Random part of the day: Bion. Eye
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random part is 48267, 'Bion. Eye', which is a Technic part, category Decoration Elements. It was introduced in 2003 and is still in use today. It's been made in 10 colours and has appeared in 67 sets, one of the first of which was 8370 Nitro Stunt Bike.
Our members collectively own a total of 534,742 of them. If you'd like to buy some you should find them for sale at BrickLink.
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21 comments on this article
Well this is perfectly timed. After the play feature discussion over wether this was an eye or a tooth,
Interesting, I know the transparent version got introduced in 2002 (design 41669), because 8552 : Lehvak Va was my last LEGO set from 2002 until 2016.
Oh god I thought this was just a thing to help launch flick-fire missiles, it's like finding out your favourite burger joint uses cat meat in its patties
Yeah, I thought it was a tooth because the large, semi-transparent piece on the Bohrok heads was called a "face plate" or "face shield". The patterning of colored stripes on the face shield seemed to indicate a face, especially since the "brain", the Krana, was visible behind the face shield.
That said, I do see how this piece can be interpreted as an "eye" since in that same year it was released (2002), it was used as the eyes for the Bahrag queens, Cahdok and Gahdok. But at least the Bahrag have clearly-defined upper and lower rows of teeth to make sure the eyes are interpreted as eyes. The actual Bohrok have no such distinction. There is a pair of lower teeth, and right above them are these neon...teeth! I'm sorry, they'll always be teeth to me!
What gives with this element being released in 2003? Is this to differentiate the solid-colored version from the trans-neon versions? It's basically the same element, and it showed up in January 2002 with the release of the Bohrok.
This piece always annoyed me as a kid. I somehow ended up with a handful of them, but no Bionicle whatsoever. The shape is really cool, but it's ability to integrate with system parts is severely lacking. If it only had an anti-stud on the bottom, I would like it much better.
This particular element ID appears in 0 Bionicle sets — check the list of 67. This is another case of IDs being re-assigned by LEGO for internal differences but for the end user little or nothing changes. The solid colour vs transparent ones being one main reason and which has already been discussed.
I have several of these from Technic sets mostly, where they are used as headlamps or trim.
I was just thinking the other day how much I would love to see this part show up on RPotD, because it's my favorite LEGO part ever! There's no proper BIONICLE lore but we can briefly discuss it's history.
The part first appeared in 2002 where it was used as the eyes on the Bohrok, Bohrok Va, and Bahrag figures. Since then it's been used in all sorts of ways such as teeth, spines, claws, loincloths, beaks, gear systems, and on the canonized-fan model Tahtorak even a tongue! It's got such a specialized yet versatile shape that I cannot get enough of!
It's use in BIONICLE was frequent, including things like the Visorak, '08 Makuta, and Gadunka. In fact, I think it showed up at least once a year from 02-08, but not in 2010 and I'm not sure about 2009. This has caused it to become one of the more nostalgic and iconic BIONICLE pieces, among things like 50923 and 54821.
It's one of the few BIONICLE parts that survived the franchise's mold-purge around the introduction of CCBS. Some other BIONICLE parts that are still alive today include 53586, 55013, and 57539 (among others, but those are some of my favorites.) But out of all of them, it's the one I love the most.
(Also those part numbers aren't coming from memory, I've got a Google Doc with some of the more notable BIONICLE parts on hand for quick reference.)
@GSR_MataNui said:
"In fact, I think it showed up at least once a year from 02-08, but not in 2010 and I'm not sure about 2009."
It did show up in 2009 in 8990 as Skirmix’s eyes.
@GSR_MataNui
Well, you have explained the "lore" behind "Bion[icle] eyes" in your essay about Matoran Universe biology: The eyes were inorganic, in most cases.
This is one of the most important LEGO pieces I own. So versatile.
Well, there you go, the official name is “eye”. Besides the fact that trans-colored parts were traditionally used for eyes early on, I don’t recall seeing them used for teeth much in any theme (Crystal King from Power Miners being a notable exception).
I have a suspicion that the reason so many people think they’re teeth goes back to which sites they did or did not read 20 years ago. At MaskofDestiny, I know we referred to them as eyes, just as I identified four distinct patterns of Poisoned Hau Nuva, but these were not met with universal acceptance.
@rishi_eel:
When I first joined my LUG, I tried to work Bionicle parts into everything I built. I know I had one Moonbase module that used Pohatu Nuva toes, and some hover bikes with Rahkshi head cowlings, but the vast majority used Bohrok eyes. This included my first car (a Prowler that I stopped displaying years ago), my first Batmobile, my Batwing, a pair of Bat-bots, and a bunch of Space creations. By about 2006, I kinda stopped, but when I made my first minifig-scale Pizza Planet truck, I realized the rocket from 7598 would be perfect if I flipped the Bohrok eyes inside-out. I’ve since used them in two more minifig-scale PPTs, and a jetpack for the newest version of Firefly.
So, it’s definitely possible to work them in to System builds, but there are times when it’s definitely easier than others, and times when it’s really awkward. These days, there are actual System parts that can work better in many situations, with the expansion of small curved slopes, and introduction of cheese wedges.
It comes in black
In comes in White
AND IT COMES IN TRANS! NEON! GREEN!
Though hard to say what colour it's most useful in of the three I just mentioned.
@Lego_Lord_Mayorca Normal Bohrok? I kind of see where you see it, but I always saw them as the eyes. the trans colour really helped. Now, the Bohrok Va, on the other hand, yeah, they look way more like teeth on them. With the Va, I tended to see the pin hole or two on the top of the heads as the eyes, so most of the Va where cyclopes to me
@ElephantKnight:
It’s clearly most useful in black, since yellow and trans-red are just accent colors.
@Lego_Lord_Mayorca said:
"Yeah, I thought it was a tooth because the large, semi-transparent piece on the Bohrok heads was called a "face plate" or "face shield". The patterning of colored stripes on the face shield seemed to indicate a face, especially since the "brain", the Krana, was visible behind the face shield.
That said, I do see how this piece can be interpreted as an "eye" since in that same year it was released (2002), it was used as the eyes for the Bahrag queens, Cahdok and Gahdok. But at least the Bahrag have clearly-defined upper and lower rows of teeth to make sure the eyes are interpreted as eyes. The actual Bohrok have no such distinction. There is a pair of lower teeth, and right above them are these neon...teeth! I'm sorry, they'll always be teeth to me!
What gives with this element being released in 2003? Is this to differentiate the solid-colored version from the trans-neon versions? It's basically the same element, and it showed up in January 2002 with the release of the Bohrok."
Ah see it was always an eye to me because it was translucent like that. It was like the eyes on the Toa, only translucent part used in either of them
Strange, the solid color was used when it originated in 2002, included in a Racers set, as the white teeth of the Bahrag, and in the old Spybotics sets too. I can get that internal numbering would throw it off by some years, but I would think it the cutoff would be more recent and not just the second year it came out.
Anyway, this has always been a fun piece and it one of the few original Bionicle elements that still seems to be around today.
Edit: Unless the year is somehow based on when it first showed up in red, which was 2003...
@PurpleDave said:
[Well, there you go, the official name is “eye”. Besides the fact that trans-colored parts were traditionally used for eyes early on, I don’t recall seeing them used for teeth much in any theme (Crystal King from Power Miners being a notable exception).
I have a suspicion that the reason so many people think they’re teeth goes back to which sites they did or did not read 20 years ago. At MaskofDestiny, I know we referred to them as eyes, just as I identified four distinct patterns of Poisoned Hau Nuva, but these were not met with universal acceptance.
]
Just bionicle, and only for the larger sets
8558 - Cahdrok and Gahdok
10204 - Kardas
8764 - Vezon and Fenrakk
The official name should be GBC BALL EXCITER.
I own several of these (a few dozens or so). Seems the part is not only popular with Bionicle, but also with Ninjago where almost all of mine come from :)
I had... a LOT of these back in the day. Two each from Bohrok, Kal, Va, Visorak, Toa Hordika, and many more besides, a whole mouthful of them for Fenrakk, and uses as decoration in various other sets... I had 232 in total, it looks like! (Plus another eight from a set I didn't get until after emerging from my 'dark age'.) Though apparently those were all a different part number to this version?
Yeah, design 41669 looks like the one I'm actually thinking of...
For my two cents, I've always been in the Eyes camp. They were translucent like the Toa eye pieces, as Brickalili mentioned, which made an instant association in my mind; and likewise were often shown as faintly glowing in the promotional material. Plus, the Bohrok already had pieces that were indisputably teeth - https://brickset.com/parts/design-42074 - and, given that these were so different in colour, I honestly didn't even consider them otherwise than as eyes.
I genuinely never realised it was something the fandom was so divided over?
@watcher21:
And even for 8558, they were also used for obviously-eyes.
@kfr:
It would not be inaccurate to call them the cheese wedge of Technic. There aren’t a lot of other small detail elements that are strictly designed for Technic connections, and some of those might even be retired designs at this point (looking at you, giant jelly bean knights).
@ThatBionicleGuy :
There shouldn’t have been any major division, but back in those days, if I said water was wet, after someone else said it was dry, a certain chunk of the community couldn’t possibly admit I was right. Hence the long delay in recognizing four variations of Poisoned Hau Nuva, as well.