Aanchir

Savage Planet, serious? I don't know quite what you mean there. Not only was it full of jokes (some of them quite bad) and one-liners, but it had some downright wacky story elements, like the raving mad Witch Doctor and the shrinking of three of the heroes. Breakout was a little bit lighter on the jokes and had a somewhat ominous ending, but it also had over-the-top "theme villains" like the original 2010 story arc. Hero Factory's story direction hasn't been entirely consistent as far as tone is concerned, but I don't think that's a recent phenomenon or that it started with a much more consistent tone. Hero Factory FM was always far sillier than the TV episodes, and aside from brief and sometimes groanworthy bits of comic relief, the episodes have had about the same amount of seriousness throughout, even if things are never quite as grim or serious as they often were in BIONICLE. You could really make the same sort of statement about BIONICLE. After all, its comics were always VERY serious (except perhaps the McDonalds promotional comic from 2001), which could be off-putting for some adult reviewers who expected a LEGO-branded comic to be fun and lighthearted. But the Mata Nui Online Game and the online Flash animations had lots of silliness. And the movies were occasionally criticized by fans for being too silly and childish compared to the books and comics. The main thing separating the BIONICLE story from the Hero Factory story is that rather than telling different parts of the same overarching story, the different media is telling mostly stand-alone stories. So I guess I can sort of understand how it's more difficult to put the sillier media like Hero Factory FM and the HeroPad videos together with the more serious chapter books or the TV episodes which fall someplace in between. Still, I don't think that this sort of dissonance cripples the theme in any meaningful way. As you say, the sets provide the theme with a solid foundation, and the story largely functions to direct attention towards and give life to the the sets. If the Hero Factory theme ends any time soon, I think it will just be to make way for something new and different, not on account of any kind of disastrous flaw. I do have to somewhat wonder what kind of theme might eventually take Hero Factory's place. The only thing that I think is certain are that it will still have brightly-colored, robotic-looking figures, and that it will still have a very character-driven storyline. That strategy hasn't failed the LEGO Group in any action figure theme yet. The main protagonists will probably also be humanoid, since that has consistently proven to be the type of character kids can most easily identify with. Beyond that, the sky's the limit.

Guys, I don't think any of the Arctic stuff is supposed to suggest commercial mining. From what I can tell, it's all meant to be scientific research stuff. So the drilling for mysterious crystals is NOT a stand in for mining (something kids might readily understand; after all, we DID just have a mining subtheme) but rather a stand-in for ice coring, something kids would NOT likely understand the purpose of without a bit of explanation.

Actually, it's not Lord Business, but rather a robot drone similar to Skeletron, but in a spacesuit.

Don't worry; exclusive parts are never made for Toys 'R' Us promotional items, which typically aren't even distributed in great enough numbers to be packaged and numbered like regular sets. If there is an exclusive decoration for the model, it'll be a sticker, not a printed piece. I've seen the movie twice now and loved it. My family has also managed to snag all three exclusive figures. I am wondering if there will be an exclusive figure for the home video release. If there is, I think the most likely character from the movie would be Vitruvius as he appears in the opening sequence, as it's the most noteworthy version of a main character that does not already exist in physical form. Unless there's one I missed (the best idea my brother could come up with was Wyldstyle in her robot disguise).

I don't think he'd refer to the current building by its acronym if he were talking about a fundamentally different building system. If he had just said "balls and ball cups are not going anywhere" then it could be interpreted as referring to the Mixels ball cups, but I don't think he'd say "CCBS" when referring to a different building system unless he were deliberately trying to mislead us.

No, surface finish is just a texture thing, like how the sloped portion of LEGO slope bricks has a much rougher texture than the vertical sides, or how the recessed portions on the top of Mistika Toa Tahu's mask are rougher than the other surfaces. Those are extreme examples, but there are subtler kinds of adjustments that can be made to a part's surface finish, for instance, to make a surface less reflective despite feeling the same and being made of the same material as shinier parts. Some of the LEGO Cars 2 designer videos talked about it a bit, if not in a whole lot of detail.

I'm fond of the Series 1 Mixels. They may not be as diverse as some of the later Mixels (they're all generic cartoon creatures, not animal-inspired ones like some of the later ones), but they do a great job setting the tone for the theme. Some of my favorites are Flain, Shuff, Krader, and Volectro. But really the only ones that I'm not super-impressed with from the first series are Seismo and Teslo. The purple ones actually seem generally magic-themed to me, based on their designs. Sort of like the Fright Knights theme from LEGO Castle. This is most true of Magnifo, who's a wizard... though obviously he has some monster-y elements, like all the Mixels. As far as I can tell, the "themes" for the tribes are as follows: Red (Infernites): Fire Grey (Cragsters): Rock Yellow (Electroids): Electricity Blue: Ice (They all have ice motifs, and Slumbo's name suggests hibernation.) Brown: Land animals (though it could be "eating" for all I know — all the names are related to eating, and they all have oversized mouths.) Orange: Sea animals Green: Swamp? (This is another I'm unsure about. The ooze motifs are obvious, but the vine-like tail on Glurt makes me think swamp rather than just generic green goop.) Tan: Sand/Earth (Footi's feet and Hoogi's hands are obviously designed for digging, Scorpi is a scorpion, and the colors are desert-like.) Purple: Magic (The names are all magic-related, Magnifo has magic wands and a wizard hat, Mesmo has horns made of witch's hats, and Wizwuz shoots a magical lightning beam from his mouth). I do have to wonder a couple things about the Series 2 and 3 Mixels. First is obviously the tribe names, but also, if this theme is wildly successful, what will the designers do in 2015? Obviously they could get more milage out of the existing tribes if they wanted, but I think from a marketing standpoint they're going to want to have new tribes in order to use new and eye-catching color schemes and motifs. In other news, I saw a Mixels ad in the theater before the LEGO Movie today!

CCBS stands for Character and Creature Building System. Basically a short term for the building system that was introduced in 2011 Hero Factory sets. Anyway, great to have you here!

So awesome! Incidentally, before I saw the photos from Spieletest, I didn't realize that the upward-facing tooth pieces from Flain had one tooth larger than the other. I had assumed they were the same size! These pics also clear up some questions I had about the Series 2 and 3 Mixels, like how Balk's "eyelids" are attached. Turns out that instead of using ball joints for their eyes, Balk, Slumbo, and Mesmo use minifigure heads with eye printing! Yet another fantastic new eyeball piece that opens up fantastic new possibilities — who will be the first one to use that eyeball on an actual minifigure, I wonder? Kind of funny that the Nixels use the same three designs in each series, but I suppose that suits them, since they are supposed to be opposed to the Mixels' fun and creativity, and since they apparently are swarmlike enemies that rely on strength in numbers. All these little guys have so much personality! Even that poor Murp. There's so much fun in store for this theme!

Love the new agent vehicle that comes with Infearno. A lot of people have compared the Ultra Agents vehicles to Tron, but this one's a bit more Blade Runner. The villains are delightfully wacky. They remind me of the 2010 Hero Factory villains a bit.

Prizes came in today. Thanks so much, Peppermint_M!

To a certain extent, your points seem sound. However, I think there are some obvious counterpoints, most notably the action figure. On a fundamental level, there is no functional difference between a doll and an action figure. The only thing that separates them is the franchise each toy is attached to and the types of language and imagery used to promote it. However, action figures are huge sellers among boys and typically have mediocre sales among girls, while for dolls the trend is the opposite. There is definitely a biological component to gendered interests, but it is not as rigid as people are often inclined to think. In recent years, there has been a lot of media that defies conventional wisdom regarding gender. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic, for instance, has captivated an audience of adult male "bronies", but they aren't the extent of its appeal — plenty of extremely young boys without any sort of exposure to internet phenomena also enjoy the show, and sometimes even the toys. The Legend of Korra also has been incredibly popular among boys despite having a female main character, something that is rare in the realm of action cartoons. LEGO Friends is, in and of itself, a violation of conventional wisdom within the toy industry. Construction toys are traditionally considered a boys' interest, and while plenty of companies have tried to court a female audience hoping to increase their profit margins, none has ever succeeded to the extent that the LEGO Group did with this theme. But really, why should that be the case? Girls love the sorts of dollhouses and playsets you see in brands like Polly Pocket and Playmobil, so why should a dollhouse that they are able to build themselves be any different? Even toys with a reputation for active, aggressive play have been targeting girls lately. Nerf has a line of toy firearms out now called Nerf Rebelle, aimed squarely at girls and no doubt inspired by the recent popularity of archery among girls as a result of films like The Hunger Games. Again, why shouldn't girls like this kind of thing? Firearms are just as valid an interest for girls as for boys — I should know, as my mother was a riflery instructor at her (girls-only) summer camp. In previous centuries, the idea of a woman carrying a gun would have been considered "unladylike" — is it any surprise that the women who became famous for shooting were either outlaws or women who were promoting a rebellious image? Is it any surprise that this is still a lingering perception today? The diversity of interests among boys and girls, especially in a society where each gender is allowed plenty of choice, should also not be discounted. Certainly, a lot of boys will always flock towards traditionally "boyish" toys and a lot of girls towards traditionally "girly" ones. But companies are increasingly realizing that the middle ground is also a significant audience if you can find out a way to target them. It's similar to the "long tail" phenomenon that is often credited in the success of brands like Netflix over ones like Blockbuster. Sometimes you can make as much money or more by broadly targeting a diverse audience than by pinpointing an extremely large, consolidated audience. I would not be surprised if one day, we see LEGO products that range from extremely "girly" to extremely "boyish", with less gendered themes targeting kids throughout that gray area in between. In fact, I think that is the ideal that LEGO products should strive for — not a homogenous range of themes that are all intended to cater to all audiences. It also shouldn't be ignored that gender roles in pre-industrialized societies or among animals are often even stricter than the ones in industrialized societies. It makes sense that girls in these kinds of societies might favor toys like dolls, which have long been associated with the traditional female duty of childcare, while boys from these kinds of societies might favor toys that convey a sense of speed, power, or action, regardless of what they portray. The modern era has actually enabled many people to advance beyond categorical trends that would have governed pre-industrialized societies. A scrawny, nearsighted, autistic person in the United States can become wildly successful, even if they would have been an embarrassment or a liability in a society of hunter-gatherers. Likewise, men and women can be happy and prosperous in roles that would once have been considered unbecoming of them — the stay-at-home dad, the female soldier, the female truck driver, the male fashion model, etcetera. I don't think that's something that should be frowned upon.

I don't think the material changed at all between the 2008-2010 and 2011+ designs. The newer ball cups are less shiny, but that's on account of their surface finish, not their material. I'm pretty sure all three designs use the same standard polycarbonate plastic that the LEGO Group uses for transparent parts, and any material differences over the years would just be subtle changes to the formulation that would not be tied to geometric redesigns.

Discussion of the constraction sets has been going on for a while in this topic. I have mixed feelings about them — in some respects they are cool and creative, but they feel a bit less cohesive than the designs of last year's Chima constraction sets, which could focus entirely on animal motifs and didn't have to couple those with elemental motifs and action features. They will be great parts packs for constraction builders, though, just as the previous Super Heroes and Chima constraction sets were.

Yep, you are correct! One Nixel comes with each three-Mixel tribe. In the first series, 41501 Vulk, 41503 Krader, and 41506 Teslo come with Nixels. Kind of an odd distribution scheme. The sets are also now on shop.LEGO.com, with a price of $4.99 and a slated release date of February 17! Their piece counts range from 45 (41502 Zorch) to 70 (41508 Volectro). EDIT: There's also another Mixels website with flash-based cartoon graphics and a Cartoon Network micro-site with some more Mixels video clips.

Yes, but 2007 is the only year when it was specifically tied to a certain color. 2008-2010 ball cups were weaker because of design alterations.

Back in 2007, there was an issue where a number of Bright Yellowish Green parts didn't cool properly after production, and as a result any such parts with ball cups would frequently snap as a result of normal use. To make matters worse, several BIONICLE sets that year used Bright Yellowish Green parts with ball cups. Some quality issues with ball cups, particularly the 7M double ball cups, had already existed, but the issue with the Bright Yellowish Green ball cups were much worse and put such quality issues under much higher scrutiny. Ball cups between 2008 and 2010 also had quality issues, but those were apparently an issue with the parts' redesigned geometry, not a result of a production error or materials issue.

The Mixels site is live! It has information and pictures of the Nixels (sadly, no info on availability), an explanation of what Mix, Max, and Murp mean, and building instructions for all the series 1 Mixels plus several Mixes, Maxes, and Murps. In the back of each set's instruction booklet is a chart with finalized pictures (albeit small ones) of all 27 Mixels!

Exo-Force robot arms are sometimes fragile, though they're not as bad as they used to be from my experience, and certainly not as bad as some other LEGO robot arms have been. So many of my old Battle Droid arms broke back in the day! As for the Dragon Bolt part, that's a huge surprise to me, but hopefully it's just a fluke. I haven't gotten any of the old Y-joints in a set since 2011. There's no way that the LEGO Group is still producing the old-style Y-joints, so perhaps there are just a small number of those that were still mixed in with the new style from back when the LEGO Group was still transitioning. Tell LEGO Customer Service about this and they should be able to provide a replacement.

The LEGO Club website has a choose-your-own-adventure story. Naturally not canon, and not very long, but it's got plenty of amusing moments.

Perhaps I'm just out-of-the-loop and this isn't actual news, but club.LEGO.com has an inside scoop featurette about the sets, and the Hero Factory site has nine wallpapers based on the new TV episode. Kind of a surprise to see them on the U.S. version of the site since most of the sets aren't out over here yet!

It may seem like a lot of the sets use the same pieces, but that's sort of the point. Think of the Hero Factory shells and beams as the basic bricks and plates of action figure building. They come in a lot of sizes and can be put together at a number of different angles, but the attachment style and overall texture is about the same regardless of which parts you use. Still, there's no shortage of ways to make a model unique in design. For instance, there are detail pieces like this and this that let you add different shapes or textures to a basic shell. Also, beams can be put together in any number of ways to create a unique skeleton underneath a model's armor. This model is one of my most recent MOCs, built almost entirely with the Hero Factory building system. Here are two more models of mine. And here's a MOC created by Christoffer Raundahl, the lead BIONICLE set designer and one of the inventors of this building system. As for smaller models, here's a model my twin brother built. And here's one of mine. Neither of these was made by "just swapping armor pieces". Doesn't mean they were incredibly complex to design, but that could be said of most small models no matter what building system they're based on. And another thing — humanoid models at a small scale will usually be based on a similar basic skeleton. But if you want a non-humanoid model, changing up the skeleton is practically a necessity. This MOC of mine is a non-humanoid mech, so naturally it has a non-humanoid skeleton. As far as sets are concerned, this is where you start to see a lot of real creativity. Consider Thornraxx, Dragon Bolt, or any number of this year's beast and machine sets, particularly those due for a summer release. Seems like a no-brainer when you think about it — a basic humanoid skeleton is ideal for basic humanoid models, and when you move away from that a greater level of variety comes naturally.

According to the catalogs and the product descriptions on the Toys 'R' Us site, they're the antagonists in the Mixels cartoon.

I like the look as well, and it has some versatility for sure, due to having connection points on not just the chest but also the shoulders. Other advantages to the part is that it allows the crotch to be lowered beneath the hips (if you used an 8M shell as the lower torso armor, as Drilldozer himself did) and that it provides a modicum of coverage for the back of the set. The way it connects to the torso (two ball snaps attached four modules apart) and the way it uses or covers so many connection points are really its major limiting factors. The fact that it only exists in one color is another issue, but I don't think it makes a whole lot of sense to create various recolors of a part that isn't very versatile in order to make it useful, when you could instead recolor parts that are useful and versatile to begin with. The main sets that I think it could have possibly improved are ones like Flyer Beast, Voltix, and Waspix that already use fairly generic torso designs. But adding a piece as bulky as that to those sets might mean cutting corners elsewhere in the design (not to mention having to redesign how things are attached to the backs of Flyer Beast and Voltix). The shape and proportions of Drilldozer's torso always reminded me a lot of the 2004 Knights' Kingdom constraction sets. Anyone else get that vibe, or is it just me?

That'd be interesting, since it'd mean three unique Zane minifigures for the year and just one of each of the other Ninja (well, there are three variants of Lloyd if you count the gold shoulder pads, silver shoulder pads, and no shoulder pads versions as different figs, but I don't). That'd bring the year's minifigure roster up to seventeen. It's also possible that some of the Ninjago figs there are just preliminary. It does seem like a possibility, since the Overlord and Samurai X decorations look almost like stickers, which are a sure sign of preliminary figs. But even so, that could hint at a new Zane minifigure, since a preliminary version might not have been needed if the fig were not new for summer. I guess we'll find out when we get better pics.