat get the feeling they added it to cover up the fact that they're old parts, to create the illusion of novelty. So I wouldn't mind more Super Hero chests with new print designs, the ones we got are lovely, but I wouldn't be surprised to see a new chest armour piece, maybe something similar to the Nuva armour? Oh, and I love all those hand designs. Keep it up!

So my Fangar arrived today, and my pre-purchase impressions remain pretty much unchanged. One of the biggest problems of the set is the lack of white: he should be a white character with gunmetal armour, but he looks like a gunmetal character with some white bits instead. At the time, I was very annoyed to not see any new white shell but thankfully Kopaka fixed that so I forgive them, but I'm still annoyed at the figure's asymmetry (second problem)- It's not a good asymmetry a la Splitface, it's that bad one that looks odd AND devilishly ensures you don't end up with even numbers of interesting parts (the worst offender is easily the amazing long two holes tr. light blue bone on his lower leg). That said, the parts are pretty good: the giant spikes are neat pieces, the single (grah) long bone in tr. blue is marvelous, and yes, the cape is very very cool. The figure is decent, if a bit odd in some parts (the arms are pretty short, and the ice spikes are awkward in looks and functionality). The (third) problem is that Fangar, like Fluminox, does not feel like a 20 Euro set: the torso is laughably simplistic (despite the admittedly clever shoulder design), and the lack of lower arms and back armour is unacceptable at this price point. And it shows, given the pitiful pieces count (97): sure, Tahu has fewer pieces, but keep in mind that Fangar has a striking amount of small Technic bits, while the Tahu chock full of large and/or new parts. I don't know how much budget did the cape take away, Fluminox doesn't have one yet he's still fairly simplistic. With Fangar and Fluminox, it seems to me they wanted to make two larger figures but they couldn't come up with a way to justify their price point, which is why they added those silly launcher weapons and those terrible "wing" mechanisms. Which is sad, because the CCBS can build amazingly creative designs, even without new pieces (just look at Furno Jet Machine!). They are many cool things they could've done with these guys, like more animalistic proportions, tails, real wings for Fluminox. This extends to all 7 sets: I still think that the Fire vs Ice Ultrabuilds, for all the cool transparent bones they bring, are less creative and not as well designed as the 2013 wave. So, at the price I bought Fangar for (about 15 Euro), I don't regret buying him, I'd say he's a 8. At full price? A very weak 7. Welp, this got surprisingly long, I'm sorry- I tried so shorten it, but I couldn't find anything to remove. Oh, and I just realized that Fangar is left handed like me. Yes, I feel somewhat offended about that.

Nice, very nice! I'm a big fan of birds, so I'm tempted to pick this one up. They seem pretty big and come at a fair price, I think.

So, this is what I had written originally (hope this is the right topic): So, what I ask for in the future: new hand colours but especially a new torso shell. The 2.0 torso at its fifth year didn't overstay its welcome, far more so, it has become a zombie that feeds upon the brain of set designers. (also, I want dark blue shells. I want lots of dark blue shells)

Voted Outstanding, but I'm biased because Lewa is Lewa. I love his overall look, but the set does have some flaws here and there, so on its own it is probably Above Average. To me, his main flaws are the excessive amount of silver, namely on his feet and hands and the horrid, boring 2.0 torso. I had originally developed these two points, but then I realized the post was getting too long and OT (it became more about the new sets in general than Lewa himself), so I posted the draft in "The CCBS "Improvement" Thread" if anyone's interested. I don't mind the yellow, it's a combination I actually like- I still want to change it due to a number of reasons, but I can't count it as a real flaw. I think the Adrenaline mode is pretty good (very bird-like), but it comes at the cost of an awkward arm design and, in virtue of the "they need something to fight with while their main weapons are being used as vehicles" mentality (which is generally admirable, mind you), some equally awkward sword-handles. Those things aside, he's a nearly perfect figure: That, and Bright Green has already been used in CCBS in 2012 (Green Lantern and Joker), while Mata Green has never been used aside from Nex's parts in 2011 (which barely qualify as CCBS elements and have never been reused since). Between CCBS and G1 parts, I rather have Okoto!Lewa's parts be compatible with more CCBS. Really, picking up Bright Green was the best choice they could make. I hope it sticks around, though I'd like to see Earth Green making a return as well (it'd fit the Jungle theme really well!).

That feel when a new CCBS recolour is introduced.. in a System set. Anyway, very very good! Sometimes silver hands just don't cut it, and no colour is more neutral than a bley shade. Now we just need Titanium Metallic and gold!

Did you guys see this? http://www.pockyland...2&extra=&page=5 (found it on the Ninjago 2015 topic btw) Scroll down and you can see Antimatter's hood/mask! Surprisingly, it is transparent, though I can't tell what's up with his face underneath. EDIT: looking at the others, these seem to be prototypes. The face is still pretty interesting though.

2 out of 2 eh? Alright, just ordered him. Thanks guys! Over Bricklink the cape is already going for 10 Euro! Plus, another Titan torso bone can't hurt.

So Amazon has Fangar up for 14 Euro, should I go for him? I'm not very interested in the white pieces, but the other ones are pretty good, and this might be the last chance to get his cape before it can only be found at Bricklink at stupid high prices.

Too bad to see this topic buried, the MOC looks great. I wonder how he'd look with original!LoSS's tr. reddish orange instead of the solid red ou used.

Oh look, LOSS! He is... ok..ish. His colour scheme is awesome though. And dayum, look at that Lewa! And I love how Nuparu Whenua Protetctor of Earth looks. Really, I like them all (except maybe P. of Stone, still not sure about his colour scheme, I really need to see it in person). It's certainly the best "Matoran" design ever for me, it's great to see a design that brings some variation AND looks clean and consistent among the characters using it. I'm not sure how many of these I'll pick up (the Toa are my priority, and I still think 10 Euro is a bit too much for these guys), but I really want to build a bunch of villagers like these, like Jaller's team for example. I wish we got recolours of the Toa masks though!

His is my favourite actually, because his appearance is a bit altered at least. The others are just using their Protector counterparts' weapons. That said, I still think these are all pretty lazy (I can understand why they made them like this, doesn't mean I have to like it), I hope we get real combo models sooner or later. I wasn't criticizing video reviews done by websites for the sake of information (most of those made by BZP are actually pretty good, DV's just came out wrong because photos are where he and his professional equipment excel at), mainly those people do on YT for the sake of showing off (which aren't very useful). That said, I still think picture reviews are the best format for Lego.Interesting. I can't wait to get my hands on the sets so I can try this out.

Wow, I can't believe how much I'm loving Protector of Jungle. I wasn't sure about him (.. /her? but we know how that's going to end up) at first but now I like his design a lot. I like his relatively tall, slender build (fitting for a green character) and how well armoured he is. I know that's Protector of Stone's design too, but PoJ has a colour scheme I like more, back armour...and he has a freaking gun-bow (rant on it below). That said, even if I don't pick him up, I like his overall design so much I want to build a replica of him with different colours (Kongu anyone? Anyone? Dark azure is pretty close to teal!). Arguably, that's something I might want to do with the other Protectors too. Sad to see it went this way, since I completely agree with you. Short videos are good to show functions and maybe the building process and/or a 360°perspective of the model, but for everything else? When it comes Lego sets, I think picture reviews are the best way to do it.My opinion on set reviews would probably be different if they all were on the level of Jang's, but most seem to stem from "hey guys I got this set before everyone, look how cool it is!" or "let's make a funny video out of this lol" (which isn't a review :^) ). It seems to be a trend in line with the Web 2.0 era (and the rampant attention wh- ahem, seeking it's plagued by) to me, but that's just a personal theory. Alternatively, like in DV's (and therefore, BZP's) case, video reviews are done out of the belief they can reach a wider audience (given Youtube's immense potential): in this case, I can't exactly blame BZP for choosing this format, but I do think that each reviewer's ability should be made the most of (in DV's case, his mastery of photography).

That makes sense I guess (I keep forgetting the changes they made to the mask powers). I suppose I shouldn't compare him to G1 Onua, but I still have a hard time seeing an obvious representation of a character I know for almost 14 years get so big all of sudden. I like 70789 Onua Master of Earth as a set, just not as a representation of the character I'm used to. It's a great addition to the toyline and I'm glad it brings some diversity (and that sweet, sweet black chest). Yeah, pretty much this.

Well, in the Italian catalogue they refer to all Toa with the masculine "Maestro", which does mean master as in "expert" but is far more used (and in the female form, it's almost exclusively understood as such) with the meaning of "(elementary school) teacher" (well, at the very least in Northern Italy). If they choose to use "Maestra" for Gali.. it's going to sound pretty awkward. I would've probably picked "Padrone/a" myself (which means ruler or owner, but can also mean master or expert), but guess I can't expect much from the same people (probably) who thought that translating Witch Doctor into "Dottor Witch" was a good idea. Rants aside, great review and photos VBBN! Like many, I had a lot of doubts about Gali's mask, but it has since grown on me a lot, now I think it suits its owner very very well (I think this piece played its part). They're not as blatant, but the similarities with the 01-02 Kaukau masks are still present. The rest of the set looks excellent as well: she has a good colour scheme and a decent colour organization and layering (I have some doubts about the silver torso and the 3M tr. light blue shells, as the colours are being already used on the add-ons and the bones respectively) and yes, she looks like a girl (without resorting to, ahem, bioniboobs) for once! The Brain Attack torso, the narrow shoulders, the small shells on the arms/ large shells on the legs combination are great design choices that manage to build a good representation of a female biomechanical warrior. My least favourite part of the set is probably the weapon- a double bladed warblade is a great homage to Gali Nuva and suits her personality, but it's way too big and those yellow pieces look ugly to me, that and the trident looks a bit too MOC-ish to me. Ah well, I guess I don't appreciate that much, but I never was a big fan of the Nuva secondary weapon modes either (except Tahu's lavaboard). EDIT: Fixed a few typos.

I love how the Protectors look (well, minus the lack of elbows)! At first, I saw them as mere parts packs, but they've grown on me a lot, so I think I'll keep 2-3 built. Fire P's torso build is pretty clever, though Earth P's seems like it'd better since it leaves room to build some back armouring. Love the masks, most weapons look a little lame to me but they do they do feaure some nice pieces anyway. Stone P's Pyrox flames are tr. lime and tr. clear! Pretty versatile. LoSS is - you guessed it - still my least favourite set. He's just so... gimmicky. Poseability aside, I think one of my issues is his looks- he looks like a generic spider monster, not like a super-Skull Spider. He has nothing in common with the 5 piece Spiders. I'm not even interested in his parts, aside from the gold mask and the printed chest. So yeah, not buying him, better buy another Onya instead. Remember, there's still the Summer wave we have to see. I doubt they're going to make the year's main villain into a mid size set.

Have they? I didn't know that being quiet and wise automatically makes you bulky.

That's just a lightning trick, there are three colours of Spiders plus the gold mask in LoSS- spring yellowish green (which is different from lime and never appeared in constraction before) in Fire and Earth sets, earth ("Metru") blue in Jungle and Stone sets and silver in Ice and Water sets.

No, I mean the "gentle giant" aspect they added this time. I know that's what his orginal personality is (unfortunately the movies stereotyped the Earth characters into big boisterous guys), my comment was mainly directed at his body build.

Nice review! I like Onua's colours (I'm even warming up to the gold, the chest details really bring the colours together), his mask and his weapons. I'm not sure about him being so wide, though. The "wise gentle giant" theme is something new that G1 Onua was never associated with, so I have a hard time getting used to it. That said, the set on its own looks very nice to me. And those parts! I agree with what others have said here: if there's one set I'm getting a second copy of, it's got to be Onua.

That's a surprise, I honestly thought that the peak was 2002. I guess the good sales were thanks to the Mask of Light wave, then? Everywhere I go, I hear the Bohrok Kal were a failure in terms of sales.(and, just to be precise, I called 2003 "fiasco", I used "messes" in reference to the Kanohi Nuva) I... think you might be right. The Inika masks, despite their love-it-or-hate-it grins (the worst offender was the Suletu anyway, the others had normal mouth-like slits), at least had more regular shapes compared to the bloated Nuva masks. I certainly like masks like the Iden or the Calix far more than any Nuva mask, actually.And speaking of those two, am I the only one who thinks the new Miru and the new Kaukau kinda look like the Calix and the Iden respectively? I think it's cool since those were my favourite Inika masks.

I hate the Kanohi Nuva as well, except maybe the Miru (still inferior to the Mata form). Only the Akaku felt like a proper upgrade over the Mata form, the others were mostly "let's take the simple tribal-esque masks you love and stretch them until they're deformed veiny messes". If the Toa get upgraded forms in 2016 (which is very likely, they need to sell hero sets to avoid a 2003-like fiasco), I hope they get masks that actually look good. Ninjago'd by Aanchir, anyway I do agree with him. It's true that they got better at keeping a sense of continuity.

I agree, he looks great. Not my favourite Toa, but perhaps the best executed one as a set. Good colour scheme (though I'm curious to try out how solid orange. replacing tr. reddish orange, would look), good colour organization, good proportions. When I watched the TTV review one of my first thoughts was "Damn! He's ripped!". He certainly makes his 01 form look scrawny, but I think a tall, brawny physique suits his character well. I think it's alright for most Fire guys to look this big- it's no coincidence they gave the wide shoulders build to Fire Protector (along his Earth colleague, a more obvious choice). IMHO it is like this:1)Akaku: obvious one. Its shape is more boxy and the top slits are vertical instead of horizontal, but otherwise it's the same mask. 2)Pakari: a lot less smooth, slightly wider, but impossible to not recognize. 3)Kakama: again, the general shape is spot on, it's clearly a Kakama, loses some points for lacking the sharp, slanted eyes of the 01 version. 4)Hau: the general shape is spot on, but they did make it more brute-like (strong jaw, even more aggressive stare), which suits Tahu I guess but is arguably less versatile. 5)Miru: the opposite of the Pakari: it's like a Miru spread onto an inorganic Calix, with some texturing added. As such, it looks a lot different but, at least to me, you can tell it's a Miru right away. Which is why I place it 5th instead of 6th. 6)Kaukau: the features are there (slits, goggles..), but you need to look hard. Doesn't mean I dislike it: it's a good blend between the 01 Kaukau and the MoL Kaukau Nuva (which look far better than the Nuva and Mistika monstrosities) and it's grown on me a lot. Of course, this a resemblance scale, the Miru is yet again my favourite mask of the bunch.

Mind you, I like them but their rercycling would be lazy. They can work as lower jaws though, I agree.