Taohe_Netrus

Gathered Friends, With the post-G2 pillar holding our fandom- TTV- deciding to end their legendary podcast series, with Masks of Power being delayed, and with a growing portion of the fandom falling into defeatism, abandoning the fight to bring the series back due to a loss of faith that the sets we've been waiting for will ever come out, I figured that it's times time for someone to give our community something to rally around again, at least for a while, to keep the BIONICLE conversation alive until the series' 25th anniversary, when LEGO will hopefully commemorate our beloved series in some way. And so, the plan for this LEGO Ideas project was born. The idea behind this project is the fruit of many unrelated conversations with representatives of different age groups. From people who remember the times when you could find canisters with the Robo Riders sets on store shelves, through the generation that spent their childhood playing with Hero Factory figures, to modern LEGO fans who have never had contact with Technic Buildable Action Figures. When talking to these groups, whether in the comments under videos on YouTube, at LEGO exhibitions and during conventions (I even had the opportunity to present my MOCs myself), or simply during random chats with friends and their younger siblings in real life and on the Discord servers, I often took the opportunity to bring up the topic of what a representative of a given generation likes, dislikes, or misses in modern LEGO sets. Without going into details, I estimated that the project that would best fit what the representatives of the aforementioned groups would like, would be a Character Builder Pack in the style of LEGO Creator 3in1 sets, focused on the theme of buildable robots, but instead of classic bricks offering various types of Technic bricks. After all, among all the currently available sets, there is no single donor of parts, the multiple purchase of which would satisfy the demand of people who enjoy BIONICLE-like MOCs, because you won’t find balljoints, technic panels and armor pieces together in too many sets. Naturally, such a project would require, in addition to the main course in the form of a huge robot, adding to the project extra bricks in colors other than those used in the main model. For example: allowing to replace the red sections of the building visible above with black, brown, white, green or blue, and orange sections with blue, lime, tan, light gray or dark gray. Unfortunately, showing a pile of scattered bricks in the photo was out of the question and would undoubtedly disqualify my project, due to LEGO Ideas rules, so I had to focus on making the colorful accents an integral part of the MOC, but not overpowering the neutral black base of the structure with them, so that if desired, the buyer could easily modify this design with the bricks they already have. Originally, I planned to build the MOC in green with lime accents, based on the method of combining colors known from Toa Mata, where the figures were not as monochromatic as Toa Metru, but also not too colorful like the figures from G2, where the characters had too many contrasting colors. Also, I wanted to avoid the same mistake as most sets from Ninjago or Monkie Kid makes: they often have unnecessary and aesthetically ruining gold accents. Unfortunately, it quickly turned out that some of the elements I wanted to use did not appear in the colors I needed, which forced me to change the color palette from green-lime to red-orange. As a result, the final effect of my work quickly began to resemble Toa Tahu, which was not intended, as I was not trying to create a revamp of the classic set from 2001, but a completely new character who, like the aforementioned Tahu, is a Toa of Fire (although, if it were not for the need to change the color palette, I would probably end up with a MOC resembling Toa Lewa 😛). Wanting to distinguish my MOC a bit from Tahu, I had to make sure that his Toa Tool did not resemble a fire sword. Which was not difficult, as the pool of big blade pieces still produced is extremely modest and, in fact, considering that I wanted to avoid using any gold bricks, I had only the katana blade or shuriken to choose from, as these are the only weapons that appear in silver at the moment (according to what I’ve found in Pick a Brick store). The biggest challenge was of course designing the entire character from head to toe while being limited to the pool of still-produced bricks, because as someone who has been building MOCs with parts from the BIONICLE G1 for over twenty years, I have certain habits that are hard toforget. I gave up on implementing a technic function in favor of appearance and articulation, but after a few minor modifications, I think it wouldn’t be particularly difficult to implement a classic gearbox here. The final result turned out to be a surprisingly stable build. The MOC is hard to tip over, its arms can handle its own weight without any problems, and the torso allows for rotation at the waist and bending in half, while remaining rigid enough for the MOC to remain in the position in which we place it. Early version of the model had a ball joint connection in the thighs, which made the body proportions more human-like and, interestingly, this solution was enough to prevent the MOC from tipping over under its own weight, but it was not enough to allow it to be set in a more dynamic position, for example with the leg tilted to the side as if performing the kick. Therefore, I slightly disfigured the lower torso section, replacing the ball joint with a ratchet joint introduced in newer mechs. Unfortunately, this brick did not have axle connectors, which would have allowed the hips to be narrowed by a centimeter, but since the element with the rubber insert, introduced for the Toa from G2, is no longer produced, I had no other choice. But figures such as Toa Pohatu Mata have accustomed us to the fact that some Toa can have strange proportions, so adapting the MOC to the new standards presented by modern sets probably did not disfigure the whole thing so much that it would be jarring. Due to the lack of possibility to implement something as crucial as the canonical Kanohi Mask in the MOC, I decided to invent my own Kanohi. Since I spent dozens of hours delving into the deep lore of G1, I quickly came up with an idea for a power that no canonical mask gave: the power of mental protection. Such a power would fit well into this world, since the series’ lore had many powerful psionics, such as Tren Krom, Artakha or Anona. I inspired the appearance of my mask by the face of Killer Queen from the “JoJo Bizzare Adventures” , but to make it not look too cosmic, I slightly modified the lower half to bring to mind the classic Kanohi Pakari. Since the MOC is made mostly of Technic bricks, no section of the structure (apart from the custom mask using stud connection) shows a tendency to fall off, I think that even after falling down the stairs, my Toa would remain almost whole. The MOC reflects the atmosphere of the original sets from the series well, it is not overcomplicated and contains enough diverse parts for everyone to take on the challenge of constructing their own character from the pool of bricks used here. Thanks to this, the set will look good on the shelf if someone decides to assemble it according to the original design, it will develop the imagination of those who buy it for the included parts, and most importantly, it will be a bridge for new generations to get to know the LEGO Technic series, which in recent years has mainly attracted children interested in cars and motors. At the same time, due to its similarity to Tahu, it will undoubtedly also attract the attention of owners of a copy of the original Kanohi Hau, thanks to which they will be able to turn my Toa into, let’s call it, “Tahu G3”. In fact, if we restored the original Kanohi Hau and Ackar’s sword introduced in 2009 and replaced some of the black bricks with red and orange, my project could become a Toa Tahu UCS set 😛 Keeping in mind that, next to the Castle, Space and Pirates, only BIONICLE, among the most popular LEGO themes, has not yet received any larger set aimed at collectors, and with the BIONICLE series’ 25th anniversary approaching like the storm, I think that my project could partially satisfy those fans eagerly awaiting for leaks regarding the series’ potential return in Generation 3 form, as it would both provide most of the bricks needed to create their own MOCs, and serve as neat-looking tribute to the series ^^. If you like this project and want to support it, here’s the link to its LEGO Ideas page: LEGO IDEAS - BIONICLE: The Nameless Hero ~Taohe Netrus~

This is definitely not just a local trend. I myself have witnessed a few times that children in the LEGO Store were asking an employee whether there will be some containers for Technic bricks on the PaB wall, which they wanted to buy for their Bionicle MOCs. When the Tahu & Takua GWP set went on sale, crowds also flocked to the store. I was especially amused when the guy behind the cash recognized the child as a young BIONICLE fan just because "it doesn't happen that someone pairs sets from Ninjago and LEGO City". Last summer, when I helped run a BIONICLE MOCs exhibit at a LEGO convention in Wrocław, where I brought some of my own MOCs to show, I also got the impression that our exhibition attracted a surprising amount of attention, considering the competition that included a Warhammer diorama and a huge LEGO Star Wars UCS collection. Older fans were happy to see sets from their childhood and younger audience could learn how great stuff LEGO had in their offer few years ago. It was actually heartbreaking when group of kids asked where can they buy such sets... So yeah, BIONICLE became really popular among those who were born after the final wave of G1. I think that as a result of old fans making a fuss about BIONICLE, children became interested in this universe and started treating it as a mystery to be explored. As I mentioned a few posts ago, the younger generation likes dark, edgy tones and riddles. And BIONICLE G1 had both. Definitelly, the biggest series' strenght is that there's nothing like BIONICLE anymore. New stories are... well, childlish, colorfull, full of humor and jokes, there's nothing targeted at those edgy kids looking for dark fantasy vibes in times when almost every single fantasy RPG game is a Dark Souls clone. So if there's nothing new to explore, curious kids are reaching for old stuff. Definitelly, it would be wise for LEGO to make use of that chance. The question is: Will the people responsible for the boring diagrams and calculations be able to notice this trend, or will they remain blind to it?

Look what type of content is the most popular among kids: FNAF, Poppy Playtime, Skibidi Toilet etc. What connects all of those? The answer is simple: mystery, theories and darker tone. Kids like creepy and edgy stuff. They like to be scarred. And they like YouTube videos with theories connected to the main story of specific creation. And how BIONICLE G1 looked compared to the G2? Mysteries were everywhere. Tons of secrets, riddles, creepy ambience in MNOG games (especially the Telescope music)... all of this was more important than people realize. And after 2003, BIONICLE was getting darker and more edgy. It was good because story was getting more mature when audience was growing up. That's the main reason why so many older fans still is interested in BIONICLE lore. Of course, the most brutal stuff was included in side stories, when main story was better toned for younger audience. Actually, when you'll think about it, BIONICLE was first and last proper dark fantasy from LEGO. In my opinion, G3 would require LEGO to get out of the safe comfort zone. BIONICLE must be a grittier brother of Ninjago and it needs a show which will have elements of horror and whose history will be full of secrets, the answers to which will not be revealed to us too quickly. The key is that between successive years, YT channels interested in the series begin to attract children with theories in a similar way to Gravity Falls. Don't simplify BIONICLE. LEGO should keep complicated terminology, decipher messages in Matoran language, hide clues in the background and leave some threads open for years to come. And it is important to keep changing the status quo each year instead of standing still, like Ash in Pokemon over the seasons. Ninjago is a good example of how to NOT do this. Lessons from previous years should remain in memory of our characters and the techniques learned shouldn't be forgotten each time when LEGO will bring the new gimmick. Let's also not forget that children are creative. This is proven by the popularity of sandboxes like Minecraft. So it's important that G3 encourages the creation of your own Toa/Matoran and setting them in this world. The return of the collectible aspect based on mask recollors would definitely help. And about LEGO Ideas projects, we need to remember that unlike MOCs, fanarts, fangames, animations etc. Ideas projects always have to go through the hands of Creative Team, so supporting even those less interesting MOCs on the site can be really helpful for our cause.

In my opinion, the fandom approached the LEGO Ideas topic in the wrong way. Many assume that it is a good site to supplement the pool of sets from their favorite series with creations LEGO didn't thought about. Or forcing the company to release a set that pays tribute to the series on its anniversary. There's a lot of brilliant projects on the site: castles, modular buildings, dioramas depicting nature, machines and mechs in the Ninjago style, a lot of Technic vehicles similar to what we get as part of the LEGO Technic series... What do the things I mentioned have in common? LEGO almost always rejects them. Maybe at the beginning of the initiative, when the pool of entries that collected 10k votes was smaller, such projects had a chance to be selected, but now, when three times a year, LEGO faces a pool of about 70 entries, from which they do not intend to choose more than 1-3, people voting for the types of projects I mentioned must prepare themselves for disappointment. LEGO usually chooses two types of projects: those referring to popular franchises, usually old movies or sitcoms, and those that are simply a display sets, usually some everyday object like the famous typewriter, which was chosen instead of the hyped Sokoda's Diorama. Typical room decoration elements where instead of an original thing, you can put on a shelf a brickbuild replica of it. Some AFOLs probably like such stuff. Does this mean that LEGO Ideas is useless to us - BIONICLE fans? Not really. Unlike fan games, animations, fanfiction, arts and all the rest of the creation, LEGO Ideas projects are the only type of creation that goes through the hands of LEGO employees. The only one that they will 100% notice. And if such a project collects 10k, the creative team is forced to discuss it and consider its production. So this is the best way for BIONICLE fans to remind LEGO about themselves, and also suggest what type of product they expect. Let's add to this the fact that by submitting a project, the author gives LEGO the rights to the techniques used in it and even if the MOC gets stuck somewhere around 1k votes, there is still a chance that a set inspired by it will appear in the future. We had some submissions that were very similar to Tahu from the GWP "Tahu & Takua" set before this one was revealed to us. In other words, instead of throwing away the opportunity that is LEGO Ideas, justifying such a decision with the reasoning "LEGO won't choose it anyway", we should submit more projects and actively support them. After all, voting takes 5 minutes. Even less if we already have a LEGO Ideas account 😛 I think the best type of project would be Toa figures, maybe Toa riding some Rahi?, where the figures would be based not on Mixel Joints but on Technic elements. After all, Toa Hordika and Glatorian necks are still in production. Balls with an axle hole and standard balljoints too. However, it is important to remember that the project should not include discontinued elements, as this works against the project if it were to be chosen by LEGO by some miracle. I think it's a misconception that LEGO is against BIONICLE. They probably don't know how to bring the series back on a budget without introducing a ton of new stuff. And the low fandom engagement in LEGO Ideas and the poor sales of G2 sets aren't working in our favor.

Gathered Friends, Anyone who remembers what LEGO sets looked like in the 90s will surely remember how inventive the LEGO Technic sets released at that time were. The series, which is currently associated with replicas of vehicles known from everyday life, and which is not even considered by many to be a full-fledged LEGO series, in 1998 was about creative solutions that laid the foundations for such iconic ideas as Slizers, Robo Riders, Technic replicas of LEGO Star Wars droids, and finally the legendary BIONICLE - a series that grew to such proportions that, with the right approach to its development, it had the potential to become another, alongside Warhammer, Transformers, Gundam and similar universes, another powerful brand based on collecting figures, which would regularly receive dedicated series of comics, books, games, TV series, and even Hollywood films. It could be said that due to its huge popularity, BIONICLE was a bridge connecting communities focused around system sets and LEGO Technic fans. The uniqueness of this series consisted of the Technic build of the characters, more mature plot, the mysterious atmosphere, numerous secrets that stimulated the imagination and encouraged fans to create various theories, the collector’s aspect related to the Kanohi Mask recolors and finally the fact that it was a world so vast that each of us could build and place our own heroes and villains in it. Although the bridge built by the BIONICLE series was later supported by other series such as Hero Factory, the second generation of BIONICLE, or the buildable figures from the Legends of Chima and Star Wars series, they failed to sustain the weight of expectations and with the cancellation of the last series of figures based on the CCBS system, the said bridge ceased to exist. So I decided that with BIONICLE’s 25th anniversary approaching in 2026, it’s time for someone to design a set to celebrate not only this legendary series, but what it stood for. That idea gave rise to the project you’re looking at. I decided to construct a diorama that would be a combination of these two extremes: System design and Technic design. I knew that the most important thing in the whole project would be to design two characters: Toa and Matoran. They had to be made of at least 85% Technic elements, as Technic build is one of the key aspects of BIONICLE’s uniqueness and identity. The first decision I had to make was to choose an element. I thought that the main 6 elements, especially fire, were too cliched, while the other elements had no representation in official sets. So I went back to 2001 and remembered that it was the only year in which the colors purple and turquoise appeared. Since the latter is currently experiencing its second youth, I decided to build a Toa and a Matoran representing the element of Green. After all, nature has always played an important role in the BIONICLE world. I wanted my Toa to refer in some way to all the classic Toa builds. So he had to combine the severity of the Toa Mata, the slender figure of the Toa Metru, and the height and articulation that characterized the Toa Inika. Designing it turned out to be significantly more difficult than the Matoran, as I wanted it to have a functional gearbox, and the lack of armor elements known from G1 significantly hindered my task of coming up with a neat-looking torso and forced me to increase the scale of the build. Ultimately, the problem was solved by a new type of small Technic panels, which fortunately were produced in a lime variant. Designing slender-looking limbs was much more difficult, as encasing them with flat liftarms did not provide sufficient structural cohesion and the whole thing fell apart during play with the figure. The fact that no Bionicle limb is produced anymore did not help. Ultimately, the problem was solved by the 92907 Technic connector, which, thanks to its shape, is able to hold the structure on both sides. The biggest problem was of course the thing that constitutes the identity of each BIONICLE hero - the mask. No Kanohi are on the list of items remaining in production and there is no chance that any of the classic masks will be brought back for a single LEGO Ideas set. So I decided to design Noble versions of two G1 masks that only appeared in the Great form. I chose Pakari and Arthron. To make them look as solid as the traditional masks, I made them from smooth System bricks, which resulted in slightly awkward heads, which nevertheless do a good job of imitating the G1 style and blending in quite well with the rest of the build. But for those who don’t like the masks of my design, as a bonus, I also designed alternative heads compatible with all Kanohi from 2001-02, so anyone who has any mask that fits on studs, preferably in lime, turquoise or at least black, can put them on my figures. With the Matoran I took a slightly different approach - I asked myself: What would a new generation of Matoran look like if they were supported by the technology and cultural influence of the native inhabitants of Spherus Magna, a few decades after the loose ends of BIONICLE story have been resolved? I imagined the Matoran evolving into new, more agile forms. I knew I wanted them to have bendable knees and elbows, but I wanted to keep the distinctive shape of the 2003 Matoran feet so that my Matoran wouldn’t stray too far from the classic sets in terms of design. After all, in a series with such a well-written storyline, it’s crucial to respect the heritage of the series and maintain its continuity rather than trying to overwrite it. My Matoran was meant to be the next link in the evolution of his race, not a some kind of its reboot. Ultimately, I think he turned out pretty well. He has an upright posture similar to the 2004 Matoran, but he retains a bit of his island character, and in some ways, he’s more poseable than the 2015 Protectors. In the case of the diorama, in order to save money, instead of my preferred rectangular base, taking inspiration from the Tallneck from the Horizon Zero Dawn game set, I decided to go with an oval shape. I topped the diorama with tropical vegetation strongly referring to the first three years of BIONICLE story, whose plot took place on a paradise island. I constructed tall palm trees that bend thanks to the use of a long hose as a core, and I covered the ground with lush wild vegetation interspersed with sand and stones, thanks to which the whole thing is colorful and does not merge with the heroes also maintained in shades of green. I wanted the diorama to be universal enough for a potential buyer to use it also as a background for adventures, the heroes of which would be minifigures from other series such as Star Wars, Dreamzzz, Castle or Dungeons and Dragons. Thanks to this, the set can also attract the attention of people unfamiliar with BIONICLE. The figures themselves, in terms of articulation, are no worse than any old LEGO BIONICLE sets and can be played with individually. These are not strictly exhibition MOCs. In addition, thanks to the use of consistent colors and a large number of small bricks (unlike classic sets that focused on size over complexity), Toa and Matoran can be combined into hundreds of combiners of your own design, like Rahi or Titans. My project, as a whole, presents a symbiosis of biology and mechanics, where the natural aspect is represented by system elements constituting the ground, flora and the entire environment, while what is related to technology is expressed by Technic bricks. I hope that it is a worthy representation of the legacy left to us by the first generation of BIONICLE, as well as a proper tribute to the many years of work of Christian Faber, Greg Farshtey and others involved in the development of this universe. And of course, that it fits well with what the fans themselves, who keep the BIONICE series alive to this day, expect from an anniversary set. Why do I still believe in LEGO Ideas, despite the fact that the LEGO company has already rejected three other projects that our fandom had high hopes for? Well, unlike fan games, animations, arts, fanfiction and other projects, LEGO Ideas projects go through the hands of LEGO employees and when the project reaches 10,000 votes, the creative team has to look at it and analyze all the pros and cons before they'll accept or reject specific MOC. So this is the only type of fan creation that always will be noticed by LEGO. Why is this so important? Well, because by submitting a LEGO Ideas project, we give LEGO the rights to our design, and as a result, there is a chance that even if the project does not reach the required threshold of 10,000 votes, or is rejected, LEGO can still release a set inspired by the techniques used in our project. Hence, I deeply believe that instead of ignoring the opportunity that LEGO Ideas presents just because "they're going to reject it anyway, so there's no point in voting", more people should submit their projects to show what kind of sets we expect, and those who don't plan to submit anything should at least support such projects so that they don't get lost in the flood of castles and modular buildings. And I'm not saying this thinking just about my project, which is the only one currently on the site, but also about future projects that will be submitted by people much better and more creative than me. To avoid situations where BIONICLE-themed MOCs have trouble reaching the first thousand votes. Link to the project: https://ideas.lego.com/s/p:9a1e1f2d99e84a5090f3bc12e1e1e330 ~Taohe Netrus~