First, if you haven't checked out Part 1, go ahead and do that. I'd love to hear where my first thoughts agree with or differ with your own.

The vehicle sets for 2009 prove impressively unique. Some of them have flaws, but all are nevertheless amazingly creative. This year's vehicles vary from most we encountered last year in that these tend to be land vehicles. As such, there are plenty of treads and wheels to go around. Overall there are some flaws, but the sets are nevertheless impressive in their style and creativity. Without further ado, let's delve into these intriguing sets.

Cendox V1

Concerning the names, I like these just as I have liked most Bara Magna terms. However, the "V#" after each grows mildly tiresome. Not what you'd expect from a society as primitive technologically as the Agori seem to be. But then, neither are some of the vehicles.

In its vivid yellow, Cendox is eye-catching, and the color scheme seems well-organized. I like the style it uses, with a back tread and a sledlike nose. The front-mounted Thornax is something that would never have worked with a bulkier launcher on such a small, sleek set as this one. I like the styles of piece it uses, ranging from Kiina's aerodynamic thigh armor to the good ol' Brutaka swords in black (as they also appeared in Tuma). Of course, stylistic consistency is not nearly as good as it was on some of the vehicles last year. The seat, using the otherwise next-to-useless Kalmah armor, looks as comfy as ever. Certainly not a worthless set, regardless of size.

But then there's Crotesius. He's a good Agori, of course, and I've never much minded simplicity in the riders of vehicle sets, but alas! Bohrok feet!? They were the ideal Matoran feet from 2004-2007, in my opinion, with their two-toed glory, but the Av-Matoran limbs and torsos make them seem downright puny-- and unlike among Matoran, Crotesius doesn't have continuity to his defense.

Crotesius wears his set's only life counter on his back, a variation from the previous vehicle/creature set, Fero and Skirmix. The amount of variation among vehicle sets in this respect is peculiar, and I hope it does not have any negative impact on the Action Figure Game.

Kaxium V3

Kaxium demonstrates just how much variability land-based vehicles can offer. Using more traditional Technic wheels, it is an amazingly clever motorbike with sidecar. It has decent stylistic consistency and a decent color scheme. The forward-mounted Thornax Launcher on the sidecar works well, just as it did on the nose of the Cendox.

When we come to the Agori pilots, of course, things begin to fall apart. The color schemes are moderately OK, although they lack any real contrast with the vehicle. Moreover, I'd have preferred that they be twins than that one have light blue, throwing a wrench into the color scheme. Metru feet also are a bit peculiar, and I don't see why the vehicle Agori couldn't have followed the winter tradition and used Mata feet.

The Agori do have something to say to their advantage, which is that they reuse Crotesius's mask-- but backwards! I think this is brilliantly executed, and it will be seen in several other vehicles this year. I hope it continues in the future, as it allows LEGO more creative opportunities with fewer pieces-- after all, until closely examining the ToyFair pics I didn't notice how many of the masks were reused in a backwards configuration.

...Still lookin' for that life counter...

Thornatus V5

The Thornatus stands out with its copious tan. I don't know what to think of this-- tan is a bright color, but not a particularly vibrant one, and not what I'd have expected on such a large vehicle. However, it seems to work considerably well, and the number of tan parts we get (including some of this year's new panel pieces) is very encouraging.

From the first time I saw pics of the Thornatus it reminded me of the Jetrax. While unique in several ways, it nevertheless uses many of the same pieces as its main motifs. Bitil wings, Krika blades, and an amazingly similar cockpit construction. It is not a bad thing, however, with so many other details setting this apart from the vehicles of yesteryear.

The wheels are all reused from system sets-- the wheels on the sides are from the Power Miners theme of this year, while the large rear wheel originated in a 2007 Exo-Force set (do not confuse it with the similar but far larger wheel from an earlier LEGO Star Wars set, the Technic Hailfire Droid). Both wheel designs work well for BIONICLE with their pointy, mechanistic style.

This set has two life counters, one in front of the pilot's feet and another on the Bitil wing used on the top aft of the Thornatus as a wheel well. The Thornax Launcher is mounted near this second life counter, with an apparent ability to fold back and lie flat on the Bitil wing in question. This is worthwhile, as it seems to stand considerably above the vehicle when not folded prone.

On the subject of wheel wells, a silver Kanohi Crast curves over the side wheels, adding stylistic consistency with the Krika blades used further towards the front. These wheels are affixed to side sections of the vehicle which are able to fold forward much like the claws of the Boxor, albeit without the nifty foot-pressing ability. I certainly hope there is a control for this feature and they are not just loose. Nevertheless, it is a nice trait for this set.

The set reuses the Midak Skyblasters of yesteryear, and while I do not mind this I very much wish LEGO had utilized a different color of Zamor. Perhaps gold Zamors to represent unripe Thornax? Whatever the case, there had better be an explanation for such high-tech-looking blasters in such a low-tech society.

Finally we come to Perditus. Like the other riders we've encountered so far, he has his flaws. For instance, he uses both black and bley as neutral colors-- were I the designer I'd have stuck with purely bley. His mask is nice, and will also appear on the charioteer of the Baranus in orange. It looks hoodlike and menacing, and my first impression of it is positive.

Baranus V7

Baranus makes even less sense than the others with its "V#" classification, since it is not even a motor vehicle. However, it could also be argued that it makes more sense since it is the only one that seems to be mass-produced (if it is indeed one of the Spikit-drawn wagons mentioned in Empire of the Skrall). Regardless, I do not think it is a dreadful problem, just a peculiarity.

Here's our rider, Sahmad, wearing that orange Perditus mask I told you about! If he indeed serves the Skrall, then I am curious why his armor is so vibrant-- most other Skrall-affiliated beings reserved such vivid coloring for accents to their primarily black armor. Regardless, I like Sahmad, in part since he is the first of the riders to use armor not typical of his build (black Mantax claws on his upper arms). Sahmad carries a whip (black Kalmah tentacle) to drive the Spikit that draws his chariot, and also carries the set's sole Thornax launcher in the same hand as a Bitil longsword (I have never liked this practice-- it was a stretch on the Barraki though it seems a bit better here). His back also holds the set's (apparently only) life counter.

The Baranus is a simple vehicle, but one which fits together charmingly. I had considered creating a BIONICLE chariot before but never had such brilliant ideas of how to armor it as the set designers did here. The rear of the vehicle, sadly, is very bland. It is attached to the Spikit with Hewkii Inika/Vezon/Karzahni chain pieces.

The Spikit is not as disappointing as I expected from descriptions, although the dark silver in its color scheme seems a bit much. It features a spine made from one of Gresh's shield-halves, and heads made from (apparently) Glatorian heads with Bohrok eyes attached to the sides. The head and the eyes don't match, but the head is almost completely obscured by an interesting choice of mask-- a reversed version of the alien-looking mask used on Telluris, the rider of the Skopio XV-1. I am much relieved that this creature, featured so early in the story, is not a depressing combiner but rather an integral part of a rather attractive set.

Skopio XV-1

The Skopio is an interesting vehicle with an interesting pilot. The vehicle seems very technologically advanced, with the ability to fold down its four massive legs to act as treads. The rider, Telluris, is just as intriguing-- the tubes connecting him to his vehicle imply advanced technology, an alien-looking mask defines his overall look, and his medium-sized stature denotes him as a seemingly distinct species from the Glatorians and Agori.

Telluris's mask is the same as that used in the Spikit, although it is orange rather than a dark green-lime blend and reversed in position. His arms are comprised of Throwbot arms attached to the shorter variety of double-joint (a style I used a long time ago on Toa Metru toamods), wearing orange Kalmah armor on the upper limbs, while his legs are essentially Metru legs with Photok's orange feet. All this on the conventional Av-Matoran/Agori torso. It's a creative build, if simple.

The Skopio has life counters on the front and back of its stinger. Most of its look is defined by pistons and paneling-- the main BIONICLE-patterned pieces besides its blasters are a Jaller Mahri torso armor piece on its "head", Antroz's claw-blades for its "teeth", and Hewkii Mahri shoulder spikes on its "legs"... err... legs. No quotes. Its legs introduce a new style of joint to BIONICLE, a click-joint used prolifically in LEGO Star Wars and some other System sets before this.

Its legs may be massive, but the tail is measly in comparison-- some rare Technic pieces form its main structure, with a bulky Midak Skyblaster on each side overpowering the meager Thornax Launcher where its "stinger" ought to be. The Skopio XV-1 is very well-structured in most places, but the tail is not something to be proud of from the pics I have seen.

I'm certainly very impressed with what LEGO's cooked up for us later this year, although surprisingly we haven't seen even one Titan/Warrior set besides Tuma. Then again, perhaps massive warriors aren't as common on Bara Magna. And of course we have yet to see whether the larger Mata Nui set Greg hinted at will be a reality, and what nature it might have. Regardless, my high hopes in the future of BIONICLE have once more been reaffirmed. Can't wait to see where the story goes from here.