I’ve been working on some videos about constraction parts, I might post those here when they’re done but for now enjoy the most insane thing I discovered during my research:
Reminds me of how standard friction pin-axles are Bionicle pieces too
The frictionless ones have existed since technic began, but the ones with friction, which famously only come in blue now, debuted with the Bohrok Va! Then they later showed up in all the Nuva that same year, as well as Exo-Toa and the Bahrag. In fact, the only non Bionicle appearances in its introductory year were two Racers sets and the Spybotics stuff, all of which released in August
I found a similar situation with this particular technic connector
I’m not sure how to categorize the pieces in these situations, it’s a little ambiguous…
Yeah, this is one of those pieces that found a niche outside of CCBS.
This reminds me of how the smooth Technic panels that appear in pretty much every Technic set nowadays not only debuted in Bionicle (in the 2008 Vehicle sets), but were originally designed specifically for the theme.
How do you mean?
figuring out which theme’s new parts budget they were created under
so far that shield is the only example I’ve seen of a constraction piece that’s resurfaced after an absence of over 5 years.
it was introduced in 2012, continued to be used every year until 2015, then didn’t reappear again until that 2023 captain america figure.
(this list only shows unprinted versions, but I assure you I’ve checked for all of the printed ones)
I’d like to compare the pre-2016 version with the current one to see if there’s any differences in the mold but I don’t have any of the older releases on hand unfortunately.
Here’s the unprinted one from Brain Attack Bulk (2013). Most notable feature is that molding line on both sides.
I can confirm that Rocka’s shield also looks like this. I wonder if they’ll ever “fix” that, as in make the shield look more consistent, or if they’ll just continue to print over it.
I’m pretty sure that’s an issue specific to pearl metallic colors, I’ve seen similar patterns on other pieces.
That’s probably good for the longevity of the piece. If they deemed it important enough to remold.
Yeah, that version still has 2011 molded into it. I’m pretty sure that if they remade the mold, it’d have a more recent year.
Yup, visible marks like that frequently show up on large metallic parts.
That Star Wars shoulder pad piece shows up a lot- the Dreamzzz Cat Motorcycle has it for a face. It’s printed, but the underlying piece is dark blue, so if you could get the printing off it’s probably great for MOCing.
alternatively - don’t remove the printing and create a bionicle catgirl
this is probably what I’ll end up doing :P
I’m surprised this hasn’t been mentioned yet, but the new Metal Sonic set introduces the Mistika wings in “true” (bright) blue
Oh nice! I haven’t been keeping up with the Sonic theme recently
btw now that Lego Pokemon was announced for next year we might be getting a few constraction pieces in those sets 
FTFY.
I sadly doubt it, most of the few remaining constraction parts don’t seem particularly well-suited for that purpose
