The Paganomation Blog » Ben 10

LEGO Club Show 2.2, 2.3

David — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 22:08:08 +0000

Here’s the next two installments of episode 2 of the LEGO Club Show. I had nothing to do with either of these, but they’re still pretty cool. The interview with Patrick Boivin is of particular interest to stop-motion animators and aficionados, and it’s great to hear his insight and advice.

YouTube – The LEGO Club Show!!!! Episode 2 – Part 2

YouTube – The LEGO Club Show!!! Episode 2 – Part 3

LEGO Hero Factory

David — Thu, 14 Jan 2010 00:20:53 +0000

The most recent (March 2010) issue of ToyFare magazine reveals the exclusive secrets behind LEGO’s next line of buildable action figures, which have been discussed here before.

LEGO Hero Factory is it’s name, and it’s a constructable action figure line in the tradition of Bionicle. In fact, it seems very close to Bionicle in it’s concept (robot-looking elemental characters), which is a little bit disappointing. However, I’m intrigued by the “factory” aspect of the line, which promises users the ability to create their own Heroes from pre-existing parts, and apparently even make comic books featuring their personalized characters. A short concept synopsis from the article:

“The Hero Factory is an enormous high-tech facility that builds futuristic heroes, located in a futuristic city… it is up to users to define the missions and build their heroes.”

Interesting, but is it far enough away from Bionicle to become LEGO’s next big thing? I’m actually more interested in the Ben 10 figures, to be honest. Either way, I look forward to trying my hand at animating these characters — more LEGO ball-joints can only be a good thing.

LEGO Bionicle to end in 2010

David — Wed, 25 Nov 2009 01:31:10 +0000

Cavorter pointed me to this news item about the discontinuing of the LEGO Bionicle line, something I’ve suspected for a while. Starting next summer, the Bionicle theme will be going on hiatus for an indeterminate period of time, apparently to make room for a new buildable figure line similar to the Ben 10 figures I’ve mentioned before.

…we are writing to tell you that the six BIONICLE Stars launching in January will be the last BIONICLE sets for the foreseeable future. Beginning in summer 2010, The LEGO Group will debut a new, more flexible buildable figure property created by the same people who brought you BIONICLE. At the same time, we are also expanding the category to appeal to a younger audience through an established third-party property, starting in January.

I know this is probably a bummer for Bionicle fans out there, but I felt that the line had run it’s course a while ago. The storyline got stale, and the sets became too formulaic — all in all, Bionicle stopped surprising me. (Just like LEGO Star Wars.)

Which is fine, heh — it is a toy, after all. But I’m interested to see this new flexible buildable figure, and whatever building and animation potential it might have.

Bionicle discontinued after 2010 [News] | The Brothers Brick | LEGO Blog