Bionicle 2016 Sets Discussion

[Quisoves Pugnat]

RE Set similarities: Here are the 2015 Toa grouped with their 2016 counterparts.

IMO, only Lewa's, Onua's, and Pohatu's Uniter forms are recognizable evolutions of their Master-iterations, and even they have striking differences. Lewa seems the least different, and is the only one I could see being passed by on that account.

Gali

Tahu

Lewa

Onua

Kopaka

Pohatu

[Takanuinuva]

I like the idea of Ekimu's Falcon but I think the design could be a bit better so I made some mods to it.

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/takanuinuva/mc/ekimus_falcon_1.png

http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/takanuinuva/mc/ekimus_falcon_2.png

[Jetrax99]

I actually plan on making Ekimu's falcon a blue version of Ikir with the gold feather parts for his wings.

[Takanuinuva]

I actually plan on making Ekimu's falcon a blue version of Ikir with the gold feather parts for his wings.

So a bird Melum basically?

[Jetrax99]

So a bird Melum basically?

Basically. No white parts though.

[JekPorkchops]

I actually plan on making Ekimu's falcon a blue version of Ikir with the gold feather parts for his wings.

If he's gonna be as big as Ikir I hope he won't perch on Ekimu's arm then. Ekimu really needs to train some friction extenders if he wants to hold that bird up!

Edited June 5, 2016 by JekPorkchops

[Kalhiki]

Here's a picture of Ekimu's falcon actually sitting on his arm: http://vk.com/wall-976808_199349

Yes. All of my yes. I'm lovin' that little bird. He is the most perfect thing and the best G2 set to date. I want him. And then I'll get Ekimu as his accessory.

[Jetrax99]

If he's gonna be as big as Ikir I hope he won't perch on Ekimu's arm then. Ekimu really needs to train some friction extenders if he wants to hold that bird up!

It's not for perching. It's for uniting.

[JekPorkchops]

It's not for perching. It's for uniting.

Ah that makes sense.

I really like Ekimu's bird. At first I thought the leg design was weird but it's quite clever that you can clip him on Ekimu's arm in place of his shield.

[TwistLaw]

Yes. All of my yes. I'm lovin' that little bird. He is the most perfect thing and the best G2 set to date. I want him. And then I'll get Ekimu as his accessory.

This. Seriously, this little boy is perfect.

[Anthony12901]

Here is my review of Ekimu's birdie:

Function: 1874739/10

Color: 82774827/10

Design:93758279/10

Balance : 8264018/10

Overall: ͡° ͜ʖ ͡°/40

[Dorek]

Ah that makes sense.

I really like Ekimu's bird. At first I thought the leg design was weird but it's quite clever that you can clip him on Ekimu's arm in place of his shield.

I'm not sure if he's supposed to replace the shield, I think the clip just goes into the spare armor space on his other arm.

[Takanuinuva]

It's not for perching. It's for uniting.

Does that mean your going to remove Ekimu's gearbox so he can unite with his falcon? Also how would that work with Ekimu's mask's crest?

[MakutaDreadscythe]

Umarak the Destroyer and Quake Beast are now available on Lego S@H. Very nice!

[Shakar]

Ummm what? Umarak the Destroyer is 27 Euro? Not a nice move for a non-licensed set.

[Logan McOwen]

Just ordered UtD (along with a Power Functions motor)! I also got my first batch on Saturday - Ekimu, Lava Beast and Quake Beast

But wait, there's more!

I've already started modding my duplicate Storm Beast, and will take photos when he's done :)

[MrHerofan]

Seeing all of these people with the new summer sets makes me so jelly! If I didn't drop $450 on a trumpet this month I'd already be having fun with these sets. The builds from the sets I already have were really fun and these summer sets look even more fun.

[Jetrax99]

Does that mean your going to remove Ekimu's gearbox so he can unite with his falcon? Also how would that work with Ekimu's mask's crest?

The head will be folded onto Ekimu's back. Recently used Kopaka as a test subject after I took off Melum's gearing construct.

Also, in order to give Ekimu the "piece of unity", he'll be getting the same shoulder construction as Tahu.

[GK733]

Did anything come out of the interview?

Also, ordered all the sets. I hope I don't have to resort for a second as expensive for duplicates order due to the possibility of Storm and Quake not coming to shelves here. They did left us without Uxar and Ketar and i've got some implications it might happen again.

Edited June 6, 2016 by GK733

[Fulcrumfan91]

Did anything come out of the interview?

Yeah Im wondering about that too....whats going on with Bionicle?

[Mesonak]

I heavily doubt that Lego would reveal any specifics about BIONICLE's performance to anyone, especially if it is doing poorly. It would just amount to vague statements, probably along the lines of "It's performing as expected" or "It's doing what it needs to do."

Edited June 6, 2016 by Mesonak

[GK733]

I heavily doubt that Lego would reveal any specifics about BIONICLE's performance to anyone, especially if it is doing poorly. It would just amount to vague statements, probably along the lines of "It's performing as expected" or "It's doing what it needs to do."

We did a whole topic just for the questions. Not everything considering the sets and their design can be super classified.

[Logan McOwen]

In regards to fears of Bionicle's apparently upcoming demise, I'd just like to port over this excellent post from Umm Durmán on BZPower.

After a lot of lurking I think it is time I share my 2 cents about this issue. Now this will be a longer post so I would like to thank you for your attention if you’re reading it in advance. My whole thoughts on this matter, on these possible doomsday scenarios, could more or less be expressed in one sentence:

It looks like Bionicle is currently in the same situation as oil.

Now I would like to elaborate on this opinion of mine and tell you the longer version of the story: There have been many mixed reports lately - some say Bionicle is doing well, some say it is disappearing from shelves. I made my opinion based on trusting both of these reports - the reports saying all is allright and the reports that are saying something is amiss. The disappearing of Bionicles from shelves points out that Bionicle isn’t the hottest LEGO theme out there, however the reports (including reports of top officials posted by Aanchir) saying that Bionicle is “doing well”, clearly suggest that Bionicle isn’t dying, so the fears of some people seem to be unfounded.

If it’s not dying and also not growing, what is happening to it? It is shrinking, but it remains strong - just as oil. Now if it weren’t for the oil war between Saudi Arabia and Iran, oil production would be drastically decreased by now in order to combat the dropping oil prices. But despite that, oil isn’t dying, it is still a hot commodity and it ain’t going anywhere anytime soon. And the reports about Bionicle sales (both optimistic and pessimistic) seem to suggest that the same is happening to Bionicle. To me it looks like the market for Bionicle is currently smaller for the kind of production they were expecting, but still strong enough to make the line “sell well”. Other themes, like Star Wars or Ninjago might be hotter than Bionicle and it makes sense to boost them if LEGO is convinced that the market might be able to handle an increase in their production.

Building new factories is a daunting issue and short term trends are not enough to warrant the profitability of building whole new production capacities so the safer way is to decrease the production of less hot lines so that the gained production capacity might be used to increase the production of the hotter line. But that doesn’t mean that production of the less hot line should be abandoned. For example: Let us hypothetically assume that LEGO uses 30% of its production capacity to build Bionicles and 70% to build Star Wars sets. Let us assume that the market would be able to handle another 10% of total production capacity worth of Star wars sets, but Bionicles are in lesser demand compared to their production (let’s say by 10% of total production capacity).

This means that 90% of LEGO products are being sold. In this case it makes sense to cut a third of Bionicle production to a level of 20% and increase the production of Star Wars sets to 80%. By doing this sales of the factory increase to 100%. But does this mean Bionicle is useless? Definitely not! If LEGO would cancel Bionicle and 100% of their production capacity would build Star Wars sets, their profits would actually decrease to 80%.

Now this was just a hypothetical example to better explain what I meant with “shrinking, but not dying”. Small lines are just as important in maximizing profits as larger are. The sales representatives, who have voiced concerns about the future of Bionicle stocking of shops were low ranking and therefore aware of only the current trends of stocking shops in their area of jurisdiction. Beyond that, they are completely in the dark - only the top LEGO officials and owners know the global trends and business strategies. The owners of large businesses don’t get successful by telling low ranking officials absolutely everything - these things work on a need to know basis.

So to put the long story short, there is nothing that would indicate that Bionicle is about to die – there is nothing that would indicate that reported decreases in stocking of Bionicles mean its death and not merely its decrease in production

Edited June 10, 2016 by Logan McOwen

[ToaDraco]

In regards to fears of Bionicle's apparently upcoming demise, I'd just like to port over this excellent post from Umm Durmán on BZPower.

That makes a lot of sense, thanks for the post. This does make me feel a little better about the whole thing to some degree and reinforces the notion that G2 is doing what it needs to in terms of LEGO's intent for the line. I'm guessing it isn't a big deal to them that it isn't as successful as it's predecessor but it's hitting the sales quota for constraction which would be much lower than any system set. It wasn't meant to be a big bang theme, just one that fills the constraction void with a stronger brand behind it than Hero Factory. It would be sad to realize that Bionicle is a small priority for LEGO but at the same time it doesn't mean they are looking to cancel it.

Edited June 10, 2016 by ToaDraco

[Quisoves Pugnat]

In regards to fears of Bionicle's apparently upcoming demise, I'd just like to port over this excellent post from Umm Durmán on BZPower.

Out of curiosity, what are the reports of Bionicle doing well? I've not seen any, which is not to say they don't exist, but I would like to know how founded they are. While much of the doom and gloom surrounding Gen2 has been unsubstantiated, the reports of stores not stocking the theme are reasonably solid evidence, as these things go.

Anyhow, that's an interesting post. He might be right, but I feel like its premise is flawed.

Oil is a commodity, not a brand. One can not simply replace it with something else if its sales decrease (though that may one day change.) Bionicle, on the other hand, is replaceable. LEGO needs only to develop another constraction theme in its stead, something it has done before.

Similarly, we know that the initial lifespan of Gen2 is three years. If the theme does exceptionally well, it may continue, but if, as reports suggest, it isn't doing so, it seems reasonable to assume that it will go the way of so many themes before it (Adventurers, Knights Kingdom, Exo-Force, Chima, etc.) If Gen2 ends in 2017, it will be business as usual.