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Aanchir

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Blog Entries posted by Aanchir

  1. Aanchir

    Goodbye, BZPower

    By Aanchir,

    As of July 26th, 2020, I am resigning from BZPower staff and voluntarily requesting to be banned. I can no longer trust or vouch for this site as a safe place for users in light of the admins' failure to meaningfully condemn or punish multiple instances of abuse or harassment perpetrated by staff members against fellow BZPower members.

    I will not elaborate at present, seeing as these are not my stories to tell and I do not want to give staff members who disagree with my decision any motivation to censor this message. But rest assured that this is a decision I've been contemplating for weeks, even as I naively held out hope that matters like this might finally be taken seriously.

    I would like to extend my condolences to those who have been victims of abuse or harassment by members of this site, and forced to endure the trauma of seeing them maintain good standing within the community, even among those who knew of their actions.

    Goodbye, BZPower. I'm grateful for the experiences I've had here, but it's clear to me that my continued involvement in the community will never be enough to make it the kind of safe, healthy, and supportive community that I used to believe it was.

    ~Skye (Aanchir)
  2. Aanchir

    Big Announcement

    By Aanchir,

    Dear friends,
     
    The past year has been really bumpy for me in a lot of ways. I’ve grappled with emotional dependency, depression, anxiety, and more. One good thing that has come about over the past year, albeit with some challenges of its own along the way, is thinking critically about my gender identity, which has led to some big realizations.
     
    For a long time I have related really well to my female peers and have felt deeply invested in their personal struggles. Many of the fictional characters I was most inspired by as well as characters I was most interested in creating in my own art also tended to be girls and women. Meanwhile my feelings about my own more masculine traits have ranged from apathy to frustration — the closest I could generally come to pride in my appearance was a vague, dubious sense that other people might like or respect me more as an adult if my appearance and presentation were sufficiently “manly”. I was never quite satisfied with the way I presented myself in selfies and self-portraits and for the longest time I couldn’t figure out why.
     
    As a teenager, I would frequently try and visualize what it would be like to be a girl, sometimes in my head, sometimes with the aid of drawings or with software like the Yahoo Messenger avatar creator, and sometimes just by assuming feminine poses in the mirror when I was certain of my privacy. I didn’t really think too deeply about my motivations, though. Wasn’t all this curiosity just a quirky, introverted teenage way of coming to terms with my attraction to the female body? Come to find out, probably not!
     
    In early March I finally opened up to myself about the possibility (or rather, near certainty) that I might be transgender. By this point I had a lot of transgender friends in the LEGO community, and their experiences spoke to me on a personal level. I’d also had over a decade to move beyond the narrow-minded thinking that my after-school Catholic youth group lessons had tried to instill in me. And as soon as I started thinking about my feelings and experiences in the context of being a transgender girl, all these disconnected bits and pieces suddenly made complete sense within my life’s overarching narrative. It’s been extremely liberating to be honest with myself and with some of the people closest to me, whose support and encouragement has been invaluable.
     
    From here on out, you can call me Skye. I’m 27 years old and only just beginning the journey of loving myself for the sensitive, bright, and beautiful woman I am. I ask you to please be supportive of me as I engage with this process of self-reflection and discovery. It’ll be intimidating for me sometimes — even with as much social progress as there’s been as of late, the world is still a scary place for a woman. It’s also going to be a lengthy learning experience. It’s one thing to hear about how confusing things like women’s clothing sizes or prices can be; it’s another thing entirely to have to make sense of that confusion! But with all these big steps comes a long-overdue sense of pride and confidence in who I am, not just what I can do. I hope I can make all of you proud as well!
     
    With love,
    Skye
  3. Aanchir

    New MOC!

    By Aanchir,

    Hey y'all, sorry I've been pretty quiet lately. I've been working at the Hasbro photo studio in Pawtucket for the past three months, which has been amazingly fun, but has also slightly limited my ability to gush about what toys I'm excited for. My internship ends this Friday, so hopefully after that I'll be able to get back in the swing of things!
     
    What my internship hasn't limited, surprisingly, is the creative energy to keep building in my free time. In fact, during the month of July I created what's easily the biggest MOC I've made in over a decade! Meet PAIGE!
     

     
    Click the image above for more pics and details or to share your feedback!
  4. Aanchir

    Brain Attack Musings

    By Aanchir,

    I was just thinking about the Hero Factory Brain Attack sets and was struck by something unusual. Obviously, from a story perspective, it's obvious that the theme for the year was a combination alien invasion/zombie apocalypse. But has anybody noticed that the sets almost had more of a historical fantasy flavor to them?
     
    Think about it — the heroes had helmets with visors that folded down over their eyes, and segmented metallic armor. Rocka, Furno, and Stormer all carried a traditional sword and shield combo, Breez carried a staff and shield, Evo carried a polearm, and Surge carried some type of lightning lance. Furno even had a cape. The villains had elemental themes and included a dragon, an ogre, a minotaur, a rock giant, a frost giant, a spider monster, and some type of sea or lake monster, and those that carried weapons also carried very traditional sorts of weapons like swords and flails.
     
    Needless to say, this "robot knights" theme was a lot different than the "robot police" theme of 2012, in which every hero carried a pair of handcuffs and some type of shooter as either a primary or secondary weapon, and the villains looked more like the sort of theme villains you'd expect to see in a superhero comic.
     
    I wonder if the sets and story for the Brain Attack arc might have been better if they didn't have to balance these medieval-inspired design sensibilities with a 50s B-movie storyline about genetically engineered mind-controlling brain creatures from SPACE! A time travel arc, with the heroes stranded in their robotic world's distant past, might have suited the designs better.
  5. Aanchir
    (cross-posted from Brickset)
     
    This is just something I've been thinking about lately. When #70751 Temple of Airjitzu was announced, a question that seemed to be on a lot of people's minds is "how many AFOLs will be interested in buying a Ninjago set?" (or conversely, "how many Ninjago fans are even old enough for a set this size?") This is something that I see a lot of in the AFOL community — themes like Ninjago being perceived as "too childish" for most adults to take a serious interest in.
     
    And yet at the same time, that seems to fly in the face of the actual target audience for these themes. Many AFOLs are perfectly fine with buying LEGO City sets, and yet even the largest LEGO City sets such as #60097 City Square (1683 pieces, $190) and #60098 Heavy-Haul Train (984 pieces, $200) are recommended for ages 6–12. By comparison, the smallest Ninjago sets like #70752 Jungle Trap and #70739 Airjitzu Kai Flyer are aimed at ages 6–14, while the largest non-exclusive sets like #70732 City of Stiix and #70738 Final Flight of Destiny's Bounty are aimed at ages 9–14. The Temple of Airjitzu itself is aimed at ages 14+.
     
    Some might point to the "silliness" of the story as evidence of the Ninjago theme's childishness, what with the colorful ninja piloting sci-fi vehicles and fighting robots, ghosts, and fantasy monsters. And yet there are plenty of AFOLs who have no trouble enjoying LEGO Super Heroes sets (and the corresponding Marvel Cinematic Universe movies) that portray fights between Norse gods, robots, aliens, mutants, mech pilots, and B-movie monsters. I've also heard plenty of AFOL excitement for the Scooby-Doo theme, based on a series in which a bunch of teenagers and their talking dog solve formulaic cartoon mysteries perpetrated by middle-aged men and women in goofy monster costumes. Are these things honestly any less silly, or is it just the veneer of nostalgia that makes AFOLs less afraid to enjoy these "old-school" cartoon and comic book adventures?
     
    For what it's worth, the LEGO Ninjago TV series can be quite cerebral compared to what you might expect from a merchandise-driven cartoon, with plenty of character development, complex storylines, and moral ambiguity. The LEGO Ninjago sets are intricate and full of creative part use, elaborate action features, and intricate details. So why is it that so many AFOLs who casually enjoy themes aimed at an even younger audience have a hard time seeing Ninjago as anything other than a "kiddy theme"?
     
    The only explanation I've been able to come up with is that character-driven, genre-blending themes like Ninjago are so different than the themes many older AFOLs grew up with like Town or Castle. Because so many kids, teens, and young adults like these themes in a way they can't begin to understand, these older AFOLs assume that themes like Ninjago are simply more childish than the LEGO themes and movie brands that they continue to enjoy from their own childhoods.
  6. Aanchir

    LEGO Mini-Dolls

    By Aanchir,

    Is it bad that I think the ‪LEGO Elves are a lot cuter and more interesting as mini-dolls than they would ever have been as classic minifigs?
    It seems like for a lot of people, the classic minifigure is sacred and untouchable. I disagree. It has some real, meaningful disadvantages. Mini-dolls aren't perfect either, but there's nothing wrong with sometimes or always preferring its advantages (more realistic faces and proportions, less blocky body shape, more detailed outfits) over those of the minifigure.
     
    And it bugs me to no end to hear mini-dolls described as anorexic, because it makes ABSOLUTELY NO SENSE. To have minifigure-like body proportions, an average 20– to 29-year-old man in the United States (69.5 inches tall) would need an eighty-inch waistline, and an average adult woman in that age range (64 inches tall) would need a 73-inch waistline. Either way, that's twice the size of a waistline that would put you at high risk for obesity-related diseases. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Waist#Waist_measurement). By contrast, people those heights with mini-doll proportions would have healthy 34.5-inch (male) and 32-inch (female) waistlines.
     
    Arguably if the minifigure and mini-doll didn't both have such exaggeratedly large heads (probably the most exaggerated feature of both figures), then both figures' waists would be even larger relative to their heights. And yet you don't see anybody complaining that minifigures and mini-dolls alike promote an unhealthy or unrealistic head size...
  7. Aanchir
    I was just catching up on BZPower blogs and came across Windrider's recent blog entry where she came out as transgender. At some point after I finished reading it I felt inspired, so I started typing on my phone until I had some decent-sounding song lyrics. Unfortunately, I neither write nor play music, so the chance of turning this into a finished song is extremely uncertain. But I figured I'd share them here.
     
    The song is actually BIONICLE-related, written from the perspective of Takanuva after his transformation. But it's also meant to be able to be read from the perspective of a transgender person who is admitting their true gender identity for the first time. I apologize in advance if it sounds patronizing. I've never had to struggle to understand my own identity, but there's still something truly inspiring about a person who has acknowledging that their true identity is different than the one that was assigned to them at birth. Anyway, here goes.
     
    Who I Am
     
    I've been wandering aimlessly
    For what was really in me all along
    I wasn't sure what I was meant to be,
    Like my identity was written wrong
     
    People said I should settle down
    And stop questioning what I should be
    But I knew settling would just amount
    To never knowing my true destiny
     
    {chorus}
    I always felt out of place
    With the mask on my face
    And I hope you all understand
    That the mask that I've worn
    since the day I was born
    is not the measure of who I am
     
    I may seem like a stranger, now
    With a name that you have not known before,
    A face and body that are changed somehow
    From the familiar ones you knew me for
     
    Underneath, though, I haven't changed,
    And now I'm surer than I've ever been
    That I've found just what I was looking for,
    The me that long was hidden deep within
     
    {chorus}
    I always felt out of place
    With the mask on my face
    And I hope you all understand
    That the mask that I've worn
    since the day I was born
    is not the measure of who I am
    Who I am
     
    Please accept the new name I chose
    The path that finally I know is mine,
    Don't insist that I am just confused,
    Or that the name I had before was fine
     
    United with the friends I have made,
    My duty to myself and all will be
    To chart a future where we're not afraid
    To shine a light upon our destinies!
     
    {chorus}
    I always felt out of place
    With the mask on my face
    And I hope you all understand
    That the mask that I've worn
    since the day I was born
    is not the measure of who I am
    Who I am
    Who I am
    Who I am
    This is who I am
     
    ~~~~~~
     
    Anyway, it feels a bit silly to post this, knowing that I have no experience with songwriting and it's probably not any good. But I also would feel terrible to put all that work into it and never even share it. Hopefully I did a better job than I give myself credit for...
  8. Aanchir
    Hey everybody. Sorry it's been a while since I last blogged! But we're less than halfway through February and already there's been more than enough news in the last week and a half to fill a blog entry.
     
    On Saturday, January 31st I was invited by Black Six to become a BZPower News Reporter. I jumped at the opportunity. I already report news to BZPower rather frequently, and this was an opportunity to both do that in an official capacity and help other people get the news THEY find on the front page. The news was announced two days ago. I'm still learning the ropes, but hopefully soon I can be posting news articles.
     
    But in the meantime, something has come up that might make me even busier. You see, just a day earlier, I learned that the LEGO Group had liked an application I had put in for a design position in their girls' category and wanted a Skype interview with me that coming Monday. The interview was a great experience. I got to speak with Rosario Costa, the design director for the LEGO Group's entire girls' category. It was an honor for me to even be able to speak with a designer so influential, and I felt like the interview went well.
     
    I was told I'd hear back within the next week about whether I would be moving on to the next stage of the recruitment process. In the meantime, I finished inking my Gali drawing from December and got set up to receive BZPower news e–mails. Yesterday I got another e–mail from LEGO recruitment. It was an invitation to an all-expense-paid trip to attend a recruitment workshop in Billund! The workshop will be on the 23rd and 24th of this month. The e–mail also included a design assignment to work on over the next two weeks (the LEGO Group will be shipping me bricks to use).
     
    I recognize, if I get this job, I will have to give up my recently acquired BZPower news position. But even if I do well in this workshop, I have no idea how long it might be before I hear whether I got the job, let alone before I start work. In the meantime, I hope I will be able to help the news team report on LEGO news, including the impending release of the Elves theme which I've been eagerly anticipating.
     
    Working as a LEGO designer has long been a dream of mine, and even if I don't get the job I'm thrilled to have made it this far, and that confidence will help motivate me to apply for other LEGO job openings in the future. And the workshop experience should also give me a taste of just what it will take for me to achieve this lifelong dream.
  9. Aanchir
    Two of my BIONICLE 2015 set reviews for The New Elementary have now been posted, with a third still forthcoming. I received six BIONICLE sets from the LEGO Group to review for that site: three Toa and three Protectors.
     
    Check out my review of 70788 Kopaka - Master of Ice right here!
     
    Check out my review of 70784 Lewa - Master of Jungle and 70786 Gali - Master of Water here!
     
    And finally, because I was lucky enough to receive these three particular Toa, you can see my attempt at building a 2015 version of Toa Kaita Wairuha right here!
     
    What's more, I recently finished writing an article on the BIONICLE theme's triumphant review for Blocks, a British-based magazine for the LEGO fan community! I believe it will be appearing in the January 2015 issue of the magazine.
     
    I am thrilled to have had this opportunity to own, build, and play with these new BIONICLE sets, and for the opportunity to share that experience with the LEGO fan community! My hope is that the articles I've been writing will not only inform BIONICLE fans about the new sets, but also perhaps educate other LEGO fans about just what it is that makes the BIONICLE theme and its return such a big deal for so many people.
  11. Aanchir
    This amazing LEGO leaflet from the 1970s has been making the rounds this week. It's definitely worth a read. But unfortunately, some people have tried to spin this as "look how much LEGO has changed" when in fact that's at odds with the truth of the situation.
     
    Believe it or not, the 1970s were not some idyllic time before the concept of gendered marketing existed. During the 1970s, the LEGO Group had two themes which had what could be considered "dolls houses": "Homemaker" (http://brickset.com/sets/theme-Homemaker) and "Building Set with People" (http://brickset.com/sets/theme-Building-Set-with-People). And with few exceptions, box art and catalog images for any of these sets would show GIRLS playing with the toys. Including an admirably progressive leaflet with these sets does not mean the sets were not designed or marketed to particular genders.
     
    In reality, what I think this image shows is how much has NOT changed. LEGO still designs sets that anybody, man or woman, boy or girl, can enjoy. That doesn't mean they won't design or market certain sets for the audience that they expect to enjoy them most. But it does mean that a child can buy whatever set they want, and then use the parts from that set to build whatever they want, even if it's not the same thing that other kids their age and gender are building.
     
    I think it's a bit of a shame that people still can't seem to realize this without a leaflet spelling it out for them.
  12. Aanchir
    The first of two articles I wrote for New Elementary previewing the new BIONICLE parts has been posted! Check it out here!
     
    The second post, still to come, will be focusing on the new mask and weapon pieces. And after that, expect some actual set reviews! I've already mostly finished writing the first, and I've recently gotten word that another shipment of sets is headed my way for review. I'm hoping for one of the Protector sets — I could probably spend at least half a post talking about their new blasters alone!
     
    I also realized I never did post my second New Elementary set review here on my blog. It's a review of 70144 Laval's Fire Lion, one of this year's Legends of Chima sets. Check it out here!
     
    It feels really good to be published, even if it's just in a LEGO blog. And I feel like it's going to help me reach more and more opportunities within the LEGO fan community. Years ago, when I was just a shoddy BIONICLE artist who wrote long, rambling posts about silly things and got in lots of arguments, I never would have dreamed of having the kind of reputation within the LEGO fan community that I have now. I still feel starstruck by some of the people I've been able to make connections with in the LEGO fan community and The LEGO Group. Hopefully some of these connections might bring me closer to my dream of actually working for the LEGO Group myself one day.
  13. Aanchir

    POBZPC!

    By Aanchir,

    Wow! In response to a recent news report, I got a proto energy boost, which means I've finally achieved Premier Outstanding BZPower Citizen status!
     
    To be honest, this might not change a whole lot for me. It's not like I've been actively seeking to achieve this status, and seeing my name in orange is not a huge change. Also, I'm not sure how many people actually pay attention to a member's rank when it's not indicative of a staff position. Still, I feel like it's a significant milestone... significant enough for a blog entry, at any rate.
  14. Aanchir
    Let me make this clear: I do not hate TTV. I do not enjoy the TTV podcast (mostly just personal preference — I do not enjoy getting my news in video form when given the choice), but I respect them for what they do — and I reserve the right to be disappointed when they do it badly. 
    If a BZPower set review made similar mistakes, praising or criticizing features that do not exist when the set is built correctly, then I would want them to be held accountable as well. In fact, I have vocally criticized instances when I feel like BZPower set reviews have fallen short of expectations, such as when a Legends of Chima set was criticized earlier this year for a building mistake made by the reviewer, or when reviewers poorly "estimated" the piece counts of those and the summer Hero Factory sets, despite the official piece counts already being publicly available from several reputable sites.
     
    "Fueling the excitement" is not necessarily an honorable goal in and of itself. Even excitement ought to have real substance behind it, or it devolves into tabloid-level sensationalism. But even if it were unquestionably honorable, having honorable goals does not mean freedom from criticism. People DO make mistakes, and when they make mistakes they should be held accountable. And a mistake by a well-respected YouTube channel with hundreds of viewers is not the same as a mistake by a random dude on a message board. The wider and faster misinformation spreads, the more of a mess it is to clean up.
     
    I do not criticize TTV or try to correct misinformation originating from them because I enjoy taking them to task. To be honest, I'd rather I didn't have to. I'd like to be able to just trust them completely to keep people informed. I'd rather not feel a sense of apprehension when I see they've "reviewed" a set months before its release. But if I see them saying something untrue and see others repeating that information, I feel like I'd be amiss if I didn't correct it.
     
    So please, if you see me (or anyone) criticizing TTV, don't assume it's because I have some kind of petty grudge against them. The fact that I have high expectations of news outlets like BZPower News or TTV means that I care about what they do, and consequently, about how well they do it.
  15. Aanchir
    This past week has been a real adventure for me! I have already talked about a lot of what happened but I wanted to put all my thoughts in one place for future reference. On Wednesday my twin brother and I took the train to New York City for New York Comic Con. I stayed with my mom's camp friend Carson, whom I had previously stayed with back in 2012 when I attended New York International Toy Fair. Once again, she was an extremely hospitable host.
     
    The reason for going to New York this time, of course, was that my brother and I had won two invitations to New York Comic Con on behalf of the LEGO Group. The invitations included not only one-day admission to the show itself, where LEGO had set up a beautiful booth promoting the new BIONICLE sets and story, but also admission to two special invite-only events. The first of these was the LEGO BIONICLE panel at 1:00pm, at which the theme’s creative director, art director, marketing director, and U.S. brand manager talked about the process of creating the sets and media for the new theme and showed off some of the sets. Those wanting to see this panel in video form can see it here on BZPower News, and those just wanting to see the presentation slides in clearer image form can see them here on the LEGO BIONICLE Facebook page.
     
    As amazing as this was for a die-hard BIONICLE fan like me, it was just an appetizer. The main course came at the second event, which was held at the new LEGO store in the Flatiron District (which didn’t officially open until the next day). Upon entering the store, not only were the sets and 14-karat gold masks shown at the panel on display, but the bins that LEGO stores normally fill with basic System and Duplo bricks for kids to play with were instead filled with parts from the six new Toa sets. For an hour and a half (an hour, in my case, since I arrived late despite my best efforts), we were free to play with the parts to our heart’s content. To top things off, we were able to keep whatever we built! I had thought even coming home with one of the new sets would have been a pipe dream, but coming home with my choice of their amazing new parts was arguably even better!
     
    In between the two LEGO events, I had some downtime when I got to plug my phone in and upload some of the photos I had taken at the BIONICLE booth and panel. Taking so many photos (not to mention trying to keep up with Twitter while waiting in various lines) really took a toll on the battery. In the meantime, my brother checked out the Artist's Alley and got a sketch card of Unikitty illustrated by Katie Cook, one of the writers and illustrators for the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic comic series by IDW. We then got to attend the Legend of Korra panel, where last week's episode of the show was presented a day early and the creators and some of the lead voice actors talked and joked about their experiences working on the show. This was to be their last big event while the show was still airing, so in some ways it felt a bit bittersweet, but on the whole it was a great reminder why the show and its universe are so great.
     
    Navigating New York could be exhausting. As I mentioned, my brother and I arrived a bit late to the LEGO store event in the evening. There are a couple reasons for this. First, we stopped to eat beforehand, which took a bit longer than we anticipated. Second, Google Maps very nearly directed us to the wrong LEGO store. We knew the new Flatiron District LEGO store was on Fifth Avenue, so it seemed like it was sending us to the right place. But we realized shortly before it brought us to (not) our destination that both the LEGO stores were on Fifth Avenue (but very, very far apart), and that Google Maps only knew of the Rockefeller Center store's existence since the new Flatiron District store was not technically open until the next day. Thankfully we were able to navigate to the correct store and only arrived half an hour late, which gave us plenty of time to enjoy the event.
     
    The next couple days I had hoped to do some shopping in New York City (for instance, visiting the Toys 'R' Us at Times Square, either of the two LEGO stores, or the Nintendo World store at Rockefeller Center). But after this whirlwind experience on Thursday, not only was I fatigued from so much walking around and navigating, but I had gotten behind on following the various LEGO fan communities that were now ablaze with discussion of the new BIONICLE theme. Plus, my brother and I were already coming home with more amazing loot than I anticipated — getting MORE stuff was hardly a priority! We each had a custom BIONICLE hero built from the parts of the new sets, a BIONICLE 2015 T-shirt, two exclusive transparent BIONICLE masks, a BIONICLE Skull Spider, a BIONICLE 2015 T-shirt, and two BIONICLE posters. So I spent most of Friday and Saturday online, reporting on my experience and helping to clear up people's unanswered questions.
     
    When we got home Saturday evening, not only did we get to show our family what we had gotten (and share some of that loot with our younger brother, who was not able to make it due to school), but also I was greeted by two boxes containing books I had preordered from Barnes and Noble earlier in the year: The Daring Do Adventure Collection by G.M. Berrow, The Legend of Korra book two art book, LEGO Ninjago: The Visual Dictionary, and "Shouldn't You Be in School", the third book in Lemony Snicket's ongoing series All the Wrong Questions. So I have those books to look forward to reading in the months to come!
     
    I don't think I'm exaggerating when I say that my experience Thursday was the experience of a lifetime. Comic Con was definitely fast-paced and hectic, but getting to meet so many LEGO employees and be one of the first to experience the new BIONICLE sets and story for 2015 was more exciting than I had even dreamed. I also got to spend not quite as much time as I would have liked with a lot of the great folks from here on BZPower. I'm not quite through with this experience just yet — I'm in the midst of writing about and taking photos of my new BIONICLE parts for The New Elementary. Also, I have to get back to "real life" responsibilities like visiting the Zolo studio and putting together some new Zolo creations for their Facebook page. But throughout all of that, I will have some very memorable experiences to look back on, and many great new experiences to look forward to!
     
    For those who want to see Thursday's events from my own perspective, I have a slightly disorganized photo gallery here with photos from the BIONICLE booth, panel, and LEGO store event. Enjoy!
  16. Aanchir
    I was just in my room playing with Breez Flea Machine, a set that I got at the LEGO store last week. It's been on my wish list since before it came out, because I really love its design. The LEGO Group really showed great creativity with this year's Invasion from Below sets and I think it totally paid off. Generally the set meets all of my expectations.
     
    Non-traditional design? Check. Its tripod build and heavy use of Technic really help it stand out from previous Hero Factory sets. It's also helped by its bulky leg armor and tiny feet, which give it a very nimble look (though with only three legs and such a tiny footprint, it can't hold TOO many different poses).
     
    Great parts? Check. The Bright Yellowish Green square shell detail pieces are great. It DOES have a lovely printed shell like the other machines, though it's a different size and color than usual. The mini-heroes in general have great designs, and Breez is no exception. I'd be amiss if I didn't also mention the cool new cocoon petals!
     
    Awesome functions? Check! At first I was a little bit disappointed with the claw, because it snagged every time I tried to flick it so I thought I'd be forced to extend it manually with the "Hand of God". Laaaaame. But then I realized that it was just the winch that was getting caught. If you unwind the winch before firing, it works like a charm! Then you can use it as a grappling hook, and the set even includes a zip-line piece that came out during my childhood, so Breez can slide down the cable to traverse a gap! It also works nicely for grabbing and retrieving the cocoon.
     
    Plus, she even comes with a click-shooter — the first one I've gotten in a set, though I bought some from a vendor at Brickfair back in August. For those who aren't aware, these are tiny handheld shooters that fire a 1x1 round plate with surprising distance and power when you press the trigger. Considering how bulky, obtrusive, and difficult to integrate many previous LEGO shooters have been, this thing feels like a dream come true! The variations on the concept coming out next year will hopefully have similar efficacy.
     
    But then there's something else. A regular flick missile launcher. And when I was playing with the set earlier, I couldn't help thinking this was probably one of the set's least impressive functions. Don't get me wrong, I love flick missiles! Or I did, back when they were one of the most compact, least obtrusive, and most versatile launcher designs. This year the LEGO Group introduced lots of amazing new launchers, including the click shooter. With a basic click shooter already in the set, I thought a pair of flick missiles would be kind of pointless and superfluous. It's not like they'd even work that well just slapped on the side of the set like that, right?
     
    Well, it turns out I was wrong. Maybe I've been wrong for the past five or six years of my life, in fact. Maybe everything I know is a lie. Because just on a whim, I flicked that missile, expecting it to fly maybe eight or ten inches. And instead, like some kind of miracle, it sailed three or four meters, over my twin brother's bed, and landed in the far corner of the room. I actually thought it had misfired and gone straight into the ground before I heard it land on the other side of the room.
     
    I was flabbergasted. Flick missiles aren't supposed to work that well. Not from my experience. Probably not from MOST people's experience, judging from all the hate I see for them in reviews. Surely this had to be some kind of fluke, right? After I found the missile, I returned it to the launcher and decided to try again. This time, I kind of screwed up. Instead of launching one missile, my finger accidentally hit both. Great, another misfire, I thought, before I heard yet another click of a tiny plastic missile hitting something hard on the far side of the room.
     
    I found the first of the two missiles in the closet, about as far away from where I launched it as the previous launch had taken it. I still haven't found the second. Maybe I could get a blacklight to help look for it, since it does have a convenient fluorescent green tip. It didn't land in either of the trash cans over there, so it will have to turn up eventually.
     
    But wherever it ended up, today I learned something amazing. Discounting the possibility of witchcraft, or the possibility that the last hour and a half of my life has all been some crazy dream... my flick game is surprisingly strong.
  18. Aanchir

    I'm going to Comic Con?

    By Aanchir,

    I'm going to Comic Con. And since Eurobricks is graciously providing two passes (one for me and one for a companion of my choosing) I'm bringing my brother Lyichir along. I'm honestly somewhat grateful that it's only going to be for one day, because this is going to be a VERY new experience for me and I'm sure having to plan for three or four days on such short notice would be incredibly overwhelming.
     
    I also realize that I haven't blogged about BIONICLE's return since the initial leaks back in July. Honestly, I'm tremendously excited based on what I've seen of the new BIONICLE. So if the NYCC new theme reveal happens to be the new BIONICLE, it will be amazing to be one of the first people to witness the official reveal! Of course, if it turns out to be something else, I'm confident it will still be an amazing experience. After all, I'm generally very impressed with the quality of modern day LEGO designs, no matter what the theme — even if it's a theme I don't personally intend to collect.
     
    This might also be good practice for BronyCon 2015 (which I'm also registered for, yay!). Brickfair is the largest fan convention I've ever been to, and it's a lot different than your typical pop culture convention, so learning how to plan and maneuver around the inevitable crowds should be helpful.
     
    It's too early to plan out everything I'll see. My pass is only good for Thursday, October 9, and includes admission to the con itself, the 1:00 p.m. LEGO Group panel, AND the evening event when they'll be announcing a new theme for next year. But since the main NYCC schedule is not posted yet, I have no idea what I'll do for the rest of my day there. I guess I'll have to keep a close eye on that in the weeks to come! In the meantime, I will be enjoying the rest of Ninjago Month here on BZPower — glad to see another of my favorite themes getting some much-deserved recognition. All things considered, I have a lot to look forward to!
  19. Aanchir
    A little over a month ago, Tim Johnson (owner of one of my favorite LEGO blogs, The New Elementary) approached me asking if I'd like to review some sets for his site. I jumped at the opportunity, and today I can announce that my first review for TNE is now live! Click here to take a look at this amazing set and the many interesting LEGO elements it offers!
     
    I am very proud of how this review turned out. I am already working on another review for the site, and will share it here when it is complete!
  20. Aanchir
    I was just reflecting on which BIONICLE books I liked most and least, and I got to thinking about something. While the serials are often heavily criticized for being bloated, aimless, and an obstacle to new BIONICLE fans, I'm starting to get a sense of why they were introduced in the first place (other than as a free online method of story dispersal).
     
    The books in the year 2006 were among my least favorite. At many points felt like the characters were rushing from one battle or crisis to another without pause, and the characterization in these books (in my opinion) was very weak. Subsequently, Prisoners of the Pit ended up being one of my favorite BIONICLE books because it got to explore the Toa Mahri, their relationships with one another, and how becoming Toa had affected them much better than the 2006 story had done for the Toa Inika.
     
    What changed for the BIONICLE storyline in 2007? The biggest change was the introduction of BIONICLEstory.com and the first story serials. And I think that while their own quality may be contested, they helped to relieve some of the bloating that the main story had undergone in 2006. Instead of the main story having to make room for minor characters from the sets like Umbra and Irnakk or combi models like Protodax, Botar, and the Kardas Dragon, the story serials could deal with these kind of characters (as seen in Dreams of Destruction, which focused on the store-exclusive characters Lesovikk, Karzahni, Sarda, and Idris, or Brothers in Arms, which focused on the store-exclusive characters Mazeka and Vultraz). Instead of the main story having to keep tabs on fan-favorite characters from previous story arcs like the Toa Nuva, Roodaka, the Rahaga/Toa Hagah, the Order of Mata Nui, and the Dark Hunters, the story serials could keep tabs on their adventures (as seen in the Toa Nuva Blog, Federation of Fear, Destiny War, Dark Mirror, and Dwellers in Darkness).
     
    These things freed up the main story as told in the books to focus on the characters who actually mattered most: the current Toa team, their current allies, and their current enemies. The books could spend more time on characterization and world-building. They didn't have to do so much jumping around between spatial and temporal settings. They didn't have to have so many characters who got in the way of the Toa just because there was a set or combi model to promote and the designers didn't give a lot of thought into how to fit those characters or situations into the main storyline.
     
    I can't tell you for sure whether the serials are every bit as bad as people remember them. I just skimmed through the 2007 ones to remember what they were about specifically, and the writing is weak compared to the books — in some cases, weaker than I had remembered. The fact that my memories of the later serials were not fond enough to even go back and skim them is telling. Perhaps part of the reason the serials got more tangled and bloated as they went on is because, with more and more characters being introduced to the story and fewer and fewer books to fit them in, they started to suffer the very same fate they were meant to save the main story from. In any case, I definitely don't think that the serials are themselves redeemed by the purpose they served, but perhaps I still owe them some thanks for what they were: a pressure release valve of sorts to reduce the out-of-control expansion the main story was losing the ability to deal with on its own.
  21. Aanchir

    Brickfair Highlights

    By Aanchir,

    I am way behind writing up my Brickfair recap, so I'm going to just go over some of the highlights.
    Shortly after I arrived, I learned that Delwyn Buckler got featured on the back cover of the event program! Awesome!
    Here's my haul from vendors and yard sales. It includes a lot of cool stuff, including a bunch of useful Hero Factory parts, six LEGO Friends mini-dolls for customizing, and a UV light for my MOC during the World of Lights event on Friday.
    At the live auction on Friday, Nukaya's Benny painting became set a BrickFair record for the highest bid on a single item, selling for two thousand dollars! It was amazing to be there to hear the bids continue to climb!
    The World of Lights was AMAZING! Not quite as great as it could have been, maybe, because the convention center's emergency lights flooded out some parts Here's my submarine all lit up. I will have plenty of uses for that blacklight in the future, I'm sure! This guy was also amazing!
    On Sunday I participated in the BZPower parts draft. Five other participants and I chose parts from ten copies of 44021 Splitter Beast vs Furno & Evo. Here's my haul — I chose some of the largest and heaviest pieces, apparently, but I have already found some great uses for them!
    I participated in the Hatpile, contributing just one hat. Maybe I'll bring more next year.
    My Blacktron Vivisector won the Brickee award for "Best Small Space Craft"! I was totally surprised when I found out! Here's a picture of it with the trophy (sorry it's blurry)!
    I went to dinner with fourteen other BZPower members on Sunday. Overall, the food was mediocre and the service was execrable (I'm probably going to do my best never to eat at a Longhorn Steakhouse again), but the company of my fellow BZPower members was fantastic.
    Overall, I had a fantastic time at BrickFair this year. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone again next year! Especially since next year *drum roll* BronyCon and BrickFair are going to be on different weekends! So for the first time, I'm going to be able to go to both events! Yay!
  22. Aanchir
    Welp, I'm pretty close to prepared for Brickfair. Got my clothes, MOCs, name badge, and art all packed up.
     
    MOCs I'm exhibiting this year include Caitlyn Gauss XL, Delwyn Buckler, Blacktron Vivisector, Kit Martello, Hero Factory Canine Buddy, Rise of the Dread Colossus (submarine only — I had to borrow some of the Dread Colossus's tentacles for Delwyn's hair, so he's out of commission), and My Little Tahu. I think Delwyn Buckler and Caitlyn Gauss XL will probably be the most popular of those seven.
     
    As far as art is concerned, I will mostly be bringing the same collection of drawings I brought last year — sadly, I have not really made much cool new LEGO-related art since then.
     
    I'm registered for the BZPower parts draft and will also probably be bringing a hat or two for the Hatpile. A number of my BZPower friends who I spent time with last year (Lady Kopaka, Turakii #1 Lavasurfer, Toa Lhikan Hordika, and Cholie) will not be making it this year for various reasons, so I think a good portion of my time will be spent trying to make new connections both within the BZPower community and the larger AFOL community.
     
    I will also look at vendors to see if I can find anything that interests me. While packing, I came to the realization that I do not really have any light-colored LEGO T-shirts, except for old Brickfair T-shirts and a Barraki Kalmah T-shirt that is a little worse for the wear. So as with last year, I will definitely want to try buying some new LEGO-related wearables. I'll also be on the lookout for affordable CCBS parts and constraction sets. I got a steal on some pre-owned Legends of Chima constraction sets last year (basically half-off), and a bunch of useful CCBS parts the year before.
     
    This will be my first time staying at a hotel for Brickfair (in the past my family has always driven there and back each day), so that should enable me to take part in more evening activities, including enjoying the brand-new "World of Lights" (sadly, none of my MOCs are going to have any light-up features, though). Maybe a visit to the vendors could change that, if they happen to be selling LifeLites or something similar, but generally the MOCs I'm bringing aren't characterized by a lot of transparent elements.
     
    If you happen to be attending, come and find me! I will be wearing the same brick badge as the past two years, though it is larger than the one pictured and has more yellow (including a brick printed with my screen name, Aanchir). I should be spending a good amount of time at the BIONICLE table hanging out with the BZPower crew.
     
    That about covers it, I think! If you're also going to be at Brickfair, leave a comment so I'll know to be on the lookout for you!
  24. Aanchir
    I was just listening to some BIONICLE movie soundtracks on BioMedia Project. While it's good for a nostalgia kick, I'm finding that much of the music is just as generic as I remembered.
     
    I don't mean that in the sense that it's not memorable or distinctive. It definitely checks both of those boxes. But there's nothing about it that makes it a particularly apt fit for the BIONICLE story and universe in particular. A lot of it sounds like it could just as easily belong to an adaptation of any adventure story, like an adaptation of The Lord of the Rings. Most of the instrumentation feels like very typical Hollywood adventure movie fare.
     
    Anybody else remember BIONICLEmusic.com? Something that's always stuck in my head was the description on the mixer page: "The music of BIONICLE is a mixture of the mystical and the mechanical. Like the Toa, it blends the power of high technology with a raw elemental force." The only music that checks either of those boxes in the first three BIONICLE movie soundtracks (at least the selections featured on BMP — I don't know how much they might be omitting) is the end credits music. In the first movie, the end credits movie has some very clear tribal drum rhythms, while in the second movie it includes both those rhythms and some synthesized electronic/mechanical sounds. The third movie's end credits music keeps the exciting drumbeats but for some reason loses the electronic sounds once again.
     
    I respect Nathan Furst's work here, and what he's capable of, but this is the reason these have never really ranked among my favorite BIONICLE music or my favorite soundtracks in general.
     
    What kinds of soundtracks do I generally like? Well, the soundtrack to The LEGO Movie is one good example. The music in that has a feel that perfectly suits the janky, stop-motion-style action that characterizes the movie. Likewise, the soundtracks for Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra both do a fantastic job evoking the Asian-inspired fantasy world with their rhythms and instrumentation. Even LEGO Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu does a good job with this — give this playlist a listen if you want to hear plenty of amazing examples.
     
    If next year's BIONICLE revival has a soundtrack even half as well-suited to the franchise as any of these franchise's soundtracks, I will consider it a major improvement. BIONICLE has had some fantastic music over the years, but I feel that in the movies in particular, it too often came at the expense of the soundtrack's sense of identity.
  25. Aanchir

    BIONICLE

    By Aanchir,

    Not going to go into details, but I am convinced by the leaked images that have been seen. They are consistent with a lot of the hints we've heard, and the person who originally photographed and posted these images seems trustworthy. Furthermore, they seem consistent with BIONICLE on a thematic level: masked heroes with fantasy weapons versus beastly-looking villains.
     
    If it turns out they are fake and I have been tricked, I will not be the least bit ashamed, by this because these are the most convincing BIONICLE concepts to emerge in the past five years. I'm more than happy to concede a victory to any trickster or Internet troll who is prepared to go to such lengths to fool me.
     
    I anxiously look forward to official teasers and information. Perhaps the LEGO Group might be announcing something during Comic Con, or perhaps we'll have to wait until November or December when the LEGO Club Magazines tend to tease the next years' themes.
     
    Overall, I'm optimistic for the theme. The pics we've gotten are obviously not remotely good enough to form a definitive opinion on how I like the sets. But what I can see looks promising indeed.
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