Characters in Titan Sets

[Illuminatus]

The poll was inspired by this discussion. I'd like to hear your opinions.

Edited August 10, 2017 by Illuminatus

[That Matoran with a Vahi]

Takua and Jaller are prime examples for me; I recall that, back in '03, I bought both their sets for the Matoran characters alone, with little-to-no interest in their respective Rahi.

 

In later years, I confess, I became a completionist, so from '04 to '08 I would buy every titan set, regardless of my interest in character or vehicle, with the intention of having a full collection. In hindsight, that was not my best idea, but...

[Taria Pakari]

I'd just buy them all regardless.

 

Irresponsible spending FTW.

[ToaTImeLord]

What's wrong with Kikanalo?

[Tarix819]

I'm  a collector, so I just buy all of them, but I generally try to go for sets that appeal to me.

 

Whilst the story plays a huge part in Bionicle, the sets were also just as important (at least for me), and as such, I would buy a set mostly based on the set itself rather than the character it represents.

 

Although I would still go for Lhikan over Kikanalo

 

Sorry.

Edited August 9, 2017 by Tarix819

[CommanderKumo]

I chose Takanuva and Lhikan over ussanui and kikanalo due to lack of space!

those Rahi/Vehicles take up alot of room that is needed for other things

[Azani]

It's pretty intriguing to see everyone's thoughts on this, actually. From a personal perspective, I always stayed more interested in the vehicles than in the character sets that were over thirty or forty USD when the setline of G1 was ongoing. I definitely liked the individual characters, but I wasn't necessarily willing to spend a more significant amount of money on characters whose set incarnations were relatively bland, especially when resellers could sell them separately.  

Edited August 9, 2017 by Azani

[Pohaturon]

Back when it was released,  the Kikinalo was a massive deal due to the two Chronicler's Staff pieces on his head, but looking at it now, if I had the chance to buy Lhikan without his Kikinalo for a lower price, I'd do that, same for Takanuva. Both the Kikinalo and the Ussanui lacked particularly interesting parts (except the dark grey Hau on the Ussanui) and the masks/golden bits of the two Toa are more interesting for a collector.

Of course under ideal circumstances I'd prefer them as they were, character and vehicle/Rahi together, since more Bionicle > less Bionicle, but looking at it from a budget perspective, if cutting out the vehicle/Rahi would give us the characters for a lower price point, it would be preferable.

 

I still really need to get myself a Lhikan & Kikinalo, though...

 

[Ta-metru_defender]

Never really cared for the Ussanui but Takanuva was the flipping 7th Toa.

 

Lhikan is a bit more complex. The Kikinalo is so cool, but, Lhikan! I guess if I had the option, Takanuva is one I'd rather in two parts; Lhikan I love the bundle.

[Planetperson]

It's a pretty easy choice -- the character, because it's the more interesting and cheaper option. Characters were always Bionicle's strength.

 

Are you doing market research for Lego? 

[xccj]

In the two examples provided, I definitely wanted them for the character. The Ussanui was pretty terrible, but the Kikanalo was a excellent Rahi and worth it alongside Lhikan. However, the vehicles in 2008 and 2009 had throwaway rider characters (copies of existing characters or non important side characters who barely got featured ) so for those I tended to be more interested in the vehicle itself.

 

[Illuminatus]

Thanks for the replies, guys. I'm not really doing research on or for LEGO, lol; not professionally anyway. I'm trying to understand if the choice to add very desirable characters in more expensive sets was deliberate. I'm inclined to think yes, although I do admit that the majority of such instances had throwaway characters (2008 and 2009); this approach was at its strongest in 2003 and 2004. Also 2002 if you count the Boxor, but I'd honestly buy the Boxor over Nuparu any day.

 

Originally, I wanted to add as many character/creature sets as I could count to the poll, but there's a three-question limit, so I went with the most popular sets.

[Otos]

I'm not much of a fan of vehicle sets, I prefer a solo character like Takanuva o Tuma, but Vultraz took my attention and I prefer him and the vehicle, same story with the Jetrax T6.

I don't care that much for the Ussanui or Toa Lhikan really, I'm talking as a set of course.

[Toa of Ice - 1987]

For me i like having the option of buying just the character if im not interested in the vehicle but vezon and fenrakk was one exception where the rahi was good, it was intimidating but a nightmare to pose. Toa Ignika's (2008) personal vehicle was terrible, it wobbled way too much so i scrapped it for spare parts within the first few weeks.
 

What's wrong with Kikanalo?

The kikanalo creature has a lot of unsightly gaps on it IMO. The worst ones being right under the rahkshi shells that serve as thighs.

Edited August 10, 2017 by necross hordika

[Noxryn]

I have more care about the characters than their barely present vehicles, so I'd spend on the characters if I was particularly attached to them.

[Aanchir]

I voted A, A, B. I mean, if a set was outright BAD then I might think twice about buying it for its characters, but there are few LEGO sets that I actively dislike. Even at their worst my usual reaction is just "meh". So the characters in a set can often be a helpful tool to narrow down the sets I already like to the ones I actively want.

 

Worth noting also that I'm also a fan of other themes where this tends to be a much bigger factor in my decision-making process. Bionicle's sort of an outlier in that most of its sets are just a single character and not much else, and the ones with two figures or a figure and a vehicle are so much rarer. In, say, Ninjago, you tend to get more than one character in most sets, and yet they still make up just a fraction of the sets' value.

 

Minifigure-based themes also add another variable in that the same characters often appear in multiple sets at once, which was much rarer in Bionicle. So instead of a choice between buying a set and going without its characters, you can often choose between multiple sets to get the same figures. But some sets do still contain exclusive characters, which does play a role in my decisions.

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Back at the time of these sets being released, I would've tried to get them all regardless. But if I had to chose, I probably would've gotten Takanuva and Lhikan respectively.

 

As for the third question, I picked unlikely. Only because up to 2008, I tried to collect all the Bionicle sets I could find, regardless of their character in the story. I kind of did the same thing with the Gen 2 run though.

[Wiriamu]

Definitely the Toa-the Ussanui is really kind of boring, and proved to have very little role in the actual story. I do like the Kikanalo, but if I'd been able to choose between one or the other I think I would have gone with Lhikan for sure due to his character. I also had a tendency not to gravitate towards solely Rahi sets apart from Keetongu-I never picked up any of the 01 Rahi, never got the Bahrag, have yet to get Pewku (though I have Takua) or Jaller and Gukko, and don't have Gadunka; I also abstained from picking up Fero and Skirmix. Of course, I also wasn't the hottest on a number of vehicle sets-don't have any from 08-09.

[Icarax16]

Certainly if i like the character.

[Illuminatus]

I got a used Toa Lhikan & Kikanalo just a few days ago.

 

Ironically, I got it for the sake of Toa Lhikan, but I have to say Kikanalo is an incredible set.

[SlimerJoel]

Out of the two choices, the characters absolutely. Both are pretty central to the story (Takanuva far more than Lhikan, but still) and have some wonderful golden pieces. I'm not a fan of the Ussanui both as a concept and as a set, but the Kikanalo is cool, so I'd probably lean more towards buying the bundle than the two separately.