Iben

I was tired of reading, so I spent most of today working on the VNOLG-Ignika, but progress is slowww... It would be so much easier if the guy who 3D-printed one before would, you know, make it for sale.. Haha, I believe there was a slight misunderstanding here, I wasn't talking about the Ignika mask, but the Kanohi worn by the Inika Kanohi like the Kadin, Suletu, etc. I always hated how they never really fitted with the other metru/mata head based Kanohi. It would be awesome if there were regular versions of those But of course, I don't want to pester you into doing something you don't want, it's only a suggestion if you feel like it The updated Mask of Regeneration looks amazing, it's much better now ! I honestly think that if you'd model the Mask of Mechanics in a similar way ( so with it going further back and it going sideways as well), it would match the comics a bit more, as in the comics itself it isn't really a flat mask either. But again, this is all up to you ! I'm loving what I saw so far, so keep up the good work ! I have one last question, how close are the colours in Shapeways to the actual Bionicle colours ? Or is it something you haven't tested yet ? -Iben

I'm really in love with these Kanohi, and I'm happy to see that these are up for sale. The ones I'm most interested in at this point are the Mask of Sensory Aptitude and the Mask of Elemental Energy, they both are really close to the actual canon and look downright amazing. I always wanted a Matoran/Toa with this kind of nerdy Kanohi, and the Mask of Sensory Aptitude is just perfect for it. I'm going to wait until the Mask of Elemental Energy is "fixed" to place my order, but I'm really looking forward to these ! If you ever run out of inspiration, a nice idea might be making "normal" versions of the Inika Kanohi ! -Iben

Finally got the sets, and I must say, I'm pleasantly surprised. Lewa is a lot better than I thought, and I really liked him before I got him. The gears work quite well on all Toa we have so far, and although it won't be something I'll keep in place when revamping them, I do consider it to be a quite awesome feature. The new blasters are quite awesome as well, they really capture the awesomeness of the Cordak blasters, but they're so much more customizable than those big blasters. The only thing that really annoys me is the eye-piece launch function. It's the only real downside I could find in these new sets, when you carry around a bunch of them, one or two quickly drop their mask. Although I can understand the playability factor in it, I honestly hope this is the first and last year we'll get these kind of leverage - eye pieces. -Iben

Looking at the new sets once more, I do hope that we'll get more Gen1 inspired armour pieces. Although I'm a fan of the more uniform approach CCBS gives, I would love to see more "intricate" parts. Some parts that are more specifically designed to be used on shoulders or legs. I'd love to see a shell or armour clip-on piece inspired by these, as they were one of the armour pieces I loved the most. Or perhaps, even shells that are inspired by these Knight Kingdom Leg Armor parts. I'm aware that these pieces would be less uniform than the current shells, but I honestly think that these could be used quite creatively as well. -Iben

Wonderful job as always MrBT ! I love your designs, their just breathtaking ^^ -Iben

So, because G1 is over we can't discuss the pro's and cons of both systems anymore ? Just because someone points out one little bit of criticism on CCBS and prefers something from the older generation over the current, doesn't mean he/she is whining or isn't able to get over it. Things like "how things look" is heavily biased by the way you look at something, so of course people are going to differ in this. To everyone his/hers own taste. I still like both systems, the old and the new. I can see the benefits and the needs for improvement in both. ( I love the ball joint connection, but I would love to have some axle connection points in the bone pieces, kinda where they are located on hand pieces. ) To me, it's important to respect people's opinion on these matters; everyone is allowed to have his/hers own preference, and allowed to voice it as well. In my book, saying someone can't express their dislike over some parts of CCBS is just as bad as saying CCBS has no positive sides at all. Anyway, I'm still waiting for the new sets to arrive here in Belgium, normally we'll have them by the end of next week. I'm quite looking forward to these, as I'm interested in some of the new pieces and new colours of shells. My only "fear" is the head-eyestalk thing. I'm not a big fan of the mask-losing mechanisms, and I was a big fan of the old connection style and the newer ones ( Glatorian/HF ). I hope it's something that might "go away" at some point, as I don't really like it that much. Though I can see why they put it in. -Iben

Personally, I see no general consensus at all that there shouldn't be things from G1 re-used in G2. I've seen multiple members asking for a G2 Takanuva, so I'd be the last to say there's a general consensus on that. I would honestly be thrilled to see another Bohrok-like villain with the ability to fold up and roll. I honestly don't see a single problem with "clone" sets, especially in sets like the Bohrok and the Vahki, I liked the uniformity among those. In large numbers, these clones are really nice, and I would love to see something like that returning in the future. I know it's not a common opinion, but I quite like the clone villain look. I do have to agree with Aanchir that these would require some new parts made for this specific kind of build, but I'm not really worried about that this time. Looking at how they made the gearbox and how versatile it seems to be, I honestly don't think Lego wouldn't be able to come up with more parts that can be as versatile as these. I wouldn't be surprised to see Lego dropping the gears again at some point, but this time around the gearbox can be used for so much more. -Iben

I'm glad you agree the 2015 Toa don't have exposed ball joints then.Now now, don't you be using my words against me.... I still have no love for the 2015 Toa. Would you rather have the Inika build or Avtoran? He just doesn't like the new build. Although I do like it and see benefits in it, he doesn't. But we all know this now, is there really a need to always respond to it ? (I'm sorry, but I'm just tired of seeing this same argument neither sides will win over and over and over and over again.) -Iben

I wasn't saying they don't -- but they might lead with clues they give along the way and such. We haven't seen the journeys in detail yet (if we ever will), so I think that's still unclear. (Note that some of the 2001 media portrayed Turaga helping to find some of the masks, namely one card image of Whenua being present with Onua when he found one. That was a Noble, so in that case it made sense in Gen 1 for the elder to be there. This time it's obviously different but it does seem that the Protectors hid the masks and direct somehow or another the Toa to them.) Actually, we did see them giving more than just clues, they're leading them directly to the locations of the mask. In the mobile game there are some stills from the upcoming animations as well ( also showing Lewa's jungle powers in the gameplay, which was something you mentioned in your topic IIRC ), and you can see the Protectors alongside the Toa when they reach the golden masks. Like here and here. (There are more, and more shots with them travelling alongside the Toa as well ) So it's a little more than giving them clues along the way, it's leading them towards these shrines. To me it doesn't really seem that these Protectors hid the masks in those places, it actually seems more like they simply know where the masks are, but aren't able to reach them themselves or at least without the help of the Toa. I believe this to be one of the differences between Gen1 and Gen2; while the first mask hunt was more of a test for the Toa to see if they could prove that they're worthy and that they're able to work together, the Gen2 mask hunt seems to be more because they're more important to the defeat of the Skull spiders and the safety of the Okotians. Simply because the danger feels much more imminent than the Rahi attacks in Gen1. These guys are literally overrun by spiders everywhere, actively searching for the masks, while in Gen1 Makuta only had to keep the Matoran in fear so they wouldn't travel to Metru Nui. -Iben

Of course, but looking at the villagers, all of these guys are lookalikes. It could simply imply that on top of the mask, they also receive the extra armour/weapons that are connected with the role of Protector. This is kinda implied by the Comic-con presentation, as I remember them saying only the Protectors are capable of really fighting. It's indeed a possible hypothesis that he and Makuta have a separate spirit form, but on the other hand, he simply could have said these things right before he lost consciousness. I have to disagree on the fact that they are doing the same treasure hunt thing as the Turaga. The Turaga gave clues but stayed vague as the mask hunt was a real test for the Toa, while in the animations the Protectors lead the Toa to their masks. To me it seems that the Protectors are more desperate than the Turaga were, they seem to be in more imminent danger than the Turaga and the Matoran were. It feels like they really want Ekimu back, so why would they make it harder on the Toa to find him ? @maxim21 : I wouldn't read too much into it, because some of the Dutch translations aren't entirely correct either (and they weren't always correct in the past either), so I'd trust the English version over the others. -Iben

This is something that has been bugging me for quite a while now. First up, we know that Protectors pass their mask and title onto their sons. I believe it's safe to assume that this only happens when a Protector dies, or at least retires. So it's reasonable to assume that there might have been multiple generations of Protectors in the past. Now, there's a slight "problem" in the Prophecy of Heroes video. We know that the set Protectors are the ones that send out the beacon to summon the Toa, and in that way they fulfilled the first part of the prophecy. Now, then the video says that the prophecy was whispered to the Protectors after they found him, and afterwards they buried him. Again, I find it reasonable to assume that after that they put the scriptures on the wall, given they were the ones to hear the prophecy. Then we see a Protector of Fire speaking to his son about said prophecy. But then there's something strange. After discussing the summoning of the Toa, he mentions that the Toa have to find their Masks of Power, but then they have to "find the mask maker". Now, assuming that this mask-maker is Ekimu ( as the mask we get to see is the Mask of Creation ) and not Makuta, this is a bit weird. Because, why would he have to be found ? I mean, sure, I can understand that the Mask of Creation has to be found, but why the mask-maker ? If the Protectors are the ones who buried him in the first place, why would they have to find him ? Wouldn't they know where they buried him ? Wouldn't they have put him somewhere safe, so they all know where he is ? My assumption is that the current Protectors are descendants of an older generation ( either the ones who buried Ekimu or their sons ; which could actually mean that the baby villager in this video and the one in the arrival video are two different villagers, the one of this video being the younger version of the current Protector of Fire), and that Ekimu is buried in the Ancient City. They might have not mentioned this to their sons, in order to keep him safe, who knows. But we do know that after the arrival of the LOSS, no-one could enter the city as he guarded the entrance to it. So I think it's reasonable to assume that the heroes will fight the LOSS in the first wave and be able to enter the city, trying to find Ekimu. Now, what do you guys think of this ? Is there another explanation to the fact that the Toa have to find Ekimu ? Are the Protectors keeping information from us and the Toa ? -Iben

It's been a while, but I "finished up" a few mocs recently. They're still a bit "work in progress", Constructive criticism is more than welcome. All of these mocs are beings from an alternate universe, so certain things are different from the main canon. | | Takanuva, the Herald. Being a Toa, the Klakk-cure wasn't permanent, and quickly after the Reformation his body started to transform once again. With the help of the Grand Master, Takanuva has now regained control over his light/shadow powers, and has served him ever since. Overal, I'm happy with the body, his upperlegs, shoulders, feet and back; but I still feel the need to redo his arms and legs. He's one of my favourite revamps I ever made, and I've been working on him for over a year now, constantly switching out stuff I didn't like. I'm currently looking for a nice weapon design that might fit him, but I'm having trouble finding one. | | Toa Se-Se, Master of Water. Brave and bold, Se-Se is a real troublemaker. Instead of waiting, he often rushes into situations without thinking, bringing his teammates in trouble more often than not. He carries twin Spiked Aqua Blades and wears a blue Great Kanohi Sanok. His strong and heavy armour protects him against many of these unpredictable outbursts of action, but does slow him down, even when swimming. I'm not finished with him yet, but my goal was to introduce a new style of Toa than we normally get when seeing Toa of Water. They're often female, slender and thing, while this one is male, heavily armoured and bulky, kinda inspired by those old big diver costumes. As these Matoran never saw Toa in there life, I figured I'd make their character influence their design, and as he's a "rush in without thinking" and "better be brave than sorry" type of guy, I figured he would need some kind of extra protection to keep him alive. | Giant Rapeka Crab, a large Rahi living in the underground world of Onu-Wahi. Descendants of the Ussal Crabs, these gentle giants are more bug-like and lack the big claws. Bred by the Onu-Matoran, they are praised for their strength and loyalty. This one is honestly one of my favourites. I spend a few months on it, but now it's almost done. As you can see, there's a wheel at the back, which allows you to make the legs go up and down. | | As I already showed her before, this is a revamp of Batu, a female Onu-Matoran. I updated the whole body design because I wanted them to be shorter than the other Matoran. I also changed the upperarms to the shorter arms because they indeed were too long last time. | And here's her Toa form. It's still not really updated since last time, but it offers a clearer view of her. The thing on her back is simply her backpack that has "transformed" along with her, and turned into a hunch. At this point it doesn't really have any function, but that might change in the future. Well, thanks for watching, I hope you enjoyed these and I hope that I'll get some better shots in the future. Happy Newyears to everyone as well ! And here's the link to my Flickr for those who want to see bigger pictures. -Iben

I personally don't see a contradiction here, we see the Protectors focussing their elemental powers together. But instead of doing this in mid air, or even pointed at the sky, they seem to point it towards the ground. If you add this up to the Mask of Time part, you can conclude they focussed their energy on the mask, with the mask responding with a time beam. I'm actually wondering, are the Protectors who found and buried Ekimu the same as the ones we have in set ? Or are these a previous generation ? Because the prophecy says the Toa would have to find the Mask Maker, but if these are the same Protectors that buried him, they wouldn't really have to search for him, would they ? They could just tell the Toa where they buried him. My assumption is that these are a new generation of Protectors who don't know where Ekimu was buried, and that he might be somewhere in the Ancient City where they no longer go, due the LoSS guarding the entrance. -Iben

The problem with this is that the MoUP wasn't forged recently, it was forged many thousands of years ago. It indeed shows those lines that might be sources of elemental power, so I can agree that the mask cauldron was most likely used by Makuta, but as you said, it looks like it was forged recently and as the surroundings look overgrown, this might be the Ancient city, and a certain someone might have been making masks again... To me it seems to be much more reasonable to assume that this is a mask made by Makuta for one of the summer villains. -Iben

To me, the watercolour art looks a lot like the concept art we've seen before, so it's nothing completely new. They released concept art like this on their Facebook page. It looks very familiar in style, so it probably is just other concept art we just didn't see so far. The Tahu was released before, there are similar pictures of Kopaka in an online Lego Magazine, and similar pictures were shown of Gali and Lewas mask. So yeah, that's pretty much Gali in concept art, and the concept art for Pohatu. The golden mask is most likely another piece of Mask of Creation concept art, as we got in the past ( and those vastly differed from the actual mask as well just take look here ). Or perhaps it's the concept art of Tahu's golden mask, as the figure seems to be carrying a golden sword, just like Tahu in his Adrenaline Mode. The protector still is just a picture from one of the videos on the website, so that surely isn't fake either. Here's the full Facebook Gallery btw, you might have missed some things. The whole Mask of Time thing sounding fake to you is because you don't want there to be a connection to the old storyline, so I kinda think that's heavily biased. There are several hints to a Mask of Time through the multiple Vahi's ( not only shapes, but two actual imprints that look exactly like the Vahi) shown, so it shouldn't be to big of a surprise that there might be a Mask of Time in this storyline. It doesn't mean there has to be a connection with the old storyline, but there are enough hints to assume that there's something to do with Time, the hints to that are extremely obvious. Don't get me wrong here, I'm not saying I'm 100% convinced by the authenticity of this either, but as it really resembles the layout of the Digital Lego Magazine that was only released recently, I'm not convinced this is a fake either -Iben

I think that's really stretching the "animation version isn't 100% spot on"-argument. It's one thing to have the six spikes/flaps being a bit exaggerated in an animation, but it's a whole other thing to say that the ridges are the same as those spikes. I'm sorry, but I really don't see it. Creative license is important, but this would be taking it too far. The evil eyes are kinda obvious, as the line underneath the mask says "new enemies emerge". Kinda obvious that the mask affiliated with that line would look a bit evil, no ? To me it doesn't even resemble much of a forge, it just resembles the other pedestals we've seen, but with lava flowing. And what seems to be the Ancient City around it. I wonder why Lego would already give out the MoUP when there are 3 lines planned, and 3 mask that are important to the storyline. Of course that could be coincidence, but to be blunt, I don't think it is. It would make a lot of sense if we only saw the MoUP in the third year. From what I get from the promo videos, the Toa have to search for the Mask of Creation and Ekimu, so I guess the first wave will be the search for the Mask and the second wave the search for Ekimu, who might be in the Ancient City the LoSP is guarding. You can stand by the idea that this is the MoUP, but tbh, I don't see much evidence pointing to it at this very moment. -Iben

If that's the case, then I wonder if their regular masks do anything at all. More on-topic, I read the function of the Golden Masks as refining and increasing the powers of the Toa. They can use their 'signature moves' whenever, but the Golden Masks allow them complete control over the lement and some additional power. For example, Golden Mask of the Jungle allows Lewa to 'channel the resilience of the forest'. I read that as giving him quick(er) healing abilities, over time, Lewa could recover from any hit or poison, if he's wearing the Gold Mask. Kopaka's Golden Mask would not only allow him to reshape his shield into skis, but give him complete control over all ice. I wouldn't be surprised that in the end, the Toa will turn out to be able to control their powers without their masks. Like a storyline where they lose their masks and in the end discover that their true power lies within themselves. I wouldn't be surprised if Lego would go for such a cheesy storyplot at one time ( and don't get me wrong, I'd really like that to happen.) -Iben

Honestly I don't get why assuming that this is the MoUP is pretty logical, to me it looks nothing like it. It wouldn't really make much sense either, why would Lego plan 3 years of storyline and 3 different masks but put all mask in the first year ? It kinda makes more sense to assume it's a mask used by one of the summer villains. See ? This makes me think it's just a summer villain mask, not the MoUP... -Iben

You know, Lego planned a 3 year storyline. My guess is that time will be a major item in the whole storyline, but I don't really think it will be a major point in this years plot. I'd guess this years plot will be more a "sketch the world" period, which would be something I'd really like. -Iben

Wow dude, easy My post wasn't meant to agitate you. Like I said, chances are that the connection won't be deep at all, but only there for the older fans. I wouldn't be surprised if ignoring it wouldn't change a thing in your experience of the new story. Besides, the hidden Vahis aren't the only thing. We have the Temple of Time, we have the line " evoke the power of past and future", the Toa are called timeless heroes. There are an awful lot of references to Time, so it's a bit hard to say that it's all just easter-egg material. IMO, I don't consider the Vahi to be that iconic to Bionicle, simply because there are other elements that are way more iconic . Depending on when you joined Bionicle, you can arguably say that either the Hau or the Ignika are the most iconic masks Bionicle has. If you were there from the beginning, the Hau would be the most iconic mask. If I'd show the Hau to a few guys from my age, I'm pretty sure they would be able to say that it's something from Bionicle or at least Lego. Do the same thing with the generation of my brothers, and they'll say that the Ignika is the most iconic mask, simply because they joined in from 2006, and from then on the Ignika was the most important mask, appearing in countless storylines ( to a point where I got annoyed by the Deus Ex Ignika). The Hau and the Ignika appeared in the story and countless other media much more often than the Vahi did, and they're more imprinted in the collective memory than the Vahi. That's what I consider to be iconic. It's even an obscure fact to most Bionicle fans that the Vahi indeed was the first mask ever made, so tbh, I wouldn't really use that as an argument to say that "it doesn't get more iconic than that", because well, we have two Kanohi that are way more iconic to Bionicle than the Vahi. TLDR : The hinted connection will probably be vague and won't bother you. The Vahi in my opinion will never be as iconic as the Hau or the Ignika, simply due it not occurring in the story and other media as often as the others. Not entirely sure which part of my last post came across as 'agitated', I was just making a correction to your claim that the Vahi was "not the first Kanohi by any stretch of the imagination" which it undeniably was... The fact it didn't feature in any actual releases until many years later is not the point. My suggestion was that it's inclusion could simply be a nod to the first mask ever conceptualised. As for other masks being more iconic than the Vahi I'd have to agree with you as far as storyline goes. The Hau was always far and away THE mask and on top of that I'd also agree that the Avohkii and Ignika were the other BIG masks. The Vahi didn't really get a great deal of coverage in reality (though my memory may be foggy as it was one of my least favourite parts of the storyline) I think the point is though, there is simply more significance in the fact that the Vahi came first. It was one of the very first things to be designed as part of the Bionicle franchise. That in itself is iconic in exactly the same way as the Toa Mata are (and look at how they just KEEP coming back!) The fact that many people don't know that this is the case doesn't make it any less important to the franchise, it just means people don't REALISE it's significance to the franchise. TLDR : Ignorance to the fact that the Vahi came first doesn't make it any less important. It just means it's significance isn't as widely recognised as things like the Hau and Avohkii. Uhm, I believe you're mixing up two comments here, I never said the Vahi wasn't the first Kanohi . I'm not saying that the Vahi isn't important, I was just saying that it was less iconic than the Hau and the Ignika ( and yeah, the Avohkii and Kraahkan as well. ) and to me it seems to "obscure" (wrong word I know ) for it to be a mere "easter-egg" when used repetitively. I consider it to be a hint to something more. -Iben

Wow dude, easy My post wasn't meant to agitate you. Like I said, chances are that the connection won't be deep at all, but only there for the older fans. I wouldn't be surprised if ignoring it wouldn't change a thing in your experience of the new story. Besides, the hidden Vahis aren't the only thing. We have the Temple of Time, we have the line " evoke the power of past and future", the Toa are called timeless heroes. There are an awful lot of references to Time, so it's a bit hard to say that it's all just easter-egg material. IMO, I don't consider the Vahi to be that iconic to Bionicle, simply because there are other elements that are way more iconic . Depending on when you joined Bionicle, you can arguably say that either the Hau or the Ignika are the most iconic masks Bionicle has. If you were there from the beginning, the Hau would be the most iconic mask. If I'd show the Hau to a few guys from my age, I'm pretty sure they would be able to say that it's something from Bionicle or at least Lego. Do the same thing with the generation of my brothers, and they'll say that the Ignika is the most iconic mask, simply because they joined in from 2006, and from then on the Ignika was the most important mask, appearing in countless storylines ( to a point where I got annoyed by the Deus Ex Ignika). The Hau and the Ignika appeared in the story and countless other media much more often than the Vahi did, and they're more imprinted in the collective memory than the Vahi. That's what I consider to be iconic. It's even an obscure fact to most Bionicle fans that the Vahi indeed was the first mask ever made, so tbh, I wouldn't really use that as an argument to say that "it doesn't get more iconic than that", because well, we have two Kanohi that are way more iconic to Bionicle than the Vahi. TLDR : The hinted connection will probably be vague and won't bother you. The Vahi in my opinion will never be as iconic as the Hau or the Ignika, simply due it not occurring in the story and other media as often as the others. Do we actually know this? I thought Makuta could use the mask. "The Kanohi Vahi is one of the three most powerful Kanohi in the Matoran Universe, as it's incredibly difficult to fully control,even for a Makuta." ^According to Biosector01. So yeah, Makuta could have used it, but he probably would never have been able to control it completely. -Iben

You get Gadunka for one The Ignika crumbled and corroded in the Pit and started to leak out energy, which caused Gadunka to transform. -Iben

Kanohi Komau. Hands down the best way to do so. -Iben

That, and the fact that the Vahi : Consisted of 6 "elements"/disks brought together.Was very hard to control, even Makuta wouldn't have been able to control its full power.It kinda feels as if there are some similarities with the new MoUP. -Iben

TBH, I guess is that we'll never really get to know what the connection with the old story is, aside from the fact that the current Toa are actually the old ones transported through time. ( Of course, that's my guess atm ). I believe that it will probably never be the main focus of the story, and that's a good thing. I like that it retains to the small tidbits we're getting, these small references that allow us older fans to still see this as a continuation, but for new kids it's a complete new story. I wouldn't really say that the Vahi is there because it's "iconic". TBH, if any mask was truly iconic to Bionicle than it was the Ignika, and perhaps the Hau. I wouldn't really consider the Vahi to be such a iconic feature that it would be brought in without any further reason. The Vahi never got that much attention as the Ignika did, I wouldn't say it's an obscure mask, but it never was as important and iconic as the Ignika or the Hau. Besides, the Vahi gets referenced over and over again, it's kinda hard to ignore it and dismiss it as "just an easter-egg" -Iben