Aanchir

I imagine they'll either keep the app or introduce a new one with the same core idea but a whole new set of levels. It doesn't seem like the sort of thing they'd discard after one year, not with how thoroughly they've integrated it into all the merchandise and media.

Ohhhhhh! He said it! In all seriousness, Ninjago is probably a lot stronger than Bionicle has been in a long, long time. A look at Google Trends could give you a good sense of that. It's generated more search interest in the past twelve years than Bionicle did, and it didn't even exist for the first seven of those years. I think Bionicle still may have a lead in terms of net sales by virtue of having had a longer overall lifespan, but in terms of single-year sales, Ninjago beat Bionicle (and for that matter, every other previous theme) in its very first year. And it continues to demonstrate an insane amount of momentum, especially for a theme that was very nearly discontinued. *sick burn* aside, Ninjago: Rebooted was probably one of the weaker story arcs and set lines, but it was a good first step to getting the line back on its feet after what would have been its grand finale. Bionicle G2 did have a lot more to prove, though, since it was a theme whose peak sales were over a decade ago, not less than two years gone. Bringing back a theme that was mistakenly set to be discontinued too soon is probably an easier decision than bringing back a theme that was ended after much deliberation because it had been in decline for years.

Not sure how accurate this is, but Christoffer Høyer (who composed "If You Dare to Believe") has posted on his website that "The first Lego Elves film was released in March 2015, airing in 30-50 countries on Disney Channel, Netflix etc….Three more films will be released in 2016."

You'd have to be crazy to believe that the person who designed Quake Beast thought it was an atrocious design. Hardly anybody designs toys badly on purpose, whether it's for a successful toy line or a failing one. "Atrociousness" is subjective, and I'm sure you could find people who consider sets from wildly successful themes like Ninjago or Friends "atrocious". This is not a defense of Quake Beast's design. I don't like it either. But your argument rests on the shaky assumptions that the designer knowingly made the set unlikable, and that designers for failing themes care less about the quality of their designs than designers of successful ones. Neither of those assumptions holds water. Regarding Kopaka Master of Ice, there's nothing about an "extremely armored" design that really goes against anything G1 Kopaka's sets stood for. Kopaka has never really been any less armored than his teammates. His shoulders were narrower than Tahu's, Gali's, or Onua's in his original 2001 design, but it takes some real self-delusion to say that one trait of that one set equates to "everything G1 Kopaka's sets stood for". By that argument you could say that Toa Metru Onewa went against everything previous Onewa sets stood for because he was one of the shortest Toa Metru despite being the tallest Turaga. Really, bundling Kopaka up for increased protection fits both his environment and his personality to a T, considering he inhabits an inhospitable icy region and has always been very "guarded" emotionally. Besides Onua Master of Earth's primary color, mask, and hunched neck, he was also tied with Pohatu as the shortest of the 2015 Toa, and had clawlike weapons. Additionally, his new bulky design was a reflection of the character's incredible physical strength... which, even though it was a a magical ability of the G1 Onua rather than a physical trait, played a big role in how he interacted with his friends, enemies, and with the world around him. Lewa Master of Air had weapons that allowed him to soar through the air and echoed both his 2001 and 2002 tools, a green primary color, a mask with a dome-shaped forehead and air vents in the cheeks to simulate a grin, and lanky, almost simian-looking proportions that emphasized his playfulness and agility. Whether or not you liked these design choices, they were true to a very straightforward interpretation of the character. Even Pohatu Master of Stone, in addition to having an extremely familiar-looking mask, was given armored boots that gave him a sturdy, well-rooted look to emphasize his steadfastness. He was shorter than all of his fellow Toa besides Onua, and had a slightly ragtag look that suited his desert environment. His primary color was a middle ground between his 2001 and 2008 primary colors. Overall, these may have been major reinterpretations of how these characters looked, they were still fundamentally rooted in how the designers saw these characters. They definitely did their research. And besides, even a lot of the controversy over the 2016 redesigns has more to do with people disliking some of the design decisions on their own individual merits than with those design decisions being unfaithful to the characters. 2016 Gali has asymmetry that 2015 Gali did not have, and as I've learned, a weapon that makes her awkward to try and pose, but these things is not fundamentally at odds with the character's identity. 2016 Tahu is still a tall, resplendent, and fiery hero like the 2015 version, even if his silhouette is no longer as distinctive. There are many of these changes I do dislike, but I don't make the mistake of thinking they go against everything the characters stand for. On some levels I disagree. We don't know much about the story significance of these beasts, but just judging from what we've seen so far, they are probably not meant to be a part of nature like the creatures are. Rather, they seem to be the island's natural forces warped into something disastrous and profoundly unnatural. That's not to say they HAVE to be humanoid, necessarily, but even if they were based more on the physiques of real creatures, I think they would've needed some even stronger design cues to emphasize that no, they aren't just enemy wildlife. They should, on some level, feel like abominations. I think that's something that the beasts do fairly well, actually, though they could have arguably done it just as well or better with less humanoid designs. There's no mistaking them for a race of people like the Toa or the islanders of Okoto, or even on some levels the Skull Creatures, which besides Scorpio can be assumed to have once been people. But there's also no mistaking them for mere animals, not even evil ones like the Lord of Skull Spiders or Skull Scorpio. They are something that falls unsettlingly outside both of those spheres — monsters. As for Umarak the Destroyer, it's true that he seems more like a brute than a wily spirit of darkness and the hunt, but I believe that is the intent. His transformation doesn't seem to me like it's meant to be merely an "upgrade". It corrupts him, turning him, too, into a monster. Unlike the Toa, who we're typically meant to believe are still the same people inside before and after a typical transformation, I don't think we can safely assume the same of Umarak.

666 pieces isn't a particularly small piece count for a $60 set. As for when we'll see pics, it's a lot harder to predict when pics of store exclusive sets will show up than it is for pics of regular retail sets.

Gotta agree here. If there's anything that was wrong with the latest King's Castle, it's that it was too ordinary compared to past LEGO castles, not that it somehow didn't meet all the qualifications for a LEGO Castle. Structurally, it wasn't too unlike the beloved Black Monarch's Castle, just with one of the towers moved to the front rather than the back and expandable via modular wall sections instead of hinges. In terms of the interior it had most of the LEGO Castle essentials — a throne room, a dungeon, and a treasury. Of course, it still falls short of a lot of what I'd personally like to see in a LEGO Castle, but that's par for the course. On that note, now that Toy Fair has happened, I've been impressed to see how "livable" some of this year's "non-Castle" castles are. has a bedroom, washroom, and grand entry hall in addition to some of the typical Castle features like a throne room and dungeon. Of course, in a girl-oriented theme these kinds of details aren't quite so surprising. So what really surprised me is that from LEGO Nexo Knights has a kitchen, bedroom, and bathroom! It makes me feel good to see this, because while they might not look the most historically authentic, it really does show that even in a boy-oriented theme there's a place for these kinds of details.Hopefully the next flagship LEGO Castle from the actual Castle theme will be able to live up to this standard, because it's now quite apparent that "livable detail" and "action play" don't have to be an either/or situation. You can have a dungeon with a hidden escape route, and a catapult, and a siege engine, and a trap door, and all kinds of other gimmicks, yet still have plenty of room for the kinds of details that make a castle a home and not just a stronghold.

Haha, agreed. It's kind of odd how the "evil" characters' lairs seem even more livable than the good characters'! It's the same in Nexo Knights — Jestro's Volcano Lair has a bedroom, bathroom, and kitchen! In that case, I imagine it's partly to reflect how he's a sensitive guy who deep down just wants to be happy, and wouldn't be evil at all if it weren't for the Book of Monsters' tricks. But it also probably has a lot to do with price point. Both the Shadow Castle and the Volcano Lair are the biggest sets in their respective themes to date (the Shadow Castle is $100, $20 more than the Sky Castle, and the Volcano Lair is $120, $20 more than the Fortrex). Granted, the Sky Castle itself wasn't all that bad in terms of these kinds of details. The main thing it was missing was a bedroom. Maybe Skyra just sleeps on her throne. That'd explain why she's so grouchy!

I don't know if there's enough of a "lack of molds" to draw any really meaningful conclusions from. The second half year sets may not have a whole lot of new molds (just four I've seen, which is half of what we saw with the second half 2015 sets), but the sets for the first half year have 19 new molds, same as first half 2015. There is one fewer set this year than last year, but net USD price for the whole range is just $5 less than last year ($265), and I believe the net Euro price in Germany is exactly the same. So not a really substantive change in that regard. There is not likely to be any official word for quite some time unless an actual designer decides to be unusually candid with us. LEGO generally doesn't reveal specific sales figures on individual themes.

Sort of, except the shoulders swing vertically rather than horizontally (so more like last year's Toa gearboxes in that respect). It's pretty impressive.

Not sure if this was meant as a joke, but serious answer, that's an Exo-Force set from ten years ago: http://brickset.com/sets/7709-1/Sentai-Headquarters

Yikes! Sorry about that. That does make things confusing. I wonder why that is. I don't entirely mind the lack of enemy vehicles this time around, particularly since they wouldn't be as coherent as usual due to the enemies being made up of so many different factions. Chen's mecha-steed seems to have the same aesthetic as the other Anacondrai vehicles so it's plausible that all the other factions' vehicles would also share those factions' original design language. Although, if there had been more vehicles, it would have been a cool opportunity for us to get one of those Stone Army vehicles we missed out on the first time around (or in the very least, another Stone Army vehicle to make up for how few sets there were in 2013).

Went ahead and built Storm Beast on LDD to get a better feel for how it's constructed. All in all that's the beast I'm most impressed with. A brilliant new function that, despite its unconventional use of Technic, feels very effective, much like Skull Basher's. The claw design is also quite nice even if it means no real wrists. The exposed ball joints on the forearms are a non-issue, but I do wish that the designer had attached some ball joints and some blade or lightning pieces pieces to the open ball cups on the forearms just so there'd be one less thing for people to complain about that keeps them from appreciating the rest of the set. It's an easy mod, though. Storm Beast is about 108 pieces, a good value for a $15 constraction set. Lava Beast is a bit of a mixed bag. The functions are not extremely exciting but they do seem fairly effective, and the claw construction is alright. The color scheme is also quite nice. However, the back feels rather bare, and the Shadow Trap half on the back of the neck still feels odd to me. Overall it's a good design, just not as intensely surprising or innovative as Storm Beast. Quake Beast is the one I just can't bring myself to like. The designers were definitely aiming for an asymmetrical look and function much like Bruizer, but I don't think it feels nearly as effective or coherent as that set, despite being more articulated. The elemental blades feel about as superfluous as Ketar's are on Pohatu's Unity Mode. Pics and videos of this set are going to have to work a little harder to prove its effectiveness. As it stands, it's hard to see the set as much more than a parts pack. Umarak the Destroyer looks great, as expected. Very beastly proportions. I like that he uses the Titanium Metallic ribcage piece on his back and the Tr. Flu. Green one on the front, as they work together very well. I do, however, feel like the amount of Technic used to attach his neck is, in the very least, a missed opportunity. It seems to me that an additional function (maybe something like the Bohrok lunging function) could have been worked in there to both fill in the space better and add even more playability. Having seen this video, the jaw construction for the beasts and Umarak works a lot better than I'd thought it would. There's not a particularly long underbite, for the beasts at least. Harder to tell with Umarak since he appears to be shown with his mouth open wider (possibly due to the weight of his horns). And finally, Ekimu looks much better than expected. The back armor completes him nicely and his shoulders feel nicely filled in. Giving him a 2015 gearbox AND a 2016 waist gear was a good call. Just as the 2015 gearbox made that year's Ekimu stand out from the Protectors, it makes this year's Ekimu stand out from the Toa. My main disappointment with him design-wise are his weapons. They're not badly constructed, and they are true to the character, but they also both have less functionality than they had in the 2015 version. The hammer no longer has a shooter, and the shield no longer has a gear to spin the saw blade. Bit of a downgrade there. His mask looks better in Tr. Light Blue than I'd have thought. Most of all though the feeling the set fills me with is still curiosity. I want to know the story significance of this transformation so I can better gauge its effectiveness.

Sure, why not? All the other sets this year use crystal motifs in various colors. I don't see how Tr. Brown is considerably less effective for that than, say, Tr. Light Blue. Lava Beast has a waist gear function just like the Toa, Ekimu, and Umarak, in addition to the weapon function. It's the only one of the three beasts that has a waist gear function.

The American DVDs and the European DVDs both consider Tournament of Elements Season 4, Possession Season 5, and Skybound Season 6. So does the website of WilFilm, the studio that produces the episodes. And I don't know where you get the bit about the writers considering ToE and Possession the same season, because they themselves identified Skybound as Season 6 in multiple tweets. I think it's safe to say that Skybound is Season 6 and whatever comes next is Season 7. The only point of contention I've seen from official sources re: season numbering is whether the start of Season 2 is episode 1 "Rise of the Snakes" or episode 14 "Darkness Shall Rise". Otherwise, as far as I've seen, the numbering has been the same worldwide from Season 3 onward.

Well, so far, I think the biggest issue is that only the main protagonists and antagonists have unique hairstyles. I imagine we'll see the other elves' hair reused frequently as well if LEGO continues to introduce new supporting characters — but female supporting characters will continue to have three or so elf hairstyles to choose from, and male supporting characters will still have just one. Unless LEGO starts using the hairstyles of the female main characters on male supporting characters (which I kind of doubt they'd do), or starts borrowing hairstyles from other themes like The Hobbit/The Lord of the Rings. What surprises me more, honestly, is how little the male elf hairstyle from the sets actually resembles any of the male characters' hairstyles from the webisodes and other character art. You'd think they'd have modeled the animated versions of the characters' hair more closely on the sets, but as it is the male characters in the sets have their hair spiked and none of their animated counterparts really do.

It will not be like Droid Tales. We already know that this series will take place BETWEEN episodes 5 and 6, not during, and that the Freemaker family will be the main characters. Chances are it will be more like "The Yoda Chronicles", telling an original story. I see no reason why it would or should try to fit seamlessly into Star Wars canon, though. It's a LEGO licensed series, and those are at their best when they poke fun at the franchises that inspire them instead of taking "canon" too seriously.

It's never represented smoke, though, has it? The vast majority of its uses have been as tinted glass. It's also been used very effectively for arthropod wings or carapaces (Beetle from Marvel Super Heroes, the Fly from Minifigures Series 14, ants from LEGO Indiana Jones, Carapar from Bionicle), and for the hair from the Minifigures Series 14 Banshee. I see no reason it can't also be used for grey crystals like smoky quartz, just as pretty much any transparent color can work as crystals of similar color. Saying it only looks good as smoke is tantamount to saying "it has never looked good as anything".

In fact, no, they do not. The Ultimate version of Lavaria has cracked lava patterns on her torso, the regular version does not. Also, the Ultimate version of Beast Master has leg armor with Globlin patterns, the regular version does not.

You're kidding yourself if you believe bringing manufacturing back to Europe would make a dent in Chinese LEGO knock-offs. There were extremely authentic-looking Bionicle knock-offs by Chinese brands like Enlighten LONG before LEGO manufactured non-electronic parts in China. In fact, they've been around since the days when most Bionicle parts were manufactured exclusively in Denmark. And Bionicle parts were at that time some of the most technically-intricate LEGO parts in existence. LEGO copycats don't need to rely on theft from LEGO factories to produce a convincing fake. Some bootleg brands have even manufactured copies of that never existed outside of unused LEGO Universe concept art. Literally all they had was a drawing and they were still able to create a spitting-image imitation.Long story short, the increasing frequency and technical accuracy of knock-offs has everything to do with improvements in manufacturing technology and the LEGO Group's increasing global relevance, and next to nothing to do with where LEGO does their own manufacturing.

Yep. G1 Lewa used 28 Dark Green and 119 Bright Yellowish Green. Toa Matau and Toa Kongu used 141 Earth Green. And G2 Lewa uses 37 Bright Green. I don't think vehicles would necessarily clash with the mystical setting as long as they're designed and presented in a way that feels sufficiently mystical. Like the way the Exo-Toa was described as "armor" rather than as a mech. Or like the "legendary machines" like Dragoon from Kirby Air Ride. A vehicle doesn't have to look and feel like a mere piece of futuristic tech. Ideally in a constraction theme you would want any vehicle to have at least one moving parts function to really take advantage of the Technic-based build. Say, a glider with extendable wings for a Toa or villager. Baranus V7 was a good example of a vehicle that felt primitive enough for a low-tech setting, but it also felt fairly boring compared to all the other vehicle sets that year.

Too bad there's not a new Onua set. He really knows how to "grab" attention... I'd consider it more like the Glatorian head than the Inika head, myself, by virtue of actually having a face underneath the mask, as well as connection points on the sides and a ball cup on the bottom.

Frankly, the prison set seems decent for its price. It's not too much less substantial than 70756, and that was a set that cost $5 more.

Oh no, sorry if I wasn't clear, I'm not saying Ask Greg is a bad thing! Ask Greg was a GREAT thing, for the most part. I absolutely love when creators interact directly with fans like that. In this age of social media there's a lot of that going on. Being able to ask Greg questions on BZPower was pretty much my reason for getting involved in the LEGO fan community in the first place! By extension, being able to interact with designers like Mark Stafford (Nabii) was a big part of why I joined Eurobricks. However, I think the main purpose of something like that should be for the creators to explain things to the fans — not for the fans to submit their OWN ideas to the creators. I think creators are able to make better use of fans' story ideas when they seek them out through contests and the like, than when fans send their story ideas in unsolicited and ask for them to be made official.

I think it'd be OK for LEGO to accept fan submissions to the story as long as they're submissions the LEGO Group solicits, not just fans making random recommendations in a space that's ordinarily meant for the creators to provide info to the fans and not the other way around. So, more like the various building contests the LEGO Club held during G1 and less like the various facts canonized through "Ask Greg" questions. If LEGO were to do something like that, it should be done sparingly. Maybe one building or writing contest per year.

The dome is almost certainly just Pearl Gold (Warm Gold). Renders of this quality tend to make all pearl colors look more matte than they are in real life. I don't know if this event will be in Europe. All that's been confirmed so far to my knowledge is the U.S. (February 20) and Canada (February 27). If you have Toys 'R' Us in your country you could check their website to see if they have an in-store events page. Or you could check club.LEGO.com, which is the first place I read about this building event.