Tag Archives: Bionicle

Bionicle was a line of sets that grew out of the LEGO Technic line that LEGO produced between 2001 and 2010, succeeded by Hero Factory. Bionicle had an incredibly complex storyline that accompanied the sets, and most of the elements didn’t integrate well with traditional SYSTEM bricks. As a result, long-time adult fans like the contributors here on The Brothers Brick never quite appreciated what Bionicle had to offer, so most of the LEGO models we feature here on The Brothers Brick are built from traditional SYSTEM bricks. Nevertheless, we do appreciate a great Bionicle creation from time to time.

Mech-Maker

One of the best things about building with LEGO is the story. Every creation has a unique tale to tell, and some fall within an even bigger picture. One Australian builder, Jayfa, made these beautiful figures as part of an elaborate collection of “Plague Mechs.” Hector (pictured right) is an old inventor, and Artillerix (pictured left) is an arms master. They’re leaders fighting against each other in an epic battle!

Jayfa has made mech-building an art. The combination of Bionicle and System parts is truly fantastic, and these posable characters really seem to come to life! Take a look at the revolvers on Hector’s cane, as well as the minifigure backpacks used for his shoulder pads! But both personalities are great! So who’s side will you choose?

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Just another bug hunt

It’s not often that we see LEGO creations that incorporate the large Technic figures that LEGO included in sets back in the late 80’s through the 90’s. Similarly, most of the LEGO xenomorphs we’ve featured largely use standard System bricks to recreate the terrifying creatures from the Alien movies. Weilong Yao breaks with both of these traditions by building a work loader around a Technic figure and incorporating lots of Bionicle in the alien itself.

By the dragon’s bones, this one’s a terror

Builder Jayfa is a Bionicle- and constraction-system whiz, and one of his latest technological terrors is this bone beast from the beyond. The skeleton dragon employs rows upon rows of tiny teeth for the vertebrae, and a marvelously sculpted head using largely classic System bricks perfectly incorporated into the constraction elements in the body. The aggressive pose helps bring the beast to life (or should that be undeath?), and Jayfa notes that it took a few revisions to get the creature to stand without supports, strengthening the legs and adjusting the balance.

What breathes fire and drinks tea?

After a hard day breathing fire and scaring unsuspecting villagers, even dragons need a little down time. Anthony Wilson has built one of the most distinguished, chilled-out dragons I have ever seen. In his relaxed position, this dragon is able to effortlessly enjoy a cup of tea without disturbing those fine Magenta wings and the floral decorations in his ‘hair’. I particularly love the use of the lime Gresh helmet for the dragon’s flared nostrils and Corroder Claws to form the head shape.

A closer look at the relaxed dragon shows that he likes nothing better than a Jammie Dodger to dip into his cup of tea. Milk and no sugar please, he’s looking after that fine figure. I love the cute little teapot suspended from the tip of the dragon’s tail, while the cup and saucer really look the part.

A demonic Bionicle straight from feudal Japan

The 2017 Bio-cup Bionicle contest is a great source of outstanding creations in the titular theme, with Tengu by the Belarussian builder Vlad Lisin as a prime example. Vlad’s theme for this round was feudal Japan and this samurai- and oni-inspired character has Japanese style to spare.

The menacing and muscular body gives a strong first impression, and details like the bead necklace and sandals reward closer inspection. In the end, all that is overshadowed by the masterfully sculpted face with a glorious white beard and the yellow eyes standing out in contrast with the dark red skin.

Tyrants and cowards, for metal you will kneel!

The master of Bionicle character builds Djokson is consistently churning out such great creations that one would feel like he can’t surprise any more, but somehow he does just that, with every new build he posts. So it is with this powerful-looking Viking warrior named Asmund the Banisher, who the builder says was chosen by Odin to wield magical steel to banish those corrupted by darkness. If I were in the All-Father’s place, my choice would probably be similar.

The figure has lots of character, with the Chima lion head as a beard and some simple yet effective limbs. There is a perfect balance of system and Bionicle characteristic for Djordje, who keeps making great characters with this subtle skill.

Bionicle’s Rahkshi reimagined

You may have been in for a surprise if you logged into Flickr a few days ago and found several of the most talented Bionicle builders out there had posted their own, reimagined versions of the Rahkshi – the Bionicle bad guys from a while back. I’m not entirely sure why or how this happened, but I am glad to see it because each of these builds are so unique will still be recognisable and true to the general design of the original sets.

Son of Makuta – Shattering by Mitch

See more of these Bionicle Rahkshi

Nya, the dragon slaying warrior

In the world of LEGO Ninjago, Nya is the current Elemental Master and Ninja of Water, as well as Kai’s younger sister. Daniel Huang has crafted a large figure version of her using a mixture of Bionicle, System and Technic elements. Daniel has posed Nya slaying the Green Dragon, with her samurai sword plunged deep into the head. The clever use of tyres and tracks within her leg structure contrasts with cloth robes and some ample CCBS assets for a unique blend of styles.

Contrasting with her dragon-slaying pose, Nya also has a clear feminine side, albeit with a few weapons in tow. I particularly like her head, as it’s well constructed with her helmet, and she gives off a ton of attitude in ABS.

When generations intersect in a weird theme mash-up

I didn’t grow up with the classic space sets, so naturally I was never overly inspired to build in the colour scheme and building style. I did, however, grow up with classic Bionicle sets. Having built a 1:1 Toa Onua replica a while ago, I contemplated the comparison between the two themes as core nostalgic focal points of LEGO fans from different ages, which gives this casual looking MOC some surprising symbolic depth. Toa Enstau wasn’t started with an intention to be a Classic-Space/Bionicle mashup, but since I had borrowed a blue Hau kanohi mask and light gray is the easiest colour to build robotic details in, Classic Space turned out as the only logical choice.

The build is based on my experience from my earlier system-style bionicle, but since it is a completely original creation, I had less restrictions in recreating details and shapes. I realize the solar pannels don’t fit very much in either of the stlyes, but I still decided to use them, as it makes for a more unique character and I personally like them. The figure is well articulated, but fragile. There are more pictures of other angles and poses in my Bricksafe folder.

Bwahaha. Soon I will rule this world

Your mileage may vary when it comes to LEGO’s Bionicle-style “constraction” figures. However, even the most militant “bricks-or-nothing” builders should recognise excellent construction skills, regardless of where some of the parts come from. Kelvin Low has simply smashed it with this stunning large-scale Skull Knight figure.

Kelvin has made smart choices with the large armour pieces — couple those with some beautiful greebling details between the plates, and a stylish splash of colour in the cape’s trim, and you’ve got a great piece of work. I love the sense of heft and power in this model. You get the impression the Skull Knight would stomp you into dust as soon as look at you…

These two Bionicles are not identical

This is one of my creations that has been waiting for a few months to be uploaded, for many irrelevant reasons. I think this one takes a bit of insight to be appreciated fully. While my build (on the left) is a servicable mechanical build on its own, its true strengths can only be appreciated if compared to the original LEGO Bionicle 8532 Onua set on the right, as this is a piece-by-piece LEGO System recreation of the classic first generation Toa Onua set. My version is completely unstable and unplayable, but visually comes close enough to the official version that it passes my personal quality standard.

This was a somewhat quick build, but I was so inspired by the idea that it completely took over my life for a few days. It strikes me that Bionicle (or as the cool kids call it these days, “bonkle”) is quite similar to classic space in a way – while classic space is the most popular nostalgic theme for many older LEGO fans, Bionicle is the go-to nostalgia trip for ones growing up in the early 2000s, which makes it surprising how rare reproductions are. There are few even in the actual Bionicle building genre, but besides my build, I have only seen one other example of systemized Toa, but even that was just the builder taking his own spin on the concept.

Now, I have indeed built Toa Onua (because this one is the easiest to build due to wide selection of parts in both of his primary colours, black and very dark grey), and I see myself being able to build Toa Kopaka, but for any other ones my selection of parts just can not do. So here is a challenge to any builder brave enough and equipped for it: I would love to see more of the first generation Bionicle characters (or later ones?) made out of system parts!

10,000 bricks bring forth a monstrous black dragon

We do not feature Bionicle and similar creations on The Brothers Brick very often, but when we do, you can be sure they will be the absolute best of the best. Such is this enormous dragon built by Yeonghun Joe. The builder loves dragons, and it shows: Two months of daily building to bring this monstrosity to life. The end result is almost a meter-long and over half-a-meter-tall, 10,000-piece masterpiece that has more going for it than just its size.

The dragon has great dynamic shaping and an intense texture throughout, achieved with elements like wing pieces, armor parts, and shields. To a critical viewer, the wings may look too skeletal, but I am glad Yeonghun did not use cloth pieces here, as it might actually diminish the effect — and a brick-built solution would definetely be too heavy. As for the head, I am pleasantly surprised; when I advise people on dragon building tecniques, I tell them not to make teeth as they more often than not look bad, but in this case and at this scale they look just as they should. Creations made of Bionicle (and related themes’) pieces are usually poseable, so I wonder – is it so with Yeonghun’s dragon as well?