Bionicle 2015 Discussion

[Jakura Nuva]

Oh. I thought you were arguing in favor of that. My mistake.

Nah, it's fine. I'm just trying to embrace all possibilities.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Jakura Nuva

[Chimaninja454]

Wait, is the new BIONICLE likely a reboot or continuation?

[Jakura Nuva]

Most likely (based on the evidence) a reboot.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Jakura Nuva

[Shakar]

Fair point, and of course the CCBS allows for more creativity, but I miss complexity. It was very fun to slide in pins and axles, connect the little bars to them, and allow the model to move by spinning another axle. Now, it is just: "snap this onto this, and put this here." Plus, CCBS tends to squeak a lot.

However, I'll tolerate CCBS as long as Pohatu is brown, Gali has some trans-blue, and all of the masks look nice. Bring back Lewa's smile; I miss it!

As DV said, you likely won't get all three of those things you mentioned.. but I say you might still get them in a way:

1)Pohatu doesn't quite look brown (or at least, not his 2001 brown or dark brown). His colour might be Dark Brown (yes, that is Hewkii's brown/burnt orange- I thought it was a similar colour..but nope, the real deal). I had initially wondered if that was Lewa's secondary colour, until DV came along with a much better theory:

Oh man. Now that you say keetorange, looking back at it, I'd bet almost anything Lewa is using keetorange. Not sure how I feel about this. Also, speaking of burnt orange... Pohatu? I went and pulled the image up again, and now I'm wondering if that colour is Pohatu's colour. Would be an interesting half-step between the orange 2008 Pohatu and the original brown one.

2)Gali has tr. light blue bones, her primary colour seems to be azure.

3)The Hau, Akaku and Pakari DEFINITELY look similar to the 2001 versions. The other 3 are a bit more ambiguous: the Kakama has its classic slanted eyes and wing-like cheeks but is more squarish, the Kaukau (the gold one) is closer to Gali's mask in MoL (which..is..ok, I guess). Lewa is by far the hardest to make out, but I can see some details from the 2001 mask (I made a quick analysis, but I'm not sure if I'm allowed to post it): the slanted eyes are there, but the smile looks a lot smaller and the general shape seems a lot different. But, whatever the case, I wouldn't mistake the mask Tahu is wearing on the big display art for anything other than a Hau: given the effort put into that gem, I'm not worried about the others.

I meant "accompanying" as in "sold alongside". But their roles and size seem relatively consistent with Matoran. The shared masks are unusual but there are plenty of reasons why that might not be done—firstly, to reduce the cost, since 8 molds (6 Toa+Skull Spider+Defender) is a lot cheaper than 12, and secondly, to make sure the Toa are distinctive (i.e. don't share mask designs with other characters). I've even hypothesized that the shared masks are simply a substitute for randomized ones—unlikely, but would be quite a neat feature that may be the only way to get anything like the classic mask packs.

I thought about this as well. Mainly because I still think that 6 sets with the same mask/head is an incredibly odd (and dumb, honestly) thing to make in 2015. The Beasts get a pass because they had two different head styles and each had a unique printing..these don't.

But that's not the only reason. I the only one who thinks the mask's general shape is very similar to the mystery gold mask (MGM) Tahu is trying to grab? It's just missing the mouth hole and the fine details the new Hau and the MGM have. The Defender mask looks so simple and featureless it looks like an early prototype. And these sets clearly are in their preliminary stage: most notably, Gali's wearing a mask that looks completely different from the gold one included in her set (it awfully looks like Onua's Pakari, in fact) and only Tahu and Lewa sport printed chests (no way only 2 Toa are getting those), but there might be other small details as well.

I have this theory (admittely, mostly born out of my wish for the Defenders to NOT have the same freaking mask!) that they're using a preliminary version of the MGM as a stand-in for the Defenders' real masks (which, as I said other times, don't necessarily have to be completely new masks, just recolours of the Toa Masks- randomized masks, as you suggested, would be the BEST thing but obviously unlikely).

Of course, there's another question standing: which set is going to feature the MGM (such a detailed design is clearly meant to be turned into a real piece)? I'm assuming it's going to debut in Summer, afterall the Ignika was introduced in 2006 but appeared as a piece only in 2008.

Oh, and by the way, I hope that the special armor on all of the Toa is gold, not yellow. Because yellow on Kopaka, Toa of Ice? Ewwww.....But anyway, the yellow just stands out way too much.

It's definitely gold, but it's not "all of the Toa": only the 3 larger Toa (Tahu, Kopaka and Onua) feature it, the other 3 only have gold masks. Lewa and Gali have silver armour, while Pohatu does his own thing.

Since the gold armour is mainly done through that new add-on piece, it shouldn't be hard to make the Toa a bit more consistent.. you can't do anything about the printed chests, though (unless they are stickers, but I very much doubt that, except for Onua).

I've been out a few days. I get the sense that I mised some updates. Can someone please fill me in on what's news we got in the last two or three days? Thanks ^_^

No real news save for the prices as Kalhiki mentioned, we've been mostly discussing whether the new BIONICLE is a reboot or a continuation. And whether this refers to BIONICLE or something else.

[Still Raindrop]

I'm just trying to say that it would be totally pointless to have a continuation without including what it's being continued from.

I don't really agree--most stories have world-building backstory. Despite the publishing order, I think the Silmarillion comparison is apt (especially since much of it was written before LOTR, even though it was published later); you don't have to know it to enjoy LOTR, but it can add to your knowledge and enjoyment, especially since there are a few mentions of the wider Tolkien lore in LOTR. Similarly, it's possible to have something like "After creating paradise, the Great Spirit Mata Nui rested in the legendary mask of life. Now that a mysterious evil threatens the Great Spirit, the villagers charged with protecting the mask have to summon the Toa, six ancient heroes who are destined to awaken him." Again, I doubt that this will happen--but I think it could, and it could be pulled off well.

[Aanchir]

Uh, I'd find poorly executed jokes a lot more offensive than some of the best years of BIONICLE, but hey...

I still would like a TV show, but a 2D animated one.

That could be interesting. Would you prefer traditional or flash-based animation? I think Mata Nui Online Game did some beautiful things with flash animation, and shows like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic show just how refined it can be when afforded a full TV series' budget and production schedule. I also think it can be useful for keeping high-detail character designs on-model.

1)Pohatu doesn't quite look brown (or at least, not his 2001 brown or dark brown). His colour might be Dark Brown (yes, that is Hewkii's brown/burnt orange- I thought it was a similar colour..but nope, the real deal). I had initially wondered if that was Lewa's secondary colour, until DV came along with a much better theory:

Don't you mean Dark Orange? I agree, it looks like that could be his primary color, which is totally fine by me. I do wish the model used it more extensively than what we can see currently, though.

[Jakura Nuva]

Since the gold armour is mainly done through that new add-on piece, it shouldn't be hard to make the Toa a bit more consistent.. you can't do anything about the printed chests, though (unless they are stickers, but I very much doubt that, except for Onua).

Oh great day, if Bionicle starts using stickers....

Edited August 31, 2014 by Jakura Nuva

[King of Nynrah]

Oh great day, if Bionicle figures start using stickers....

I'm afraid Tuma has already committed that crime =P

[Jakura Nuva]

I'm afraid Tuma has already committed that crime =P

Oh... my gosh...

I seriously own him, and completely forgot about that XD.

But take it from someone who owns it - that epically sucked. They began peeling off after a month or so.

[Chimaninja454]

Is HF likely to be discontinued or continued?

[King of Nynrah]

Is HF likely to be discontinued or continued?

The same guy who leaked the BIONICLE 2015 pics says that he is absolutely sure that HF is done with.

[Chro]

Correct.

[just2good]

The same guy who leaked the BIONICLE 2015 pics says that he is absolutely sure that HF is done with.

Yep, and there was no new sets in the latest catalog (as none showed up on the Swiss site).

[Clone 01354 Productions]

Well, Hero Factory is dead, so time to rap up their story. They need to kill ALL the monsters now, with and army of like a bazillion robots, with lasers that go "pew pew pew"! And then, like, a really big explosion!!

Hero Factory was junk. You can't feel for any of the characters, considering that they are all robots. When Jaller died in Mask of Life, or when Lhikan died in LOMN, it was kind of sad. Now, a robot gets his head cut off, and they just reattach it.

Oh, and also, I remember buying Tuma, how excited I was, and I remember the EXACT moment that my heart sank: the moment the sticker sheet fell out. The coolest thing about this guy was his mask, and it used stickers!! And they were so oddly shaped, and had to be placed on the thinnest pieces, that I just gave up. So these new Bionicles better not use stickers, or I'll cry.

[Jakura Nuva]

So these new Bionicles better not use stickers, or I'll cry.

There is a perfect meme for this.

Edited August 31, 2014 by Jakura Nuva

[Voxovan]

So these new Bionicles better not use stickers, or I'll cry.

If you don't want to apply them, just don't do it.

[Kalhiki]

One of the possibilities that has been suggested is a continuation set far enough in the future that the 2009-2011 stuff doesn't matter. This would be similar to a hard reboot, yes, but it would also mean that you wouldn't have to deal with the problem of setting--we were, after all, given an entire planet to explore, and it had a much less advanced sci-fi feel than the Matoran Universe. Who knows--maybe a group of Matoran/Agori found an island to live on and named it Mata Nui, keeping the Mask of Life there. The description wouldn't need to have anything more than extremely minimal backstory (if any at all, other than that the Great Spirit is housed in a mask), giving a fresh start. This isn't likely to be what we'll get, but it does show that a continuation doesn't need to mean what you think.

This is what I'm wanting to happen.

Now that a mysterious evil threatens the Great Spirit, the villagers charged with protecting the mask have to summon the Toa, six ancient heroes who are destined to awaken him." Again, I doubt that this will happen--but I think it could, and it could be pulled off well.

Defenders... Well, guess that explains that name! :P

But seriously. Defenders need to defend something. If it's not their village, my bet's on the mask. Plus, them all wearing the same mask would kinda make more sense since it would unify them as a team (think of it as their uniforms).

[Jakura Nuva]

If you don't want to apply them, just don't do it.

You could do that, but then you miss out on half of the look.

[Voxovan]

You could do that, but then you miss out on half of the look.

Not really, I didn't apply stickers to any of the HF sets and they still looked good.

[Clone 01354 Productions]

Defenders... Well, guess that explains that name! :P

But seriously. Defenders need to defend something. If it's not their village, my bet's on the mask. Plus, them all wearing the same mask would kinda make more sense since it would unify them as a team (think of it as their uniforms).

This could be a good idea. I also like the idea of three sides: Toa and the Skull Spiders in a race to find the masks for their own purposes, and Defenders, to guard the masks. But then, what mask? The central one in the picture, or each individual Toa's golden mask? From the boxes, each Toa has a golden version of their own mask. So, each Toa can go into their own elemental setting to find their own golden masks, which are guarded by the Defenders, in order to wipe out the skull spiders. My idea is that this golden armor gives them more power, and if they all wear their golden masks, that is the only way to stop the hordes.

Edited August 31, 2014 by LN-01354

[Jakura Nuva]

Not really, I didn't apply stickers to any of the HF sets and they still looked good.

Whatever floats your boat. I personally couldn't stand not applying something that was meant to be applied.

Toa and the Skull Spiders in a race to find the masks for their own purposes, and Defenders, to guard the masks.

This is what I'm suspecting. I highly doubt that the Defenders/Protectors are allies of the Toa - that would mean that the puny little Skull Spiders (and the LOSS) are the only enemies, and that's just too easy.

[Dorek]

That could be interesting. Would you prefer traditional or flash-based animation? I think Mata Nui Online Game did some beautiful things with flash animation, and shows like My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic show just how refined it can be when afforded a full TV series' budget and production schedule. I also think it can be useful for keeping high-detail character designs on-model.

I was thinking something more in the way of traditional 2D animation, but Flash could be pretty interesting to see as well. With 3D animations becoming increasingly the norm, both with LEGO and other companies, I think 2D would be a neat way of setting things apart (and I'm sure has contributed to the success of Mixels as it is).

Well, Hero Factory is dead, so time to rap up their story. They need to kill ALL the monsters now, with and army of like a bazillion robots, with lasers that go "pew pew pew"! And then, like, a really big explosion!!

Hero Factory was junk. You can't feel for any of the characters, considering that they are all robots. When Jaller died in Mask of Life, or when Lhikan died in LOMN, it was kind of sad. Now, a robot gets his head cut off, and they just reattach it.

Oh, and also, I remember buying Tuma, how excited I was, and I remember the EXACT moment that my heart sank: the moment the sticker sheet fell out. The coolest thing about this guy was his mask, and it used stickers!! And they were so oddly shaped, and had to be placed on the thinnest pieces, that I just gave up. So these new Bionicles better not use stickers, or I'll cry.

Just because you're clouded with nostalgia for early BIONICLE doesn't mean other people weren't as emotionally impacted by things that went on in HF. Not to mention I certainly don't recall anyone being beheaded; the last time I saw body parts being reattached with no particular fuss in a LEGO constraction line was, let's see, BIONICLE.

This is what I'm suspecting. I highly doubt that the Defenders/Protectors are allies of the Toa - that would mean that the puny little Skull Spiders (and the LOSS) are the only enemies, and that's just too easy.

It's hard to say that their title automatically makes them "enemies"; depending on what they're defending, they could simply be a test for good and bad guys alike, a la 2006's Umbra. It doesn't have to be so black and white.

That said, given what's going on in the sets, they are very actively "defending" against those spiders, so I would imagine those are the main enemies.

[Chro]

I like stickers for the fact that you have options - you can put it on the piece, or not, or put it on something else entirely. With printed parts, it's easier to have the intended look of the sets since you don't have to worry about all the sticker application and such...

[Jakura Nuva]

It's hard to say that their title automatically makes them "enemies"; depending on what they're defending, they could simply be a test for good and bad guys alike, a la 2006's Umbra. It doesn't have to be so black and white.

That said, given what's going on in the sets, they are very actively "defending" against those spiders, so I would imagine those are the main enemies.

Wait, I never said that the Defenders were "enemies", per se. I was just stating that I couldn't see them as the Toa's allies. If anything, I agree with what you just said.

I like stickers for the fact that you have options - you can put it on the piece, or not, or put it on something else entirely. With printed parts, it's easier to have the intended look of the sets since you don't have to worry about all the sticker application and such...

I can agree with this.

[Kamen Rider Kiva]

So, does anyone think we'll get the amazing style of in-depth & detailed commercials like we did with Bionicle G1?