Review: 40581 BIONICLE Tahu and Takua

This set vastly misses the charm and simplicity of what made BIONICLE successful.

Such a disrespect to the series that helped save LEGO.

This is such a weird looking set. l kinda hate it

Price threshold is ridiculous, otherwise it's a charming little set.

Pleasantly surprised they went with printed masks

@johleth said:
"This set vastly misses the charm and simplicity of what made BIONICLE successful.

Such a disrespect to the series that helped save LEGO."

I really don't see how this is disrespectful at all? Whilst maybe lacking a bit in execution, it's clearly meant to play homage to one of the themes that made lego what it is today using modern bricks and construction techniques.

This was always going to be what any Bionicle release post-CCBS retirement would look like, and for what it is I'm happy with it. It would have been nice to include Takua's chronicler staff though and I'm surprised they didn't include more parts with hollow studs to simulate the technic pin holes.

I think this is a cute little tribute set! Bringing back all the CCBS parts might not have been in the cards, but I think the designer did great with what they had. I do feel like they’re trying to throw us Bionicle fans a bone whenever possible.

I just wish I could buy it separately. I don’t have $100+ lying around to buy sets on a whim for a GWP.

I know this set is getting a lot of hate- I can understand the criticism, but man I love it. That little Takua is, for some reason, just perfect to me. That said, I know the rumor is that this GWP threshold also has a modifier, and must consist of City, Creator, Ninjago, etc. Themes. Anyone know if that is confirmed? That would be crushing, as I was hoping to use the Jazz Club modular to cover it...

@MudkipDoom said:
" @johleth said:
"This set vastly misses the charm and simplicity of what made BIONICLE successful.

Such a disrespect to the series that helped save LEGO."

I really don't see how this is disrespectful at all? Whilst maybe lacking a bit in execution, it's clearly meant to play homage to one of the themes that made lego what it is today using modern bricks and construction techniques."

You have to pay $100 to get it, that in my mind is very nasty.

@johleth said:
"This set vastly misses the charm and simplicity of what made BIONICLE successful.

Such a disrespect to the series that helped save LEGO."
Disrespect? The fact that this set even exists at all means a lot to me as a fan, personally!

Bionicle isn’t like classic space or castle. Most of the parts used in it are gone. That’s what makes it tough to do anything with the IP anymore.

As a non-Bionicle fan who has the Mata Nui movie, yeah this set cannot even begin to compare to the originals.

@johleth said:
"This set vastly misses the charm and simplicity of what made BIONICLE successful.

Such a disrespect to the series that helped save LEGO."

As a massive Bionicle fan, this feels like a bit of an over-reaction. While I can totally understand that the execution is divisive, the bottom line is that Lego created a fairly substantial little Bionicle display. The fact that they did that feels like respect in itself. I' was pretty excited about it regardless

-Mom, I want Bionicle.
- We have Bionicle at home...
[BIONICLE AT HOME]

I'm not that into Bionicle so I can't say I'm personally affected, but this genuinely looks like a joke.
If they wanted to make a homage, it could have been done way, way better than this.

This has pretty much none of the technic parts that made Bionicle, Bionicle. Also, most Bionicle used absolutely no traditional lego bricks/plates...this set and the name Bionicle do not belong together.

@ELbricker said:
"This has pretty much none of the technic parts that made Bionicle, Bionicle. Also, most Bionicle used absolutely no traditional lego bricks/plates...this set and the name Bionicle do not belong together."

I feel like that's the point though, isn't it? It's a brick built version of a lego them that was not "traditionally" Lego. Personally, that's sort of the charm for me. Most Bionicle parts don't exist anymore, so this seems sort of natural.

I’m going ti get a lot of hate for this, but I just don’t get the fondness that people have for Bionicle. Seeing that LEGO was focused on this non-System product is one of the reasons I stayed in my dark ages for so long. I guess young kids liked it and bought it because of the tie in with the accompanying media, but it just didn’t feel like LEGO to me.

Honestly, I can tolerate a brick built Bionicle. The only thing I can't forgive is the lack of an actual Mask part. It's understandable why there isn't one, but Kanohi were the biggest parts of Bionicle's identity.

The only things I take issue with are the lack of ankle joints on and the part choice for the top of the mask on Tahu. As the model does add knee articulation that the original set didn't have, you can't really complain, but having ankle joints would have elevated this set from "good" to "great". I wonder what part could be used as a substitute for the modified plate on the top of Tahu's head, as while I get that it was chosen as its length provides continuity of design for the mask to look cohesive, the studs on top hurt the ubiquitous iconography of the Kanohi Hau.

No complaints on Takua. His Pakari looks good, he has his backpack from MNOG, and it's our first actual physical rendition of his 2001/2 "McToran" design.

I'm getting this set unquestionably, my small gripes aren't getting in the way of my desire to own a new retro-revival tribute Bionicle product after six years, but I'm raising a strong eyebrow at Lego's recent GWP practices. This could have been a direct-to-consumer $20 set in the Icons theme and would be far less controversial.

@johleth said:
" @MudkipDoom said:
" @johleth said:
"This set vastly misses the charm and simplicity of what made BIONICLE successful.

Such a disrespect to the series that helped save LEGO."

I really don't see how this is disrespectful at all? Whilst maybe lacking a bit in execution, it's clearly meant to play homage to one of the themes that made lego what it is today using modern bricks and construction techniques."

You have to pay $100 to get it, that in my mind is very nasty."

Ah yeah, making it a GWP is pretty unfortunate, I'd have snapped this set up in an instant at 10-15 USD, but as it stands I neither want, nor am able to spend 100 USD on lego right now

@PixelTheDragon said:
" @johleth said:
"This set vastly misses the charm and simplicity of what made BIONICLE successful.

Such a disrespect to the series that helped save LEGO."
Disrespect? The fact that this set even exists at all means a lot to me as a fan, personally!

Bionicle isn’t like classic space or castle. Most of the parts used in it are gone. That’s what makes it tough to do anything with the IP anymore.
"

I mean they tried to do star wars sets without a lot of the curved elements needed, so I think TLG can manage without the bionicle (or ccbs) parts. They could even make them out of technic parts like those Star Wars technic figures in 2002! TLG is creative, I'm sure if they wanted to, they could make it work.

L-lore?

I might be in the minority, but I really really like this. It reminds me very much of the art style of the original Bionicle game that was on Lego.com eons ago.

I’ve been saving some MK purchases to get this one since I was planning on getting them anyway, might as well sweeten the deal.

For perspective, if Lego were to simply do a reissue of the 2001 Tahu set with a classic version of Takua included as a bonus, they would have to remake about 16 long-out-of-print molds that don’t have modern equivalents. They’d never do that for a GWP or a one-off set. This was always going to be the only way they’d do this set.

So, if they can use prints in a GWP as apparent here, why did they use stickers with the Blacktron GWP?

@Arnoldos said:
"So, if they can use prints in a GWP as apparent here, why did they use stickers with the Blacktron GWP?"

Because they're cheap (a.k.a. wasn't in the budget for that particular GWP).

A wonderful GWP from LEGO.

@Arnoldos said:
"So, if they can use prints in a GWP as apparent here, why did they use stickers with the Blacktron GWP?"

They used prints in the Blacktron set too, for the new torso. This set doesn't have any minifigures so could use more of its budget for printing the masks instead.

applause for those who voted for Bionicle :)

Man, I don't get the hate. I think the biggest offense is that it is a bit on the simpler size, but I prefer a smaller scale Tahu that's more playable any day. That, and the gray joints are a little distracting.
Like, seriously. People complain that Lego doesn't acknowledge Bionicle, and now they make an actual boxed set (GWP, but still) and people still complain? And to people who expected it to be Technic or somehow magically used the original pieces are only setting themselves up for disappointment.

Given the circumstances for a one-off promotional set, I think they did admirably. I love it, and can't wait to pick it up. Luckily I got that $100 ready to spend!

It's cute, and by 2023 standards the threshold is fairly reasonable. Or at least, not unreasonable like the current house of the world (speaking of, is that the most expensive GWP not explicitly tied to a single set like some of the SW ones?)

Knowing this was coming, I think I have held off on enough to make this one feasible for me.

Such an unusual GWP in so many ways. The printed masks are a welcome surprise, but the price threshold (and the further restrictions on what allow for it) are a bummer. Still, nice to see Bionicle get another bone throne to it, even if it's System based and less compatible to the actual Bionicle figures. Dig all the Easter eggs at least, the Mata Nui and Makuta stones are a brilliant throwback.

This looks like LEGO's "new Mii costume in Smash Bros". Many are going to be upset that their character wasn't made into a full-fledged fighter (or proper Bionicle) instead of being happy to see representation of a now niche IP.

I have little nostalgia for Bionicle, but I think it's a pretty neat throwback!

It's nice to see that classic space fans don't have the monopoly on righteous indignation!

I absolutely love this, I have a big stupid grin on my face that it exists at all. Is it perfect? No. Is it a love letter to the MNOLG? Absolutely. I really hope that either they make the other Toa in this style, or at least that a talented fan comes up with designs I can copy.

I need the other Matoran too. You can't tell me that Kongu isn't the reason why teal had to come back...

The figure has a balljoint on the chest. That's nice.
That's the only nice thing about this set.

As a long-time Bionicle fan I am very satisfied with this tribute (except for the paywall). It was never going to be made out of the older pieces so I think this system version is fine. It uses the Mixel joints in good ways, it even has more articulation than the original set, though maybe it could've used a bit more detail here and there.

Yeah this is just not it for me. Making it a GWP doesn't help. I'd rather buy an original Tahu secondhand or part one together.

@MisterBrickster said:
"It's nice to see that classic space fans don't have the monopoly on righteous indignation!

I absolutely love this, I have a big stupid grin on my face that it exists at all. Is it perfect? No. Is it a love letter to the MNOLG? Absolutely. I really hope that either they make the other Toa in this style, or at least that a talented fan comes up with designs I can copy.

I need the other Matoran too. You can't tell me that Kongu isn't the reason why teal had to come back... "

I am praying that aftermarket stickers for other masks might get designed. I'd be all over assembling a bunch of Matoran and Toa (and Turaga if a cohesive design can be agreed upon)

@MisterBrickster said:
"It's nice to see that classic space fans don't have the monopoly on righteous indignation!
"

Bwhahaha. As a long time Bionicle fan I certainly know that feeling. There are a lot of Bionicle fans who act like "The Theme that Saved LEGO!" means TLG needs to swear a blood oath with them to send them 50 new Bionicle sets each year for Christmas, with a handwritten thank you card, accompanied by a hooker dressed like Roodaka and a 50 piece orchestra playing Nathan Furst music. I love Bionicle, but the sheer self entitlement and delusions of a few vocal Kohlii-headed members of the fandom who never grew up always makes me laugh!

If it wasn't for the high GWP threshold I'd be buying this Tahu set in a heartbeat.

I get why Bionicle fans are upset about the brick-built part usage. If LEGO made an “homage” to classic space using Bionicle parts I myself might be mad too!

@xboxtravis7992 said:
" @MisterBrickster said:
"It's nice to see that classic space fans don't have the monopoly on righteous indignation!
"

Bwhahaha. As a long time Bionicle fan I certainly know that feeling. There are a lot of Bionicle fans who act like "The Theme that Saved LEGO!" means TLG needs to swear a blood oath with them to send them 50 new Bionicle sets each year for Christmas, with a handwritten thank you card, accompanied by a hooker dressed like Roodaka and a 50 piece orchestra playing Nathan Furst music. I love Bionicle, but the sheer self entitlement and delusions of a few vocal Kohlii-headed members of the fandom who never grew up always makes me laugh!

If it wasn't for the high GWP threshold I'd be buying this Tahu set in a heartbeat. "

True Fans want the orchestra to play Cryoshell music.

@Bison_Bricks said:
"I get why Bionicle fans are upset about the brick-built part usage. If LEGO made an “homage” to classic space using Bionicle parts I myself might be mad too!"

7699

@MisterBrickster

True fans want to go to Voya Nui themselves to beat up the Piraka to save the All American Rejects!

don't care what everyone says, I love it, I want two of this

I'm honestly shocked by the sheer negativity and entitlement surrounding this set. I've been a BIONICLE fan since day one back in 2001, and I see this as a very charming tribute. This is LEGO's love letter to BIONICLE and its fanbase, not a mean-spirited middle finger.

The only thing I don't like is the $100 GWP threshold. I'd happily buy 40567, 40580, and 40581 on their own if only LEGO would offer them. But forcing me to pay hundreds of dollars for sets that shouldn't be more than $20 each... well, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Looks like the 18+ lines, including the recent Galaxy Explorer, Castle, this set, and the others, are aim to express and target two things:
- Hey Old AFOL, stop complaining about Lego not bringing back good sucessful classic lines, here are some toys you can play with that looks like the original line, satisfied..? (That being said, I'm fully satisfied with the Galaxy Explorer, hmm.. but not this Bionicle)
- Hey New AFOL, you have probably nothing better to do at home, how about building some Display Based models following the instructions, just follow the instructions okay, and you don't need any imagination because we render the same thing just in a different form, after the item is done please display it and buy another set, sounds good..?

Fantastic review as always. This set is an incredible tribute. Yes, the parts of BIONICLE are it's original charm, but I don't really see this as a tribute to the sets, instead the story. We've never gotten diminished Takua in an official set, nor Tahu's board, or the Mata Nui and Makuta stones! This feels like a gorgeous love letter to that first year of BIONICLE and the mystique of it's wondrous story

I'm delighted with this set. I can't wait to see how it compares with the original Tahu in person

On the one hand: A new Bionicle set!!!!! I applaud lego for giving the theme that defined the 00s such a homage! Tahu has become synonymous with Bionicle homages like Classic Space has become almost the only thing from the old Space theme that gets callbacks (besides Blacktron 1). So it's nice to see Takua as well. Takua lies at the heart of the early Bionicle story, so it's nice to see him included. Details like the backpack and the Mata Nui and Makuta stones are great inclusions too. You can tell that the designer did their homework!

I can't help but love it!

On the other hand... It's also a nice inexpensive- No wait. Let me rephrase that:

GWP, threshold 100... Come on lego! Like I said before with the Blacktron Cruiser (Invader), this is just not cool. This is Lego's OWN history. Selling these would strengthen their brand awareness, right? Why put that stuff behind a paywal? This is not a celebration, it's nostalgia bait to get niche groups to buy other stuff from Lego's otherwise overpriced stores that doesn't have anything to do with the GWP and the niche group it's focussed at.

I would get this in a heartbeat if it didn't mean I'd have to spend a month of Lego budget at Lego's own stores first.
Hopefully these will be easy to find on the aftermarket on places other than Bricklink. Because you know, lego now OWNS their own largest aftermarket marketplace too.

@Alia_of_AGL said:
"For perspective, if Lego were to simply do a reissue of the 2001 Tahu set with a classic version of Takua included as a bonus, they would have to remake about 16 long-out-of-print molds that don’t have modern equivalents. They’d never do that for a GWP or a one-off set. This was always going to be the only way they’d do this set."

The closest modern equivalents have also been phased out since 2018-2019, so even then it wouldn't have been feasible.

As part of the generation of LEGO fans that grew up with Bionicle, I think this looks alright. Tahu's head looks a little off to me, but everything else seems fine, Takua is perfect; it makes me want a brick selection kit that you can create different Matoran out of.
That said, since I have the original set of the Toa Mata, as well as the equally excellent 2015 reboot set, I definitely don't feel like I need to go out of my way to get a copy though (especially not with it being a LEGO.com gift exclusive).

Man, Bonkle really gets people heated.

Considering the parts available it's a great build.
But the bionicle part were so different form normal lego so without those it will allways be a cheap immitation.

@MisterBrickster said:
" @Bison_Bricks said:
"I get why Bionicle fans are upset about the brick-built part usage. If LEGO made an “homage” to classic space using Bionicle parts I myself might be mad too!"

7699"

Sadly not the greatest space series but can't blame the bionicle parts for it.
Atlantis also used a few bionicle part.

The original Tahu this set mimics was my first Bionicle set back when I was absolutely the target audience for Bionicle and I gotta say, I love this modern interpretation of him. Yeah it’s simplistic and chunky but so was the original. And I could actually put him in his lava surfing pose now! And there’s a Takua, and the Mata Nui and Makuta stones? Just hits all the right boxes for me

I don't blame the set designers for this, they've clearly done the best they could with a number of significant restrictions. However, I do question the decision to make this a GWP instead of a retail set. If it was retail, I imagine the higher budget for the designers could have enabled at least a few new molds in the style of the original Bionicle system.

@LeeGoPieces said:
"I don't blame the set designers for this, they've clearly done the best they could with a number of significant restrictions. However, I do question the decision to make this a GWP instead of a retail set. If it was retail, I imagine the higher budget for the designers could have enabled at least a few new molds in the style of the original Bionicle system. "

I... don't think so. While a full retail revival of the Bionicle theme could certainly allow for new molds, a standalone retail set rarely gets such luxuries. And a full theme order would be a significantly bigger endeavor than a promotional GWP. I see little reason to believe something like that would be more successful now than it was in 2015/2016 (when an actual Constraction Tahu was available for that price at retail).

And that's really the long and short of it, isn't it? People here seem to think this would be massively more successful if it were a standalone $20 set instead of a GWP, but when there were standalone $20 Bionicle sets not too long ago, they didn't sell well enough—not to kids, not to old-school Bionicle fans, and certainly not to non-Bionicle fan AFOLs. Part of the reasoning for making something like this a GWP, I think, is to mitigate risk. Maybe not every Bionicle fan will be willing to spend $100 on other themes, but people who are willing to spend $100 on other themes won't say no to a freebie like this even if Bionicle isn't personally their cup of tea. So with many other successful themes for this to piggyback off of, there's no risk of this sitting around warming shelves.

So surprising, people who are not Bionicle fans, are not Bionicle fans. You know, you don't have to get every single set, that ever comes out, right? If you don't like it, don't get it, simple as that.
I get, it may not be your cup of tea, but please, don't act like you're a Bionicle-like constrAction figures purist or expert now, especially if you never had any in hand, because if you were, you'd know well, there was no other way for this to be anything but a mostly system build. Anyone who says otherwise is either delusional, entitled, biased, unnecessarily annoying or trying to kill the fun for those, who like and appreciate its existence.
I for one, want this one badly, but can't afford to spend the equivalent of $100 in a single go, came kinda close to this amount only once in my life, so I'd love to just buy that for like $20, gotta hope the secondary market is gonna be reasonable... Being a GWP may result in this set ending up not in the hands of people actually care for it, but those who might not really want it or like it, and will probably sell it with a high markup, so it'd be nice to have an option to alternatively buy it by itself within a limited time frame.
Also this style of buildable figures is not new, Tahu reminds me of Sentinel (76022), Groot (76020), Kro (76156) and some of the Nexo Knights monsters (70322, 70316, 70351, 70359, 70358) and Merlok (70357). I feel, like his one of the better ones of the bunch, both functionally (waist joint) and aesthetically (especially the upper torso). The only thing missing IMO is a symbolic gear on the back.

Good review! I'm honestly really impressed with this set. Despite being made of totally different parts than the original sets, both characters are instantly recognizable. The omission? of the original Tahu?'s ankle and left wrist joints is more than balanced out by the articulated elbows?, knees, neck, and waist, allowing for? more?? dynamic poses than the original set?. And of course Takua's articulation is greatly improved compared to the original 2001? Matoran? build??!??

The inclusion of Tahu's improvised lava surfboard, Takua's backpack, and an Amaja circle (sand pit the Turaga use for storytelling) with Makuta and Mata Nui stones really shows how dedicated the designers were to the theme as a whole, not just the toyline. That's not a huge surprise, given how many current LEGO designers like Nick Vas and Aaron Newman grew up as Bionicle fans themselves, but it does really help demonstrate that this set was a "labor of love" from people who understand and appreciate why Bionicle was so beloved, and not just indifferent nostalgic pandering.

The box art also has lots of VERY charming details alluding to the classic Bionicle packaging and print materials , such as the back-to-back poses echoing the "posters" on the back of the original Matoran instruction sheets, and the partly disassembled view of Tahu from his original canister. Plus, as the box art shows, this Tahu can pull off his iconic lava surfing pose much better than the original set could (the original set's box art had neck, knee, and elbow articulation that the set itself lacked).

I do kind of wish the masks used a curved part with beveled edges like https://brickset.com/parts/design-1762 or https://brickset.com/parts/design-30602 so they'd look a little less "flat", but the graphics are nice and remind me of the old-school flash animations.? Also, as the review points out, the lack of even a simulated gear on the model's back is a bit of a shame. If they wanted to stick to System parts, https://brickset.com/parts/design-92947 could have been a good choice for that purpose, since its underside already resembles a Technic gear.

But overall, this is very much the sort of touching tribute I had in mind when I voted for Bionicle in the 90th Anniversary set poll on LEGO Ideas. The main thing about the set that leaves me wanting is that it includes JUST these two characters — but I suppose it won't be hard at all to solve that with a little creative building on my own time!

(looks at this set)

(looks at the original 2001 Tahu and Takua figures on my shelf)

Nah I'm good.

There are themes that make me regret having a dark age. Bionicle isn't one of them!

@Arnoldos said:
"So, if they can use prints in a GWP as apparent here, why did they use stickers with the Blacktron GWP?"

The point of including a sticker sheet in the Blacktron GWP was that from a logistics/storage standpoint, it costs the same as one new printed piece, but allowed the designer to add decorations to SEVEN different parts. Between the sticker sheet and the new Blacktron torso, that Blacktron GWP and this Bionicle GWP seem to have had about the same budget for new elements — it's just that the Blacktron Cruiser designer evidently decided a sticker sheet would give them "more bang for their buck", so to speak.

@audiobean said:
"Looks like the 18+ lines, including the recent Galaxy Explorer, Castle, this set, and the others, are aim to express and target two things:
- Hey Old AFOL, stop complaining about Lego not bringing back good sucessful classic lines, here are some toys you can play with that looks like the original line, satisfied..? (That being said, I'm fully satisfied with the Galaxy Explorer, hmm.. but not this Bionicle)
- Hey New AFOL, you have probably nothing better to do at home, how about building some Display Based models following the instructions, just follow the instructions okay, and you don't need any imagination because we render the same thing just in a different form, after the item is done please display it and buy another set, sounds good..?"

Honestly, I'm not sure why you'd think "throwback" sets like these discourage creative building. On the contrary, I've found them very inspiring! Even as someone who didn't grow up with themes like Classic Space and Classic Castle, each one has set my mind racing with ideas of other old-school space or castle builds that can be scaled up, re-imagined, or modernized, not to mention possibilities to expand on the sets themselves!

For that matter, there's nothing stopping you from taking these sets apart and building something different with them — especially since all of the examples you mentioned are built primarily from fairly basic pieces. Frankly, it's probably easier to create a satisfying MOC from this set's pieces than from just the pieces of a Toa set and Matoran set from 2001.

Even before this set was "officially" announced, I've seen builders challenging themselves to re-imagine other old-school Bionicle characters and creatures in this style. And the use of System parts, smaller scale, and props/scenery in this MOC is practically an open invitation for fans to try building other Bionicle universe scenes to accompany these models.

So if all you see here is a display model with no room for further play or creativity, I think you may just need to give your OWN imagination a little more of a push.

@Kalhiki said:
"Man, I don't get the hate. I think the biggest offense is that it is a bit on the simpler size, but I prefer a smaller scale Tahu that's more playable any day. That, and the gray joints are a little distracting.
Like, seriously. People complain that Lego doesn't acknowledge Bionicle, and now they make an actual boxed set (GWP, but still) and people still complain? And to people who expected it to be Technic or somehow magically used the original pieces are only setting themselves up for disappointment.

Given the circumstances for a one-off promotional set, I think they did admirably. I love it, and can't wait to pick it up. Luckily I got that $100 ready to spend!"

Me too. after hearing hau ;) much effort the design team put into this, I'm glad I held off on my jan 1st purchases

I am a Bionicle fan, and I will be extremely happy to get this. I will proudly display it next to my noodle arm Tahu from the 90th Anniversary Classic set.

I could see this working out as a reboot to the entire Bionicle Theme. Kind of a mashup between Bionicle (characters/story) and Mixels (building style/parts). I doubt they'll do anything more than this one GWP though.

@PixelTheDragon:
I’m not sure I can agree with that assessment. They did a timeline that mentioned the Junkbot game as an example of the Flash games that launched in 2001, rather than the Mata Nui Online Game. They declined a really good Ideas project, and later waved it in our faces with a system that again shut it out of the running. They changed the rules on the fan vote to bump Bionicle out of first place, and made retail sets for the themes that wound up in first and third place.

Meanwhile, we got a Bohrok bug in an Ninjago set, a Bionicle logo on a Stuntz minifig, Sad Tahu as the sole retail appearance, and then this gets relegated to GWP status with only a narrow range of qualifying themes. I think maybe they’re finally getting the hint that Bionicle fans are miffed about how they’ve been treated.

@ToaMatoro:
Takua actually reminds me very much of his online game appearance.

@ELbricker:
While the system it belongs to started with Throwbots, this does have the Voodoo Ball that originated with the Bionicle theme. The only other parts that started with Bionicle that I see regularly are the Bohrok eye and the 2L friction axle-pin.

I saw the leaks for this GWP a while back and have been itching in anticipation ever since! I know when those Marvel figures were revealed last year a lot of people joked about them being a template for BIONICLE Gen 3, but honestly I think these figures are more in-line with the price-range and style of the old line-up.

One thing I’m wondering though is how many people will actually go for this. While Gen 2 had a lot of problems, one of the ones I saw people complain about a lot is that the price of a Toa went from $8-12 up to $15-20. BIONICLE fans like their sets on the cheap, like Mixles or CMF. I don’t know what sets are available that could realistically give BIONICLE fans enough money to get past the $100 Price tag. I guess the Tallneck, those aforementioned Marvel figures, and Optimus all have some level of BIONICLE appeal, but there’s nothing launching in January that targets that market. And from what I hear, this promo is limited to original themes anyway.

While unavoidable it is also a System build, and there’s a surprising amount of the BIONICLE fandom that hate not just the idea of System BIONICLE, but even CCBS. Nothing short of the original molds will satisfy them.

Then again the Forestmen GWP came out a couple months before the Lion Castle, and the Blacktron GWP came out a few months after the Galaxy Explorer, so maybe it’s all good.

So anyway, lore time!

So this set consists of four main models. Tahu, Taku, an Amaja Pit, and a Lavaboard.

Tahu:

Long ago, the Great Spirit Mata Nui was betrayed by his brother, the Makuta, who cast Mata Nui into an endless slumber. Legend told of six legendary heroes, the Toa Mata, who would one day arrive to defeat Makuta and reawaken the Great Spirit.

Tahu was the leader of the Toa Mata, and a Toa of Fire. He wore the Kanohi Hau, the Mask of Shielding, which let him block any attack so long as he could see it coming. He wielded a sword of fire. His hot headed nature often got him in trouble, but over the course of the story he learned to trust in his teammates and help them reach victory.

This specific model is based of the original set 8534: Tahu, released in 2001. It depicts Tahu’s “Mata” form, his original and most iconic body. The Toa Mata as a whole were the main protagonists of the 2001-2003 and 2008 stories, while Tahu specifically was the main protagonist of the 2010 story, making him a notable character in the franchise.

Takua:

Takua was always an outcast of Matoran society. He never felt like he fit in with any of the villages, and could never find a job that fit him. During the events of Quest for the Toa and the Mata Nui Online Game, Takua found himself wrapped up in the escapades of the Toa and saved the villagers on multiple occasions. Eventually his efforts earned him the job of Chronicler. He would trail the Toa on their adventures and record their stories for future generations.

Takua is a rather important character from a lore standpoint. He was the playable protagonist in the Quest for the Toa and Mata Nui Online Game videogames, which were two of the first pieces of media released for the 2001 story. Much of the early worldbuilding was told to us through his eyes. He would go on to be the main protagonist of the 2003 film The Mask of Light, and had a continued presence in the franchise that’s a bit beyond the scope of this discussion.

This version of Takua is his Weakened/Shrunken/Mctoran form. This form never got an actually set release, although combining sets 1391: Jala and 8548: Nui-Jaga could let you easily MoC him. He wears a powerless Kanohi Pakari, which if it had powers would give him Strength, and carries a bamboo throwing disk.

Amaja Pit:

Amaja were a type of sandpit that were used by the Turaga to tell stories. The village elders would use stones to represent different figures and place them in the sand to convey information. The large tan stone here represents the Great Spirit Mata Nui, while the black stone represents Maktua Teridax. Makuta’s stone is actually a shard of the protodermis seal once used to imprison him. The Amaja visual was used to recap the legend of Mata Nui in both MNOG and The Mask of Light, meaning it's one of the first things fans of the franchise were introduced to.

Lavaboard:

Lavaboarding was a popular sport in the Village of Ta-Koro. It’s literally just surfboarding but on lava. Back in 2001, a series of animated promotional videos were created for the Toa Mata sets, depicting the same scenes as their box-art. For Tahu’s short, he jumped on a slab of stone and used it as a lavaboard.

I never understand the comments that are basically "You have to spend XXXX to get this?? Stupid!". You're not paying the money for the promo. You're buying Lego and then you get something else for free.

Are their really fans of Lego who don't want Lego?

I like it a lot. I don't £90-worth-of-stuff-I-can't-afford-right-now like it, though.

I see the complaints, but I personally don't get them; I really enjoy seeing Bionicle characters realised entirely with system pieces. It doesn't replace the original sets, but I find it neat. As a Bionicle fan from almost day 1, this is everything I could have wanted from a tribute set.

...well, except for maybe being a different character, because I'm a bit "Tahu'd out" after the 2010 Stars and 90th Anniversary brick set rendition were both of him too. I know he's iconic, but I'd find a bit more variety welcome.

I think in the end, I'm just gonna bricklink the parts to make baby!Takua, (as well as possibly the lava base and a smaller surfboard for him, to recreate a MNOG scene). I'm happy that this exists, and if it had been available in stores I most likely would have grabbed it at some point; but after the initial excitement has passed, I don't feel any urgent drive to own it myself otherwise.

I can't wait for a googly-eyed Tahu from set 11021 to be mashed up with this version. It's too perfect not to happen!

I love this little tribute. My only complaint is that I can't buy it on it's own, being a GWP instead. They captured the shapes of the original characters as well as they possibly could have without reintroducing long retired molds. Can't wait to get this.

I think some fans may have delusional expectations. The Lego Group and designers needed to make many compromises, and deserve credit for an incredible homage to Bionicle’s legacy.

• 99% of CCBS elements were retired in 2018 —system pieces were the only option.
•Plastic canisters would go against an Eco-Friendly future they’re working towards.
•A larger piece count/set would raise the GWP price threshold.
•2021 BrickLink Designer Program proved System-based Bionicle will not perform well (Bionicle lost miserably)
•As @GSR_MataNui pointed out above, CCBS Bionicle failed and fans will not be satisfied with anything short of parts reprinted from 2001.

Though not confirmed, it’s rumored the GWP will be limited to certain brands. That may be a result of a current abundance of certain themes in the Lego warehouse.

All in all, I hope we see this range expanded in the future.

@GSR_MataNui said:
"I saw the leaks for this GWP a while back and have been itching in anticipation ever since! I know when those Marvel figures were revealed last year a lot of people joked about them being a template for BIONICLE Gen 3, but honestly I think these figures are more in-line with the price-range and style of the old line-up.

One thing I’m wondering though is how many people will actually go for this. While Gen 2 had a lot of problems, one of the ones I saw people complain about a lot is that the price of a Toa went from $8-12 up to $15-20. BIONICLE fans like their sets on the cheap, like Mixles or CMF. I don’t know what sets are available that could realistically give BIONICLE fans enough money to get past the $100 Price tag. I guess the Tallneck, those aforementioned Marvel figures, and Optimus all have some level of BIONICLE appeal, but there’s nothing launching in January that targets that market. And from what I hear, this promo is limited to original themes anyway."

There are certainly a lot of Ninjago and Monkie Kid articulated mech/creature sets available from LEGO.com that would likely resonate with a lot of Bionicle fans, albeit not all. And many of them would approach or even pass that $100 threshold. Some of them even share designers with this GWP!

You're definitely right that the price threshold will be an obstacle for a lot of fans, especially those who have more or less moved on from LEGO aside from the occasional impulse buy. The best solutions I see for some of those fans would be either getting the set in the aftermarket, or splitting the cost with a person who's got a lot of other LEGO purchases planned for that month anyhow but isn't into Bionicle.

As someone who collected all Bionicle canister sets (apart from the ones from 2001) and multiple other Bionicle sets... I find this incredibly charming.
"Reimagining" Bionicle with bricks instead of Technic. Why not?
If it wasn't for the fact that it's a GWP, I'd buy this almost immediately.
I really do not get the hate.

Yeah this comment section is going the way I expected it to

Unpopular opinion: Bionicle was hideous to begin with and I've never understood its popularity.

@Kwear said:
"Bionicle: depuis toujours, c'est moche, c'est laid, et c'est une ôde à ce qu'il y a de moins éducatif pour un enfant. Succès commercial ? Peut-être. Mais Ole Cristiensen serait furieux que sa firme aie pu sortir de telles horreurs. Et là, c'est encore moche. Et ça n'honore même pas la gamme puisque cette gamme était l'antithèse des pièces classiques, alors que ce set est justement uniquement fait de pièces dont aucune n'était de Bionicle.
En même temps sur les bénéfices: détourner des pièces bionicle est assez difficile et rare à mettre en œuvre. Bref. Mais Lego, dirigé sans doute par aucun chrétien digne de ce nom, s'évertu à tailler dans la laideur, en témoin la gamme cachée, proche de la démonologie, ou Ninjago, là où se côtoie le meilleur et le pire selon les saisons. Bionicle fait partie de cette gamme qui plait à Lego pour se faire de l'argent facile, avec peu de pièces, mais à quel prix ? Au prix d'un insulte posthume au créateur de Lego. Sinistre mémoire. Mais je respecte tout de même ceux qui aiment. Moi je me place en tant que père et pour mes enfants, je ne veux pas les nourrir de ces jeux qui taillent dans des valeurs de bassesse, tout simplement.

Bionicle: it's always been ugly, it's ugly, and it's an outlet for what is less educational for a child. Commercial success ? Perhaps. But Ole Cristiensen would be furious if his firm had been able to get out of such horrors. And there it is still ugly. And that does not even honor the range since this range was the antithesis of classic pieces, whereas this set is precisely made only of pieces, none of which was from Bionicle.
At the same time we understand: diverting bionicle pieces is quite difficult and rare to implement. In short. But Lego, no doubt led by any Christian worthy of the name, strives to cut in ugliness, testifies to the Hidden side range, close to demonology, or Ninjago, where the best and the worst rub shoulders according to the seasons. Bionicle is part of this range that Lego likes to make easy money, with few coins, but at what cost ? At the cost of a posthumous insult to the creator of Lego. Sinister memory. But I still respect those who love. I place myself as a father and for my children, I do not want to feed them from these ranges which simply cut in values of baseness."

Yep. It's the Devil. Ha, ha, ha, ha.... he, he, he, ..... gufaw, gufaw, snort, snort.... oh lordy... can't stop laughing!

@Thunbear said:
"Yeah this is just not it for me. Making it a GWP doesn't help. I'd rather buy an original Tahu secondhand or part one together."

That won't be hard. I look at aftermarket prices of Lego all the time. Sealed Bionicle sets struggle to attract bids at their original RRP. In terms of true fan support (money), Elves crushes Bionicle. I think most Bionicle dudes just really were (are) into the video games... and commenting on the web.

@MaxA said:
"I never understand the comments that are basically "You have to spend XXXX to get this?? Stupid!". You're not paying the money for the promo. You're buying Lego and then you get something else for free.

Are their really fans of Lego who don't want Lego?"

As someone who placed a comment in a similar vein, let me explain:

Some of us aren't rich. In my case I have money left over but there's other stuff I'd have to get as well. I like lego. I collect lego. I even spend a lot of money on lego. But that isn't always newer stuff, especially not at full retail prices. I buy lego from my childhood too. And in general I'm not that interested in licensed themes. When the time is right I totally could buy it, but money is money and once I would spend it I won't be able to spend it on anything else. This is what a budget is. As a result, I'm currently not in the position to just drop 100 euro on random lego just to get this set.
I could spend it with some planning, but not instantly.

Which is why these set homage GWPs are in my opinion pretty anti-consumer. It's a paywall, and a high one at that. I'm not so much mad at spending 100 euro on lego, I am mad at having to spend 100 euro on lego in a small period of time specifically on the Lego store.
With 'having' I specifically mean 'in order to be able to obtain the GWP'. Because lego is banking on people spending that money just to get the GWP, especially with one-offs highly desirable to niche groups like these remake sets.

Lego is blocking the opportunity to just let you buy something. Instead they're apparently so focussed on profit margins that producing a set such as this is apparently so not profitable they have to bundle it with purchases to drive up sales on their own store that otherwise is laughably lacking in discounts or other perks.

Don't get me wrong, I am grateful this set and the previous few exist at all. But if you ask me that thanks goes to the set designers and whoever might have pitched them. Making stuff like this that is desirable to niche groups by design only to make it only available as a GWP is just not okay in my book.

Because again, I like lego. I buy lego. But I have to do it on my terms because at the end of the day there are things more important than buying lego. And if anything I just feel a bit sad that lego keeps putting stuff that I like and that could have fit in my budget in these limited-time offers.
But such is life.

@PurpleDave said:
" @PixelTheDragon:
I’m not sure I can agree with that assessment. They did a timeline that mentioned the Junkbot game as an example of the Flash games that launched in 2001, rather than the Mata Nui Online Game. They declined a really good Ideas project, and later waved it in our faces with a system that again shut it out of the running. They changed the rules on the fan vote to bump Bionicle out of first place, and made retail sets for the themes that wound up in first and third place.

Meanwhile, we got a Bohrok bug in an Ninjago set, a Bionicle logo on a Stuntz minifig, Sad Tahu as the sole retail appearance, and then this gets relegated to GWP status with only a narrow range of qualifying themes. I think maybe they’re finally getting the hint that Bionicle fans are miffed about how they’ve been treated."

I think you are not giving TLG enough credit here. JunkBot equally deserved recognition, but that's beside the point as the timeline was for marketing. You may be thinking too deeply on this one.

The Ideas Project was a nice homage but an unrealistic final product. TLG was also rightfully justified in the rule change. The Bionicle Community turned the competition into a meme and raided the website. The Fiasco was an embarrassment for the Bionicle Community and the Lego Community as a whole. Lego deserves great respect for even involving fans with their future product development. The least we could do is be more grateful when they remake any and all of their retired IPs.

@Librarian1976:
To be fair, very few people born before 1990 ever did. The 2001 line sold gangbusters, even without anyone really being primed by media. The DVD movies didn’t even start until 2003, the online game wasn’t really well known by non-fans, and the first exposure many kids had to any tie-in media was the mini CD-ROM that came packed in the Toa sets. Additionally, Europe got the Turaga and mask packs half a year before they really launched the full theme. Certainly stuff like the comic books, novellas, films, and games did help keep interest from fading, but they didn’t get it off the ground.

@Alia_of_AGL:
I probably would have given 47458 a try before deciding on this.

@Darth_Dee:
Not really, but I’ll take it. It stings a little that the three themes I voted on (Bionicle, Blacktron, and Forestmen) were all relegated to GWP status, but I suppose that’s better than nothing. I do feel it should have been possible to make this look a lot better than it does.

@CCC:
It was like pulling cats’ teeth to get 14704 in dark-bury. I don’t see colors besides light- and dark-bley being in the cards.

@xboxtravis7992:
Nathan Furst didn’t use an orchestra. He plugged his score into a computer and it generated the music for him.

@Aanchir:
It may be a case where some designers were absolutely willing to give this their all, while the company is still hung up on how poorly their attempt at a reboot was received without understanding why this was the case. And while many people have focused on how this isn’t a Toa canister, it absolutely evokes the look of the Turaga and Rahi packaging from 2001, much in the same way that 21322 does with the old Pirates theme.

@ElephantKnight:
His name is Sad Tahu.

@GSR_MataNui:
I hate CCBS because the sets feel like Paint By Numbers, and half-baked at that. I would absolutely love a minifig-based revival…with real minifigs (not those statues from the first attempt). Seeing Sad Tahu as the only consolation for being demoted from first place in the fan vote (especially compared to what third place got) was a kick in the pants. This, I do wish was better, but it at least feels like someone made an honest attempt for the first time since 7116.

@Jesse_S_T:
I feel like the BLD program stacked the deck against this, considering how many people bought every set that wave _except_ this one, vs how many people only tried to buy this one. Factor in all the other people who bought one or two of the other sets, and this one had an uphill battle from the start Bionicle still beat Classic Space in the fan vote. It still beat Space in general. It took the combined might of every person who voted for any Castle subtheme to knock Bionicle off the top spot. A lot of us voted first for Bionicle, and then picked two favored subthemes to round out our vote, but we didn’t get asked if it was okay to use our votes for other Castle subthemes to essentially push Black Falcons to first place. I voted for Bionicle, Blacktron, and Forestmen. I never cared about Black Falcons, even as a child, and I wouldn’t have voted for Forestmen if I knew they were going to pull a fast one on us like that. I suspect a lot of other people would feel the same way about any Castle subthemes they voted for.

After seeing this, I want a Mixels tribute!

@danth78 said:
" @Aanchir said:
"The point of including a sticker sheet in the Blacktron GWP was that from a logistics/storage standpoint, it costs the same as one new printed piece, but allowed the designer to add decorations to SEVEN different parts."

Does that make sense though?

All the stickered parts in the Blacktron set were unique. So the sticker sheet allowed no savings of parts, and was in fact an EXTRA piece.

Or am I not understanding?"

The unprinted versions of those parts were all already in production for other sets and themes, so they were not "new elements" that would have to be accounted for in this set's budget. If they were all printed directly, all the printed versions WOULD be new elements, and would need to be stored separately from the existing unprinted versions in the production and packaging facilities.

You'd also need to schedule time for all seven of those parts on the factory's printing machines (which are generally pretty solidly booked in order to print pieces for all of LEGO's OTHER sets and themes), whereas with stickers you can print a full set's worth of decorations all at once using just one machine. Much easier to squeeze into the factory's busy schedule without any costly production delays.

In general, these sorts of logistical factors like space and time are where the costs of printed parts (and recolors, to a lesser extent) really begin to add up. After all, if it were just a matter of material costs, then sticker sheets would cost MORE than printing the pieces directly, since they require not only ink, but also adhesive and two types of paper.

@PurpleDave Firstly, I do not know where you are getting the narrative that the BLD program was against Bionicle. Of the hundreds of rejected projects, they still picked Bionicle. The feedback from the community was clear; the project was not as good as the competition. There is no data to support people buying the complete wave and omitting Bionicle.

Secondly, as I stated earlier TLG was justified in the rule change with the fan vote. Not combining the Castle subthemes was an oversight by TLG, but the semantic rule change pales in comparison to the clear and obvious raid by the Bionicle community.

@MisterBrickster said:
"I absolutely love this, I have a big stupid grin on my face that it exists at all. Is it perfect? No. Is it a love letter to the MNOLG? Absolutely."

They could have just made Tahu, but I'm thrilled with the inclusion of Takua. Loved the MNOLG and the original Matoran.

@Oli:
Star Wars was really only popular one out of every three years at the start, because kids' interest faded when there wasn't a new movie out. Harry Potter rapidly dwindled down to a single set for Year 5, plus it didn't have the same appeal to AFOLs that SW did. During one of the three years I attended NYTF (2002-2004), I learned that Bionicle was the top seller, followed by Star Wars, whatever Creator was called at that time, and then Harry Potter. There really wasn't much in the way of Disney licensing at that time, aside from some very short-lived runs of Mickey Mouse and Winnie the Pooh sets aimed at a very young audience (the latter of which got messy when it became unclear if the party that licensed the IP to Disney even had the right to do so in the first place). There have been a lot of anti-Bionicle AFOLs whose immediate reaction was to claim that, while Bionicle did help, it was mostly on the strength of System-based themes that the company survived, but company insiders have confirmed this is not the case. Even at their worst in 2001, they had to add another production line to keep up with the demand for Bionicle sets. They paid for this by raising the price of Toa Mata sets by $1. Meanwhile, a lot of the System sets they were producing at the time ended up clogging clearance aisles at many retail chains.

@StyleCounselor:
Many Bionicle fans got driven out of the hobby by bitter AFOLs who just had to see the word "Bionicle", and they'd start moaning about how it's "not real LEGO". There are relatively few Bionicle fans here on Brickset, but there are still Bionicle-exclusive fan communities on the internet that are still thriving. Most of the fans retreated to these places to get away from the AFOL community. There are a small percentage of people who keep one foot in both worlds, and there are rare times (including one huge annual contest) when the AFOL community takes notice of them.

@Jesse_S_T:
That timeline was a list of firsts. First time they made key elements, first time they released a licensed theme, first X, first Y, first Z. And Junkbot was "one example". Mata Nui Online Game's breakout success is the only reason they ever made Junkbot, which wasn't even very popular when it first launched.

@danth78:
Prints get selected over stickers for a few specific reasons:

1. The deco is play-critical. Minifigs very rarely get stickered for this reason, and only the torsos. This set got prints because deco is limited to the faces, much like the Chima Legend Beasts.
2. The deco is generic enough to be used across many sets. Keyholes, keypads, street signs, and computer screens are stuff that can be repurposed easily enough to be worth doing prints that stay in production for years.
3. The deco is a minifig accessory. Envelopes, money, mobile phones, and tickets are all things that minifigs are expected to hold, which would destroy a sticker in short order.
4. The deco is impossible or difficult to apply as a sticker. Compound curves like radar dishes have only rarely been stickered, and then only when it's a thin like that can handle being applied to such a complex shape without creating folds. SW UCS plaques will reportedly be shifting to printed deco because it's hard to get such a large sticker applied cleanly, and it's much harder to peel it back up and make a second attempt.
5. There's leftover parts budget. Brickheadz doesn't have minifigs that chew up the parts budget, so the designer rarely has need to resort to stickers.
6. The theme is targeted at young kids. Duplo and 4+ don't ever use stickers because young kids have trouble applying them.
7. They can "cheat" the system. Dots packs have a pile of exclusive prints that are treated as one element for the purpose of storage and packing, which makes it much more efficient to deal with them vs. something like 40580 where there are seven different stickers used on eight parts.

BIONICLE was the greatest thing LEGO has ever done, very nice to see them giving a tiny bit of love for the theme. I need at least two of this!

@Jesse_S_T:
It wasn't pointedly made anti-Bionicle, but the format pretty effectively killed that project's chances of clearing the bar. It got put in the first round, against many of the most popular sets in that program. They didn't give every set a specific timeframe to clear the bar, but rather they killed the last project from each round to reach the target. Absolutely, if you look back at the comments, people were buying every set from that round _except_ the Bionicle one. Absolutely scalpers were scooping them up in max quantities to flip as soon as they were in hand.

And for the rigged vote, Castle fans could vote Castle/Castle/Castle, meaning their vote ended up only counting for one theme after the rules were changed. Bionicle fans only got one vote to use on their favorite theme, so many picked other themes from the list for their other two votes. Many, including myself, ended up accidentally cancelling out their vote for Bionicle when a vote for any other Castle subtheme got retroactively applied to boost Black Falcons.

As for this supposed "raid", Bionicle fans did what the rules allowed, which was to show up and vote. Some exclusively voted for Bionicle and voided their other two votes. Some voted for other themes in addition to Bionicle. The main thing they did, though, was mobilize their fanbase and make sure that none of them took this opportunity lightly. They also exist in larger numbers than the general AFOL community is willing to admit, because they don't often interact with them. What they didn't do was assume that their favorite theme was a shoe-in and vote up less popular themes, which surely happened with Classic Space.

I've never understood why some AFOL's think Bionicle "Isn't real LEGO". It's such a narrow-minded sentiment from people supposedly enamored with creativity.

The parts are as compatible with LEGO System Bricks as Technic and CCBS. Look hard enough at a bunch of System sets from the 2000's and you'll find a surprising amount of Bionicle parts usage. Plus (as everyone has already mentioned) it played a huge part in saving LEGO from bankruptcy (Star Wars was successful but demanded royalty fees; Bionicle was 100% in-house).

The Bionicle Community is odd in that it is part of the wider LEGO community yet also separated from it; there are many Bionicle fans who have no interest in the wider LEGO system. There are many possible reasons for this; the proliferation of Bionicle-centric message boards and the aforementioned elitism from the wider AFOL-community probably played a part.

@StyleCounselor and @CCC
Tell me you two know nothing about Lego beyond System without telling me you know nothing about it. Bionicle was incredibly popular in its day, with plenty backing up the sheer revenue it used to bring in. Even nowadays the aftermarket is thriving - that the two of you are ignorant of outside of your odd anecdotal evidence proves nothing. Sets for Bionicle sell for increasingly higher amounts, masks and other collectables even more so. Hell people go crazy for the supplemental material, even. A bin of parts will *always* sell far less than completed sets. That goes for System, Technic, or anything of that sort.
I don't see why especially you @StyleCounselor felt the need to come into the comments here with increasingly aggressive and unnecessary takes. If Bionicle bothers you so much to exist, keep it to yourself. Fans of Lego are fans of Lego, doesn't matter what subsets they like. Most AFOLs don't care for more than a single theme, so why does it bother people when Bionicle fans latch onto what they love? Some diversify like myself, but it's silly to act so sanctimoniously over a children's toy.

@StyleCounselor said:
"Simply put, old Bionicle is next to worthless…"

To prove you wrong on that, just today I sold one set on bricklink for $160. I hate bionicle, but it is the most popular item in my store!

@StyleCounselor:
Dude. Seriously. People who are or were on LEGO payroll have confirmed that Bionicle was what carried them through. You can smugly disagree, but you've got no basis to do so besides a persistent stubborn refusal of many AFOLS to accept that kids with pocket money buying the "not real LEGO" they said would bring down the company saved the company from being killed by the half-baked System and Technic sets they were shoving out the door at that time.

And the fandom is still there, but reduced enough that what made the theme so successful at the start would no longer work. Even as interest waned towards the end of the original run, it was no longer feasible to keep up with the insane amount of new molds that were produced during the first few years. CCBS made the sets too large and expensive, effectively eliminating any entry level sets. Even pairing that up with a successful IP like Star Wars hasn't made those sets fly.

And yes, I actually founded one of those sites. There were days when I'd come up from a full day of work, and spend another eight hours answering e-mails from the readers, while also making sure we had new content being posted daily. I saw firsthand just how insanely popular it was at the time.

Geez, what a heated comment section.

At the end of the day it's alright IMO. It's not great enough to be a must have but I'd probably pick it up at $20 as a impulse buy. Feel like that kinda puts it in an awkward spot because the threshold is so high.

@danth78:
10283 is still in production. It's even on backorder right now, which means they're definitely still producing more copies and not just sitting on old stock. 76211 just launched a couple months ago (it's tied to a film that released in November). Also, even when a set retires, they hang on to the leftover parts for a while to make sure they can fill claims for lost/missing/broken parts before retiring the element number and disposing of any remaining stock. As long as a new set comes along within that timeframe, the element ID number will be carried over until such time as they stop using that element.

@Miyakan:
I don't think we've actually heard how that works for parts that are exclusively printed, but that's probably the case just based on what we heard about how the green Classic Spaceman came to be.

@socal_bricks:
Bionicle was also vastly outselling Star Wars during its first few years, when the two big bankruptcies happened. It also didn't have sales spike every three years and then retreat for the next two because they were producing a steady stream of story content rather than waiting for a film trilogy to stretch out over seven years.

@Onatu:
Bionicle has more in common with Technic than System in more ways than one. Sure, it was born of Technic, but a major issue people have run into when trying to sell it is that they simply don't have enough stock. You can't just throw a few handfuls of Technic parts into a System Bricklink store and expect buyers to flock them. The same holds true for Bionicle parts. In both cases, the cost of shipping makes it incredibly expensive to buy the parts you need if you end up having to buy them one or two at a time. Stores that specialize in either Technic or Bionicle don't have these problems. They know what parts are in high demand, and can price them accordingly. They have a critical mass to draw in those buyers who are still in the market. The reason most sellers don't get this is that the vast majority of them specialize in System parts by default.

I'm glad that Bionicle is getting some of the recognition it deserves! Why not take new and diverse models to show the appreciation? The designer obviously poured so much love into this set, from including McToran Takua (who was never a set), to the lavaboard, to the tiny Great Spirit stones! This set really deserves credit where credit is due for all the fan service it packs into one small set.

@PurpleDave I am aware that Furst did use a computer to play his music and not an actual orchestra... but to be honest that is kind of a mixed blessing. As much as I would have LOVED to have heard a live orchestra cover some of his scores, that computer thing is what allowed him to easily go back and restore and remake so many of the movie themes to release them as proper soundtracks in the last few years; and I love that he took the time and effort to do such. Its clear Nathan Furst regards his Bionicle work as some of his favorite in his whole career, and I am glad I can now listen to any of his songs in high quality on his official soundtrack releases.

But dang I would love to hear them played live someday.

This looks cool, it gets the rough visuals right if nothing else.

Like some others, I'm a little disappointed it's a GWP because if it was released as a £15-20 set I'd consider getting it.

I have to jump in here and preface my comment with this link to an article I wrote for Brickset back during the height of the pandemic: https://brickset.com/article/49497/featured-set-of-the-day-tahu

So, in case anyone was wondering what the guy who wrote so lovingly about the original Tahu set thinks about this nifty GWP, here it goes. This is a great homage, better late than never. I will definitely get one. LEGO didn't have to release this in any form. After all, remember how for BIONICLE's twentieth anniversary, they stuck a Kanohi Hau outline in a sticker in a Harry Potter set? Yeah, after that, I admit I felt a little like the rabid conspiracy theorists who thought LEGO had "buried" BIONICLE. But I didn't get super fussed about it because I don't need anyone to tell me BIONICLE was great. I know it was. I was there. It paralleled my teenage years, grew with me. When BIONICLE ended in 2010, I was on the cusp of graduating college and going out on my own into the real world. It was the end of my adventure in the world of Bara Magna and in the Matoran Universe. Like the characters Mata Nui delivered to a brand new paradise, I set foot into a new world. I didn't plan on BIONICLE the toy being a part of it. But BIONICLE the story, the idea, the style...that all stayed with me.

For us dinosaurs that were alive and remember the heady days of 2001 through 2003, we learned quickly nothing could bring back that magic of those initial years. LEGO kept pushing BIONICLE forward, even when it brought back characters like the original Toa in 2008. For LEGO in 2023 to look back and offer this non-trivial representation of the original Tahu, Takua (our in-universe stand-in for much of BIONICLE's early years), and the Amaja Circle is a truly unexpected treat. It's a reminder and a memento of all that came before. Let's treasure it!

>Lacks the charm of BIONICLE

Yeah but it has charm of Lego as creative medium and thats the best part.

This set is almost perfect - It shows how this series would be if it been a theme now.
I personaly think Lego did a very solid job.

Remember, GWPs are a really bad for consumers and this is honestly a borderline unethical business tactic tbh. I really hate, that Lego engages in that stuff so frequently.

It's a shame but this comment section has devolved into an example of why it took me so long personally to engage with the wider AFOL community. I've always loved System as well as BIONICLE, but it was BIONICLE that really captured my imagination the most as a child.

I had hoped that the gatekeeping and knee-jerk aggressive responses would be a thing of the past, that we would all be able to remember that fundamentally we all share the same amazing hobby, but apparently not.

If your first response when someone opens up about their interests is to belittle them or the thing that makes them happy, especially when it's something you actually *have in common*, then you need to rethink your approach because it's childish and cruel, and *shouldn't* have a place in this community.

@StyleCounselor said:
" @Onatu said:
" @StyleCounselor and @CCC
Tell me you two know nothing about Lego beyond System without telling me you know nothing about it. Bionicle was incredibly popular in its day, with plenty backing up the sheer revenue it used to bring in. Even nowadays the aftermarket is thriving - that the two of you are ignorant of outside of your odd anecdotal evidence proves nothing. Sets for Bionicle sell for increasingly higher amounts, masks and other collectables even more so. Hell people go crazy for the supplemental material, even. A bin of parts will *always* sell far less than completed sets. That goes for System, Technic, or anything of that sort.
I don't see why especially you @StyleCounselor felt the need to come into the comments here with increasingly aggressive and unnecessary takes. If Bionicle bothers you so much to exist, keep it to yourself. Fans of Lego are fans of Lego, doesn't matter what subsets they like. Most AFOLs don't care for more than a single theme, so why does it bother people when Bionicle fans latch onto what they love? Some diversify like myself, but it's silly to act so sanctimoniously over a children's toy."

System sets of all types have really appreciated in value. Bionicle has not. There has been a slight uptick in post-pandemic sale prices of sealed sets. "

A bold statement.

@Lego_Lord_Mayorca said:
"I have to jump in here and preface my comment with this link to an article I wrote for Brickset back during the height of the pandemic: https://brickset.com/article/49497/featured-set-of-the-day-tahu"

I took the time to read the article and I found it very inspiring and relatable on many levels. You should write for this site more.

@Freddy_Hodson said:
"When was Bionicle controversial?"

Pretty much always. It was a radical departure from the System sets of the previous decades. It was very popular but that didn't mean it was accepted by everyone.

Why the need for controversy.
Just let people enjoy what themes they want to.
There are themes I enjoy more than others, but would never argue or tell someone they like the "wrong" theme.

As for Bionicle, yes it's different to System, but so is Technic, Mini dolls.... what difference should that make.
Was never a theme I was overly invested in, but did have a few as a kid and remember enjoying them as good toys, and still have one sat in my LEGO room today. (Dalu)

I'd like to see a brick-built Bohrok set. The 2002 wave was BIONICLE at its peak.

@PurpleDave said:
"And yes, I actually founded one of those sites. There were days when I'd come up from a full day of work, and spend another eight hours answering e-mails from the readers, while also making sure we had new content being posted daily. I saw firsthand just how insanely popular it was at the time."

Oh cool, really? Which site was yours?

@Bison_Bricks said:
"I get why Bionicle fans are upset about the brick-built part usage. If LEGO made an “homage” to classic space using Bionicle parts I myself might be mad too!"

If LEGO had long since stopped making "normal" sets at all and it was all Bionicle-style stuff all the time, and then they managed to make a recognizable Classic Space set out of constraction parts, I think I'd be thrilled tbh.

Though I'd certainly be annoyed if I had to buy $100 worth of Bohrok to get it.

@xboxtravis7992:
Mostly it made the movie possible. Recording a live orchestra can be incredibly expensive, since you could be adding around 100 more highly skilled employees to the payroll.

@Freddy_Hodson:
When it first launched in 2001, AFOLs reacted to it pretty much the same way they did with Galidor. It wasn’t “real LEGO”, it was “destroying the company”, you “couldn’t build anything with it”, and so on. Never mind that Throwbots and Roboriders had both come and gone without much comment, Bionicle got the full Chicken Little reaction. The flip side of this is that, unlike Throwbots and Roboriders, it was a smash success.

Where the issue really started, I think, is a combination of just how visible it was. Where it was easy to ignore the two preceding themes, Bionicle sponsored a pro skateboarder. It filled a large chunk of many LEGO aisles. It got heavily promoted in the LEGO Club Magazine, including shipping with a free comic book every issue. And the fanbase was very young, often in the under-10 crowd. That really didn’t sit well with grey-haired AFOLs, when kids who were less than 1/5th their age invaded their internet hangouts (admittedly, often in direct violation of those sites’ TOS). So they drove them away. As an AFOL with a foot in both worlds, I saw exactly how ugly the AFOL community got with their gatekeeping, and against children at that. I still rank it up there with kicking puppies.

If the community had been more welcoming, or at least less abrasively “torches and pitchforks” about the whole thing, kids whose introduction to the LEGO brand came through Bionicle may have actually transitioned into appreciation of System-based themes, but I honestly don’t blame them for largely disassociating with the larger AFOL community. People were jerks to them. Some softened their stance on it, but others are still gleefully hostile.

@bnic99:
Again, more than one LEGO employee has stated quite clearly that Bionicle saved the company. If they don’t get to peek at the company ledgers, they’ve certainly had ample opportunity to get the straight dope from those who wrote them. And somehow, even when they clearly explain this, they get met with AFOLs in denial who will immediately try to explain that it was more due to some System theme, because they can’t wrap their head around how insanely popular Bionicle was for those first few years.

@PurpleDave

I am not saying Bionicle didn't play its part.
It certainly did help, but to say it was 100% down to bionicle and nothing else played any part?

It is very rare in life things are all down to one cause, its more likely to be a number of factors. Sure bionicle was a big one, but it is unlikely to be the only one.

Let's say they didn't make Bionicle, would LEGO still be around? OK maybe not.
Now let's say they ONLY made bionicle and stopped producing everything else, would LEGO still be around today? Again I think unlikely.

To say it was all down to bionicle and ignore everything else is equally as ignorant as saying it had nothing to do with bionicle and it was something else.

@PurpleDave not to mention many adult Bionicle fans who still act like the AFOL community and TLG is still out to screw over Bionicle because of those interactions they had online in the 2001-era LEGO internet fandom. The ripples of that are still obvious to this day, and unfortunately explain why so many Bionicle fans can start to get so abrasive and self defensive by reflex.

@PurpleDave
"To say it was all down to bionicle and ignore everything else is equally as ignorant as saying it had nothing to do with bionicle and it was something else."

No, it really is a case where Bionicle saved Lego. It ended up being 25% of Lego's revenue on its own, noting they were producing a lot of other themes at the same time and this one was generating by far the most revenue. It started the Lego movie trend getting four films on its own and was the basic formula used for other popular themes such as Ninjago and it saved Lego from not entirely focusing on licensed themes which would have happened otherwise and what we are dangerously close to today.

@TheIronBadger:
I’ve seen one…sort of. At our final meeting of 2022, we had an assortment of random parts and a challenge to build a Christmas ornament. One of the Bionicle fans in my LUG built a tiny Lehvak that used the green paint palettes as the hands. We all thought it was a frog.

@CCC:
Yeah, about half of the names from the first year were of Maori origin. The only one they really jumped on was using “Tohunga” as the term for the basic villagers. It would have made more sense if they’d swapped that with “Turaga”, which was used for the village elders, but that doesn’t mean it would have been accepted any better. In the end, they renamed the villagers Matoran, and promised to stop using any indigenous words for Bionicle names.

That wasn’t the end of the controversy, though. BZPower had a fanfic section on the forum, and one of the admins posted on their front page that they weren’t going to force their members to switch terms, citing 1st Amendment freedom of speech. The site got shut down for a few days by a DNS attack, so that clearly wasn’t the best way to handle things.

@MisterBrickster:
MaskofDestiny.com. I don’t remember if I slogged back through the entire archive to update the use of terms, but I would point out that going forward, we made a clean switch to using Matoran vs Tohunga. And we didn’t have any attacks targeted at us.

@bnic99:
It’s important to point out that, while the company survived, even with the strength of Bionicle sales forcing them to install a new production line, they still had two years that resulted in heavy annual losses (I’ve seen numbers that include a third year, but that wasn’t much more than I spend putting gas in my car each week). So, it wasn’t like it was smooth sailing just because they had Bionicle sets on the shelves. But in the midst of all this, Mattel made a serious offer to buy them out. Maybe without Bionicle, they would have considered that offer, or accepted it, or simply shut their doors. We don’t really know how that played out. What we do know is that SW sales dropped in 2000 and 2001, and again in 2003 and 2004, and during that second span it was their second best seller, with HP only coming in fourth. When we say Bionicle saved the company, we don’t mean that everything was kittens and rainbows. We mean that Bionicle is what allowed them to keep their head just enough above water for the Coast Guard to come pull them out of the drink. If you take away SW or HP, maybe they keep up with Bionicle demand without having to install another production line. If you take away Bionicle, they probably don’t make it through the hard times, or they have to make the proverbial deal with the devil.

@xboxtravis7992:
The Bionicle community has been treated like a punching bag that’s of legal drinking age at this point, and it’s beyond tiresome. I expect that, as the lids are being lowered, some of them will lean out of their caskets to take one last parting shot.

As for TLG, they borked the reboot, sales were clearly abysmal, and I really do believe the company has been pointedly avoiding the production of any new sets. Set designers, and in particular graphic designers (both stickers and prints) can slip subtle Easter eggs in as they please, but I have a strong feeling that the only reason we got this much is the fact that Bionicle topped the poll before they changed the rules. And I’ve seen speculation that they had both Space and Castle sets designed and ready to go into production even before the vote was held. The sheer size of the castle and the complex scaling of the GE lend credence to this theory. Even though they stated that winning the poll did not guarantee that theme would get the Fan Vote set, it would have looked very awkward if they let Bionicle stay in the top spot and didn’t release anything for Bionicle besides Sad Tahu.

@Scarilian:
I have honestly never seen hard numbers posted before. Would you be able to point me to where you learned that?

@MugenLazlo said:
"How is this 18+? The piece count is a little too short IMO."

The same way Sesame Street was 18+. The target market isn't kids anymore, but people who were kids when the IP was new. The youngest Bionicle fan I've actually met in person is around high school age.

@JVM said:
"Definitely looks like LEGO should avoid Bionicle going forward in any situation that is not a 110% multi-year commitment to a brand new line using exactly the same parts from the original run. Wonder if the "it's just a toy" people from the Star Wars post will show up here?

I thought this looked charming as someone who had only bought two Bionicle."

I was a die hard bionicle fan still have a lot of my original sets like the Bohrok in their tubs! It's the theme which got me into LEGO but yes it is just a toy! A celebration of a classic well loved theme which was a huge step for LEGO. They could have not done this at all but did and I am thankful for it and that nod to such a special theme in my heart.