Bionicle 2016 Sets Discussion

[Shakar]

2016 Lewa is actually half a module shorter than Onua and Gali due to his leg build.

In general, I think the Toa's proportions are alright, but I'm not too fond of the extra length in the torsos or the extra length in Onua's legs. The three smaller Toa end up with arms and/or legs that feel almost too short for their bodies, and Onua's lost his tunnel-dwarf proportions that I liked so much. I also wish that Onua could have still used the "XL" chest plate, as I feel like it did a lot to help him feel unique, and it should still be compatible with the new torso shell and torso beam. Guess that's an option to keep in mind for revamps...

Thanks, I'll fix that.

Overall I don't mind the extra height, but I'm a bit worried about the limbs length too. Though I'm fine with Onua's build,the idea about using the XL chest with the new torso does appeal to me.

[GK733]

Thanks, I'll fix that.

Overall I don't mind the extra height, but I'm a bit worried about the limbs length too. Though I'm fine with Onua's build,the idea about using the XL chest with the new torso does appeal to me.

While it fits him, personally speaking that is a piece that got stale really, really fast and despite that is used on four(?) sets.

[Shakar]

The problem with that piece is that it's so large and smooth that it looks bland without printing. I have the feeling we're not going to see it for a while though, if at all.

[bidiminished]

2016 Lewa is actually half a module shorter than Onua and Gali due to his leg build.

In general, I think the Toa's proportions are alright, but I'm not too fond of the extra length in the torsos or the extra length in Onua's legs. The three smaller Toa end up with arms and/or legs that feel almost too short for their bodies, and Onua's lost his tunnel-dwarf proportions that I liked so much. I also wish that Onua could have still used the "XL" chest plate, as I feel like it did a lot to help him feel unique, and it should still be compatible with the new torso shell and torso beam. Guess that's an option to keep in mind for revamps...

In 2015, all the toa apart from Pohatu and maybe Lewa had legs that were exaggeratedly long compared to their bodies, especially Tahu. An extra two or three modules of torso height would make them a bit more proportionate even if the legs have an odd upper to lower leg ratio. Also, the added torso height would mean that the toa's hands (imagining they are not clenched) would reach mid-thigh rather than at or past their knees.

[Aethersprite]

So, after some LDD building and Excel tables here's the data I found. Hopefully I didn't get anything wrong.

Note that:

-The average Toa Inika build is, I believe, 29x11 M.

-A Hero Factory Breakout Hero (tallest vanilla Hero build) is 25x7 M or 25x9 M depending on the torso bone used.

Overall height

2015

1)Tahu (27M)

2)Kopaka (26M)

3)Gali = Lewa (25M)

4)Onua (24M) <- straightened neck

5)Pohatu (23M)

2016

1)Tahu (29M)

2)Kopaka (28M)

3)Onua = Gali (27M)

4)Lewa (26,5M)

5)Pohatu (26M)

Shoulder width

2015

1)Onua (13M)

2)Tahu (11M) = Kopaka

3)Pohatu = Gali = Lewa (9M)

2016

1)Onua (13M)

2)Tahu = Kopaka = Pohatu (11M)

3)Gali = Lewa (7M)

Onua, Tahu and Kopaka kept the same width. Pohatu's shoulders got wider, and Gali's and Lewa's got narrower.

But it's not over! You can get the height/shoulder ratio to get an idea of how the Toa body builds changed. You'd have to factor the shoulder height in too, especially for the 2015 Toa due to their gearbox, but that would become too complicated.

The higher the ratio, the more rectangular the Toa is (slender body), the lower it is the more squarish the Toa is (stocky body).

2015

1)Gali = Lewa (2,78)

2)Pohatu (2,56)

3)Tahu (2,45)

4)Kopaka (2,36)

5)Onua (1,77)

2016

1)Gali (3,86)

2)Lewa (3,79)

3)Tahu (2,64)

4)Kopaka (2,55)

5)Pohatu (2,36)

6)Onua (2,08)

So, Gali and Lewa l are consistent in their status as the most slender Toa and Onua does the same as the bulkiest Toa. Tahu and Kopaka get a bit more lithe only due to the

two modules added to their body. Pohatu is the only one who gets a bit wider/stronger looking (fitting his element, in my humble opinion).

Extra stuff

-Umarak is 29x11, just like Tahu

-Legs length: despite the different bone lengths and greater use of friction extenders, almost all Toa have kept the same leg length of their 2015 counterparts. The exceptions are Pohatu (1 Module longer) and Onua (2M longer).

However, since the new torso is 11M instead of 7M, all Toa have gotten taller of course.

TL,DR

Toa have mostly kept their body proportions and height differences intact, it's the new torso than makes them all look more slender and taller. So, the "Ekimu gave them new armour" explanation actually works pretty well. There certainly isn't any Kongu Inika -> Mahri (Hewkii got it pretty bad too, remember?) case here. More proof, AFAIC, that the designers aren't slapping random parts together and are instead working hard to stay faithful to the characters.

That's extremely detailed. Thanks for that!

Huh. So it seems Onua retains his broadness, though some of that is (proportionately) taken away by his taller height. Still, nice to see. I'm not too bothered by his "decreased bulk" unlike a lot of people.

[KonohiGerm]

Look folks, somebody on Brickshelf posted a bunch of ginormus pictures on Brickshelf of everything.

http://www.brickshel...ry.cgi?f=560420

Damn I am REALLY digging the way all the combiners look. They all look awesome.

[xboxtravis7992]

I wonder how many people will buy all the Toa and their Combiners... Nearly $50 for the beasts alone and then another $85 for the 5 Toa, plus $30 for Kopaka+Melum; its going to be one very pricey wave! I'm liking the designs though, but since I already dropped money on the six 2015 Toa, I still don't know if these are different ENOUGH to justify the second purchase. The only sure buy for me so far is Umarak, since he is a new character and comes with the Mask of Control.

Edited December 2, 2015 by xboxtravis7992

[TheDesuComplex]

I wonder how many people will buy all the Toa and their Combiners... Nearly $50 for the beasts alone and then another $85 for the 5 Toa, plus $30 for Kopaka+Melum; its going to be one very pricey wave! I'm liking the designs though, but since I already dropped money on the six 2015 Toa, I still don't know if these are different ENOUGH to justify the second purchase. The only sure buy for me so far is Umarak, since he is a new character and comes with the Mask of Control.

The wave as a whole, how that K&M is confirmed to be $30, is only $5 more USD than 1W2015. I feel that it's well worth the money, but that's because I can (not easily though) afford them. I have a feeling the situation will be like this year though- if you hold out, you will probably be able to find decent sales, especially on the medium sized Toa and the Creatures.

[ToaDraco]

I for one will be getting the whole wave per usual since I'm a completionist. I also love this wave. On a side note, does anyone know what Kopaka is doing in his Unity pose? If Melum had wings it would make sense but it just looks like he's tripping over something... or falling... with style.

[MakutaOfWar]

I for one will be getting the whole wave per usual since I'm a completionist. I also love this wave. On a side note, does anyone know what Kopaka is doing in his Unity pose? If Melum had wings it would make sense but it just looks like he's tripping over something... or falling... with style.

Tahu's swords must have gotten a little too close to Kopaka.

[Aethersprite]

I'm getting all the Creatures (and by extension, Kopaka - it's a good thing that he's my favourite of the 2016 Toa, so I'd be getting him anyway); Tahu, because Tahu+Ikir is my favourite of my combiners, and maybe Umarak and Onua, if I have the space left.

[DraikNova]

Tahu's swords must have gotten a little too close to Kopaka.

I didn't trip.

Anyway, I like Lewa's combiner a lot, which is too bad, considering I don't like Lewa that much. His custom arm build is kind of annoying, plus he doesn't have any tr. bone pieces, not even reusing Slicer's.

Edited December 2, 2015 by DraikNova

[YellowCorvette]

Tahu's combiner and Lewa's combiner looks gorgeous! The others are also nice, but I prefer Tahu's and Lewa's more.

[Darking]

So what's the point in Lewa's combiner anyway? He was already able to fly... or was that just because of his weapon's dual function?

If that's the case then these new weapons are even more of a downgrade compared to their previous ones. Well, maybe not Onua's.

[Logan McOwen]

The creatures probably also boost the Toa's elemental powers.

Edited December 2, 2015 by Logan McOwen

[Shakar]

That's extremely detailed. Thanks for that!

Huh. So it seems Onua retains his broadness, though some of that is (proportionately) taken away by his taller height. Still, nice to see. I'm not too bothered by his "decreased bulk" unlike a lot of people.

You're welcome! It was fun to do overall (and I couldn't resist since I was so curious).

I like Onua's body structure myself. I know a lot of people liked Onua the Dwarf King, but he was simply too broad to me, to the point of being almost comical (in my very humble opinion). He still looks very powerful now, but he's a lot more proportionate.

And he still looks like a dwarf-like being to me, or at least some elemental cave spirit, thanks to the hammer and the gold (about which I don't see anyone complaining anymore BTW). Add all the trans purple (like amethyst), and Onua looks feels very suited to his element and environment to me.

All Toa now look closer to their element to me, while also managing to look more mechanical. Maybe that's why I like them so much. I'd explain why I feel that way in detail but I fear I'm posting a bit too much here

I think I'll get all Toa, even if I don't keep them 100% together (since I plan to combine at least some of them with their 2015 forms). Getting Umarak and Uxar for sure, most likely Terak and Ikir too, but I think I'll skip Akida and Ketar. I skipped LoSS and the Protectors sans Korgot and Izotor, but the sets are so much more attractive this time- I'd like to get everything, but my budget is a bit tight lately.

[wghost]

I'm skipping on the creatures but Melum, 'thanks' to the unity set: they don't appeal to me all that much, even with their functions and combination feature. As I said before, these power-up models are not nearly as convincing in my eyes as I hoped them to be: Pohatu+Ketar is all over the place, Gali+Akida is very strange and not really exciting, and I don't like the fact how the smaller Toa's golden masks clash with their elemental creatures' silver heads. Speaking of Gali and Akida, they seem to be the weakest sets of both lines, which is really disappointing. And for the record, Kopaka2015>>>Kopaka2016 imo.

On another note, somebody on another forum has brought it up and I'd like to mention here as well how gappy the news sets are from behind.

Edited December 2, 2015 by wghost

[Ngoc Nguyen]

I think the silver creature heads look nice in the combo. The Toas look like they are wearing silver warrior helms.

[Dr_Chronos]

I'm skipping on the creatures but Melum, 'thanks' to the unity set: they don't appeal to me all that much, even with their functions and combination feature. As I said before, these power-up models are not nearly as convincing in my eyes as I hoped them to be: Pohatu+Ketar is all over the place, Gali+Akida is very strange and not really exciting, and I don't like the fact how the smaller Toa's golden masks clash with their elemental creatures' silver heads. Speaking of Gali and Akida, they seem to be the weakest sets of both lines, which is really disappointing. And for the record, Kopaka2015>>>Kopaka2016 imo.

On another note, somebody on another forum has brought it up and I'd like to mention here as well how gappy the news sets are from behind.

Agree about K and M, that set is very unappealing in my eyes. Which is a shame because Kopaka '15 was probably my favorite Master.

Of all the combos (excluding Umarak) I like Gali's and Lewa's the most. Gali gains an aquatic look as well as GUN SHOULDERS and Lewa gains insect wings and more color. Why not include Tahu? Well, even though he has the same combo as Lewa, his wings look hilariously tiny.

I wouldn't say the new sets are gappy, because they are nicely filled in the back. They're just flat. They lack depth. Probably to accommodate the function. Not really a fan of that.

[Aethersprite]

You're welcome! It was fun to do overall (and I couldn't resist since I was so curious).

I like Onua's body structure myself. I know a lot of people liked Onua the Dwarf King, but he was simply too broad to me, to the point of being almost comical (in my very humble opinion). He still looks very powerful now, but he's a lot more proportionate.

And he still looks like a dwarf-like being to me, or at least some elemental cave spirit, thanks to the hammer and the gold (about which I don't see anyone complaining anymore BTW). Add all the trans purple (like amethyst), and Onua looks feels very suited to his element and environment to me.

All Toa now look closer to their element to me, while also managing to look more mechanical. Maybe that's why I like them so much. I'd explain why I feel that way in detail but I fear I'm posting a bit too much here

I think I'll get all Toa, even if I don't keep them 100% together (since I plan to combine at least some of them with their 2015 forms). Getting Umarak and Uxar for sure, most likely Terak and Ikir too, but I think I'll skip Akida and Ketar. I skipped LoSS and the Protectors sans Korgot and Izotor, but the sets are so much more attractive this time- I'd like to get everything, but my budget is a bit tight lately.

I want Akida and Ketar. In fact, I think Ketar’s my favourite of the Creatures.

Akida appeals to me because I’m a sucker for underwater creatures. Akida itself is very uninteresting, but it shines when paired with Gali – giving her a tail and twin Blastoise shoulder cannons. Ketar, on the other hand, is an excellent standalone set. He’s a great parts pack, for one. He comes with a pair of both the new crystal blade and crystal shell add-on. The other Creatures come with only either of the two, and poor Akida doesn’t come with either. Ketar also gets some nice recolours (beast claws, and a seemingly unnecessary but completely welcome tan Vorox armour). His function is unique and fun too.

However, Ketar fails when it comes to his combiner. All the other Creatures at least add something to their respective Toa when combined; Ketar just looks like he’s sitting awkwardly on Pohatu’s back. And when you activate his function, I’m guessing he looks like he’s flailing his arms in a desperate attempt to escape Pohatu.

That said, I’m getting all the Creatures because I love Rahi-type builds. I’ve been clamouring for more diverse non-humanoid builds since the CCBS rolled around, and though the Creatures are pretty Technic-heavy, they’re still a welcome change from the pantheon of humanoid CCBS builds that we’ve been getting lately.

tl;dr Ketar is a great standalone set but sucks as a combiner.

[xboxtravis7992]

I wouldn't say the new sets are gappy, because they are nicely filled in the back. They're just flat. They lack depth. Probably to accommodate the function. Not really a fan of that.

Can anything be as flat as the Inika build though? These figs do look like they are a bit better than that.

[Aanchir]

As I said before, these power-up models are not nearly as convincing in my eyes as I hoped them to be: Pohatu+Ketar is all over the place, Gali+Akida is very strange and not really exciting, and I don't like the fact how the smaller Toa's golden masks clash with their elemental creatures' silver heads. Speaking of Gali and Akida, they seem to be the weakest sets of both lines, which is really disappointing.

I personally feel like Gali+Akida is one of the most stunning "power up" model. She looks very fast, graceful, and powerful! It helps that the official pic has her in an incredible pose. I don't think the silver heads clash with the golden masks at all — in fact, I'd almost say the contrast helps them look BETTER than the golden creature heads do on the golden masks. On Gali, Lewa, and Pohatu, the golden masks stand out (as golden masks should), and the creature heads take on the appearance of a protective helmet or armor rather than just an oddly elongated forehead.

Individually, Gali is my second favorite of the new Toa, after Lewa. She pulls off the asymmetrical look incredibly well, her color scheme is very dynamic with the contrasting orange accents, and her mask does a great job echoing this year's fantastic Mask of Water design while still bringing something new to the table with its crystal motif and more streamlined goggles. Even her weapon looks very impressive, and is a nice upgrade of her harpoon from this year (though I will miss the brilliance of her 2015 weapon's dual functions). My only gripe is that like Lewa and Pohatu, her arms are slightly too short for her torso (which is less of a problem for Tahu and Onua, who have lower shoulder joints, or Kopaka, who has longer arms).

Akida, individually, is a bit more of a mixed bag. It's the only creature with launchers rather than a gear function, although it does have a creative function for changing the angles of its fins and launchers. It's also very heavy on Technic and very light on CCBS. But from the pictures I've seen, it works very, very well. It shares Gali's dynamic color scheme and has just enough articulation to feel lithe and expressive.

Overall, Gali, Akida, Lewa, and Uxar are the 2016 Bionicle sets I'm most enthusiastic about getting. :)

I will agree that Pohatu's "power up" model with Ketar is one of the most awkward. I have to wonder if it might be better in real life, since you'd have the freedom to wrap the legs around the torso (which could actually look really cool, sort of like a harness) instead of them just sticking out at odd angles. Even then, it's hard to understand the function of Ketar's bladed arms, unlike the appendages of Uxar, Ikir, and Akida which enhance the Toa in much more obvious ways. Instead of making wings flap or adjusting the angle of the fins, Ketar's function in "power up" mode would just mean the blades and tail flailing about rather awkwardly.

[Shakar]

I want Akida and Ketar. In fact, I think Ketar’s my favourite of the Creatures.

Akida appeals to me because I’m a sucker for underwater creatures. Akida itself is very uninteresting, but it shines when paired with Gali – giving her a tail and twin Blastoise shoulder cannons. Ketar, on the other hand, is an excellent standalone set. He’s a great parts pack, for one. He comes with a pair of both the new crystal blade and crystal shell add-on. The other Creatures come with only either of the two, and poor Akida doesn’t come with either. Ketar also gets some nice recolours (beast claws, and a seemingly unnecessary but completely welcome tan Vorox armour). His function is unique and fun too.

However, Ketar fails when it comes to his combiner. All the other Creatures at least add something to their respective Toa when combined; Ketar just looks like he’s sitting awkwardly on Pohatu’s back. And when you activate his function, I’m guessing he looks like he’s flailing his arms in a desperate attempt to escape Pohatu.

That said, I’m getting all the Creatures because I love Rahi-type builds. I’ve been clamouring for more diverse non-humanoid builds since the CCBS rolled around, and though the Creatures are pretty Technic-heavy, they’re still a welcome change from the pantheon of humanoid CCBS builds that we’ve been getting lately.

tl;dr Ketar is a great standalone set but sucks as a combiner.

I do like Akida and Ketar. Akida a bit less since I'm not fond of Technic-heavy models (though, as a fish, s/he does pull it off better than LoSS and Scorpio), but I like the overall look and Gali looks great combined with her/him. Ketar is the best looking arachnid we've gotten in G2 so far, but, well, I don't care for his combo with Pohatu. I actually think Ketar would've looked great with some sort of launcher weapon, as it would've fit Pohatu's desert warrior theme really well.

So I'm not driven to get them as with the other Creatures. Uxar is my favourite Creature both and I really like his combo with Lewa and Umarak so he's a must. And I'll most likely get Terak and Ikir in the end.

Can anything be as flat as the Inika build though? These figs do look like they are a bit better than that.

The PoU and the back armour on their lower back should make them thicker than the Inika, I think.

But, anyway, I don't think it's that bad to be honest. The new torso still has plenty of pin holes, adding some back armour to bulk the Toa up should be extremely easy, especially if you're willing to sacrifice the Unity function. It is even easier than before since 1)The gearbox doesn't occupy space and 2)Like the XT4 torso (and unlike the first three CCBS torsos from 2011), the Uniter torso has a pin hole going through the middle ball joint (the one you attach torso shells to).

[Dr_Chronos]

Can anything be as flat as the Inika build though? These figs do look like they are a bit better than that.

In terms of maximum depth these look to be about the same as the Inika, maybe a little more depending on how far the torso shell goes out.

Speaking up the Ignika, these builds are actually pretty similar in terms of their purpose: more build options for humanoids. Not to mention they both use a single torso piece (I don't think I'll ever get around to liking it). These are far more customizable than the Ignika however, so I can't wait to see what sort of zany designs builders come up with.

[DraikNova]

My ranking for the creatures is: Terak (generally good integration of technic with CCBS, nice colors) > Uxar (Seems reasonably good in terms of technic-CCBS combo, slightly less good colors) > Akida (Good Technic set, with nice colors) > Akida (boring red and gold colorscheme, otherwise reasonably good) > Melum (Downgraded Terak with different function and more boring colors) > Ketar (good colors, horrible integration of technic with CCBS).