dviddy

7 and 14 year olds (for the most part anyway) are smart enough to know that when they see Tahu kicking butt in one video and then running away in another that something has been lost in translation. If they wanted to portray Tahu as vulnerable they shouldn't have made him look all cool in an advertisement they show and turn around to make him wimpy in their 'story' videos. Which, if you think about it, is all one big ad. So that ad/story segregation theory goes out the window. 7-14 year olds are smart enough to know that when a story has just begun and the characters aren't acting the way they do in teasers, they'll have to wait and see how they change. The whole point of an episodic format is to tell a story in small doses and take as long as necessary to naturally let the plot and characters advance. There's also the very basic fact that the commercials are not the primary means of storytelling and shouldn't not be taken at face value. They establish a premise and advertise the product, but there are infinite liberties than can be taken with the presentation. You'll just have to wait and see how things progress and find out what is and isn't "official" like everyone else. Obviously. 7 and 14 year olds (for the most part anyway) are smart enough to know that when they see Tahu kicking butt in one video and then running away in another that something has been lost in translation. If they wanted to portray Tahu as vulnerable they shouldn't have made him look all cool in an advertisement they show and turn around to make him wimpy in their 'story' videos. Which, if you think about it, is all one big ad. So that ad/story segregation theory goes out the window. They didn't make him wimpy, they made him realistic for someone who doesn't yet feel they're ready for being a hero. He's not going to be Splint Chesthair right out of the sky. He's got to have time to develop into a true hero, or at least realize he is one. Also there is a difference between making an ad for Transformers toys and a Transformers TV show, even though both are ostensibly "ads". If you show Optimus getting his rear handed to him in a commercial, nobody's going to want to buy Optimus, because in commercial-talk, that means weakness. However, clearly this doesn't apply to TV shows, as Optimus has not only been defeated multiple times, he has died multiple times. Even in a toy-based story, characters can be far more realistic than Blast Hardcheese. Oh, yes. Because when I see a hulking six foot tall cyborg surfing on lava I think realism. Tahu's character vid was realistic. That what I expect from ALL the Toa, especially the leader. Tahu used what knowledge he had to fight and get his mask. He even had the keystones to ballerina spin into the LOSS. That's the Tahu I know and love. Not some wimp that carries his stronger swords around deactivated and doesn't know how to be a hero even when he clearly does. Unrealistic physics/biology =/= unrealistic character development. There's a much higher amount of suspension of disbelief for the former than for the latter, because most of the time, you're supposed to be able to relate to a character. I can relate to someone who's thrust into a position they're not sure they can handle and learning as they go along much more than I can relate to Gristle McThornbody. Is your definition of "wimp" anyone who doesn't punch everyone they see in the face? There is more to being strong and being a hero than putting yourself in needless danger. Tahu's on a classic fetch quest; if this were an RPG, I know I'd be running from random encounters so I could get it done as quickly as possible. My definition of 'wimp' is six foot cyborgs with fire blades the size of bowie knives running from a threat they could clearly handle. Tahu is no bumbling fool. He knows how to get things done so when he doesn't it hurts his image. I'm supposed to believe, from everything I've seen, that Tahu can't fight a small battalion of spiders WITH help? He's bigger, he's stronger, and he's smarter. No self respecting warrior would go down because they 'didn't know how to be a hero!' That's stupid. I'm afraid that if you think "how to be a hero" is to get yourself killed by a horde of enemies before you have the appropriate skills/talents/knowledge/weaponry to take them on, then most stories involving skilled characters in a fantasy setting are going to upset you.

Well, he sort of did. Did you click the link?

That review was horrible. Lighting was off and he couldn't pose Tahu to save his life. Weird, I didn't notice that at all!

What would you describe flippers as if not "big feet"? and honestly besides some occasional thickness issues i don't see an issue with the accuracy of the flippers? they're just a more simplified version of the set's. She represents the set version just fine. Meanwhile, this version doesn't even have flippers. Or a defined silhouette or defining features whatsoever.

I think this cuts to the heart of a lot of problems in all the "canonicity" debates. Stories told through various medias often have differing details, and they are often "all canon" because few fanbases are as oddly obsessed with every detail having an official place and role. Is the statue canon? Is it non-canon? Does it matter? I sincerely hope the new story team doesn't think of G2 in the same way we do G1. :/

I think BZP's video review of Tahu was defs the best one on Youtube.

Not that I don't trust what you are saying, but I'd like to hear where you got the Mask of Time information from? (unless you've already stated this, in that case I apologize for asking again) -NotS Well, for one thing, I was there when TTV asked Jordan Paxton about the reboot. The question was along the lines of "will we see things from G1 in G2?" I think the intent was to find out if the two generations are linked storywise, but Jordan Paxton's job veers more into marketing and the NYCC event was a marketing event. He said (paraphrased) "remember in the first series, in a movie the character made the mask of time, but it was odd, it was only half of a mask? In the new series we will have a full version." TTV latched onto the quote (which was unfortunately not recorded by anyone, whereas the "it's a reboot, so put away any speculation, it's a reboot" was) in order to push the "it's a soft reboot, connected by the vahi!" idea, which is not what was said at all. All that was said was that the original mask was different from the other masks because it was only half of a mask (which is obvious upon looking at it) and that G2 will have a mask of time that covers the whole face. Everything else is baseless speculation from a leading question and a fangroup known for wild speculation and outlandish theorizing.

The vahi is half a mask because it covers half the face. It has nothing to do with the actual mask being in an incomplete state. I wish that dumb rumour from a misquoted NYCC moment would just die already.

That was me. The use of the term "skeleball" sets your posts immediately up as a purposeful and negative attack on things people like. You don't like CCBS? I think that sounds pretty ignorant, personally, as it seems pretty clear your remarks are made from a stand-point of "I haven't tried it at all, but it isn't the old just as simple pin and pin-hole system so I'm angry". Coupled with your unrealistic remarks about how terrible all the other popular things in modern media franchises are (your comments on TF:Animated, The LEGO Movie, etc, both here and on Eurobricks), you don't come across as a reasonable or even interested discussion partner, and people are frustrated with you because your entire existence here seems to be predicated on posting "CCBS sucks here's my dumb name for it I made up to mock it". Stop acting like one, and people will stop treating you like one.

At NYCC, Julie had an extra gift for the three of us who had been under NDA with her for several months: It is signed by the designers, and is apparently one out of ten total posters printed of this image. We finally got a custom frame for it, and now it's all pretty! Just in time to get packed up to move to California, lol.

I didn't think the PoW would appeal much to me either, but out of box her mask is my favourite blend of the six, and her build is undeniably feminine in person. It's my second favourite Protector, and I wasn't originally planning on purchasing her. My favourite though, is the PoStone. His overall look is just so satisfying. I love the asymmetric armour a ton, and for some reason, I can't unsee his feet as hooves.

Now we have two members on design teams! Congrats Corvin!

Protector of Stone is my favourite of the six elder sets. It's just so full of character.

Wait what ? The page in the brochure on the Protectors says they've been using their masks to shape the island.

I'm currently in Portland, Oregon, where we have an average of 140 sunny days a year, whereas Carlsbad averages 240 sunny days a year. That sounds like all the time to me!

I honestly think the most interesting part is where the island's more segmented shape is explained by the Protectors using their elemental masks to shape the island over the millennia.

Yes, but it was the end of April. So May, June, July, August, September, October. Six.It was only the first week of October. It was five full months total.

What a year. So many things happened! I'll get to a real recap of the year eventually, but the year decided to throw one more crazy curveball at the last moment. Last week Nukaya got a call from a job she'd applied for, and they wanted her to come and interview. So she agreed to the interview. So we booked plane tickets. To San Diego. The interview was at LEGOLAND, and we found out this week she got the job. Maddison will be a model builder for LEGOLAND parks, and we'll be moving from the lovely, yet cloudy, Portland to the eternally sunny and also lovely Southern California. In a month! We will still be at BricksCascade here in PDX in March, but California beckons.

I said this in Letagi's entry too, but this is super weird to me. I've been on BZP since 2002, and this is the most mellow the place has ever been. When BIONICLE was running the first time, there were near-weekly flareups about the sets, story direction, etc. These topics would be in GD or in the news forum or the BIONICLE sets forum, and would last for pages and pages. They weren't any less angry or divisive as other things here are now. I think you guys are projecting a bit, to be honest.

I think you meant 'you enter' to win both sets. Anyways, good luck to everyone entering this raffle! Not to nitpick, but no, grammatically the version Andrew used is correct, as the tickets themselves enter you into the raffle.

Bizarre to see folks thinking any of this is new? The amount of argumentation and anger on BZP in these discussions is far smaller than it used to be during the peak BIONICLE community years. Giant topics full of anger and discussion about new sets, new story developments, etc, were commonplace weekly. None of this is new, nor has it escalated at all.

Agreed! We found the new minifigs in San Diego this past weekend at a Target too. Clackamas Target has the entire line outside of Onua and Gali, btw.

I just hope you didn't get them at the City Target! I went there today while I was out shopping and they were marked up $4!

I just don't see much else worthwhile in the design. I'm the first to admit the style she utilizes is far from my favourite, and it has some cool techniques, but the overall MOC just doesn't feel worthy of the placing to me. I'm not a judge, so my words carry no weight, of course. But since you're implying an insult where I mean none... The engineering to build something solid, articulated, well-balanced, and at that scale is always something she does more impressively than anyone else, and something far beyond my abilities to do so. Her talents are obvious and numerous. I still don't like the MOC and feel like it's size overshadows better MOCs that were in the competition and deserved the spot instead.

Eh. I like VB's MOC, but I think there were a dozen smaller MOCs that looked better that should have been there instead (not referring to mine, I entered just because I felt like I should, not because I thought it deserved to win, and I don't think it did). I feel this way about most of the sites' winners over the six sites, honestly. I think, looking at the entire list of winners from all the sites, it seems "bigger equals better" won out in a lot of places, and I think that's disappointing. There are some cool details in the winning MOC, but I find it underwhelming overall, it feels like size for size's sake (which was a good strategy, apparently!) Congratulations anyway, of course! It'll be interesting to see who wins the mask! I have no favourite in the mix at all, so it'll be fun to see!