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Aanchir

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Blog Entries posted by Aanchir

  1. Aanchir
    My entry, Swarm of the Century, narrowly made it through Preliminary Poll A, and as such it's now a contender in the final poll! Click here to go to the poll!
     
    I think it goes without saying that Crunchy's two entries, which dominated the preliminary polls, will also sweep the voting in this poll. It's kind of a shame, because the rules state that each member can only have one winning entry, and I'm worried that with Crunchy's entries so likely to get most of the votes, the margin between the remaining entries will be very small indeed. I won't mind losing this contest (it's not like I have any kind of reputation to uphold), but with such a slim margin I don't want to feel like my entry won or lost by random chance.
     
    One way this could be avoided in future contests would be to do it like how another LEGO forum I use often does MOC contest voting. On that site, voting is done through posts rather than polls, which makes it more difficult to track, but you get more than one vote (still a finite number), and can distribute those votes how you prefer (either award all of your votes to one entry, or divide the votes evenly or unevenly across multiple entries). This way, even if you have one overall favorite, you can also show support for other entries you consider deserving. And as such the runners-up will be decided by more members than just those few who didn't like the winning entry.
     
    But I'm not going to pressure anybody to vote for my entry. Vote for the entry you think is best! All the entries in this poll got through the preliminary polls by their own merits, and the same ought to be true this time around!
  2. Aanchir

    Tahu Moc Wip

    By Aanchir,

    Click for full


     
    This is still just a WIP; I'm not sure how much I like the neck, and he could really use ears and/or a mane. Inspired by my art contest entry. Speaking of which, check it out if you haven't already!
     

    Topic


  4. Aanchir

    Ac18 Updates

    By Aanchir,

    Hi everyone! Don't worry, I haven't given up on my AC18 entry. Since I last blogged about it, I scanned my drawing and put in a lot of work separating the parts of it into different layers, before realizing that it would be easier to just print off some copies of it and color it using non-digital media.
     
    So I have my first colored draft mostlyt finalized now. It uses colored pencil and thus gets a lot more detail than I would have had time to do digitally. However, I am going to print off a couple more copies of it and try coloring it with different media if I have time. Watercolors would be the ideal medium if I wanted to go for the less detailed color layout I had planned to do digitally (each character and their elemental powers tinted with a one-color filter).
     
    As of right now, there are two other entries in the contest and I believe there is going to be an extension. If not, I probably won't have time to experiment with other media since I'm going to be at a press event this weekend. But since I have a colored draft finished, I should be able to enter on short notice if there turns out not to be an extension.
     
    Anyone else got an entry nearly-finished but not yet posted? Or is this going to be a very small pool of entries? Either way, best of luck to all those who are entering. I know there's a lot of talent apparent in the entries submitted so far, but I'm sure that's not the limit of artistic talent here on BZPower!
     
    -----
     
    On a side note also related to art/creativity, I encourage everyone to read this PDF. It's an extremely informative booklet about systematic creativity put out by the LEGO Learning Institute. I like it a lot because it makes me more confident in my own creativity by expressing that no, I'm not less creative just because I'm better at creative work when given constraints to work within. Ironically the idea of "creativity with constraints" was mentioned by one of my professors in their tribute to me at my college graduation last December.
  5. Aanchir

    Art Contest 18

    By Aanchir,

    Who else is planning to enter? So far there haven't been any entries, but I'm sure some of the more talented artists here already have entries in the works and are simply devoting more time and attention to them than I have.
     
    I finished drawing my entry this morning, but I may add more detail. Right now it has very little shading, but I'm hesitant to shade much more than the background details, and I'm certainly not planning on inking this one. It looks very nice right now in graphite, and while I might add some color digitally, I don't plan on treating it like much more than a line drawing.
     
    I normally wouldn't expect my drawing to stand a chance, but with so few entrants and an idea I think a lot of people might appreciate, I suppose I might at least be able to impress a few people, even though better-quality entries are sure to turn up.
  9. Aanchir
    Actually, in 2002 (according to TLG's Annual Report from that year, page 23), BIONICLE was TLG's top-selling product line, immediately ahead of LEGO Harry Potter. LEGO Explore (the rebranding of LEGO Duplo at that time) was TLG's third-highest-selling product, and LEGO Star Wars was only their fourth-highest-selling product. The 2001 annual report doesn't give an organized list of top-selling product lines, but it does treat BIONICLE, Harry Potter, and Bob the Builder as some of the lines that were especially influential in the overall sales for the year. But of course this may be skewed to favor product lines that were brand-new in 2001.
     
    In 2003, "LEGO Company’s own BIONICLE® range performed better, although sales fell by up to 20 percent." However, it was still their top-selling product, immediately ahead of LEGO Sports, LEGO Star Wars, LEGO Racers, and LEGO Creator. In 2004 and 2005 it remained top-selling product line, but "sales did not live up to expectations in 2005." Star Wars once again advanced in relative popularity, becoming the second-most-successful product line in terms of sales. LEGO City was introduced in 2005 but had not yet reached its peak success.
     
    LEGO City and LEGO Star Wars are both mentioned as more successful than expected in the 2006 annual report, while curiously, BIONICLE is not mentioned at all, even though BIONICLE-related images appear throughout. The 2007 annual report reported an increase in sales. "The sales increases are still driven by the classic product lines LEGO City, LEGO Technic and LEGO Creator as well as LEGO Star Wars, which is well on its way to become another classic line," the report says. "BIONICLE is still one of the LEGO Group’s best selling product lines, although the line did not show any growth in 2007." The report also mentions an agreement that Tinseltown Toons will be producing three BIONICLE movies to be released between the years of 2009 and 2011.
     
    Increased sales in 2008 are attributed to the same four themes as in 2007, with no mention of BIONICLE. Likewise in 2009, Duplo, City, Creator, and Star Wars are listed among successful product lines. BIONICLE is not mentioned. Needless to say, BIONICLE was never mentioned in the 2010 annual report, although it is mentioned that new lines like Atlantis and Hero Factory contributed to the company's growth along with the unmatched sales of City and Star Wars.
     
    I have no intent of denying that BIONICLE was quite a phenomenon in its early years, and it certainly helped them regain their success, but I just feel that BIONICLE's impact on TLG's fiscal success is often exaggerated on BIONICLE fansites, just as LEGO Star Wars's impact is exaggerated by many LEGO Star Wars fans. As I understand it, TLG's return to glory was a process of many facets and many stages, and there was no product line or decision that can be treated as TLG's "saving grace" during this time period.
     
    The exaggeration of BIONICLE's success led to a lot of misconceptions when the decision to cancel the theme was made. Some fans were confident that TLG would learn their lesson after cancelling "their most successful product line" and suffering an obvious loss in sales. Some people even were so bold as to suggest that cancelling BIONICLE would undo all the economic recovery that had been accomplished during the theme's lifespan. But BIONICLE's success did not remain consistent, unlike the success LEGO Star Wars and LEGO City would later be able to maintain.
     
    If TLG's success had depended as heavily on BIONICLE as some fans thought, then its lack of growth from 2007 onward would have been reflected by overall declines in TLG's success. But instead TLG continued to grow throughout this entire period, defying these predictions. Replacing BIONICLE was not a foolish risk or a decision taken lightly, but a well-planned response to the trends of the previous several years.
     
     
    Source: Unpopular Opinions?
  10. Aanchir
    The LEGO Dino site is updated with the "Base", "Nest", and "Fun Zone sections. The Nest sections shows you things about the dinos, while the Base section shows you things about the human characters.
     
    The main character's name in the Base section is Josh Thunder.
     
    Discuss.
     
     
    Source: Dino 2012 Theme
  11. Aanchir
    So the new header is cool. There could be improvement (some space between Tohu and the BZPower text could help, and it's a bit weird having the text and image overlaid on the dark blue stripe rather than above it vertically), but for me it represents the dynamic status of BZPower as a whole as it changes from strictly a BIONICLE site into something that, in my opinion, better celebrates BIONICLE's lasting influence.
     
    See, with BIONICLE over, it isn't providing the site with anything new to discuss. And that was what fueled a lot of BZPower's discussion-- and thus, the community-- in the first place. What is providing with new discussion fodder is BIONICLE's legacy as expressed in other LEGO themes like Ninjago and Hero Factory.
     
    My departure from BZPower in late 2010 was largely because I had become disillusioned with the BIONICLE fandom, so I took up discussion on other sites that were more strictly LEGO-related. On these other sites I still participated in BIONICLE discussion, but it didn't feel like the same dead-end "what could have been" discussion I had left. Instead, the discussion focused on what had been good and bad about BIONICLE-- what we as fans had learned from it and what lessons TLG could potentially have taken from its rise and fall.
     
    I think the healthier community on other LEGO sites was partly in response to the greater context that LEGO as a whole offered. Instead of "LEGO's best and most successful theme", people on these sites saw BIONICLE as an outlier, and not necessarily a positive one. BIONICLE fans on these sites were used to being a minority and an outlier, so they were better able to recognize that BIONICLE was not perfect at any time in its history, and that you might need to work to defend your reasons for liking it from time to time.
     
    The reason I came back to BZPower after the downtime ended was partly just an experiment-- to see if I could appreciate the community as I once had or if I had changed too greatly. And it turned out that even if I had changed, the site had done so as well-- and their changes were compatible with mine. The site proved that it is still dynamic, and I consider that a good thing even if it isn't the behemoth of activity that it once was.
     
    But that doesn't make it a generic LEGO site by any means. Rather, it's a site with a rich and meaningful history as a BIONICLE discussion site, which continues to give it a unique perspective on LEGO themes both past and present. All LEGO sites have their own distinct personality (much like, as Neil Gaiman would tell it, all cities around the world), and BZPower is no exception. Calling itself a LEGO site doesn't take that away.
  12. Aanchir

    Bs01/hs01 Toy Fair Photos

    By Aanchir,

    HS01's full coverage of the 2012 LEGO Collectors Preview from the New York International Toy Fair is still forthcoming, but in the meantime Cholie has finished uploading our photos from the event! They can be found here!
     
    The LEGO Collectors Preview didn't extend to full Toy Fair admission unfortunately, so we couldn't see other exhibitors' displays. But Chols posed for this pic as we were leaving. I'm sure many BZP members will appreciate it!
     

  13. Aanchir

    Sunday February 12, 2012

    By Aanchir,

    This arrived in the mail today. I will be representing BIONICLEsector01 and its sister site HEROsector01, to which I will be reporting.
     
    I tried to see if I could obtain admission to the main ToyFair rather than just the LEGO Collectors Preview, but I don't have near enough press credentials. I suppose all those bronies BZPers out there will have to find other sources for their non-LEGO toy news.
     
    —
  14. Aanchir
    I take issue with your assumption that a person is not a fan of BIONICLE unless they want it back. I am a fan of Neil Gaiman's The Sandman series of graphic novels. Those told a cohesive story in ten books. There have been occasional side-stories released since then, but I have no reason to ever want to see the original comic series come back, because it told a story as well as it could be told in as many books as it needed to tell that story.
     
    Likewise, I'm a big fan of the comic book series The Adventures of Tintin. There is still material to anticipate from that in the future, given the recent movie (which I loved greatly). But do I ever want to see brand-new Tintin stories told? No. The author, Herge, is long-dead, and as far as I'm concerned only he could do Tintin justice with his original storytelling. The creators of the new film do a wonderful job piecing together various parts of the Tintin books into a cohesive and entertaining narrative worthy of Herge himself. But only Herge could do the same for a brand-new and never-before-seen Tintin adventure.
     
    A person can be a Beatles fan and discuss their music online without wanting The Beatles to come back. A person can be a Star Wars fan and discuss the movies online without wanting Star Wars to come back (many, ironically, didn't want Star Wars to come back and were quite disappointed when it did). A person can be a fan of any number of things for which the authors are either finished writing or dead and buried, but these fans can still find plenty to discuss about what had come before. That's the thing about ideas. They don't get "used up," contrary to what some people seem to think. A concept that has already been used to its fullest extent can still be a source of inspiration and imaginative appeal for years and years to come.
     
    As it is, I loved BIONICLE. I still love BIONICLE. But I loved it as it was, without needing more from the series than I got out of it, and I can be happy with it whether it comes back or not. New stories could be told, and I'm sure if the demand ever emerges, TLG will tell those stories, and I will lap it up-- along with the sure-to-be-beautiful set designs that the story exists to sell. But I do not need those new stories, especially when other themes exist to tell me brand-new stories with a different sort of tone than BIONICLE's rich and epic mythos.
     
    Many BIONICLE fans felt the same even before the theme ended. They continued producing BIONICLE art, MOCs, and fan fiction whether or not they cared for the newest stories and sets. What had come before was what they found most enjoyable and inspiring. There's no reason to assume that a theme, because it has ended, leaves nothing new to discuss, and in fact the lessons we as a fandom learned from BIONICLE can be used to better analyze and appreciate other LEGO themes, just as LEGO has used those same lessons to create those same themes.
     
     
    Source: Discussion: The Future Of Bzpower
  16. Aanchir
    Soooo... apparently some weird rule is now in place against wet mane pony pictures. Now, I can put up with this just as well as I put up with other BZP rules that inconvenience me. Better, in fact, because it doesn't really affect me whether other people post such pics or not.
     
    But I do have to say I'm genuinely confused. Does people making joking comments about a non-human cartoon character being "sexy" really drift that close to breaking BZPower rules? If a lot of people posted comments about a LEGO minifigure being "sexy", would pictures of that minifigure be forbidden?
     
    I think the upcoming Samurai fig in the Ninjago theme is pretty sexy, as far as minifigures are concerned. I don't see how that breaks rules any more than posting G-rated art of Roodaka meant to look somewhat sexy, or for that matter posting a photograph of a MOC of a female figure in a somewhat alluring but non-erotic pose. As long as people aren't whistling or making catcalls in the comments, then saying a character looks sexy, especially jokingly, doesn't really seem to imply anything non-G-rated in this day and age.
     
    I'm not trying to be passive-aggressive or to complain, but it seems a bit misguided on the part of the blog staff to make rules like this on a whim. There are already enough people who don't trust BZPower staff, and while I'm not one of them, I can still recognize a decision that doesn't seem to accomplish anything besides hurting one's reputation.
  17. Aanchir
    Last week the internet speed at my college got ramped up considerably. Naturally, I had to do something to take advantage of this newfound power at my fingertips. So as of Saturday, I have watched every MLP episode released so far. And naturally, I love it. So much that I went through the trouble of reading this topic from the beginning, which is no small task in itself.
     
    Part of me wants to say Fluttershy is best pony, but another part of me clings to the belief that fat pony is best pony.
     
    My favorite episodes so far are probably the ones with epic musical numbers. Specifically, "Winter Wrap-Up", "Suited for Success", and "The Best Night Ever" (although "May The Best Pet Win" certainly might become a part of that list with its lovely duet). "At the Gala" is an excellent song and I picked up on it being an homage to Stephen Sondheim's Into the Woods when I first saw that episode.
     
    Krastos the Glue-Maker would have been an excellent villain, but perhaps it was not meant to be.
     
     
    Source: Official My Little Pony topic
  18. Aanchir

    In With The New

    By Aanchir,

    Took me a while to come up with a title I liked. Not totally sure how long this one will last. It's from a poem I wrote; not sure if I ever posted it on BZPower. I should check sometime soon.
     
    Anyway, so the big news for me is that I am now staff on HEROsector01. I'm very honored to have this position; I hope my work on the site from here on out meets expectations.
     
    Other big news is that a bunch of non-preliminary images of 2012 LEGO sets have started appearing. Sweet. I can't find any sites that have them all in one place, besides the site where they originally appeared (which seems to be down due to traffic overflow).
     
    BZPower is still a bit confusing for me, having been gone so long. But so far, I'm enjoying it here. The site seems a lot more receptive to other LEGO themes, particularly Hero Factory, than it used to be. Of course, it could change as more people flock back to the forums. Only time will tell.
  19. Aanchir

    Colors In Bionicle

    By Aanchir,

    Recently I embarked on a quest to identify LEGO's official RGB values for the colors used in BIONICLE. Yesterday, out of boredom, I took it upon myself to transcribe these as well as the color names on my BS01 Sandbox. Some observations:

    First, BS01's Kraata Variations page is a fabulous resource for identifying official color names, especially metallic color names. The Kraata, despite their bizarre color combinations, managed to stick to colors that had previously appeared in BIONICLE. The first color with an official name calling it "brown" was what we call Metru Brown. Previous colors affiliated with brown sets included "Earth Orange" (Pohatu brown) and "Brick Yellow" (tan). Reminiscing about The Great Stone Controversy, many lulz were to be had. What I had called "Dark Tan" is in fact called "Sand Yellow", corresponding to the "Brick Yellow" which we often call "Tan", the various "sand" colors encountered elsewhere in LEGO and BIONICLE, and, surprisingly, dark gold, which is in fact called "Sand Yellow Metallic" by LEGO. On the subject of metallic colors, I had to rely heavily on memory and on the Kraata Variations page-- other online resources are terrible at identifying these, and many list several different colors under the single name "Copper". Copper Kanohi, 2002 Gold Kanohi, and 2002 Silver Kanohi seem to have a color class all to themselves: Red Flip/Flop, Yellow Flip/Flop, and Silver Flip/Flop. These were the closest matches I could find from online resources (none explicitly identify which parts possess these odd colors), and I'm assuming the names refer to their varying opaqueness relative to light sources (when backlit these masks are all translucent). Reliable RGB values for Reddish Gold (Nuhvok-Kal's Krana-Kal or various KK parts identified as copper), Warm Gold (post-2005 gold parts), and Transparent Bright Orange (Toa Inika Jaller's secondary color) are next to impossible to find. Warm Gold and Transparent Bright Orange make sense, considering how new they are, but I'd expect that Reddish Gold, an older color, would be easier to find if not for its mislabeling by online resources. I'm sure a lot of people will find this info interesting!
  20. Aanchir

    2010

    By Aanchir,

    I see a lot of discussion these days about whether 2010 is the last year of BIONICLE. Figured it's about time that I organized my feelings on the matter in a blog entry.
     
    For starters, I do not care if BIONICLE ends in 2010. Why would I say this, when I've been such an approving fan of BIONICLE's story and set developments? The short answer is that BIONICLE has lived a good life, and is at a point where an end is possible.
     
    The long answer is a lot more complex, and based in part on my observation of other LEGO themes. Consider, for a moment, LEGO EXO-FORCE and Knights' Kingdom, two themes which were similarly story-based. I was entertained by both of these themes during their span (although KK's sets never were quite so entertaining), which was about two-and-a-half years for each.
     
    During the last year of each theme, however, the story of each stagnated. Knights' Kingdom illustrated the entire plot almost solely in the instruction booklets, with only a single magazine comic which didn't even take the story to its conclusion. Plot elements such as The Sorceror, hinted in the cards and books to be the source and inspiration of Vladek's dark ambitions, were hardly touched upon in the end.
     
    In Exo-Force there was a similar development: after the capture of Sensei Keiken (the line's elder figure) by Meca-One, he was taken to the deep jungles at the foot of Sentai Mountain, presumably for some reason regarding Meca-One's unique creation in that place. The Exo-Force team, now led by Keiken's granddaughter Hitomi, pursued the robots, and... a cliffhanger ending finished off the series. The revelations expected of that jungle adventure were never realized, and only one magazine comic marked the line's passing (previously there had been a huge saga of web comics, as well as a line of books for young readers).
     
    (Notably, both of these lines also ended in a fashion entirely unlike what BIONICLE 2010 seems to promise. Rather than a diminishment or simplification of the sets, the set lines were expanded considerably, with gimmicks like metal tins and larger action figure sets for Knights' Kingdom, and "mini-robots" and a decently-sized line of sets for Exo-Force. Perhaps the smaller BIONICLE set line for 2010 indicates not an end for BIONICLE, but a budget that will enable the line's continued presence.)
     
    BIONICLE's story for 2010 does not seem as though it will meet such a fate as these two dead themes. Greg Farshtey has revealed at least one book for 2010 (the last to be published by Scholastic), and has stated that the lack of story material will be compensated by other means including serialized online content. He also hints at dynamic storyline developments, and the possibility that any living character might make a return. This is a good indication that in 2010 the saga might come to a definitive and satisfying close, if an end to the line even occurs.
     
    This is just my opinion, however. Perhaps others who were less satisfied by BIONICLE's recent years (and by the 2010 sets) will see the line's possible conclusion in a less favorable light. Still, I am sure I will enjoy the 2010 BIONICLE sets and story. There is, after all, such a thing as dying a good death.
  21. Aanchir

    Stars Thoughts

    By Aanchir,

    Now that we've seen finalized images of all the BIONICLE Stars, it's opinion time.
     
    First, a quick overview of the Stars. They're a line of canister sets, although they are sized more like the small sets of the past two years. I don't mind this, partly because it gives characters like Tahu more classic proportions, and partly because I don't really see what difference it makes.
     
    The Stars contain exactly six new molds. It's considerably fewer than previous canister set lines, but about the same number as last year's small sets.
     
    Each of the BIONICLE Stars sets contains one yellow-gold piece to be used as armor for Tahu. I'll list which set comes with which.
     
    Tahu
    Tahu, being both a red set and a classic character, is likely to get a lot of attention (and sales) as one of the new BIONICLE Stars. I, personally, am impressed.
     
    Three of the new molds for the BIONICLE Stars appear in the Tahu set: two of the new feet in red, three of a new armor piece (two in red on his shoulders and one in orange on his torso), and a new mold of the Kanohi Hau, essentially the same as the original but slightly elongated and attached by a plus-rod. The new armor part is interesting, although I'm slightly skeptical about its usefulness (having only one attachment point) and about the merits of its use in orange on the torso.
     
    Other interesting/new parts include a red Av-Matoran torso and a blended Ackar blade using red and transparent orange plastic. The Ackar blade that acts as his fire sword is a nice touch, although I'm less impressed by the inexplicable silver Nuva shoulder armor piece used to guard the hilt. It would make more sense in red, I think, and I wouldn't see any need for it at all if not for its appearance as the special gold piece for the Skrall set.
     
    Tahu's gold piece, by the way, is his Hau, which brings back just as many fond memories as the red version.
     
    Gresh
    Gresh, the second hero set, contrasts with Tahu as a very recent character.
     
    Gresh contains three new molds: the foot piece in lime and a lime armor piece exclusive to him (although similar in functionality to that which appears on the other Stars and, ironically, as his gold piece). I like the stylistic consistency this has with his helmet, although some of its styles set it apart from the Gresh set that appeared this year. The foot piece is also a little more appropriate here than on Tahu, I feel-- after all, it fits with his armor style and resembles his feet in the original set, whereas Tahu could have just as easily used an Av-Matoran foot for even greater nostalgic value.
     
    Gresh contains three older parts in new colors: a dark green Av-Matoran torso, a purely lime version of his helmet, and silver versions of his tools (similar to their original form in The Legend Reborn, although this is likely a coincidence). He also has lime green eyes rather than orange eyes like his 2009 form. This is probably both a way of cretaing more consistency in his color scheme (although I abhor insistence that eye color match non-transparent color scheme elements), and a way of color-coding the "good" and "evil" Stars sets (which I am more sympathetic towards).
     
    It's also noteworthy that there is a large gap between the set numbers for Gresh and Tahu and the set numbers for the other Stars. Why? I do not know-- in past occasions, this sort of separation occurred only for the Phantoka and Mistika, and the split was quite clearly along good guy/bad guy lines. Could this be evidence of future BIONICLE sets occupying the intermediate set numbers? It's highly questionable, since the gap is between 7117 and 7135-- a very large gap with unknown purpose.
     
    EDIT: It turns out much of this gap is occupied by old LEGO Star Wars stuff. I guess LEGO just wasn't able to find a chunk of six consecutive numbers they liked or something. Regardless, it's not 2010 stuff in that gap, BIONICLE or otherwise.
     
    Takanuva
    Takanuva appears in a form somewhere between his previous two. Although he appears as a good guy and Toa of Light (and the set, thankfully, does not call this into question), his gold has been replaced by silver, dark gray, and white. It's obviously a marketing decision, meant to maintain the "importance" of the special gold armor for Tahu. But what does it mean for Takanuva's sales?
     
    Takanuva contains two new molds: two new feet (in white) and one new armor piece (Tahu-style, in white). He also has another of these armor pieces in gold.
     
    Interesting new parts include four Tanma-style legs in white, as well as Nuva shoulder armor in white (not a new piece entirely, but new to BIONICLE and new in the way they are attached to his shoulders). His mask appears in silver rather than gold, and he wields two staves of unknown story origin.
     
    Skrall
    The Skrall set is tied with Gresh as having the most recent original incarnation. This Skrall, however, varies from the original in that lime, not red, is its secondary color.
     
    Skrall's only new piece is the new foot piece, which it contains in black. It has two older parts in new colors, though, such as a black Toa Mata Kopaka sword (which works marvelously with his helmet and armor styles) and his golden piece, a yellow-gold Toa Nuva shoulderpad. I'm unsure if the 2x3 connector blocks on his shoulders are new in lime. Still not entirely enticing, but it at least keeps the Skrall from being a total letdown compared to his Stars brethren. The feet strike me as a good choice.
     
    The Skrall uses an interesting torso style which will also appear on the Rahkshi (which we'll get to eventually). I've replicated this using my own parts (specifically, Fero and Atakus), and was mildly disappointed. Although a conventional posture is nothing essential to a Skrall, it still seemed unnecessarily far forward (although, admittedly, with a backwards torso style his head would otherwise be terribly sunken into his torso, Strong Mad-style).
     
    Piraka
    Marketed as a "Piraka", this set actually depicts the Skakdi warlord Nektann, and I have to say I'm impressed with my first glance at this character. He's distinctly different from the Piraka sets we knew, while still maintaining a Skakdi appearance with his face, spine, and weapon.
     
    The only new parts appearing in Nektann are his face/spine, of an impressive and creative design, and the golden armor piece for Tahu. The face and spine are intriguing, fitting over a Glatorian head piece, attaching to the torso with a Phantoka Toa Nuva style 3x3 connector block, and attaching to the arms directly with plus-rods. It also, intriguingly, emerges from the two sides of the head rather than the back of the head like the spines of the Piraka. The fact that his massive maw is dark blue rather than gleaming glow-in-the-dark white is not as much of a letdown as I was afraid of, thankfully.
     
    Old parts in new colors include Tanma-style and Solek-style leg joints in dark blue. His tool in preliminary images was shown as a Vezok harpoon, which despite causing confusion with good reason seemed like an appropriate Skakdi tool. I am ambivalent concerning his new tool, a combination of an Antroz claw on one side of his hand and a Mahri-Nui Matoran blade on the other. The lack of stylistic consistency between these two parts is disappointing, and the overall shape produced is less Skakdi-ish than it might have been if a Piraka weapon were used or, for that matter, if the Antroz claw had been used on its own.
     
    Nevertheless, I am fairly happy with the BIONICLE Stars version of the Skakdi species, and think it does justice to this new character.
     
    Rahkshi
    The last of the Stars, a Rahkshi, was a great surprise to me, given the complexity of the Rahkshi design. I believe it was managed stunningly, even with the use of the dissimilar Agori torso.
     
    The Rahkshi's only new piece is its head/back/spine piece, which is jointed in various places and blended from yellow-orange plastic for the head and back and silver plastic for the spine. The spines of this new Rahkshi, a Rahkshi of heat vision (I'm resisting the urge to call him "Samuel L. Jackson"), are knifelike and simple, but varied from the existing Rahkshi spines to my satisfaction.
     
    Older parts in new colors include a yellow-gold Gahlok-Kal shield (acting as the Rahkshi's golden piece and as a shield for Tahu), a dark bluish gray Solek limb, two dark bluish gray Tanma leg joints, two yellow-orange Shadow Matoran feet, and a 2008-style y-joint in transparent orange (acting as the Rahkshi's head, in the same way as the original Rahkshi used an old-style y-joint)
     
    I'm impressed by the choice of limbs, which echoes the original Rahkshi's anatomy. The feet are less explicit in why they were used-- I would think one of those new foot pieces would better echo the Rahkshi foot structure, although the bestial look would be compromised.
     
    Overall, designers tackled many obstacles in designing this Rahkshi set with an Av-Matoran frame, and I'm very impressed with the outcome.
  22. Aanchir
    I recently have been spending a lot of time researching the origins of 2001-2003 BIONICLE names. One area I have nearly completed my research on is that of locations. Bear in mind that these are mostly 2001 names, so they are derived from various Polynesian sources. I intend no offense to those cultures where the words are still in-use, and do not claim to have confirmation that the cited languages are the actual sources for the names (if I remember correctly, many names were drawn by LEGO from a proto-Polynesian language, and their similarity to still-extant languages was an unfortunate side-effect).
     
    Anyway, here goes, and hope I'm not breaking any rules here. First the basic terms:
     
    Mata: eye, face (Maori, Fijian, etc.)
    Nui: great, large (Maori, Fijian, etc.)
    Koro: village (Fijian)
    Suva: shrine (Fijian)
    Wahi: location, place, region (Maori)
     
    I've been unable to find a source for Kini. I'll be very grateful to anyone who can provide one.
     
    Next, specific place names. Most of these are derived from parts of a face, foreshadowing the fact that the island of Mata Nui covered the face of the island's namesake, and also paralleling the overall shape of the island.
     
    Ihu: nose (Maori)
    Mangai: mouth (Maori)
    Kauae: jaw, chin (Maori)*
    Motara: forehead (Rotuman)
    Naho: eye sockets (Hawaiian)
    Leva: hair (Rotuman)
    Fau: cheek; side of face (Rotuman)
    Hura Mafa: Hura means to fall, be shed (in reference to tears) in Rotuman. Mafa means eyes in Rotuman and actually means "tears" in the context of the term sui ne mafa. Whichever of these is the intended origin, it is clear that the Hura Mafa river is meant as a stream of tears.
    Kumu: Although it means rump or behind in Maori (lol Mata Nui has a butt-chin), a more likely origin is kumkumu, Rotuman for chin or beard.
    Papa Niho: In Hawaiian, it would essentially mean "rock foundation".
    Tiro: Possibly from maf tiro, meaning eyeglasses in Rotuman.
    Marn: Probably the most obscure Mata Nui location, the Marn tunnels don't appear outside the MNOG. Marn is Turkish for marl, which after consulting an English online dictionary I learned to be a type of rocky soil.
     
    This is all I have so far, but it seems fairly complete. I still need translations for Tren Krom and Mangaia, though, and if there are any other 2001-2003 BIONICLE place-names I missed don't hesitate to inform me.
     
    In future entries I will list other name origins, but that will have to wait until I have more complete lists. Hope other people find this interesting.
     
    *Before anyone says "it's spelled Kanae", I'm fairly sure Kauae was the original name, and it fits better with the naming scheme. I haven't ever been able to verify this with a reliable source, but the "Quest for Makuta" board game, in the very least, agrees.
     
    EDIT 1/10/2012: I have been able to verify Kauae Bay (on an archived copy of the old BIONICLE.com lexicon). Haven't had much luck with Lake Pala, but apparently according to Wiktionary it can just mean head in Wangaaybuwan-Ngiyambaa. I still can't find anything for Amaja.
  23. Aanchir
    Why do people seem to think that it's EVER OK to say this or something remotely similar? I don't care if it's about an official BIONICLE product or an MOC-- to say this is to insult anyone who worked on this (unless, of course, they are less than five years old, in which case it means you're impressed).
     
    Of course, it's worthy of note that people tend to say this of either official sets, or MOCs that LEGO has showcased somewhere other than BZPower. Why? Obviously, because if a person doesn't post it on BZPower, they don't deserve any respect. Who came up with that crazy idea?[/sarcasm]
     
    People need to get it into their heads that set designers and offline BIONICLE fans are people too. Sets and contest-winning entries aren't designed by some computer program that generates a random combination of parts-- they're designed by people that put work into making them look just right. And just because you're a master of BIONICLE sculpture (and most people, even some of those who make this type of accusation, aren't) doesn't mean that anything below you is effortless, juvenile trash. Rant over.
  24. Aanchir
    "Caught in the vortex of a reality storm, wayfarers from throughout time, myth, and the imagination converge on a mysterious inn at WORLDS' END. In the tradition of Chaucer's The Canterbury Tales, as the travelers all wait out the tempest that rages around them, they share stories of the places they've been, the things they've seen... and those that they've dreamed."
     
    OH WAIT.
     
    Nah, if only BIONICLE could get away with that sort of stuff. But the fanbase, the genre, and other things conspire to keep that from happening. Oh, well. I guess only time will tell how the BIONICLE Stars will pull it off...
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