Random set of the day: Visorak's Gate
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 8769 Visorak's Gate, released during 2005. It's one of 46 Bionicle sets produced that year. It contains 325 pieces and 14 minifigs, and its retail price was US$40.
It's owned by 653 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you should find it for sale at BrickLink, where new ones sell for around $74.60, or eBay.
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23 comments on this article
The Bioncle minifigures were so cool.
It's Bonkle!! With Rocks!
stickers on a BURP
dont think Ive ever seen that before
Fitting given BIONICLE day was this week, and it was '05 themed. Still haven't managed to work my way through the whole livestream so no special fandom reports tonight, and also this thing doesn't have much lore:
After the Great Cataclysm, the Visorak Horde was summoned to the city of Metru Nui. Initially they were supposed to help Makuta establish his dark rule, but when Makuta was unexpectedly defeated and imprisoned by the Toa Metru their occupation shifted. Many of the lower ranking troops simply thought they were waiting for Makuta's return, but Viceroy Roodaka knew the truth of his capture and was staging a rescue.
The Visorak managed to capture the Toa Metru and transform them into the bestial Toa Hordika. Despite their monstrous new forms, the Hordika swore to both find a cure and free the trapped Matoran in the Visorak's grasp.
The Visorak assembled many outposts and fortifications to guard their territory, most notably blocking paths to the Coliseum in the city's center where their main hive (and many hostages) was. While this specific Visorak Gate (and box art fight) never appeared in the story, given BIONICLE characters' affinity for carving giant heads into structures many similar buildings were likely built around the city. Personally I'd wager it was destroyed during the giant kaiju battle between Zivon, Tahtorak, and Krahka.
@Worrissey
Well, this was not the first time, nor the last. The last one happened in 2020, and the first one was in 1997. It would’ve been easy to miss, but it’s not unheard of.
The only one of the '04 playsets I didn't get. This is the only set I'm aware of to use https://brickset.com/parts/design-4276 for greebling purposes, rather than as part of a hinge.
My local collectible store has this sealed for like $60 if not $40. Should I get it?
Speaking of not this at all, I just got back from watching Fellowship of the Ring on the big screen. Oh, and that was the Extended Edition, not the theatrical cut. Really could have used an intermission, though.
The Bionicle playsets were goofy... and a loss considering how alluring the original MNOG made the setting so attractive. Legends of Metru-Nui with that cyberpunk setting too was cool.
The playsets looked like a pile of random bricks with full size Bionicle parts slapped on them. Not a good translation of the Bionicle world.
Bionicle nooo, you're embarrassing us in front of the System-purist AFOLs with all those BURPs :(
@Maxbricks14 said:
"The Bioncle minifigures were so cool."
The later ones that had actual articulation were, these poor Toa Hordika who are stuck perpetually looking sideways with arms extended so much. You can very much tell they’re a first draft.
@Worrissey
I remember some of the sets from the Divers subtheme did the same, I’ve got a few BURPs with fish or seaweed decals stuck on them
Why did the first 2 System Bionicle lines have such an obsession with large proprietary pieces? 2005 its the 90s burps, 2006 its that large rock piece specifically made for 2006 System Bionicle
@Maxbricks14 said:
"The Bioncle minifigures were so cool."
Like lil' green army men... only System.
This is an interesting one. I like the sliding side entrances made with BURPs and LURPs. The actual gate has a mechanism above it that launches the visorak. It's also interesting that the visorak head here is approximated with a curved panel.
Not the best of the playsets. But cool that it exists the way it does :)
I don't remember flaming boulders in Web of Shadows.
The weapon molds for the minifig Hordika used in these were amazing, still use them in mocs. I loved the playsets as a kid and still do. Never had this one, might need to rectify that
@PurpleDave said:
"Speaking of not this at all, I just got back from watching Fellowship of the Ring on the big screen. Oh, and that was the Extended Edition, not the theatrical cut. Really could have used an intermission, though."
What about second bathroom break?
You've already peed.
@Brickalili said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"The Bioncle minifigures were so cool."
The later ones that had actual articulation were, these poor Toa Hordika who are stuck perpetually looking sideways with arms extended so much. You can very much tell they’re a first draft."
At least they have their own masks.
Is there some kind of name for single-colour, high-detail, unarticulated figures on a plinth like these and early podracers like Sebulba and Aldar Beedo? Statuefigs?
My understanding is that the idea behind the Bionic "system" style sets was that traditional canister style Bionicle sets required frequent new molds. Those are typically expensive. I think the Lego company hoped that more people would transition to buying these sets and Bionicle could slowly transition and continue on as a system theme.
Unfortunately many of the playsets weren't well thought out. The quality of the builds was inconsistent and, as many have observed, felt like they simply shoehorned in large Bionicle elements. Not to mention the first wave of Hordika figures being unarticulated felt half-baked.
@Worrissey said:
"stickers on a BURP
dont think Ive ever seen that before"
The Divers subtheme from the 90s was rife with such reefs.
@Rimefang said:
" @PurpleDave said:
"Speaking of not this at all, I just got back from watching Fellowship of the Ring on the big screen. Oh, and that was the Extended Edition, not the theatrical cut. Really could have used an intermission, though."
What about second bathroom break?
You've already peed."
Oh, I pointedly underhydrated. Smallest drink they sold, tiny sips every 15-20 minutes so my mouth didn’t get too dry, I wore a hoodie, I tried to keep the seat heater going the entire 3.5 hour runtime, and actually made it halfway through the end credits before I felt the first urge. But this being my only chance to watch the full version, I absolutely did not want to miss anything. Just got to get through two more of these, but I have a bit more freedom of when to watch them now.
I did notice a few odd things that I never would have seen on a TV screen. After they’ve put the One Ring (which is modeled after the wedding ring of one of the production team) in the fireplace, they do several closeups when it’s sitting on the table, and you can see a bit of dirt sitting on the edge in the lower right. Then there’s a wider shot where it’s spotless. During the council scene, Mortensen has what looks like a small scar across his upper lip where there’s a gap in his mustache, but the gap appears and disappears randomly depending on when that shot fell in the filming schedule. And I’d known to watch for this after watching the commentary track with Peter Jackson, but when you look at someone’s eyes, you’ll see a white dot of light reflected on the curvature of the lens, which is called something like the “soul light”. They wanted Galadriel to appear otherworldly, so when filming her, they’d hang a clump of Christmas lights by the camera, so in the extreme closeups of her face you can make out about 20 little specks of white light reflecting in Blanchett’s eyes. When you know it’s there, it looks really bizarre. When you don’t, I know they were hoping you’d subconsciously notice that something isn’t quite right, but I have no idea if it actually worked. I do know that the smaller the image you’re looking at, the less likely it is to register at all.
Huwbot's been watching me, I just bought a Bionicle set at a car boot sale yesterday...!
Not this one, granted; not even from the same year (although it was at least from the same story arc, so...?). But still, it's a bit of a connection xD
I had a couple of the 2005 playsets, but not this one. This was a retailer-exclusive set, and though I wasn't 100% sure off the top of my head to which chain, BZPower's news archive confirms for me that it was a Toys 'R' Us exclusive.
It was also the only one of the 2005 playsets not to include a dark gold (later pearl gold) recolour of an existing Bionicle head or mask piece - the Battle Ram and Battle for Metru Nui scene had different Visorak shells, while Tower had Makuta's mask - which was part of the reason I never found it particularly appealing compared to the others even back in the day, especially when the included single-piece-figures were the same across all the sets. I get that retailer-exclusive sets don't often get major part recolours, but that still made it feel like a downgrade compared to the other three.
I do like, at least, that the playsets referenced Matoran architecture's tendency to carve giant masks and faces. Several places in the Mata Nui Online Game back in 2001 had those, particularly in Po-Koro's Path of Prophecy and quarry, as well as the gateway to the Kini Nui temple, so having huge recreations of Turaga Dume or Toa Lhikan's masks (or even, as in this case, a Visorak's head) as the gateways felt like an appropriate homage towards that. At the time I remember thinking that the moulded Lhikan Hau was just the coolest, but in hindsight I do wonder what it might have looked like if those had been creatively brick-built, instead...
Also agreed with @xboxtravis7992; while some of the playsets could be decent, the 'basic system frames covered with Bionicle weaopn pieces' approach was certainly a choice - and some of the 2006 sets took it even further in that direction, I imagine the Lava Chamber Gate perhaps most of all would look very bare with the Bionicle parts removed. That said though, honestly I'd be kinda interested to see what modern Lego designers would do with the concept of Bionicle location builds; I feel like we'd definitely get more authentically scenery-looking sets that way!
Also, just a note that this seems to be the first of the 2005 playsets to be RSotD!
I bought 8759 used but complete in box once for 20 Euro just as a parts pack for certain rare dark red pieces. I didn't even realize back then that it was a Bionicle set because I only knew the constraction type figures of the theme.