Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[Gatanui]

There are so many possibilities for constraction 2015, I don't see why some unprecise linked-in profile would suggest much.

Erland

Part Design

Many possibilities? Clearly this is referring to a second action figure theme running alongside Hero Factory!

Talk about jumping to conclusions. ;)

-Gata

[vexorian]

As long as the theme has a sci-fi setting and good action figure parts and well designed sets, I don't care the name.

Edited December 9, 2013 by vexorian

[Freddy Bricker]

Many possibilities? Clearly this is referring to a second action figure theme running alongside Hero Factory!

Talk about jumping to conclusions. ;)

-Gata

Well despite having been discontinued as far as production and concepts, the superheroes ultrabuilds are still available, and so are the Chima constructive figs (which we MAY still see, who knows) running alongside Hero Factory. I mean, technically we already have 3 constructing action figure theme running side-by-side.

Also, I hope that whatever this theme may bring, it'll bring in diversity, But that's a bit of an overkill, hopefully I've repeated myself enough for the Lego group to have heard...

Edited December 9, 2013 by Freddy Bricker

[ToaJaller78]

..........No..........NO.

I like HF..............So if it ends I'll never forgive LEGO.

[Jetrax99]

..........No..........NO.

I like HF..............So if it ends I'll never forgive LEGO.

*sigh*....please...... don't be like that. Fanboyism is bad for your health.

[arc]

well, i never really liked hero factory, hopefully we will get something more bionicle like back, hopefully even something like the 2001 technic rahi's

I agree with this completely, the older bionicle sets had a more technic oriented building style that seems lost with hero factory. If this new theme brings back the old style construction I would be interested.

[Bfahome]

I agree with this completely, the older bionicle sets had a more technic oriented building style that seems lost with hero factory. If this new theme brings back the old style construction I would be interested.

Really? The current HF sets seem more in line with TECHNIC than a lot of the later-year BIONICLE sets. The current build is based around single-beam skeletons with pin holes in every spare place they can go, whereas BIONICLE tended to use more elaborate and specialized torso and limb pieces. Nowadays there's practically no unneeded flair under the armor.

[arc]

Really? The current HF sets seem more in line with TECHNIC than a lot of the later-year BIONICLE sets. The current build is based around single-beam skeletons with pin holes in every spare place they can go, whereas BIONICLE tended to use more elaborate and specialized torso and limb pieces. Nowadays there's practically no unneeded flair under the armor.

I see your point, but I'm referring to the older bionicle sets. like these. and sure, there's a lot of room technic in the recent HF, but with the recent stuff all of the armor and torso parts are connected by ball and socket joints, with little to no technic involved.

[LegoPanda]

Really? The current HF sets seem more in line with TECHNIC than a lot of the later-year BIONICLE sets. The current build is based around single-beam skeletons with pin holes in every spare place they can go, whereas BIONICLE tended to use more elaborate and specialized torso and limb pieces. Nowadays there's practically no unneeded flair under the armor.

i was talking about the 2001 rahi, this where like 80 to 95% technic

[Aanchir]

The 2001 Rahi were definitely cool designs and I have a lot of respect for them. But as far as constraction themes are concerned, I'm quite happy with the shift we've seen towards models with more lifelike articulation. The Rahi were something very different from typical constraction sets... rather than being the evolution of the Slizer/Throwbots sets which had pioneered the constraction category, they were more inspired by the Competition/Cyber Slam sets which emphasized competitive and dynamic action features.

It was neat to see BIONICLE bring these ideas together in its early years. And it worked with that theme's story and aesthetic. But I've just been a lot happier with constraction sets since they started to reduce the emphasis on play features like these and to instead emphasize articulation. I can't say just why. Perhaps it's in part because they've grown a lot closer to the kinds of models I like to MOC. I've never had much skill when it comes to engineering moving-parts functions like the Rahi or other Technic sets used. But I have always loved building models that simulate living things, with realistic proportions and articulation. And as constraction sets shifted their emphasis over the years, the parts became much better for building these kinds of things.

This doesn't mean that action features can't enhance a model (I love this year's Dragon Bolt set, which has a tremendously fun flapping wings function). But these sorts of things don't really inspire me as a MOCist the way a well-proportioned, well-articulated figure tends to.

[LegoPanda]

it was more technic than construction, but the functionality was great, i was pretty sad when the gears and function disappeared in 2006 (not like the functions in 05 where amazing, but it had gears) so i personally think there should be some gear function

[VBBN]

I can't say much on the topic; I grew up with Bionicle and it'll always be my favorite theme. Yes, Articulation may have suffered. Gimmicks may have taken their toll. In the end, I still enjoyed the theme immensely, and it's one of those things I didn't realize I would miss so much until it was gone. I always complained about the re-use of inika build or not enough new parts, but in the end I just miss it. When I see a new wave of Hero Factory sets, I don't get the same feeling I did when a new wave of Bionicle was released. I can't connect to the characters personally and have no interest in the story. (I'm not saying it's a bad story, but it doesn't draw me in like Bionicle did and I feel it lacks the same depth. but that was the whole point of Hero Factory, wasn't it? To make it simpler for kids to get involved with the story and understand it?)

Hero Factory is a new aesthetic. It's a system based on bones and armor, that are easier to put together and have "more" articulation. The looks of the sets, is nice, but it'll never be a replacement for Bionicle. I' not a fan of the smooth robots, the goofy villains, I just prefer what we had in Bionicle. The names, the story, the characterization, the feeling. Everyone has something they will prefer. Some people prefer classic space, some prefer the years of Star Wars when yellow minifigures were used instead of fleshies. That's how I am. I'll always love Bionicle for what it was, and I don't think I'll ever feel that for Hero Factory. Perhaps I'm being sour, and my opinions will not change on any of this, but if it is the end of Hero Factory I will not be disappointed.

[arc]

I have agree with VBBN, I'm not bashing the new system, Its just not my thing. and while the newer bionicle sets may have had less articulation, I preferred the overall look and feel.

Edited December 10, 2013 by arc1999

[Bfahome]

I see your point, but I'm referring to the older bionicle sets. like these. and sure, there's a lot of room technic in the recent HF, but with the recent stuff all of the armor and torso parts are connected by ball and socket joints, with little to no technic involved.

Believe me, I'm all aware of how awesomely TECHNIC-y older BIONICLE sets were. The issue I had was with the way you phrased your statement, as though Hero Factory was what started the march away from TECHNIC, when in reality (at least in my eyes) it's starting to come back around from how far BIONICLE took it away.

[LegoPanda]

i also agree with VBBN, i liked the bionicle story and the built, the hero factory built doesn't attract me, so second hand bionics all the way, the last year of bionicle also was a bit to hero factory like to me, but at least have a pretty good story behind it (not the best, but ok)

[Meiko]

Why does everyone always assume that the introduction of a new theme has to imply the end of another? Maybe the success of action figure themes has made LEGO want to introduce another alongside Hero Factory. It's happened before. I really don't understand why nobody thinks that two similar themes can coexist at the same time.

[Gatanui]

Why does everyone always assume that the introduction of a new theme has to imply the end of another? Maybe the success of action figure themes has made LEGO want to introduce another alongside Hero Factory. It's happened before. I really don't understand why nobody thinks that two similar themes can coexist at the same time.

LEGO has often talked about not wanting to run similar themes at a time because they cannibalize sales off each other.

-Gata

[Aanchir]

LEGO has often talked about not wanting to run similar themes at a time because they cannibalize sales off each other.

-Gata

They have also often talked about how much they would like to have two constraction lines running successfully at the same time. And really, there's plenty of ways the LEGO Group could have another action figure theme that ISN'T similar to Hero Factory. For instance, there could be a theme that has non-robot action figures, like Galidor, Knights' Kingdom II, Ben 10: Alien Force, Super Heroes, and Legends of Chima have all dabbled in. Other than Ben 10: Alien Force, these were all just extensions of existing non-constraction themes, but there's nothing stopping the LEGO Group from creating an in-house, non-robot theme that exists entirely within the constraction category.

Constraction sets don't even inherently have to share a building system. Galidor and Knights' Kingdom II both demonstrated that. And what do you know? In 2014 there is going to be new ball joint elements that are optimal for creating articulated models based on System building conventions rather than Technic. It's entirely possible that a full constraction theme could be based on this building system if the LEGO Group decided it was worthwhile.

Edited December 11, 2013 by Aanchir

[Meiko]

LEGO has often talked about not wanting to run similar themes at a time because they cannibalize sales off each other.

-Gata

Both 2002:

http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=8571-1

http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=8314-1

Both 2006:

http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=8704-1

http://www.brickset.com/detail/?Set=8902-1

Nothing said it would be an action figure theme similar to Hero Factory. Two themes that have action figures can coexist for the same reason that two themes with minifigures can coexist. They can be similar in the aspect of how the figures are constructed, but different in any other way.

[Mesonak]

Both 2002:

http://www.brickset....ail/?Set=8571-1

http://www.brickset....ail/?Set=8314-1

Both 2006:

http://www.brickset....ail/?Set=8704-1

http://www.brickset....ail/?Set=8902-1

Nothing said it would be an action figure theme similar to Hero Factory. Two themes that have action figures can coexist for the same reason that two themes with minifigures can coexist. They can be similar in the aspect of how the figures are constructed, but different in any other way.

Well, look at what happened to both of those themes. Perhaps Lego believes BIONICLE cannibalized their sales :P

[Aanchir]

Well, look at what happened to both of those themes. Perhaps Lego believes BIONICLE cannibalized their sales :P

Well, in the case of Galidor, it did, to an extent (that theme also had many flaws of its own which the LEGO Group is well aware of). Knights' Kingdom II, on the other hand, had a three-year run that I imagine must have been reasonably successful, or it would have surely been discontinued sooner. The 2006 Knights' Kingdom sets even "upped the ante" somewhat with metal containers instead of plastic ones for the smaller sets and new, larger sets that included both a character and a catapult.

The LEGO Group is obviously going to proceed cautiously with ANY new theme no matter what, but that doesn't mean they're NEVER going to have multiple constraction themes running concurrently. In fact, they've gone ahead and expressed a goal of doing just that. In fact since Hero Factory debuted, there has only been one year — 2011 — when Hero Factory was the ONLY theme with sets in the constraction category. In 2010 we had Ben 10: Alien Force and the tail end of BIONICLE, in 2012 we had Super Heroes, and this year we had Legends of Chima. It remains to be seen if there are any non-HF constraction sets in the pipeline for 2014, since those tend to have a different sort of release schedule.

Edited December 11, 2013 by Aanchir

[ToaJaller78]

What if it's a Gundam-ish theme. If LEGO does do this, my wallet will be an empty hole in the end of 2015....

[Freddy Bricker]

Wait, doesn't Mixels count as a construction theme for 2014?.

[Aanchir]

Wait, doesn't Mixels count as a construction theme for 2014?.

I honestly don't know if Mixels qualifies as constraction. They're definitely articulated figures, but they're far from the typical definition of "action figures". It'd be good to find out, though.

[Meiko]

I honestly don't know if Mixels qualifies as constraction. They're definitely articulated figures, but they're far from the typical definition of "action figures". It'd be good to find out, though.

I think they could be considered to be so for the same reason(s) that Slizers can be considered constraction.