Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[Dorek]

Way to be an alarmist, VBBN, gosh.

No but seriously it's good to know that their revision to the masks is working.

_{(also BS01 also has a Twitter account you guys should go follow that too)}

[Transparency for Effect]

How well do the arms extend out to the sides on these figures?

[Aanchir]

How well do the arms extend out to the sides on these figures?

I'm not sure quite what you mean. They have about the same range of movement in their arms as any other post-2006 constraction sets. Maybe slightly less movement than usual inward (towards the body) since the part connecting the ball joint to the torso is thicker than a Technic axle, but the difference is not that great.

[Mandate]

Plot Twist: The Protectors are the original Toa as Turaga

[VBBN]

Linking to this a little late, but I'm with DeeVee as well as Andrew and Aaron from BZP for a livestream where we are discussing the sets, you can go here to see it, and also on youtube

[Mr. Gundam]

Linking to this a little late, but I'm with DeeVee as well as Andrew and Aaron from BZP for a livestream where we are discussing the sets, you can go here to see it.

Thanks for the Reviews VBBN, This mayb a small request but can you also take pics of the combiners from the Boooklet??

[TPLSTER21]

Quick question on Onua: From what I could tell, his "combiner" form with his guardian just looks like the guardian's shoulder armor stacks on top of his shoulder armour and he holds the guardian's weapon is his other hand. Is that it? What about the stud shooter/gatling gun weapon? On the other 2 it looks like they make use of those shooters in the combined modes, but I don't see it on Onua's combined form anywhere....is it used in the combined mode? Any help would be appreciated!

[Jetrax99]

Quick question on Onua: From what I could tell, his "combiner" form with his guardian just looks like the guardian's shoulder armor stacks on top of his shoulder armour and he holds the guardian's weapon is his other hand. Is that it? What about the stud shooter/gatling gun weapon? On the other 2 it looks like they make use of those shooters in the combined modes, but I don't see it on Onua's combined form anywhere....is it used in the combined mode? Any help would be appreciated!

I believe Onua will be the only one to not use the launcher as it forms the Earth Protector's chest.

[VBBN]

That is correct, Onua doesn't use the gatling gun since it is built into the Earth Protector.

Thanks for the Reviews VBBN, This mayb a small request but can you also take pics of the combiners from the Boooklet??

Yes I will do a batch of pic requests soon and include those.

[Aanchir]

The first of two articles I wrote for The New Elementary previewing the new BIONICLE parts has been posted! Check it out here!

The second post, still to come, will be focusing on the new mask and weapon pieces. And after that, expect some actual set reviews! I've already mostly finished writing the first, and I've recently gotten word that another shipment of sets is headed my way for review. I'm hoping for one of the Protector sets — I could probably spend at least half a post talking about their new blasters alone!

[Kalhiki]

Thanks Aanch, for the wonderful overview of new parts. Honestly, for those feeling the new Bionicle is too "Hero Factory" the colors alone set itself apart from what we got in the past. So many lovely recolors.

That and new molds of course.

Also, I just noticed in your Comic Con MoC that you attached Skull Spider masks to basic socket joints. I had a feeling this was possible considering the new heads are the same width as said piece, but it's nice to have some confirmation that the masks aren't completely useless outside of being masks.

[Mandate]

For me the Protectors are far more interesting than the Toa. The blasters are a huge plus, all of them have a really unique design in some way and they all make great parts packages from what we've seen. Most retain qualities of their predecessors, the Turaga (eg, Earth Protector and Whenua both feature drills) and IMO they provide far more variety than their Toa counterparts.

[Aanchir]

Also, I just noticed in your Comic Con MoC that you attached Skull Spider masks to basic socket joints. I had a feeling this was possible considering the new heads are the same width as said piece, but it's nice to have some confirmation that the masks aren't completely useless outside of being masks.

Yep! A lot of people have compared them to the visors from minifigures or the Knights' Kingdom action figures, but they're actually a lot more versatile than that. They can attach to just about anything two modules wide with a hole on each side, provided there aren't any collisions (a Glatorian head won't work in the normal configuration because the circular "bolts" that stick out from the sides of the jaw collide with the inside of the mask). They can even attach to a normal 2M black Technic pin!

I discovered recently that certain masks might work well for adding armor to the hips of a constraction model. For instance, Kopaka's mask fits really well on his hips, though obviously its asymmetrical design wouldn't work too well as armor. I haven't tried with all the different masks I have but it will definitely be an interesting technique to experiment with.

I think that the Skull Spider mask works great as armor for an 5x6 torso beam, creating a character with a round belly. Other builders have found even more uses for them, like this model's feet or this model's shoulder armor. The silver metallic Skull Spider body is probably one of the most useful masks as a building element since it has the most connection points and is a nice neutral color.

[arc]

Wow. The new Masks just went from near useless besides masks to being extremely versatile. Glad to here this. I have a few ideas already...

[Dorek]

Woah, I actually got a copy of the magazine. Sucks that it'll probably be the last one, but oh well. There's always online...

[Dinobrick]

Anyone else think tahus "masculine" chin is a bit much, it doesn't fit his persona, he doesn't seem like one of those "I'm big and buff" kind of guys. It really doesn't help that kopakas wearing a gold bra, oh the horrid images(!).

As some of you know, I am strongly against the skeleball building system, I prefer the metru and mata system.

[arc]

Anyone else think tahus "masculine" chin is a bit much, it doesn't fit his persona, he doesn't seem like one of those "I'm big and buff" kind of guys. It really doesn't help that kopakas wearing a gold bra, oh the horrid images(!).

gold bra? Nah, obviously kopaka is shirtless, just look at those firm bio-nipples.

Anyway, I didn't even notice that on tahu, I think the new mask fits the new set just fine.

[Aanchir]

Anyone else think tahus "masculine" chin is a bit much, it doesn't fit his persona, he doesn't seem like one of those "I'm big and buff" kind of guys. It really doesn't help that kopakas wearing a gold bra, oh the horrid images(!).

As some of you know, I am strongly against the skeleball building system, I prefer the metru and mata system.

I don't think there's anything wrong with his chin. It's not that much different from Tahu Nuva's chin. And I think it suits him perfectly.

And Kopaka's chest plate looks nothing like a bra. Heck, Lhikan's chest plate looked more like a bra than Kopaka's does.

If you don't like the new building system that's fine. But when your gripes about the new sets are this contrived, it makes it sound like you're afraid of change of any kind.

[Clone 01354 Productions]

^I think that the Kopaka thing was meant as a joke. Everything else....Well, everyone has opinions, so.....

[Dinobrick]

I don't think there's anything wrong with his chin. It's not that much different from Tahu Nuva's chin. And I think it suits him perfectly.

And Kopaka's chest plate looks nothing like a bra. Heck, Lhikan's chest plate looked more like a bra than Kopaka's does.

If you don't like the new building system that's fine. But when your gripes about the new sets are this contrived, it makes it sound like you're afraid of change of any kind.

I don't like change, yes. And I dont care for hero factory, i guess you could say these new designs are the embodiment of two of my dislikes. But I have been with bionicle since day one, and I have stayed with it though all these years (and what years they were... :)), maybe I'm old fashioned, maybe it's just nostalgia, maybe it's GEEWUNism, I don't know. Bu the great thing about Bionicle, and lego in general, is it ability to appeal to both "AFOLs" and "brick newbs", so that those of us who still live on Mata Nui, and those who live on, what's it called? otoko? Can live peacefully. :)

Gee, Arc, thanks for that mental image. :(

[VBBN]

I don't see CCBS as a negative aspect to Bionicle's look in any way. Even Bionicle old generation had massive changes in aesthetic style- The limbs of a 2001 Toa look visually jarring compared to the smoother and thicker joints of later years, and the finished look of an Inika build was a galaxy away from what the Mata or Metru looked like. Large torsos packed with gear elements were swapped for the inika/piraka bodies, which completely eliminated gear features. Heavily technic oriented villains and Rahi became oversized Toa builds, then once again went back to being giant flying refrigerators and walking tanks.

My point is, it's not like the older Bionicle was ever something that was aesthetically similar. You can blend together a part from 2001 with a part from 2009 just as easily as you can put a 2001 or 2009 piece with a CCBS piece. The overall look and feel of these sets is a completely different experience than anything I ever got with Hero Factory, and they feel more like Bionicle to me than I had thought before having them in hand. The look of CCBS may leave many people unhappy because it's not as mechanical as the older sets, but the piston armor add-ons and masks already go a long way to making these sets feel more like Bionicle, and the gearboxes bring back a more involved construction that even Bionicle failed to deliver in it's final year. Who knows what else Lego will do to tie these into the look of the older sets even more, but there is a hardworking group of people dedicated to that cause.

In my opinion CCBS is a fantastic system and I hope it only continues to grow from here.

[Dinobrick]

I find skeleball to be weaker than inika, just literally a skeletal frame with shells tacked on. At least the inika body has some meat to it, skeleball is like a lobster that someone got to before you, there no substance, no filling, just the shell and the parts they didn't like. And it's not just that, the parts look too shiny, too new, these guys have been in non stop combat for over a year now. In metru Toa it made since, they had just been turned into toa, same gos for the inika. But the mata only got two upgrades, one into the nuva, one when they received their adaptive armor. And I don't see any adaptations to the newly reformed spherus magna in those shells. And what's with the gold? Are they the Toa Blinga now?

And the chain gun guts of the matoran, why? Do they fire their own guts now? (Ew) why are the Toa called masters now? Master implies total control, the Toa defend and fight in the name of Mata Nui, they don't control others.

But as I said before, that's why I still live on mata nui.

Edited November 9, 2014 by Dinobrick

[Mandate]

The main problem I have with CCBS is that ever since 2012 all we've gotten is aesthetic parts. Oh, and the Brain Attack head, but we're not going to see that again any time soon. I would daresay CCBS has grown at all since then, the only real growth we've seen is the growth of Technic usage.

[Lord-Vorahk]

And it's not just that, the parts look too shiny, too new, these guys have been in non stop combat for over a year now. In metru Toa it made since, they had just been turned into toa, same gos for the inika. But the mata only got two upgrades, one into the nuva, one when they received their adaptive armor. And I don't see any adaptations to the newly reformed spherus magna in those shells. And what's with the gold? Are they the Toa Blinga now?

And the chain gun guts of the matoran, why? Do they fire their own guts now? (Ew) why are the Toa called masters now? Master implies total control, the Toa defend and fight in the name of Mata Nui, they don't control others.

Someone's missed the important detail that this isn't the old canon, it's a reboot. These are new Toa, probably fresh out of the not-canister. And at what point were the armour pieces ever given battle damage?

The Protectors may not be Matoran. THey're likely a different species altogether. And the Toa are Masters of their own elements, not masters of people.

[Dinobrick]

Its a reboot? Well at least it won't conflick with existing canon, as it threatened to do if it wasn't. All the more reason I'm not a big fan of this new direction, I really don't like reboots.

But I'm done, I don't wish to let my dislike of this "newonicle" bum you all out.

Edited November 9, 2014 by Dinobrick