Old Bionicle parts you'd want to see brought back for Gen 2?

[MakutaOfWar]

It does work well for other uses. I have it used on three MoCs as a back add-on for 2.0 torsos, really good use as a filler, with all of the emptiness and such. Also, since the bulk of my HF MoCs use projectile styled weaponry(LMGs, ARs, Sniper Rifles) the connection points are perfect. But used as a foot? Not so pretty.

Edited May 30, 2015 by MakutaOfWar

[The Kumquat Alchemist]

People don't like the 2.0 foot? What's wrong with it? It's a fine foot piece, and like DraikNova said, putting them sole-to-sole makes for cool armour pieces.

I dislike its overuse because of its exaggerated proportions, and the fact that the socket column is part of the mold and thus cannot be removed.

Though functional and somewhat versatile due to its generic appearance, another size or shape of something similarly versatile and functional would be a wonderful boon.

Edited May 30, 2015 by The Kumquat Alchemist

[DraikNova]

Considering that a foot with human proportions (1/9th of a persons body length would be my approximation) wouldn't be able to hold up a figure from any constraction system, I think that's a moot point. It's large because a boot is large. And why exactly would you need to get rid of the socket column?

Edited May 30, 2015 by DraikNova

[TheOneVeyronian]

Honestly, I think all CCBS feet with a pre-moulded socket could have been more useful than just feet if they followed the principle that many Bionicle feet followed and have a cavity with an axle hole where one of these could be slid in. This could be so easily have been part of the 2.0 foot, and it's implementation would only have lost one Technic pin hole (but the increased options and improved aesthetics would have made for a vastly improved part). I'm honestly not sure why LEGO went for a pre-moulded socket now

Anyway, I wouldn't mind seeing a CCBS version of the Mata foot. We really need small non-bestial feet in the lineup. Also, I'd like the Skrall shield to come back. I have three: one red, one unprinted and one where I painted the geometric lines blue. It's much more interesting than the saw blade we have currently, and fits a number of aesthetics.

[The Kumquat Alchemist]

Considering that a foot with human proportions (1/9th of a persons body length would be my approximation) wouldn't be able to hold up a figure from any constraction system, I think that's a moot point. It's large because a boot is large. And why exactly would you need to get rid of the socket column.

And yet the tiny beast feet hold up Protectors just fine. Really, if we can get large and small variants of beast feet, why not the same for the generic 2.0 foot? Heck, we've seen the small beast foot being used for Skull Slicer, so we know that LEGO considers feet of such a size acceptable for larger figures.

As for the socket column, TheOneVeyronan explained quite well why I find it distasteful; more specifically, the pre-molded socket column makes it more difficult to use as an armor component, compared to old BIONICLE feet.

[DraikNova]

Yeah, but for anything larger than that, it's nigh-impossible. And I have in fact experienced that problem with the Protectors.

[Lyichir]

Considering that a foot with human proportions (1/9th of a persons body length would be my approximation) wouldn't be able to hold up a figure from any constraction system, I think that's a moot point. It's large because a boot is large. And why exactly would you need to get rid of the socket column.

The biggest issue with the socket column, as far as I'm concerned, is the fact that adding a friction joint to it makes it unappealingly tall (as seen in Tahu, Master of Fire as well as Furno XL from 2013). But that's not something old feet were generally any better about—the only Bionicle foot piece with an ankle that was any lower was the Hordika foot, which had its own issues and would not allow for the attachment of friction joints anyway. A new foot piece with a molded socket 1M lower could fix this issue, but I don't know whether there would be enough sets that need a piece like that to justify its existence.

[One Very Agile Cat]

And yet the tiny beast feet hold up Protectors just fine.

Because Protectors are way smaller than a Toa.

[Voxovan]

Because Protectors are way smaller than a Toa.

*cough* Skull Slicer *cough*

[Quisoves Pugnat]

People don't like the 2.0 foot? What's wrong with it? It's a fine foot piece, and like DraikNova said, putting them sole-to-sole makes for cool armour pieces.

It's not an inherently bad piece. It's great for a number of things (e.g. breastplates.) It's not even a bad foot piece, per se. The main problem is how casual it looks. Take Gali, for example. The fierce, regal elegance of an otherwise excellent set is dampened by the fact that she looks like she's wearing sneakers.

[The Kumquat Alchemist]

Because Protectors are way smaller than a Toa.

See:

we've seen the small beast foot being used for Skull Slicer, so we know that LEGO considers feet of such a size acceptable for larger figures.

[vexorian]

I agree about the 3 OP pieces, even tho I haven't been able to find as many uses for the Vahi waists in combination to CSSCSSCCC as it first thought.

Bohrok *eyes* really need to be used more often. They are a quintessential MoCing piece that needs to stay around.

[GK733]

*cough* Skull Slicer *cough*

*Couch* It's not a complete foot, just bones of it, if Slicer would reappear as his former self he would have 2.0 feet as well. Onua has toes, why wouldn't the rest of the toa? They are just covered by some metal. It's not a "only protector thing"

Edited May 30, 2015 by GK733

[Voxovan]

*Couch* It's not a complete foot, just bones of it, if Slicer would reappear as his former self he would have 2.0 feet as well. Onua has toes, why wouldn't the rest of the toa? They are just covered by some metal. It's not a "only protector thing"

What. We were talking about how smaller feet couldn't be used in bigger sets because that would make the figures unstable, and then I pointed that Skull Slicer also uses them, even though he's a middle-sized set. The story "explanation" why he has such feet has nothing to do with it.

[GK733]

What. We were talking about how smaller feet couldn't be used in bigger sets because that would make the figures unstable, and then I pointed that Skull Slicer also uses them, even though he's a middle-sized set. The story "explanation" why he has such feet has nothing to do with it.

Gah, should had read more. Been so little of news the conversation in here is derailing from one side to other all the time.

Sure they can use smaller beast foot on larger figures if it keeps stable enough with some other pieces.

[toatyger]

Classic Toa Mata weapons, cast in the new silver color. Also, the Turaga staffs.

[One Very Agile Cat]

*cough* Skull Slicer *cough*

Skull Slicer has, like, no armour, though. (and for all we know could fall over way easier than your average Toa)

[MakutaOfWar]

Skull Warrior uses the small foot as well, people. Know your bonkles. *Sigh*

[Aanchir]

It should be noted that having the ball cup separate from the foot (like Metru or Inika feet) was often part of the reason those feet had such annoying protruding heels. The only feet without integrated ball cups that avoided the protruding heel issue were the Hordika foot, Kalmah foot, and Stars foot, which all had barely any heel at all (in other words, the opposite problem).

It's not an inherently bad piece. It's great for a number of things (e.g. breastplates.) It's not even a bad foot piece, per se. The main problem is how casual it looks. Take Gali, for example. The fierce, regal elegance of an otherwise excellent set is dampened by the fact that she looks like she's wearing sneakers.

I personally don't think it looks exceptionally casual. Frankly I think it suits Gali just fine. It also generally looks more like a boot than a sneaker to me. Now, the Toa Mata foot (my favorite G1 foot) looks more like a sneaker or running shoe to me. Probably because of the way the "toe" slopes upward. But I don't think either style of foot looks terribly inelegant.

[The Kumquat Alchemist]

It should be noted that having the ball cup separate from the foot (like Metru or Inika feet) was often part of the reason those feet had such annoying protruding heels. The only feet without integrated ball cups that avoided the protruding heel issue were the Hordika foot, Kalmah foot, and Stars foot, which all had barely any heel at all (in other words, the opposite problem).

True, but due to the construction of the 2.0 foot, the heel could stay in the same place while still allowing for a separate ball cup part, with the only cost being the space currently occupied by the central pin hole.

[Voxovan]

It should be noted that having the ball cup separate from the foot (like Metru or Inika feet) was often part of the reason those feet had such annoying protruding heels. The only feet without integrated ball cups that avoided the protruding heel issue were the Hordika foot, Kalmah foot, and Stars foot, which all had barely any heel at all (in other words, the opposite problem).

You know, biomechanical beings from a fictional world don't need to have the exact foot proportions as humans :/

[Aanchir]

True, but due to the construction of the 2.0 foot, the heel could stay in the same place while still allowing for a separate ball cup part, with the only cost being the space currently occupied by the central pin hole.

Are you suggesting pushing the ball cup forward so it can attach in between the pin holes? Because that's effectively not much different than pushing the heel back, which is what I'd like to avoid.

Basically, the Toa Mata foot and the 2.0 foot both have just one module of heel behind the ball cup (or to put it somewhat differently, one and a half modules horizontally from the very back of the heel to the very center of the ankle joint). Parts like the Toa Metru foot have two and a half modules horizontally from the back of the heel to the center of the ankle joint. The non-clawed Toa Inika foot is even worse, with three and a half modules horizontally from the back of the heel to the center of the ankle joint. In other words, if the ankle joint were just half a module further forward, the heel would be exactly long as the toe! I can't be the only person who finds that a bit ridiculous.

You know, biomechanical beings from a fictional world don't need to have the exact foot proportions as humans :/

I never said they did. But you could say the same thing to all the people who are complaining about the toe of the 2.0 foot being too long. People's aesthetic pet peeves don't have to have any kind of in-universe justification to be significant. And for characters who are otherwise fairly humanoid and not deliberately designed to look bestial, I'd generally rather have feet with toes slightly longer than human toes than feet with heels more than twice the length of a human heel.

Edited May 31, 2015 by Aanchir

[DraikNova]

The idea is to remove the middle pin hole from the 2.0 foot and basically remove a portion similar to the classic Bionicle "hand" from it, allowing you to use the space where the pin hole would normally be to slide in the hand. It would be a tremendously ugly piece in my opinion, though, and I can't really understand why you'd want to use this as armor.

[Aanchir]

The idea is to remove the middle pin hole from the 2.0 foot and basically remove a portion similar to the classic Bionicle "hand" from it, allowing you to use the space where the pin hole would normally be to slide in the hand. It would be a tremendously ugly piece in my opinion, though, and I can't really understand why you'd want to use this as armor.

Ah, okay, I get it now. So the Y-joint would attach from in front of its final position instead of from behind like in the case of most BIONICLE feet. That took me far longer than it should have to figure out.

I certainly see how a part like that could certainly be useful, and the hole left in place of the middle pin hole would not be a huge problem since you'd be able to use the other two pin holes to attach something that fills that space. It would also be even simpler from a molding standpoint than the 2.0 foot piece, since you'd need only a two-section mold (assuming that the foot piece being hard plastic rather than soft plastic like the Rahkshi, Inika, and Metru feet doesn't create any kinds of problems). And in terms of it being ugly, as long as you're introducing a new mold, you could do whatever you like to it aesthetically. But overall, this gets back to my original point, which is that if we were going to have a different foot piece, I'd rather have something genuinely new than a retired foot piece that brings its own set of flaws with it.

The soft plastic is something that not a lot of people have mentioned, but this is a good place to bring it up — have you noticed how few soft plastic parts the new BIONICLE sets use? This isn't entirely a new thing. Looking back, I guess we've been seeing fewer and fewer soft plastic parts since the CCBS was introduced. But it is something I hadn't given a whole lot of thought until this year, when we finally returned to hard plastic masks. It's not an across-the-board change, of course — things like the talon pieces used on Lewa's torso or the tail pieces used for Skull Basher's horns are still soft plastics as well. But it's hard to look at this shift and not think it was for a reason.

I can definitely see how the softer plastics are more prone to scratching or bending out of shape. Perhaps soft plastic pieces that didn't need to be soft from a structural standpoint (like the masks and armor shells of the Toa Metru) are something that the LEGO Group decided was tarnishing the BIONICLE brand's perceived quality. If so, that might also be something to bear in mind when thinking about what retired BIONICLE parts could be brought back into production. Things like Rahkshi back plates or Toa Nuva shoulder pads, useful as they are, might no longer meet the LEGO Group's expectations of quality.

Edited June 1, 2015 by Aanchir

[Logan McOwen]

On the subject of tiny feet, take a look at my boy Kaikohuru:

He has diddy little beast feet with the addition of tiny System toes, and yet he holds his balance pretty damn well - especially considering that he has a ton of Technic in his upper body, making him very top heavy. Also, my modded Lewa:

Again, teeny tiny feet, only extended very slightly by loose little talons.

I really don't see the issue with giving Toa-sized sets little feet like these, as long as they're accommodated accordingly. Smaller feet could even be used with Titan-scale characters, but in that situation, friction joints may be necessary.

Edited June 1, 2015 by LewiMOC