Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[Element Lord of Milk]

Oh, for those who were wondering about the changes from "Toa" to "Masters", etc, I think I have the answer.

- Wikipedia

I think it's pretty likely that LEGO would distance themselves to avoid another controversy like this. It'd be good if someone could confirm everything I've just quoted.

Why now though? They reached a settlement back then and they were still able to use Toa. Also they're still using Kopaka as a name, and that's also a Maori word, so why would they drop Toa and not Kopaka if that were the reason?

I think it's far more likely that the sets are only called Masters for marketing purposes (People know what "Master of" means, not so much "Toa of") and that they'll still be called Toa in the story. Later Toa sets did use Toa on the packaging, but the original Toa Mata did not. I bet Lego is being very careful about the accessibility issue, seeing as how that was the reason the line was cancelled in the first place.

[Sir Kohran]

Perhaps, but Star Wars has been such a pervasive part of pop culture that everyone knows what a Jedi is; it's no longer an accessibility issue. I guarantee if you pick random people off the street, 99% will know what a Jedi is. Maybe 2% will know what a Toa is.

It could just as easily be the case that 99% would know what Star Wars is and maybe 2% would know what Bionicle is. What people on the street know or don't know hardly matters. The point I'm making is that 'Toa' is an important and recognisable word in the franchise, not something to be dropped lightly. And even if the actual word does go, what it refers to is clearly staying, so a unique name for it might as well exist.

[Aethersprite]

Alright, I've finally uploaded the pics, here's my take on a CCBS torso with gearing.

Front

Back above

Back below

On a CCBS Toa

Pros:

Leaves room for CCBS snap-on armour for the back

Gears slip very little

Cons:

Dissimilar to what will likely be on official sets

Is a large backpack

No easily-locking mechanism, arms dangle

I really, really like this! I hope we see a more compact version of this on the sets. I love how the arms swing independently.

[Xeros610]

I think the last gearbox is the best so far, but all of them are great, also, I see two gears on each set, one per arm, well, at least on onua, so i think it's more likely to be like that.

On a side note, I haven't tough of the reboot thing somewhat like TF4 (technically a reboot, but not dropping what happened before), but it may be just a "normal" reboot

I wouldn't want Tinseltown Toons to be responsible for it, personally. I enjoyed TLR and the Hero Factory specials but they're not what I'm looking for in a potential BIONICLE show. Ghost lost any faith I may have had in them with the train wreck that was Invasion from Below, although I suppose they could probably pull it off IF they were given a high enough budget.

... or the opportunity to do a longer episode...

Also, I can't unsee Ultron on Lewa's mask... Don´t Know Why...

[Mandate]

EDIT: meh. My argumentwas debunked by Mesonak.

Edited September 19, 2014 by JayWalker

[Zachattacx]

Also, I can't unsee Ultron on Lewa's mask... Don´t Know Why...

At least I'm not the only who sees that.

[Kamen Rider Kiva]

Also, I can't unsee Ultron on Lewa's mask... Don´t Know Why...

Lol, someone needs to make an Ultron MOC when these new sets come out!! :D

[The Kumquat Alchemist]

I kind of preferred the stylism of the original trilogy just because it was a lot easier to forgive the inconsistencies with the set-movie translation (why can't we have a green Skrall Shield whyyyyyyyy).

But yeah, I'm still in for a 2D animated show.

I wish the art-styles used between the first three films and TLR could be switched; set-accurate models would make sense for the mostly-robotic MU inhabitants portrayed in the first three, and the more organic style would have worked better for the peoples of Bara Magna.

[Mesonak]

... or the opportunity to do a longer episode...

I assume what you mean is a longer "series", since the average episode length would remain the same. :P

In which case, yeah, that's always true. BIONICLE's a very different thing to handle than Hero Factory because HF's specials amounted to little more than glorified commercials by the end of things. A hypothetical BIONICLE show would be a more plot-driven series and has the potential to be handled with far more care; Ghost's last outing just didn't leave me with a good impression.

[Refy L.S.]

http://www.mediafire...earbox_tahu.lxf here you go.

The gears do fit, but they won't spin freely there due to the liftarm-part of the torso (according to LDD). If you moved the gears out a bit using a half-length spacer, it would work, but you would need a bigger gear then.

[Mandate]

The gears do fit, but they won't spin freely there due to the liftarm-part of the torso (according to LDD). If you moved the gears out a bit using a half-length spacer, it would work, but you would need a bigger gear then.

I've just built that as of this instant. Works perfectly fine, but the arms on the Masters are directly behind the Shoulders, not above. I'm about to attempt my own one now, and I have a feeling I know what we've missed to hit the right spot with these.

edit: to clarify, I built my own one then modified it to work without hitting the back of the skeleton

EDIT 2: Did someone say, "impossible"?

Sorry that this is on tinypic, my Majhost account hasn't sent me the activation link yet I've included the "Jay" signature so that people know I made this.

Thanks to GK for the inspiration for this, I was just dying to innovate it SOrry about the mish mash pieces... my technic collection really needs organizing.

Anyway, nothing like the actual sets will be, as Aanchir pointed out, but it's completely possible with existing parts to do this. Very sketchy, and I know a technique that would have been able to perfect this for usage of a head had I been able to find the right parts. This is probably a function on at least one of the sets, I hope.

Oh, I feel it is my obligation to point out Onua has two Four Knobs on his back. Probably means seperate arm functions. And Lewa has a set of pinions in his armpits.

Just sayin'

Edited September 19, 2014 by JayWalker

[Grima]

It could just as easily be the case that 99% would know what Star Wars is and maybe 2% would know what Bionicle is. What people on the street know or don't know hardly matters. The point I'm making is that 'Toa' is an important and recognisable word in the franchise, not something to be dropped lightly. And even if the actual word does go, what it refers to is clearly staying, so a unique name for it might as well exist.

That's the point I was making, though. Star Wars has that presence that allows it to get away with a large number of made up terms that doesn't affect its accessibility. Bionicle, on the other hand, not being as widely known, has its accessibility hurt the more made-up (well, I guess fictional is a better term, considering they didn't make up the word) words it has. It makes more sense to use a word people understand.

[Quisoves Pugnat]

In which case, yeah, that's always true. BIONICLE's a very different thing to handle than Hero Factory because HF's specials amounted to little more than glorified commercials by the end of things. A hypothetical BIONICLE show would be a more plot-driven series and has the potential to be handled with far more care; Ghost's last outing just didn't leave me with a good impression.

It occurs to me that having a Bionicle TV-show would rather change the way that certain aspects of the lore are looked at. Something like Tren Krom, who seems to be viewed by many as a pointless complication, would, by virtue of being part of the mainstream story, have the chance to be a beloved side character like Dareth from Ninjago. There would be far less of a dichotomy between the main story and the side storylines, since just about any television show needs filler material. Also, if Ninjago is any indicator, Bionicle wouldn't come under fire quite so often for purported continuity obsession.

Edited September 19, 2014 by Quisoves Pugnat

[GK733]

So... how many hours until the reveal, any guess?

[King of Nynrah]

So... how many hours until the reveal, any guess?

Looking through their Twitter feed, statuses are usually posted either around now (8am for me, 9am for them) or midday. So keep your eyes peeled and that F5 button smashed, cause it's 8 where I am...

[Logan McOwen]

The gears do fit, but they won't spin freely there due to the liftarm-part of the torso (according to LDD). If you moved the gears out a bit using a half-length spacer, it would work, but you would need a bigger gear then.

Sorry for the big images, but...

LDD is very, very wrong. This gearbox works like a charm. The only change I've had to make is the use of some old Optic Cable instead of a 2M axle at at the top, as the weight of the arms likes to make the Technic beams 'peel' away. Y'see, that's the only problem with LDD building - no sense of durability. But yeah, it's a great build!

Great work GK733!

Edited September 19, 2014 by LewiMOC

[Gatanui]

I wonder if it's too much to hope for a simple Flash click and point. Atlantis did get an entire mini-not-exactly-a-game-not-exactly-a-movie, and the Diary of Professor Rhodes*.

Please not, I hope the days of "Flash-all-over-the-place" websites are slowly becoming a thing of the past. You can do all that "click-and-point" without Flash these days.

-Gata

Edited September 19, 2014 by Gatanui

[GK733]

Please not, I hope the days of "Flash-all-over-the-place" websites are slowly becoming a thing of the past. You can do all that "click-and-point" without Flash these days.

-Gata

It wasn't a good idea cause weaker computers were strugling on their websites because of that.

[Aethersprite]

LewiMOC, that looks amazing! By the way, are you using the wider or the narrower torso skeleton piece? I'm not a big fan of how those ball joints jut out at the shoulders, more so than they do (seemingly, could be the angle) on the prelims.

[Leewan]

Great work, LewiMOC !

I also think it's very likely that all the gear functions are driven by knob gears, because there would be little sense in using a knob gear as the control gear and using regular 12-tooth gears for the functions themselves. If you're not going to use the same gear for the control gear as for the function, why not use a classic 20-tooth gear, or even the weapon barrel piece that was introduced for the Super Heroes constraction sets?

I think knob gears are too wide, and would require too much space.

BTW, has anyone tried to build a gearbox with knob gears instead of 12t ?

Finally, I think a half-module offset from the torso beam is unlikely.

I think so, but that way the shoulders are as close to the body as possible.

[MakutaNocturn]

Looking through their Twitter feed, statuses are usually posted either around now (8am for me, 9am for them) or midday. So keep your eyes peeled and that F5 button smashed, cause it's 8 where I am...

But what are we waiting for?

[King of Nynrah]

But what are we waiting for?

I suppose you must have missed this... they also posted it on their Google+ page, and the image title itself had the word "bionicle" in. Realizing their error, they later took it down and reuploaded it with a different name.

[Gatanui]

But what are we waiting for?

A picture, a video, a teaser website, just an official confirmation? We don't know yet.

-Gata

[King of Nynrah]

A picture, a video, a teaser website, just an official confirmation? We don't know yet.

-Gata

Hell, even official confirmation would be better than nothing, because then Greg would actually be able to talk about stuff.

[Leewan]

Hell, even official confirmation would be better than nothing, because then Greg would actually be able to talk about stuff.

I don't think he would be allowed to talk about upcoming stuff, even if it were about something officially confirmed by Lego.