Bionicle Sets became too heavy

LEGO BIONICLE
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Usually, a Lego set’s worth is measured in price/pieces. Obviously, this ratios are different between Bionicle and System sets.

However, the cost of producing a set is not related to the number of pieces. Think about it. Clearly it costs more to make the Mask of Ultimate Power (sniff) than a Lego stud. The MoUP uses (would have used, again sniff) much more plastic than a stud.

So, the cost of making a Bionicle set is entirely dependent on the weight. In order to generate as much profit as a system set, it would have to sell more. Don’t believe me? According to Brickset, Lego 10210, Imperial Flagship (a 2009 tall ship with 1556 pieces) weighs 2590 grams. By contrast, Lego Pohatu Phantoka weighs about 310g. Doing the math, it would take $108 dollars of Pohatu to equal the mass of the Imperial Flagship. The Flagship cost $180 dollars. Lego gets much more profit off of the Imperial Flagship than it does off of the same amount of plastic in Pohatu.

Jump forward to G2. Lewa 2015 weighed about 210g. Ten Lewas = $149.99ish. One Detective’s office, released the same year, weighing ten Lewas? $159.99. Obviously Lego tried to make it better, and considering that Tahu, who cost more, weighed about the same as Lewa, it seems as if this disparity would be solved if you sold about as many Tahus as Lewas. The problem is that people tend to buy cheaper things, so Tahu won’t sell as much as Lewa (since not everyone who buys Bionicle belongs to this board, and wants them all.)

So, when Lego said Bionicle sold well, comparable to a system theme, that was probably true. The problem is, it wasn’t enough. You need to sell more Bionicle sets per mass to get the same amount of profit.

It’s probably also a part of the reason SW constraction works. Because it says “Star Wars” and is supposed to emulate Daisy Ridley, you can charge more for her than for Gali. Suddenly, the weight is so much of an issue anymore.

What do you guys think? Was G2 too heavy? And if we ever do see a G3, will Lego make these sets lighter, or just more expensive? More important, what’s better, lighter at the same price, or the same weight for more?

Thanks for reading :slight_smile:

14 Likes
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This was an interesting read, a landmark theory in why G2 ended.

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:thinking: it’s an interesting thought.

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Lego has such a big margin of net gain over their pieces that I highly doubt this has ever been a problem to them. It’s just a guess, but a 20€ Tahu probably costs them something like 5€ to produce. Also, with all the testing and market research they make for all toys, I doubt they haven’t thought of this.

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I’m not complaining about how many parts were in the G2 builds. (Each 20 dollar set was like building an old titan and I loved it). But if they wanted the Toa to sell better, then maybe the figures should have had the same number of parts as a Protector, and a Protector should be akin to a Toa Mata.

That would really lower weight. But I’m not a set designer or even a decent mocist, so I have no idea if that would work.

This is a really cool theory.[quote=“DinosaursUnited, post:1, topic:39196”]
What do you guys think? Was G2 too heavy? And if we ever do see a G3, will Lego make these sets lighter, or just more expensive? More important, what’s better, lighter at the same price, or the same weight for more?
[/quote]