6 replies to this topic

[Nealybealy]

Hi, after consulting Gatanui, I've decided to make a topic asking about this.

I've got a few Gahlok, and their head pieces don't seem to match. The printing differs on mine.

1st pic: The Gahlok (more not in the pic)

2nd pic: The two head pieces side by side, showing the different printing. (Sorry for the quality of pic! I can take a better one if needed!)

I was wondering, are these both completely normal? Sorry if the question sounds dumb, I couldn't find much in terms of them.

[Strack]

they might have different printing because of where they were manufactured. if you got one from, say, the U.S., it might vary slightly from one made in Europe. I was never good with this stuff, so I don't know

[Takua Dragonstar7]

My guess is that when the painted it, it differs. I have a few Bohrok heads that have different color designs on them. Industries often spray the paint/coloring on, so that could be what happened.

[Zeene]

It would seem like there are a couple of standard patterns, and that which one is actually used is decided at random during the manufacturing, probably to make them seem more varied in the stores.

[Nealybealy]

Thanks for the replies all. Explains it for me. Though I really think someone should try to make a gallery of all the different printings. That'd be interesting to see.

[Aanchir: Rachira of Time]

The reason the "printing" doesn't match is because it's not in fact printed-- it's co-injected with two different colors of plastic (transparent and bright blue), which more or less blend freely. I think you'll be hard-pressed to find two Bohrok faceplates that are identical, although most will be similar since they invariably have the same injection points.

Co-injected parts are plentiful in BIONICLE's later years, with examples including the Kraata, the masks of the Metru Nui Matoran, many parts on Toa Inika Hahli, and several parts on every Barraki set, but the Bohrok's faceplates are some of the earliest. Other examples of co-injected parts back then, other than those in the BIONICLE theme, include Fawkes the phoenix from LEGO Harry Potter.

The term used by The LEGO Group to describe the color of co-injected parts is Multicombination. This list of parts is not complete (it's only those parts which LEGO Customer Service has pictures of), but it shows numerous examples from BIONICLE, System, and even Duplo (though this color name is also often used to describe pre-assembled parts like certain windscreens, so not every part on this page is actualy co-injected).

Edited by Aanchir: Rachira of Time, Feb 24 2013 - 09:16 AM.

[Black Six]

Question answered.
Thread closed.