Lego Bionicle Toa -- Tahu, Lewa, Kopaka, Pohatu, Gali and Onua
Written: May 16 '02
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Pros: Develops dexterity and instruction-following skills, "must have" toys for school age boys, learning tool
Cons: Expensive, need multiple units to build up, unlimited accessories, too small for very young children
The Bottom Line: Bionicles will develop building and instruction following skills. Beware the build-and-forget syndrome, and be aware that multiple Bionicles are required to build larger figures.
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| WorkingMomof2's Full Review: LEGO Bionicle 6 Figure Set |
Lego has a hit on their hands with the hot new Bionicle line. This is a line of mechanical creatures, complete with good guys, bad guys, monsters and priests, all sold individually and with an online story to make sure that all kids get exposed to this fad! If you have a school-aged boy, odds are you own Bionicles, or will soon. If you don't (yet), be prepared to be inundated this year by this hotter-than-hot product line that is the genius of Lego Corporation. The first set that we got was the Lego Bionicle Toa Set, which I will cover here.
A Brief Bionicle Primer
I'm not going to spend a ton of time going through the Bionicle story here, but in case you don't keep up with the hottest toys for young boys (these are primarily geared toward boys in the 5-10 range, although many girls play with them too) I'll cover the bare basics here. Most of this is redundant from my other Bionicles reviews, so if you've already read them or know this story, just skip to the next section!
The story (which is available at www.bionicle.com, or just click on the manufacturer link below) goes like this. There are a group of mechanical figures who inhabit an island called Mata Nui. This island is ruled by the evil Makuta. There are six heroes, the Toa, who have returned to overthrow the Makuta. However, in order to overthrow the Makuta they must collect a series of masks that will give them power. These masks are spread all over, and if they are infected by the Makuta can be used to control other creatures on the island. Some of the other creatures on the island are the Nui-Jaga aka Rahi (crab-like beasts, controlled by the Makuta with infected masks), the Turaga (the protectors, also called the priests), Tohunga (the islanders), the Bohrok (evil bug-like creatures that fight the Toa), the Bohrok Va (scouts for the Bohrok), the Tarakava (lizard like creatures controlled by the Makuta), the Manas (giant robotic crabs) and more.
Bionicle Play, and Details on the Toa
Bionicles are mechanical action figures that you buy and build yourself. The Toa, who are the "good guys", come in small clear canisters about 7" tall plus a dome lid. Each of the Toa is named for an earth element (water, fire, air, etc.). This pattern is repeated in the Bohrok, by the way, and there are corresponding enemies for each Toa in the Bohrok. The Toa's names and corresponding elements are (and color info in parentheses) are:
• Tahu - fire (red)
• Pohatu - stone (brown)
• Onua - earth (black)
• Lewa - air (green)
• Kopaka - ice (white)
• Gali - water (blue)
Each of the Toa Bionicles has a series of about 33 small pieces that you put together using a detailed instruction book that comes inside the canister. There are straight pieces, small round joints, long lever-like pieces, masks, rotating discs, etc. The instruction manual is all done with symbols, and numbers, instead of with words -- it will show the pieces you need and the assembly instructions with arrows and images instead of with written descriptions (allowing a child who cannot read well but has good mechanical and spatial abilities to follow them). Don't discard your instructions when you're done, by the way, because you'll need all three books to make the Super-Toa -- each one has part of the story of how to build your Super Toa in it.
Assembled, the Toa stand about 7" tall and have moving parts. Levers on the back allow you to move parts of their bodies, and I've detailed them individually below. You can also manually make the arms move forward and back, the masks flip up, legs bend, etc.
The packaging on these is great. The canisters are clear cylinders and have a dome lid. The assembled Toas fit back in their canisters, although you may have to remove their masks on some of them to make them fit. The dome lids have holes on the sides so you can store extra masks. This is important since there are about 72 different masks (for the Toa and Turaga) that the Toa are trying to collect to regain power on the island. You can remove the label from the canister to see your Toa inside, but don't discard the label. It has secret codes on it which can be used to get into the movies on the cd-rom. Also there are scenes of the Toa in action which may inspire creative play with your kids. In any case the canisters give you a way to keep all the little pieces together and off your child's floor, and are decorative too. If you're collecting the Turaga (the priests, or sidekicks to the Toa) you can usually fit these inside the canisters too which is good as their packaging is far inferior to the Toa.
Here's a little more detail on each of the Toa. I'm including the model numbers too as if you buy these online they often are listed by model number!
• Lewa (#8535) is the green Toa, and has ball joints at the shoulders, arms and thighs. He has a grey face with green eyes under his darker green mask, and if you position him in front of a light bulb his eyes will glow. Lewa can "glide" (in the movie, that is) and has a wicked-looking green battle axe in his right hand, with a gun-like thing in his left (you can make him hold the lid like a shield with this if you want). You can make the arm (and axe) go up and down by turning a gear on this back. Lewa is one of the 3 Toa needed to make one of the two "Super-Toa" (along with Gali and Kopaka).
• Gali (#8533) is the only female Toa (making me wonder how this species survived... the movie didn't cover that part). Anyway, Gali is the Toa of water, and has a 2 tone blue body. She has hooks instead of hands, used for swimming and climbing (and I would assume chasing off male Bionicles). If you turn the gear on her back the arms move alternatingly. She has ball joints at her feet, shoulders and thighs and is jointed for posing as well. She has a light grey face with yellow eyes, covered by a blue mask. She can be combined with Lewa and Kopaka to make the first of the two Super-Toa.
• Kopaka (#8536) is white, and is the Toa of Ice. His body is light grey and white, and his face is grey with blue eyes, covered by a white mask that only allows one eye to see through. He carries an ice sword in one hand and a shield in the other, and the lever on his back makes his sword move up and down. He is jointed and can pose easily standing or sitting. He combines with Gali and Lewa to make the first of the two Super Toa.
• Tahu (#8534)is the Toa of Fire, and is made of red and yellow legos. He has ball joints at the feet, shoulders and thighs, and movable joints all over so he can be posed. He carries a large red flame as his weapon, which can be swung up and down using a gear on his back. He has a gun in the other hand which can be used to hold the lid like a sword, if you want, just like Lewa. Tahu has a red mask that is removable. His face is grey and has red eyes. He can be combined with Onua and Pohatu to make the second Super Toa.
• Pohatu (#8531) is the brown Toa, named for stone. His body is tan and brown, with a grey mask with red eyes. He is jointed at not only the ankles, shoulders and thighs but also at the hands, which comes in handy since he plays ball with a Koli ball. His hands have guns in them useable for holding the lid as a shield, and the lever on his back makes his leg kick the ball. He can be combined with Onua and Tahu to make the second Super Toa.
• Onua (#8532)is the sixth Toa, and is the Toa of Earth. He is black with dark grey limbs, and has a grey face and green eyes covered by a black mask. He has wicked looking three-pronged hooks on each hand, and these move up and down (like Gali's) when you turn the lever on his back, simulating how he digs tunnels through the ground. He is ball-jointed at the ankles, shoulders and thighs, and has many other joints like the other Toa making him easy to pose. He can be combined with Tahu and Pohatu to form the second of the Super Toa.
Any negatives? Only a couple minor ones. The parts are very small, and must be kept organized well to avoid falling prey to the vacuum cleaner (I do vacuum occasionally!) or younger siblings (or cats) with curious fingers and mouths. Since Kopaka stays together once assembled, this is only relevant during assembly or if you take him apart to build the bigger one; however, I would not allow babies to play with him even assembled. Also the cost of each bionicle may be prohibitive for some families.... ask for these as gifts, or better yet gift certificates so your child can select the Bionicles he doesn't yet have!
Lego's Amazing Marketing Genius
The marketing genius, of course, is not in the individual designs, although Lego clearly has a winner there as well. Instead of old-style Legos where you simply bought a set, and it could be constructed and rebuilt into a million different designs, limited only by imagination, Lego has created an unending demand for these action figures. Because of the specialized pieces and color schemes, you build one Bionicle, and then it is complete. Unless you knock it over, it is not really a take-it-apart and do-it-again toy. Most of the fun is in the building process.
However, Lego has created a self-perpetuating product line. If you have one Bionicle, you will need more. You will need good guys to fight your bad guys. You will want all of the Toa, and then the Bohrok, and more (these are the most readily available products). And if you had fun building one bionicle, but it's done, never fear -- if you collect three or more, you can build a bigger better Bionicle (a super-Toa, and idea continued in most of the lines including the Bohrok and Tarakava).
As a marketing person myself, I cannot help but marvel at both the design behind these and the incredible marketing/PR work that has grown these into THE must have toy for boys this year. Not only do you get hooked with a single product, but the need to buy more (to make the bigger products) and the continuation of the line with new enemies and collectible masks, etc. makes this a never-ending money pit for parents and a competitive who-has-more-bionicles situation for kids!
Overall Recommendations
This set includes all six Toa, and is harder to find (versus the individual Toa alone) but it is worth it to collect all six at once. If you are brand new to Bionicles, your child will (probably) want the "good guys" -- the Toa -- first. Next are the Bohrok, most readily available of all the evil creatures. Both lines are available at almost any toy store and online, for about $7-8 each or $40-$50 for the set. It can be hard to find certain characters at times, for some reason, so having the entire set and "doling them out" or making your child work to earn them (I know, I'm a mean mom, I hear this all the time) can save you a lot of time and energy over digging for the right one on the shelf.
If you're shopping for a Toa for your child, be sure to find out which color he wants (if he cares) and to distinguish between the Toa and the Bohrok. Both come in the clear canisters, but the Toa have a rounded dome top and the Bohrok have a flat top and the word BIONICLE is embossed on the side of the canister. I pity the parent who, like me, comes home with the wrong Bionicle after digging through piles of these on the shelves just to find "the white one" -- and finding out too late that there are two "white ones" (a Toa and a Bohrok). Sigh. Live and learn, but I hope I've helped you avoid this hassle.
If you do decide to collect the Bionicles, it is worth going to the Lego.com website (www.bionicle.com, and search for Bionicle) or just click on Manufacturer's page above, to watch the Lego Bionicles video with your child. This is a action video that can be watched online over the course of several days if you want, which will give you (the parent) a feel for what the storyline is so you're up-to-date when Junior regales you with stories about Kopaka and Gali battling the Manas, etc. It will also help you pronounce the names correctly (not that it matters to your child, but I did overhear some less-than-polite corrections on the playground last week!) and to know which characters do what. From my perspective, of course, it also helps to see what your children are playing with and to guide their play if possible.
My son is seven and has many of the Bionicle lines, including all of the Toa and the Bohrok. It typically takes him less than an hour or so to put together a Toa or a Bohrok, with very few mistakes and great attention and focus. I cannot think of another toy in the last three years that has so fully commanded his attention, and he has not had to ask for assistance with this other than to get a few pieces apart if he is creating a larger Bionicle from existing pieces. Our friends with boys from 5 to 10 all play with Bionicles, although some of the more complicated lines would probably exceed the abilities of most five year olds. The Bohrok and Toa are both appropriate starter sets.
I originally was opposed to the Bionicles, and did not want to buy any "war" toys or additional fighting toys. It is almost impossible to get away from Bionicles, though, and when my son saved up his money just to buy Kopaka, I decided to allow him. Now I realize that where there are good guys, there must be bad guys (in our house the bad guys are always defeated, in great and gruesome glory).
If you're avoiding these, realize that these will probably invade your child's life whether you want it to or not. These come as birthday gifts, from friends and relatives, and through play in school, but I've found there is almost no avoiding Bionicles. My advice is to embrace them, understand them and participate in understanding and guiding your child's interest in these, and use this as an opportunity to guide your child's creative play. Bionicles are hot, and they're here to stay. I hope this has helped you to understand some of the history, and guide your child's entertainment and learning.
To read my review on other Bionicles, please see these reviews:
On the Bohrok line:
http://www.epinions.com/content_63985454724
On Kopaka:
http://www.epinions.com/content_63997382276
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 42
Type of Toy: Action Figure
Age Range of Child: 6 to 8 Years
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WorkingMomof2
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Every time I close the door on reality it comes in through the windows.
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