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2015 Bionicle Constraction shell quality


Rooster Nui

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I've made this topic to gain answers from the folks here at BZPower as well as for people to discuss the shell pieces in the new Bionicle sets.

 

I'd like to know if the plastic used in the new shell pieces is cheaper quality or softer. I've noticed in the past couple days that I've owned all the new sets that a few ot the shells have gotten slight/really tiny scratches, despite myself looking after the sets as best as I can to my abiltiy. So is it normal? Has the quality changed or something? These are the answers I'd like to know.

 

I can tell that these pieces look much shinier than most of the shell pieces from the good'ol Hero Factory sets.

 

 

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I think it makes them look more rugged, as expected from elemental biomechanical heroes who crash-landed on a diverse planet to fight evil creature. You'd expect clean, smooth armor from robotic heroes built in a factory to fight crime.

I very much doubt Lego actually changed the plastic on purpose. I can't see any difference between my older and newer CCBS parts.

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I haven't observed any changes in the quality of the new shells. I'm fairly certain they're the same material as ever. Now that I look at my Gali set in detail, some of the 5M shells do have tiny scratches. But that's the only shell I'm really seeing this on, and as my favorite set, she's probably the set I've handled the most.

 

If you've been as careful with the sets as you claim, have you considered that maybe the scratches might have been left during the manufacturing or packing process rather than since you bought them? Or did you specifically notice them not having such scratches when you first opened the set? It could just be that the molds for some of these shells are beginning to show their age.

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All of my old Bionicle parts got scratched up pretty quickly with normal use, maybe the wear shows up more on the new pieces because they are so glossy? It doesn't bother me, since I don't notice that sort of minor wear unless I am looking for it.

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Having never built CCBS before this year I can't say I would notice a difference, but I've put my new sets through some pretty rough conditions for a photography project and I still haven't seen any notable sign of wear. I mean, if I took a closer look I could probably notice scratches - anything glossy is prone to that.

 

-NotS

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Ah yes, the gloss. I was never completely sure if the pieces came with gloss, but I guess it makes sense for the small scratches, shininess and the mentioning of pieces being glossy/shinier on the first BZPower livestream which showcased the sets.

 

These scratches aren't too bothering for me, as you can reduce the sizes of them by excessively rubbing on them, but I'd personally only recommend doing this on larger shells.

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Ah yes, the gloss. I was never completely sure if the pieces came with gloss, but I guess it makes sense for the small scratches, shininess and the mentioning of pieces being glossy/shinier on the first BZPower livestream which showcased the sets.

 

These scratches aren't too bothering for me, as you can reduce the sizes of them by excessively rubbing on them, but I'd personally only recommend doing this on larger shells.

It's not "gloss" as in a coating or special treatment. It's just the surface finish. The molds for CCBS parts are designed to facilitate sharp, smooth detail, which combined with the dynamic curves of CCBS parts results in a glossy appearance.

Edited by Lyichir

Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence

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Ah yes, the gloss. I was never completely sure if the pieces came with gloss, but I guess it makes sense for the small scratches, shininess and the mentioning of pieces being glossy/shinier on the first BZPower livestream which showcased the sets.

 

These scratches aren't too bothering for me, as you can reduce the sizes of them by excessively rubbing on them, but I'd personally only recommend doing this on larger shells.

It's not "gloss" as in a coating or special treatment. It's just the surface finish. The molds for CCBS parts are designed to facilitate sharp, smooth detail, which combined with the dynamic curves of CCBS parts results in a glossy appearance.

 

I was wondering how they would've completely placed gloss into pieces of plastic without making them look any different proprtion wise.

 

Thanks for informing me. I would've researched it myself, but I felt it was better to make a discussion topic so other people could read and learn as well. 

 

I like the look of the pieces, I'm just surprised with the skinny, minor scratches which can appear. I think it has something to do with particles on the "gloss like" surface and not the pieces overall, which is why the scratches are so minor, yet noticeable in the first place.

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Scratches on your CCBS armour? Odd. I haven't seen any scratches on my Hero Factory sets, but I guess I should have a closer look. 

 

I don't own an awful lot of Hero Factory sets, but most of my collection is 2011 sets. Perhaps it depends on the mould - the 2011 pieces are more standard and therefore a bit thicker.

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Scratches on your CCBS armour? Odd. I haven't seen any scratches on my Hero Factory sets, but I guess I should have a closer look. 

 

I don't own an awful lot of Hero Factory sets, but most of my collection is 2011 sets. Perhaps it depends on the mould - the 2011 pieces are more standard and therefore a bit thicker.

None of my HF shells have them either, but there are a few slightly faded scratches/marks on some of my new Bionicle shells. The top of Kopaka's Mask of Ice, the bottom of Onua's chest piece and Pohatu's upper leg shell on the right leg are a few I've noticed to have these scratches.

 

Again, they're very tiny, but also easily noticeable when light is reflected off the shells.

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I haven't noticed any scratches on any of the shells of my 2015 Bionicle sets. But I haven't been looking of any either, so I have not noticed if they do. Though I don't think they have any. I mainly have been posing them and trying to keep my cats from chewing on their weapons. :P

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I haven't noticed any scratches on any of the shells of my 2015 Bionicle sets. But I haven't been looking of any either, so I have not noticed if they do. Though I don't think they have any. I mainly have been posing them and trying to keep my cats from chewing on their weapons. :P

 

Good thinking. To a LEGO collector like me, chew marks are as bad as dust buildup.

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I haven't noticed any scratches on any of the shells of my 2015 Bionicle sets. But I haven't been looking of any either, so I have not noticed if they do. Though I don't think they have any. I mainly have been posing them and trying to keep my cats from chewing on their weapons. :P

 

Good thinking. To a LEGO collector like me, chew marks are as bad as dust buildup.

 

Yep dust buildups are annoying, especially on large pieces white sets like 2003 kopaka nuva's shield.

 

On a different note, i dont understand why most CCBS pieces have those tiny triangle patterned holes in them on the balls (not the armor shells)? Does anyone know what it could possibly be for, redcuced stress on the balls maybe?

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I haven't noticed any scratches on any of the shells of my 2015 Bionicle sets. But I haven't been looking of any either, so I have not noticed if they do. Though I don't think they have any. I mainly have been posing them and trying to keep my cats from chewing on their weapons. :P

 

Good thinking. To a LEGO collector like me, chew marks are as bad as dust buildup.

 

Yep dust buildups are annoying, especially on large pieces white sets like 2003 kopaka nuva's shield.

 

On a different note, i dont understand why most CCBS pieces have those tiny triangle patterned holes in them on the balls (not the armor shells)? Does anyone know what it could possibly be for, redcuced stress on the balls maybe?

 

Actually, I think that's EXACTLY what they're for. I think they may also be where they inject the plastic, though I could be wrong. I haven't noticed any scratched parts in any of the recent sets I've bought, but like Aanchir said, maybe the molds they're using for some of the shells are starting to get a little old.

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On a different note, i dont understand why most CCBS pieces have those tiny triangle patterned holes in them on the balls (not the armor shells)? Does anyone know what it could possibly be for, redcuced stress on the balls maybe?

Actually, I think that's EXACTLY what they're for. I think they may also be where they inject the plastic, though I could be wrong. I haven't noticed any scratched parts in any of the recent sets I've bought, but like Aanchir said, maybe the molds they're using for some of the shells are starting to get a little old.

 

I thought the holes are to reduce friction to make posing more fluid. I have some older ball joints (hi Norik) and I can definitely say that the older joints are harder to move.

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On a different note, i dont understand why most CCBS pieces have those tiny triangle patterned holes in them on the balls (not the armor shells)? Does anyone know what it could possibly be for, redcuced stress on the balls maybe?

Actually, I think that's EXACTLY what they're for. I think they may also be where they inject the plastic, though I could be wrong. I haven't noticed any scratched parts in any of the recent sets I've bought, but like Aanchir said, maybe the molds they're using for some of the shells are starting to get a little old.

 

I thought the holes are to reduce friction to make posing more fluid. I have some older ball joints (hi Norik) and I can definitely say that the older joints are harder to move.

 

No, SuperGeniusCreator is right. The holes in the ball joints are meant to help reduce the stress that had been a factor in how easily the old joints could crack. It probably has an effect on how tight the joints are as well, but keep in mind that your older joints being harder to move could also be a consequence of Polycarbonate's tendency to fuse together on a molecular level when pressed together over a long period of time.

 

Interestingly, there's one part used in 2015 Bionicle which still hasn't been remolded to include the holes—the Hordika necks used in Onua, Master of Earth.

 

 

 

I imagine that the pieces are pulled from the same pool.

...I'm not entirely sure what you mean by that. :/

 

It means that production from HF pieces carried over, so it's not like they stopped making pieces and reinvented the process for Bionicle. It would all be a fluid transition.

 

Oh, okay. In that case, there would be some of that, but not as much as in the original Bionicle, since Lego doesn't overproduce parts to the extent that they used to. In fact, there are already some clear examples of parts that HAVE changed. Notably, some of the 3M and 4M shells are actually new molds with some of the sharper edges removed. They're still being phased in—our Lewa, for instance, has the new variety of Bright Green 4M shells, but the old variety of Flame Yellowish Orange 4M shells (despite that part being brand new in both colors).

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We need someone who knows about the molecular properties of this plastic to help us out.

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After reading this I looked at my Bionicle shells and didn't really notice anything out of place. I have played roughest with Kopaka, Pohatu and Lewa but their shells looked fine. I also checked out my HF shells and most of them looked fine, but I noticed scratches on a titanium gunmetal shell from an IfB mecha (I think Surge & Rocka Combat Machine).

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Well all my shells are of the same quality as older hero factory ones. Kopaka's seem to be in the best condition, guess he didn't slip.

My Kopaka's got stickers on the shells so I can't tell.

 

He has more than two shells, you know. :P

 

Upon examination of our Bionicle 2015 sets I can definitely see that some shells seem glossier than comparable ones from previous years—but notably, it only seems to apply to ones like the 3M and 4M shells which have clearly been remolded. I'd wager that the glossiness is due to that reason and that reason alone—I suppose the newer parts will become less glossy as the molds begin to develop wear from continued use.

Edited by Lyichir

Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence

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