Future Set Designs

[bioniclepluslotr]

I just noticed that many of my old Bionicle sets have quite the varierty in torso armor. Like looking at Kiina, Vezon, Umbra, and a whole slew of any random G1 figures, they have unique chest armor made from pieces that weren't necessarily inteded for a torso build, but worked out pretty well. Most of my CCBS sets from HF, Chima, and Bionicle use the same 3 chest armor. Is there anyway to apply a different piece for chest armor in CCBS?

[Jobber]

I just noticed that many of my old Bionicle sets have quite the varierty in torso armor. Like looking at Kiina, Vezon, Umbra, and a whole slew of any random G1 figures, they have unique chest armor made from pieces that weren't necessarily inteded for a torso build, but worked out pretty well. Most of my CCBS sets from HF, Chima, and Bionicle use the same 3 chest armor. Is there anyway to apply a different piece for chest armor in CCBS?

Well, the Summer sets are getting a brand-new torso mold.

[Lyichir]

I just noticed that many of my old Bionicle sets have quite the varierty in torso armor. Like looking at Kiina, Vezon, Umbra, and a whole slew of any random G1 figures, they have unique chest armor made from pieces that weren't necessarily inteded for a torso build, but worked out pretty well. Most of my CCBS sets from HF, Chima, and Bionicle use the same 3 chest armor. Is there anyway to apply a different piece for chest armor in CCBS?

Non-standard torso armor is easy to use in CCBS, actually, seeing as everything is based on the same connection style. A tablescrap/self-MOC on my desk beside me uses the shell used for Onua's lower body, but flipped around with the standard Super Heroes chest over top. And there are plenty more options as well, particularly if you use the wider torso like Onua (which has additional connection points between the neck and shoulders). And that's not even getting into the ability to attach parts to the skeleton underneath to potentially add even more connection points for armor, like another favorite armor style of mine, which involves attaching a smaller "Protector" torso on top of the standard torso, and covering that with smaller shells (like Aanchir demonstrated in this tablescrap).

Edited March 3, 2015 by Lyichir

[Aanchir]

I just noticed that many of my old Bionicle sets have quite the varierty in torso armor. Like looking at Kiina, Vezon, Umbra, and a whole slew of any random G1 figures, they have unique chest armor made from pieces that weren't necessarily inteded for a torso build, but worked out pretty well. Most of my CCBS sets from HF, Chima, and Bionicle use the same 3 chest armor. Is there anyway to apply a different piece for chest armor in CCBS?

Absolutely. These four female MOCs all featured custom torso armor. And CCBS sets that feature creative torso armor include Toxic Reapa, Raw-Jaw, Bruizer, and Furno XL. Most CCBS torso beams have no shortage of connection points you can use to create custom armor.

[Toa Kohron]

About Pohatu. I was tinkering around with trying to make my own 2015-style Pohatu, and after I made my boomerangs, I put them together into a compound bow. So maybe Pohatu v.2 could have this bow-and-arrow setup, be the long-range guy of the team, then split his bow into his trademark boomerangs.

 

It's hard to top rocket-propelled boomerangs

Not an awful idea by far. It's hard to split up the image of a boe bring carried by a tree-speaker tho xD

[masterchirox580]

I wonder if they'll follow the formula of the old bionicle where they have something like the toa nuva again, I can only imagine how cool that would look. 

[Lyichir]

I wonder if they'll follow the formula of the old bionicle where they have something like the toa nuva again, I can only imagine how cool that would look.

If by "something like the Toa Nuva" you mean upgraded versions of the Toa, it's pretty much a certainty. A major goal of the new theme is to eliminate confusion in the story, and one of the greatest sources of confusion in the classic storyline was the frequent changing of the main cast. I would expect the current Toa to remain the main characters for at least three years and possibly longer, and I would also expect new versions of them every single year they occupy that spot.

 

Now, it's interesting to think of HOW the upgraded Toa will be made distinctive, since unlike the Toa Nuva it's more than a matter of adding metallic armor. But I'm sure it can be done. One idea I've considered is elemental armor motifs achieved through either printing (which is easy with most CCBS parts, and might even be doable with parts like the Toa's standard masks) or with new parts entirely, like Strakk's icy shoulder armor. But there are plenty of other options as well. Considering Hero Factory managed to continue revamping its main cast for longer than Bionicle EVER kept characters around, I have little doubt that the new Bionicle theme can afford the same privilege to the new Toa.

[king_of_the_rabbits]

1. As pretty much everyone has said, more eye colours.

2. Less metallic colour, especially on Gali and Pohatu.

3. New masks.

4. Different types of masks for protectors.

5. More textured armour pieces, instead of having a design on a flat piece, make it 3-D.

6. New torso designs, I want to see something different and unique.

[bioniclepluslotr]

If they keep upgrading I'm not even going to finish getting the first wave by the time the next comes out so what's even the point of trying? :/

Edited March 6, 2015 by bioniclepluslotr

[Petewa]

1-Rahi

[Lyichir]

If they keep upgrading I'm not even going to finish getting the first wave by the time the next comes out so what's even the point of trying? :/

Not sure what you mean by that? I doubt they'll have upgrades more than once a year—no different from the classic Bionicle, really, apart from hopefully not changing the core cast completely as often.

 

Besides, collecting isn't everything. It's easy to just get the sets you like most without worrying about getting a complete team.

[masterchirox580]

I wonder if those new lightsaber pieces might be incorporated somehow? 

[Jobber]

I think those pieces are specialized for the Star Wars sets only, just like those new shin armor plates.

[Lyichir]

I think those pieces are specialized for the Star Wars sets only, just like those new shin armor plates.

The lightsaber elements probably are unique to the Star Wars sets (being designed explicitly to resemble the movie props, and not looking quite as basic and versatile as the System lightsaber parts).

 

The shin elements, though? I wouldn't be so sure. They don't look to be based explicitly on the actual costumes, and as such they could very well be adapted for reuse in Bionicle (or another CCBS theme should one of those come around). The same applies to Luke's torso piece, which looks like it would be plenty basic if produced without the printing that's specific to that figure.

Edited March 6, 2015 by Lyichir

[Iku]

I'm surprised no-one mentioned more technic connections. I find one of the main reasons CCBS is so difficult to work with is the unconventional minifig-sized connection pins on the CCBS shells. If they incorporated shells/armour pieces with technic connection holes/studs, that would greatly increase its compatibility with the technic element and provide far more options for customisation than it currently has. 

[Arcee]

I see a lot of people in this thread wanting collectibles back (mask packs and such) and this sentiment was pretty common even back in, like, '06. I'd definitely like to see this aspect of Bionicle/constraction come back but I've got a question:

 

Why is it that Lego stopped? Do we have an answer? It seems, at least on BZP and other fan communities, like a wildly popular idea in really high demand. Are masks in all those colors just expensive to make? Do they not sell well?

[Iblis]

Why is it that Lego stopped? Do we have an answer? It seems, at least on BZP and other fan communities, like a wildly popular idea in really high demand. Are masks in all those colors just expensive to make? Do they not sell well?

 

For things aimed at such a young audience, I don't think that any amount of fansites are really a good way of determining what sells; I feel pretty confident in saying that a significant amount of buyers &/or receivers of sets don't participate on any of the Bionicle fansites...

Sure I can't back it up, but even then, how many people regularly visit these fansites?

 

At the end of the day there are plenty of people with a big voice that might might buy triples of every set & hunt down every variable piece in the series bar three dozen or so, but that's still just a drop in the ocean, their market is huge.

 

As for masks in different colours, there is also the issue of how many you put in a pack, how much that then costs vs the amount of pieces, the volume of plastic used, are their blended colours, transportation costs... it's fiddly to arrange, not hard, but still, we know it costs a fair amount to make molds, & you can't rely on the same pieces being released in different colours.

 

The Krana had 8 different molds * 18 colours ^{(+ like three Krana[-Kal] Xa in another colour... or something)}, the Kraata had 6 molds * 44 colours...

The discs were all solid & I think they were cheaper but I'm not sure, I don't think any of the collectibles after the Rhotuka's were that well received; and I don't think they had that much variation to them either...

 

It'd be nice to know definitely why, but I suspect it's as simple as they don't feel they it would help that much, even if they don't think it would hurt much...

[Torchbearer]

 

I wonder if they'll follow the formula of the old bionicle where they have something like the toa nuva again, I can only imagine how cool that would look.

Now, it's interesting to think of HOW the upgraded Toa will be made distinctive, since unlike the Toa Nuva it's more than a matter of adding metallic armor. But I'm sure it can be done. One idea I've considered is elemental armor motifs achieved through either printing (which is easy with most CCBS parts, and might even be doable with parts like the Toa's standard masks) or with new parts entirely, like Strakk's icy shoulder armor. But there are plenty of other options as well. Considering Hero Factory managed to continue revamping its main cast for longer than Bionicle EVER kept characters around, I have little doubt that the new Bionicle theme can afford the same privilege to the new Toa.

 

>implying that the only change between Toa Mata and Toa Nuva was adding metallic armor.

 

Hero Factory did manage to revamp its main cast for far longer than BIONICLE ever did, but there was almost zero consistency between variations. Surge started out as blue, silver and trans fl. green with a lightning-esque theme, his next iteration was blue, white, lime, trace elements of silver and had a sniper rifle. His breakout incarnation featured a vastly different style to his 2.0 form, yet closer to 1.0, featuring blue, lime, trans fl. green, a slight amount of silver and a combination of weaponry from previous forms.

 

Surge's final notable appearance as far as upgrades are concerned featured silver, blue, trace amounts of yellow, trans fl. green, trans blue and gunmetal/titanium along with a singular lightning themed weapon and a jetpack. Some might deem it an "upgrade" but the variation in his profile and weapon usage beginning with his 2.0 form was a bit awkward. HF really did suffer from a lack of being able to communicate direct upgrades (seemingly why they dropped the ".0" format) but also from a lack of consistency between exactly what role he was meant to play as in the team. From the story perspective of what HF is meant to be about, this makes sense. But from a set perspective, they may as well have been entirely different characters if it weren't for a nameplate or helmet, both of which his Brain Attack forms were exempt from.

 

With the way the Toa are currently structured, I can't really see them escaping this any time soon. It's most certainly possible to make the Toa look "upgraded" like the transition from Mata to Nuva, but it will be nowhere near as significant a change.

[Aanchir]

 

Why is it that Lego stopped? Do we have an answer? It seems, at least on BZP and other fan communities, like a wildly popular idea in really high demand. Are masks in all those colors just expensive to make? Do they not sell well?

 

For things aimed at such a young audience, I don't think that any amount of fansites are really a good way of determining what sells; I feel pretty confident in saying that a significant amount of buyers &/or receivers of sets don't participate on any of the Bionicle fansites...

Sure I can't back it up, but even then, how many people regularly visit these fansites?

 

At the end of the day there are plenty of people with a big voice that might might buy triples of every set & hunt down every variable piece in the series bar three dozen or so, but that's still just a drop in the ocean, their market is huge.

 

As for masks in different colours, there is also the issue of how many you put in a pack, how much that then costs vs the amount of pieces, the volume of plastic used, are their blended colours, transportation costs... it's fiddly to arrange, not hard, but still, we know it costs a fair amount to make molds, & you can't rely on the same pieces being released in different colours.

 

The Krana had 8 different molds * 18 colours ^{(+ like three Krana[-Kal] Xa in another colour... or something)}, the Kraata had 6 molds * 44 colours...

The discs were all solid & I think they were cheaper but I'm not sure, I don't think any of the collectibles after the Rhotuka's were that well received; and I don't think they had that much variation to them either...

 

It'd be nice to know definitely why, but I suspect it's as simple as they don't feel they it would help that much, even if they don't think it would hurt much...

The Krana and Kraata were made cheaper to produce by the fact that all eight or all six shapes were pressed off the same mold. This is why no set came standard with a specific shape of Krana or Kraata — even in a set like the Bohrok, Bohrok-Va, Bohrok-Kal, or Rahkshi where the color was controlled, the shape was always randomized. To do the same thing with Kanohi masks, you'd have to have separate molds for sets like the Toa that have a controlled mask and sets like mask packs that have randomized masks.

 

I also think that in general, mask packs are weaker sets than things like the blind-packaged collectible minifigures because they do not provide a complete play experience. You cannot tell a story with just a mask. Mask packs only have value if you already have other parts or sets to use them with. Now, modern sets might get around this by selling packs that include both a mask and a Skull Spider to steal it (in fact, the Hero Pack does just that), but that still offers fairly limited play scenarios, unlike the collectible minifigures which are packed with personality and offer different play scenarios depending on which figure you get. LEGO has even been releasing videos recently to advertise the Minifigures theme using the tagline "There's a story in every bag".

 

Blind-packaged products in general are also often subject to suspicion of being a scam to trick you into spending money on things you don't want. And in the case of some classic collectible packs, that suspicion is pretty well-founded. Getting all 216 Kraata from the Kraata packs, at $2 for a pack of 3, would cost you $144 (assuming you either never got duplicates or were able to trade your duplicates for ones you lacked). That DOESN'T include the 42 varieties that appeared exclusively in the Rahkshi sets, which add between $28 and $378, depending on whether you buy Kraata packs and trade those Kraata for the Rahkshi varieties (which basically requires at least seven BIONICLE collectors who DON'T care about a complete Kraata collection for every collector who does), or buy actual Rahkshi sets to get the Kraata you lack. All that for a bunch of functionally identical slugs with no posability and hardly any play value — most of which are pretty much insignificant to the story, and none of which you would even be able to SEE when they were inside the Rahkshi! You'll probably have a pretty hard time convincing your parents of how that ISN'T a scam.

 

By contrast, a complete series of collectible minifigures would cost $80 or less (assuming no duplicates), and as mentioned above, those would offer far more complete and varied play scenarios and creative potential than any mask pack. It's easy to see why demand for collectible minifigures far outstrips any hypothetical demand new BIONICLE mask packs might have.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Aanchir

[Rahkshi Lalonde]

 

 

Why is it that Lego stopped? Do we have an answer? It seems, at least on BZP and other fan communities, like a wildly popular idea in really high demand. Are masks in all those colors just expensive to make? Do they not sell well?

 

For things aimed at such a young audience, I don't think that any amount of fansites are really a good way of determining what sells; I feel pretty confident in saying that a significant amount of buyers &/or receivers of sets don't participate on any of the Bionicle fansites...

Sure I can't back it up, but even then, how many people regularly visit these fansites?

 

At the end of the day there are plenty of people with a big voice that might might buy triples of every set & hunt down every variable piece in the series bar three dozen or so, but that's still just a drop in the ocean, their market is huge.

 

As for masks in different colours, there is also the issue of how many you put in a pack, how much that then costs vs the amount of pieces, the volume of plastic used, are their blended colours, transportation costs... it's fiddly to arrange, not hard, but still, we know it costs a fair amount to make molds, & you can't rely on the same pieces being released in different colours.

 

The Krana had 8 different molds * 18 colours ^{(+ like three Krana[-Kal] Xa in another colour... or something)}, the Kraata had 6 molds * 44 colours...

The discs were all solid & I think they were cheaper but I'm not sure, I don't think any of the collectibles after the Rhotuka's were that well received; and I don't think they had that much variation to them either...

 

It'd be nice to know definitely why, but I suspect it's as simple as they don't feel they it would help that much, even if they don't think it would hurt much...

The Krana and Kraata were made cheaper to produce by the fact that all eight or all six shapes were pressed off the same mold. This is why no set came standard with a specific shape of Krana or Kraata — even in a set like the Bohrok, Bohrok-Va, Bohrok-Kal, or Rahkshi where the color was controlled, the shape was always randomized. To do the same thing with Kanohi masks, you'd have to have separate molds for sets like the Toa that have a controlled mask and sets like mask packs that have randomized masks.

 

I also think that in general, mask packs are weaker sets than things like the blind-packaged collectible minifigures because they do not provide a complete play experience. You cannot tell a story with just a mask. Mask packs only have value if you already have other parts or sets to use them with. Now, modern sets might get around this by selling packs that include both a mask and a Skull Spider to steal it (in fact, the Hero Pack does just that), but that still offers fairly limited play scenarios, unlike the collectible minifigures which are packed with personality and offer different play scenarios depending on which figure you get. LEGO has even been releasing videos recently to advertise the Minifigures theme using the tagline "There's a story in every bag".

 

Blind-packaged products in general are also often subject to suspicion of being a scam to trick you into spending money on things you don't want. And in the case of some classic collectible packs, that suspicion is pretty well-founded. Getting all 216 Kraata from the Kraata packs, at $2 for a pack of 3, would cost you $144 (assuming you either never got duplicates or were able to trade your duplicates for ones you lacked). That DOESN'T include the 42 varieties that appeared exclusively in the Rahkshi sets, which add between $28 and $378, depending on whether you buy Kraata packs and trade those Kraata for the Rahkshi varieties (which basically requires at least seven BIONICLE collectors who DON'T care about a complete Kraata collection for every collector who does), or buy actual Rahkshi sets to get the Kraata you lack. All that for a bunch of functionally identical slugs with no posability and hardly any play value — most of which are pretty much insignificant to the story, and none of which you would even be able to SEE when they were inside the Rahkshi! You'll probably have a pretty hard time convincing your parents of how that ISN'T a scam.

 

By contrast, a complete series of collectible minifigures would cost $80 or less (assuming no duplicates), and as mentioned above, those would offer far more complete and varied play scenarios and creative potential than any mask pack. It's easy to see why demand for collectible minifigures far outstrips any hypothetical demand new BIONICLE mask packs might have.

 

 

i can see where you're coming from, and yet... the temptation of the useless rubber slugs...

 

why did i not collect them when i had the chance? XnX

 

(since this is the future set design topic: i propose more useless rubber slugs, please. :u)

[fishers64]

Doesn't the Hero Pack technically qualify as a Mask pack?

 

Personally, I'd be all for more of those kind of things. (Although I think they kind of are building up at the Lego stores - they produced too many of them, seems like. )

[Petewa]

 

 

 

Why is it that Lego stopped? Do we have an answer? It seems, at least on BZP and other fan communities, like a wildly popular idea in really high demand. Are masks in all those colors just expensive to make? Do they not sell well?

 

For things aimed at such a young audience, I don't think that any amount of fansites are really a good way of determining what sells; I feel pretty confident in saying that a significant amount of buyers &/or receivers of sets don't participate on any of the Bionicle fansites...

Sure I can't back it up, but even then, how many people regularly visit these fansites?

 

At the end of the day there are plenty of people with a big voice that might might buy triples of every set & hunt down every variable piece in the series bar three dozen or so, but that's still just a drop in the ocean, their market is huge.

 

As for masks in different colours, there is also the issue of how many you put in a pack, how much that then costs vs the amount of pieces, the volume of plastic used, are their blended colours, transportation costs... it's fiddly to arrange, not hard, but still, we know it costs a fair amount to make molds, & you can't rely on the same pieces being released in different colours.

 

The Krana had 8 different molds * 18 colours ^{(+ like three Krana[-Kal] Xa in another colour... or something)}, the Kraata had 6 molds * 44 colours...

The discs were all solid & I think they were cheaper but I'm not sure, I don't think any of the collectibles after the Rhotuka's were that well received; and I don't think they had that much variation to them either...

 

It'd be nice to know definitely why, but I suspect it's as simple as they don't feel they it would help that much, even if they don't think it would hurt much...

The Krana and Kraata were made cheaper to produce by the fact that all eight or all six shapes were pressed off the same mold. This is why no set came standard with a specific shape of Krana or Kraata — even in a set like the Bohrok, Bohrok-Va, Bohrok-Kal, or Rahkshi where the color was controlled, the shape was always randomized. To do the same thing with Kanohi masks, you'd have to have separate molds for sets like the Toa that have a controlled mask and sets like mask packs that have randomized masks.

 

I also think that in general, mask packs are weaker sets than things like the blind-packaged collectible minifigures because they do not provide a complete play experience. You cannot tell a story with just a mask. Mask packs only have value if you already have other parts or sets to use them with. Now, modern sets might get around this by selling packs that include both a mask and a Skull Spider to steal it (in fact, the Hero Pack does just that), but that still offers fairly limited play scenarios, unlike the collectible minifigures which are packed with personality and offer different play scenarios depending on which figure you get. LEGO has even been releasing videos recently to advertise the Minifigures theme using the tagline "There's a story in every bag".

 

Blind-packaged products in general are also often subject to suspicion of being a scam to trick you into spending money on things you don't want. And in the case of some classic collectible packs, that suspicion is pretty well-founded. Getting all 216 Kraata from the Kraata packs, at $2 for a pack of 3, would cost you $144 (assuming you either never got duplicates or were able to trade your duplicates for ones you lacked). That DOESN'T include the 42 varieties that appeared exclusively in the Rahkshi sets, which add between $28 and $378, depending on whether you buy Kraata packs and trade those Kraata for the Rahkshi varieties (which basically requires at least seven BIONICLE collectors who DON'T care about a complete Kraata collection for every collector who does), or buy actual Rahkshi sets to get the Kraata you lack. All that for a bunch of functionally identical slugs with no posability and hardly any play value — most of which are pretty much insignificant to the story, and none of which you would even be able to SEE when they were inside the Rahkshi! You'll probably have a pretty hard time convincing your parents of how that ISN'T a scam.

 

By contrast, a complete series of collectible minifigures would cost $80 or less (assuming no duplicates), and as mentioned above, those would offer far more complete and varied play scenarios and creative potential than any mask pack. It's easy to see why demand for collectible minifigures far outstrips any hypothetical demand new BIONICLE mask packs might have.

 

 

i can see where you're coming from, and yet... the temptation of the useless rubber slugs...

 

why did i not collect them when i had the chance? XnX

 

(since this is the future set design topic: i propose more useless rubber slugs, please. :u)

 

 

Doesn't the Hero Pack technically qualify as a Mask pack?

 

Personally, I'd be all for more of those kind of things. (Although I think they kind of are building up at the Lego stores - they produced too many of them, seems like. )

No, it doesn't qualify, for the simple facts that not only did Mask Packs come with random masks, but that they also at least came with a head to put it on,

 

Yeah, they gave me two, figure I'll keep one sealed for later,

Edited March 19, 2015 by Petewa

[Ziontyro Metalhead]

What I would like is:

1. more variety in color and type of parts.

2. More diversity in build type.

[Peter Johnson]

What I would like is:

1. more variety in color and type of parts.

2. More diversity in build type.

Same here, I think

[evil_jaga_genius]

Okay, so here's an idea:

 

A lot of people have been saying to use less metal pieces in the next sets.  I say they SHOULD use more metal pieces--but ones that match the Toa's colors.

 

What do I mean?  For example, Tahu.  For his metal, use an orange-gold color.  For Pohatu, a more brownish, tan gold would work better.  On Gali, use a blued steel.  Kopaka gets his silver back (maybe in a blue shade, like Gali).  For Lewa and Onua I don't really know what to do... I think gold would fit Lewa better than silver (with his yellow armor and all) and maybe Onua could use the dark gunmetal off Toa Hewkii.

 

Thoughts, anyone?

[Aanchir]

Okay, so here's an idea:

 

A lot of people have been saying to use less metal pieces in the next sets.  I say they SHOULD use more metal pieces--but ones that match the Toa's colors.

 

What do I mean?  For example, Tahu.  For his metal, use an orange-gold color.  For Pohatu, a more brownish, tan gold would work better.  On Gali, use a blued steel.  Kopaka gets his silver back (maybe in a blue shade, like Gali).  For Lewa and Onua I don't really know what to do... I think gold would fit Lewa better than silver (with his yellow armor and all) and maybe Onua could use the dark gunmetal off Toa Hewkii.

 

Thoughts, anyone?

The biggest issue with this is that LEGO only has three colors of metallic plastic anymore: Warm Gold, Silver Metallic, and Titanium Metallic. They do have a wider range of metallic-colored inks, which you can see on many of the Toa's chest patterns (Kopaka and Gali use metallic blue ink, Tahu uses metallic red ink, and Lewa, Pohatu, and Onua all use metallic gold ink). But I'm pretty sure that's not what you had in mind.

 

Also, in general, a big advantage of the Toa's metallic armor is that it adds contrast to their color schemes. Metallic armor that matched their primary colors wouldn't have nearly as much contrast. The metallic colors used for the armor of the Rahkshi took this to the extreme — they were so close to the regular solid colors that the Rahkshi used for their Y-joints that many people just chalked the difference up to some production oddity, not realizing that those were actual, distinct metallic colors.

[ToaDraco]

So I had an idea, what if we kept the current Toa the way they are for the next wave and the 2016 wave of villains came with special armor pieces to attach onto the Toa, keeping the current Toa sets relevent while adding a collectibility to the villain sets instead of masks or Skull Spiders. "Collect the golden armor to power up your Toa!" For example, the Earth villain would have special gold armor for Onua to power him up, kinda like what they did in 2010 with the gold armor but in this case one villain set has all the armor for the corresponding Toa. I thought of this while looking at Onua and curious about why they bothered to give him half-pins in his shoulder armor and hammer. A special gold plate that fit onto his shoulder pads could also be put on his hammer and chestplate to "upgrade" him without the need to make an entirely new set. This way, 6 of the set "slots" for next year won't need to be needlessly filled by "Toa 2.0", opening up more possibilities for new characters/creatures.

[Aanchir]

So I had an idea, what if we kept the current Toa the way they are for the next wave and the 2016 wave of villains came with special armor pieces to attach onto the Toa, keeping the current Toa sets relevent while adding a collectibility to the villain sets instead of masks or Skull Spiders. "Collect the golden armor to power up your Toa!" For example, the Earth villain would have special gold armor for Onua to power him up, kinda like what they did in 2010 with the gold armor but in this case one villain set has all the armor for the corresponding Toa. I thought of this while looking at Onua and curious about why they bothered to give him half-pins in his shoulder armor and hammer. A special gold plate that fit onto his shoulder pads could also be put on his hammer and chestplate to "upgrade" him without the need to make an entirely new set. This way, 6 of the set "slots" for next year won't need to be needlessly filled by "Toa 2.0", opening up more possibilities for new characters/creatures.

The issue then is that most stores won't have the old Toa still in stock at that point, meaning that selling point would basically be wasted on new fans. Designing sets to enhance other sets works best when the sets are released simultaneously. What's more, you'd still need those new 2016 sets to be the main heroes for that year's story, because otherwise many fans would have no way of getting that year's main heroes without going out of their way to find them in the aftermarket.

[Makuta Miras]

I can't remember if I've said this before, but I bet that at some point we'll see forms of the Toa where they've unlocked their full elemental powers like the NRG Ninja. If this actually happened, I would predict a lot of new recolours, mostly in the Toa's transparent colours, and so although they might look slightly cheesy, imagine how awesome they'd look on a sunlit shelf!

[Infamousevil]

1: No more gears.

2: translucent torso, head, and armor pieces.

3: At least one enemy should use nothing BUT translucent pieces.

4: Give either a Toa or a villain a scyth weapon.

[Cwog]

1: No more gears.

2: translucent torso, head, and armor pieces.

3: At least one enemy should use nothing BUT translucent pieces.

4: Give either a Toa or a villain a scyth weapon.

No more gears? Are you forgetting that these aren't just dolls for posing, but actually action figures? My little cousin is 6, and he got a few HF sets before Bionicle came back. Then he got Bionicle sets, and the gears were awesome to him, and when we played, those gears were down-right fantastic.

Edited April 4, 2015 by Cwog

[evil_jaga_genius]

No gears are nice when you want to hold an epic pose, but they're great when you want to actually play with the models.  I find myself returning to the Toa Mata torso for my creations because it's so easy to add gears to them.  So for real playable figures, I say gears are a must.

 

Anyway I don't want to totally be bashing your opinion.  I would love more transparent parts--I'd take those over my metal idea any day.

 

And I have a very good idea for a scythe if they ever bring back disk launchers or spinners...

[Cwog]

No gears are nice when you want to hold an epic pose, but they're great when you want to actually play with the models.  I find myself returning to the Toa Mata torso for my creations because it's so easy to add gears to them.  So for real playable figures, I say gears are a must.

 

Anyway I don't want to totally be bashing your opinion.  I would love more transparent parts--I'd take those over my metal idea any day.

 

And I have a very good idea for a scythe if they ever bring back disk launchers or spinners...

Dang, a lot of people seem to have a sort of fetish with scythes... Guy's they're farming tools. Sure, they look pretty awesome, but come on, they are some of the most impractical weapons ever. Granted, I'm not gonna complain about Soul and Maka (Soul Eater) or Ruby Rose (RWBY) and the weapon choice there, but the whole scythe thing is a little done to death.

Edited April 6, 2015 by Cwog

[bioniclepluslotr]

I find that gears get in the way of the design, since you have to make room to accomodate them, and there's always the handle part that sticks out.

[Cwog]

I find that gears get in the way of the design, since you have to make room to accomodate them, and there's always the handle part that sticks out.

That can easily be changed with a simple modification, so the handle doesn't stick out so far and you're left with the three (or two) black gears, without the yellow one.

[bioniclepluslotr]

 

I find that gears get in the way of the design, since you have to make room to accomodate them, and there's always the handle part that sticks out.

That can easily be changed with a simple modification, so the handle doesn't stick out so far and you're left with the three (or two) black gears, without the yellow one.

 

Yeah, but then it's not official.

[Cwog]

 

 

I find that gears get in the way of the design, since you have to make room to accomodate them, and there's always the handle part that sticks out.

That can easily be changed with a simple modification, so the handle doesn't stick out so far and you're left with the three (or two) black gears, without the yellow one.

 

Yeah, but then it's not official.

 

Remember that the official design is a constraction figure first, and a poseable figure second. The target audience wants play features, not pose-ability.

[masterchirox580]

 

 

I find that gears get in the way of the design, since you have to make room to accomodate them, and there's always the handle part that sticks out.

That can easily be changed with a simple modification, so the handle doesn't stick out so far and you're left with the three (or two) black gears, without the yellow one.

 

Yeah, but then it's not official.

 

So? Isn't that the entire point of lego? I'd also like to point out that the toa would look very bare without the gears.

[Infamousevil]

 

1: No more gears.

2: translucent torso, head, and armor pieces.

3: At least one enemy should use nothing BUT translucent pieces.

4: Give either a Toa or a villain a scyth weapon.

No more gears? Are you forgetting that these aren't just dolls for posing, but actually action figures? My little cousin is 6, and he got a few HF sets before Bionicle came back. Then he got Bionicle sets, and the gears were awesome to him, and when we played, those gears were down-right fantastic.

 

I had the original Toa when Bionicle started, and I hated the gears. I always found them to be annoying. So yeah I prefer them as buildable action figures that you can put into crazy poses.

 

No gears are nice when you want to hold an epic pose, but they're great when you want to actually play with the models.  I find myself returning to the Toa Mata torso for my creations because it's so easy to add gears to them.  So for real playable figures, I say gears are a must.

 

Anyway I don't want to totally be bashing your opinion.  I would love more transparent parts--I'd take those over my metal idea any day.

 

And I have a very good idea for a scythe if they ever bring back disk launchers or spinners...

Oh, do tell about you scyth idea please. But imagine how cool a Bionicle made with nothing but(okay pins and certain other things can stay in their normal plastic) translucent pieces.

 

 

No gears are nice when you want to hold an epic pose, but they're great when you want to actually play with the models.  I find myself returning to the Toa Mata torso for my creations because it's so easy to add gears to them.  So for real playable figures, I say gears are a must.

 

Anyway I don't want to totally be bashing your opinion.  I would love more transparent parts--I'd take those over my metal idea any day.

 

And I have a very good idea for a scythe if they ever bring back disk launchers or spinners...

Dang, a lot of people seem to have a sort of fetish with scythes... Guy's they're farming tools. Sure, they look pretty Do NOT bypass the filter! -B6, but come on, they are some of the most impractical weapons ever. Granted, I'm not gonna complain about Soul and Maka (Soul Eater) or Ruby Rose (RWBY) and the weapon choice there, but the whole scythe thing is a little done to death.

 

Don't forget Bloodborne's scyth weapon with a removable blade that you can wield as a sword(but you can only get it on NG+). Besides scythes look awesome.

 

Or maybe give a female character a CANNON for a weapon. Because girls love cannons.

Edited April 5, 2015 by Black Six

[Cwog]

(can't quote while using Surface) Infamousevil, what about instead of a cannon, a gatling gun? Like, a modified stud shooter, maybe with two rotating barrels, with a total of 12 shots? That'd be pretty dang cool.