It was a sad day when the beloved Bionicle theme was canceled for the second time. In comment sections far and wide LEGO was critisised for many things, but one specific complaint kept cropping up: there’s no Makuta set.
Thankfully our hobby is based on the fact that we can make whatever we want, including what LEGO didn’t have the incentive to create. Djordje has stepped up to provide us with this build which would not have been an official set for another reason: it’s massive.
While my favorite lifeform from the age of the dinosaurs (and before) is the trilobite, I also have a soft spot for the hard-shelled ammonite. Leonid An has built a scientifically accurate, albeit fictional, ammonite that he’s dubbed Ammonoidea fictum. The Bionicle pieces make an excellent shell, and I love the big yellow eye glaring from behind a mouthful of tentacles.
Sadly, ammonites died out around the same time as the dinosaurs, survived by the similar (but only distantly related) nautilus. If you like this LEGO ammonite, check out the white nautilus we featured here back in 2009.
Rarely does one think of smooth curves when discussing Lego. While the 2×4 red brick may be the most famous piece, its the new age parts that are turning the corner on what Lego can become. Utilizing parts from the Bionicle and Constraction lines, designer Tremah has sculpted Lego for the future in the form AD.AM, an awe inspiring robotic being. Sleek, form fitted, and futuristic white coloring, AD.AM is surely ready to become the prime example of what Lego bots have and will become. The future is now people!
LEGO’s Bionicle theme has been among the longest running proprietary themes LEGO’s ever developed. Bionicle started in 2001, where it was one of the most original toys to hit the market during my childhood. I still remember buying the first wave of Toa, with their elemental powers, and avidly reading the comics with sweeping story arcs that accompanied them. The first Bionicle theme lasted until 2009, when it was discontinued in favor of LEGO’s next buildable-action figure theme, Hero Factory. Hero Factory had a successful run for five years, from 2010-2014, but never achieved the acclaim or fandom that surrounded Bionicle. Last year, LEGO returned to Bionicle, and fans could experience the world of the Toa heroes again. All told, over the 12 years Bionicle has been in production, Bricklink records 433 set entries for the theme — a remarkable life for the home-grown theme. However, LEGO has announced that 2016 will be the final year for Bionicle. Read the full press release below.
I watched Predator with the lights off late one night by myself when I was 14, terrified just as much that my parents would find me watching a hyper-violent R-rated movie as I was of the invisible alien antagonist. Cid Hsiao has built a Predator figure that uses the organic armor of Bionicle and Hero Factory to great effect. Placed on a stand built from regular LEGO bricks, I need this imposing fellow standing guard on my desk.
I have no idea what the story is behind d’Qui Brick‘s Lone Druid creation. I don’t even know if that really is a dog, or some kind of sinister skeletal big-cat thing. But it doesn’t matter — this is a burly, beefy, terrifying beast of a model which makes excellent use of a mix of parts: Bionicle, Chima big-figs, and regular System bricks.
The face of the figure is particularly striking and I like the little touches of the hanging chains and skulls. The various spiky bits add an obvious menace, and the whole thing carries an unsettling sense of sinister heft. The only thing that doesn’t work for me is in the photography rather than the building itself — that black background might make for a moody setting, but it makes it difficult to see the details of the model.
Here’s a pair of fantastic characters of the diabolical persuasion. Fresh from the brimstone lands, they’re sure to wreak havoc or worse upon anyone they meet. First up is the creepy hellspawn Lungorthin the Devil, by Leonid An. The shaping of the beast’s head is nothing short of brilliant, with so many intricate pieces flowing smoothly together to form a snarling visage.
And then we have chubbybots‘ Mazinkaiser, who hails from the anime of the same name and isn’t a hellion at all but rather a giant mech, though it does fight Dr. Hell.
While I’m not one for the current popular trend of taking pictures of LEGO in the outdoors, this build by Dödke deserves some attention. The stork’s design is instantly recognisable, and the shallow, rock-lined water pool adds a lot to the build.
Unfortunately, this also comes with some sad news as the builder states that this stork, Kele, was named after an animal that was killed. Luckily, it’s now immortalised in the brick!
Check out this fantastic Jungle Guardian Bionicle creation from Victor. I’m not normally much of a fan of Bionicle — I generally prefer my LEGO in the blockier variety. However, this is the sort of build which challenges my notions of what a “proper” LEGO model is made of. I love the sense of character and menace this bad boy carries alongside that sweet mace…
Even if you’re not of a certain age, chances are you’ve played (and loved) the classic DOOM series of first-person shooter games. And while today, Friday the 13th, may be seen as unlucky, it’s extremely fortuitous as the newest installment in that series, simply titled DOOM, releases today.
To celebrate the occasion, builders Cezium and Dylan Mievis have been pumping out a series of Bionicle-style representations of various creatures from the game. Check out the builds below and click the names of the demons to see the original game versions, so you can compare them to their LEGO counterparts.
First up are the works from Dylan:
Click here to see the full lineup
Meet the latest build from TBB favourite, Japanese builder Moko. This stunning figure is a unique blend of Bionicle and Hero parts. Moko has a real talent to get seemingly unrelated parts to attach and form a beautifully shaped mecha. The silver colouring of this build is perfect for the robotic shaping and the textured surfaces of the Bionicle and Hero parts.
This Bionicle-Hero hybrid is also highly poseable as you can see. And… lunge… 2… 3… 4.
LEGO Bionicle pieces are among the most hard-to-use parts, but it doesn’t mean they’re useless. They usually end up as table scraps after another huge project, so you definitely need a fresh look to find an application for them — just like Dead Frog inc. did. Bionicle masks are a vast range of pieces available in dozens of colors, and thanks to their curvy shapes they fit amazingly well as armoured parts of mechs.
Meanwhile Olga Rodionova takes advantage of the complex coloring of mask pieces to give a pair of Protector Masks of Ice a second life as incredibly beautiful insect wings. This is the best illustration of the idea that the more useless the piece seems to be, the more amazing it looks when used properly.
