Bionicle 2016 Sets Discussion

[MrHerofan]

This isn't really 2016 related but I built the Kulta x Skull Scorpio x Ekimu combiner model from last year and it looks really cool. I didn't really like the way that Skull Scorpio looked and Kulta was underwhelming to me. The combiner model is really cool and while the blue that gets thrown in can look out of place the model overall is more what Kulta should have been. A large evil villain rather than being smaller than the toa.

[Toa-Nuva]

The second issue of the magazine is out in Germany now. As expected, it contains the rest of the first GN. Since this part of the comic is way longer than the previous part (28 pages versus 20), there's no presentation of the characters, puzzles or posters - the magazine is mostly just the comic.

Agil is indeed supposed to be placed on Ekimu's left arm, so you have to remove the shield from his arm. (I think there was some uncertainty about this.) The set comes with an additional part that allows you to attach the shield to Ekimu's leg while Agil is sitting on his arm.

It shouldn't be surprising, but there's no preview in this magazine, so probably there won't be a third issue in Germany either.

For those interested, I've written a short (German) article about the new issue, which also contains a few images: http://derchronist.net/blog/2016/08/ausgabe-2-des-bionicle-magazins/ (The photos are a bit crappy though, since I had no camera other than my old cheap cell phone available.)

Edited August 11, 2016 by Toa-Nuva

[Zorglorfian]

The second issue of the magazine is out in Germany now. As expected, it contains the rest of the first GN. Since this part of the comic is way longer than the previous part (28 pages versus 20), there's no presentation of the characters, puzzles or posters - the magazine is mostly just the comic.

Agil is indeed supposed to be placed on Ekimu's left arm, so you have to remove the shield from his arm. (I think there was some uncertainty about this.) The set comes with an additional part that allows you to attach the shield to Ekimu's leg while Agil is sitting on his arm.

What piece is this? Thank you!

[Dorek]

Ooh, very nice, thanks for that write-up. I had thought Agil would go on Ekimu's right arm just to avoid any leftover pieces, but they cleverly accounted for that.

[Logan McOwen]

[TwistLaw]

...and they didn't even bother to transcribe it.

Sigh.

[Voxovan]

...and they didn't even bother to transcribe it.

Sigh.

It's BZPower, what did you expect?

[TwistLaw]

It's BZPower, what did you expect?

They're lucky the BIONICLE fanbase is almost nonexistent nowadays... it would be so much fun to see more people questioning their policies.

But I guess it has happened enough times in the past. In vain.

[Aanchir]

They're lucky the BIONICLE fanbase is almost nonexistent nowadays... it would be so much fun to see more people questioning their policies.

But I guess it has happened enough times in the past. In vain.

Not sure what policies you're referring to here, because BZPower's policies have changed a LOT over the years, and IMO, for the better. Once upon a time there were all kinds of dumb and restrictive rules that the site's managed to get rid of in the intervening years. We are constantly listening to feedback and trying to evolve, but it's difficult sometimes when so many of the staff are spread thin between BZPower and other obligations, particularly with the Bionicle fanbase likewise spread so thin that it's hard to tell which of our changes make a positive difference.

The BZPower policy I've seen criticized the most in the past two years was the "no leaks" policy, but that's one we were and still are in the right about, as evidenced by Eurobricks and TTV (the two sites presented as counterpoints) tightening their own rules about leaks in response to both outside pressure and inside observations about how runaway rumor-mongering was hurting the quality of discussion.

If any BZPower members have an issue with how the site is currently run, please take it up with the staff. For my part I will see about getting transcripts for these and future interviews. As a member of the news team I can even transcribe them myself if it comes down to it. As one of the few news team members who doesn't have a proper job I might be better equipped to make time for that than my colleagues. But it's frustrating to hear them talked about in this way on account of problems they may not have even been approached about.

Sorry for furthering this tangent, but hopefully things can get back on topic now.

Edited August 28, 2016 by Aanchir

[Bigger Fish]

I wonder if we can pester the bionicle team to reveal their 2017 sets and plans seeing as we will never get them in real life, would be interesting to see what they had up their sleeves had they been allowed to go the full three years.

[Fulcrumfan91]

I wonder if we can pester the bionicle team to reveal their 2017 sets and plans seeing as we will never get them in real life, would be interesting to see what they had up their sleeves had they been allowed to go the full three years.

The only thing we could possibly get about 2017 would be concept art I think...because I dont think sets were planned if the cancellationw as planned in 2015. Thwy qould have ceased set design for what ever was not already thought up and planned for release.

Also....this interview reveals very little to me about the actual designs of the sets and their inspirations. Im not a fan of that. They gave vague descriptions of inspirations from video games...that was about it. This is disappointing.

[ZORK64]

I recently bought Lava Beast and I was surprised that it uses the older, large eyestalk rather than the shorter one that was introduced in early 2016.

Was the new eye stalk not cast in trans-green?

[Shakar]

I recently bought Lava Beast and I was surprised that it uses the older, large eyestalk rather than the shorter one that was introduced in early 2016.

Was the new eye stalk not cast in trans-green?

Nope, that's why all 2016 Toa have light blue eyes. The only other colour is Umarak the Hunter's trans reddish orange, exclusive to him.

I still think the shorter eyestalk wasn't completely necessary, personally. The Creature head can mount over the Toa's head even if you use the longer eyestalk. It arguably works better too, because it stays in its place instead of wobbling around, it just limits head articulation (which is still limited with the shorter eyestalk to begin with).

[ZORK64]

I see, thanks for the answer!

I was mostly hoping for the short stalk in trans-green because I wanted it in all three current colors, as I consider it more useful for MOCs due to being less prone to trigger the mask drop feature.

But oh well, in this case I'll only give two of my MOCs shorter eyestalks...

[MakutaDreadscythe]

In retrospect I do find the lack of green short-eyestalks perplexing. The beasts all use green eyes, as does Ekimu, all of which have hindered head articulation to a degree, and some of the toa lose their individuality with them all having blue eyes. This is made more perplexing when you realise the only other colour was used once in Umarak the Hunter and NOT in Umarak the Destroyer. A green eyestalk would have been used more often, potentially anyhow.

[Silent Nomad]

The second issue of the magazine is out in Germany now. As expected, it contains the rest of the first GN. Since this part of the comic is way longer than the previous part (28 pages versus 20), there's no presentation of the characters, puzzles or posters - the magazine is mostly just the comic.

Agil is indeed supposed to be placed on Ekimu's left arm, so you have to remove the shield from his arm. (I think there was some uncertainty about this.) The set comes with an additional part that allows you to attach the shield to Ekimu's leg while Agil is sitting on his arm.

It shouldn't be surprising, but there's no preview in this magazine, so probably there won't be a third issue in Germany either.

For those interested, I've written a short (German) article about the new issue, which also contains a few images: http://derchronist.n...nicle-magazins/ (The photos are a bit crappy though, since I had no camera other than my old cheap cell phone available.)

Can you take a scan or picture of the page with the actual instructions for Agil? I just want to be sure I got the build right, though there's really not much to get wrong.

I actually did a similar thing to my Ekimu's leg, but all the pieces I used were in black, so it would blend in better. I didn't use that half-width piece with the two axle holes on mine, instead opting for just a single clip piece through the outside rear hole of the mount piece. I thought that would simplify any transfer process. The clip pieces are also really difficult to remove from the mount piece, in my experience.

[xboxtravis7992]

A recent article on Brickset is making me wonder if Bionicle was doing okay sales wise, but maybe it was cancelled to cut the loses in the North America market? Thoughts?

http://brickset.com/article/23415/lego-posts-mixed-financial-results#comments

[Jetrax99]

A recent article on Brickset is making me wonder if Bionicle was doing okay sales wise, but maybe it was cancelled to cut the loses in the North America market? Thoughts?

http://brickset.com/article/23415/lego-posts-mixed-financial-results#comments

Well that doesn't sound good.

[Aanchir]

A recent article on Brickset is making me wonder if Bionicle was doing okay sales wise, but maybe it was cancelled to cut the loses in the North America market? Thoughts?

http://brickset.com/...esults#comments

I don't think the LEGO Group would cancel a theme worldwide to cut losses in the Americas unless that theme was struggling in other parts of the world and was mainly being sustained for the sake of the American market. Moreover, this year's interim results only describe a slight decline in sales. It's enough of a decline to make the LEGO Group seek to respond, but not enough to send them immediately into crisis management mode.

What's more, these figures only apply to the first half of this year, which seems far too recent for the decision to end Bionicle to have been made in response to them. The LEGO Group's 2015 annual result and LEGO Systems, Inc.'s 2015 year-end highlights both reported double-digit growth in the United States.

According to Reuters, the main reason for flat sales in the Americas is something nobody I've seen no forum commentators suggest: LEGO invested less in marketing in the Americas this year in response to difficulty keeping up with demand. However, that issue very well MIGHT explain the decision to end Bionicle — it could be that it was in fact making money, but the LEGO Group needed to cut it so they could increase production and distribution of other themes like City, Star Wars, Friends, and Ninjago that were struggling to satisfy their extremely high demand.

Edited September 6, 2016 by Aanchir

[xboxtravis7992]

Good point, those numbers were probably reported after Lego had already made the decision to ax G2... Although it is an interesting theory that Bionicle was axed to keep up supply demands for other themes.

Or maybe Lego sales dropped due to disgruntled Bionicle fans not buying Lego products?

Also I don't know if this belongs to the 2016 set discussion, but I rendered a version of Agil in LDD (I know I am way late to this!). Hopefully with this parts list I can someday Bricklink the pieces needed for Agil to be built in person.

Edited September 6, 2016 by xboxtravis7992

[Kalta the Noble Mind]

so Bionicle may have been sacrificed to aide the production of in demand themes? hasnt lego been making soem reinovations in response to their newfound popularity,such as expanding lego HQ and making the lego museum, and will all be complete around 2018? if so could there be a chance we could get a Bionicle G3 in 2020 or so after lego gets all settled?

hopefully giving the love and care it deserved as being Lego's very first IP.

[Aethersprite]

Just a little anecdote I'd like to share. I visited a local Lego shop today and to my surprise, I saw a little boy come in looking specifically for "Pohatu, Uniter of Stone". His mother asked him how 'Pohatu' was spelt and he struggled a bit after "P... O..." and I happily cut in and helped him with his spelling. His mother added that he loved Bionicle and Creator. It was comforting seeing a little kid so keen on Bionicle, something I've not seen in a long time. Kids these days clamour after Ninjago and Chima.

Then we were told that all the G2 Bionicle sets are on sale, "while stocks last". There were only a few Protectors and a couple of Kopaka Uniters left. I was shocked to find out that the Bionicle sets were going for 40-50% off. Lego sales are extremely rare in my country, especially for Lego specialty shops. Even so, sales usually only give about 20% discount. Such a drastic drop in price is almost unheard of. The Lego shop's desperation to get rid of its Bionicle sets couldn't be more apparent. Also note that my country, like the rest of Asia, will not be getting the Summer 2016 wave.

I knew Bionicle was ending, and I admit that I'm losing interest in the theme, but it didn't hit me so starkly as it did today. I didn't have the heart to tell the little boy that not only would he not be able to get the Summer 2016 wave without importing sets from overseas, but that Bionicle was ending next year.

[CM4Sci]

Yeah, my LEGO Store has has BIONICLE sets in clearance bins in the middle of the store for months.

[Lyichir]

I finally got around to completing my Bionicle G2 collection today, since I managed to pick up Ikir and Terak at Toys R Us and Barnes & Noble, respectively. Built Terak when I got home, and I'm still super-impressed with him—he's everything Melum could've been if he hadn't been hit quite so hard with the budget stick. I'll probably save Ikir for a little while longer, though, since he's the last new Bionicle set I'll be able to enjoy, at least until the theme makes another return some day.

[xboxtravis7992]

I finally got around to completing my Bionicle G2 collection today, since I managed to pick up Ikir and Terak at Toys R Us and Barnes & Noble, respectively. Built Terak when I got home, and I'm still super-impressed with him—he's everything Melum could've been if he hadn't been hit quite so hard with the budget stick. I'll probably save Ikir for a little while longer, though, since he's the last new Bionicle set I'll be able to enjoy, at least until the theme makes another return some day.

That is a pretty sad to consider. Savor the moment with Ikir then!