Aanchir

I already reported on this a couple times in July and September. I suppose the blog post is new (tying in with the press conference that was held yesterday), but it doesn't tell us a whole lot that wasn't already in the San Diego Union-Tribune article I linked to from the story in September.

Still, I'm pretty hyped for this! Now if only they would bring the "LEGO Ninjago: The Realm of Shadows" live show from LEGOLAND Malaysia over to one of the American parks... THAT would be a thrill to see!

 

Haven't gotten any since they're so ridiculously expensive, but definitely Grievous.

Hey, Disney's squeezing every cent out of Lego for their licensing fees, can you blame them for making grievous and the weaker sets cost $45-$20?

 

I guess you're from Canada? Grievous is only $35 in the United States. And I wouldn't blame the cost entirely on licensing fees, since he includes slightly more pieces than the $30 USD / $40 CAD Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder, and is about the same height as the $30 USD Takanuva set from 2008 or the $30 USD / $40 CAD Witch Doctor set from 2011.

So yeah, without a license attached, he might have been $30 USD / $40 CAD ($5 cheaper than his base price in both currencies), but probably no cheaper.

So I build Skull Scorpio tonight. Which is sad because I got the set a couple months ago, and only decided now to finally build it. 

 

As for the set itself, I really like the build and function of its tail. I didn't think that a 2015 Bionicle set would have a better function than the Lord of Skull Spider's leg function, but I think that Skull Scorpio's function is actually cooler. Plus its has some cool claws too, which makes me like the set even more.

 

I do think it has couple flaws though. While the build of its body is good, it is a shame that its legs don't move. Plus, I do think it could've used a couple more lime green pieces on its tail. But still I like the set and don't regret getting it.

 

Now I just need to build my Skull Warrior set.

Fun fact — an earlier sketch model of Skull Scorpio had a snapping function for the claws on its arms as well as the claw on its tail. Posable legs, too. But it had to be reduced in size a lot to meet the $15 price point. Kind of makes me wish that it could have been a $20 set.

But of course, there are other reasons besides price point why having a single function might be better from a play perspective (unless you can manage to link the functions to a single trigger point). And while articulated legs would have been good, though I think one point of articulation per leg (like the Nui-Jaga) would have been sufficient. Much more than that on a six-legged creature and it can become something of a chore to pose.

Of the six released so far, Obi-Wan, probably. I like his head sculpt (though its size means it might be tougher to use in MOCs than I'd anticipated), he's generally well armored, and his costume is one of the more interesting ones visually (not as monochrome as many of the others). He has less brick-built equipment than Luke, Cody, or Jango (just a cape and a lightsaber, no backpack, jetpack, or blaster), but I still really like his design.

I don't know if I can pick a favorite of the six coming out in January until we have better pics, because renders from the LEGO Club Magazine generally don't show sets in the best light.

PokeMOCs!  (Nintendo's stubborness to share any of its ideas be hanged!  I already have so many good ideas for a game based on this.)

It is unlikely that Nintendo will ever agree, but

 

I'd love sets based on The Legend of Zelda and Fire Emblem

 

(ok maybe I just want a Lucina minifig)

I agree that Nintendo wouldn't agree to work with Lego, but one can always hope, right?

 

(I really want a Samus Aran set, FTR.)

Why all these assumptions that Nintendo wouldn't be willing to work with LEGO? They've been willing to work with K'nex, Mega Bloks, and Nanoblock in the past. Other than quality, what makes LEGO any different? Besides that it's a much bigger company with a much wider reach, which I imagine could only be a good thing.

Anyway, The Legend of Zelda is one licensed theme that could be interesting to see. I think it could translate well to LEGO, and I see no reason it couldn't ever happen.

Steven Universe could be cool, but I'm not sure how well the characters would translate to LEGO. The characters' body types are very different, so minifigs and mini-dolls alike might be too limited. Even constraction could be difficult. Brick-built characters might be an option, though (I've already built Garnet, Amethyst, and Pearl on LEGO Digital Designer at close to miniland scale).

There are a number of video game brands like Ace Attorney or Professor Layton that I'd love to see in LEGO, but I could only really see them working out as individual LEGO Ideas or LEGO Dimensions products, not as fully-fledged themes.

Two siblings rule a magical land and bestow great gifts upon its peaceful inhabitants. However, one sibling's works are loved and celebrated more than the other's. The underappreciated sibling becomes jealous and resentful and taps into a dangerous power that transforms them into a being of darkness. Realizing the danger that has been unleashed, the other sibling attacks, removing the threat for a very long time. Centuries later, the resentful sibling threatens to return and bring darkness back to the land. Six inexperienced magical heroes, each representing a different element, are brought together for a dangerous quest to discover the power inside themselves and restore harmony to the land. Their quest brings them through the untamed wilderness of the land and ultimately to the ruins of the place from which the two siblings once ruled over the land.

Bionicle 2015? Or My Little Pony Friendship is Magic?

But Hewki and Macku now have a big height difference... unless he becomes a Turaga and that's just plain out wrong. (Or she could become a Toa, but that wouldn't be nearly as funny...).

I wouldn't overthink the height difference. Height ≠ age. Even in real life, a person with dwarfism and a person without dwarfism can fall in love, no problem.

From a serious standpoint, I think that Matoran and Toa could understand romance just fine if exposed to it. They might even learn to experience it themselves through random happenstance even if the Agori WEREN'T introduced into the equation. I mean, they weren't meant to develop entire cultures and they managed that anyhow. "Intent and outcome are rarely coincident."

I don't think it was a very good designer video. It didn't really go into detail with the set's history and just kinda felt like an extended ad. I would have loved to have seen a prototype mask of creation.

This is honestly what the majority of designer videos consist of. The Toa designer videos earlier this year were unconventional; designer videos for other themes generally focus more on the features of the final set itself (including new parts, play features, and color choices), as this video did, and less on concept art and development trivia.

Plus we already did get to see a bunch of Mask of Creation concept art on the LEGO Bionicle Facebook page over a year ago! So while it would have been cool to see something like that in this video, it wouldn't necessarily be something we hadn't seen before.

Ironically, the designer videos for the first half of the year were criticized by a lot of people for the opposite problem — focusing too much on the mask designs and not enough on the sets' other features like their color schemes, builds, functions, and other new parts. Yet even though this video is longer than those were and went into quite a bit of depth describing many of the set's design choices, there are people in this thread disappointed it didn't go into detail about what was important to them.

You really can't please everyone. That's not an indictment of the designer or of the people commenting here, just a statement of fact. No matter what they spent this video talking about, it could never answer everyone's individual questions, because everyone has a different idea of which aspects of the set need further explanation and which do not.

Vaguely reminds me of comic books.

Thanks! I'd love to one day have both the patience and the imagination to do a comic. Storytelling has never been my forte, though.

How hard was it to capture all the details of the set on such a dark-colored model? I know that it's your style to draw while using the real set as a reference and it looks amazing, especially after you ink it, but I find this statement a little contradictory to the picture:

 

Korgot, should be female. I tried to reflect that in this drawing without deviating from the set's distinctive muscular proportions.

 

I don't quite see either traits in the real life toy, all I see is pieces of plastic put together and any sense of personality or character doesn't get conveyed as a result.

 

Regarding the color, I tended to work on this drawing when I had good lighting. But it helped that I have drawn a number of Technic and CCBS sets before, so I generally knew what the parts should look like, and all I really needed to reference were the angles they were at.

The "muscularity" of the set's design is mostly reflected in the large, powerful chest and somewhat broad shoulders (a trait that's even more evident on Ekimu the Mask Maker and Narmoto, Protector of Fire). The set itself is not overtly masculine or feminine, but I think it can be viewed as either gender. When Korgot's gender was revealed, some people seemed to think it was a silly decision, since in their eyes the set was overtly masculine. And even the many people who thought it was a positive decision often created MOCs and revamps that seemingly tried to "feminize" the set's appearance. In this drawing I didn't want to go with that approach. After all, Korgot already has an "hourglass figure", so to speak, which is one of the most stereotypical female gender identifiers in cartoon character design besides eyelashes. Even without narrow shoulders or long legs or meticulously sculpted breasts I think she can be understood as a woman in armor.

From there it was just a matter of coming up with a pose that felt feminine but not dainty or heavily sexualized. I felt the sketch I came up with in my initial pose helped emphasize the set's arched back and "hourglass figure" while still feeling strong both physically and emotionally. And when I got home it was just a matter of posing the set to match and then redrawing the figure to reflect the actual set's proportions when posed in that fashion.

Thank you for your feedback!

Great job on this entry! I loved it when I first saw it on Tumblr. The Toa feel really accurate to the sets while also being slightly stylized, and the overall composition with the masks and planets is very dramatic. Everything about this entry feels incredibly professional.

Awesome drawings! They're extremely accurate to the set. Is this in colored pencil or pen? If it's pen, you deserve even more accolades, since I know I'd be making mistakes all over the place with a pen sketch this detailed. Amazing work!

This is epic! You did a great job mimicking Carlos D'Anda's style using colors and textures.

One thing that bothers me is that Tahu's midsection feels very long. On the set, the "codpiece" begins shortly below what would be his navel, while here it barely covers his crotch area. Also, given the way his chest sinks forward, I feel like his torso shouldn't be so long to begin with. Together with his extremely pinched waist, it gives him a somewhat gangly feel, even moreso than the set's long legs and arms did.

But other than those proportional quirks like that, you did a great job on the mask, hands, weapons, and armor. The overall composition is very solid. Great work!

 
Flickr | DeviantArt

 
Back in August I doodled a quick sketch of Korgot, Protector of Earth while at family camp in West Virginia. Once I got back home I decided to redraw it with the actual set on hand for reference, and a couple days ago (after fixing some errors I saw with the proportions of her shoulder armor) I finally finished inking it. I tried to adhere to the same style as my previous drawing of Gali, Master of Water
 
The Protector of Earth set is John Ho's design, but Ryder Windham, the author of the chapter book "Island of Lost Masks", helped popularize the character by deciding that the current Protector of Earth, Korgot, should be female. I tried to reflect that in this drawing without deviating from the set's distinctive muscular proportions.

I think it's very cool that Bionicle characters' gender is no longer strictly tied to their element like it was in the theme's first generation, that one of the most powerful-looking Protectors is a woman, and that a character as strong and wise as Onua, Master of Earth, has a female mentor.

I fail to see the interest in these works. They are simple at best, crude at worst. 

If you can't understand it then I probably can't explain it to you, but needless to say a lot of these backgrounds are easily as picturesque and evocative as any of the backgrounds we got to see in the 2001 story media, and in some cases far more so. Plus, all these backdrops have a coherent and distinctive design language of bold colors, painterly textures, dynamic lighting, and crisp, angular outlines. Back then we got this and this, now we have this and this. It's a daring new visual identity for the Bionicle world.

What LEGO Ninjago sets or minifigures would you like to see in the future? They can be characters and costumes from Ninjago media like the TV show and graphic novels, or new characters and costumes you dream up!

In this topic, you don't have to limit yourself to what's realistic. Yes, I know characters like Seliel from the LEGO Ninjago graphic novels aren't likely to ever appear as figs. But if that's a fig you'd like released, you're welcome to suggest it here!

I'll start off. I'd love to see "Airjitzu Nya Flier" and "Airjitzu Lloyd Flier" sets, similar to this year's Airjitzu fliers. They would come with brand-new Airjitzu Nya and Airjitzu Lloyd minifigures. I don't know if there's ever any chance of this happening, but we know Lloyd already officially has Airjitzu in the story from when he was possessed by Morro, and I think Nya should get the opportunity to learn Airjitzu as well! The Airjitzu minifigures are very stylish and it would be exciting to see what they would look like for Nya and Lloyd's elements.

I'd also like to see stone armor versions of Jay and Cole (from Episode 34 "The Titanium Ninja"). We got stone armor versions of Zane and Lloyd in set 70728 Battle for Ninjago City and a stone armor version of Kai will be appearing in this year's Target-exclusive minifigure cube (one of which was somehow obtained and auctioned off at BrickFair Virginia). But Jay and Cole are still left out. I'm not sure what would be a good opportunity to release those figs, but I would like an opportunity to add them to my collection!

And as silly as it is, I'd like a Kendo Lloyd minifigure. Last year's minifigure cube included a Lloyd DX minifigure, a costume Lloyd has never officially worn. He wasn't even a ninja when that costume was current! But it still looked awesome. And the nice thing about a Kendo Lloyd minifigure is that it'd have a 2011-style costume for Lloyd underneath! So together with Lloyd DX's hood, it'd be like getting two new costumes in one!

 

Wait they have gears in the creatures. How did they keep these in the same price ranges as this year? 

I have no clue. Maybe they are a bit smaller? I don't think having gears makes the sets cost any more to develop if the pieces aren't very big. Either way, I'm hyped.

 

Yeah, gears don't really add more to a set's cost than any other piece would. I mean, the Protector of Ice already had two gears just being used as knobs to spin the shield and blaster. Considering Ikir doesn't have a shield or blaster, including two or three gears for a wing flapping function is no trouble at all.

The bigger part of the cost would be that some of those gears are a new mold. But by spreading those around throughout other sets (who knows, they might even show up in regular Technic sets), that cost can be distributed, same as with the new shooter pieces from this year's Protectors.

I have a feeling it might be a while. Ninjago is getting a movie, but Ninjago is ridiculously popular. "When Ninjago: Masters of Spinjitzu launched in January 2011, it set new financial and innovation records for LEGO. The LEGO Group reported a 20 percent increase in sales in the first quarter of 2011, largely due to the overwhelming popularity of the Ninjago line, which went on to rack up the highest single-year sales of any LEGO-invented theme in the company's history." (Brick by Brick, p265). Its Google search interest regularly exceeds both LEGO City and LEGO Star Wars (in fact, at its peak in December 2012, it generated more search interest than those two themes combined).

But you're right that movie studios might consider the possibility of a theatrical Bionicle film provided that both the upcoming LEGO spin-off films and the upcoming LEGO Bionicle Netflix series prove successful. Bionicle has both a lot of nostalgic appeal (something Hollywood seems to love) and a very clear storytelling foundation. Still, I think it's probably safe to assume the Bionicle theme's popularity today is still far below its peak in 2002–2003, and it might take some real growth before the LEGO Group and filmmakers are willing to give a Bionicle theatrical film a shot.

Also can we please stop talking about the Hero Factory feature film as if that was ever likely to happen? The only news we EVER got on that front was a vague article about Universal being "in talks" to develop a Hero Factory live-action movie. From the start, the pitch sounded like a fairly blatant attempt by Universal to create their own answer to Paramount's Transformers film franchise, and we never saw any indication that the LEGO Group was remotely interested in the concept. From my understanding, there were lots of similar pitches for Bionicle movies back in Generation One, and LEGO turned them down not because the theme wasn't popular enough to support them, but because the pitches went against the LEGO Group's vision for the brand (for instance, introducing human kids from our world as the main characters).

At first glance, it's a bit more simplistic than, say, the modular buildings are, but those really set the high bar in terms of urban building detail. I'd highly consider getting this if the price wasn't so ridiculously high—I get how licensing is, but this still comes across as a tad excessive.

I wouldn't even entirely attribute the cost to licensing. It's a 4634 piece set, so it's not surprising it costs $350. In fact, it's almost surprising it doesn't cost more, when you consider that the Temple of Airjitzu costs $200 for just 2028 pieces and the Death Star costs $400 for just 3803 pieces. That's right, this set costs $50 LESS than the Death Star for 831 MORE pieces!

sooooo pretty! O:

 

i honstly might like the stylization and scenery of this... more than MNOG! (or at least, as much for different reasons)

Oh, I can absolutely agree there! Mata Nui Online Game's world was great in that you could explore it on your own, but visually it sometimes left something to be desired (particularly in the case of the incredibly pixellated slopes of Mount Ihu as seen from Po-Wahi). It would be incredible if the LEGO Group created a G2 Bionicle game that let you explore these sorts of picturesque landscapes firsthand!

Fortunately, the teaser image that accompanied the press release for next year's LEGO Bionicle Netflix series seems to indicate that the angular visual language used in these backgrounds will be maintained in The Journey to One. Tahu looks like he might even be taking cues from the Kopaka "look test" we've seen both here and on Dum!Dum!'s website.

While I quite liked the more cartoony style of the character designs from this year's animations, I'm open to the possibility of a more detailed style as long as the designs are still expressive. After all, the style of Tahu in that pic is not unlike the style I've adopted for some of my Bionicle 2015 drawings like Gali and Korgot (who I really ought to finish inking now that the Month of Earth is upon us)!

Not sure if these have been seen before, but I know that DUM!DUM! was the studio that did the animation for the 2015 animations. However, came across this while browsing Artstation, I guess Artwoork Studios was the visual development studio that did the style/backgrounds for the shorts. The link shows a bunch of the environments without the characters as well as some awesome color scripts.

 

https://www.artstation.com/artwork/q0P6a

Reported to the front page! Amazing find! I love these backdrops, and this is our first time seeing many of them without any Toa, villagers, or Skull Spiders obstructing the view. They truly do a lot to make Okoto feel like a diverse and mysterious world. I hope some of this design language makes it into the Netflix series next year. The teaser image we've gotten would seem to indicate that it does.

 

 

Perhaps she will be voicing Mayor Barbara Gordon?

 

We already know that Batman/Barbara Gordon will be played by Rosario Dawson, so that sorta rules that out.

 

I've corrected the news story. Truth be told, Deadline's story seemed kinda dubious to me in terms of its lack of detail, which is part of why I didn't report on it when I first saw the news this morning.

 

Maybe you need to correct the "Batman/Barbara Gordon" phrase in your post, too?

 

Honestly, dozens of websites messed up here. It's not your fault. Has Deadline even corrected the original article?

 

D'oh! Fixed.

No, the Deadline article does not appear to have been corrected...

Perhaps she will be voicing Mayor Barbara Gordon? 

We already know that Batgirl/Barbara Gordon will be played by Rosario Dawson, so that sorta rules that out.

I've corrected the news story. Truth be told, Deadline's story seemed kinda dubious to me in terms of its lack of detail, which is part of why I didn't report on it when I first saw the news this morning.

Maersk Blue is still around: but it would be nice to see it in more than just the Maersk sets.

They actually don't even use it in the Maersk sets anymore, because Maersk actually changed their corporate color. So the Maersk Line Triple-E actually used Medium Azur (which is a near-match for the new corporate color) instead of Pastel Blue (Maersk Blue).

 

 

 

I'm hoping for an Exo-Force reboot after Ninjago fades away.

As much as I loved Exo-Force, I think you'll be waiting a long time if that's your condition for when an Exo-Force reboot would be possible. As of this year, Ninjago is an evergreen theme like LEGO City, and according to the LEGO Group's employee magazine their plans for it extend at least ten years from now.

 

Another ten years? Well, then. We'll be seeing those Ninjas for quite a long time. Perhaps within the next ten years we'll get a Ninjago wave based around mechs. I don't think it's likely, but possible. It'd definitely be an interesting concept to see.

 

Pretty much all the ninja have gotten a mech at one point or another, so it would be redundant.

 

Most of the ninja have had dragons before too, but as of this year some of them have started getting new dragons, as well as a new version of their flagship from 2012, the Destiny's Bounty. If a theme always sticks strictly to doing stuff it's never done before it risks getting further and further from its roots.

Now, with that said, I agree a year based entirely around mechs is kind of unlikely, because Ninjago likes to keep its offerings each year fairly diverse. Even in the 2014 "Rebooted" lineup, which was heavily tech-based, the only real mechs were Cole's Earth Mech, the Nindroid MechDragon, and the Overlord's walking power armor. The rest of the sets focused on other types of vehicles.

Set-wise, the characters are colorful and diverse. I love building models with lifelike articulation and exciting play features like shooters, gear functions, and dual-function weapons. Building with the CCBS has been especially therapeutic during the times when I've felt most anxious and frustrated, like at my last college. I have been lucky enough to watch the evolution of Bionicle sets from the very start to this year's reboot, and I'm glad to have been able to help support the theme for all that time.

Story-wise, I love character-driven storylines set in invented fantasy worlds, especially ones that playfully mash up concepts that are normally disparate (in this case, mechanical characters with magical powers in a seemingly primitive tropical island setting). I also really love stories with heroes who have elemental powers. I also generally tend to prefer kids' stories that clearly separate good and evil, with good characters triumphing in the end, to more cynical adult stories. Even though I'm 24, most of the books I enjoy reading and TV shows I enjoy watching are kid-oriented.

And community-wise, a lot of the best things to happen to me in the past several years and plans for the rest of my life can be traced back to my experiences as a LEGO and Bionicle fan. Most of my strongest friendships come directly from this community. My contributions to LEGO discussions have earned me a mostly positive reputation in the LEGO community and helped me to make all kinds of connections with incredible people. Being a Bionicle fan helped me learn valuable social and interpersonal skills, which is really valuable to me as an autistic person.

My Bionicle MOCs and fan art have helped keep my creative skills sharp and reassure me of my own creative potential. Loving and learning about the work of LEGO designers has inspired and motivated me to try and become a LEGO designer myself, and I'm making good progress towards that goal. And I've even managed to turn my love of LEGO themes like Bionicle and Ninjago into paid work by writing articles for Blocks Magazine, simultaneously following in my family's journalistic tradition. There is so much that I owe to LEGO in general and Bionicle in particular. It's truly helped make me who I am today. And I hope to one day have that kind of impact on other people.