Concept, A New BIONICLE Release Paradigm

LEGO BIONICLE
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I currently have gripes with how 2015 and 2016 are released and I wanted to know if anybody shares my opinion. The way BIONICLE is and has regularly been released is 2 waves a year; right now Wave One focusses on the Heroes and their little allies and Wave Two focusses on the Villains and Titans. This way Lego can chunk out the story into an Exposition half with a small payoff and Resolution half with a big payoff. This used to make sure there were all six elementas of character in each wave, but with Summer Waves getting smaller we have had some elements cough water cough left out. What I propose is a Release schedule that utilises all four fiscal quarters of the year and an ongoing story.

In Wave One, which is released in January, we get 5-7 sets.

  • The Large Fire/Mascot Toa (The Tahu)
  • The Medium Stone Toa (The Pohatu)
  • The Small Fire Ally (The Vakama)
  • The Small Stone Ally (The Onewa)
  • A selection of 1-3 Villains
  • The Medium Fire Villain (The Tahnok)
  • The Medium Stone Villain (The Pahrak)
  • The Medium Fire & Stone Villain (The Lava Beast)
  • A set of the Year’s Mascot Villain (The Hunter)

In Wave Two, which is released in April, we get 5-6 sets

  • The Large Earth Toa (The Onua)
  • The Medium Air/Jungle Toa (The Lewa)
  • The Small Earth Ally (The Whenua)
  • The Small Air/Jungle Ally (The Matau)
  • A selection of 1-2 Villains
  • The Medium Earth Villain (The Nuhvok)
  • The Medium Air/Jungle Villain (The Lehvak)
  • The Medium Earth & Jungle Villain (The Quake Beast)

In Wave Three, released in July, we get 5-6 sets again.

  • The Large Ice Toa (The Kopaka)
  • The Medium Water Toa (The Gali)
  • The Small Ice Ally (The Nuju)
  • The Small Water Ally (The Nokama)
  • A selection of 1-2 Villains
  • The Medium Ice Villain (The Kohrak)
  • The Medium Water Villain (The Gahlok)
  • The Medium Ice & Water Villain (The Storm Beast)

In Wave Four, released in October, we get 2-4 Titans of important characters and complete the year right before the holidays start.

  • A variety of
  • The Big Villain(s) (The Makuta/The Destroyer)
  • The Seventh Titan (The Takanuva/The Ekimu)
  • The Vehicle
  • The 2-Figure Set

This way the story can focus on 1-2 Toa at a time as they progress the story and fight the villains and wrap up in One Big Climax Near the Holidays trying to get sets that are out on Kids wishlists. TLG would use this to trickle out sets keeping the active collector’s attention and having kids know what time of year their favorite Element comes out and save up for it.

This, of course, is just my opinion because shortening the 6-month gap between releases would really provoke relevent discussion when we normally have large dead zones in the community. If there are any holes in my logic I’ll gladly see your points, but Biyearly waves seem less than optimal to me and this to me is a great solution.

5 Likes
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While it seems good, it would be a little too expensive for Lego.

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How so? Too much R&D, Too many shipping days, or something like too many sets? Tried to match this up with TLG’s, the Second biggest Toy company in the world, current 2 wave structure just more spread out to keep interest.

I also thought of an alternate system which releases all six elements at a time. Toa of two elements (The Tahu and The Pohatu), Allies of the pair after them (The Whenua and The Matau), and Villains of the pair before them (The Kohrak and The Gahlok, or The Storm Beast). While the Titans still release at the end of the year for awesome holiday buys.

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Personally, I kinda want to see something like 2002, where the Toa are released with upgrades after defeating the villains instead of the 08-esque lineup you’ve got going. But right now, I think what we have for now is fine.

2 Likes
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Personally I like the way it is now. This one seems sort of odd, like LEGO would be giving us tablespoons of one bigger meal. I would want them all out at one time so I wouldn’t have to wait if I only wanted to buy, say, Kopaka.

Plus, this one is very heavily story-influenced. Everyone has heard of “LEGO sells sets, not stories.” Sure, this may allow them to focus the story a little better, but at the expense of releasing more sets. It’s better for LEGO to design a wave then just release them all to maximize profit.

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