Bionicle Reunion Mask Packs.

[Toa Nekar]

Its been a while since Ive been on here, and I'm sure you all are just as excited about bionicle 2015 as I, so here is my idea:

 

Lego would produce a packet containing 3 Kanohi, and 3 2015 heads. The kanohi would be any 2 random kanohi from the list of existing kanohi(any kanohi ever made: http://www.majhost.com/gallery/E-T/Collecting/BIONICLE/checklist_kanohi_small.jpg), and would be modified from the original design in order to attach to 2015 heads. The kanohi would come in any color ever produced by lego(here is a reference for ever color: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogColors.asp), save for some colors which would be too similar and thus redundant. This may sound like a ridiculous idea at first, but above other things, imagine the money it would make for lego, if each packet was around $5.99 USD. Trading of kanohi masks would become erratic immediately, as collectors would strive for the near-impossible task of having a complete collection of every mask in every color. Imagine having any kanohi mask, in any color. MOC'ing would never be the same, with a much broader selection of colors to choose from, such as the elusive "teal." If lego chose to put the time into modifying all the masks(if the original molds even still exist :/), this idea would be a great advertiser of the new 2015 heads. I believe remaking the mask packs, in any form, would put the collect ability back into bionicle. 

 

Sorry if this seems a little rushed, I typed it once already and my internet crashed. 

[Pohatu: Uniter of Stone]

The list seems to be missing the protector mask.

[UngluedBike]

I'm gonna say no on this one. I've only just completed my 01 Mata Kanohi collection, I don't want to have to collect it again, with a slight difference. I am in objection of this idea.

[Bfahome]

That's 60+ new molds.  New molds are expensive.

 

It's also potentially thousands of different masks.  I don't think many people will be trying to get a full collection when each mask is $2.

[Aanchir]

Its been a while since Ive been on here, and I'm sure you all are just as excited about bionicle 2015 as I, so here is my idea:

 

Lego would produce a packet containing 3 Kanohi, and 3 2015 heads. The kanohi would be any 2 random kanohi from the list of existing kanohi(any kanohi ever made: http://www.majhost.com/gallery/E-T/Collecting/BIONICLE/checklist_kanohi_small.jpg), and would be modified from the original design in order to attach to 2015 heads. The kanohi would come in any color ever produced by lego(here is a reference for ever color: http://www.bricklink.com/catalogColors.asp), save for some colors which would be too similar and thus redundant. This may sound like a ridiculous idea at first, but above other things, imagine the money it would make for lego, if each packet was around $5.99 USD. Trading of kanohi masks would become erratic immediately, as collectors would strive for the near-impossible task of having a complete collection of every mask in every color. Imagine having any kanohi mask, in any color. MOC'ing would never be the same, with a much broader selection of colors to choose from, such as the elusive "teal." If lego chose to put the time into modifying all the masks(if the original molds even still exist :/), this idea would be a great advertiser of the new 2015 heads. I believe remaking the mask packs, in any form, would put the collect ability back into bionicle. 

 

Sorry if this seems a little rushed, I typed it once already and my internet crashed.

I don't think you'd need one head per Kanohi. One head per pack would probably be sufficient. Even the Toa sets only come with one head piece each, despite each coming with two Kanohi (three if you count the skull spider)!

 

Anyway, as much nostalgia as people have for Kanohi packs, I don't know whether it'd be a good investment. And your idea in particular seems completely impractical. The reasons:

 

First, once a color is discontinued, it is no longer available to the LEGO Group for new parts. Over the years the LEGO color palette has included hundreds of different colors, but the current palette only includes about 60, including several that have never been used in constraction sets or themes. So including "any color ever produced by LEGO" is off the table to begin with.

 

Second, making new versions of every single mask would be mind-bogglingly expensive. The checklist you linked to has 78 different mask designs (not counting the 2015 designs), and a single new mold can cost $20,000 or MORE to produce. Even if you subtract the Toa Mata masks which have already been redesigned, that still leaves more than 60 different new designs. There's a reason why mask packs in the past have never included mask designs that weren't released in other sets.

 

Third, introducing these new designs wouldn't be as simple as "modifying" the existing molds — each new mold would have to be designed from scratch, though the designers MIGHT be able to use the digital assets as a starting point. It would still cost the same as introducing a new mold.

 

Fourth, The LEGO Group can't just put new elements (part+color combinations) into production whenever they feel like it. Factory floor space and molding machines are limited, so if the LEGO Group hypothetically wanted to put 3600 masks (60 designs in 60 colors) into production, they'd have to take 3600 other parts out of production. Bear in mind that about 6,000 different elements are ever in production at one time, so in this scenario you'd have to take over half the elements from the entire 2015 LEGO product range out of production.

 

You could diminish this cost by having each mold produce six or eight different mask designs, treating all of them as one element. This is what the LEGO Group did with the Krana, Krana-Kal, and Kraata. Each mold would produce all eight Krana designs in a particular color, or all six Kraata designs in a particular color combination. This is why the Krana and Kraata designs were always randomized, even in the Bohrok and Rahkshi sets. On the production floor, they were effectively interchangeable. However, you'd still be introducing 450 new elements for just one set. You'd have to sell mountains of mask packs for that cost to be effective.

 

That brings us to our last point. There's no telling whether kids today would even be keen on buying mask packs. One of the big disadvantages any kind of BIONICLE collectible pack has compared to, say, a blind-packaged minifigure is that a mask pack is not a complete toy, just an accessory pack for larger, separately-sold toys. And the more the mask packs cost to make, the more have to be sold just to turn a profit. This is why LEGO Ideas projects don't allow new molds: the sets in question simply aren't produced in big enough quantities to offset the costs of introducing a new mold.

 

So yeah, I understand why people miss mask packs, but what you're proposing would be completely nuts. It would be many times more expensive to produce than any BIONICLE collectible pack in history. If the LEGO Group does end up deciding collectible packs are a good idea, I'm sure they'll find a much better way to do it than some pie-in-the-sky idea of releasing every mask in every color all at once.

Edited October 26, 2014 by Aanchir

[xccj]

That would be really awesome if it could happen, but it's also really infeasable. Although you're not asking for new mask molds, a lot of the older designs have been retired, I believe, so Lego can't just pull them back up and start producing them again. And they have to go out of their way to make each mold in a different color, and with so many different types that you're asking for, it just wouldn't be profitable.

 

I think it would've been cool if they had done the six new Toa masks in the classic Toa colors, so we could collect 36 again (or 42 if you count the gold ones) but even that seems to be asking for too much. There was a reason they phased out collectible masks and such back in the day. And even if they were as popular as the Collectible Minifigs, you've got to remember that Lego saved money on the fig designs by having them produced in China, so their plastic quality was often substandard. Would you really want the same thing to happen to collectible masks?

 

Edited October 26, 2014 by xccj

[Bryce304]

I'd be fine with just getting a few 2015 Kanohi and a few Skull Spiders.   

 

They could do the 2015 Kanohi in all 6 colors, maybe throw translucent masks in there as rare finds.

Skull Spiders, I'm not so sure. They could make colors matching the Toa? Translucent and glow-in-the-dark Skull Spiders as rare finds would be AWESOME.

 

I really hope they bring back the aspect of collecting masks. It's so fun and I'm sure they'd make money if they went about it in the right way.

[Hasreadit]

If they did bring back masks, they should have the fans vote for their favorite ten or something like that and make them into ones that could fit with the new Toa heads:)

 

I think all of them might be too massive of a project for Lego

[Element Lord of Milk]

While it would be totally awesome to have every old mask reimagined for 2015 and in a huge range of colours, there's no way it would happen. Just the original set of Kanohi was ~72 masks total. Multiplying that over all the colours and masks since then shoots it up into the multiple hundreds very quickly. I don't think Lego would make so many new molds just for mask packs.

[Banana Gunz]

I think Aanchir covered it pretty well why this won't happen. I'd still love to see mask packs or collectibles in a smaller form than the one mentioned in the original post. Masks in different colors would always be great.

 

But hey, if Lego feels like going out of their way to re-release every single Bionicle mask ever made in different colors... who am I to complain?

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

I'd love to see this happen again. The idea of having a mask in six different colours was a really cool concept, plus it really aided in MoCing. Plus, Mask Collections are just hands-down impressive.

 

-NotS

[Padaster]

Perhaps just the new Toa masks, plus another set if six perhaps homageing the Turaga masks. Having every mask ever would be really unfeasible.

[Tahu3.0]

if kanohi mask packs are returning i promise there going to be sold a lot.

[bioniclepluslotr]

I'm gonna say no on this one. I've only just completed my 01 Mata Kanohi collection, I don't want to have to collect it again, with a slight difference. I am in objection of this idea.

Lol no one says that you have to collect it all again. Collections are for you personal amusement. If you have to collect against your will something's not right.