BIONICLE RETURNING 2015

[BobaFett2]

If these are final, then this is just glorified Hero Factory. There is no difference between the two themes in terms of build. Hell, Gali looks more like a clone brand ripoff I got in Argentina than Gali...

[The Ace Railgun]

If these are final, then this is just glorified Hero Factory. There is no difference between the two themes in terms of build. Hell, Gali looks more like a clone brand ripoff I got in Argentina than Gali...

 

And if you don't like them you don't have to look at them. Just don't go ruining it for others who actually like the set designs.

 

In terms of set designs, I love Gali's, her mask looks great, though more akin to its Nuva form than its Mata form, And TTV was talking about Dual functionality weapons, which would be awesome. As for Kopaka, I kind of wish they had stuck with the yellow, it looked more like he was wearing a scarf or a heavy coat. I love Pohatu's boomerangs, they look pretty darn cool, and I'm glad he finally got a weapon specific to him. As for the other sets, I'm not really sure yet, I think i'll to wait 'till I see more pictures.

[Seaborgium]

 

If these are final, then this is just glorified Hero Factory. There is no difference between the two themes in terms of build. Hell, Gali looks more like a clone brand ripoff I got in Argentina than Gali...

And if you don't like them you don't have to look at them. Just don't go ruining it for others who actually like the set designs.

Boba has a right to his opinions.

 

For me, Hero Factory was a deglorified Bionicle. Thus a glorified Hero Factory could still be Bionicle. Personally I'm not hugely excited about this wave, but it's a huge step in the right direction, and I anticipate future waves, when things have become more streamlined.

[mumboking]

In terms of set designs, I love Gali's, her mask looks great...

Wait wait wait... Gali's a SHE? I assumed they were all male! (I don't follow the stories, I just own the Toa Nuvas.)

[The Ace Railgun]

 

In terms of set designs, I love Gali's, her mask looks great...

Wait wait wait... Gali's a SHE? I assumed they were all male! (I don't follow the stories, I just own the Toa Nuvas.)

Yep, in the original cannon story all the Ga-Matoran/Toa of Water (the blue ones) where female, Gali, Hali, Nokama, Gaaki etc, and (correct me if i'm wrong) I believe that happened due to an overly violent male Toa of Psionics.

 

"I was the first Psionics Toa, and one of the first Toa ever created. But I was, let’s say, a little too...aggressive in using my powers. I had a temper then. A short fuse plus psionics leads to bad things...sometimes very bad things. [...] After that, someone decided that maybe a gentler touch was needed for Psionics...so all the subsequent Psionics types were made female." --Orde, The Yesterday Quest

 

Though in the new cannon I'm not sure if Gali's still a she, since it could be a reboot, now it could be Lewa or Pohatu who's female we don't know yet.

 

 

 

 

If these are final, then this is just glorified Hero Factory. There is no difference between the two themes in terms of build. Hell, Gali looks more like a clone brand ripoff I got in Argentina than Gali...

And if you don't like them you don't have to look at them. Just don't go ruining it for others who actually like the set designs.

Boba has a right to his opinions.

 

For me, Hero Factory was a deglorified Bionicle. Thus a glorified Hero Factory could still be Bionicle. Personally I'm not hugely excited about this wave, but it's a huge step in the right direction, and I anticipate future waves, when things have become more streamlined.

 

 

Look, I get it, he has his own opinion, and that's fine. But at this point he's just beating the dead dog with the same post. We all get it, you dislike the new sets because you think they look like glorified HF, but just stop, and start discussing how you think they could've made it better. This isn't a whining topic, it's a discussion topic, Boba could have simply said, "My initial thoughts still stand" instead of posting the same thing and gone on discussing what could have made it better. 

[BobaFett2]

 

 

If these are final, then this is just glorified Hero Factory. There is no difference between the two themes in terms of build. Hell, Gali looks more like a clone brand ripoff I got in Argentina than Gali...

And if you don't like them you don't have to look at them. Just don't go ruining it for others who actually like the set designs.

Boba has a right to his opinions.

 

For me, Hero Factory was a deglorified Bionicle. Thus a glorified Hero Factory could still be Bionicle. Personally I'm not hugely excited about this wave, but it's a huge step in the right direction, and I anticipate future waves, when things have become more streamlined.

 

How is it a step in the right direction? I fail to see how the building is any different from Hero Factory. It's just still stacking armor on ball frames with some armor stacking on armor.

 

 

 

 

If these are final, then this is just glorified Hero Factory. There is no difference between the two themes in terms of build. Hell, Gali looks more like a clone brand ripoff I got in Argentina than Gali...

And if you don't like them you don't have to look at them. Just don't go ruining it for others who actually like the set designs.

Boba has a right to his opinions.

 

For me, Hero Factory was a deglorified Bionicle. Thus a glorified Hero Factory could still be Bionicle. Personally I'm not hugely excited about this wave, but it's a huge step in the right direction, and I anticipate future waves, when things have become more streamlined.

 

 

Look, I get it, he has his own opinion, and that's fine. But at this point he's just beating the dead dog with the same post. We all get it, you dislike the new sets because you think they look like glorified HF, but just stop, and start discussing how you think they could've made it better. This isn't a whining topic, it's a discussion topic, Boba could have simply said, "My initial thoughts still stand" instead of posting the same thing and gone on discussing what could have made it better. 

 

What? I don't intend to look at them again, nor do I intend to buy them for nostalgia's sake. I commented on preliminaries, and if these are final, then the situation is different. Preliminaries often have some key differences (the ADU preliminary of the crawler had trans-yellow windows, for example, which excited a lot of people), as do these. I also don't see why posting something like "my opinion still stands" is any better or worse than recapping my opinion.

[The Ace Railgun]

If these are final, then this is just glorified Hero Factory. There is no difference between the two themes in terms of build. Hell, Gali looks more like a clone brand ripoff I got in Argentina than Gali...

And if you don't like them you don't have to look at them. Just don't go ruining it for others who actually like the set designs.

Boba has a right to his opinions.

For me, Hero Factory was a deglorified Bionicle. Thus a glorified Hero Factory could still be Bionicle. Personally I'm not hugely excited about this wave, but it's a huge step in the right direction, and I anticipate future waves, when things have become more streamlined.

Look, I get it, he has his own opinion, and that's fine. But at this point he's just beating the dead dog with the same post. We all get it, you dislike the new sets because you think they look like glorified HF, but just stop, and start discussing how you think they could've made it better. This isn't a whining topic, it's a discussion topic, Boba could have simply said, "My initial thoughts still stand" instead of posting the same thing and gone on discussing what could have made it better.

What? I don't intend to look at them again, nor do I intend to buy them for nostalgia's sake. I commented on preliminaries, and if these are final, then the situation is different. Preliminaries often have some key differences (the ADU preliminary of the crawler had trans-yellow windows, for example, which excited a lot of people), as do these. I also don't see why posting something like "my opinion still stands" is any better or worse than recapping my opinion. Well, then if you don't want to discuss them anymore, don't keep coming back to this topic, and allow others to continue discussing them. Because at this point it just seems like you're trying to force your opinion on other people by saying they look terrible in reply to no matter what they say. Some like the sets, some think it's a start, and some dislike the sets, But let them have their own opinion.

[Jimbob]

 

In terms of set designs, I love Gali's, her mask looks great...

Wait wait wait... Gali's a SHE? I assumed they were all male! (I don't follow the stories, I just own the Toa Nuvas.)

Yep, I guess one could consider it rather backwards too considering (purely stereotypically) blue is associated with boys and pink with girls.

 

I think that the 'blue colours' in Bionicle are the only females, all the rest are males, so I can see why they were depicted as being so competitive.

[The Ace Railgun]

I think that the 'blue colours' in Bionicle are the only females

 

Actually, the Piraka Vezok was one of the only blue male characters. 

[mumboking]

I still often misread Pohatu as Potato. *Ducks in cover*

[The Ace Railgun]

I still often misread Pohatu as Potato. *Ducks in cover*

 

Heh, I've done that a fair few times too.

[Quisoves Potoo]

 

Actually, the Piraka Vezok was one of the only blue male characters. 

 

Let's not forget Krekka, Takadox, Vamprah, Tarix, Berix. Scodonius and Kirbraz.

 

Some fans complain about the strict in-story gender-assignments, arguing that they limited the amount of female characters. The problem with that argument is that, barring 2008, whenever characters not of the Matoran species were released, they were all male (with the exception of Kiina,) despite no in-story reason for this being the case. It seems to me that the gender-limits actually got us more female characters than we would have had otherwise.

[emily]

The catalog images from reddit have the backgrounds for the Defender packaging, which I was eager to get a glimpse of. They've definitely gone the way of cellular constructions for the villages this time around, a la Faber's original concepts for the Koro (Po-Koro was the only one to really preserve the motif in its entirety in its final form). Really cool that they're drawing on concepts like that, though it does seem as if they haven't really given any of the villages distinct visual personalities. Also, this does imply that there is still a "they are really part of a GIANT ROBOT" element this time around.

[The Ace Railgun]

They've definitely gone the way of cellular constructions for the villages this time around, a la Faber's original concepts for the Koro

 

 

That would be pretty cool, I also saw some art on the Fire Defender that depicted spheres. Perhaps the Matoran/Defenders uses something similar to the Matoran pods for houses?

 

 

 

Also, this does imply that there is still a "they are really part of a GIANT ROBOT" element this time around.

 

 

This would also be cool, but how does that fit with the two planets we see in Pohatu's box art? Maybe they're outside of the giant robot like the 2001 story?

[emily]

That would be pretty cool, I also saw some art on the Fire Defender that depicted spheres. Perhaps the Matoran/Defenders uses something similar to the Matoran pods for houses?

 

That's sort of what I meant. Spheres clumped together organically = cells. In the original story, Onu- Po- Le- and Ga-Koro had spherical houses, but really only Po-Koro kept them in that clumped-together, bubbly design evocative of cells. Le-Koro too, to an extent, come to think of it.

e: also

 

http://board.ttvpodcast.com/t/okoto-turning-dark/2613

 

It's a guide so LEGO employees know what to say when asked about BIONICLE. Okoto's our new island. I look forward to analyzing the etymology of the term and discerning how it will effect

 

we've been in contact with the author of the original series, Greg Farshtey, to write the books that are coming in the second half of 2015

 

*flips over table*

 

how dare lego not cater to my specific interests as a part of a fringe of a fringe group of consumers who wasn't going to buy your products anyway

[The Ace Railgun]

Okoto's our new island.

 

Ooh, definitely has a more tribal sound to it, I hope they have a language for the inhabitants of Okoto like the old Matoran language. 

[ProfessorBrickkeeper]

I just received the badge confirmation from LEGO for the LEGO Invite Only Panel at NYCC. While whether I can actually get there (I was only informed I was one of the fans to get the tickets today) is still in question, if I can get there, I shall certainly post about it here along with whatever images and videos I take of the unveiling of a "New Theme".

[aidenpons]

TL;DR I wanted more Technic

 

 

My thoughts on the matter are still basically this.

I'm with BobaFett: It's glorified Hero Factory. To me, the difference between Bionicle and Hero Factory is the Technic functions inside the sets.

To be fair, I'm not abandoning this completely: the smaller sets always used to have less Technic in them and the larger sets generally have more: and I haven't seen any large sets.

 

EDIT:

BIONICLE IS ON THE PRODUCT PAGE AS A 'Sneak Peek!'

[/NobodyCaresBecauseThisWasCommonKnowledge]

[Quisoves Potoo]

To me, the difference between Bionicle and Hero Factory is the Technic functions inside the sets.

 

So you consider the last five years of the theme Bionicle in name only? What about the Slizers? They were constraction figures with Technic functions, but I wouldn't call them Bionicle.

 

Don't get me wrong,  I love Technic functions too, and I am quite excited for their return in the new wave of Bionicle, but I don't think they defined the theme. They were not integral to the portrayal of its bio-mechanical beings. And while I agree that Hero Factory suffers from a limited implementation of its system, which I think requires Technic to work, I don't think that Tecnhic is strictly necessary for Bionicle. If LEGO found a viable alternative with which to portray the theme, I wouldn't suddenly lose my love for it. That said, I think Technic works dandily,  and I am happy that the new Bionicle seems to be moving towards more CCBS-Technic integration (the functions are an obvious example of this, as are the weapons.)

[aidenpons]

What about the Slizers?

I thought about mentioning the Slizers, but I thought I'd spare you another rant. They are admirable in that every set, even the smallest (except the disk packs, of course ) has some Technic function. Bionicle never quite achieved this level of Technic-ality (pun intended ), but I've never really gone for small sets anyway. They're too defined in what you can do with them.

 

So you consider the last five years of the theme Bionicle in name only?

Noo... The last .... Whatever, but when things got to that swamp in Karda Nui then things were definitely going downhill. I missed the functions: if you ever are stopping in NZ you'll see that I have hordes of Mata Nui sets, quite a bit of Metru Nui, some Voya Nui and about one Mahri Nui.

 

but I don't think they defined the theme. They were not integral to the portrayal of its bio-mechanical beings.

To me a theme is more than sets and a plot. It's also got to do with the construction of the sets.

May I also remind you that the original Bonkles Bionicles in 2001 had the TECHNIC logo on their instructions.

 

 

This is probably taken as going TOO FAR, but frankly if Bionicle continues at its current rate then it's going to end up like Ben 10 - nothing in the sets except a horrible colour scheme and ball joints - OH WAIT

The Bionicle 2010 (?) Stars... those were horrible. Price aside, they had no substance to them. They didn't even have a nice launcher nor weapons, which at least the Voya Nui sets had. They had ball joints and that was IT.

Oh, and three pieces of armour (four, mehmehmeh)

Even Failure Hero Factory was a step up from THAT.

 

 

Bionicle has marginally redeemed itself here with more Technic weapons, I'll grant you that....

... but I want more than weapons... that's what it comes down to.

 

As I said, all hope is not quite lost and if they bring out a nice large and juicy set then it'll be mine... my precious...

 

 

I thought I'd spare you another rant

 

WHOOPS HAHAHAHAHAHAHA NOPE

[Quisoves Potoo]

To me a theme is more than sets and a plot. It's also got to do with the construction of the sets. May I also remind you that the original Bonkles Bionicles in 2001 had the TECHNIC logo on their instructions.

 

Quite true. However, ball-joints are Technic. As such, they provide an inherent movement function. The original Toa Mata's primary functions were the ball-joints. Yes, they had gears that made their arms swivel, but those were a superfluous, albeit charming, feature. Their arms could still move without it. Yes, there were other Technic functions on show in 2001, but ball-joints became the dominant function, over the years. Gears continued to be used through 2005, but, the Bohrok aside (now there was a model defined by its function,) only ever in the superfluous manner employed for the Toa Mata.

 

As for the TECHNIC logo, I think it is worth noting that the Pit Droid also had it. Does that mean that Star Wars LEGO sets are only ever made with Technic?

[Jimbob]

I, uh, I'm not going to read through the previous several posts as it's late at night. But I will say that, while it is somewhat of a shame that these new BIONICLE kits aren't as technical as their predecessors, I feel they are an excellent renewal of an old theme that brings strong nostalgia to many LEGO fans. Yes, they don't (on appearance) have a lot of complexity, but I can see benefits from this.

 

1) The original kits came about when I was very little, and I very much struggled to construct them. These new kits are hence great for drawing in newer, younger audiences.

 

2) Why reuse the old BIONICLE parts if you are trying to renew an old theme? Take the Doctor Who title theme, for example. The new Series 1 track was very modern in contrast to the original Series 1 track, yet it still carried strong resemblance to it. I personally think it was an excellent revamp. Similarly, this revamp of the old BIONICLE theme 'modernises' it while keeping strong resemblance to the older kits. Plus, for new audiences who have yet to experience BIONICLE, it's awesome.

 

My only real quarrel is that the packaging is in the form of simple boxes, rather than the original tubes. But hey, they have spiders instead. I will not be making the same mistake I did the first time around - I am buying all of these kits.

[The Ace Railgun]

I will not be making the same mistake I did the first time around - I am buying all of these kits

 

Same here, while i'm still finishing my 2001-2008 collection I'm definitely going to be buying all of the reboot BIONICLE sets as they're released.

[Quisoves Potoo]

Alert, alert! Bonkles alert!

All your Onua are belong to us!

So, apparently, someone in charge of the BIONICLE Facebook page blundered and released Toa photos a day early. They have since been removed, but not before one user screencapped the lot, and another saved the Onua pictures. 
We now know almost all of the Toa's dual weapon functions.

 

Here's Onua:

And as if that weren't enough, the redoubtable just2good gave us finalized Earth Defender pictures! I'm definitely getting this guy.

 

 

Oh, and someone posted a picture of part of the NYCC display, but I'll not spoil that for you. If you really want to see it, go to the Bionicle 2015 discussion topic on Eurobricks.

 

EDIT: Silly Quisoves, these have no confidential stamp, so I needn't worry about only linking them.

[ProfessorBrickkeeper]

Once again, LEGO has accidentally let out more info regarding BIONICLE. They just sent out another invitation to those given invitations to the NYCC Invite-Only Panel inviting us to an after-hours invite-only RSVP party at the new Flatiron LEGOLAND store. In this invitation, they referred to the NYCC panel as "LEGO's Invite Only BIONICLE panel ". They also signed this letter as from "The LEGO BIONICLE team". I suppose this confirms that the Bionicle sets are being unveiled at the panel. Yay?!