Classic LEGO sets: BIONICLE
Posted by TheBrickPal,
Ah, BIONICLE. There was nothing quite like it. BIONICLE was like that new kid who walked into the school in that new third grade school year, beginning around August of 2001. He was not quite like all the other students, and many didn't like him at first. However, when you walk in, you meet him, and get to know him. He ends up becoming your best friend. You do everything together, all the way until he graduates in 2010. It's a weird analogy, I know. But it works well. BIONICLE was an instant classic among many, and 2001 was the beginning of something great for so many children around the world, who are now in college or something. They became involved in the adventures of the Toa until the very end.
I'm only a freshman in high school now, but I still hold the first sets of this particular theme near and dear to my heart. Just last month, I received many early BIONICLE sets as hand-me-downs from my cousin. I'm hooked. The nostalgia factor of these for me is still quite large, despite starting to get my first BIONICLE sets in 2004. If you never had the chance to get any 2001 sets (which were included under the Technic banner), you don't know what you missed.
BIONICLE inspired many of the current story and media-driven themes, such as Ninjago, Chima, and Mixels (to a lesser extent, as not much is there in terms of story). So even if you don't like constraction, you can thank BIONICLE for other great themes of the last decade. I've gone on enough with this introduction. Now, with a relaunch of the beloved line planned for next year, let's take a few minutes, and go back in time... the time before time, when the Great Spirit descended from the hea-
Toa Mata
8532 Onua
8532 Onua was the Toa Mata of Earth, known for his hunched-back appearance. The Toa Mata incorporated gear functions for their arm(s) (and in Pohatu's case, leg), which became a staple of the theme's sets, until being almost non-existent by 2006. Although the posability of the Toa Mata was definitely lacking, the gears were still a welcomed addition. Onua here uses his function to move his arms up and down, simulating digging using his claws. The Kanohi Pakari worn by Onua will forever be one of my favorite masks.
8535 Lewa
8535 Lewa was the lighthearted Toa Mata of Air, and is a fan favorite among many. His green color has not appeared in constraction since who knows when (and no, 4528 Green Lantern didn't have the same shade). Due to this, this shade of green is sometimes referred to as Mata Green. Lewa's gear function is swinging his great big axe at enemies, which is one of the more fun play features of all the Mata, I think. Part of the reason these functions existed was to knock masks off of other Toa, or dangerous Makuta-controlled Rahi. The Kanohi Miru is a mask that suits Lewa's personality perfectly. Just look at that smile!
8536 Kopaka
8536 Kopaka was the independent Toa Mata of Ice, and is even BIONICLE writer Greg Farshtey's favorite character. Kopaka began the trend of having great ice-themed characters in other themes, such as Zane from Ninjago (who, not to mention, is also organic/robotic and serious) and the Frosticons from Mixels. Kopaka's sword-wielding gear funtion is also very nice. The set also made use of a System satellite piece as a shield. The Kanohi Akaku is an instant classic, with its one microscopic eye.
Matoran, Rahi, and Turaga
1391 Jala
The six Matoran (then Tohunga) villagers from the island of Mata Nui were released as part of a McDonald's Happy Meal promotion in 2001. Dubbed the McToran by fans, their arms make use of a disc throwing feature. Not only are they adorable, but they go greatly with the normal retail sets! 1391 Jala here (who eventually became the Toa Inika and Mahri leader Jaller) wears the Kanohi Hau, which is a yellow version of Toa Tahu Mata's mask. The McToran are still available for sale in some places online.
8537 Nui-Rama
The enemies of the 2001 story were the Rahi (Matoran word for "animal"), peaceful creatures controlled by Makuta Teridax for his own nefarious plots. 8537 Nui-Rama, an insect-like Rahi, was one of them. It includes two of the same species: one in lime green and one in orange. They have a neat feature that involves pushing their upper-bodies forward to activate a wing-snapping mechanism, meant to knock off an opponent's mask. It is definitely a neat set.
8540 Vakama
8540 Vakama was one of the village elders known as the Turaga. Fans also know him as a Toa Metru and Hordika in the flashback years of 2004 and 2005. His mask, the Kanohi Huna, was also included in 1390 Maku. His main function is moving his fire staff by pressing down a lever in his back, due to a rubber band stretched from the lever to around his neck.
BIONICLE went on for many more years (almost a decade, which is almost unheard of in even today's theme standards), bringing more and more fantastic sets, which ranged in size and color. I hope you consider purchasing some of these, as just holding one makes you think about what LEGO would be like today if BIONICLE never existed.
The hype train is nearing its destination. No brakes. Brace for impact! Are YOU looking forward to the return of BIONICLE?
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47 comments on this article
Personally, I got into the theme around the last year, with the Glatorian Legends. I got Mata Nui and Ackar. I liked the Scorpio X-V1, (I think that's what it was called) but never got it.
That's a pretty accurate analogy, actually. Great article, I enjoyed the read!
Also, you sound way too mature for a freshman.
YES I AM!
Yes, Bionicle was my favorite theme and I followed the story faithfully for years. Wonderful little article, brought me back to my childhood, playing with the original Toa. (Sigh)
Sir, I consider myself the crazy guy hanging off the front of the engine yelling "BIONICLEEEEEEE!!"
Hype train destination in sight. About 2-3 hours, gauging from the time the others were posted.
Am I the only person in the whole world who likes hero factory better than bionicle?
Huw, you just made my day again :D
"On the day that LEGO is going to reveal that Bionicle is making a comeback..."
Spoilers! Wait, no, blind hermits living under rocks on Mars saw this coming. Okay, fair enough.
Personally, I was never much into Bionicle. The sets looked interesting enough (although it seemed like there were a LOT of entire lines that were exactly the same as previous lines, just with slightly different colours. I can deal with overt money grabs as much as the next consumer, but I felt it crossed a line a couple of times). But honestly, the storyline was what turned me off. After a few years, it just felt like it got increasingly tangled, and towards the end I found it incomprehensible, so I just gave up and didn't worry about it anymore.
I remember back in 2001 a seven-year-old me bought Onua and Pohatu with his own money, despite protests from my mother thinking them "Creepy" The term "Creepy" became her refrain, until eventually it switched over to "Aren't you a bit too old for those?"
Having never owned a Bionicle set and having absolutely no knowledge of the story behind Bionicle, the set descriptions were largely unintelligible. Clearly not written for those who are unfamiliar with the line.
Where is the official announcement??? Can't find anything about it.
I am not a big fan of bionicle...so if this is the big announcement, I have to breathe a sigh of relief. Now I will be able to keep my money at least until October when I will commence to spend it all for triple VIP points for tons of other Lego sets I want.
Great to see BIONICLE celebrated, though now I feel old. 2001 was such a great year (2002 doubly so) for me, and BIONICLE was a significant part of why that is so. From the Mata Nui Online Game to the CD-ROMs with ambient videos about the Legend of Mata Nui and the Toa in action, Lego really set a good tone for these unusual-looking sets.
I would've chosen a better variety of sets to talk about. In the Rahi category, I would've mentioned Muaka and Kane-Ra, the $65 set featuring the tiger and bull-like Rahi, one of which had the coveted infected Hau masks, which formed the main story logo for BIONICLE in 2001. The Manas were even more unique, as they were the sole instance of remote-controlled toys in the BIONICLE line (and thusly, despite not being very high in piece count, were still the most expensive sets).
Here is a link to my Brickshelf folder with some of my BIONICLE sets and Kanohi collections featured. They haven't been updated, but I definitely own all the original Kanohi released in 2001, so if anyone wants to take a look at the variety of masks available back then, check it out!
http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=88839
Hype train! The BCC Wiki is hoping to podcast on this today, so I'll make sure to reference this article!
Kind of funny that of all the Rahi to spotlight, you chose the Nui–Rama. They were the most basic of the Rahi that year, basically just borrowing their action feature from the Slizer/Throwbots sets that preceded them. Personally, I think the coolest of the 2001 Rahi sets was 8538 Muaka and Kane-Ra.
After obtaining almost every Bionicle set I'm very very very happy to see them return and I cannot wait to buy them on the release date and put them on my shelves where once hero factory stood.
I hope the story is just as great as the story of the old Bionicle and not as simple as hero factory.
Well, I have over half of the bionicle sets LEGO made, so I can't wait to see the new stuff!
I had already been on the decline with weird and poorly designed Lego sets and themes like Fright Knights and Life on Mars when Bionicle came out. Bionicle was the final nail in the coffin, it was such a departure from the philosophy of Lego as I knew it - ONE way to build them, there's a story so no imagination, and frankly the naming system still just sounds so dumb.
I'm glad that was the era I grew out of Lego. Jumping from about 1997 to about 2009 saved me a lot of grief of what I consider to be Lego's absolute worst ideas and designs.
"You can thank Bionicle for Ninjago, Chima and Mixels" Yea, but I consider those among Lego's worst productions.
I know people hold Bionicle dear, but all the gushing has me needing to spit back a little bile every now and then.
Just recently joined to brickset. My LEGO adventure started with Bionicle. Unfortunately I've lost most of them and I am really sad about it. Even now I remember those little games you got on the cd's along with some sets. Oh nostalgya..
Well, the official announcement from LEGO is up on their Facebook and Twitter!
https://www.facebook.com/LEGOBionicle
I am also a university freshman or whatever they call it here in the UK and Bionicle was the first sets I bought, I watched the first 3 movies but as I got older I drifted out after the undersea one. Then there was the gladiatorial stuff with Mata nui himself but I was into other Lego such as star wars at that point and I never saw the Mata Nui movie although I planned to. Was it any good? Anyways nice to see one of my childhood things making a spectacular return as I have just saw the prelims and I will defo be picking up some of those! I especially like the Old Toa in new style like Tahu still has his surfboard but is updated. So is this then set after the mask of light and not a prequel then? As the old toa are there and the first film ended open ended. Hope they do a new film with new visuals but the old voice cast that'd be good.
@danRSL: Wow, it must be tough being allergic to other people's fun. You have my sympathies. :(
Think of it this way: widely-loved and imaginative themes like BIONICLE and Ninjago are part of the reason the LEGO Group still makes enough money to produce the themes you happen to like.
Huh, I certainly appreciate the article, since I usually associate people here with disliking of Constraction themes. Thanks for the nostalgia!
It's great to hear all of your opinions.
@Paragon132: When I do things like this, I prefer to sound professional. Thanks for the compliment!
@Lego Lord Mayorka and Aanchir: It is very funny that you both say that, because I totally would have reviewed 8538 Muaka & Kane-ra if I owned it. Alas, I don't. In fact, the only other 2001 sets I own that I didn't showcase are 1390 Maku, 1392 Kongu, and 1418 Matau. Sorry!
@DanRSL: Alright, maybe YOU don't like constraction, but a lot of other people do. And those themes I mentioned have pretty large fanbases, and sell very well, so you can't argue with that.
I'm most certainly excited. Bionicle remains one of my all time favorite franchises and it was the toy and story that really defined my boyhood (until it was finally canceled). I was with it the entire ride, and I hated to see it go. The original toa (and Borok) are just priceless in my mind. I hope that the new story will be at least a little like the old one (allowing itself to be a little bit dark and mysterious). Anyway, we'll see what happens, but I plan to buy at least some of the new sets for nostalgia's sake alone!!
And you picked today of all days to put this up. :P
Greenninja, I was wondering why you didn't showcase Tahu (the poster child for Bionicle) until I saw your comment above. Huh.
What is the color used in Lewa Mata? Bright Green, like in that 2012 City Garbage Truck?
@DanRSL: You also must consider that BIONICLE saved LEGO from going extinct. LEGO wouldn't exist anymore and wouldn't have become one of the best toy manufactures if it wasn't for BIONICLE.
@PicnicBasketSam: The original Lewa set uses classic LEGO green, which is officially called Dark Green and which Bricklink just calls Green.
Bionicle helped kick off my dark ages.
Damn you, Bionicle.
Probably not a bad thing considering how poor a lot of Lego's output was through the awkward era of the early 21st century.
^ I actually think BIONICLE did the opposite for me — it carried me through what would have probably been my dark ages otherwise. And it's one of the few themes during that era that, for me, has generally maintained its appeal in hindsight.
I just saw the preliminaries for Bionicle and numerous other sets, and Bionicle doesn't look like anything special for next year. They look small, and Hero Factoyr definitely had them topped this year. Of course they are just preliminary images, but they don't look that interesting, except one of them, perhaps a fire/lava one, had one of the new rapid-fire stud shooters. I found them on a Google forum.
Good to see some interest for the Bionicle theme history (of the sets). As "opportunistic" as it seems, in the spite of Bionicle's "return", it is interesting to understand Bionicle as something way more complex than a simple "theme name" (constraction) or "building system" (ball-joint based, as the designers repeatedly try to make us remember). This "new theme" isn't that new in the same manner as it is far from the Bionicle we're discussing here. Putting the likeness of the Toa Mata masks in Hero Factory sets is so much an opportunity, and is very "low" to the standards I used to expect from Lego.
Anyway, I've been collecting information on Bionicle, predecessors and sucessors of the theme in some bricklists: http://brickset.com/bricklists/author-Gus263
Maybe can help to take a better look, instead of criticizing the "story"(which is unknown to most and really shouldn't be the most important factor of it), the "crisis of lego values" (that is, we can build with whatever pieces, independently of the story or of any "building systems", blaming the theme for whatever reason is either innocence or ignorance) or to just be "hyped" by the looks of the sets.
For example we've had a Kanohi Hau released in 2010, and then in 2015. It surely lost the value I had for it in 2001, it's kind of sad, since that almost exclusive and original looks are so easily milked away.
I'm excited for this. Hopefully the "good old" BIONICLE returns though, instead of some Hero Factory-style garbage.
@ D B Unfortunately, prototype pictures have shown the new BIONICLE sets using Hero Factory "bone and shell" pieces.
I was one of those who very much disliked Bionicle in the beginning--"that's not Lego!" But I ended up with a few, given as gifts at first... then I picked one up because who doesn't like (Tahu's) flaming swords?... Next thing I know, 10 years late to the party, I'm reading up as much as I can on this theme with such incredible depth and a great story line. I only have about 8 Bionicle figures, but they're great sets and I can definitely say I now "get it." Looking forward to what Lego makes for us.
My fav is also Kopaka. I love how even the 8685 Phantoka variant still has that iconic cyclops eye extension. Mahri Hewki, 8912, is also awesome.
What attracted me to this theme were the kanohi masks. But with each passing year the designs got uglier, at least to me (all except the Tahu set from 2010). I always stuck with the originals. Pohatu was, in my opinion, the best looking of the six. Only his mask survives in my possession today.
Sadly, I didn't really get interested into Bionicle until after it was discontinued in 2010. I didn't get my first set until 2013, in which I bough 8729 Toa Inika Nuparu off of ebay. I later got 8902 Vezok, plan on getting some of the older sets, mainly the Toa Mata and Nuva. This article still somehow managed to make me nostalgic (even though Bionicle wasn't a major part of my childhood), and was very informative. Great job!
To each there own, but in Bionicle all I see is sets with unique parts and limited variety.
Of course, i'm ready ! That's my favourite set of LEGO. Even if Heroesfactory were nice, they'll never worth as much as BIONICLEs !
@Aanchir: And this would be because, like SilentMode points out, lime green is slowly taking over the position of regular green? This is at least true in constraction.
Bionicle was not really part of my childhood... I only sort of got into it in 2008/9, by which point it was past the point of no return... I will be picking up some of the '15 sets, because I appreciate constraction much more than I did at the age of six.
I started with Bionicle in 2001 and followed it until about 2008 (Barraki), but I wish I held out for the long haul. I'm happy to see it return, and I hope that it continues the same spirit of the original series. It's inspired me to record more video reviews of older Bionicle sets (this week I published one for Toa Mata Gali), as well as make Bionicle MOCs (coming soon for public viewing). Bionicle was amazing from the start, and the nostalgia in me fires up my excitement on its return. Well written article, and thanks for sharing.
You described it perfectly GreenNinjaCP. So many memories flooding back now...
And its coming back for grad school!
I remember last year at my school dance a thon they were giving out prizes and they call the winners from the announcements by picking out of a hat. I won, i saw the prizes and i saw a Bionicle 2010 Piraka. I picked that. I love that thing!
I have an entire separate box of Legos full of Bionicle parts. I didn't realize I got so many of them when I was a kid. I still have the posters that came with each set hanging on my walls!
I for one never liked Bionicle. As a Technic subtheme. Technic is about axles sprockets spring and pistons. Those were things Bionicle lacked. (also they came out at the time I deserted LEGO as a kid)