Aanchir

She never did lame puns & the other toa weren't allowed to be funny. The only funny moment in the animation was Kopaka slipping & even then, he didn't really suffer any misfortune or injure himself, so it wasn't funny. Him slipping isn't what really what was funniest about that scene in the first place — what was funniest was him being such a perfectionist that he immediately denied that he had slipped even though he obviously had. And IMO, there were plenty of other funny moments, like Lewa joking that Onua should be leader because he "knows how to grab attention", Kopaka leading the Toa in a complete circle when he took charge, and the arena collapsing immediately after Lewa had asked Onua if he'd succeeded at defeating Skull Slicer "without breaking anything". There are also some humorous moments in the graphic novels, like Tahu having an utterly one-track mind about him being the Toa's inevitable leader, or the gruff Pohatu begrudgingly befriending a family of wildcats. Obviously humor is subjective, and what's funny to some people isn't always funny to everyone, but I don't get where you get the idea that the other Toa weren't allowed to be funny. I'm not that good at choosing favorites or least favorites of stuff in general, and honestly the characters who haven't had much in the way of personalities really didn't make much of an impression on me in general (even the non-speaking Skull Creatures tended to have a modicum of personality, such as Skull Slicer being agile and erratic, Skull Basher being a stalwart heavyweight, and Skull Grinder being committed and ruthless). I guess if I have a least favorite it'd probably be one of the protectors. Perhaps Kivoda, because the other Protectors' speaking appearances at least gave me some sense of their individual character traits, while Kivoda feels fairly generic. It's tempting to give the edge to Lord of Skull Spiders, but all things considered, Lord of Skull Spiders is more of a monster than a character in the traditional sense, and its ability to learn from the Skull Spiders' defeats and mobilize them from afar makes it pretty compelling as monsters go. I'd kind of compare it to the King Root of the Morbuzakh from G1, albeit without the same brute strength or the ability to speak, and with a much stronger visual design.

I know, it's just... I hate seeing a toy company I used to admire associate with them. [ ] LEGO has been associating with Disney since back when they still made wooden toys, and they even had a Mickey Mouse theme shortly before Bionicle was first launched! Partnerships between LEGO and Disney have also gone the other way: for instance, the first three Bionicle movies were distributed by Miramax, which was owned by Disney at the time. What is it about Disney specifically that draws your ire, though? I mean, I know that they're a huge mega-corporation, but so are most of the other entertainment companies that LEGO has had licenses with, like Sony and Time Warner.

Glad you enjoyed that set as much as I did! When I was a kid I was definitely old enough for the Rahi, but I didn't have too much interest in Muaka and Kane-Ra, instead opting for the more expensive Manas. But once I finally got my hands on Muaka and Kane-Ra in 2006 I discovered that they were generally more fun for me than the Manas had been, both in terms of their builds and their functions. It's kinda funny how so many people in this thread skipped that one set only to pick it up later on. Of course, that kind of initial reluctance could also be a factor in why LEGO made so few other Bionicle sets that expensive, as opposed to other LEGO themes where sets priced at $40+ are much more common.

Oh, cool! I went ahead and entered both raffles. They're sets that I think I'd enjoy having. Congrats to the winners in the raffles that have concluded, as well!

I don't worship it, but I enjoy it and think it does a great job in many ways. The Bionicle logo is hardly even a factor in why I like it — it could have a totally different logo or maybe even a different brand name and I'd probably still be impressed with the quality of its set designs and its fresh take on many of the iconic story elements that I loved about Bionicle G1. As much as I love the Bionicle reboot, I have no doubt that some people sincerely dislike Bionicle G2 based on their own wholly legitimate personal preferences. So it's kinda insulting that so many people who hate Bionicle G2 are prepared to assume that the reboot's supporters must be "sheeple" who will blindly support anything branded as Bionicle. Whether Bionicle could come back again after G2 ends depends on a lot of factors that can't really be reliably predicted, like on what terms G2 will end, how interested kids are in buildable action figures at any point in the future, and what sorts of other themes carry on Bionicle's legacy in the intervening time. I don't think there's too much point speculating on such things at this time. But I do think that the Bionicle theme's strong heritage, its iconic design and storytelling elements, and the way it is almost synonymous with buildable action figures for many people make it better suited to reboots than some other LEGO IPs like Knights' Kingdom, Exo-Force, and Legends of Chima which never became a craze of the same magnitude or demonstrated the same staying power.

Because Disney is beloved by millions of people around the world? Or were you looking for something a little less on the nose? Anyway, this set looks amazing and has some really creative touches to recreate iconic details from both the castle and the various Disney animated movies! All in all, it feels very authentic and impeccably detailed. What a price tag though! $350 LEGO sets are not unheard of, but they used to be mostly constrained to the Star Wars theme (UCS Millennium Falcon, Death Star, and Super Star Destroyer) while we're now seeing more and more of them in other themes (Avengers Helicarrier, Ghostbusters Firehouse Headquarters, and now The Disney Castle). If anybody's curious, the designer of this set is Marcos Bessa, who has also worked on lots of other iconic licensed sets.

I have found the atmosphere of G2 to be pretty good all things considered, but to the other two I can definitely agree. Music is one area where I feel G2 has been lacking.

Since when are Facebook comments a useful source of information? Never said or implied they were. Note the context of that comment: in the post I quoted, Tuuli claimed that comments on the Bionicle Facebook page from non-BZPower users were overwhelmingly negative, so I was just observing that from my experience, that isn't true.

Kinda ironic since I remember that when Bionicle G1 was discontinued and it was well understood that it wouldn't be back for a while, many running "bring back Bionicle" petitions would obnoxiously quote the Axonn line from the Inika saga about how lost causes are the only ones worth fighting for. So I guess when Bionicle is still running, the lesson of the Inika saga is that hope is fragile and it's better to be a Debbie Downer, and when it's gone, the lesson is that anything is possible and hope should be maintained at all costs? I've MET a lot of the people who have been involved with the new Bionicle, on numerous occasions. I've heard directly from them how much effort they've put into making the new Bionicle the best it could be. If the new Bionicle doesn't appeal to you, I'm sorry you feel that way, but that's something you'll just have to come to terms with. Playing the blame game and insisting people you know nothing about "didn't even try" just because the many ways they DID try don't interest or appeal to you is both insulting and profoundly ignorant. I've seen plenty of comments on the official LEGO Bionicle Facebook page that have been very positive about how the new reboot's been doing. That said, I agree that the "Bionicle is like oil" comparison is fairly weak, because it's a product and not a commodity, and also because frankly the oil business is still one of the world's biggest industries so "shrinking", in its case, isn't the same as with something that has already fallen into relative obscurity compared to other themes like City, Friends, and Ninjago. Whether or not Bionicle is still popular enough to be sustainable, there's no denying it's not the monumental craze it was in 2002, and that other themes that resonate better with new generations of kids have surpassed it. Furthermore, Bionicle's fate is already being debated at length in other topics. Creating a new topic about it, no matter what the first post's perspective might be, isn't going to put the arguing to rest; it'll just put more fuel on the fire. And frankly, I'm tired of discussing this. Bionicle G2 will end when it ends. There's nothing to be gained by predicting when it will end or how close it is to ending — whether you have a positive attitude about its future or a negative attitude, you don't win any kind of special points or prestige for being right, and when it finally reaches its end it won't matter who saw it coming first. Instead of endlessly quibbling over how much Bionicle G2 we have to look forward to, better to just keep enjoying whatever we enjoy about it while it's here — and if you don't enjoy anything about it, then go back to doing whatever you DO enjoy as a Bionicle fan, or even just start spending more of your time on other interests, because nobody gains anything from you getting personally invested in the status of something that doesn't even interest you.

My brother and I got Muaka and Kane-Ra at BrickFest in 2006. That's the only time I can think of I've picked up a long-retired Bionicle set that I missed out on the first time, though. Since I had two siblings, between the three of us we usually had a pretty complete collection, and if any of us skipped certain sets it was usually for a reason.

I don't know anything about LEGO stores shipping sets back after one day, that sounds kinda fishy and it makes me wonder if you have all your information correct. But it's true, LEGO Brand Retail stores will not be stocking the summer Bionicle sets (in fact, I'm surprised yours got them in the first place). From what I've heard on the Brickset Forums, they will not be stocking 76056 Rescue from Ra's Al Ghul from LEGO Super Heroes or some of the summer LEGO Friends sets, either. All these sets will still be available from LEGO.com, but not from LEGO stores. And it doesn't have anything to do with any of those themes being retired. What do these sets have in common? They are store-exclusive sets. Now, you obviously don't know this, and they don't talk about it much, but LEGO Brand Retail has a… testy relationship with other retailers. The reason for this is obvious: LEGO Brand Retail is owned by LEGO, but it competes with other retailers like Target and Toys 'R' Us that depend on LEGO and vice-versa. This is a big part of why the LEGO VIP program exists — it's difficult for LEGO to offer markdowns on new LEGO products online or in stores because undercutting other retailers' prices would compromise their relationship with those retailers. However, LEGO wants to give buyers an incentive to shop at LEGO Brand Retail without offering the same markdowns as other retailers do. The solution? Give members of a special program "points" for their purchases which they can later "redeem" for markdowns. That way buyers have an incentive to shop at LEGO Brand Retail even though their hands are tied when it comes to the prices marked on the shelves. What seems to have happened here is that some store (probably Toys 'R' Us) got upset that LEGO Brand Retail stores are selling sets that they agreed were supposed to be exclusive to Toys 'R' Us, and it reached the point where LEGO was afraid of Toys 'R' Us becoming less cooperative on that and other agreements that both companies benefit from. So LEGO decided to change LEGO Brand Retail's policy on store exclusive sets and no longer stock things that are intended to be exclusive to other retailers. And the new policy just happened to take place partway through this year. We'll probably never know the exact terms of the new policy, because I'm sure that's the sort of thing both companies would like to keep confidential. But this seems a lot more plausible than "any sets LEGO Brand Retail is open about no longer stocking are lines that are about to be cancelled", because while there's no telling how long Bionicle G2 will last in the long run, LEGO Friends is a gold mine for LEGO and they wouldn't dream of cancelling it when it's still one of their top five themes and has been for years now. And I don't know what you mean about a "mask of positivity" (as cool a mask power as that would be). If somebody is optimistic about Bionicle's future then that's their business and nobody else's. I have no expectations that this generation of Bionicle will (or should) last ten years. I still think Bionicle MIGHT last past next year — however, I know it's not inevitable. If Bionicle G2 ends after 2017 that'd be kind of sad, for sure, much like when it seemed like Ninjago was only getting two and a half years. But it wouldn't be the end of the world, and I see no point bemoaning things outside our control or throwing around blame for why it couldn't last longer (the sort of negativity that made this community so unpleasant for me the LAST time that Bionicle ended) when it's more fun to just enjoy this generation of Bionicle while it lasts. No matter how long G2 continues, I'm happy that Bionicle got a second chance and that once more, I was able to experience it from the beginning.

3 or 4 dollars for a single masks sounds pretty excessive! It's true that LEGO prices are pretty much always increasing at least somewhat due to inflation, but a mask pack in 2001 was $2 for two masks and a head, eyestalk, and axle to use with them, and $2 in 2001 dollars is still less than $3 in today's money. But 3 or 4 dollars for a single PACK is not nearly so unreasonable — you'd just have to include more per pack than just one mask. Thinking of random mask packs as $4 sets like the Collectible Minifigures is probably the most realistic thing, since LEGO has few other sets that contain randomized contents or cost less than $5. $4 could potentially be a high enough cost to include two or three masks plus some other more generic pieces. Like, say, enough to build a head, or maybe a Skull Spider or similarly simple creature so the set has some play value on its own instead of being just a lifeless accessory for the larger sets. That's one of the big issues I see mask packs facing — the CMF craze is fueled in part by the sense that a collectible minifigure is, on some level, a complete toy rather than just an accessory, whereas a mask is just a mask. Not an insurmountable obstacle but definitely one to bear in mind. There's also something of a stigma against blind-packaged products in general, especially those with a "collect them all" message attached, which might be good to address. While the expectation is generally for kids to trade the things they don't want with friends who have what they DO want, it's still frustrating for people to feel like they're paying for something they might not need. Some early Bionicle collectibles (especially the Kraata) were also a bit insane in terms of what it meant to "collect them all", which could discourage many kids from even trying. Even if you were lucky enough to have friends to trade with so duplicates wouldn't just be money wasted, the cost of a full set of Kraata was $.67 cents per Kraata (since Kraata packs were $2 and Kraata were 3 to a pack) times 36 color combinations times 6 shapes/power levels, or 144 dollars… plus, the Rahkshi had their OWN Kraata color combinations that were only in those sets, so you either had to buy six of each Rahkshi or hope your friends would trade one of their Rahkshi Kraata for your considerably less expensive Kraata pack Kraata. Of course, Krana and Kraata had a considerable disadvantage to masks in general since the variations didn't tend to have a big impact on the look of a model. "Usefulness" can play a big role in separating purchases that are significant on their own from ones that only matter in the context of reaching a complete collection. That's part of why trading card games (where the cards all DO something besides just letting you check them off your wanted list) tend to be more popular nowadays than trading cards without any kind of game attached. Masks, just by virtue of their cosmetic significance when building, already have an advantage in purpose over slugs or brains that are mostly identical and tend to be hidden away inside most models that use them. One thing I thought a bit about in 2014 was the possibility of $5 non-randomized product collections like the Mixels, with creatures or villagers wearing differently-colored masks. The Mixels theme generally includes three waves of 9 sets per year, or 27 sets. Assuming one mask each that would go a long way towards offering more mask color variety, and having them as buildable, non-blind-packaged figures could help fight the "not a complete toy" stigma as well as the "forcing people to buy more and more packs just to get what they want" stigma, since people could get the sets for the sake of the set itself rather than just for the sake of a collection. But unfortunately the general size of constraction parts compared to System parts might make this a challenge. Most "small sets" in G1 used mostly cloned designs, as opposed to the Mixels which sell largely by virtue of the uniqueness they offer at a low price point. It'd be tricky to create even nine visually distinct constraction figures at such a restrictive price point, let alone 81! And how many would a typical buyer even be willing to buy if masks, simple weapons, and colors were pretty much the only things setting them apart, as with the old-school small sets? It's a puzzle for sure. Sorry for rambling again. I know this is kinda off-topic (I already generally like G2, so my musings probably aren't what the OP is seeking), but it's something I've given a lot of thought to. As far as "darkness" in the story is concerned, I agree with some of the commenters who feel G1 was not as dark or mature as many people make it out to be. There was some gratuitous violence in the serials and some cringeworthy one-liners from cartoonishly evil villains in the books and serials (like Mantax's classic "I have no friends. Just enemies I haven't killed yet"), but the visual media generally avoided showing characters suffer graphic or violent deaths and injuries, and even the few times the bad guys won, the overall message was that the good guys would keep fighting on until they prevailed. That's not to say that there was no darkness at all, just that it's often overstated (and that the examples often given tend to include many of the story's weaker moments). Furthermore, if G1 is the threshold we consider "dark", then the G2 story easily qualifies in its own right. The post-apocalyptic overtones of G2 are presented with a lot less subtlety than they were in the early years of G1, when Mata Nui felt more like a paradise with occasional crises than the desperate remains of a great civilization fallen into ruin, with the capital city as a ruined ghost town where evil now lurks. All six Toa have been stripped of their powers, some of them twice (and that includes their masks being literally shattered, something that hardly ever happened in G1, and certainly not during a climactic battle). And the villains in the second half of 2015 were literally presented as the undead, a concept that was pretty much never broached in G1! In 2016, we've now seen an ancient evil corrupted by power beyond his control into a personification of chaos and destruction, and the aftermath of that looks like it will cause tremendous damage to the very fabric of the island. Overall, the G2 story isn't constantly dark (which is good because frankly a story that's all darkness with no brightness or humor is generally no fun) but it certainly hasn't been all rainbows and sunshine.

I don't have a problem with this idea, but I have found it interesting that overall, we've gotten a LOT more color variety for masks in 2015 and 2016 than any year from 2004 onward. I mean, think about it — most new masks from 2004 or later only appeared in one color. Of the 50 Kanohi molds introduced from 2004 onward, only nine of them (great Ruru, Kiril/Pehkui, mutated Huna, Kualsi, 2006 Ignika, Hydraxon faceplate, 2008 Ignika, Faxon, great and noble Shelek, and Crast) came in more than one color or color combination. If you count non-Kanohi mask/helmet molds as well, that adds 22 more, only six of which (Hydraxon mask, Berix mask, Gresh mask, Crotesius mask, Perditus mask, Sahmad mask) ever got a recolor. In fact, if you want to look at G1 Bionicle as a whole, we got 72 Kanohi shapes and 22 non-Kanohi mask and helmet shapes. Additionally, there were 232 discrete Kanohi (not counting misprints, precious metal contest prizes, or same-color variants) and 28 discrete non-Kanohi masks and helmets. On average, there were 9.4 mask shapes per year and 2.76 colors per shape. Conversely, in G2 so far, we've gotten 21 mask shapes and 59 discrete masks (excluding precious metal contest prizes). The new version of the Mask of Control worn by Umarak the Destroyer is the only mask that hasn't been available in more than one color. This means that on average, we've had 10.5 mask shapes per year and 2.81 colors per shape. You read that right — G2, on average, has had more mask shapes per year on average AND more colors per shape on average than G1! For the record I chose to exclude misprints, same-color variants, and precious metal contest prizes, but if I HAD included those, it would've actually tipped things further in G2's favor, with 3.19 (67/21) colors per shape in G2 versus just 2.67 (251/94) in G1. So rest assured I'm not making arbitrary exceptions in hopes of making G2's track record seem better than it is. With that said, I don't mean to try and silence or invalidate anyone's desire for MORE mask colors, particularly if you're nostalgic for the early years of 2001–2003, when there were 147 discrete masks in only 22 shapes, or a whopping 6.68 colors per shape on average! Out of curiosity, for those who want more mask colors, how would you prefer them to be released? Blind-packaged bags or boxes like in G1? Featuring "bonus" masks in the small sets just like in the medium or large ones? Packs with specific selections of masks in specific selections of colors? Or something else entirely?

The Mahri are the main series I remember changing my opinions on. When I first saw pictures they bugged me for what, in hindsight, was a pretty silly reason: two of them used Piraka torsos. Up to that point, in my Bionicle drawings and headcanons, I thought of Bionicle armor as being somewhat like a uniform. And while we'd seen the same style of armor worn by multiple Toa teams, and plenty of other parts shared between heroes and villains, it took me some time to warm up to the notion of Toa using what had previously been a non-Toa style of torso armor, let alone one that was visually different from any of their teammates. But by the end of 2007 I had a much better appreciation for the variety the Toa Mahri brought to the table. They weren't flawless sets, but IMO by breaking free of cloned designs they were taking a step in the right direction.

Guess it was removed because of spoilers. Hopefully the artist will post these pictures again once the new episodes have aired.

Putting a poll like this in the Ninjago section of the forums might skew the results — maybe a mod should move it to LEGO Discussion. That said, I voted Ninjago. Though I've also been enjoying Nexo Knights so far. I never got past the first three episodes of Legends of Chima, but I might want to give it another shot sooner or later since I hear the storytelling improves later on.

It goes without saying that the U.S. won't get the magazine (we haven't gotten ANY of the magazines like this, not even for the more popular themes like Star Wars, Friends, or Ninjago), but I think it has less to do with the comics already being available here in graphic novel format and more to do with American kids not buying as many magazines as British and European kids. After all, other toy brands like Transformers and My Little Pony have also had magazines in Europe that never came to America.

Not only is there a major difference in size there, but also, the Classic Knights Set doesn't require re-introducing any discontinued molds, while the original Tahu would require at least nine (head, eyes, mask, torso, arm, leg, foot, hand, tool).

Where was that? JtO? The second graphic novel Battle of the Mask Makers, actually. Anyway, I'm not sure what the answer is. It could be that there are masks without ANY elemental affinity (it wouldn't surprise me if the Mask of Control and Mask of Creation fell into that category). But it also wouldn't surprise me if masks made by Ekimu and Makuta like a Mask of Speed or Mask of Strength have an elemental alignment but not necessarily actual elemental powers. Let's not forget that the Toa's elemental powers that they unlocked with their Golden Masks in last year's story include some G1-ish powers, like Kopaka's Frost Sphere which is similar to the power of the Mask of Shielding.

Budget doesn't equate to set size. If LEGO tells you "OK, you can make a lineup of six sets at a $8 price point, here's a budget, go crazy," you still can't make 6 $13 sets, even if you can somehow stretch the money that way, because LEGO only wants $8 sets on the market and $13 BIONICLE sets are going to cannibalize the Ben 10 set sales. But creating new parts does take up a lot of money and I would think reduces the amount of money you have left to develop the rest of the set with. You do have a point, but I think that it's possible more money could have been put towards building up the set and giving it more pieces that are more readily available but make it a better built set overall. I think the big cost comes from creating new molds more than it does recolors. Five new molds isn't much compared to the, what, 45 new molds of 2009? New molds definitely cost a lot more than recolors. The main factor that makes recolors cost money is that they are considered a new element on the production line, and LEGO keeps their number of elements closely in check. Introducing a new element generally means taking an existing element out of production, so recolors are introduced at least SOMEWHAT sparingly (any time you think there should have been a new Bionicle recolor in a given wave, ask yourself: "what Bionicle recolor DID we get that wave that I'd rather have gone without?"). But a new steel mold at the level of precision the LEGO Group demands (tolerances of ±.01mm) and their expected operational lifetime generally costs hundreds of thousands of dollars, in addition to the general cost of adding a new element to production. And the more complex the mold (which depends on things like how many separate sliding parts it takes to mold the details on every side of the piece), the higher the cost. Now, how many new molds are within the budget for a set or series of sets depends on a number of factors, such as the price point of the sets, how many sets the mold will be used on and how big a batch of those sets will be produced. This is why, for instance, LEGO Ideas sets are not allowed to include new molds. They are typically produced in batches of 20,000 units, whereas a typical Ninjago set might be produced in batches of a million or more units. If you split $200,000 between 20,000 units, that adds an immediate $10 to the cost of each unit! But if you split $200,000 between a million units, that adds just 20 cents to the cost of each unit — arguably less, if the cost of the mold is distributed across a full wave of sets that use that mold. All things considered, six new molds across six sets (or to simplify things, one new mold per set) is not a lot. Sure, the Bionicle Stars might've been able to be somewhat bigger with fewer new molds, but not by a whole lot. The only way one new mold per set would amount to even a dollar of each set's budget is if 200,000 or fewer of each Stars set were made. And how much more size or complexity would one extra dollar in each Stars set's budget really buy? Not a huge amount, I don't think.

I don't think the golden mask ever had a canon explanation — it was just an easter egg to use in the "Quest for the Golden Mask" sweepstakes (similar to others that appeared in LEGO Mania Magazine, on Bionicle.com, and on Bioniclemusic.com).

Overall I'm kinda disappointed in Quake Beast. It's not that I don't like the off-kilter, asymmetrical rock monster look, but I feel like Bruizer pulled it off better. As it is, Quake Beast's right arm is set an entire three modules back from his left arm, uses an awkward hand-crank mechanism rather than a simpler lever or trigger, has considerable gaps between its purple crystals, and worst of all, has a function that can easily make Quake Beast bash himself in the face with his own shoulder! Plus, unlike Bruizer's rigid arm or the 2015 Toa's articulated shoulders, Quake Beast's crystal arm is articulated, but not along the gearbox's axis of rotation. This means that if it gets knocked out of alignment by the recoil of one of his punches, you have to reset it to the angle you want it at. Overall, I appreciate what the design was going for. Giant overgrown crystal arms are cool! A shoulder-mounted shadow trap is cool! A yellowish green and purple color scheme is cool! A "right hook" function as opposed to the usual uppercut/downward smash is cool! But I just don't think Quake Beast pulls any of these concepts off quite as effectively as the other beasts pull off their own core concepts. Surprised that in the description of the box you didn't mention one of its most unique aspects — the fact that his shoulder spikes are stickign THROUGH the Bionicle banner at the top! I thought this was extremely clever.

What exactly is meant by "wide release" cancelled? If it just means it's becoming exclusive to a certain chain of stores or something like that, then I wouldn't see that as reason to panic. I believe the same thing is happening in the United States, with Bionicle becoming a Toys R Us exclusive line like Technic was in 2012 and 2013, or like Speed Champions is now. There's little doubt that Bionicle sales are nowhere near what they were at their peak in 2002. That said, a product line becoming exclusive to a specific chain of stores is not the end of the world, so if that is in fact what the article was referring to I don't think it's cause for alarm. Frankly, it might be the most effective way to extend the theme's lifespan.

The number used in the article is 64,148 bricks (sixty four thousand one hundred and forty eight) bricks. Is the comma what confused you? Some countries use spaces or periods to separate the thousands place from the hundreds place but I was taught to use a comma, which is also what the original Facebook post used.

Tough choice between 2, 3, and 8 (weird, entry 8 ended up being a standout for me in all three polls). Entry 8 in this poll succeeds even with an extremely monochrome design in part due to its eclectic use of textures. It's reminiscent of many prototype Bionicle sets from over the years, but unlike those which are mostly cut and glued and then painted with a silvery finish, this one is purist, achieving the same use through the use of greebly details both small and large. Its rotund, somewhat cartoonish proportions set it apart from any official sets and even from most MOCs. It feels sorta like a video game enemy. 2, on the other hand, really exemplifies the old-school "riotflea" MOC craze, plus has a dynamic color scheme and textures that don't call quite so much attention to themselves. Its proportions are spindly, aggressive, and alien like I'd expect a "riotflea" to be. The biggest drawback of this one is that its build feels almost more "timeless" than "old-school" — flares and curves like this model has are about as pervasive in System and CCBS MOCs as they were in G1 Bionicle MOCs, and so it's really only the "riotflea" concept that dates it. 3 stands out in its own way — it is not as ambitious in its building techniques as 2 or 8, but it has a distinctive G1 feel with its clumsy, machine-like build, and the yellow Jack Stone elements used as accents go a long way to balance out the grey, black, and silver. As the builder intended, it feels like it could fit in the Dark Hunters guide, and yet it feels like it could fit in among that guide's best entries, or even among some of the official G1 Dark Hunter sets and combi models. After much debate I settled on Entry 8, which is both the most impressive for me visually and elicits the most nostalgia. Rather than just an old set or an old MOC, it feels like an unfinished PROTOTYPE of an old set! That's, like, double the old! And yet in spite of that inherent roughness that would feel horrendously out-of-place on a finished set, its neutral color palette and unconventional materials are reminiscent of a mixed media art piece. So I guess I ended up voting a straight 8-8-8 ticket. Ah, well.