O_O waaaaaat
so excited, those guys look awesome, especially kopaka. and that's only the first half
first comment!!!!! ^_^

PARTY TIME!

The sets look pretty cool, though the new Hau is gonna take some getting used to.

KOPAKA!!!! It's great to see Bionicle return!

Happy Dance! Happy Dance! MENTAL DANCE! Im just gettin into bionicle Im ordering a 2010 Tahu off Bricklink tommorow or tuesday!

That Hau has really changed since the preliminary pictures.

Will we be seeing Onua? He's the only one of the original six that's missing.

Where was Onua?

I like the 2010 Hau the best. In Gold!

And WHERE THE MATA NUI WAS ONUA?!?

Ummm... Please don't hate me but, besides storyline, what makes Bionicle different from Hero Factory? To be honest, I don't really see the difference between the new Bionicle sets and Hero Factory. I remember Bionicle being more complex builds with gears and stuff, not just action figures.

I'm sorry but this isn't Bionicle, its Hero Factory with the Bionicle theme slapped on it. Lego, you had a chance to revive a wonderful line of sets to what they once were and instead you amplified the main thing a lot of fans complained about. I had high hopes and now I probably won't buy any of them.

Who Kriffed up Tahu's mask!?!? :P

@ClassicSteam: The storyline, mostly. The BIONICLE storyline has a lot of magical and mythological overtones, and is presented as a legend about biomechanical heroes who use magical masks and elemental powers, whereas the Hero Factory storyline was more of a sci-fi story about robot heroes with high-tech equipment going on missions to defeat campy robot supervillains. Also, the BIONICLE storyline was an ongoing epic, while the Hero Factory storyline was more episodic, with each mission more or less independent of the last.

It's sort of like the difference between Star Wars and Star Trek. They occupy a similar genre and share some subject matter, but one is a saga with an emphasis on heroes and villains with metaphysical abilities, while the other is episodic, slightly campy, and usually invokes less "magic".

As far as the sets are concerned, there's not a huge difference. The original BIONICLE sets were characterized by a tremendous amount of specialized mechanical detail in each and every mold, as was the first wave of Hero Factory sets to a certain extent, but in 2011 most of those parts that previous sets had used were replaced with a smoother and more consistent building system primarily using basic shells and beams in a range of sizes. The new BIONICLE sets continue to use this building system.

Anyway, these images have some surprises for me, and some of my questions about the sets and story remain unanswered, but in general I really like what I see! The new masks for Gali, Pohatu, and Lewa look especially nice! It's good to see many of Hero Factory's aesthetic and structural improvements carry on while some of BIONICLE's stylistic hallmarks like pistons, decorative masks inspired by tribal designs, gear functions, and high-detail weapons get a new lease on life. I'm enthusiastic for future announcements about this theme!

Yes!!! The return of a great theme.

What is this garbage? This is NOT Bionicle, this is a stupid and pathetic name cash-in to get rid of tons upon tons of excess hero factory parts Lego couldn't sell. This is a disgrace.....

@Elite-1 Your imagination is amusing. If sets aren't selling, the LEGO Group's policy isn't to make more sets like them. Otherwise, wouldn't we have seen new sets using Galidor parts after 2002, or more sets using Clikits parts after 2006. Neither happened, because those themes were not successful and the LEGO Group knows better than to try and push an unsuccessful product under a different name.

The sets use the CCBS because the CCBS has revolutionized constraction building and going back to the system that came before would be like System sets going back to non-brick-built model cars. Yes, it'd be more detailed! Yes, it'd be traditional! But they stopped doing it for various reasons, and all of those reasons still stand.

Doesn't mean you have to like it, of course. It was different, and when things are different people are entitled to prefer whichever one better suited them. But your dislike doesn't make it a failure.

As long as the joints don't crack like the newer bionicles did before, im fine with these.

the lego group has brought back bionicle just because you guys want it to, and now you're just gonna complains about it, be thankful please -_-

*Money flies out the window* Money come back!. :( :P

One thing I think most AFOLs do is look at remakes of Lego they had as children and the rose tinted glasses of youth make the stuff they had as a child look infinitely better than the new version. I can look past this, and looking at these new Bionicle I can completely see how all the changes are likely to be improvements to the product when in hand. However I can't get past that they don't look very true to the original.
I only had the first wave of bionicles before hitting dark ages so I was prepared to not see anything like that - especially as I often look at pictures of later Bionicle sets and don't really recognise much of it as Bionicle. However I still plan on getting one to see if the feel of the product brings back any nostalgia, which I wouldn't have bothered with Hero Factory, and you never know it might reopen that building style to me.

Happy for the fans.
But totally not interested.

what really annoys me is that the uploader (Just2good) is making a voting system on which theme he will post next which makes me ask......Why doesn't he just post the website link?

This was pointed out to me by my friend Brigs, but I'll just point this out here as well. On the finalized container art for 70785 Pohatu Master of Stone, you can see two planetoids in the sky in the background. These are likely Bara Magna and Bota Magna before Spherus Magna was reformed, meaning that the new line is indeed a reboot which almost certainly takes place on Aqua Magna.

Wow, they look terrible.

Was expected for more, they look like Duplo sets and this is disgusting

Wow, too much hate here. Sure, it looks like Hero Factory. But what did you expect?? Going back the old system? Lego does a lot of fanservice but not THAT much, I was expecting Hero Factory-esque models, and for the most part am glad with these figures, I'll almost definitely be getting several especially Kopaka.

Kopaka's thighs (Did I spell that right?) look like they have stickers on them. NOOO!

Could be printed.

@SHuN23: Funny how smooth aesthetics seem to equal Duplo to you? Because normal LEGO totally isn't like that, right.

I'm quite happy with how these have turned out. They have a nice balance of having new identities and designs while paying tribute to the old designs. Anyone who was expecting the old BIONICLE building system to return should get their facts right. LEGO didn't design an entirely new and extremely versatile building system only to get rid of it a few years later. Anything else was unrealistic wishful thinking. I think they are doing a decent job of using CCBS while bringing BIONICLE aesthetics into it - that does have its limits, of course. Now what I'm curious about is how they manage the story.

I LOVE Bionicle, so I'm happy to see the return. HERO Factory was fun, but Bionicle stands over it tall, proud and strong. :-)

@Castleguy121: Yeah, I know. BIONICLE's obsession with hyper-specialized, hyper-detailed molds was one of its greatest flaws. It's good to see that it won't have that problem to nearly the same extent the second time around, and will be adopting a more LEGO-like level of systematic visual compatibility. No more need to worry about clashing motifs and textures that risk devolving into meaningless clutter if not used with the utmost care and selectiveness. By using smoother and more basic parts for the main structure, detail can now be used to draw emphasis to certain parts of the sets.

I get that this is different from what people are used to, but sometimes you have to take off the rose-colored glasses and realize that what you're used to wasn't all sunshine and buttercups. The ridiculous level of specialized detail of many older BIONICLE parts was a hindrance in many ways, and a big part of why many AFOLs were never able to think of it as "real LEGO". Other LEGO building systems have always been about using a consistent system of basic parts in modular sizes to build a wide variety of original creations. The CCBS just helped bring constraction sets more in line with those functional and aesthetic principles that have always made LEGO System and LEGO Technic so great and versatile, rather than depending on parts that are too specialized to resemble anything other than exaggerated mechanical detail.

Who knows how many of the specialized parts from BIONICLE are still in usable condition? Many of them were in use for many years, and molds do wear out eventually. I know a number of people are kind of surprised that the Rahkshi staff blade used in the new Kopaka and Pohatu sets is still available, though admittedly it was only used in about five sets and last appeared in 2010. Molds like the Toa Inika upper body, Toa Metru lower body, and Vahki shins were used a lot more extensively and might even be worn out by now.

The smoothness of these designs actually reminds me of the Toa Nuva designs from the promotional images and videos for BIONICLE: The Game. I don't think it's a bad look, or one that's incompatible with the concept of BIONICLE. It's just one that's different from what we're used to seeing in sets. Promotional_Images" target="_blank">http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Gallery:BIONICLE:_The_Game Promotional_Images

I am surprised because I thought to myself," if these look like hero factory I will be mad", but I actually like the toa. It does make sense that lego can't bring back the old system, but I was hoping for a lot of new parts. Some of my favorite things with bionicle were the cool weapons and masks, and it looks like we will get more of those. On the bad side, the villains SUCK. Those little spiders look so much like hero factory spiders. The big spider is awful also. Do overall, I like the toa's new, streamlined look, but I hope they will make better villains cause I hate these new ones.

I wish the new weapons were more of an homage to the original toas' weapons. Gali lost her hooks for that spear and Pohatu doesn't have his feet that I remember. I like the designs for the toa themselves, but I wish Gali looked more feminine. She's got weird giant shoulders.

Also, there's SO MANY TRANS PEICES! Love em and the gold stuff.

Also, based on piece count, these look like they're going to be between $10 - $15 USD

@Camerawn: That is partly why they are so great. I doubt the prices of the sets will get past £15 / $15. Heaven, isn't it?

LOOKS COOL! :D

As usual, Kopoka looks amazing...

@camerawn: Gali's weapon isn't a callback to her Mata weapon, but it is a callback to her Nuva weapon. Her flippers attach to the opposite end of the spear to become the head of an axe.

I actually like Pohatu's boomerangs, mainly because "foot attachments" are a weird concept for a weapon, and one that only really makes sense within the context of the original set's kicking function (which would not have worked nearly as well with a regular Toa Mata foot). Also, I felt like him keeping them in his 2002 Toa Nuva form kind of reinforced that they didn't qualify as a complete weapon to the same extent as Gali's hooks, Onua's claws, or Tahu's firesword, all of which were transformed into brand-new weapons

As far as piece counts, we've seen some leaked information that indicates Gali, Pohatu, and Lewa will all be $15 and Tahu, Kopaka, and Onua will all be $20. Even without looking at any preliminary materials, you can see in these images that there is a clear difference between the sets — the first three all share their recommended age range with this year's $15 Hero Factory sets, while the latter three all share their recommended age range with this year's $20 and $25 Hero Factory sets.

This makes the piece counts for Tahu and Kopaka kind of underwhelming, but that seems to be because they have such large and bulky bulky armor and weapons. Pohatu, too, seems to have a low piece count closer to the smaller "Protector" sets than his fellow Toa.

But this kind of apparent discrepancy is not new for BIONICLE. Back in 2001, the $7 Onua had just one more piece than the $3 Turaga sets Nuju and Onewa, and less than three more pieces than the average piece count for the Turaga. Meanwhile, Pohatu had a grand total of 49 pieces, over ten pieces more than any of the other Toa despite sharing the same $7 price. The difference was obvious: the Turaga used mostly smaller Technic pieces, while the Toa used considerably larger BIONICLE-specific pieces. Pohatu, too, used many more small Technic parts in his construction than the other Toa. When the transformation into Toa Nuva simplified Pohatu's hands, neck, legs, and shoulders, the new 2002 set dropped down to the average Toa Nuva piece count of 40 pieces, while Onua jumped to 41 pieces.

Looks like Hero Factory leaked into Bionicle.by that I mean these are horrible. And Ambrose, just2good is doing that to keep up suspense! He does that also to find out which people want to see most. (Notice Chima wasn't on the list for votes :-)) We should all be thanking him, or we could've been in the dark for a couple more months, or at least a couple of weeks.

http://imgur.com/a/GYvH9
That hau looks horrible in my opinion.

Also, set 70790, you named Skull Krata, but that apparently that was before, it now is Lord of Skull Spiders.

^Skull Krata is the name on the box. Lord of Skull Spiders was a mistranslated name from a leaked set list.

To everyone complaining about these: This is exactly what Bionicle would look like right now if they had kept running it these past five years and still developed the CCBS. If you're going to hate on Hero Factory for having little story and a great building system, why are you hating on Bionicle 2 for having a (presumable) great story and THE SAME GREAT BUILDING SYSTEM?! Some people!

Anyway, I am LOVING those sets. The weapons are very detailed and yet a great homage to the original ones, the armor add-ons add the piston-y feel, the boxart is beautiful, and the masks have lots of individuality. Only thing is, they seem too bulky with the add-ons and gear functions... remember how lanky the original Toa Mata looked?

^PicnicBasketSam: That's not quite true. The only place "Skull Krata" was ever seen was on a box clearly marked as preliminary, whereas Lord of Skull Spiders has been supported by many sources including these new, finalized boxes. And in fact, when the first set list got leaked on a Russian site, the name "Lord of Skull Spiders" was actually in English — no translation needed. Many people just assumed it was a mistranslation because they didn't like the name and were clinging to the possibility that it was not official.

And plenty of people never warmed up to the CCBS, the same way plenty of people never warmed up to BIONICLE in the first place. I definitely agree that it's been a great thing for the constraction category, but that doesn't mean everybody has to feel the same way. It's definitely different than what many people are used to, but I hope the new BIONICLE sets encourage fans who more or less disregarded it in the past to try it out with an open mind.

Mixed feelings about this. I am glad BIONICLE is back though.

At first glance I thought these looked like HF with the BIONICLE name slapped on them. And they really do look like that. The issue being, is that a bad thing? Now obviously LEGO can't completely stray from the HF system they've developed that is now the standard for all "macrofigures" released by LEGO. At the same time, I feel like they made the Mata too similar to HF heroes, with the giant armor pieces and smoothness.

I can't remember what the latest BIONICLE sets were, but when I look at the Glatorian era, even those look so much more "BIONICLE" than these sets. If the name on these packages were to be covered up I would totally believe them to be HF sets. At the moment I'm not quite sure what I mean by this but the new BIONICLE sets need to be "more BIONICLE". I hope some of you can kind of understand my meaning. Something about these new sets just looks off. I'm not sure I'm ready to make a judgment on specifically WHAT looks off, just that they DO look off.

All that being said, I do like some of what I am seeing, particularly in the mask/weapon category. I was never a fan of the new joint/armor plating system HF introduced (I understand the old ones were fragile, but I'm sure something could've been done without this new, "super smooth" system) which tried too hard to make HF models look realistic. There's definitely a charm to the un-smoothness of the sets prior to this reboot.

Again, mixed feelings, but I think there's hope for this reboot of my childhood.

@DR EVIL That goes in the forum.

@castleguy121 Hey its GenRhogon from ideas.

I know some are seeing more hero factory than bionicle in the set design, but I'm getting more of a Bionicle-movie-design vibe from all these. If the sets have gear functions, that'll be "bionicle-ly" enough for me. Personally I think the sets look fantastic, regardless if they aren't similar to previous ones or don't have gear functions.

AND ITS SO NICE TO SEE THE TOA HAVE THIS MUCH VARIETY IN THEIR BUILDS.

I like the Hero Factory system, but it's not good for hardcore builds. Its too simple for that, just limbs with armor that attaches via the ball&socket (no pins). However, I think this could work, I just personally wish they had made more Bionicle-like armor pieces. My main disappointment was Tahu's legs, as he's one of my favorite characters.

And let's face it, Hero Factory-like Bionicle is WAY better than the recent Hero Factory.

Edit: Also, I still have hope for the "Protector of ____," as they weren't in the original storyline. If they were, they weren't called that.

@Neuroglia13: Is this not a hardcore build? http://www.lekgodt.no/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/www.LekGodt.no-LEGOWorld-099.jpg

That one's one of my favorite Hero Factory MOCs of all time. It was built by Christoffer Raundahl, who was BIONICLE's lead set designer back in the old days. He also designed the original Tahu and Kopaka sets as well as the Bahrag, and was one of the inventors of the current Character and Creature Building System.

I built a MOC of my own inspired by that one: https://www.flickr.com/photos/aanchir/11608753566/. But I'm not by any means on the same level as some of the most talented builders in the BIONICLE community. If I were, I'm sure I could create something even more unique instead of having to draw my inspiration for the upper legs and hips from somebody else's MOC

And that's part of what makes me so excited about the new BIONICLE using the CCBS. Perhaps if the story and characters can generate as much fan engagement as classic BIONICLE did back in the day, you'd see more advanced builders actually committing their time to mastering the building system and discovering new ways to use it for large, complex models, instead of just assuming it won't work for that kind of "hardcore" building because it doesn't work with the same building techniques they're used to.

I wouldn't say the new BIONICLE sets are totally better than the current Hero Factory sets. They have the potential to become that in future waves, but right now what they have in style and functionality, they lack in diversity. Most of the sets are fairly humanoid-looking bipeds, like the Hero Factory Brain Attack sets or the Legends of Chima constraction sets. They're already more diverse than most teams of Toa from the old BIONICLE, though, so they're definitely on the right track. I'm just hoping to see a wider range of monstrous villains, creative non-humanoid creatures, and larger models ($25 price point or higher) in the months to come.

I'm so excited! Bionicle was the series that even MADE me like Lego in the first place! I was so disappointed that this series was cancelled, but now that they have returned, I have never been so happy Lego-wise! It just makes me want to smile ! =]

I'm actually looking forward to this. I got into lego after the initial bionicle years, so I never got to get any sets. Plus the story seemed too complicated to try and pick up on. So this reboot might actually be what I need to get into it. Plus, even though I'm not an expert on the matter, the sets seem better now than what they were originally.

I don't get why anyone hates the CCBS. It for one, allows for MUCH more customization, where the BIONICLE building system did not. It was parts are molded to work with specific parts. Also, I do like the look of the new sets. It is a very interesting take on Bionicle. If anyone disagrees, I don't care. I like it, and you do not have to. Also, I think the new aesthetic is supposed to be like they are warriors that have streamlined armor, that is strong, yet simple looking.

Wow, through the comments we can see how far people have gone into considering a whole decade of Bionicle as if it was a sole building system or just one manner or method to build, or if it was limited to having or not gears, and even forgetting about the piece variety because of their "style", as if this determined the design of the sets or even of the theme as a whole.

Even thogh it is important to keep track of the design process, reading too much what the designers comment on forums out there, selling their own product as if it was the best thing in the world, sometimes can make people forget about the actual sets and develop a fake sense of system where there hasn't been none at all. I've collected some information for those who are truly interested in old bionicle sets:
http://brickset.com/sets/list-2583 - it is an example of "canister sets", by definition none of those from the new line cost the same anymore.

Of course the ball-joint based system is easy to use, have pros and cons, the existence of this system on its own it isn't a problem. My main complaint is that it really is lacking in variety. Inika system was around for four years and still lacked pieces in different colors, but this has exceeded its valuable time in my opinion, and Lego isn't taking it seriously enough, it's rather using it as a shield for releasing the same kind of sets as if forever.

I could obviously tell I'm not satisfacted with these new sets, the look of Lewa's mask (and his color scheme), the over-use of metallic armor and so on (all so present in HF - if I wanted something like that), but at the end of the day I can consider them as any other Lego action figure, not necessarily as the Toa-Mata-tributes the fans automatically expect when something come packed with a "Bionicle" tag on it. Even though it is not a tribute, a fan service or anything of the kind as most believe, we need some critical sense.

This is kind of sad how they are using the name of a dead franchise to make money with. Of course the "zombie isn't near as pretty as when it was living", but if I was to give a chance for it, it would be for Pohatu, mostly because of its mask and different colors. Even though, the suggested prices seem too absurd yet, so I'll expect official sources for it.