Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[Jetrax99]

Idk if its normal for CCBS or not but her skeleton has 2 ball joint things on the left side where something is supporting the shoulder armor above her arms.

There are indeed two of the technic ball connected to the gearbox. The outer ball is for her shoulder whereas the inner ball is using a trans-blue version of the smallest ccbs joint to support the shoulder pads.

[Mr. Gundam]

Here's my view:

Tahu: I'm just disappointed they still gave him gold sword pieces. Oh well....

Pohatu: Look at the Boomerangs! They bend, nice touch TLC! Also like the Trans-yellow pieces. This is the first buy

Gali: Well, She really came together with these finalize pics. Like the dual function of the fins, very Nuva there TLC

Kopaka: Aww man, they kept the wide leg armor and spear tip (I was hoping they would change the tip). Anyway, atleast the shield and Ice tip on the spear was a nice touch.

Lewa: they kept the sword bottom, Wish they switch the axe part upside down. oh well.....

Someone already mention it, we are missing a earth toa. But they look great, mask are okay tho. but those tools are nice. cant wait to see the combiners

Edited September 29, 2014 by Mr. Gundam

[Jetrax99]

Here's my view:

Tahu: I'm just disappointed they still gave him gold sword pieces. Oh well....

You can split his lava board into 2 larger blades for him to hold,

[TheDesuComplex]

Looking closely at Pohatu's boomerangs, I think I might see a seam on the side of the middle fan detail, which would mean that they might be able to angle and articulate. Here's to hoping we don't get that, because I don't want floppy boomerangs that they would most likely be with that technic pin connection.

[TheGreatSpirit]

Looking closely at Pohatu's boomerangs, I think I might see a seam on the side of the middle fan detail, which would mean that they might be able to angle and articulate. Here's to hoping we don't get that, because I don't want floppy boomerangs that they would most likely be with that technic pin connection.

They could have a sort of locking system, like some Chima and all HF Beast heads.

[Nekchir]

So is TTV going to post that discussion video around midnight (mountain time) like usual?

[Mandate]

No matter how much I try, I cannot bring myself to like these sets. Building a mock-up of Tahu and discovering how freakishly long his legs will be in comparison to his relatively small torso... eh... LEGO's lost me on this one. I don't have high hopes for the plot either.

Sadly, I think I have to agree with the people calling this "HERO FACTORY with BIONICLE slapped on top". This is iteration, rather than innovation. The usage of gear functions (which I was excited for) is just Technic stuff put onto the back. So far I can't see any parts potentially meaningful to CCBS as a whole, and most of the masks look more freakish than anything else (The Hau is growing on me, but the prototype was still better). Iteration is seen as fine over in System (less so in City now) because each year they make something new. NINJAGO 2014 and 2015 don't require innovation over an old build because they aren't rehashing the same design over and over (and for similar features, there's already a lot of improvement). Maybe I just got overhyped with the prospect of CCBS moving past its dull formula for a change. But anyway, here's hoping the Protectors are good.

[Jetrax99]

CCBS' "dull formula" as you call it is the effect of the system being made to cover ALL LEGO action figures, not just one theme.

[The Kumquat Alchemist]

CCBS' "dull formula" as you call it is the effect of the system being made to cover ALL LEGO action figures, not just one theme.

As someone who has been going through the trying process of rebuilding their old BIONICLE figures, I can also attest that the basic uniformity of CCBS is a very good thing.

Though some variance is needed on sets superficially, having a basic array of highly versatile elements is far preferable to the disaster that was BIONICLE.

Parts like Visorak bodies, Metru torsos, Mata limbs, etcetera were very pretty, and made each new wave of sets feel unique, but they were nigh-unusable for the average MOCist trying to do anything more than a color palette swap, and are often the bottlenecks on old set reassembly. Also, it lead to LEGO having issues finding sets to use all those highly-specialized parts in, resulting in the release of things like this. CCBS has helped to ensure that this doesn't happen again.

Don't take this as some whole-hearted endorsement of CCBS; it does get dull to see the same basic skeleton again and again, but I think the sacrifice is worth the gain in versatility. With a few different bone lengths and armor pieces, I can easily fix whatever awful proportions I find in a set, and then expand on the revamp from there, all using parts from older sets. You couldn't get away with that for most BIONICLE waves, unless you already had a very substantial collection.

Edited September 29, 2014 by The Kumquat Alchemist

[Mandate]

CCBS' "dull formula" as you call it is the effect of the system being made to cover ALL LEGO action figures, not just one theme.

That's the point I was making. It's too generic. I mean, looking at all of the sets there's not a great amount of variation amongst them other than Onua. The gear functions are probably going to be incredibly similar, eliminating further variety. It's a gimmick, nothing more. There is nothing seen here that we have not already seen in the past. It's stagnated, there's nothing actually new here other than new colorations and a new head that in four years time will no longer be used. Let's take a look at CCBS's evolution, shall we?

2011 Ordeal of Fire: The introduction of CCBS, so it's an innvoation in itself.

2011 Savage Planet: Expanding CCBS to show its capabilities, we see animals sets with great variations, new torsos made almost entirely out of bone joints, we see paw pieces, etc. More animalistic nature, and we see two Titans with an overload of Technic, and some lovely stylization with the Shells.

2012 Breakout: Technic spreads to most of the sets, to create a mostly aesthetic year with a great variety of builds. Some repeats, but enough variation between all of them. We see the XT4 torso come into play, we get Stormer XL, a Titan made almost entirely of just CCBS parts in a unique way. Did I mention armor plating?

2013 Brain Attack!: We get a standardized head piece, greater variety of Technic builds and the famed Dragon Bolt!

2014 Invasion From Below: We see Minifig-scale sets, Furno Machine's torso, shoulder plating (Rocka's Stealth machine), we get the cockpit piece, we see the claw piece, etc.

So what do we have for 2015? We have... well, we have the new mask/head system, and gearboxes!.. except that they're extensions of the sets, they're not built into the very fabric of CCBS like we've had in the past.

Call me a hater, but this is a big downer for me.

EDIT: I'm not against uniform builds, or bringing back the high-specialization of the older BIONICLE sets. It's just that this year every set looks the same, there's no real variation between any of them except for Onua. Sure, Kopaka has a different build, but that's limited to his shield. I can agree very much so BIONICLE was a disaster with specialized parts. CCBS just can't seem to give itself enough variety, and there's been a complete lack of anything to make this year's sets stand out from previous years from a design point of view other than the gearboxes.

EDIT 2: oops, weird bug made me quote myself lol

Edited September 29, 2014 by JayWalker

[Aethersprite]

Pohatu's boomerangs are articulated? Makes me love him even more! If only he had more tan in place of the silver, but I can live with it. I love how his arms are asymmetrical as well. I still can't figure out the Guurahk spear on his back, though. An extra dagger? With those boomerangs, who needs a dagger?

[Mesonak]

So is TTV going to post that discussion video around midnight (mountain time) like usual?

Unfortunately, it probably won't go live until the morning. :P

[Loki]

That's what's bugging me with the Miru, too. Its face is covered with all these unnecessary ridges and stuff when it could easily have been much smoother and more evocative of the original.

The Kaukau bugs me becauseh it's squished, stretched, smashed, and barely even resembles the original at all. It'd be a nice mask... if I wasn't supposed to accept it as a Kaukau.

I can, kinda, see where some resemblance is with the mask... but it's hard to see and it's hidden by all the stylistic changes they made, to the point where it doesn't really evoke the feeling of the original. I guess, in the grand scheme of things, it doesn't matter to Lego whether or not the mask does capture an iconic resemblance to the old versions, since this line is being tailored to a new audience from what I understand (so the new audience probably won't care and, like you said, the mask looks fine as a mask). It kinda saddens me since I was sort of hoping to see a trans-blue mask again (I really liked that about the original Kaukau), especially with the old visor and breather thing the original mask had. Her Nuva mask still makes me think of a pig's face for some reason >.>; (Her mistika mask is just so far removed)

On the flip side, Gali seems like one of the sets that has more of her elemental color scheme in it, which I do like. Pohatu is sort of letting me down with the sheer amount of silver he has.

Odds are I'll likely still pick up Gali on the basis that Gali was the first set I ever bought, though maybe one of the other gold masks would look better or something (no idea which one, though).

[Gatanui]

Sadly, I think I have to agree with the people calling this "HERO FACTORY with BIONICLE slapped on top".

I disagree. Yes, they use CCBS but still they feel more like BIONICLE sets than Hero Factory sets to me. They don't really look like anything HF would have got.

-Gata

[GK733]

Okay so, Gearbox is probably 2 new pieces, 7 new masks and a spider, head is built from two different parts, then there is the new giant sword thingy and pads, half of boomerang, The piston piece, gatling gun and onuas hammer/ shoulderpads.

18 new parts in total and if we count in the remold, or whatever of Guurahk spear and MOCR we get 20. There's also a lack of recolors other than red chest piece, brown shells acommpanied with printed golden chests and trans-yellow bones.

I personally like these very much but I can see if someone thinks that isn't "much new".

Edited September 29, 2014 by GK733

[Logan McOwen]

I am... So pumped up. These look awesome.

[Chimaninja454]

Me too.

I have noticed that Pohatu have the ability to spin (Spinjitzu-esque) and it's unrelated to Ninjago!

[Grima]

Okay so, Gearbox is probably 2 new pieces, 7 new masks and a spider, head is built from two different parts, then there is the new giant sword thingy and pads, half of boomerang, The piston piece, gatling gun and onuas hammer/ shoulderpads.

18 new parts in total and if we count in the remold, or whatever of Guurahk spear and MOCR we get 20. There's also a lack of recolors other than red chest piece, brown shells acommpanied with printed golden chests and trans-yellow bones.

I personally like these very much but I can see if someone thinks that isn't "much new".

actually i'd say the shells are probably Dark Orange; the new picture cements this belief. i'd say the chances of those shells being any other color are approximately 0 to nil

[wghost]

Seriously disappointed seeing all those orange on Lewa. I don't like the fact some models use the SP torso instead of the BA one. And Gali's mask is really strange (reminds me of this).

But apart from those... my wallet is crying right now.

Edited September 29, 2014 by wghost

[Mandate]

I disagree. Yes, they use CCBS but still they feel more like BIONICLE sets than Hero Factory sets to me. They don't really look like anything HF would have got.

-Gata

You're right. Hero Factory ironically got better than this. An example? Scorpio in comparison to LOSS (no pun intended ), actual Titans (with actual legs), etc. Keep in mind I'm limiting this to Savage Planet, but Hero Factory got both better and worse than this in that wave. That's not to imply these sets are bad, just... dwelling in mediocrity. I can see why BIONICLE fans are drooling over them, but they just don't do anything special to me. Which is probably very good, because if you got to know me you'd soon find that I'm a complete idiot

[Jetrax99]

All this talk has made my irritation of having not yet received my Sep-Oct Lego Magazine resurface.

If Lego implemented that "No lego magazine over 13" policy I'm gonna be extremely ****ed off!

[Leewan]

That Hau is weird, I hope it's just a CGI effect, and the actual mask will look better.

The prints are strange, I don't know what they're supposed to represent. But the boxarts are lovely !

I just noticed that Lewa's arms will be made the same way as his legs, but without the friction joints. I was really expecting them to be shorter... Though, that could explain the need for friction in his gear system.

There's also a lack of recolors other than red chest piece, brown shells acommpanied with printed golden chests and trans-yellow bones.

Don't forget we'll have green shells, keetorange shells (Lewa) probably purple or trans-purple bones (Onua / Earth Protector), medium or dark azure shells (Gali), wide shells in white (Kopaka), and probably a silver one on Onua.

Aanchir might have to correct me, but I actually think that we've rarely seen as much recolors in a single wave as we do now, at least since the introduction of CCBS.

[CabooseBM]

I'm a little unimpressed by the apparent lack of new functionality pieces, but I am also keenly aware we hadn't known about the most of the new pieces in Breakout until after Stormer XL was released.

[Aethersprite]

I have to agree that the CCBS is getting a little monotonous. I think I've mentioned this before, but this is a bit of Lego's own undoing - they keep sticking with humanoid builds, when the CCBS has the potential for so much more. Animals, weird creatures, even vehicles done entirely in CCBS! Admittedly, I do prefer humanoid characters, but the CCBS was designed for so much more than them. Regardless, it's definitely not as bad as the repeated Inika build we got for 4 years straight. Also, to add on to what Kumquat said, it provides a platform for parts to be used more differently. We're seeing CCBS parts being used more frequently in System themes, particularly Chima and Ninjago.

I'm definitely pumped for these sets! My anticipation has never been higher for a CCBS line ever since HF's Breakout. Here's hoping we get reviews of them by the end of the year!

Edited September 29, 2014 by Lockon Stratos

[Jasonified]

gali looks even more like that sea star knockoff now.