Aanchir

Entry 2 seems like it does a good job recreating that old-school Rahi aesthetic, but the photo makes it tough to judge the back section, and any functionality it has is not obvious. Plus, its color scheme is kind of monotonous. Entry 5 has beautiful colors, good color blocking, and a good use of greeble, though I think the 1x1 round plate on the mask is superfluous. Entry 8 has a unique build and uses greeble in a way I think even die-hard System mecha builders would appreciate, and it's got a cool color scheme to boot. Entries 5 and 8 also both have very distinctive silhouettes. It was a tough choice between those two entries but I ended up going with 8.

Entry 8 is by far the best entry here in terms of both looks and functionality, and while it doesn't quite nail down that "old-school" look throughout, Entry 3 is the only one in this poll that I think does so well enough to balance out its faults. I voted for 8, but I encourage people who would prefer a more greebly-looking entry to take a good long look at 3 before casting your vote!

Some people certainly got angry about it because they saw it as an insult to Bionicle for Wyldstyle to say it was a world they "don't need to mention". However, I think that's a rather silly way of interpreting it, considering that the other themes they "didn't need to mention" include LEGO Friends and LEGO Ninjago, some of the LEGO Group's biggest success stories of the past decade. If this scene were meant as an insult or put-down don't you think LEGO would've taken issue with it referencing some of their all-time biggest hits instead of failed themes like Galidor or Jack Stone? Others were angry about the brevity of the reference rather than its context. But honestly, I think it's an honor that Bionicle was alluded to in a movie that genuinely didn't have time to delve into the lore of any individual LEGO theme, and certainly not a discontinued one. As Wyldstyle said, they didn't need to mention it — but they included it anyway, in the same context as more recent success stories. Sure, it also would've been great if an actual Bionicle character had gotten a cameo, but I can understand why the creators might've wanted to focus on themes that would not be distracting or confusing for general audiences. With the world now firmly established, the sequel might offer a better opportunity for a more substantial cameo. Remember also that during G1, Bionicle's creators were generally pretty keen on avoiding direct crossovers between Bionicle and other LEGO themes. So having Bionicle appear as a mere reference rather than having Bionicle characters interacting directly with other LEGO characters could be seen as a way of respecting its creators' wishes. Bionicle was an important theme. There's no denying that. In LEGO CEO Jorgen Vig Knudstorp's own words, "Bionicle is the theme that saved LEGO" — and he wasn't even involved in the theme's creation or rise to power, having only joined the company in 2004, so he's not just being self-congratulatory with that statement. So anybody who thinks LEGO looks down on Bionicle, just because it doesn't get the special treatment they expect, is profoundly mistaken.

There's a couple of reasons why LEGO shouldn't make The Addams Family for a set: 1. The show is incredibly old, and making a set of a franchise from something so long ago and barely re-lived in this day and age won't popularize well for sales. 2. While it may be harmless enough for you, be aware that you're 25, and you don't exactly have the same outlook on things that a six year old would. I'm not saying that a six year old is !00% sure to buy this set, but perhaps a six year old shouldn't have the option. It's also a monster-based comedy show, and rather dark in some areas, not as friendly as The Munsters was. Then again, LEGO also decided to make Beetlejuice, so I'm suspicious on their kid-quality judging they boast of. Generally I don't see how the Addams Family was any scarier or less kid friendly than Star Wars or Harry Potter. The LEGO Group's standards for kid-friendliness mostly tend to mean nothing that's strictly for adults. Broadly speaking, that means no shows rated TV-MA or higher, no movies rated R or higher, and no video games rated M or higher. Also, of course, the LEGO Group exercises discretion in what ASPECTS of certain brands they represent — so, for instance, they were OK making Simpsons (TV-PG) sets, but the sets themselves don't include alcohol references even though the show frequently does. They were OK making Indiana Jones sets, but didn't include any Nazi imagery from Raiders of the Lost Ark (PG) or The Last Crusade (PG-13), or the human sacrifice scene from Temple of Doom (PG-13). The original Addams Family TV series, which is what the Ideas project is based on, is rated TV-G, or "General Audience". For reference's sake, this is the same rating as a lot of the LEGO Friends, LEGO Elves, and LEGO Star Wars TV specials.

Slight correction: LEGO employees are only allowed to communicate with kids via the LEGO Message Boards. Employees can communicate with AFOLs either via social media or forums — provided those sites have an age limit so said employees can be sure they're not communicating with anyone under age 13. This is in order to adhere to COPPA regulations. As it stands, BZPower does not have a strict age limit. Brickset's main site does not either, but it also does not have any form of private messaging — the only form of direct interaction between members is news comments. The Brickset Forums, which do allow for more forms of discussion, are strictly for users ages 16 and up. EDIT: Ninja'd by my brother.

Maybe the Great Beings realized that Matoran faces were generally hideous and, with the deadline fast approaching, decided masks were the easiest patch for the issue.

It's probably not the best movie to come out of Disney Animation Studios. Its themes are simpler than Zootopia's, though that might be partly due to having to fit the fairy-tale tone, and friends of mine who have seen Tangled seem to think that movie told a better story. But I definitely enjoyed Frozen and would recommend it to others.

This page released on Bionicle.com back in March explains where the Labyrinth of Control came from, and the next chapter book seems like it will go into the origins of the Skull Creatures. The description of the labyrinth feels like a bit of a cop out, but it looks like we will have the skull creatures explained so I'll give the story that. "Cop out" or not, it's more explanation than we ever got for the origins of the Kini-Nui, outside of direct answers from Greg years after its introduction. For that matter, it wasn't until 2008 that we learned the origins of the Bohrok. So it's kind of weird to treat not knowing the full backstory of the Toa's enemies or Okoto's landmarks as "snags". Frankly, we've gotten a lot more backstory for G2 than we had in the first couple years of G1.

This page released on Bionicle.com back in March explains where the Labyrinth of Control came from, and the next chapter book seems like it will go into the origins of the Skull Creatures.

I really want to know the story with this thing. I like it more than Doomarak It honestly seems to me like just a preliminary Photoshop concept for the combi model we actually got instructions for. Among other things, it's not clear how exactly Lava Beast's mask is supposed to be attached over top of the Mask of Control, and Quake Beast definitely doesn't have enough purple to both transplant its right arm onto Umarak's back AND cover both of Umarak's lower legs.

Really enticing preview! I'm excited to get my hands on this book! It's a shame no other chapter books have been announced because the quality of their storytelling has been pretty strong.

These images were from a LEGO Club article back in 2002. BZPower reported on it here. Here's an archived version of the story, but the links to pages 2 and 3 don't work.

Number 3.

It's Dark Azur. When they show the new recolors in the designer video, some of them are parts that already exist in Medium Azur, while others that WOULD be new in Medium Azur (like the 1x1 brick with side stud) are omitted.

We don't honestly know that the tea shop ever even went away — Sensei Wu and Misako were just MIA for most of Season 6, so couldn't exactly be shown running it. When season 7 premieres, unless Sensei Wu and Misako are otherwise occupied, it will probably be back to business as usual. I think it's established that Djinnjago only fell because it was the Cursed Realm's sister realm, so I don't think any sort of domino effect is implied. Who knows? Seems better to leave this particular question unanswered until it becomes relevant again. If he does come back it probably won't be in the same way, since Cyrus Borg has probably taken steps to improve Borg Tower's security since then. According to the video game LEGO Ninjago: Shadow of Ronin (which is mostly non-canon but includes some canon elements), he employed Ronin to do it. Zane created it himself. Remember how when the Overlord was destroyed after Season 2, his consciousness returned via Borg Tower's mainframe? Zane survived his destruction the same way. That's why Borg Tower's monitors begin presenting Zane's memories and the assembly lines activated by themselves at the end of Season 3. Probably because he's presumed dead. I believe he's mentioned at some point in Season 6, though. He was shown in the Season 5 finale filing away the bars of his cage. Presumably he succeeded in this before the Preeminent drowned, and instead of joining the fight like the other ghosts, used the opportunity to flee the scene of the battle while the ninja were distracted. She's running her father's noodle business. We've seen her a couple times at his noodle shops already, and she apparently appears again in one of the last two episodes of Season 6. With a new costume, even! They're running the junkyard, same as ever. We see them again in Season 6. I don't think we've ever seen any indication that they're struggling financially. They've never lived a life of luxury but presumably they still manage to make ends meet.

I support this color combo for sure!

Yes, I think so. It's not a guaranteed thing but I think the chances are pretty good. Disney hasn't been afraid to license their characters out to WB for the LEGO Marvel, LEGO Pirates of the Caribbean, and LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens games, so it seems that the only thing standing in the way of those characters' inclusion in LEGO Dimensions was Disney Infinity.

Here's something to consider: part of the reason constraction category was developed in the first place was to capitalize on an explosion in the popularity of action figures in the late 90s. Has anybody ever considered that the popularity of action figures in general might be on the decline? Perhaps even since before the end of G1 Bionicle? This article from 2013, which focuses mostly on the Hasbro brands which dominate the action figure market, seemed to suggest as much, though I haven't seen anything to indicate whether that trend has continued or changed course. Despite Bionicle's popularity in the early naughts, the LEGO Group has always been a small player in the action figure market, so it's not outrageous to think that a decline in the popularity of action figures might hit their constraction category pretty hard. Incidentally, the article mentions fewer kids watching TV and buying movie tickets as one potential factor for the decline in action figure sales. Bionicle has never had a TV show or a theatrical movie, so this wouldn't be an explanation for why it's performing worse than it did in the early naughts, but might be a motivating factor in why LEGO has been presenting the Bionicle story chiefly via web videos and Netflix. What's more, one way we've seen other toy companies respond to this decline is by expanding their action figure brands into the increasingly popular building toy category — Hasbro's Kre-O building sets and Transformers ConstructBots, Mattel's acquisition of Mega Bloks and use of it to promote their own brands, etc. Bionicle may have had a lead on them since it was already a buildable action figure brand, but that also means it can't depend on quite the same strategy for expansion.

I wouldn't totally mind them. When the 2011 Hero Factory heroes came out, one thing that struck me about them was how they were sort of a "return to form", bringing models back to the approximate size and simplicity of the Toa Mata but with the improved articulation of the Toa Inika and a more versatile building system. Before the Bionicle reboot was announced I doodled some digital concepts of CCBS Toa sets similar in size and piece count to the Toa Mata or a 2011 Hero Factory hero. That said, when the actual Bionicle reboot took place, the quality of the designs blew my nostalgia-fueled designs right out of the water. At this stage, with Bionicle G2 underway, I think it would be impossible to introduce smaller and simpler Toa without them feeling like a definite step backward — though perhaps not as much of a step backward as the Bionicle Stars were in 2010. A series of Toa with a similar size and piece count to the Toa Mata or 2011 Hero Factory heroes would not likely be able to have gear functions, full armor coverage, AND a full 13 points of articulation like the 2015 Toa did. An average Toa Mata was 36 pieces, and an average 2011 Hero Factory hero was 30 pieces. The simplest a CCBS build with 13 points of articulation, full armor coverage, a mask, and two single-piece weapons (or one two-piece weapon) can be is 26 pieces. The simplest a 2015-style gearbox with no added friction can be is 13 additional pieces. And this 39-piece minimum assumes no decorative shell add-ons, no more elaborate weapon builds, no back armor, and a one-piece "skull" underneath the mask. Feasible? Maybe, but it wouldn't leave a lot of room for variety. It's hard to say whether it'd be worth it. Yes, it would no doubt make the Toa more affordable, but it would also greatly limit their unique appeal. A lot of G1 fans already believe that the 2015 and 2016 Toa are simplistic and "samey" compared to G1 canister sets, even though that couldn't be further from the truth — I can't imagine that making the sets even simpler and more similar would boost their appeal with that audience. And if today's kids aren't interested in Bionicle, it's hard to imagine that price is the key barrier, considering that Bionicle is still one of the cheapest LEGO themes, and much more expensive themes like City, Star Wars, and Ninjago are still selling like hotcakes.

Honestly, a lot of series would sound like a mess if you tried to sum up four seasons of story in four paragraphs, especially series like LEGO Ninjago where the status quo is so fluid. Some series would even be a lot MORE confusing… Doctor Who, anyone? Beyond that, I've never heard anyone say Bionicle G2 is a mess in this same sense. If anything, a lot of people seem to feel like Bionicle G2 is too simple and straightforward. The Ninjago story, with its many plot twists, is a lot closer to Bionicle G1. If you tried to sum up the Bionicle 2006–2008 story like this it would be pretty confusing in its own right. Really, the best way to understand the Ninjago storyline is to watch the series yourself. Unfortunately, Seasons 4 and 5 are not yet on Netflix, so there's no easy way to binge watch them without buying each season. And Season 6 hasn't even aired in full in the United States. EDIT: Actually I just remembered that seasons 3, 4, and 5 are all available for free on-demand viewing on the Cartoon Network website. You just have to select your cable provider to prove you have Cartoon Network. I guess this won't help you personally since you mention you don't have cable, but it could be useful for other people wanting to get caught up.

As far as I know the only one who specifically said they had an "interview" was Dorek from BS01. It'll probably take a bit to collate all the info into a presentable format, though. Nope, Black Six was there too, representing BZPower.

You know, I felt like the "crafty villain into monstrous brute" transformation felt familiar but I couldn't quite put my finger on where I recognized that from. Kind of surprising that I didn't, since I had already noticed loads of Legend of Zelda parallels in last year's sets and story: ancient temples (including a Temple of Time!), mask collecting, Protectors (sages), Skull Warriors (Stalfos), Skull Spiders (Skulltulas), and even a sort of a mini-boss dynamic for the various stronger foes the Toa faced in the City of the Mask Makers. I'm certainly not complaining about these parallels, because they really do a good job reinforcing some of the stronger adventure elements of the classic Bionicle story. Makes me wish that Bionicle G2 had some Zelda-like video game or online game, since that could be a huge step towards making it feel more immersive. Umarak the Destroyer definitely seems like "end boss" material, and while people can debate whether Umarak the Hunter qualifies as a titan set, Umarak the Destroyer leaves no doubt about it, with nearly as many pieces as Makuta from 2003 or Brutaka from 2006. The claw function is creative, and the general physique feels very unique. The head would probably feel more coherent if the lower jaw contrasted more with the chest plate (a criticism that could apply to all of the beasts, actually) , and I'm kind of disappointed this set doesn't have a spare Shadow Trap hinge and eye like Umarak the Hunter did (though I suppose you could just use the ones from that set, since they aren't a part of its build). Overall, I think Umarak the Destroyer is definitely an impressive set design!

Please let us know how that goes. I'm really wanting it myself lol. I will. The beak piece is probably exclusive, so mine won't be totally accurate. (Correct me if I'm wrong, however.) Actually, the beak can be found in the Golden Ninja Lego Dimensions Pack It's also in nine other sets this year.

The Idea House is a sort of private museum of the history of LEGO, built around the original home and workshop of Ole Kirk Christiansen (who founded LEGO in the 30s). It's mainly for the benefit of LEGO Group employees and occasional visitors (business partners, Inside Tour participants, etc). It's not designed to handle public visitors. The Vault underneath is an archive of sealed LEGO sets from throughout the decades. Most of the older sets there are bought from or donated by fans, so it's not a complete record of all the sets there have been, just those that LEGO has been able to acquire. There's also a cool room where they show various LEGO knock-offs side-by-side with the real products they're based on, to give a sense of the difference in quality and what sort of counterfeiters LEGO is up against. The Innovation House is the LEGO Group's design headquarters. It's extremely private. I went to Billund for the Inside Tour last year and we were only allowed to see it from the outside. They have giant shutters on the windows to protect their privacy when the need arises. It's the place that has the big metal slide that you see in all the photos, though employees don't actually use the slide a lot because they need to take their shoes off. Kids who visit for focus testing love it, though. The LEGO House is still under construction and not open yet, but it's supposed to open next year. It's going to be an attraction that's largely open to the public. The decision to create it was motivated by the high demand for a public attraction in Billund where people of all ages can learn about LEGO. It will also include some more private areas like conference rooms for LEGO to meet with business partners.

We'll probably hear more about future expansions at E3 this month, if not sooner!