Didn�t know the Hordika could fly? We�ve received reports that there is a new Bionicle commercial traveling across the airwaves. BZPower member Kanian and others were watching Cartoon Network this evening when they saw an ad featuring Toa Vakama transforming into his Hordika form and then breaking free of his cocoon. A couple scenes featuring all the Hordika and their canisters follow this. No word yet if this is airing in other countries, but you can probably expect to see it on other networks in the US such as Fox-Kids and Kids WB.

Last November, Greg Farshtey asked BZPower members what information they wanted to see included in the upcoming Bionicle Encyclopedia. He�s now informed us that the first Proto-Squad e-mail newsletter will feature a sneak preview of the Encyclopedia�s contents. Be on the lookout, Proto-Squad members!

BZPower member The Feared One has given us a link to a website containing the upcoming Bionicle Playsets. Like many others recently, it's not in English, but there's not much to read. Here are links to the pages: Visorak Battle Ram, Tower of Toa, Battle of Metru Nui.
Updated! Read on for more!  

Greg Farshtey has informed us that he will be doing a book signing next month. It will begin at noon on Monday, February 21st (President's Day) at the Scholastic Store in Soho at 557 Broadway in New York City. In addition, the first 75 people to buy a Bionicle book will receive a Bionicle set - free!

The Visorak: they look deadly, they sound deadly, and seemingly act deadly as well. However, their actual powers (other than the ability to mutate beings with their venom) remained largely unknown. Thanks to information provided by Bionicle comic writer and BZPower member Greg Farshtey, these frightening powers are now known.  

As you already know if you have been following BZP's news for the past few weeks, we have recently added a Bionicle set database to the reference section. That database has now been updated. The updated sets include a photos of the new Toa, so check out the set database by looking at the reference column found on the right side of the BZP homepage.

Late last year, LEGO.com asked LEGO Club members for their votes on various things. Bionicle won four of the seven categories, including: Favorite theme of 2004 (Bionicle); Favorite LEGO place to visit (Metru Nui); Favorite Toa Metru (Vakama); and Favorite LEGO villain (Makuta). You might get the impression that Bionicle is popular or something!

Yesterday we provided you with a link to a German website featuring an image of the upcoming Toa Iruini and Norik sets. A few days before that we brought you information about the upcoming Maze of Shadows GameBoy Advance game. Today we bring you updates to both of these stories. Read on for more.
Now Updated with a translation of the second site.  

Although the year has hardly begun, many of the new sets for 2005 are already being spotted on store shelves. While the Toa Hordika and the Rahaga have been available in North America for weeks now, on the other side of the Atlantic, entirely new sets are invading. BZPower Support Team member Roger C-T has obtained four of the six Visorak sets and has taken numerous pictures of the sets, their parts and their canisters, which are viewable in this forum topic.  

A German website, kaleidoshop.de, has a listing for the Toa Iruini. It looks like the set may be for sale, but I am not up on my German, so I'm not sure. The image also doesn't quite match the description as you will see. However, we haven't seen the image before, so have a look here. EDIT: The image is gone and the product is not available.

The web team for Bionicle.com is working on some changes for the site, and have asked for your input! What would you like to see on the official Bionicle web site? Post your top five answers in our talkback thread and you just might see it happen. Please keep it to a top five in list form.

The Grand Final round of voting for BBC Contest #24 is underway! We encourage everyone to cast a vote for their favorite TransforMOC before voting ends on January 24th at noon.

From the 'better late than never' category Mac users can now buy 'Bionicle: The Game' for the Mac system. This is a good sign for Mac users and Lego computer games yet to come! Maybe for future games the release dates will be closer together.

The new catalogue for UK retailer Argos features several 2005 Bionicle sets. Included are Visorak twin packs (possibly paired based on the combiner models) for �9.99, a pack of Rahaga (apparently five Rahaga) also for �9.99, and, last but not least, a twin pack of Keetongu and Sidorak for �29.99! The Keetongu and Sidorak pack also comes with a free Bionicle T-shirt.

One month from today will mark the beginning of the American International Toy Fair in New York City. This is the annual event where LEGO shows off its product line for the year. BZP will be there covering the LEGO showroom as usual.

Back in October, we reported that the BrickMaster edition of LEGO Magazine would be holding a new Bionicle contest in its January issue. The first BrickMaster magazine of 2005 features a new, full-page contest: the Toa Building Challenge!  

BZP Member AoiJuuni has sent us some images from the latest Brickmaster magazine. The first is an image of Toa Iruini�s head, the second is most of the entire set, but it�s is set in deep shadow, to obscure the details. BZP is glad to bring you the first images of the upcoming wave of new sets.
EDIT: Many members commented on what seemed like a brown color-scheme, even though Iruini is the green Rahaga. AoiJuuni, as well as others with the magazine, have confirmed that Toa Iruini is green, with gold armor and other accents. He also mentions that the tip of this Toa's staff is none other than the much sought-after Chronicler's Staff.  

I haven't been this excited about a LEGO theme in a long time. The theme that has me so excited is LEGO Vikings, due to be released later this year. Kudos to LEGO for a job well done. You can see images here.

The other day we brought you news on the upcoming Bionicle game for the Game Boy Advance. Today we have some more details. Play.com, a UK-based entertainment website has published more details on their site. Of interest includes its description as a �[t]op down view RPG-like [sic] action adventure game� with turn-based battles and the mention of �6 distinct areas of the Maze Of Shadows to explore,� including Makuta�s second lair. It also has the names of the two single-player mini-games, �Tunnel Flight Challenge� and �Battle Challenge.� I know after our first news post, many members expressed their desire for an RPG, it seems that�s what we�re getting, plus some fun extras as well.

Previously, the existence of five 'mystery sets' due for release in 2005 had been the subject of wide speculation. Up until now, the names of only three had been released. Now, after much speculation and hypothesizing, the final two 'mystery set' names have been discovered.  

I'm very pleased to announce the introduction of a brand-new BZPower Bionicle Sets Database! This is a comprehensive new feature that includes detailed set and storyline information for each LEGO Bionicle set released since 2001. It's the first major update to BZPower's Reference section for quite some time, but it's only the first.  

BZPower member MRN stumbled across images of Visorak cans on the BrickInside website. The images are very clear, so you can get a good sense of what the real cans will be like. There are images of the new Knights sets to check out on that site, as well.

BZPower member Vakama Hordika has provided some new Keetongu images; one of the Keetongu set and one of its box. You can see the images and join in on the discussion in the forum topic.

The new Bionicle video game for GameBoy Advance, Maze of Shadows, based on the best-selling novel by Greg Farshtey, will be out in March in Europe and Australia and in October in the US. Players can take on the role of all six Toa Metru and use a wide variety of Kanoka disks in play. Players can change which Toa Metru they are playing at any time during the game. The game features three single player modes as well as the ability to play multiplayer with a connectivity cable. Key plot points of the book are covered, according to Greg, and the energized protodermis entity is one of the major opponents, along with lots of Rahi. More info about the game as we receive it.

The Dawsonville LEGO Outlet Store in Dawsonville, GA is closing for good. Right now everything is 50% off, but next week everything will be 75% off. Everyone in that store has been kind to BZP over the years, especially Leigh the manager, so they will certainly be missed. Will more stores be closing? It's not known yet, but this may just be the beginning.

I am pleased to announce the appointment of Jennifer (Tufi Piyufi) to the BZP news team. She has done an excellent job in everything she has done in our forum, and I am excited to see what she can bring to the news side. Please offer your congratulations in the talkback topic.

Interested in purchasing an older set at a reduced price? How about a Koronan Boxor for only $9.95? It's available now from Scholastic.com, along several other sets. Read on for details.  

First LEGO encountered trouble with the Maori names being used for the Bionicle products. Now, LEGO is being sued by two women in California who claim they came up with the idea for Clickits first. They're not asking for much money, so its hard to say how strong their case is. I'd bet this one gets settled out of court. You can read more here.

Roger CT informed us that he had put one of his limited edition, rare, Trans-Red Kanoka up on eBay. These were only available for a brief period of time and are an excellent addition to any collection. There's about 14 hours left on the auction and the current bid on the disk is $10.50 USD. You can view the auction here.
Happy Bidding.

FAO Schwarz, the famous toy store in New York City has opened its doors once again. Going out of business last year, new owners purchased the over 100 year old toy store and have restored its glory. You can visit the store at 59th street and 5th avenue.

Well, it worked for the Toa, and LEGO is apparently hoping it'll work for the Knights' Kingdom of Morcia. 2005 Knights' Kingdom sets feature upgraded shield-wielding swordsmen, complete with curvy gray armor and beefier accessories, much like the Toa Nuva sported after their transformation in 2002. Check out a few pictures of these new sets.  

BZP Member Takua11 Hordika, a member of the Proto Squad, provides us with a review from the latest Proto Squad package. "It was a long day, and I was going about my regular schedule, when I saw the mail man drop off a yellow package. I went to the door, and there it was, the package was finally here! I went into the living room, and opened it up. The first thing I noticed was the Rhotuka Spinner pack! It was obviously crushed during shipment. But I didn't care, the long awaited package had finally arrived!"  

The special packs of Kabaya-bundled sets in Japan often feature additional instructions, and the Rahkshi were no exception. These two pages were included as alternate models.  

Yesterday we reported that Takanuva had been available for $11.00 at 1800flowers.com, but it had been taken off. Well, it's back up now, this time for $11.99, still quite a good deal. Get it while it lasts!

We all missed a great deal on Takanuva. It appears Takanuva was only $11.00 at 1800flowers.com. It's an unlikely place for a Bionicle set to be for sale, but regardless it was there. Keep an eye on this link, because you never know, it may show up again.

Amazon is selling the Ultimate Dume set with the exclusive Mask of Power for only $29.98. This is a great deal at 40% off the regular price. If you have not picked this set up yet this would be a good time to do it.  

The Rahkshi are on sale (again) at KB. First they were $9.99. Then they were $5.99. Then they were 3 for $10. Then back to $5.99. Now they're 3 for $10 again. If you still want Rahkshi, get them before they go back up and they are still in stock.

Several BZP readers have let us know they've seen the next book in the Bionicle Adventures series, Web of the Visorak by Greg Farshtey, on bookshelves at some large chain bookstores. The official release date isn't until Feb. 1, but if you check your local store you may get lucky.

Yesterday we brought you images of one of the two-set Hordika combiners. Today, several members have provided pics of the other two combiners, the Cable Crawler and Rock Raptor. Read on for the images and more details.  

BBC Contest #24 is underway in our forums! For this contest, we�re asking you to design a �TransforMOC�. You can view all the details in the official entry thread.

BZPower member Nuju03 has posted photos of the Sea Spider to his brickshelf. This Rahi is a combiner model made from Nokama Hordika and Nuju Hordika. You can see the images and join in on the discussion here.

The Admins, Reporters, and all the rest of the Staff would like to wish all our visitors a happy, healty, and safe 2005. Hope everyone didn't stay up too late last night!