NickonAquaMagna

I just got Umarak and Uxar. On his own, Umarak is already great, but when you add those wings... goodness, he's spectacular. He pulls off that "fallen forest deity"/"evil fairy" feel perfectly. It's something we've never seen before in Bionicle, making him feel very fresh.

Wow.

Valid point. However, it's still important to point out the flaws in Lego's new experimental process so they can improve. Without years of feedback that the Hero Factory sets were too simple, the Master's gearboxes would probably not be a thing today. Note also that the Master's also had experiments - like said gearbox - that hit the nail on the head. So not all expieriments = backlash/criticism , and when they do, it's important that the critics be heard. Otherwise improvement is unlikely to happen. I share that viewpoint on a great many things, pointing out missteps to prevent manufacturers from repeating them. The vibe I'm getting from a lot of people, lately, though, is "lego was dumb for even attempting something like this. They should've just known better and had the foresight to see why this is a bad idea! That's it, this breaks these sets for me! I'm not getting any of them!" and... I just don't think these are sub par enough to warrant such a scathing response. I think they're pretty darn good.

IMO, the gold masks look way better when they DO stand out than when they blend in with the armor. After all, part of the point of a gold mask is for it to stand out as something unique and special. If it blends in with the character then it doesn't stand out nearly so much. This is especially true with the 2016 Toa since I think the look of a silver creature head over top of a gold mask is way cooler than the look of a gold creature head over a gold mask. The former looks like an elaborate and decorative helmet worn over top of the mask, and the latter just makes it look like the characters' foreheads have been stretched out. I disagree, somewhat. If a character's overall color scheme is consistent enough, the golden mask becomes a complimentary color and looks nice. If the character's other colors are all over the place, though, then the addition of the mask can make the color scheme fall apart and lose whatever focus it has. And if you add a differently colored animal head on top of that, it can become downright chaotic and messy.

Well, they're kind of trying to replace red with trans orange as a signature color, like he's literally made of fire, contained in a golden frame or something.

Here's the problem. With the 2015 sets, Lego had a system to work with that they'd refined to near-perfection for years beforehand. Now that they've shaken things up as much as they have, we have some serious growing pains to go through. So of course these very experimental sets are going to be very flawed. It's essentially their first try at something very new.

Oh, believe me, I have been to that page more times than I can count over the last two years. No, what I need now is a list of fan-created masks. And it's all right, I'm sure someone will come along with one.

Hey, guys. Just wanted to let you know that the next story is in... the conceptual stages. Still not quite there, but I'm willing to let you in on something. This next story will feature warriors the Toa Miro meet who have an old-world, knightly feel, like this moc http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/Konahrik/Signature/SelfMOC/blast.jpg and they'll be pretty rough. Rough enough to use immoral mask powers. I've tried digging up some past "evil mask powers" or mask powers in general threads I've seen before, but they seem to have disappeared. I saw some really good powers I wanted to reserve for these characters, enough that I was able to give them all a consistent theme that would help these guys feel more distinct as a group, so if anyone can link me to a list of mask powers, I'd appreciate it. That's all for now, I guess.

As I said in another thread, "I think the idea with Lewa was for him to be almost naked, if we look at the Toa's silver/gold/gunmetal parts as extra armor, and the more colorful pieces as their actual bodies. In Lewa's case, he just has chest armor, and boots and kneepads, because he doesn't want to be weighed down by any more kibble than he absolutely needs. He's the guy who jumps around a lot, so if anything needs protection, it's his feet. In Uniter Gali's case, I think they're trying to do what they did with Lewa's master form. Master Gali has a very slick, streamlined feel, like she's wearing special armor made JUST for someone like her, and it works. Her Uniter form looks more.... skimpy, should I say? More stripped down, less like an armored warrior and more like an islander who goes fishing by spearing the fish while standing up in a boat, then diving in to grab them. It's not great, but it's pretty clear. It just depends on which feel people prefer her to have."

I called a coupla' targets around here. The one in my area doesn't have any, but the one in Agusta has Onua and Tahu on the way, so... hey, it shouldn't be too many days before they reach this town, too.

Boy, it doesn't sound like any of the stores in my area will be getting the new Bionicle sets for a long while. Oh well. That's the price you pay for living in Maine.

I think the idea with Lewa was for him to be almost naked, if we look at the Toa's silver/gold/gunmetal parts as extra armor, and the more colorful pieces as their actual bodies. In Lewa's case, he just has chest armor, and boots and kneepads, because he doesn't want to be weighed down by any more kibble than he absolutely needs. He's the guy who jumps around a lot, so if anything needs protection, it's his feet. I do really like his new form, but I might change his proportions a bit, make it a mix of his two forms. I also think it's cool how Pohatu's 2015 form looks like his left arm is covered in silver armor while his right arm is completely bare, so it's lighter and easier to throw things with. Add that to his function, and it's pretty clear that Pohatu is right handed. I like it when these sets tell you things about the characters. Too bad the current Pohatu doesn't have nearly as much personality. In Gali's case, I think they're trying to do what they did with Lewa's master form. Master Gali has a very slick, streamlined feel, like she's wearing special armor made JUST for someone like her, and it works. Her Uniter form looks more.... skimpy, should I say? More stripped down, less like an armored warrior and more like an islander who goes fishing by spearing the fish while standing up in a boat, then diving in to grab them. It's not great, but it's pretty clear. It just depends on which feel people prefer her to have.

Ah. I know muscles aren't straight (of course), but I thought this was Lego's attempt at getting away with it in a cartoonish way, sort of like the missing body parts you could see on the ice baddies in Chima, with their gaping holes where you could see bones an' everything. I'd never even considered inner lining. Anyway... mmmmmgh, it's really hard to not just go out and buy whatever sets I can afford from this line. They all look so darn fun. But of course, I don't have room for them anywhere in my house. I think I'll at least get Lance's Mecha Horse, The King's Mech, and that Infernox thing. Yeah, that'll make an interesting piece.

I think Lego must've anticipated that there'd be some huge, only somewhat warranted backlash against the focus on smooth "hero factory parts" in the first line and felt the need to make up for it, but can only do that so fast and with so many new molds at a time, so they end up overcompensating by cramming as much detail as they possibly can into this new piece. Some of the pistons look nice. I like the ones on the top, that sort of look like collarbones. That's a good idea. A lot of these were clearly added in a panic, though, with not much more thought going into it beyond "MORE!! THERE NEEDS TO BE MOOOAAAAR!!!"

You know, Pohatu's colors, however muted, flow so well in this poster, it makes me wonder why they didn't just give him a couple of the dark beige vorox armor shells that Ketar has one of? Maybe for his shoulders, or at least for his shins? I get it if that would've made him look boring, but if that's the case, just adding a little burnt orange on the lower arms or his thighs might help. And man, Gali looks so... I dunno... exotic with that orange and blue clashing together. And Lewa seems to have a lot more green on him, what with the way the trans-parts and opaque parts blend together. And in terms of colors AND proportions, Onua looks great.

I like that they aren't completely set accurate and have a few things changed around to make them feel a little more alive, like in the old movies.

Am I the only one a little wierded out by Jestro's completely exposed, skinless muscle showing through his clothes?

HOLY SMOKES if that's what they actually look like in the special, count me in.

I've tried building Lewa's leg design with pieces I have, and I think they're really cool. I don't see what the big deal with the knees is, those nubs barely even stick out. What bothers me are his arms. His shoulders are raised so high that his hands don't even reach his hips. I'm gonna do something to make them longer.

Growing pains. We're just in an awkward transition period where Lego is trying to bring back that "G1 feel" with mixed results. I won't let it stop me from getting these sets, though. There are things I like about them.

I'm definitely getting him. All of them, if I can.

It's funny to me when people bring up how the new chest piece can only really be used for these characters and is too specific to work for anything else, because... well, ever since it began, Bionicle has always had a reputation as being full of almost nothing BUT parts like that, pieces that spit in the face of lego's philosophy of play and are intended to be used a specific way, and only that way. And as far as Bionicle and constraction in general have come over the years, and as versatile as CCBS is, Lego is trying very hard to please every kind of Bionicle fan there is at once with these figures (that's why they're so all over the place), and so, yeah, we're still going to get a few pieces like that here and there. They'll probably have yet another new chest design next year, or another new backbone piece (they've already designed a new one for the Force Awakens figures). As for Tahu's color scheme... it doesn't work, depending on what it's trying to accomplish. If it's supposed to be a red dude with some bits of gold and orange, then of course it fails. What we ACTUALLY have here, though, is a gold and orange dude with bits of red. And I know that may seem weird, but I'm fine with them making a Toa of fire that looks like this, just this once. I'm not going to fault them for trying something so different. They're clearly trying to make it look like Tahu's "frame" is primarily gold, with the trans-orange elements made to look like his inner body is half-turning into actual fire, and brimming out of the crevices of his new frame. And I think that's pretty darn cool. I love how the gold and trans-orange elements compliment each other. I'd also like to bring up the complaint that Tahu's too generic, because.... I've heard people say the exact same thing about his 2015 incarnation, too. And as weird as it sounds, I think that's kind of the point. As diverse as the 2015 figures were, Tahu was the most "basic" out of them all and that was sort of his role. I get the feeling they designed him first, just to get a good idea of what this kind of figure could be like, and all the other Toa are just variations of the "default" that Tahu is. Weirdly enough, I get the exact same impression from 2016 Tahu. It's becoming an odd trend that's becoming attached to the character.

Don't think you're the only one who's noticed. The art style is nice, it's pretty slick and clean, but darnit... you can see several instances in the later pages where the actually character designs are mixed up or change drastically from page to page. I guess the people drawing/coloring this thought the Protectors all looked the same and couldn't get them right.

The vibe I get from these guys is... they look rough, like they've been through a lot. The 2015 versions are pristine and organized, like they JUST came fresh off that assembly line in the sky, but now they look like they've lost a bit of themselves in battle and had to fill in the blanks with whatever they could find, especially ones like Kopaka.

Unfortunately, I'm in Maine, and for whatever reason, we always seem to be the LAST STATE to get anything in stores.