Hapori Tohu

There have been various ways to play the classic Mata Nui Online Game since it was removed from the Bionicle website so many years ago, but none have been very official. That has changed recently - Templar Studios, the company who made the game, has posted it on their website for all to enjoy. It's great to have a nice and easy way to go re-experience an old favorite, and maybe this means we'll see more of their Bionicle work making it online soon!View the full article

It's that time again - time for LEGO to find out what you think about things! They want you to take a quick survey to better understand how you view the company, the products, and the hobby. You can check it out here and give them a piece of your mind. You've only got until April 18th to take it though, so get over there now!View the full article

The ever popular Collectible Minifig's line continues with Series 10. This series includes such remarkable figs as Mr. Gold, Medusa, Sad Clown and a wide range of other characters. Click here for the full list and accompanying well-written bios.View the full article

Iron Man 3 is still over a month away from hitting theaters but the LEGO sets based on the film are already on store shelves. Today Ta-metru_defender takes a look at one of these, none other than 76007 Malibu Mansion Attack. Representing a scene prominently placed in the trailer, will it live up to your expectations or sink to the bottom of the ocean? Read on to find out! Presentation From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set. The box isn't as big as you'd expect a $40 set to be these days. Or it is if your size standard for $40 sets is smaller. If anything it seems an appropriate size for a $40 box. But hey. Not the size of the box that matters. The box art and all is standard. Big red banner on top with the Super Heroes logo. We see the mansion, the helicopter, the window being blown out, Tony falling out, and oh yeah: Pepper in the Iron Man armor. That's interesting. The back shows us the set's play features replete with sound effects. There's also a Lego Mark 42 in the top corner with the film version just around. Cool. So now, in the box! We get three numbered bags, instructions, a comic, and a sticker sheet. The highlight of the sticker sheet are the minifig-sized Iron Man stickers. The lowlight is that the suitcase with the Mark V isn't printed. Ah well. The comic's, well, a comic. It features a little action scene of each set. Nothing terribly interesting (besides LEGO's usual creative sound effects). Building Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it? Bag 1 has the Mandarin, the Extremis Soldier, and the helicopter. It comes together quickly, not much to say here. End of Bag 2, insert Bag 3 to continue The mansion starts to come together in Bag 2. We get the rest of the figs, Dummy the Robot, and part of the mansion. Bag 3 has us finish the mansion. That's it! It's done! It's built! Extra pieces Set Design Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here. Alright folks: minifigs. Behold. The villains. In their villainy. Both have front and back printing on heads and torso and the Mandarin has leg printing. They're really cool, the Mandarin looking like the posters of him we've seen. I can't say the same of the Extremis Soldier due to, well, the lack of a poster/image of him. His veiny head does glow in the dark which is particularly fun. And the heroes. I'm just going to start off with saying how happy I am we get Tony in plainclothes. It's cool to see him 'unmasked', but it's the Arc Reactor that seals the deal. People, look at that. Also, his head isn't the same one from last year, his one side has a confident grin and the other is him looking worried. Pepper and the Mk. 42 are spot on and instantly recognizable, which should always be the goal with Lego minifigs. But who's under the Mk. 42 helmet here? A plain white head, but the manual tells you to switch it out at will: So Pepper should go in the armor some of the time. Clearly she'll be wearing it in the movie. Awesome. I do have one problem with these figs though, and that's their hair colors. Tony should have black hair and Pepper's hair isn't as red as Black Widow's. I switched them out with some hairpieces I had lying around (Pepper's was actually intended for a custom fig I never made). Much better I also have to mention Dummy. He/it's not a minifig per se, but still, he's in the set. Lego didn't have to stick him, but they did and he adds a bit of charm. It's a cool touch that he has not only the Mark V but a fire extinguisher too. Neat. The Mandarin's helicopter is... well, a helicopter. Nothing really sticks out. It would have been cool if the side panels could open and close (like in the movie) or if, well, anything. It sort of just sits there. I mean, there are flick-fire missiles, some cool brick work on the sides, and the stickers with the Ten Rings symbol add a sinister touch along with the color scheme (clearly not a news helicopter [i suppose Lego decided that route was too dark ). The Mandarin sits on the side and the Extremis soldier pilots (without a dashboard... really?). Again, not much to it, it's just kinda there. Will say one thing, it does look cool in front of a window. The mansion is also kinda just there but it's a house so it's supposed to be. It's not that big, but it's clearly Tony's house. The designers did a good job of giving it that look of the curved roof and slanted windows, so props to them. The accuracy nut in me has a tiny problem with the fact that the interior is more Tony's garage rather than living room... but it's excusable. It has some cool design to give it that curve and details like space for Tony's armors and cabinets make it all the better. It's small, but it's the mansion. Simple. Playability The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with? Let's look at the mansion (the helicopter doesn't really need to be mentioned anymore). It has its features, namely being able to be blown up. Flip a switch on the far wall and the armor collection (which you can outfit yourself) goes sorta flying: Or push the gray lever and the window pops out: It's cool and it works well enough, but the real fun to be had is with posing minifigs and recreating scenes from the movie(s). Tony's work station is fun, thanks to both the hologram stickers as well as the fact that we have a Tony fig to work on Iron Man. We also have warnings on the windows which are fittingly worrisome. I put the stickers at minifig height. Seemed appropriate. One of my favorite touches is the blender and cabinets. It's a small detail but it really adds to it as a whole. Plus, the blender just looks cool. I think I'll finish off this section with more pictures of the house in 'action': Other Avengers not included Holy cow, I'm playing house. Final Thoughts Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it? Pros What's to like?Great minifigs, as usualDummy!Cool mansionHall of Armor!Little details like the Mark V suitcase and blender Cons What's not to like?Helicopter is underwhelmingMansion is kinda smallHairpieces could have been betterA reminder I need to get the Mark VI Iron Man Overall, Malibu Mansion Attack isn't much of a set. But, at $40, I suppose it's what you paid for. The five minifigs we get are all great and for what it is the mansion works. I guess I wish the helicopter didn't feel like so much of an afterthought and that we got a little something more to push this set over to being a really good set. That said, I like it. It's not a bad set. I love the minifigs and the mansion itself. It's just nowhere near as good as last years Quinjet so I suppose my standards are a bit high. But as a part of a mansion it does a very good job of being a part of a mansion. And I will be answering questions and taking picture requests in the Talkback. Thank you all for reading! As TMD mentioned, you can ask questions and leave your comments in the Talkback topic on the forums. Don't forget to keep checking back for more reviews and all the latest LEGO news! View the full article

Today I am pleased to announce that BZPower has made its first acquisition since Bionicle Zone and Kanohi Power merged all those years ago. Over time we have been investing some of the money we receive from ad revenue and Premier Membership donations, and recently some of those investments yielded impressive returns. With such a large influx of cash, the only logical move was to buy The LEGO Group in its entirety. As the new owners of the company, the BZPower Administration looks forward to bringing you all the quality building toys you've come to know and love over the years. There are still many details to be worked out, and for now both groups will continue to run business as usual until the buyout is completed. As we have more details to share, you can be sure to find them here. Thanks so much to everyone for all your support over the years - we couldn't have done it without you.View the full article

March is somehow almost done, but at least that means it's time for spring! It also means it's time for a new episode of the Powercast! If you're not subscribed via RSS or iTunes, you can download it right here. See below for a summary: We're back with Episode 45 of the BZPowercast for your listening pleasure. Things kick off with a Staff Interview of Forum Leader Makaru. Then Windrider comes back for this month's member-driven How-To BZP. After that Gatanui discusses the Legends of Chima TV series and how it compares with previous LEGO productions. Hahli Husky and Janus then close things out with a new dramatic reading of a Bionicle comic. It's a long one, so I hope your ears are ready!View the full article

Coming this fall, Utah will get its first ever LEGO store, to be located in the city of Murray. The store itself will be placed between a Macy's and a Crate & Barrel in the Fashion Place Mall, and will have a total area of 30,000 square feet. A LEGO spokesperson confirmed the location, but declined to provide any more details. You can read more in the Salt Lake Tribune.View the full article

It looks like LEGO's Legends of Chima website has been updated recently with some new music. You can head on over and check out Day of Glory, Horizon, and Unleash the Power, all by the band Finley. While the musical style is different, the concept seems very reminiscent of what Bionicle and Cryoshell did back in the day, and the nostalgia is very much appreciated. It's interesting to see that the same marketing ideas still work, years later.View the full article

It's good that this robot does something fun; think of all the robots out there that never do! If NXTs want to take over the world they'll have to work hard and they'll need a way to relax. The machine is more than six thousand parts and nearly six feet in length, click here to see it in action.View the full article

It's good that this robot does something fun; think of all the robots out there that never do! If NXTs want to take over the world they'll have to work hard and they'll need a way to relax. The machine is more than six thousand parts and nearly six feet in length, <a href="http://www.gizmodo.co.uk/2013/03/lego-mischief-machine-automatically-folds-and-throws-paper-aeroplanes/">click here</a> to see it in action.View the full article

The newest LEGOLAND Discovery Center opened today in Westchester, accompanied by a million-plus brick miniland of Manhattan Island's landmarks for its grand opening. This is the first LEGOLAND Discovery Center in the Northeast, which, until today, was the only major region of the country without a LEGOLAND park or Discovery Center. There are centers in Chicago, Atlanta, Dallas, and Kansas City, as well as several more worldwide, including three in Europe, one in Tokyo, and one in Toronto.View the full article

LEGO and Warner Bros recently started a contest that could get your creation in the upcoming LEGO Movie (in theaters February 2014). You can check out the full press release <a href='/Imaging/stories/LEGO_Movie_ReBrick_Contest.pdf'>here</a> or head over to <a href='http://rebrick.lego.com/en-US/BottomMenu/Blog/03182013-the-LEGO-movie-competition-with-ReBrick.aspx' target='offsite'>ReBrick</a> where the contest is being hosted. Long story short, you have until May 6 to make a 15-30 second stop-motion movie of a minifig taking something apart and making something cool to help save the day. If you're a budding LEGO movie maker - check this out and your work may end up on the silver screen!View the full article

LEGO and Warner Bros recently started a contest that could get your creation in the upcoming LEGO Movie (in theaters February 2014). You can check out the full press release here or head over to ReBrick where the contest is being hosted. Long story short, you have until May 6 to make a 15-30 second stop-motion movie of a minifig taking something apart and making something cool to help save the day. If you're a budding LEGO movie maker - check this out and your work may end up on the silver screen! View the full article

A new LEGO Ninjago game was released for iOS mobile devices last week: LEGO Ninjago - The Final Battle. From the description, players can choose from five playable characters--Lloyd, Jay, Cole, Zane, or Kai--and battle enemies in a sidescrolling platformer-style adventure. Click here to visit the iTunes App Store page, where you can view a small image-gallery and download the game!View the full article

Update: In addition to Nukaya's fantastic photos, Deevee has uploaded an additional three pages worth to this Flickr gallery, where he showcases the best of both the people and creations of Cascade! There's plenty of new content here, so check it out!View the full article

Since I was the reporter on duty for Bricks Cascade a couple weeks ago, it falls to me to put together a writeup of the event. Unfortunately I didn't get a chance to take a good look at each theme, so my article would feel oddly biased toward the Bionicle table, with a nod here and there to the art section and train/town guys. Instead, I'm going to let Nukaya's photography speak for itself in this fantastic flickr photoset. I'll leave a short commentary in the read more/talkback section.View the full article

Garmadon has sent his evil scout out to find the ninjas, but the Stone Warrior has found more than he can handle when he comes across Kai in his new Fire Mech. Wielding an elemental fire sword, Kai is ready to beat down the armies of darkness. This is the smallest of the 2013 Ninjago sets, only priced at $9.99 USD, but is it worth it? Read BZPower Reporter xccj's review and see for yourself.<br /><b>NOTE:</b> Due to some issues we're currently having with the story page, you can view the full review in the Talkback Thread. Thanks for your patience and understanding.View the full article

Garmadon has sent his evil scout out to find the ninjas, but the Stone Warrior has found more than he can handle when he comes across Kai in his new Fire Mech. Wielding an elemental fire sword, Kai is ready to beat down the armies of darkness. This is the smallest of the 2013 Ninjago sets, only priced at $9.99 USD, but is it worth it? Read BZPower Reporter xccj's review and see for yourself. Presentation From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set. It's a small box, and it shows Kai in his Fire Mech beating on a mini Stone Warrior scout. And although he's not in the set, the mythical gold ninja decorates the corner, as a reminder that this is the Final Battle wave of Ninjago sets. (But not to be confused with the final wave of sets.) The back shows off Kai exiting the mech, which has the Stone Warrior in its clutches. The corners all have little extras: in the top right, there's a screenshot of the mech from the show; in the lower right, Sensei Wu is reminding you to visit the Ninjago website; and in the lower left, there's a chart letting you know which collectible elemental blade this set contains. (Hint, it's the fire one!) But then you open the box, take out the contents, and recycle the cardboard. (You recycle it and don't throw it away, right? You can recycle the plastic bags that the pieces come in too. . . once the pieces have been removed from them, of course.) Building Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it? It's a pretty straightforward build, but that doesn't make it any less unique. It relies heavily on SNOT (Studs Not On Top) and in fact there are hardly any upward facing studs on the whole mech. The use of ball joints and Hero Factory limbs also make it seem like you're building a construction figure. There are a few stickers to put on, and it's a painful process, but they do make the fire mech look pretty awesome in the end. Set Design Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here. You get 102 pieces plus some extras, including a spare golden katana. There are lots of good pieces in red and gold, plus some blacks and grays. There's lots of gold, from circular tiles to cheese slopes to blades to robot arms. And you get a couple of the new styles of brackets, some claw hinge plates, and a handful of Hero Factory limbs (making this one of the first system sets to include them). The newest pieces are the inverted tiles, which were introduced in this last wave of sets. And there's also the collectible elemental fire blade. I think these new weapons are some of the coolest given to the Ninjas, although the fire blade doesn't stand out quite so much with this set. The minifigs are great as always. This has to be one of my favorite iterations of Kai. The red and black kimono outfit looks great, and also has more of an oriental feel than earlier versions. The Stone Warrior scout also has a detailed torso and face print, which are similar to other Stone Warrior figs but exclusive to the short scout. (However, I should mention that the scout himself is in two other sets too, so he's fairly common.) He comes with a conical hat and quiver, both in red for the first time, and a crossbow. Since he has short legs, he's not the scariest villain ever, but he's not bad as a part of Garmadon's evil army. And then there's the robot. I think this is the best small mech LEGO has ever made, and this is helped by the use of the Hero Factory pieces. It feels very much like I'm reviewing a Bionicle humanoid MOC; I'm looking at the design of the body, limbs, hands, and feet. The use of Hero Factory limbs is excellent; it utilized those pieces in the best possible way and fills out the arms and legs, thus allowing for more effort to be put into the rest of the robot. The body does a good job at connecting all the ball joint and giving a simple stand for Kai to pilot the mech from. It's not quite as well protected as other LEGO Mechs (like the Samurai Mech from last year) but it's effective. The only thing I don't really like is the gold sword spikes on the top; they seem to ruin the sturdy flow of the mech for me. But it's hard say no to extra gold elements. The robot has two different hands: one's an actual hand and the other has fire blasters or something on it. The hand design is pretty great with the three fingers and thumb. It has all the functionality that you'd expect from a hand, but its design is simple and small enough to fit with the rest of the mech. The fire blasters use the new bracket pieces and trans orange cones and looks decent enough. My problem is that the cones tend to fell off, so I would've rather had two full hands instead. Another issue is that there's no way to connect the sword in the hand; the design allows for it to be wedged in pretty securely, but it can still fall out. But really, little nitpicking aside, this is a great mech. Not only does it look good, but it has descent mobility too thanks to the useful Hero Factory elements. It's just as good as some of the cheaper humanoids from Hero Factory and Bionicle, and even more detailed than some. (The stickers especially add certain flair, from the fire emblems to the vent sticker on the back.) When Kai's done fighting the Stone Warriors, he could easily join Furno in his fight against the latest baddies, or team up with Tahu and take on the Rahkshi. Playability The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with? You get two figs, so in theory this should be a great set for role playing. But really, the puny Stone Warrior is no match for Kai in his mech. Talk about uneven sides; Kai could squish that guy just by stepping on him with the mech. I suppose it would be a little better if Kai was facing off against an army of little scouts, but you'll need to collect some more Ninjago sets for that to happen. As mentioned earlier, the Fire Mech is very mobile, and so it can get in a bunch of poses with ease. The gold blades on the limbs can get stuck a little bit while moving the arms and legs around, but there aren't really any bad restrictions to movement. Yes, it doesn't have elbows or knees, so it's not quite as posable as a Hero Factory humanoid. But for the mech this size, it does extremely well. Final Thoughts Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it? Pros What's to like? Great PiecesGreat FigsVery posable mechGood flow for its sizeGood Price ($9.99 USD) Cons What's not to like? Why the top gold blades?Cones on blaster hand can fall off easilyThe mini Stone Warrior is totally outmatched This is a great set. I don't know if I can say that enough. It captures the essence of Ninjago very well, but also has the best part of mech building and ball joint humanoid figures, which is something I'm sure Bionicle and Hero Factory fans appreciate. And if you do get tired of the set itself, the pieces that make it are also good. And it's cheap enough that most people can pick it up impulsively and not be disappointed. So yes, you should get this set. Already have it? Buy another one, if just so you can build a second hand to replace the blasters. "Oh, so you found yourself an army, did you?" That's all for now, but stayed tuned to BZPower for more set reviews from Hero Factory, Ninjago, and other LEGO themes, as well as more LEGO news! View the full article

Trekkies everywhere are ecstatic about the upcoming release of Star Trek Into Darkness. I, in fact, feel like I'm going to explode with happiness every time a see the trailers. Now, Antonio Toscano has doubled my excitement by creating a LEGO stop-motion animation version of the first trailer for Star Trek Into Darkness, which he has aptly titled "Star Trek Into Brickness". You can see this masterpiece by clicking on over to the story at News.com.au.View the full article

It's been a while, but our friends over at Templar Studios have managed to unearth another nostalgic artifact from the Mata Nui Online Game (MNOLG). This one is a set of storyboard artwork from Le-Koro, where the action really began ramping up in the game. Upon entering the village, we were greeted by an ominous silence, a tension that released as airborne battles and a showdown between Lewa and Onua. Later, the village was full of happy Tohunga and the lighthearted music characteristic of Le-Koran lore. All the artwork behind this chapter of the adventure is available on Templar Studios' blog. Thanks for sharing with us!View the full article

Another two cycles have come and gone, and it's once again time to honor the winners of the Bionicle and Off-Topic Culture FFFCs. This time around, it's "Hunter's Game", by The Tolerable Automaton for the Bionicle category (Theme: Surrender or Run) and "Exit Number 117", by Eyru Beiber for OTC (Theme: Branching Out). Both stories certainly deserve the win, and they both deserve a read as well, so follow the links and take a look! And while you're at it, consider entering the current Bionicle FFFC, Theme: A Canister Ashore.View the full article

Bricks Cascade 2013 is in the books, and next up is a brand new event in the Northeast - BrickFair New England. We want you and your MOCs there to support BZPower. You can find out more details about how to send stuff in in this blog entry. There's about a month and a half until we all gather in Manchester, New Hampshire, so get building!View the full article

It appears I wrote my editorial a week too early, since I seem to have missed out on yet another addition to the Chima lineup. LEGOLAND Florida will soon receive a Legends of Chima themed area containing a water ride, a Speedorz arena attraction, a 4D movie, and walkabout characters from the theme. This will be the first section of a LEGOLAND Park to be based off of a specific theme, as opposed to more generic themes like City, Adventurers/Indiana Jones, and Pirates. Cartoon Network is the presenting partner of this park section, and will have a large part in the Chima section as well, advertising some of their other programs like Adventure Time.View the full article

TT Fusion, a division of TT Games, has just released Lego City: Undercover for the Wii U. The player assumes the identity of undercover Lego cop Chase McCain and explores the open world of Lego City, while trying to nab the (fiendish) Rex Fury. LEGO City Undercover: The Chase Begins for the Nintendo 3DS will be out in Europe on April 26, which is five days after the previously announced North American launch date of April 21st. For more information check out the official site here.View the full article

Today we get to take the wraps off a project that's been in the works since earlier this year. BZPower is proud to announce that we are expanding the site to include a LEGO Users Group, or LUG. BioniLUG is a group for people who enjoy building creations and then displaying them at events and conventions, or who just like to go to those conventions to interact with other members and fans. You can read more about it in this topic and ask any questions you might have in the Talkback. I'm looking forward to this new aspect of our community and hope you all are as well.View the full article