Future Constraction Sets?

[Lego David]

After the supposed failure of Bionicle Generation 2 and the Star Wars Buildable Figures, LEGO seems to have given up on Constraction. We haven't gotten anymore Constraction sets since 2018, and most people have lost all hope and think that Constraction is dead and it will never come back.

There is the upcoming "Leaf" theme and a few leaks that seem to hint at a new constraction theme coming in 2020, but that's just speculation, and nothing is confirmed (plus a few more recent leaks that say that it will actually be a Pirates theme)

Do you think we will ever see constraction return? Do you think it still has market value? If it comes back, what would sets would you like to see? Share all your thoughs!

Edited December 26, 2019 by Lego David

[imvanya]

A Bionicle-themed project has recently achieved support on LEGO Ideas: https://ideas.lego.com/projects/9a9b428b-108e-43bd-8b9e-3fdc7e8ec54a

It obviously isn't a Constraction set, but if LEGO decide to produce it, it could be a great opportunity to release some re-imagined and modernized Bionicle Constraction figures to accompany it. Obviously, a 20 year anniversary would be a perfect occasion to do it.

[Lego David]

22 hours ago, imvanya said:

Obviously, a 20 year anniversary would be a perfect occasion to do it.

Absolutely! But given the current track record of LEGO anniversaries, I doubt we will see more than one set. At best, maybe the finalized set will include a few Constraction-compatible parts, but even that I doubt we will see. 

If the project gets approved and becomes a real set, the best we can do is buy it, and hopefully that will convince LEGO that we still care about Bionicle.

[Digger of Bricks]

On 12/26/2019 at 2:06 AM, Lego David said:

If it comes back, what would sets would you like to see?

I'll take an original constraction theme with a heavy Decopunk/Teslapunk flare, thank you very much... 

[Lego David]

5 hours ago, Digger of Bricks said:

I'll take an original constraction theme with a heavy Decopunk/Teslapunk flare, thank you very much... 

Yeah! That would be pretty cool! Constraction had so much potential, yet LEGO barely did anything with it... They really should have thought twice before discontinuing it.

[Digger of Bricks]

5 hours ago, Lego David said:

Yeah! That would be pretty cool!

Lego did come pretty close to such with some antagonists they'd toyed around with for Nexo Knights...

On 3/6/2019 at 6:49 AM, Digger of Bricks said:

For me, I wish they'd made these Decopunk/Teslapunk monsters (image courtesy of @legozebra). I mean, look at those wings! 

[TeriXeri]

With all those spiderman/thanos/ironman mechs for 2020 I wonder if that's the current style of "constraction" going forward for a while, as in, more system-based and less technic. 

I know it's not the same as what true constraction is (bionicle/hero factory), but it still fills the gap of cheaper articulated "action-figure" style sets, especially at that €10 price point.

Nexo Knight Battle Suits were also €10 but those newer sets have even more articulation.

Edited December 30, 2019 by TeriXeri

[Bartybum]

On 1/9/2020 at 9:39 PM, GREG998 said:

For zeus sake, why TLG had to cancel this product line, they were fantastic.

Because economics. People weren't willing to fork out extortionate money, and Lego couldn't charge any less because of the niche molds and licensing.

[MAB]

I prefer to see buildable figures from system lego parts. To me, they are more LEGO-like than constraction sets, and also more customisable as you can easily change the design of heads and limbs with small parts.

[TeriXeri]

2 hours ago, MAB said:

I prefer to see buildable figures from system lego parts. To me, they are more LEGO-like than constraction sets, and also more customisable as you can easily change the design of heads and limbs with small parts.

Me too, I like the larger ratcheted ball joints, but some of those Nexo Knights sets that use the non-ratchet balljoints just feel stiff.

I especially like the smaller "mixel" balljoint parts.

Edited January 10, 2020 by TeriXeri

[DuckBricks]

On 1/9/2020 at 5:39 AM, GREG998 said:

I want Clonetroopers, Phase 1 and Phase 2. I want SIth Troopers to. For zeus sake, why TLG had to cancel this product line, they were fantastic.

Gutted that a 501st Clone Trooper was on the cancelled slate, and we even got prelims for it...

I wonder if Constraction and CCBS will have any place in LEGO's future lineup now. When was the last time we even got a CCBS element in a system set, minus the odd armor detailing here and there? Even the remake of Ninjago's Thunder Raider wiped the set of any trace of CCBS like it had in 2014.

[Lego David]

8 hours ago, legozebra said:

When was the last time we even got a CCBS element in a system set, minus the odd armor detailing here and there? Even the remake of Ninjago's Thunder Raider wiped the set of any trace of CCBS like it had in 2014.

CCBS elements still continue to show up occasionally in current sets. Like, for example, The Castle of the Forsaken Emperor had a couple of CCBS parts included:

As for the Thunder Raider Remake, I don't think they intentionally removed the CCBS, but rather replaced it with regular system parts in order to have better detailing for the legs.

Edited January 23, 2020 by Lego David

[Lego David]

I think we take out Monkie Kid (Leaf) off the table from being a constraction theme, since we pretty much know at this point that it's going to be a system theme.

And with that... Here goes the last hope Constraction had...

Edited February 1, 2020 by Lego David

[DuckBricks]

On 2/1/2020 at 12:40 AM, Lego David said:

I think we take out Monkie Kid (Leaf) off the table from being a constraction theme, since we pretty much know at this point that it's going to be a system theme.

And with that... Here goes the last hope Constraction had...

In the Monkey King Chinese storyline, the characters could "power up" and grow to immense size to do battle; I'm just hoping that somehow, somewhere, LEGO gets the hint and gives us CCBS figures for the line.

[The Outsider]

On 2/13/2020 at 6:00 PM, legozebra said:

In the Monkey King Chinese storyline, the characters could "power up" and grow to immense size to do battle; I'm just hoping that somehow, somewhere, LEGO gets the hint and gives us CCBS figures for the line.

Didn't they try that on Legends of Chima and failed? Then again, aside from sorta-maybe representing that projection the characters had when using Chi, those sets weren't canon anyway.

One market I think would be great for constraction would be adult collectors, either of licensed properties or as updates of previous constraction sets in the style of Ninjago Legacy/Transformers Masterpiece. The latter would be a little harder to pull off, though: since the sets are usually assumed to be the closest to the canon appearance, most media tends to be as toy-accurate as possible, so aside from a BIONICLE Miramax trilogy line or characters we know the looks of but have no sets (unmutated Karzahni, snake Metus, Energized Protodermis avatar), the most significant difference would be better articulation and perhaps whatever weapons were cut from the toy but sneaked into the media (Mahri Nuparu's Aqua Blaster Blade, Inika Jaller's second Energized Flame Sword, Stormer 2.0's baton).

[Lego David]

5 minutes ago, The Outsider said:

Didn't they try that on Legends of Chima and failed?

I don't think they really failed... There were two waves of them, after all.

[The Outsider]

My mistake, then. I kinda thought they died out sooner than the Star Wars CCBS. Plus they skipped the middle third of their story with the Dark Tribes, so that may have confused me.

Edited March 14, 2020 by The Outsider

[Nuju44]

I think that maybe a new Sci fi theme could bring constraction back. I recently had an idea of robots with a. I which are built on an big space station and then launched in canisters on a planet to explore it. The villains could be some evil robots or alien cyborgs or something like that, while the protagonists would learn and develop their own characteristics. 

I think there is still hope for constraction. When we constraction fans are able to create a theme, an idea, which is interesting and promises good sales, lego could bring constraction back. 

Edited April 2, 2020 by Nuju44

[Nuju44]

I have made some prototypes for this new "ccbs line", they aren't really good(I am terrible in building mocs and similar stuff), but when the constraction fans work together, then maybe some good creations will come out and lego will maybe develop a new line with our fan concepts

The HF helmet is just a placeholder, this shows a prototype for a mining robot, I chose the simple design, because I think simpler and cheaper sets sell better at the beginning of a new line. 

 

Here is the back view of my mining robot prototype, the shield on the back is some kind of protection shield, it could also be something like an solar cell as additional power source 

 

Edited April 2, 2020 by Nuju44

[Lego David]

On 4/2/2020 at 9:25 PM, Nuju44 said:

I have made some prototypes for this new "ccbs line", they aren't really good(I am terrible in building mocs and similar stuff), but when the constraction fans work together, then maybe some good creations will come out and lego will maybe develop a new line with our fan concepts

The HF helmet is just a placeholder, this shows a prototype for a mining robot, I chose the simple design, because I think simpler and cheaper sets sell better at the beginning of a new line.

As a Constraction MOCer myself, I would be willing to help you with some MOCs if you want my help. But I'm curious, is there any actual way to pitch ideas for new product lines to LEGO? 

Edited April 4, 2020 by Lego David

[Nuju44]

On 4/4/2020 at 1:50 PM, Lego David said:

As a Constraction MOCer myself, I would be willing to help you with some MOCs if you want my help. But I'm curious, is there any actual way to pitch ideas for new product lines to LEGO? 

Yes, that would be great. 

And I think with lego ideas and forums it would be possible, that lego would notice the concept, when enough people would be interested in the concept. 

My idea is that lego fans, especially constraction fans, share their thoughts and ideas to create a good concept. 

 

[Zarkan]

Uh so, funny thing. Christian Faber (One of the original G1 Bionicle guys, who had been teasing a supposed Bionicle G3 for over a year now) recently did a stream on instagram. It was very cryptic, as per usual from him these days, but one thing he touched on is that Constraction is absolutely over for good, not just because it doesn't sell well, but because it's supposedly not environmentally friendly compared to regular System lego. He even warned people that the price of aftermarket sets and parts will likely skyrocket in the near future.

This reasoning makes sense, given how much plastic goes into a 20 dollar bionicle set compared to a 20 dollar system set. And Christian Faber doesn't seem keen on making plastic toys at all anymore. Which is in line with how woke he is regarding environmental issues. So what the hell this G3 he's supposedly pitching to lego gonna be? 

It's looking like it's some sort of VR/AR project. Yeah. Bionicle G3, if it ever happens, is most likely not gonna be a physical product at all.. So sorry for everyone who was hoping for new constraction sets. I'm afraid that dream is about as dead in the water as possible, at this point.

Edited April 5, 2020 by Zarkan

[Lego David]

12 hours ago, Zarkan said:

Uh so, funny thing. Christian Faber (One of the original G1 Bionicle guys, who had been teasing a supposed Bionicle G3 for over a year now) recently did a stream on instagram. It was very cryptic, as per usual from him these days, but one thing he touched on is that Constraction is absolutely over for good, not just because it doesn't sell well, but because it's supposedly not environmentally friendly compared to regular System lego. He even warned people that the price of aftermarket sets and parts will likely skyrocket in the near future.

I'm not sure whether that is actually true. Faber hasn't worked for LEGO in years, and he seems to be ignorant about LEGO's current plant-based plastic initiative. If the plant-based plastic works for system pieces, why couldn't it also work for Constraction/CCBS? 

Unless we get on official statement regarding that from LEGO themselves, I wouldn't quickly jump to any conclusions like that. 

 

 

[Leewan]

38 minutes ago, Lego David said:

If the plant-based plastic works for system pieces, why couldn't it also work for Constraction/CCBS? 

It's not the same plastic. You can read more about it here : http://www.newelementary.com/2018/07/sustainable-lego-plants-made-from-sugarcane.html

The plastic made from sugarcane is polyethylene, the plastic used by constraction parts is polycarbonate. Polycarbonate is made from Bisphenol A, which may be an endocrine disruptor. Hence Faber's concerns, I guess.

With that being said, there are still plenty of non-constraction parts made from PC, so Lego hasn't completely stopped using it. Perhaps, once they find a suitable replacement, constraction parts could come back ? I don't have a lot of hope for that, though, and I think that the chances that Faber manages to effectively launch his 2020 version of BIONICLE are higher than the chances of seeing a new constraction theme.

[Lego David]

 

12 minutes ago, Leewan said:

With that being said, there are still plenty of non-constraction parts made from PC, so Lego hasn't completely stopped using it. Perhaps, once they find a suitable replacement, constraction parts could come back ?

Just curious, are the CCBS parts already completely out of production? Or do they still keep the molds for when thy might need them? A few recent system sets still used CCBS pieces (with Ninjago, especially), so perhaps the molds aren't completely retired yet.