BIONICLE 2015 set names

CM4S

From Mesonak on Eurobricks:

LEGO Bionicle 70778 Defender Jungle
LEGO Bionicle 70779 Defender Stones
LEGO Bionicle 70780 Defender Water
LEGO Bionicle 70781 Defender Land
LEGO Bionicle 70782 Defender Ice
LEGO Bionicle 70783 Defender Fire
LEGO Bionicle 70784 Lewa Master Jungle
LEGO Bionicle 70785 Pohatu Master Stones
LEGO Bionicle 70786 Gali Master Water
LEGO Bionicle 70787 Tahu Master Fire
LEGO Bionicle 70788 Kopaka Master Ice
LEGO Bionicle 70789 Onua Master Land
LEGO Bionicle 70790 Lord of Skull Spiders

From here!

Aanchir

Well, I for one am excited by these names. They sort of remind me of this concept art from the Interactive Demo CD in 2001.

Set numbers are a bit unusual. I wonder why there's a 49-set gap between #70728 and #70778.

But the site these came from has been a reliable source in the past, and there have been other rumors, leaks, and hints that seem roughly consistent with this list, so this list seems trustworthy to me.

fenderbender336

WHAT??? Lego is really bringing them back?! I loved Bionicle when I was younger so this made me quite happy!

Bumblepants

Does this mean Hero Factory is on the way out or will they try and run both at the same time?

Aanchir

Bumblepants said:

Does this mean Hero Factory is on the way out or will they try and run both at the same time?

Hard to say. I was thinking that it would be possible to run both at the same time as of this year, since with its battle machines and mini-heroes, HF has become almost more like Exo-Force than BIONICLE in terms of the subject matter the sets depict. However, thirteen sets is a lot, so maybe having another constraction theme on top of that would risk oversaturating the market. I guess we'll find out next year...

Adzbadboy

Please be true; I hope they are better that the ones we got before; not using loads of big moulds.

prevere

Probably a bunch of new parts - small and big.

Shib

I have just seen a poor quality picture of a store display unit for these on a Lego Facebook page too.

Aidypie

Seriously? After just four years they're rebooting a theme like that? Huh. Color me surprised. I mean... Why get rid of it in the first place?

cody6268

Aidypie said:

Seriously? After just four years they're rebooting a theme like that? Huh. Color me surprised. I mean... Why get rid of it in the first place?

Exactly. Doesn't make sense to have even had Hero Factory.

Shib

I can see the logic. The first wave of Bionicle was 2001, judging by the names thats where the reboot is going right back to. That means its more a remake of something over 10 years old, not 4.
I remember the Bionicles being the last bit of Lego that held my interest before entering Dark Ages. It's not something I'd pay silly money in aftermarket prices to relive, but I'd love to rebut Kopaka so if this is all legit I'll probably end up rebuying all the original ones I had.

fenderbender336

^ Shib it sounds like we hit our dark ages at around the same time. Kopaka was my first Bionicle figure so I plan on buying him asap.

Lego has to stick to the original formula with this reboot. The first Bionicle figures were simple, yet they had some magical draw towards them. Maybe some more articulation would be nice, but I can't stress enough how they shouldn't go beyond that.

Shib

I remember getting all of the first wave and then all of the first mini ones and that's about the point I hit dark ages. If this turns out genuine I will definitely buy Kopaka who was easily my favourite, and if it feels good nostalgia I'll probably get the others. I recon I've probably still got my originals in storage somewhere, but not sure where to look.

fenderbender336

Shib said:

I remember getting all of the first wave and then all of the first mini ones and that's about the point I hit dark ages. If this turns out genuine I will definitely buy Kopaka who was easily my favourite, and if it feels good nostalgia I'll probably get the others. I recon I've probably still got my originals in storage somewhere, but not sure where to look.

I hit my dark ages right after the Mask of Light sets were released. Kopaka was easily my favorite too. I really hope that lego doesn't drop the ball on this one.

Aanchir

Aidypie said:

Seriously? After just four years they're rebooting a theme like that? Huh. Color me surprised. I mean... Why get rid of it in the first place?

Because its sales were dwindling (having peaked in 2002) and there's only so long they could be sustained. When you think about it, keeping a story-driven theme going for nine years is pretty extraordinary already. If they kept it going until it entirely stopped being successful, then chances are that BIONICLE would be remembered by retailers not as a popular product line but as a series of shelfwarmers, and that would make it difficult to either pitch new product lines like Ninjago and Hero Factory ("from the makers of BIONICLE" would no longer be a selling point) or to bring BIONICLE back in the future.

From what I've been able to tell, Hero Factory was successful in revitalizing interest in constraction. Its sales were probably never as good as BIONICLE sales were at the theme's peak, but I'm fairly confident that they were better than BIONICLE sales were towards 2009 or 2010. Plus, a fresh start gave the set designers license to innovate with different release patterns and a new building system. I'm sure some of those innovations will influence the new BIONICLE — in the very least, we've been assured that Hero Factory's character and creature building system is here to stay.

Interesting to hear people saying that BIONICLE was one of their last themes before their dark age. I often credit BIONICLE for why I didn't have a dark age. It's entirely possible that even without it I would have been a lifelong LEGO fan, but frankly, I was already a Technic fan when BIONICLE came out, and from then on quite a few of my LEGO purchases were made in part to enhance my BIONICLE collection. BIONICLE is the main reason I kept my LEGO Magazine subscription going all throughout my adolescent years, and continues to shape many of my interests.

fenderbender336

@Aanchir‌
My main reason for entering my dark ages was the fact that I was going into 8th grade and basically my interest shifted towards chasing girls haha. That was 2003, so almost 11 years later I couldn't resist the allure of Lego anymore. It also helps when you have a girlfriend who supports your hobbies!

If bionicle returns to its glory days then I will definitely be purchasing a few at the very least. Bionicle was really the main reason why I kept collecting for so long.

Ypres

I've been a Lego collector since early 2006, and have bought Bionicles long before then as a child. I can honestly admit that I've never been able to tell what the difference was between Bionicle and Hero Factory. Even the appearance of the little Hero Factory dudes in sets seems a lot like something Bionicle had at one point done.

The question is, from a marketing point of view, what is the point of reviving the name 'Bionicle'. And to me it is just a name, because I don't think it's any different than Hero Factory (until someone kindly explains the difference to me). My guess is that parents (normal ones, not Lego-crazy ones) didn't notice when Bionicle was swapped with Hero Factory. Kids nowadays didn't grow up with Bionicle like I did, so who's to say that if Lego turns Hero Factory back into Bionicle, there won't be young adults ten years down the road weeping tears over the loss of Hero Factory?

fenderbender336

Bionicle had a terrific storyline in it's early years. Fans really cared about the characters and each character seemed to really have their own personality. That's the best I can explain it. They were revolutionary for Lego and I think they brought in a whole new group if lego fans.

Aanchir

Ypres said:

I've been a Lego collector since early 2006, and have bought Bionicles long before then as a child. I can honestly admit that I've never been able to tell what the difference was between Bionicle and Hero Factory. Even the appearance of the little Hero Factory dudes in sets seems a lot like something Bionicle had at one point done.

The question is, from a marketing point of view, what is the point of reviving the name 'Bionicle'. And to me it is just a name, because I don't think it's any different than Hero Factory (until someone kindly explains the difference to me). My guess is that parents (normal ones, not Lego-crazy ones) didn't notice when Bionicle was swapped with Hero Factory. Kids nowadays didn't grow up with Bionicle like I did, so who's to say that if Lego turns Hero Factory back into Bionicle, there won't be young adults ten years down the road weeping tears over the loss of Hero Factory?

BIONICLE has more pop-culture appeal for one. Hero Factory's media has always basically been secondary to the sets, whereas with BIONICLE there were many people whose interest in the sets came from their interest in the story, even if they were never drawn to any other sorts of LEGO sets. BIONICLE is a lot like Ninjago in that it had a really huge periphery demographic thanks to the popularity of its story.

The story differences are really huge as well. Hero Factory is basically a sci-fi superhero/crime-fighter storyline focusing on robot heroes who protect the galaxy from various villains and monsters. It did not have a whole lot of continuity tying the different story arcs together, besides that they shared the same heroes. BIONICLE was much more mythology-driven. There were lots of overarching mysteries that tied the story arcs together, and the overall tone was more "magical" than Hero Factory's. The heroes' goal in BIONICLE was not just to protect the Matoran villagers, but also to restore the power of the Great Spirit Mata Nui, who had been cast into a deep slumber by the evil sorceror known as Makuta. The final year's story dealt with the awakened Mata Nui finally confronting Makuta head-to-head and defeating him.

I don't think as many tears will be shed over Hero Factory as over BIONICLE on account of these story differences. Hero Factory's story isn't bad, but a lot of the bitterness over BIONICLE's cancellation was due to a lot of fans considering the 2010 BIONICLE storyline a lackluster finale to what had been an ongoing story arc. Hero Factory does not have the same kind of ongoing storyline, so isn't as badly in need of a "grand finale".