Yes, the Toa should keep their primary colors. I really don't want Lewa to be dark green...

Wow, nice thoughts on a Nuva upgrade. Nice read.

Yes, the Toa should keep their primary colors. I really don't want Lewa to be dark green...

Ditto, ditto, ditto, X100, FTW!

(Plus I need more regular green pieces....)

Nice comments on keeping characters looking like their past selves. This is why the inika didn't look much like their matoran selves. And your views are very important for changes made to other characters like the Nuva. There needs to be something there to connect with and makes them look like their past selves. (Kopaka's shield and eyepiece FTW)

Nuva masks like Lhikan's would be awesome!

Secondary color is important too. But I really like the "lighter" colors (not dark blue, red, and green).

-CF

I too would love Lhikan-style Nuva masks. After all, Greg said the Nuva's mask powers will stay the same, so they have to be recognizable as the Nuva masks.

In "additional things" you forgot Onua's hunch-backedness =P

Anyway, I must agree with all the points you have made here. Very well thought out.

I just wish LEGO would listen to you... =/

I hope you don't mind me posting a short (for me :-P) reply to your last post in the "Destroying" topic that was closed due to leakages:

I realize and have known for a long time that BZP is a small, almost negligible portion of the Bionicle fanbase. But with the logic that the newer fans do not care about a set's appearance, so long as it's cool, I can only imagine that making the Nuva recognizable could only increase Lego's profits, if only by a minimal amount. Lego would not be making an unwise decision by doing so, as far as I can tell.

As I see it, this is the heart of your argument -- would you agree?

What I've been pointing out again and again is that fans do care, they care quite a lot, about a set's appearance. They didn't like the older, more Technicy style as much, and so that would cause them to buy less. The Rahi's poor sales and the Bahrag's proved this, as well as the fact that gears were the #1 complaint.

I'd like to bring up these MOCs you've been showing in your blog, and my tastes, as an example -- personally, they aren't that attractive. They're not worse than the originals, which weren't horrible IMT. But they're far too "technicy" looking to please me much. I would never, never spend money on something like that. Of course, that's me and that's, admittedly, mostly because I already have the originals so I wouldn't want mere jointed rehashes. I'm sure most fans would at least consider buying it, and many would.

But what you seem to be missing is, since that style doesn't appeal very well to most fans, that would indeed hurt sales. They wouldn't see it as "cool", it seems.

Also, it's a misnomer that it's so much about "old" versus "new." It's about two different taste groups. I'm more in line with the one you're calling "new", but I've been with Bionicle from Day 1. And I've met some people who joined Bionicle late but still prefer the older style best. The only thing that's old or new is which taste Bionicle has tried to appeal to the most.

And both back then and now, the "new" taste is the one that has brought greater sales. Remember, that's why the Rahi sold poorly even in 2001. I try not to call it "new" -- I call it "most fans", because that has been true from Day 1 and it's still true. I know it would help to come up with a nickname for 'em but I haven't found a good one yet other than "Biomechanism fans", as opposed to "Technicism fans".

And the tastes that you mention your MOCs often appealing to, on here, are usually in the minority, so actually it could be a bad sign if your MOCs were to face the market. What the minority likes strongly, the majority often dislikes strongly. Whatever small gain in sales your idea would bring in, would most likely be counteracted by a bigger loss. Not saying it wouldn't be worth a try -- but canister sets are not the place to do such a risky experiment, especially not the heroes -- those are the main sellers so they need to be top notch.

For the record, though, I loved your Reidak MOC.

These are the standards by which Lego has to adhere if they want to create Toa recognizable as the Nuva.

That's fine, as long as we all realize LEGO wasn't really aiming for that, and seems to have good reasons not to. (But it's still worth debating those reasons, as Greg has said.)

And I agree that change is not automatically good -- but realize that by now, it is you and others on here who are arguing for a change to a proven successful design tactic, since the Inika sold so well despite (or because of) being largely unrecognizeable.

Ehhh... I didn't like the Nuva much, and hope the new ones focus more on being able to connect them with their old personalities than their old forms. I've seen the first of the new sets, and am impressed, but I'm hoping the rest continue to impress me. Note also that I am not happy with all LEGO's choices for these new sets, but I will accept them. And who knows, maybe I'll have more success drawing the new Pohatu than I had with the old one.

Anyway, I am both an artist and an MOCist, but I can say that I prefer to keep the characters looking like the sets than customizing as you have described artists and MOCists often doing. The exception is with the Mahri, whom I am changing a bit so their armor looks like their Inika armor, but it's not hard with my two favorites to draw, those being Matoro and Kongu.

I actually liked the Inika appearances, especially those of the masks and color schemes, and was not disappointed by anything besides their status as clone sets. In fact, they looked astonishingly like their Matoran forms in terms of mask shape, although the storyline would lead us to believe otherwise. Let me once more bring in Exhibit A: The Calix Comparison Sheet. Clearly, looking at this parallel in the "side fins" alongside the Iden's "breathers," the Suletu's mouth shape, and the Sanok's square chin, it becomes obvious that inspiration for the Inika masks was drawn in part from their predecessors.

The Inika had slight color scheme similarities to their Matoran forms, but pleased us by creating never-before-used color combinations that were on the whole aesthetically pleasing. The Mahri drew inspiration from them, creating more beautiful schemes. However, continuity is not in any way the reason Kongu and Matoro Mahri are my favorites. The reason lies in their personalities. The Toa Mahri were the epitome of sets that match the personalities of the characters, making Kongu and Matoro Mahri the epitome of the epitome.

Anyway, if you have any arguments to these points, I'd be happy to discuss them, knowing that you have at least the sense not to pick every new set to pieces (for your Mahri were redesigns as redesigns ought to be, that being minimally changed to demonstrate how something could have been done better). Few others can exhibit the same moderation, preferring to have it "[insert year of your choice] or nothing at all." It's always nice to see this sort of tolerance.

Hmmm... I need to draw the Mahri again. Maybe once the AC is over.

The Inika had slight color scheme similarities to their Matoran forms, but pleased us by creating never-before-used color combinations that were on the whole aesthetically pleasing. The Mahri drew inspiration from them, creating more beautiful schemes. However, continuity is not in any way the reason Kongu and Matoro Mahri are my favorites. The reason lies in their personalities. The Toa Mahri were the epitome of sets that match the personalities of the characters, making Kongu and Matoro Mahri the epitome of the epitome.

I'm curious... you probably know by now I disagree wholeheartedly with that sentiment, but that's another discussion... but how well do you think the Toa Mata sets matched their personalities? To me, it was they who were the epitome and whatnot, something I have not seen in sets since them.

Whadya say?

-Ikk