3rd party Bionicle

PaleoTiatan · January 19, 2015

Ar we going to see in the future 3rd party Bionicle Figures , like with Transformers ?Really , the Bionicle seems to be a franchise that is here to stay . As with the 3rd party Transformers figures we could see figures that look more like some impossible fan-art concepts . Just imagine !

Tuuli · January 19, 2015

All possible my friend. I am looking out for some bootleg bionicles.

IcarusBen · January 19, 2015

Wrong forum. I think this goes in Bionicle Discussion.

-Windrider- · January 19, 2015

Moving to Bionicle Discussion, though.

**Sumiki** · January 20, 2015

LEGO has not been known to do this in the past. They own BIONICLE and I don't think they'd be too keen on wanting to share its pie with others if they don't get some significant benefit out of it. All in all, TLG is more than happy to cancel a line and then bring it back, as has been done on a number of occasions.

That hasn't stopped bootlegs from being a thing since nearly the line's inception. There are Bohrok bootlegs, for crying out loud, and just recently some Hero Factory bootlegs were being sold at Five Below.

Lyichir · January 20, 2015

No. Lego values its own brand image too much to allow other companies to release products which could be confused with their own. If anything, we'd see 3rd party merchandise like clocks and keychains, like those seen for other themes like Lego Super Heroes or Lego Ninjago—but like those, they'd most likely be designed to be true to the sets. We're probably not ever going to see any sort of rugged, high-detail collectors' figurines of characters that look like concept artwork, because the sets don't look like that for a reason—they've been streamlined and simplified to fit the Lego system of play and the image associated with it.

If we would have ever seen something like that, it would have been back in the day when high-profile media like the Bionicle movies had to use stylized, redesigned versions of the characters. But today Lego's had great success with media that closer resembles the sets themselves, so I'm sure if Bionicle ever graces the silver screen again, it'll likely use something extremely close to the sets themselves unless it opts for the 2D style of this year's animations.

**Shadow Destroyer** · January 20, 2015

I could see it happening. We can already find custom maks on shapeways, so I don't see why sets couldn't be made as well.

Pranciblad · January 21, 2015

Wait, didn't we have this topic before? Like not that long ago even? Oh wait, we did. And I still have the same response.

Third party Bionicle will likely never take off simply because MOCing exists. When Bionicle fans want something more than the official sets offer, they build it themselves. That's because Lego isn't selling individual action figures. They're selling a building system that's inherently customizable. The only thing I could really see sold are a few custom parts, or custom instructions, as have been done with Lego before. The distribution of full-scale sets would be impractical and likely run into legal trouble depending on how it's handled. I really could not imagine myself buying what amounts to a fan-made bootleg.

**Shadow Destroyer** · January 21, 2015

Good answer Pranciblad. What you say makes a lot of sense. I guess custom masks is all we can hope to get in the immediate future.

**Nidhiki of the Shadows** · January 23, 2015

Could be a cool idea. Doubt LEGO would go for it due to reasons aforementioned, but I would not mind at all. Like a collector's edition movie-style Tahu or a small keychain with a cartoon-style Protector mask - the possibilities are endless, and I know I would be all over them.

-NotS

Prowl Nightwolf · January 23, 2015

Well I can agree releasing MOCs for a Build your own system like Lego seems a bit unlikely. Though parts themselves could be released but could be handled wrong. For example, ay I want a Pink Hou. Would somebody have one to sell and would that break some copyright law? What about canon Rahi that have not been made into sets? Could they be MOCed by a 3rd party company and be sold without breaking a copyright law somewhere? I mean we have 3rd party transformers out there that release characters that both enhance the originally released figure, FP City commander armor for Ultra Magnus comes to mind. Then there are releases of whole figures that clearly are intended to be a canon character but are given a different name such as Warbot Defender that is clearly more than just a "homage" to G1 Springer.

Though Transformers are not really a fully customizable franchise like what Lego produces, they manage to get away with it. Not sure what Lego's policy is on copyright material seeing as how we have Magablocks, Better blocks, and assorted other building blocks sets that can connect to legos in part or in whole. I can see say releasing the Maskmaker's hammers but unless they were designed as single piece, like some mini-figure weapons, it would be just a MOC somebody is mass producing for sale.

Though one option could be the ability to purchase one's own MOCs from the LDD seeing as how Lego personally discontinued the service.