Bionicle 2016 Sets Discussion

[Quisoves Pugnat]

... *sigh*

I don't know why I come in this topic anymore. All I ever see is people arguing...

Arguing? On the internet? The horror!

But in all seriousness, I suspect that the lack of accord is down to the lack of things to discuss. We got the summer info nice and early, and consequently, there's been a lull in excitement.

[GK733]

Maybe not worst but not at all the best. While the first wave was selling pretty good the skulls are still chilling on some shelves

While there are other factors of course. and the skullies aren't essentially bad I think they just look really uninteresting to the general consumer.

But is it game over for G2 already?

Nah. JtO and the sets launched for the most of the world less than a month ago.

Beasts are cheaper to produce due to the lacking amount of molds and recolors.

Also Ekimu is likely to boost the summer wave, even if the beasts tank.

MMvsSG sold really well, but I don't know if Umarak TD can top that.

[CabooseBM]

In my experience, most LEGO sets linger for at least six months after the wave after them is released. If it's 2017 and we still have Skull sets lingering in large numbers, you might be onto something. And even then the actual sales of them could easily defy what you'd expect.

[Lyichir]

In my experience, most LEGO sets linger for at least six months after the wave after them is released. If it's 2017 and we still have Skull sets lingering in large numbers, you might be onto something. And even then the actual sales of them could easily defy what you'd expect.

Even if some of the Skull sets linger on shelves longer than that, that's probably more an indication that those SPECIFIC Skull Villains didn't sell as well. That's far from a new thing for Bionicle—the traditional release strategy of releasing a large number of sets at a comparably small variety of price points means that some sets are almost invariably going to outsell others (this happened even back in the days of clone sets, with less popular colors like blue and brown typically sticking around long after their more popular red counterparts had all but vanished). Eventually any lingering sets will wind up being clearanced. In general, looking at what hasn't sold can tell you a bit about the popularity of those specific sets, but unless the full range is still there on shelves it won't be much of an indicator of the success of the theme as a whole.

[Aanchir]

In fact I wrote "one of", which in the english language is used to express syntactic constructions known as nominal partitives.Those constructions convey a message of "part of a whole", and not of "part over a whole"; thus what I wrote didn't define the Skull Squad the worst thing to have ever happened to the BIONICLE franchise, but actually one of the things that are part of the list of the lower points of this LEGO theme. The Bohrok-Kal and other sets were very well implied by my wording.

(don't hate me, you know I agree on many things you say)

(but don't you dare ever agin to talk sheet about my beloved Toa Metru )

Don't worry, I don't hate you one bit! I must have misread your post. I know my posts can sound abrasive sometimes so please try not to take it personally — it's something I struggle with when I have strong opinions about a topic, and it hurts me a lot when I find out somebody thinks I'm holding a grudge against them.

The Toa Metru had great proportions and articulation for their time, and story-wise they were fantastic! But in terms of builds and colors they were really samey. The same that could also be said for the Toa Hordika, Vahki, 2004 Matoran, and Rahaga. It was just something LEGO struggled during that period. Summer 2005 was when LEGO started to play around a bit more with colors, shapes, and proportions again, with sets like the Visorak (who had differently sized legs and different secondary colors) and the Toa Hagah (who had different color blocking, varying armor shapes, and varying metallic accents).

[Fulcrumfan91]

In my experience, most LEGO sets linger for at least six months after the wave after them is released. If it's 2017 and we still have Skull sets lingering in large numbers, you might be onto something. And even then the actual sales of them could easily defy what you'd expect.

Hmm...I remember seeing a lot of the old G1 still on shelves way past their release dates (so Toa Nuva in 2005, etc...lots of Bohrok-Kal too) I also purchased my copy of Keetongu in 2008 which is at least three years past its release...but then again 2005 wasn't the best year of G1 so I don't know

[Voxovan]

While the MOC isn't bad, it's way too bland compared to the official version. The asymmetry and orange bits really make this year's Gali stand out from the others, this one looks really uninteresting and unappealing in my opinion.

[Lyichir]

While the MOC isn't bad, it's way too bland compared to the official version. The asymmetry and orange bits really make this year's Gali stand out from the others, this one looks really uninteresting and unappealing in my opinion.

Think you meant to post that in this topic.

[Voxovan]

Think you meant to post that in this topic.

Oh my, yes, I have no idea how I got these two mixed up. Thanks and sorry for an unnecessary post ^^'

[ToaDraco]

I seem to see Skull Warrior and Skull Scorpio still on shelves at Walmarts and Targets near where I live and the 2016 sets have been flying off shelves. Every week I go to Walmart for groceries, they are out of 3 of the six Toa with a different one on the shelf than there was a week ago, same with the creatures while they rarely have Umarak. I went there to get Gali or Pohatu and Akida or Ketar the other day as they are the only 4 I have left to get and they were the 3 of the 6 sets they didn't have so I grabbed Akida. I stopped in the following day and they had 3 Pohatu's and no Akidas. A fellow shopper grabbed Uxar while I was there for her kid for Easter(I'm assuming given it was the day before Easter and she had a list). My local Target isn't that much different, though they usually have a Couple Onuas, Tahus, Kopakas and Umaraks stocked on shelves, which I imagine are the top sellers.(my sister works there and tells me every time she gets to stock the LEGO aisle In fact she let me know when the CA:CW sets were going to be on shelves)

i'm not going to get into the ridiculous arguing Twistlaw started but I don't think we have sufficient data to presume anything about how well the sets are doing and saying anything in either favor is speculation at best. It's only March for crying out loud, give it some time.

Akida is a nice little build and I appreciate the stand included. It has enough articulation for a fish and the color scheme is great. The function is rather pointless but it works, though I would have rather had a tail-whipping function instead.

Pohatu isn't as bad in person but he is still by far the weakest of the Toa sets. The mask is WAY better than the 2015 one which was super derpy IMO. The tan is nice to have but I would rather they stuck to one brown for the whole sets as the number of colors and their distribution leave something to be desired. The shoulder construction isn't the greatest and he looks unarmored from the back. I don't get why they chose to have the armor on sideways and the upper arm is just thin. I don't like the desert camo but I do like the black designs on top of it. The weapon is incredibly mediocre though. I would much rather had him dual wielding stone flails and leave the other half of the staff off completely. Or actually I would have left the crystal blade piece on his back as a backup weapon like the 'dagger' he had in his previous incarnation. I do like that the boot look carried over but the asymmetry did not which I think the set could have really benefited from.

That just leaves Gali and Ketar left for me to get before the summer wave hits.

Edited March 29, 2016 by ToaDraco

[Fulcrumfan91]

I seem to see Skull Warrior and Skull Scorpio still on shelves at Walmarts and Targets near where I live and the 2016 sets have been flying off shelves. Every week I go to Walmart for groceries, they are out of 3 of the six Toa with a different one on the shelf than there was a week ago, same with the creatures while they rarely have Umarak. I went there to get Gali or Pohatu and Akida or Ketar the other day as they are the only 4 I have left to get and they were the 3 of the 6 sets they didn't have so I grabbed Akida. I stopped in the following day and they had 3 Pohatu's and no Akidas. A fellow shopper grabbed Uxar while I was there for her kid for Easter(I'm assuming given it was the day before Easter and she had a list). My local Target isn't that much different, though they usually have a Couple Onuas, Tahus, Kopakas and Umaraks stocked on shelves, which I imagine are the top sellers.(my sister works there and tells me every time she gets to stock the LEGO aisle In fact she let me know when the CA:CW sets were going to be on shelves)

i'm not going to get into the ridiculous arguing Twistlaw started but I don't think we have sufficient data to presume anything about how well the sets are doing and saying anything in either favor is speculation at best. It's only March for crying out loud, give it some time.

Akida is a nice little build and I appreciate the stand included. It has enough articulation for a fish and the color scheme is great. The function is rather pointless but it works, though I would have rather had a tail-whipping function instead.

Pohatu isn't as bad in person but he is still by far the weakest of the Toa sets. The mask is WAY better than the 2015 one which was super derpy IMO. The tan is nice to have but I would rather they stuck to one brown for the whole sets as the number of colors and their distribution leave something to be desired. The shoulder construction isn't the greatest and he looks unarmored from the back. I don't get why they chose to have the armor on sideways and the upper arm is just thin. I don't like the desert camo but I do like the black designs on top of it. The weapon is incredibly mediocre though. I would much rather had him dual wielding stone flails and leave the other half of the staff off completely. Or actually I would have left the crystal blade piece on his back as a backup weapon like the 'dagger' he had in his previous incarnation. I do like that the boot look carried over but the asymmetry did not which I think the set could have really benefited from.

That just leaves Gali and Ketar left for me to get before the summer wave hits.

Umarak is definitely selling well where I live. A lot of shops have run out of him or have very few copies left. Onua is pretty much the same, ditto with Lewa. The rest though still seem to be sitting there.

[GK733]

I seem to see Skull Warrior and Skull Scorpio still on shelves at Walmarts and Targets near where I live and the 2016 sets have been flying off shelves. Every week I go to Walmart for groceries, they are out of 3 of the six Toa with a different one on the shelf than there was a week ago, same with the creatures while they rarely have Umarak. I went there to get Gali or Pohatu and Akida or Ketar the other day as they are the only 4 I have left to get and they were the 3 of the 6 sets they didn't have so I grabbed Akida. I stopped in the following day and they had 3 Pohatu's and no Akidas. A fellow shopper grabbed Uxar while I was there for her kid for Easter(I'm assuming given it was the day before Easter and she had a list). My local Target isn't that much different, though they usually have a Couple Onuas, Tahus, Kopakas and Umaraks stocked on shelves, which I imagine are the top sellers.(my sister works there and tells me every time she gets to stock the LEGO aisle In fact she let me know when the CA:CW sets were going to be on shelves)

i'm not going to get into the ridiculous arguing Twistlaw started but I don't think we have sufficient data to presume anything about how well the sets are doing and saying anything in either favor is speculation at best. It's only March for crying out loud, give it some time.

Akida is a nice little build and I appreciate the stand included. It has enough articulation for a fish and the color scheme is great. The function is rather pointless but it works, though I would have rather had a tail-whipping function instead.

Pohatu isn't as bad in person but he is still by far the weakest of the Toa sets. The mask is WAY better than the 2015 one which was super derpy IMO. The tan is nice to have but I would rather they stuck to one brown for the whole sets as the number of colors and their distribution leave something to be desired. The shoulder construction isn't the greatest and he looks unarmored from the back. I don't get why they chose to have the armor on sideways and the upper arm is just thin. I don't like the desert camo but I do like the black designs on top of it. The weapon is incredibly mediocre though. I would much rather had him dual wielding stone flails and leave the other half of the staff off completely. Or actually I would have left the crystal blade piece on his back as a backup weapon like the 'dagger' he had in his previous incarnation. I do like that the boot look carried over but the asymmetry did not which I think the set could have really benefited from.

That just leaves Gali and Ketar left for me to get before the summer wave hits.

I think it's pretty clear at this point that the last summer wave can be hold responsible for poor sales. I just really hope the next doesn't fall flat on itself.

[TwistLaw]

Don't worry, I don't hate you one bit! I must have misread your post. I know my posts can sound abrasive sometimes so please try not to take it personally — it's something I struggle with when I have strong opinions about a topic, and it hurts me a lot when I find out somebody thinks I'm holding a grudge against them.

Ahah it's ok Aanchir, I never thought that. I have the very same problem, owning a sharp tongue to make things worse.

And while it may be a ridicolous argument (lol) it's still something related to 2016 and very well in the "rumor" area. Besides there's literally nothing to talk about right now, and it seems to me we're keeping the discussion polite, though heated.

[Dr_Chronos]

I think it's pretty clear at this point that the last summer wave can be hold responsible for poor sales. I just really hope the next doesn't fall flat on itself.

I'm so sure. I'm not going to argue the possibility that the summer sets sold just as well as the Masters as that would be ridiculously incorrect, but I still see an almost equal amount of 2015 Winter sets on the shelves despite them being there nearly twice as long as the Skull Villians. Not just the poor ones like LoSS or Pohatu, but also popular characters like Tahu, Kopaka, etc.

So while the summer sets certainly weren't the most popular I wouldn't cite them as the sole reason of bad sales. IMO they seemed to sell just as good as the Winter sets here. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw the beasts still on the shelves next year. Partly due to designs but also because while waves are mostly bi-yearly the shelf life seems to be longer than that. Not just for Bionicle but even popular system themes like Ninjago where I still see the Ghost sets taking up the shelves.

Edited March 29, 2016 by Dr_Chronos

[MrHerofan]

Well seeing a good amount of any character on shelves, could very well mean that the case had more of that character. For example Tahu was probably the most produced out of the whole team last year, because typically red sell really well. Maybe they over stocked on Tahu, like Bandai does with Power Rangers.

[GK733]

Didn't Chima and Ninjago both use a three-year plan?

And despite that Chima and Ninjago's original run didn't have a second wave for their last year.

[Mesonak]

Didn't Chima and Ninjago both use a three-year plan?

And despite that Chima and Ninjago's original run didn't have a second wave for their last year.

Chima technically did, to be fair. It had a "wave" consisting of three larger sets which was released separately from the rest of the sets. But yeah, it didn't have a proper one, and Ninjago didn't either (although Rebooted did technically launch the same year, just at an irregular time).

Edited March 29, 2016 by Mesonak

[Fulcrumfan91]

I would have to also agree about the masters also filling the shelves. They outnumber the 2016 sets in some stores that I've walked into.

[TwistLaw]

One thing I noted is that Protectors are NOWHERE to be found. They literally disappeared, unlike the Masters that can still be found somewhere and the skull squad that is literally everwhere.

[Fulcrumfan91]

One thing I noted is that Protectors are NOWHERE to be found. They literally disappeared, unlike the Masters that can still be found somewhere and the skull squad that is literally everwhere.

I think that's because they've been discontinued, so now if a store runs out of those sets, that's the end of them. I am no longer seeing any of the winter wave sets available on LEGO's shop in my country region....also....Pohatu and Ketar are around 25% off and they're the only ones that have been discounted, as well as Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder.......man that seems like bad news for the Stone sets....

[TwistLaw]

I think that's because they've been discontinued, so now if a store runs out of those sets, that's the end of them. I am no longer seeing any of the winter wave sets available on LEGO's shop in my country region....also....Pohatu and Ketar are around 25% off and they're the only ones that have been discounted, as well as Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder.......man that seems like bad news for the Stone sets....

wait what are you telling me your lego shop has alread THIS YEAR's stone sets on discount? oh boy

and yeah, they've been discontinued, but they were also the cheaper sets, so it's understandable they're harder to find than the more expensive Masters.

[Fulcrumfan91]

wait what are you telling me your lego shop has alread THIS YEAR's stone sets on discount? oh boy

and yeah, they've been discontinued, but they were also the cheaper sets, so it's understandable they're harder to find than the more expensive Masters.

Yeah....it's not a particularly great sign for the Stone sets, but it might be just a..promotional thing? I'm honestly not sure. But this year's stone sets are on sale currently. I'm pretty saddened by their lack of popularity, because I feel there's a lot more to them....but....oh well. Kids don't like brown.

[Umbra-Manis]

Yeah....it's not a particularly great sign for the Stone sets, but it might be just a..promotional thing? I'm honestly not sure. But this year's stone sets are on sale currently. I'm pretty saddened by their lack of popularity, because I feel there's a lot more to them....but....oh well. Kids don't like brown.

I was kind of disappointed when I saw that those 2 are on sale at Lego already. Then again amazon here in the US has already discounted everything at least once. I really liked last year's stone sets. (The color was perfect) But this year Pohatu has barely any Dark Orange. Might still get Ketar though.

[ToaDraco]

I'm so sure. I'm not going to argue the possibility that the summer sets sold just as well as the Masters as that would be ridiculously incorrect, but I still see an almost equal amount of 2015 Winter sets on the shelves despite them being there nearly twice as long as the Skull Villians. Not just the poor ones like LoSS or Pohatu, but also popular characters like Tahu, Kopaka, etc.

So while the summer sets certainly weren't the most popular I wouldn't cite them as the sole reason of bad sales. IMO they seemed to sell just as good as the Winter sets here. I wouldn't be surprised if we saw the beasts still on the shelves next year. Partly due to designs but also because while waves are mostly bi-yearly the shelf life seems to be longer than that. Not just for Bionicle but even popular system themes like Ninjago where I still see the Ghost sets taking up the shelves.

Yeah I still see a lot of old Ninjago, Chima and even Star Wars sets around. I haven't seen any Masters since January(and even then there were only a couple). I definitely haven't seen any Protectors or LoSS since December.

[Logan McOwen]

New Video on the Bionicle Facebook Page. I've also ripped the music from it.