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All BIONICLE Sets Revealed with Pricing and More Details


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TLG: "The sets look awesome, don't they?"

Fans: "Yeah!"

TLG: "You probably have some money set aside for the return of countless childhoods, aren't you?"

Fans: "Yeah!"

TLG: "I hope you saved a lot because Tahu, Kopaka, and Onua will cost more than three Ferraris put together! Eat that!"

Fans: "Darn!"

 

I'm pretty much gonna buy at least one Toa and that's it. I can't cope with these prices.

Edited by Emotionless

mindeth the cobwebs

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TLG: "The sets look awesome, don't they?"

Fans: "Yeah!"

TLG: "You probably have some money set aside for the return of countless childhoods, aren't you?"

Fans: "Yeah!"

TLG: "I hope you saved a lot because Tahu, Kopaka, and Onua will cost most than three Ferraris put together! Eat that!"

Fans: "Darn!"

 

I'm pretty much gonna buy at least one Toa and that's it. I can't cope with these prices.

 

find me these $6.66 Ferarris so I may purchase one

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Obviously the prices are so high because TLG knows everyone who was a Bionicle fan as a kid is all grown up now, which means they all have jobs and money, and they will be suckered in to spending it all on these sets because nostalgia.

 

Anyways, I'll definitely be picking up Tahu and Kopaka, as those two look the coolest, and I really liked them in the original series. May get some others, depending on how I end up feeling about them, but nobody else really stands out to me at the moment.

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TLG: "The sets look awesome, don't they?"

Fans: "Yeah!"

TLG: "You probably have some money set aside for the return of countless childhoods, aren't you?"

Fans: "Yeah!"

TLG: "I hope you saved a lot because Tahu, Kopaka, and Onua will cost more than three Ferraris put together! Eat that!"

Fans: "Darn!"

 

I'm pretty much gonna buy at least one Toa and that's it. I can't cope with these prices.

 

find me these $6.66 Ferarris so I may purchase one

 

That was actually pretty funny! :D I'm sure you knew what I meant, anyway.

mindeth the cobwebs

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These prices are pretty much the same as the ones for this year's Hero Factory sets, so it's not really like they're just upping the prices because bonkles. It's just inflation doing the pricing.

 

Except Tahu. I still don't really get why Tahu is so expensive, since he seems like a pretty standard build, and only has a few more parts than a set like Gali. He just uses more big pieces, I guess...

 

Anyway, they're certainly not cheap, but eh, I like them. Not too bad. I won't buy too many, at least from the start, because other Lego themes and stuff will be taking up some of my money, but I'm still definitely buying Kopaka and Pohatu as soon as possible.

 

On a side note, I think this topic is a good example of why Lego doesn't target adults more--even us young adults are rather stingy, because we know the value of money more, and spending it on things we may not be 100% are a good investment is not a very appealing idea. Kids? Kids don't really care. They just want their Toas.

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Quick comparison:

Tahu/Kopaka/Onua = Splitter beast/Furno XL/Dragon bolt

Gali/Pohatu/Lewa/LOSS = Drill machine/crystal beast/stealth machine + 1

Protectors = jaw beast/rocka climber/evo walker

 

So, considering their size, and the inclusion of technic gear fuctions, I'd say they are pretty on par with lego's constraction prices.

If you think they are expensive though, just take a gander at some of those chima sets. :P

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So, considering their size, and the inclusion of technic gear fuctions, I'd say they are pretty on par with lego's constraction prices.

If you think they are expensive though, just take a gander at some of those chima sets. :P

Or Ninjago. $120 will get you all six Toa and one Protector...or the Battle for Ninjago city. 

 

Hmm...the latter has 1217 parts. If the Toa have 90 parts apiece, 6 x 90 =  540, plus like 40 for the Protector = 580. It doesn't even make half. 

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Obviously the prices are so high because TLG knows everyone who was a Bionicle fan as a kid is all grown up now, which means they all have jobs and money, and they will be suckered in to spending it all on these sets because nostalgia.

 

Anyways, I'll definitely be picking up Tahu and Kopaka, as those two look the coolest, and I really liked them in the original series. May get some others, depending on how I end up feeling about them, but nobody else really stands out to me at the moment.

Hahahahahahaha NO. What will it take for people to realize that these sets STILL are not aimed at us? Yes, they're keeping us in mind—but we are NOT the target audience, and targeting Bionicle sets at older fans of the original theme would be a ridiculous sales plan considering how many of us have "grown out" of toys or even Lego in general. They're not relying on older fans to carry the larger sets—they're planning on kids (and their parents) spending $20 on Onua the same way they would on Black Phantom, or Dragon Bolt, or Brutaka, or Nidhiki. Only this time, the large sets don't represent one-shot villains or antagonists—they represent main characters, which in my mind at least makes them more valuable.

 

Not that they need to be much more valuable—the larger sets are packed with content, with bigger builds, heavier armor and larger weapons than most $15 sets can allow. As always, you get what you pay for, but this time we're being offered a little bit more for a little bit more.

 

 

So, considering their size, and the inclusion of technic gear fuctions, I'd say they are pretty on par with lego's constraction prices.

If you think they are expensive though, just take a gander at some of those chima sets. :P

Or Ninjago. $120 will get you all six Toa and one Protector...or the Battle for Ninjago city.

 

Hmm...the latter has 1217 parts. If the Toa have 90 parts apiece, 6 x 90 = 540, plus like 40 for the Protector = 580. It doesn't even make half.

 

Bionicle/Hero Factory parts have always been more expensive on average than standard System parts—they're generally larger and more intricate than basic bricks, on principle, especially now that the sets snap together with fewer cheap pins and axles. Price-per-piece is an imperfect metric with standard System sets but when you try to compare to Constraction it goes completely out the window.

Edited by Lyichir
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Formerly Lyichir: Rachira of Influence

Aanchir's and Meiko's brother

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Personally, I'm disappointed at the prices. The reboot had me so excited until now. To save you all the math, if you wish to get every set from the new line it will cost you $200. Actually, I might be getting just the protectors, those guys are pretty sweet! I really like the looks of the new stud launchers, but $20 for Onua? Nope.

Actually, in US dollars, it will only cost you 180 dollars to get every set

 

Six $10 sets = $60

Four $15 sets = $60

Three $20 sets = $60

Total = $180

 

What is the point of making Tahu,

Kopaka & Onua more expensive?

 

One will think Lewa, Gali & Pohatu

are the weaker half of the team...

Variety. Having a range of sizes allows you to give the characters more varied proportions and designs. Just look at how much more diverse the Hero Factory sets got in 2012 when the heroes and villains stopped being at lower and higher price points respectively and started mixing things up.

 

They could have charged more for all six sets, which would have offered them even more freedom, but I don't think anybody wants that...

 

 

 

The prices kinda bum me out. I wasn't expecting to buy too many sets but I guess I'll just get Tahu maybe Kopaka.

 

The sets look easier to build so simpler and less pieces but why more money?

 

I don't think Lego is struggling for money. It's not like everyone is making more money these days so it evens out minimum wage is still drastically below what it should be like in other countries.

 

Seems to me lego is just getting greedier. Still I guess it's all worth it since bionicle is coming back, right?

 

Inflation is to blame... well, partly. Have you seen the actual piece count on some of these guys? For the larger ones, like Tahu and Onua, it's around 80 or 90. That's MUCH more than any of the Toa of old.

 

Huh guess not. Doesn't look like there are but I've never actually built a Hero Factory set so I wouldn't know how they work, and to me these look to be mainly HF build.

I just miss the days where a Toa was like 7.99 or 10.99 at the most lol.

 

They still ARE about the same complexity as similarly priced Hero Factory builds, but people who still think that Hero Factory builds are inherently more simplistic than BIONICLE builds have a bit of catching up to do. CCBS (Character and Creature Building System) sets have been increasing in complexity year after year, and that doesn't seem to be slowing down with the new BIONICLE.

 

I noticed something interesting in the article.

 

“We are thrilled to announce the relaunch of the LEGO Bionicle franchise, which was one of our most popular LEGO franchises and our first ‘constraction’ or constructible action figure line,”

 

so is LEGO just trying to forget Throwbots ever existed at this point? :P

 

They generally have never considered Throwbots a constraction theme. I think part of the reason is that it never stopped being considered a subcategory of Technic, and the term "constraction" arose right about the same time when BIONICLE broke free of the Technic label and started being considered a theme of its own (2003 or 2004). It's definitely where the constraction category had its infancy, but not where it earned a name of its own.

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So, considering their size, and the inclusion of technic gear fuctions, I'd say they are pretty on par with lego's constraction prices.

If you think they are expensive though, just take a gander at some of those chima sets. :P

Or Ninjago. $120 will get you all six Toa and one Protector...or the Battle for Ninjago city.

 

Hmm...the latter has 1217 parts. If the Toa have 90 parts apiece, 6 x 90 = 540, plus like 40 for the Protector = 580. It doesn't even make half.

 

Bionicle/Hero Factory parts have always been more expensive on average than standard System parts—they're generally larger and more intricate than basic bricks, on principle, especially now that the sets snap together with fewer cheap pins and axles. Price-per-piece is an imperfect metric with standard System sets but when you try to compare to Constraction it goes completely out the window.

 

This is probably just my biased taste, but I think paying for 7 new building experiences as opposed to one is more valuable. :shrugs: And a lot of those parts are all-new and unique and better designed. 

 

It's the difference between having all plain rectangle white bricks in your set as opposed to having these highly detailed and specialized parts. It's the price of more variety among pieces. 

 

I'd think that this new system being more standardized would keep prices down,  though. Instead I see steady price increases.

 

And that was sort of my point - even Chima sets aren't as expensive as some of these.

 

But for a more realistic comparison, $40 would have got you Speeda Demon in 2012 (192 pieces). $40 now will get you two Toa, which 2 x 90 = 180. Speeda had a lot of small technic bits, but he was a terrible value anyway, and these sets don't even make that standard. 

Edited by fishers64
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TLG: "The sets look awesome, don't they?"

Fans: "Yeah!"

TLG: "You probably have some money set aside for the return of countless childhoods, aren't you?"

Fans: "Yeah!"

TLG: "I hope you saved a lot because Tahu, Kopaka, and Onua will cost most than three Ferraris put together! Eat that!"

Fans: "Darn!"

 

I'm pretty much gonna buy at least one Toa and that's it. I can't cope with these prices.

 

find me these $6.66 Ferarris so I may purchase one

 

 

I think the Shell Promotion is still going on in the Netherlands, so go for it ;D

 

Anyways, a 'quick' review of the new sets, minus the masks - you can read my verdict on the new masks here

 

TOA

1. Gali

Despite the much more feminine appearance of her mask, her body remains, like in the old days, rather masculine when compared to her fellow heroes - perhaps it would be a good idea to create more 'petite' armor pieces for the female characters, otherwise everyone just ends up looking like body-builders... Her flippers and trident being able to combine into a double-sided pole-arm is rather cool, though the yellow connector pieces are a bit of an eyesore :/ (this is minor). Colour-wise, the trans-blue, solid-blue and greys blend together well to give the look of an aggressive water-based warrior: It's very shark-esque.

 

2. Kopaka

Ahh Kopaka, with those thunder-thighs and well defined calves, he's definitely the type who never misses leg-day. Jokes aside, I really like the look of Kopaka - here the trans-blue definitely gives off an icy feel when layered with the white, while the gold armour gives him an honour guard feel without looking gaudy. The spear is nice, though the little ice-bolt/energy-bolt looks a bit tacked on... The shield on the other hand is massive and looks like it will be able to take quite a lot abuse in combat, and the skis (they're not really skates, since the blade sits flat) look like a lot of fun, especially since he'll be able to spear people while he's skiing now!

 

3. Lewa

I'm sure those that have read my review of Lewa's new Miru know I'm not too fond of it, and sadly I'm not too fond of the actual build either... It just looks... messy to me. Let's start with the colours: The overuse of grey and splashes orange do not suit the theme of a Jungle master at all - I was hoping for 2-3 shades of green, with perhaps some colour blending, like we saw with Gresh's mask and Jungle shield. Minor grey accents would have been alright, but having both limbs and armor (especially that chest piece) in grey looks inorganic and dull. The axes, however, are a nice throwback to his Mata years, but I feel they would look better if the axe-heads were swapped around so it slopes downwards.

 

4. Onua

If Kopaka never misses leg-day, then everyday is chest-day for Onua. Although the website claims Pohatu is the toughest of all the Toa, I'm not so sure - just LOOK at the pecs that Onua has. Surely they have a thing or two to say about that description? Onua's build screams Pakari strength, and the purple accents enhance the black on his body. The gold, however, doesn't fit - it's just too contrasting. Black and gold works. Black and purple works. But black, gold AND purple DOESN'T work. As a result, I feel replacing the gold armor pieces with silver, black or grey is potentially a good idea. Weapon-wise, I remember a member posting that this was the first hammer weapon ever given to a Toa. That being said, the handle is a bit sad - a bit too skinny for that massive mallet head. The claw form, however simple, is rather nice though.

 

5. Pohatu

Pohatu is an interesting case. At first I thought the blend of brown and grey(?) didn't feel synergistic or gaudy, just... dull. But after looking at the set photos from NYCC, the glossy/shiny feel of the brown actually looks pretty good against the silver armor pieces, but I must comment that the trans-yellow joints on the right arm feels rather out of place. The boomerangs? are interesting weapons, but look a bit goofy in terms of size and how Pohatu holds them (though this can't be helped). That being said, Pohatu has always wielded rather interesting weapons: from his 'Feet Additions' in Mata and Nuva forms to the Twin Propellers in Phantoka form, Pohatu's weapons were always rather unique, and thus it's rather interesting that his rebooted form follows this trend.

 

6. Tahu

Again, if we look at Tahu's lower limbs, we can assume he goes gymming with Kopaka, with the philosophy of never missing leg day. The trans-orange, flat red and gold complement each other and vibrantly depicts our favourite Toa of fire. The silver feet are a bit odd, since gold seems to be the armor colour of choice, but I can live with that. In terms of his armaments, his Fire Swords/Lavaboard are lovingly redesigned and the translucent fire accent in the middle certainly make them look more aggressive. The two small gold swords  look a little small in hand but look excellent as fins when stored on Tahu's back. I wonder how Tahu looks when dual-wielding a Fire Sword with a small sword in his off hand; I reckon he could looks pretty cool if posed using it like a wakizashi! I will now call them... Heat Wakizashi. 

 

Overall, the only gripe I have is the fact that the Hero Factory armor pieces make the Toa look like they spend their spare time in the gym - they all have massive pecs (I'm looking at you Onua), muscular calves (Tahu and Kopaka) and six-packs (Everyone). Bleh, I'll live with it, and will probably get used to it in time  ^_^

 

That's all for now - I'll update the post with verdicts on the Protectors after further examination hahaha

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First of all... the Skull Spider looks pretty cool. Not too exciting from the front, but I've seen the back of it and the design seems very creative. Loving the Protectors. Not a big fan of all of them having the same mask, but the weapons and colour schemes are glorious. Pretty awesome for smaller sets.

 

Now... those prices. Man those are devastating. Especially the Canadian ones. I love these sets... but I think my plans are going to change about them. I'll probably only pick up the Toa... maybe not.

 

-NotS

Edited by Nidhiki of the Shadows
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This is beyond expensive. Of course, the new gear function is to blame. I can already see them removed in the next line.

Not at all. They're same prices as the ones from this year's Hero Factory sets. New functions are not to blame for the price increase, just good old inflation.

Edited by farmstink buttlass
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This is beyond expensive. Of course, the new gear function is to blame. I can already see them removed in the next line.

Not at all. They're same prices as the ones from this year's Hero Factory sets. New functions are not to blame for the price increase, just good old inflation.

 

I know, right? The prices are the same, but the complaints seem to be mistakenly based mainly on the fact that they want so many more of these guys. (Unlike hero factory, where just one or two sets per wave was normal)

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:smilehafu: This is my signature. Exciting, huh?  :ruru:

 

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This is beyond expensive. Of course, the new gear function is to blame. I can already see them removed in the next line.

Not at all. They're same prices as the ones from this year's Hero Factory sets. New functions are not to blame for the price increase, just good old inflation.

 

 

Really ? Sorry then, I don't buy Hero Factory, so I don't know nothing of the price

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Man, $60 for three of the coolest sets... I'll probably still get them but I'll feel guilty for the next few days. :P

 

I might get the LoSS, even though I'm afraid of spiders, but I really liked the Visorak and this one reminds me of them, so... :P

 

Question: do all the Toa come with gold versions of their masks and the little spider things? Lol nevermind looks like they do

Edited by Zeddy
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The Toa look pretty cool, and I know I will be buying at least Pohatu and maybe Gali, even though the torso and arms are a tad unoriginal. The protectors look great, especially the ice and jungle ones. But I think the Lord of Skull Spiders looks the best (except for the cheesy name).

 

But yeah, those prices...

Edited by Underscore

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The sets themselves look pretty cool, but the prices are just way too high. Back when I first bought the Tahu Mata, something that high priced would have just been way too expensive. I suppose the complexity and piece count has increased, but I still think the main entry level characters should be priced a little bit lower than $20. The defenders just don't seem as cool as one of the main characters.

 

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So, considering their size, and the inclusion of technic gear fuctions, I'd say they are pretty on par with lego's constraction prices.

If you think they are expensive though, just take a gander at some of those chima sets. :P

Or Ninjago. $120 will get you all six Toa and one Protector...or the Battle for Ninjago city.

 

Hmm...the latter has 1217 parts. If the Toa have 90 parts apiece, 6 x 90 = 540, plus like 40 for the Protector = 580. It doesn't even make half.

 

Bionicle/Hero Factory parts have always been more expensive on average than standard System parts—they're generally larger and more intricate than basic bricks, on principle, especially now that the sets snap together with fewer cheap pins and axles. Price-per-piece is an imperfect metric with standard System sets but when you try to compare to Constraction it goes completely out the window.

 

This is probably just my biased taste, but I think paying for 7 new building experiences as opposed to one is more valuable. :shrugs: And a lot of those parts are all-new and unique and better designed. 

 

It's the difference between having all plain rectangle white bricks in your set as opposed to having these highly detailed and specialized parts. It's the price of more variety among pieces.

Gee, way to hate on LEGO and make everything out to be generic and bland. Seems you're a victim of " '80s LEGO" and you can't move past the concept of LEGO rarely using the 2x4 bricks now.

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This is probably just my biased taste, but I think paying for 7 new building experiences as opposed to one is more valuable. :shrugs: And a lot of those parts are all-new and unique and better designed. 

 

 

It's the difference between having all plain rectangle white bricks in your set as opposed to having these highly detailed and specialized parts. It's the price of more variety among pieces.

Gee, way to hate on LEGO and make everything out to be generic and bland. Seems you're a victim of " '80s LEGO" and you can't move past the concept of LEGO rarely using the 2x4 bricks now.

 

What?

 

I think that the new constraction sets are more fun than just plain old white bricks, and I'm willing to pay more for them. That's what I said there.  

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Hmmmm...

 

I can understand the pricing, especially if these sets are as detailed as people say. And I will definitely be picking one up; I just don't know which one yet. But probably just one; I'm tight on money as it is. 

 

I like the set designs; they hold a lot of nostalgia, but still fit into this new world. (Especially Kopaka and Tahu; WOW they look good.) Honestly, I'm more excited about the story right now.

Defy Expectations

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They're a bit too much like Hero Factory sets, but I guess that's to be expected. There's little to no actual design to the pieces; they're a bit too smooth for my liking and don't have enough detail. I still prefer the older Bionicle sets, from the Inika era and afterwards. Maybe it's nostalgia, but those sets look much better than the new ones. The new sets need a little more detail and a little more character.

Edited by Riglax
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They're a bit too much like Hero Factory sets, but I guess that's to be expected. There's little to no actual design to the pieces; they're a bit too smooth for my liking and don't have enough detail. I still prefer the older Bionicle sets, from the Inika era and afterwards. Maybe it's nostalgia, but those sets look much better than the new ones. The new sets need a little more detail and a little more character.

I actually really like the smoothness of the pieces. For starters, not having every part of the model cluttered with detail means you can use it selectively to draw emphasis to certain parts of the model. Also, the amount of specialized detail of older BIONICLE sets is part of the reason why a lot of people don't think of it as "real LEGO", so actually creating detail and personality through the builds rather than just through specialized pieces could help to combat that myth. Finally, having all the textures more basic and compatible makes both art and MOCing much less frustrating, in my opinion.

 

Well... those prices are a serious bummer.

I could barely afford Bionicle as it was before... but now???

Yeah, a lot of people are getting sticker shock from the new sets, and it's quite understandable. For people who are used to collecting ALL the sets, $180 for a single wave is a pretty steep price! Then again, that's still fairly cheap by LEGO standards. And by constraction standards, you're getting a very good value for money. The new Toa have a lower price per piece than the Toa Mata, Toa Nuva, Toa Inika, or Adaptive Toa Nuva, even without adjusting for inflation. The price per piece for the Protectors is even lower!

 

Something else I've been wondering is whether the large number of sets in this wave compared to a typical Hero Factory wave might mean the LEGO Group is shifting to a release schedule more like their System themes: lots of smaller sets at the beginning of the year, and just a small number of bigger sets in the middle of the year. That might be a big relief to BIONICLE fans as far as budget is concerned.

 

Something else worth mentioning: not counting polybags, the 2008 sets cost $503 total (deduct $39 if you want to exclude the duplicate Phantoka characters you'd get from the vehicle sets), and the 2009 sets cost $528 total (deduct $50 if you want to exclude Toa Mata Nui). Both are more than twice the new BIONICLE wave's total cost... factoring for inflation, each is more than three times the new wave's total cost. So unless the summer BIONICLE sets end up costing twice as much as the current wave, 2015 will probably still be a cheaper year for a BIONICLE completionist than either 2008 or 2009.

Edited by Aanchir
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