The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through part 2.1 - 2002

Welcome to 2002. Today will be a brief introduction, and then we'll have a look at the Bohrok, the Toa Nuva, the early "titan" sets, and the menagerie that is the Bionicle Master Builder Set. We're still very early in the series, but the 2002 line brought to Bionicle one of the more reviled aspects of the series: the clone.

Though the original Toa and their Matoran/Turaga counterparts were very similarly designed, there were divergences, slight and not-so-slight, that distinguished figure from figure. Whether it was Gali's dual arm motion as compared to the Tahu and Kopaka single arm, or Onua's head and neck placement, or the vast difference of Pohatu's upside-down torso, the figures were based around a similar morphology, but not identical.

This comes to an end with 2002 first wave of Bohrok, the insect creatures that swarm the island once the Toa have completed the first phase of their quest and retrieved the golden masks.

Though this picture does contain some variety of design, if we look solely to the Bohrok, it's merely a matter of colour that differentiates them. Okay, not only colour. They do each come with individualized krana (the small rubber mask-like bits that fit inside their carapaces) and individualized hands/weapons. These, however, are more accessory than integral body feature. The body build is identical, with no flourishes depending on environment or personality. It suits an insectoid/robot hybrid, I suppose, but makes for a sort of boring wave of figures. You'll note some variations on that shelf, which I'll post a better picture of next time, but these are combiners and non-canonical models, rather than the main figures of the wave.

And, on the topic of combiners, if you missed the previous post in the series, it highlights what I think is the best build of the wave, Wairhua Nuva, the combiner model of the Nuva versions of Gali, Kopaka, and Lewa.

We're also introduced to more powerful Toa in this wave, with the advent of the Toa Nuva, and I'll admit straight out that though I'm a fan of this early attempt at armouring the figures, I don't like the mask redesigns. The original masks were inspired, I think. These protodermis-mutated masks are too big, and a bit cartoon-y looking for my tastes. Again, though, we'll look at this more fully when I deal with the Toa and Matoran of this wave.

2002 also introduced one of the more interesting sets of the series, the Lego Shop exclusive Master Builder Set, which offers 15 different models of Mata Nui fauna. I really love this set, and to illustrate each of the animals, I've gone through my collection and built each one. Though they're not the same colours as the Master Builder Set originals, it will give a sense of the creatures presented in this relatively rare set.

I don't have too much in the way of ancillary merchandise for the 2002 wave, though there certainly was a fair bit made. I'm not sure if it'll warrant its own post, but I'll have a look somewhere at the 3 or 4 pieces I do have that aren't building sets.

But before I go for this week, another building video. This is a 2002 Japanese Kabaya fusion of Kohrok and Nuhvok, the white and black Bohrok, and it really begins to show the difference of aesthetic in combiners that I looked at here. So enjoy the video, and next time we'll look closely at The Swarm!