Hey folks, welcome back to the Summer Of Slug! I had a ton of fun with this video, though I know may say some things in it that don't gel with everybody. 😅 Please keep in mind that I don't have a lot of skin in the game here and an opinion is just an opinion! It's okay if I don't like the same Bionicles as you, trust me. 😊 If you want a better look at my history with Bionicle, please check out my previous video on the topic! ua-cam.com/video/XH8-vxQbYwU/v-deo.html
You have the official LEGO intentions for the CCBS, which is like simulated training... Now, ya need to look at the insane mechs and mechanical applications of using the system for MOCs. I sepecially recommend looking InTo stuff that uses SystemParts in conjunction, and I don't just mean Bionacle customs. Look for some MoniFigScale (The 1 true scale) MOCs.
I'm a hard-core Constraction MOCer, its what I specialize in, and I thought it was fine. Your take is missing some nuance, but that's to be expected from an "elderly slugger trying to figure out CCBS."
I think my main issue with CCBS is that many of the armor pieces are more blocky and flat, as opposed to all the little intricate details on bionicle armor pieces
That’s somewhat true but the system was made to be much more versatile with textures added on. Over the course of CCBS’ lifespan we saw many unique armour addons mostly compatible with every shell adding various details ranging from bionicle esc greebles to fur to even rocky surfaces. You could also add your own bar sized parts in the holes as well.
The armor itself was generally a base to add on the textures desired. But also, the smoother flat texture looks better with regular system and I think lego maybe wanted something that could blend in better with Technic and System. Ccbs was used more widely than Bonk was for this reason I think.
@@frogmouth2 That's true, though its the lack of *shell* variety that is at the core of the CCBS issue, at least for me. Unless you're throwing armour on every single limb, you're still going to run into figures with those same smooth shell pieces.
The gen 1 slander is wild, but understandable. My foremost concern with the transition to CCBS, was that we lost all the technic pin holes in the limbs. I feel like they gave much more texture than the shells ever did, and allowed for further creative usage, when it could connect to a wider array of pieces in a imaginative, but non-intuative manner.
Should have brought back the pin hole and axel connections on top of the ball connection system. Both could have existed at the same time with just a few additional altered pieces.
@@Zeldrake I dont mind the specific shell pieces with only rod holes. But they should have also made shells that look like they are part of the system but have technic connections. More options were needed. Even system bricks was bland until they started introducing new parts. They killed this line so quickly and without full support to expand it.
For what it's worth, the G2 Toa and late-era Hero Factory sets really were the high watermark for CCBS. Until G2 Bionicle we literally didn't have any non-shooter functions with the system. If you thought Bionicle builds got stale, what with identical Toa and non-titan bad guys each wave being the same, with CCBS we had what amounted to an identical build for the better part of 7 years with every single canister set (barring 3). Another deficit was the CCBS use of double system bars on the shells, rather than technic pins and axles. Not only did this restrict CCBS to a narrow band of compatibility shell specific parts overlays, it effectively limited the ability to add texture to shells, meaning that not only was the design language very rigid, but unlike technic you couldn't greeble or add system elements without bending over backwards. Finally, it's worth noting that as CCBS was so distinctive looking, you really couldn't pair it with non-CCBS aesthetics... system themes never look good with the shell and ball system, technic clashes or simply doesn't connect, and latter-day G1 Bionicle doesn't want to attach as you note. Ultimately this means that CCBS's use in MOCs is either relegated to Nice part usage à la Galidor parts, or armor. It's not that CCBS is bad, but unlike G1 Bionicle, Technic, or even Exo-force trying to get it to work in another context is limiting, far to much so for being the sole constraction method for a decade. Great vid as allways
Even though I don't absolutely loathe CCBS, my real GRIPE with it is how....... barren the 'skeleton' base parts tends to be on almost every CCBS figure. 😅 What do I mean? Well, with the Bionicle or even Galidor 'skeleton'-like base parts, they feel more defined and even 'fleshy', with how detailed each part is. A arm or leg simply isn't just a simple and plain looking limb piece, as it can look intricate with faux pistons, artificial or real muscle, bumps and ridges, fur texturing, etc. For instance, the original G1 Toa Mata team may feel seem initially overly similar to each other due to their similar 'skeleton' base pieces, but when taking the time to see the differing details in their limbs and torso pieces, they just feel so much more...... alive in a sense. Toa Mata Tahu, the overall 'face' of the theme (sorry Takanuva) has a subtle asymmetrical body design, with a piston-like arm and a coil around it for his right arm, and a detailed mass of ambiguous metal for his left arm, alongside a odd looking hand with two faux fingers. Compare that to the G2 Tahu, who just feels so symmetrically same-y, even if that's the figure with way more parts, printing, etc! Even the Barraki just BLOW away most CCBS sets, with their uniquely detailed sealife inspired parts! CCBS skeletons just feel so identical when you look at different characters across different themes, with the designers DESPERATELY throwing together the same parts again and again, the same shells, the same weapons, again and again to achieve just a plethora of same-yness. 😭 If you strip off all of the shells on a Hero Factory figure or a G2 Bionicle figure, what do you get? Just a plain and ugly mass of a simplified base, usually with clashing colors and a extreme overuse of translucent parts (I LOVE translucent parts, but using too many will just make them feel less special, as traditionally across numerous other toylines and brands, translucent parts are meant to HIGHLIGHT the overall look of a toy, not to be the core emphasis of a toy's design) Plus, CCBS is known to have a very, VERY long running issue of their figures looking visually unfinished, as it was the norm for awhile to have the skeleton itself be EXPOSED on the back of each figure's build. I believe this issue was fixed later on with the last few waves of Hero Factory/the start of G2 Bionicle, but the damage was already done. It made the sets that used CCBS feel 'cheap', with the exposed skeletons being such a a major turn-off for collectors and even casual buyers! I still think conceptually CCBS is a good system, but the extreme over-dependence of using the exact same 'skeleton' base parts and shells just made every single CCBS set feel so generic and worthless, with VERY FEW standouts like Umarak (either Hunter or Destroyer), and some of the Star Wars sets that even used technic pieces within them. Still, if you like or even LOVE CCBS, power to you! I can see people can make some absolutely STUNNING MOCs with CCBS parts, and the build potential is there! Just in regards to all of the official released CCBS sets, sadly the majority of them are just...... 😐 (Before anyone claims I'm a Bionicle Genwunner, I JUST got into Bionicle a year ago! I was way too young to collect any sets in the earlier waves when I was a kid, plus I'm a girl so my mom would've said no to me if I wanted to get any of the 'later' Bionicle sets like the Glatorian wave when they were in-stores 😅 I appreciate all waves of the theme (minus Stars, that is just horrendous) and I finally got my first set a few months ago, Rahksi Kurahk! 🤍)
I think it's remarkable how the CCBS System is quite a lot like the Knight's Kingdom Action Figure System, which shared the one-way connectivity, had a basic chest frame, a focus on arm gear functions and only ever covered one side of its skeleton frame - Lego gone full circle. Personally I think the G1 'limb' pieces still hold a certain edge over CCBS; they looked good on their own, their pin and axle holes offered more variety in positioning accessories and even allowed both sides to be covered at the same time.
Nick on Planet Ripple has an excellent essay series going over Bionicle G2 (and tons of other LEGO themes) that go over pretty much everything CCBS had to offer and all the potential it had. I'd suggest giving that a watch if you have the time
10:15 My late grandparents bought me Scorpio for Christmas 2011, so the set holds a very soft spot in my heart. I also remember constantly visiting my local Toys "R" Us during 2014-15, hoping to find the new Bionicle G2 sets. This video reminded me of how many fond memories I associate with CCBS. Thank you for sharing, and please take care.
I want you to know this is fucking hilarious. Just the whole energy of these videos is joyous and makes me want to laugh. And it also informs me with a lot of very specific information I have absolutely no use with. I love it.
I think CCBS is in general a good building system that don´t have the issue of breaking parts like the later bionicle pieces. But the one big problem I have with the system is the lack of colour variations of the bone pieces. Most of the bone pieces just exists in black, dark bluish gray and maybe in some other colours (often transparent colours). The lack of colours limits the value of the system dramatically if you dont want to have some random colours in your models.
I'd love to get Ninjago stuff in CCBS form. Small, affordable, displayable and just simply cool sets that I'm sure a lot of people would enjoy. Chima got that, right?
Chima got that and, no offense, they looked terrible. Minifigures have a very distinctive, unique, design that we know and love them for and CCBS just... does not... do that. It feels so wrong to see a Lego character with feet wide apart and a huge gap between them. It feels wrong to see a Lego character with a non-circular head, a non-trapezoidal body.
It's funny that CCBS was a system designed to trump Bionicle by making a generic system capable of making anything, yet they basically made the same 3 types of toys with it for almost its entire 7 year long run. It really stands out to me. Separating the building process into bones, armor, and decals increased the piece count tremendously, and led to a less appealing system in which, well... A bone's a bone, armor is armor, and decals are decals. Did you ever build with Bionicle and find all the fun ways you could use, say, a Bohrok torso piece? How about implementing Technic seamlessly into your builds for mechanical function or design? Bionicle at its best was a system that supplimented the Technic system, allowing it to seamlessly borrow from its wide diversity of parts, and add to it, whereas CCBS feels constantly at odds with both Technic and System. This new CCBS-style system they're building all those mechs with is honestly a far better design, as it follows that early Bionicle trend of supplimenting and expanding an existing system, rather than subverting it. It's great.
It's worth mentioning that the original Hero Factory wave of good guys were more similar to the 2001 Toa in terms of articulation, as in no knees or elbows
Great video! My two cents on CCBS is that generally due to the modularity, characters have a less distinct silhouette than Slizers, Bionicle, and even RoboRiders had. The other part is that I really miss the integration of technic pins and bars, divorcing the system from... well... The System, and making it feel very alien? That Hero Factory guy does look pretty cool, though! Great utilisation of CCBS into a more extreme direction leading to a memorable shape!
Slugger, it's like you make these videos exactly for me... as I imagine is the case for many others born in the mid '90s. When not equally confused by this generation of stuff I was too old for, your bread and butter themes are everything I was too *young* (and poor) for, but still vaguely recall being enamored by in old catalogs when super little. Thanks for all the hard work and fun you put into design analysis and being a Lego historian. May the Summer of Slug never end.
I actually agree that the design and functionality CCBS could've given to Bionicle was exactly what could've made it. However, to me, the real rub was that a lack of unique pieces and parts made them feel very samey. The other real problem for me is that the armor pieces only work for one side. they may look very cool from the front, but most of the CCBS figures looked very naked when you looked from the back. It seems very two dimensional in a way the older Bionicle sets didn't with their bigger body parts being solid molds instead of skeletons. The body pieces have to do so much heavy lifting for the designs that any lacking in variety would easily sink the lines they're a part of. As you said it's mostly wasted potential, but also maybe just a laziness when it came to committing to and expanding the system.
You should see some of the Chinese bootleg Ultraman sets that use CCBS, they found a way to completely fill in the front and back with shalls pieces that cover all of the bone piece, without sacrificing posability due to how the shells are designed.
"Elderly slug attemps to understand and explain CCBS to other elderly AFOLs." All jokes aside thank you for this. As someone who also went through their " lego dark age" during the CCBS era it helps explain the difference between the "old way" and the evolution that had taken place over many years. When I was younger just the lego itself was exciting. As an adult not only is the set exciting, but seeing how the elements evolve, how the elements are made and how elements are used both simply and with high amounts of detail to make a set feel alive.
Your criticism of the lack of shell textures is something I never thought about but it's extremely true. That and being really hard to make look good from all sides is what CCBS is lacking in in my opinion. I still use it and mix it with gen 1 pieces but it can easily stick out with how cartoony it looks compared to the greeblier stuff.
This was also during my Dark ages, so I found it interesting and informative! I have some random CCBS parts to use as texture but have never engaged with it in it’s true form.
I think that the potential of CCBS was never truly realized. The last year of Bionicle resulted in some sets comprised of mostly technic, and looked absolutely stunning!
Hey Slugger, great video as always. If you ever revisit this topic, or just want to check it out out of curiosity, I recommend looking at a few particular sets to see what else CCBS had to offer. 75112: General Grievous is, in my opinion, the best CCBS set LEGO ever made because it uses the system to lean into a character that is already robotic and skeletal. On that note the "Skull Creatures", the bad guys of Bionicle G2, also look great because of this. 70793: Skull Basher is a favourite Skull Creature of mine and reminds me a lot of the Demon Bull King from Monkie Kid. Also with the Star Wars CCBS is 75532: Scout Trooper & Speeder Bike is really interesting as it has a CCBS character and a more traditional Technic vehicle. Nothing too new as both Bionicle and Hero Factory did this, but worth seeing as the last time this was attempted. Finally check out the entire Invasion from Below wave for Hero Factory. Here CCBS is reused as mechs for modified minifigures. Some have said that Invasion from Below wasn't inventive enough as there was little difference between a mech and a big robot in this circumstance, but it shows that CCBS was versatile enough to pivot into vehicles too.
As someone who has been massively into bioincle from before they can remember. you hit the nail on the head with ccbs. while starting more officially post 2010 in 2011 ( 2010s hero factory felt more like the bioincle sets with new parts ) it rarely developed further. ones like 2016 tahu and umerrak the hunter are fantastic sets. this felt like after 6 years of collecting when it was finally getting the parts build up to actually get more textures. the two sets you displayed was a furno from 2013. and a set from 2011 which sadly was one of the more successful creative attempts at the system. while bioincle g2 failed for a number of reasons ( lack of advertising, lack of faith in the story, and many more. ) ccbs never being given the new parts to ever breath just made the issue of them being samey even worse. with star wars getting some but being highly over priced. just lead to a system with major issues that someone like yourself first look at can instantly see the problem scream to the issues. i would be curious on your take of the 2016 bioincle sets along with the 2014 hero factory sets. mainly the mechs. while they did some creatures and some other unique builds in g2 this was the last time they tried to use the system for more than the original design. its something id argue you can also see in the current ccbs like system being used in ninjago core. a few parts that work in few cases but dont have the variety to make it work. once again as always an amazing video and its always fun to see someone take on these themes. and so rewarding seeing someone newer to the systems be able to see the issues some of us were seeing for years.
Since CCBS is one of the cherished parts of my Lego collection and history, I’ve got a lot to say! So thanks for covering it! One thing I wish CCBS got more praise for is its design philosophy, which I think is far superior to the Bionicle and Galidor of yesteryear. That's not to say I don't appreciate the unique strengths of those older systems, many of which you explicitly brought out, but they also seem to be the fatal flaws that CCBS was made to correct. A high variety of textures can be good, but I think it also lead to a disjointed aesthetic that endangered even calling it a single system. That was fine to call it while it was still a Technic spin-off, but by its later years, Bionicle was a mish-mash of all sorts of parts that would only cohere with parts designed to work with them. The "Bionicle system" is a myth, it just doesn't exist. I'll take the old 8998 Toa Mata Nui set as an example of this. Now I love this set, I can see it from the desk I'm typing at right now. But there's too many conflicting textures going on here. And you would have to mold entirely new pieces to correct these issues, but that's just as problematic and untenable. The fact that Bionicle is not a single system and was not made with a single system in mind cluttered the overall aesthetic of the line. CCBS, on the other hand, was designed to iron out those kinks. First of all, it's an actual system this time! Furthermore, the bone and armor pieces are super generic in order to circumvent the hyper -specific molds that brought down Bionicle. For example, the 2009 Glatorian Bionicle characters were, according to the lore, completely organic, purely biological beings unlike their Matoran counterparts. But you wouldn’t be able to guess this based on the fact that their designs are just as greebled and mechanical as the sets from the year prior! These guys shouldn't have pistons in their torsos, but there they are anyway! The pieces they were using were made for mechanical characters and so were completely unable to make an organic character. CCBS parts, in contrast, were able to carry that load, and you could build robots like Furno XL and creatures like Scorpio with the exact same sorts of pieces. This flexibility is simply not present in Bionicle, and CCBS really shines for having it. Finally, I also think CCBS also fits in way better with the standard system sets. I know in the past, you've brought up the issue that Bionicle molds started to creep their way into other lines like Alpha Team where they didn't belong. And I agree that they didn't belong. But CCBS was also allowed to do that, and I believe that was part of the point behind CCBS. If you took a normal 2x4 brick, a Bionicle limb piece, and a CCBS armor shell, I think it's very obvious which part is the odd one out. I'm not saying Bionicle isn't real Lego, it obviously is, but to say these parts fit with the rest of Lego's aesthetic is absurd. But that CCBS armor shell looks and feels way more at home with the traditional brick. And I think this was intentional, and is CCBS' greatest strength, even if it was never allowed in its short time to show it off. I believe CCBS was designed to unify Lego's aesthetic and incorporate constraction into normal system bricks, and I think it succeeded. I'll collect my thoughts on CCBS, this is all very rambly, but can you tell I love CCBS? I love CCBS. I can give you some resources explaining its strengths in better detail, as well as some MOCists who showcase how versatile the system really is, if you'd like! Thank you again for the video!
Great video! Couldn't agree more. I only wish I had jumped on G2's first wave while it had been on store shelves. What got me into CCBS after my dark ages was actually the fan MOC community! Seeing the potential of the system did more for me than anything Lego had released
I never much understood pure CCBS, despite enjoying 2015 Bionicle reboot a lot, plus Hero Factory had some great models. For me the best part of CCBS was combining it with the 2000's Constraction to achieve a much leaner, fuller look. CCBS shells are VERY good for adding some meat to the bone of pistons, pinholes and liftarms
When I was a teen, I had all 6 OG Toas. And I vividly remember how mind blown I was when the Toa Nuva came out, with the possibility to add armour on top of the Bionicles. I then sadly entered my Dark Ages, so I completely missed the rest, so I never really understood what the CCBS was about... You've provided us with great insight here, I think that answers all the questions I had. Now I'm waiting to see where that SCCBS thing goes 😁
Thanks! CCBS (and constraction generally) was in my dark age too, so this was enlightening! And I enjoyed the deliberate naivety of your approach! 😂 I’ve gained a lot of understanding and respect for constraction through studying the lore, but this is the first time trying to understand the pros and cons of one of the building systems. ❤
To me, CCBS was bringing A LOT of missing elements who were lacking from Bionicle, adressing some shortcoming of the inventory (notably the ball and cup "bone"). But it was a complement, an add-on. By itself, the CCBS as a system is bound to pretty strict limits in term of possibilities and designs. CCBS is not really a building system but a way to quickly release a variety of characters of various sizes with minimal new parts for the decorative outer shells and shared accessories. To fully understand what they were thinking, check out the Ben10 figures line and you can see the beginning of the ideas leading to CCBS.
The women have the left the house on a trip; currently steaming rice and cooking meat (unseasoned) with veggies to subside. Then I see a Summer Of Slug upload notification and the spice has re entered my life. Truly the Summer Of Slug provides during these hard times.
While part of me agrees with your hot take on post-2005 Bionicle sets - even if I fell in love with the series in 2007 - I do also think that the Titan-sized sets from 2006 to 2009 are some of the single best designed sets in all of Bionicle G1, truly pushing 06’s “Inika build” system to its absolute limits and using it in incredibly creative and effective ways. There’s a reason that fans of G1 often put sets like 2006’s Brutaka and 2007’s Maxilos & Spinax at the tops of their favorite set lists. I wholly recommend checking out some of the Titan-sized sets from 05-09 if you ever want to get a better idea of what those years of Bionicle had most going for them set-wise.
I didn't even know they had a name for those figures! Thanks for helping all of us learn! I think that's a lovely little system, looking at it from the outside. If only LEGO understood how not to waste potential.
You picked a great first introduction to CCBS, I love Kopaka (all of them) When people talk about CCBS, they talk mostly about the S - the system part. Unlike G1 with different body type builds (before 'Inika build'), there is a basic character frame you add other parts on top off. Main benefit would be less molds to produce, because of that core. Edit: I'm commenting to early I guess lol
honeslty I reallly miss this type of lego the gen 2 bionicle was my favourite lego theme when I was a kid (kopaka is my fav bionicle character) and I loved the fact tha I could mix diffrent characters together basicly galidor but better
Dang! What a great overview of cc’s. Personally I find the system difficult to work with depending on that shells you have on hand, even if they’re the same color, but overall it’s better than old bionicle in terms of articulation. But it’s at its strongest when ccbd is able to be paired with older bionicle parts
as a kid who held fast to lego action figures all the way to the end, i was at the forefront of the changeover from bionicle’s parts library to ccbs. i wasn’t initially sold on it because, like… they lead with hero factory 2.0, who were largely characterized by seeming cheap, flimsy, and kinda ugly. but when bionicle g2 hit, that’s when the whole thing clicked for me. these were good toys with good character designs that felt solid in the hand, it was a magical time. and then they stumbled into star wars constraction figures and the magic sort of got lost again… but i still love these parts, and i love what you can do by blending all these systems, technic, ccbs, bionicle and traditional lego together. to me, it’ll probably always be the peak of what constraction could do, even if lego consistently fumbled the bag.
1:32 The only light I can shed onto CCBS is that it’s not an acronym but rather an initialism. The difference being that you pronounce an acronym like a word (take NASA for instance) and you say the individual initials of an initialism (think IBM or FBI). But considering that language is an ever-evolving social construct, pointing out something like this can make me seem pedantic especially when you correctly use the word “portmanteau”.
This video really highlights how lovely, open-minded, and passionate your attitude towards lego is. CCBS gets written off by so many people for some valid and some silly reasons and it’s really refreshing to see it given a fair shot
I totally agree about the later years of Bionicle not having the same charm. Hordika, Ignika, Phantoka, Mystica, and Glatorian aren’t as good as the Mata, Nuva, and Metru systems. However, I do want to shout out the Mahri. Those 6 heroes and their villains were some outstandingly nicely designed sets, with the diversity that was lacking prior to and after them. What’re your thoughts on the Mahri?
SCCBS wont work so long as articulation is hindered by stiff limbs and body designs that honestly should not exist after Bionicle and other constraction lines fixed it during their runs. They should really look up Japanese and Korean constraction mocists. They found brilliant ways to make brick-built skeleton system for brick built constraction designs by using modified plates and bricks, hinges, tubes and swivels. Basically incorporating design and engineering elements from Gundam and other plastic model kits, just in Lego.
CCBS was far simpler in my mind, growing with hero factory on shelves really embedded it in my core memories. I loved it growing up and it felt so simple and quick to throw together a hero!! Will always love CCBS even through its admittedly janky style❤❤❤
2:24 you were actually initially correct! While some of the sets bled into stores in December 2010, CCBS saw its first FULL release with the ordeal of fire wave of hero factory in January 2011. This was the second wave of hero factory sets with the first coming out in summer 2010 where it merely recycled previous Bionicle molds rather than using CCBS. Anyway great video man! Super cool to see a take on CCBS from your initially blind perspective haha. Personally hero factory and Bionicle G2 were what initially got me back into LEGO after my dark ages so for a while ALL I really bought were CCBS sets. And with that in mind, you honestly still got me to rethink what would’ve been with the system. While the initial idea behind CCBS was to keep all of the shells smooth and streamlined in an effort to avoid the overly piston cluttered Bionicle style and more closely mimic the feel of traditional LEGO bricks, differently textured shells would’ve added a lot of variety to the system and would’ve perhaps helped with capturing specific characters like Chewbacca and Frost Beast (A yeti like villain from hero factory’s 6th wave). If you genuinely find yourself wanting to checkout some more sets that get insanely creative with the CCBS system, then I’d definitely recommend looking into these two sets in particular (assuming you can find them for a solid price of course…). 2283 Witch Doctor (Hero Factory 2011) 75112 General Grievous (Star Wars 2015) Really enjoyed the video man! Keep up the great work👍
For me personally, I’ve actually had more fun with CCBS than system. It really just works for me, and I absolutely adore it and all of the things you can do with it, ESPECIALLY when it’s mixed with older bionicle parts.
Say what you will about ccbs, but I've yet to have a socket crack in 10+ years with the system. Old school bionicle I feel lucky to find one intact these days 😢
A big gripe I just noticed with ccbs sets is that they really neglected the "creature" part of the acronym. Sure there were 3 hero factory seasons with a ton of creatures (savage planet, brain attack, and invasion from below) along side some other miscellaneous sets, but most ccbs sets were just bipedal humanoids. Even the chima ccbs sets were just guys with animal heads! Despite this ccbs was probably my favorite lego system, and it's cancellation is a huge part of why I stopped collecting legos. Off the top of my head I'd say umarak the hunter was my favorite build bc the color palette, antlers, digitigrade legs and bow but I lost the dang set while moving
I agree with a lot of the sentiments in this video, I LOVE CCBS and Bionicle G1/technic and really wished we could have gotten more types of armor shells and add-ons with different textures and shapes. I love the building experience of CCBS but a lot of the time I find myself having to make strange connections with Bionicle G1 parts in order to get a limb to be the right color or shape.
So nice to hear a fresh perspective on topics that usually hear the same tired, repeated group opinions. Having seen Bionicle through both G1 and G2, I've seen the community get stuck in certain opinions that honestly see very little diversity of thought. It's great to hear from a slightly more objective 3rd party.
Something almost no one talks about with ccbs is how much easier it was to click in the joints with each other. To an adult the difference wouldn’t be that noticeable but as a 6 or 7 year old it took a lot of force to click the old bionicle parts in and after building a set my hands would feel pretty beat up. I never really wanted to build on my own because of that (not to mention the brittleness of the old sockets) so I was stoked when they announced the new system would be stronger and easier to play with. Great vid as always Slug!
I couldn't agree more with the first 5 minutes of this video. I remember the absolute joy and nostalgia I had when I built the first wave of G2 Toa. I'd already been familiar with CCBS as a system, and the newly integrated gear system really felt true to classic Bionicle. The bones and shells do have some issues when you look at them from behind... but still a ton of potential and fun.
As a long tern Bionicle fan, the main reason I fell off the Bionicle train was because they abandoned the story surrounding the toys, to start a new one. The original story of Bionicle, on Mata Nui, with the original six Toa, was my favorite series of LEGO of all time, so seeing it reset and changed to the point that it wasn't even the same characters kinda peeved me off. I'm not even sure if Boroks or Rahkshi still existed, or if Makuta was still the big bad, but the clincher for me was changing Lewa from the Toa of Air to something else, like the Toa of Jungle or Master of Jungle, I'm not even sure if he was still a Toa. They effectively deleted the story before it really felt finished, it may have "finished", but it certainly didn't feel like it.
Thanks for schooling another elderly fellow! Bionicle was and still is my jam, as the story meant so much to me and introduced me to comics. CCBS hit Bionicle while I was deep in college so I appreciate the schooling of what I missed out on!
The fact that CCBS was discontinued back in 2018 really saddens me. I really liked this system, and I'd still like to see how it would've evolved over the years if it was still being used
As someone who grew up (and was slightly obsessed with) Gen 1, I always hated CCBS Bionicles for one thing that never seems to get brought up in discussions I've seen- once you see the figure from the back, it's impossible to unsee that it is just a stick figure with hollow armor pieces tacked onto it. I won't pretend all Gen 1 Bionicles looked great from the back, but they rarely looked so hollow. My next major gripe would be how so much of the surface detail was "fake," or rather just shallow, where Gen 1 Bionicles had AGGRESSIVELY layered features. You could call this a matter of preference, except I think the printed chest pieces are unreasonably bad in this case.
A big difference is that G2 characters are smooth and look more like they are wearing armor, and G1 characters are more textured and look more like machines, even when they do have armor. I think G1 characters also often feel more solid and dense because they aren't made of hollow shells. I love both, but G1 has a special place in my heart G2 can't quite squeeze into.
I simply dont understand why Lego went away from technic based pieces. Everyone was pointing to joints and simplification, but quite frankly the best bionicle sets were mostly technic parts with far fewer ball joint pieces.
As someone who has never played with Bionicle and who does not even know anything about Bionicle, it sounded like you were making up each new word as you went along. Not criticizing you at all, but man, what a series that I could never get into or even try to understand. Thoroughly confusing to follow along as an outsider :D
Ccbs is so much solid and fun than the old one. Also some sets after 2006 are good, but the history was so much, like being 100 MAKUTAS. I love bionicle, but I will prefer the more tribial theme of 2000-2003, and the more future theme to slizers. The toas change as semi gods and a being a few to beings easy to kill and more than 1000 thousends.
I actually really love the 2015 Masters because of their gear functions, articulation, and their design references to the original Toa, but they have a very different look to them as well as a feel in hand. If it wasn't for the mask designs and the branding, I would not necessarily make the connection that they were meant to be the same thing. I think one of the main differences between Bionicle G1 and G2 is that G2 pieces tend to be very smooth and lack detail. Original Bionicle pieces usually have a lot of detail, notches, fake pistons, etc. CCBS builds tend to look like they are covered in armor, while classic G1 Bionicle look more like machines. G1 also tends to feel denser and more solid because it isn't made of shells. While it is true that G1 often had builds that consisted of designated torso, limb, and foot pieces, it typically felt like there was more leeway in how they could be used due to the number of connection points and whatnot. G1 also dabbled in larger sets that leaned more into the Technic aspect of things, with custom built body parts, mechanisms, and the like. G2 Bionicles are mostly just snap together action figures. At the end of the day, it's kind of apples and oranges. G2 figures are really good action figures (at least the Masters are; I'm not a fan of the Uniters), but they don't look the same, don't feel the same, and ultimately seem like less of an open ended building toy and more like action figures with swappable parts. I love 'em, but they are a different thing.
G2 is also bulkier and in general never really allowed for simple curved geometric shapes, either adding crevices/folds or spikes and the eyes in the mask were always kept very narrow. The builds also included more colors ( silver and gold were more dominant), instead of the classic two-color system with maybe additional armor colouring.
Oh wow, did not expect that full intro theme, I seeing people's passion for music and the like seeping into their other work, you still have some of the best presentation in the entire LEGO hobby sphere. CCBS had a lot of promise to me, and I think you hit the nail on the head with a lot of these. On top of having more variety in the textures of CCBS parts (just taking regular CCBS shells and cutting out grooves/vents/pistons would've really sold the old-school BIONICLE vibe), I also can't help but wonder if they'd be more beloved by the community if they had more stud connections, or just more technic pin/axle-holes. That could have allowed for even further cross-pollination between their traditional LEGO parts and the old bionicle and technic elements from G1 and older Constraction themes. I do also agree 100% that most of the modern G2 sets are some of the best builds we've gotten from the franchise. Granted, I do understand how some people are more drawn to the extremely simple color schemes of the original Toa Mata (primary, secondary, eye color, plus shared black + grey) as opposed to the more varied color schemes of the Masters and Uniters, I still think they have much more distinct character designs and silhouettes compared to their G1 counterparts... minus Pohatu, it's hard to get more distinct than that. It you want some really impressive CCBS builds, Witch Doctor has a pretty hefty technic selection, but he's still cool, but the 2015 General Grievous figure is almost purely CCBS parts and is absolutely massive. I also think in terms of simplicity, a lot of the Breakout wave from Hero Factory do a lot with a little. Toxic Reapa, Core Hunter, Splitface, there's some really fun designs there.
CCBS's loss is honestly a crime, i agree it never truly tapped its creative potential but even with what it did do, it made customizing and interchanging parts to make new builds so much more simple! and i still stand by thatif given the room to grow it could have thrived, but with G2's failure and the much higher prices these figures carried in lines like the star wars contraction figures, its not a surprise it had to be completely killed off, but if the alleged bionicle 2025 rumors are to be believed i AM curious to see to what extent the designers will be able to take the Lego system we know to create things on par the 2015 Toa, cause with less tecnic and no CCBS, there gonna have to bring there A game, i have faith but i am curious
Thank you for saying Gen 2 is better than Gen 1 !! The CCBS system, although imperfect, is way more flexible than old bionicle pieces, and the technic intergration far smoother too ! Mocs are so much easier and fun-er to make with CCBS, I'm sad we don't get any more construction figures these days 'cause I'd love to get my hands on more pieces, or new pieces ! You said it yourself, CCBS lacks variety and I would love to get new shells and 3rd layer stuff to customise and improve my toas !
I started this video completely unaware of what that acronym could be. Seems that system also happened during my dark age, though for some reason I do have one of those spider mask things from some sort of promo. What a wonderful summer this slug has provided!
My issue with the G2 Bionicles, beyond the story thing which was A Big Deal, is that they all look like giant football players. I prefer the more skeletal look of the older figures. In particular I much prefer the texture of the bone parts and even the armor bits in the G1 sets. It's a lot more interesting than just flat plates with some stickers sometimes. I also kind of disliked how easy it is to ping the armor pieces off.
CCBS got me back into the bionicle after the poorly designed cracking sockets of late G1 turned me off as a kid. Hearing CCBS had a more robust design excited me.
Hey folks, welcome back to the Summer Of Slug! I had a ton of fun with this video, though I know may say some things in it that don't gel with everybody. 😅
Please keep in mind that I don't have a lot of skin in the game here and an opinion is just an opinion! It's okay if I don't like the same Bionicles as you, trust me. 😊
If you want a better look at my history with Bionicle, please check out my previous video on the topic!
ua-cam.com/video/XH8-vxQbYwU/v-deo.html
You have the official LEGO intentions for the CCBS, which is like simulated training... Now, ya need to look at the insane mechs and mechanical applications of using the system for MOCs.
I sepecially recommend looking InTo stuff that uses SystemParts in conjunction, and I don't just mean Bionacle customs. Look for some MoniFigScale (The 1 true scale) MOCs.
I'm a hard-core Constraction MOCer, its what I specialize in, and I thought it was fine. Your take is missing some nuance, but that's to be expected from an "elderly slugger trying to figure out CCBS."
I think my main issue with CCBS is that many of the armor pieces are more blocky and flat, as opposed to all the little intricate details on bionicle armor pieces
Absolutely! Shell texture variety was so, so sorely needed!
2016 G2 was on the path to fix this but it was never really fixed by the time CCBS died
That’s somewhat true but the system was made to be much more versatile with textures added on. Over the course of CCBS’ lifespan we saw many unique armour addons mostly compatible with every shell adding various details ranging from bionicle esc greebles to fur to even rocky surfaces. You could also add your own bar sized parts in the holes as well.
The armor itself was generally a base to add on the textures desired. But also, the smoother flat texture looks better with regular system and I think lego maybe wanted something that could blend in better with Technic and System. Ccbs was used more widely than Bonk was for this reason I think.
@@frogmouth2 That's true, though its the lack of *shell* variety that is at the core of the CCBS issue, at least for me.
Unless you're throwing armour on every single limb, you're still going to run into figures with those same smooth shell pieces.
Slugger’s hobby of messing with Bionicle fans is truly a delight to experience. (Speaking as a Bionicle enjoyer myself)
NEW FROM BIONICLE
The gen 1 slander is wild, but understandable. My foremost concern with the transition to CCBS, was that we lost all the technic pin holes in the limbs. I feel like they gave much more texture than the shells ever did, and allowed for further creative usage, when it could connect to a wider array of pieces in a imaginative, but non-intuative manner.
Should have brought back the pin hole and axel connections on top of the ball connection system. Both could have existed at the same time with just a few additional altered pieces.
The lack of random pin holes is really what brings CCBS down for me
@@Zeldrake I dont mind the specific shell pieces with only rod holes. But they should have also made shells that look like they are part of the system but have technic connections. More options were needed. Even system bricks was bland until they started introducing new parts. They killed this line so quickly and without full support to expand it.
Many of the longer limbs do have pin holes. In fact, the longest bone piece has two pin holes above and below the ball joint.
For what it's worth, the G2 Toa and late-era Hero Factory sets really were the high watermark for CCBS. Until G2 Bionicle we literally didn't have any non-shooter functions with the system. If you thought Bionicle builds got stale, what with identical Toa and non-titan bad guys each wave being the same, with CCBS we had what amounted to an identical build for the better part of 7 years with every single canister set (barring 3).
Another deficit was the CCBS use of double system bars on the shells, rather than technic pins and axles. Not only did this restrict CCBS to a narrow band of compatibility shell specific parts overlays, it effectively limited the ability to add texture to shells, meaning that not only was the design language very rigid, but unlike technic you couldn't greeble or add system elements without bending over backwards.
Finally, it's worth noting that as CCBS was so distinctive looking, you really couldn't pair it with non-CCBS aesthetics... system themes never look good with the shell and ball system, technic clashes or simply doesn't connect, and latter-day G1 Bionicle doesn't want to attach as you note. Ultimately this means that CCBS's use in MOCs is either relegated to Nice part usage à la Galidor parts, or armor. It's not that CCBS is bad, but unlike G1 Bionicle, Technic, or even Exo-force trying to get it to work in another context is limiting, far to much so for being the sole constraction method for a decade.
Great vid as allways
Even though I don't absolutely loathe CCBS, my real GRIPE with it is how....... barren the 'skeleton' base parts tends to be on almost every CCBS figure. 😅 What do I mean? Well, with the Bionicle or even Galidor 'skeleton'-like base parts, they feel more defined and even 'fleshy', with how detailed each part is. A arm or leg simply isn't just a simple and plain looking limb piece, as it can look intricate with faux pistons, artificial or real muscle, bumps and ridges, fur texturing, etc.
For instance, the original G1 Toa Mata team may feel seem initially overly similar to each other due to their similar 'skeleton' base pieces, but when taking the time to see the differing details in their limbs and torso pieces, they just feel so much more...... alive in a sense. Toa Mata Tahu, the overall 'face' of the theme (sorry Takanuva) has a subtle asymmetrical body design, with a piston-like arm and a coil around it for his right arm, and a detailed mass of ambiguous metal for his left arm, alongside a odd looking hand with two faux fingers. Compare that to the G2 Tahu, who just feels so symmetrically same-y, even if that's the figure with way more parts, printing, etc! Even the Barraki just BLOW away most CCBS sets, with their uniquely detailed sealife inspired parts!
CCBS skeletons just feel so identical when you look at different characters across different themes, with the designers DESPERATELY throwing together the same parts again and again, the same shells, the same weapons, again and again to achieve just a plethora of same-yness. 😭 If you strip off all of the shells on a Hero Factory figure or a G2 Bionicle figure, what do you get? Just a plain and ugly mass of a simplified base, usually with clashing colors and a extreme overuse of translucent parts (I LOVE translucent parts, but using too many will just make them feel less special, as traditionally across numerous other toylines and brands, translucent parts are meant to HIGHLIGHT the overall look of a toy, not to be the core emphasis of a toy's design)
Plus, CCBS is known to have a very, VERY long running issue of their figures looking visually unfinished, as it was the norm for awhile to have the skeleton itself be EXPOSED on the back of each figure's build. I believe this issue was fixed later on with the last few waves of Hero Factory/the start of G2 Bionicle, but the damage was already done. It made the sets that used CCBS feel 'cheap', with the exposed skeletons being such a a major turn-off for collectors and even casual buyers!
I still think conceptually CCBS is a good system, but the extreme over-dependence of using the exact same 'skeleton' base parts and shells just made every single CCBS set feel so generic and worthless, with VERY FEW standouts like Umarak (either Hunter or Destroyer), and some of the Star Wars sets that even used technic pieces within them. Still, if you like or even LOVE CCBS, power to you! I can see people can make some absolutely STUNNING MOCs with CCBS parts, and the build potential is there! Just in regards to all of the official released CCBS sets, sadly the majority of them are just...... 😐
(Before anyone claims I'm a Bionicle Genwunner, I JUST got into Bionicle a year ago! I was way too young to collect any sets in the earlier waves when I was a kid, plus I'm a girl so my mom would've said no to me if I wanted to get any of the 'later' Bionicle sets like the Glatorian wave when they were in-stores 😅 I appreciate all waves of the theme (minus Stars, that is just horrendous) and I finally got my first set a few months ago, Rahksi Kurahk! 🤍)
I mean, isn't that the point? That all the bones are the same and serve as the very basis that you then decorate with shells?
Good read 👍
I think it's remarkable how the CCBS System is quite a lot like the Knight's Kingdom Action Figure System, which shared the one-way connectivity, had a basic chest frame, a focus on arm gear functions and only ever covered one side of its skeleton frame - Lego gone full circle.
Personally I think the G1 'limb' pieces still hold a certain edge over CCBS; they looked good on their own, their pin and axle holes offered more variety in positioning accessories and even allowed both sides to be covered at the same time.
Nick on Planet Ripple has an excellent essay series going over Bionicle G2 (and tons of other LEGO themes) that go over pretty much everything CCBS had to offer and all the potential it had. I'd suggest giving that a watch if you have the time
Absolutely! They’re some of my favourite videos he’s ever done on his channel! 😊
10:15 My late grandparents bought me Scorpio for Christmas 2011, so the set holds a very soft spot in my heart. I also remember constantly visiting my local Toys "R" Us during 2014-15, hoping to find the new Bionicle G2 sets. This video reminded me of how many fond memories I associate with CCBS. Thank you for sharing, and please take care.
You as well, Andy! Those are great memories to have. 😊
I want you to know this is fucking hilarious. Just the whole energy of these videos is joyous and makes me want to laugh. And it also informs me with a lot of very specific information I have absolutely no use with. I love it.
Hey, that’s awesome! Glad you enjoyed it! 😊❤️
Slugger, you love stirring things up!
Your love of Galidor is very charming, if completely obtuse in my eyes.
Hahaha, thank you! 😂
I think CCBS is in general a good building system that don´t have the issue of breaking parts like the later bionicle pieces. But the one big problem I have with the system is the lack of colour variations of the bone pieces. Most of the bone pieces just exists in black, dark bluish gray and maybe in some other colours (often transparent colours). The lack of colours limits the value of the system dramatically if you dont want to have some random colours in your models.
I'd love to get Ninjago stuff in CCBS form. Small, affordable, displayable and just simply cool sets that I'm sure a lot of people would enjoy. Chima got that, right?
Chima got that and, no offense, they looked terrible. Minifigures have a very distinctive, unique, design that we know and love them for and CCBS just... does not... do that. It feels so wrong to see a Lego character with feet wide apart and a huge gap between them. It feels wrong to see a Lego character with a non-circular head, a non-trapezoidal body.
something about seeing the skeleton to armor guide gave me a strong Medabots vibe, of all things.
I also got the same vibe! The skeletons always felt like the tinpet of the Medabot, frail but an empty canvas for creativity
It's funny that CCBS was a system designed to trump Bionicle by making a generic system capable of making anything, yet they basically made the same 3 types of toys with it for almost its entire 7 year long run. It really stands out to me.
Separating the building process into bones, armor, and decals increased the piece count tremendously, and led to a less appealing system in which, well... A bone's a bone, armor is armor, and decals are decals. Did you ever build with Bionicle and find all the fun ways you could use, say, a Bohrok torso piece? How about implementing Technic seamlessly into your builds for mechanical function or design? Bionicle at its best was a system that supplimented the Technic system, allowing it to seamlessly borrow from its wide diversity of parts, and add to it, whereas CCBS feels constantly at odds with both Technic and System. This new CCBS-style system they're building all those mechs with is honestly a far better design, as it follows that early Bionicle trend of supplimenting and expanding an existing system, rather than subverting it. It's great.
Every time he says ccbs my heart skips a beat in fear.
Summer of slug is like caffeine in my blood keeping me alive during the season, woOWWW!!
It's worth mentioning that the original Hero Factory wave of good guys were more similar to the 2001 Toa in terms of articulation, as in no knees or elbows
Great video! My two cents on CCBS is that generally due to the modularity, characters have a less distinct silhouette than Slizers, Bionicle, and even RoboRiders had. The other part is that I really miss the integration of technic pins and bars, divorcing the system from... well... The System, and making it feel very alien?
That Hero Factory guy does look pretty cool, though! Great utilisation of CCBS into a more extreme direction leading to a memorable shape!
Slugger, it's like you make these videos exactly for me... as I imagine is the case for many others born in the mid '90s.
When not equally confused by this generation of stuff I was too old for, your bread and butter themes are everything I was too *young* (and poor) for, but still vaguely recall being enamored by in old catalogs when super little.
Thanks for all the hard work and fun you put into design analysis and being a Lego historian. May the Summer of Slug never end.
I actually agree that the design and functionality CCBS could've given to Bionicle was exactly what could've made it. However, to me, the real rub was that a lack of unique pieces and parts made them feel very samey. The other real problem for me is that the armor pieces only work for one side. they may look very cool from the front, but most of the CCBS figures looked very naked when you looked from the back. It seems very two dimensional in a way the older Bionicle sets didn't with their bigger body parts being solid molds instead of skeletons. The body pieces have to do so much heavy lifting for the designs that any lacking in variety would easily sink the lines they're a part of. As you said it's mostly wasted potential, but also maybe just a laziness when it came to committing to and expanding the system.
You should see some of the Chinese bootleg Ultraman sets that use CCBS, they found a way to completely fill in the front and back with shalls pieces that cover all of the bone piece, without sacrificing posability due to how the shells are designed.
"Elderly slug attemps to understand and explain CCBS to other elderly AFOLs."
All jokes aside thank you for this. As someone who also went through their " lego dark age" during the CCBS era it helps explain the difference between the "old way" and the evolution that had taken place over many years.
When I was younger just the lego itself was exciting. As an adult not only is the set exciting, but seeing how the elements evolve, how the elements are made and how elements are used both simply and with high amounts of detail to make a set feel alive.
Hey, thanks! Edutainment accomplished! 😊
CCBS isn't my cup of tea, but I just cannot get enough of the General Grievous figure. Now THAT hit the mark!
Hell yeah you finally are talking about the new bionicles !!! Was waiting for this vid since for so long !!!!
This video is 100% spot on
Your criticism of the lack of shell textures is something I never thought about but it's extremely true. That and being really hard to make look good from all sides is what CCBS is lacking in in my opinion. I still use it and mix it with gen 1 pieces but it can easily stick out with how cartoony it looks compared to the greeblier stuff.
This was also during my Dark ages, so I found it interesting and informative! I have some random CCBS parts to use as texture but have never engaged with it in it’s true form.
Honestly, I just like the light hearted humor throughout the video.
I do wish CCBS would come back though.
I had a lot of fun with this one, hahaha.
I think that the potential of CCBS was never truly realized. The last year of Bionicle resulted in some sets comprised of mostly technic, and looked absolutely stunning!
Hey Slugger, great video as always. If you ever revisit this topic, or just want to check it out out of curiosity, I recommend looking at a few particular sets to see what else CCBS had to offer. 75112: General Grievous is, in my opinion, the best CCBS set LEGO ever made because it uses the system to lean into a character that is already robotic and skeletal. On that note the "Skull Creatures", the bad guys of Bionicle G2, also look great because of this. 70793: Skull Basher is a favourite Skull Creature of mine and reminds me a lot of the Demon Bull King from Monkie Kid. Also with the Star Wars CCBS is 75532: Scout Trooper & Speeder Bike is really interesting as it has a CCBS character and a more traditional Technic vehicle. Nothing too new as both Bionicle and Hero Factory did this, but worth seeing as the last time this was attempted. Finally check out the entire Invasion from Below wave for Hero Factory. Here CCBS is reused as mechs for modified minifigures. Some have said that Invasion from Below wasn't inventive enough as there was little difference between a mech and a big robot in this circumstance, but it shows that CCBS was versatile enough to pivot into vehicles too.
A.K.A Slugger Sneaks in Another Reason to Talk About Galidor
All jokes aside, loving the vids! Keep em coming!
I’m a one-trick pony at this point. 😂
As someone who has been massively into bioincle from before they can remember. you hit the nail on the head with ccbs. while starting more officially post 2010 in 2011 ( 2010s hero factory felt more like the bioincle sets with new parts ) it rarely developed further. ones like 2016 tahu and umerrak the hunter are fantastic sets. this felt like after 6 years of collecting when it was finally getting the parts build up to actually get more textures. the two sets you displayed was a furno from 2013. and a set from 2011 which sadly was one of the more successful creative attempts at the system. while bioincle g2 failed for a number of reasons ( lack of advertising, lack of faith in the story, and many more. ) ccbs never being given the new parts to ever breath just made the issue of them being samey even worse. with star wars getting some but being highly over priced. just lead to a system with major issues that someone like yourself first look at can instantly see the problem scream to the issues. i would be curious on your take of the 2016 bioincle sets along with the 2014 hero factory sets. mainly the mechs. while they did some creatures and some other unique builds in g2 this was the last time they tried to use the system for more than the original design. its something id argue you can also see in the current ccbs like system being used in ninjago core. a few parts that work in few cases but dont have the variety to make it work.
once again as always an amazing video and its always fun to see someone take on these themes. and so rewarding seeing someone newer to the systems be able to see the issues some of us were seeing for years.
Since CCBS is one of the cherished parts of my Lego collection and history, I’ve got a lot to say! So thanks for covering it!
One thing I wish CCBS got more praise for is its design philosophy, which I think is far superior to the Bionicle and Galidor of yesteryear. That's not to say I don't appreciate the unique strengths of those older systems, many of which you explicitly brought out, but they also seem to be the fatal flaws that CCBS was made to correct. A high variety of textures can be good, but I think it also lead to a disjointed aesthetic that endangered even calling it a single system. That was fine to call it while it was still a Technic spin-off, but by its later years, Bionicle was a mish-mash of all sorts of parts that would only cohere with parts designed to work with them. The "Bionicle system" is a myth, it just doesn't exist. I'll take the old 8998 Toa Mata Nui set as an example of this. Now I love this set, I can see it from the desk I'm typing at right now. But there's too many conflicting textures going on here. And you would have to mold entirely new pieces to correct these issues, but that's just as problematic and untenable. The fact that Bionicle is not a single system and was not made with a single system in mind cluttered the overall aesthetic of the line.
CCBS, on the other hand, was designed to iron out those kinks. First of all, it's an actual system this time! Furthermore, the bone and armor pieces are super generic in order to circumvent the hyper -specific molds that brought down Bionicle. For example, the 2009 Glatorian Bionicle characters were, according to the lore, completely organic, purely biological beings unlike their Matoran counterparts. But you wouldn’t be able to guess this based on the fact that their designs are just as greebled and mechanical as the sets from the year prior! These guys shouldn't have pistons in their torsos, but there they are anyway! The pieces they were using were made for mechanical characters and so were completely unable to make an organic character. CCBS parts, in contrast, were able to carry that load, and you could build robots like Furno XL and creatures like Scorpio with the exact same sorts of pieces. This flexibility is simply not present in Bionicle, and CCBS really shines for having it.
Finally, I also think CCBS also fits in way better with the standard system sets. I know in the past, you've brought up the issue that Bionicle molds started to creep their way into other lines like Alpha Team where they didn't belong. And I agree that they didn't belong. But CCBS was also allowed to do that, and I believe that was part of the point behind CCBS. If you took a normal 2x4 brick, a Bionicle limb piece, and a CCBS armor shell, I think it's very obvious which part is the odd one out. I'm not saying Bionicle isn't real Lego, it obviously is, but to say these parts fit with the rest of Lego's aesthetic is absurd. But that CCBS armor shell looks and feels way more at home with the traditional brick. And I think this was intentional, and is CCBS' greatest strength, even if it was never allowed in its short time to show it off. I believe CCBS was designed to unify Lego's aesthetic and incorporate constraction into normal system bricks, and I think it succeeded.
I'll collect my thoughts on CCBS, this is all very rambly, but can you tell I love CCBS? I love CCBS. I can give you some resources explaining its strengths in better detail, as well as some MOCists who showcase how versatile the system really is, if you'd like! Thank you again for the video!
I love the inclusion of your _official_ Lego depiction at 1:15 !!!
Leaving him in like a calling card these days! ❤️
Great video! Couldn't agree more. I only wish I had jumped on G2's first wave while it had been on store shelves. What got me into CCBS after my dark ages was actually the fan MOC community! Seeing the potential of the system did more for me than anything Lego had released
Summer can last eternally like this
Elderly people gets to enjoy summer too
I never much understood pure CCBS, despite enjoying 2015 Bionicle reboot a lot, plus Hero Factory had some great models.
For me the best part of CCBS was combining it with the 2000's Constraction to achieve a much leaner, fuller look. CCBS shells are VERY good for adding some meat to the bone of pistons, pinholes and liftarms
When I was a teen, I had all 6 OG Toas. And I vividly remember how mind blown I was when the Toa Nuva came out, with the possibility to add armour on top of the Bionicles. I then sadly entered my Dark Ages, so I completely missed the rest, so I never really understood what the CCBS was about... You've provided us with great insight here, I think that answers all the questions I had.
Now I'm waiting to see where that SCCBS thing goes 😁
Great video as always!!!
Thanks! CCBS (and constraction generally) was in my dark age too, so this was enlightening! And I enjoyed the deliberate naivety of your approach! 😂
I’ve gained a lot of understanding and respect for constraction through studying the lore, but this is the first time trying to understand the pros and cons of one of the building systems. ❤
🕶🕶🕶 Wow, not even a hot take warning! 🤣 Okay back to building with my curved slope pieces
Hahaha, I’ll send you mine too, lol.
To me, CCBS was bringing A LOT of missing elements who were lacking from Bionicle, adressing some shortcoming of the inventory (notably the ball and cup "bone"). But it was a complement, an add-on.
By itself, the CCBS as a system is bound to pretty strict limits in term of possibilities and designs.
CCBS is not really a building system but a way to quickly release a variety of characters of various sizes with minimal new parts for the decorative outer shells and shared accessories. To fully understand what they were thinking, check out the Ben10 figures line and you can see the beginning of the ideas leading to CCBS.
The women have the left the house on a trip; currently steaming rice and cooking meat (unseasoned) with veggies to subside. Then I see a Summer Of Slug upload notification and the spice has re entered my life. Truly the Summer Of Slug provides during these hard times.
Sounds good! Enjoy your meal! 😊
While part of me agrees with your hot take on post-2005 Bionicle sets - even if I fell in love with the series in 2007 - I do also think that the Titan-sized sets from 2006 to 2009 are some of the single best designed sets in all of Bionicle G1, truly pushing 06’s “Inika build” system to its absolute limits and using it in incredibly creative and effective ways. There’s a reason that fans of G1 often put sets like 2006’s Brutaka and 2007’s Maxilos & Spinax at the tops of their favorite set lists. I wholly recommend checking out some of the Titan-sized sets from 05-09 if you ever want to get a better idea of what those years of Bionicle had most going for them set-wise.
For sure! Those Titan figures, even as far back as Metru-Nui, were really stellar. 👍
I didn't even know they had a name for those figures! Thanks for helping all of us learn!
I think that's a lovely little system, looking at it from the outside. If only LEGO understood how not to waste potential.
i love CCBS my first ever one war breakout surge should check him out it has its limitation like bricks and I mostly agree with a lot of what you said
Old Man Slugger is going to be as classic a character as Hans Moleman, I can feel it.
I love how you managed to point out exactly what i felt was off with ccbs because i could put a finger on it myself
You picked a great first introduction to CCBS, I love Kopaka (all of them)
When people talk about CCBS, they talk mostly about the S - the system part. Unlike G1 with different body type builds (before 'Inika build'), there is a basic character frame you add other parts on top off. Main benefit would be less molds to produce, because of that core.
Edit: I'm commenting to early I guess lol
That first wave of gen 2 was an excellent return to form for bionicle. I gladly purchased all six figures in the wave
honeslty I reallly miss this type of lego
the gen 2 bionicle was my favourite lego theme when I was a kid (kopaka is my fav bionicle character) and I loved the fact tha I could mix diffrent characters together
basicly galidor but better
Dang! What a great overview of cc’s. Personally I find the system difficult to work with depending on that shells you have on hand, even if they’re the same color, but overall it’s better than old bionicle in terms of articulation. But it’s at its strongest when ccbd is able to be paired with older bionicle parts
CCBS retired in 2018, but the large claw feet molds were used in 2019, and a few armor decals have been used as late as last year.
this is the one ive been waiting for since you showed the thumbnail! common summer of slug w
as a kid who held fast to lego action figures all the way to the end, i was at the forefront of the changeover from bionicle’s parts library to ccbs. i wasn’t initially sold on it because, like… they lead with hero factory 2.0, who were largely characterized by seeming cheap, flimsy, and kinda ugly. but when bionicle g2 hit, that’s when the whole thing clicked for me. these were good toys with good character designs that felt solid in the hand, it was a magical time. and then they stumbled into star wars constraction figures and the magic sort of got lost again… but i still love these parts, and i love what you can do by blending all these systems, technic, ccbs, bionicle and traditional lego together. to me, it’ll probably always be the peak of what constraction could do, even if lego consistently fumbled the bag.
1:32 The only light I can shed onto CCBS is that it’s not an acronym but rather an initialism. The difference being that you pronounce an acronym like a word (take NASA for instance) and you say the individual initials of an initialism (think IBM or FBI). But considering that language is an ever-evolving social construct, pointing out something like this can make me seem pedantic especially when you correctly use the word “portmanteau”.
I learned something new today! I don’t think it’s pedantic at all - thanks for the information! 😊
This video really highlights how lovely, open-minded, and passionate your attitude towards lego is. CCBS gets written off by so many people for some valid and some silly reasons and it’s really refreshing to see it given a fair shot
Thank you very much! What a kind thing to say. ❤️
Fascinating stuff
I totally agree about the later years of Bionicle not having the same charm. Hordika, Ignika, Phantoka, Mystica, and Glatorian aren’t as good as the Mata, Nuva, and Metru systems.
However, I do want to shout out the Mahri. Those 6 heroes and their villains were some outstandingly nicely designed sets, with the diversity that was lacking prior to and after them. What’re your thoughts on the Mahri?
I think I had the black one with the squid launcher? Cool enough toy, but I had long lost the plot by that point, haha.
Let’s hope that SCCBS (the new batch of pieces introduced for the “Core” Ninjago sets last year) last longer than CCBS did.
SCCBS wont work so long as articulation is hindered by stiff limbs and body designs that honestly should not exist after Bionicle and other constraction lines fixed it during their runs. They should really look up Japanese and Korean constraction mocists. They found brilliant ways to make brick-built skeleton system for brick built constraction designs by using modified plates and bricks, hinges, tubes and swivels. Basically incorporating design and engineering elements from Gundam and other plastic model kits, just in Lego.
CCBS was far simpler in my mind, growing with hero factory on shelves really embedded it in my core memories. I loved it growing up and it felt so simple and quick to throw together a hero!! Will always love CCBS even through its admittedly janky style❤❤❤
2:24 you were actually initially correct! While some of the sets bled into stores in December 2010, CCBS saw its first FULL release with the ordeal of fire wave of hero factory in January 2011. This was the second wave of hero factory sets with the first coming out in summer 2010 where it merely recycled previous Bionicle molds rather than using CCBS.
Anyway great video man! Super cool to see a take on CCBS from your initially blind perspective haha. Personally hero factory and Bionicle G2 were what initially got me back into LEGO after my dark ages so for a while ALL I really bought were CCBS sets. And with that in mind, you honestly still got me to rethink what would’ve been with the system.
While the initial idea behind CCBS was to keep all of the shells smooth and streamlined in an effort to avoid the overly piston cluttered Bionicle style and more closely mimic the feel of traditional LEGO bricks, differently textured shells would’ve added a lot of variety to the system and would’ve perhaps helped with capturing specific characters like Chewbacca and Frost Beast (A yeti like villain from hero factory’s 6th wave).
If you genuinely find yourself wanting to checkout some more sets that get insanely creative with the CCBS system, then I’d definitely recommend looking into these two sets in particular (assuming you can find them for a solid price of course…).
2283 Witch Doctor (Hero Factory 2011)
75112 General Grievous (Star Wars 2015)
Really enjoyed the video man! Keep up the great work👍
Dang! I should’ve stuck to my guns haha. 😅
Thanks for your insight and for checking out the video! ❤️
For me personally, I’ve actually had more fun with CCBS than system. It really just works for me, and I absolutely adore it and all of the things you can do with it, ESPECIALLY when it’s mixed with older bionicle parts.
Say what you will about ccbs, but I've yet to have a socket crack in 10+ years with the system. Old school bionicle I feel lucky to find one intact these days 😢
Totally! CCBS bones feel sturdy!
A big gripe I just noticed with ccbs sets is that they really neglected the "creature" part of the acronym. Sure there were 3 hero factory seasons with a ton of creatures (savage planet, brain attack, and invasion from below) along side some other miscellaneous sets, but most ccbs sets were just bipedal humanoids. Even the chima ccbs sets were just guys with animal heads! Despite this ccbs was probably my favorite lego system, and it's cancellation is a huge part of why I stopped collecting legos.
Off the top of my head I'd say umarak the hunter was my favorite build bc the color palette, antlers, digitigrade legs and bow but I lost the dang set while moving
More balljoints than the entire Beast Wars line.
Hahaha, great comment! 👌
I agree with a lot of the sentiments in this video, I LOVE CCBS and Bionicle G1/technic and really wished we could have gotten more types of armor shells and add-ons with different textures and shapes. I love the building experience of CCBS but a lot of the time I find myself having to make strange connections with Bionicle G1 parts in order to get a limb to be the right color or shape.
So nice to hear a fresh perspective on topics that usually hear the same tired, repeated group opinions. Having seen Bionicle through both G1 and G2, I've seen the community get stuck in certain opinions that honestly see very little diversity of thought. It's great to hear from a slightly more objective 3rd party.
Thanks Luke! I felt like an outsider going into this one, haha.
Something almost no one talks about with ccbs is how much easier it was to click in the joints with each other. To an adult the difference wouldn’t be that noticeable but as a 6 or 7 year old it took a lot of force to click the old bionicle parts in and after building a set my hands would feel pretty beat up. I never really wanted to build on my own because of that (not to mention the brittleness of the old sockets) so I was stoked when they announced the new system would be stronger and easier to play with. Great vid as always Slug!
Great timing slug, I bought my first bionicle a few days ago, it arrived today and THIS video appears first. Couldn't have timed it better ;)
Hey, that’s awesome! Happy building! 😊
I couldn't agree more with the first 5 minutes of this video. I remember the absolute joy and nostalgia I had when I built the first wave of G2 Toa. I'd already been familiar with CCBS as a system, and the newly integrated gear system really felt true to classic Bionicle. The bones and shells do have some issues when you look at them from behind... but still a ton of potential and fun.
As a long tern Bionicle fan, the main reason I fell off the Bionicle train was because they abandoned the story surrounding the toys, to start a new one. The original story of Bionicle, on Mata Nui, with the original six Toa, was my favorite series of LEGO of all time, so seeing it reset and changed to the point that it wasn't even the same characters kinda peeved me off. I'm not even sure if Boroks or Rahkshi still existed, or if Makuta was still the big bad, but the clincher for me was changing Lewa from the Toa of Air to something else, like the Toa of Jungle or Master of Jungle, I'm not even sure if he was still a Toa. They effectively deleted the story before it really felt finished, it may have "finished", but it certainly didn't feel like it.
ooooh i hav been waiting for thiss
Thanks for schooling another elderly fellow! Bionicle was and still is my jam, as the story meant so much to me and introduced me to comics. CCBS hit Bionicle while I was deep in college so I appreciate the schooling of what I missed out on!
The fact that CCBS was discontinued back in 2018 really saddens me. I really liked this system, and I'd still like to see how it would've evolved over the years if it was still being used
Grievous also is a great example of the potential of CCBS
imagine this being your first slugger video and you see elderly slug
"gladior's strongest fan tries to understand CCBS" would have been a more App title.
Hahaha, I can only work with what I know! 😅
As someone who grew up (and was slightly obsessed with) Gen 1, I always hated CCBS Bionicles for one thing that never seems to get brought up in discussions I've seen- once you see the figure from the back, it's impossible to unsee that it is just a stick figure with hollow armor pieces tacked onto it. I won't pretend all Gen 1 Bionicles looked great from the back, but they rarely looked so hollow. My next major gripe would be how so much of the surface detail was "fake," or rather just shallow, where Gen 1 Bionicles had AGGRESSIVELY layered features. You could call this a matter of preference, except I think the printed chest pieces are unreasonably bad in this case.
A big difference is that G2 characters are smooth and look more like they are wearing armor, and G1 characters are more textured and look more like machines, even when they do have armor. I think G1 characters also often feel more solid and dense because they aren't made of hollow shells. I love both, but G1 has a special place in my heart G2 can't quite squeeze into.
I simply dont understand why Lego went away from technic based pieces. Everyone was pointing to joints and simplification, but quite frankly the best bionicle sets were mostly technic parts with far fewer ball joint pieces.
Bionicle G2’s sets were fantastic, I picked up a few when they came out and remember playing with them a ton.
This was just an excuse for Slug to talk excitedly about Galidor 😂
I seize every opportunity I get!!
As someone who has never played with Bionicle and who does not even know anything about Bionicle, it sounded like you were making up each new word as you went along. Not criticizing you at all, but man, what a series that I could never get into or even try to understand. Thoroughly confusing to follow along as an outsider :D
Ccbs is so much solid and fun than the old one. Also some sets after 2006 are good, but the history was so much, like being 100 MAKUTAS. I love bionicle, but I will prefer the more tribial theme of 2000-2003, and the more future theme to slizers. The toas change as semi gods and a being a few to beings easy to kill and more than 1000 thousends.
When someone younger than me laments about being old, it really makes me reflect and upset about how old I really am.
I actually really love the 2015 Masters because of their gear functions, articulation, and their design references to the original Toa, but they have a very different look to them as well as a feel in hand. If it wasn't for the mask designs and the branding, I would not necessarily make the connection that they were meant to be the same thing.
I think one of the main differences between Bionicle G1 and G2 is that G2 pieces tend to be very smooth and lack detail. Original Bionicle pieces usually have a lot of detail, notches, fake pistons, etc. CCBS builds tend to look like they are covered in armor, while classic G1 Bionicle look more like machines. G1 also tends to feel denser and more solid because it isn't made of shells. While it is true that G1 often had builds that consisted of designated torso, limb, and foot pieces, it typically felt like there was more leeway in how they could be used due to the number of connection points and whatnot. G1 also dabbled in larger sets that leaned more into the Technic aspect of things, with custom built body parts, mechanisms, and the like. G2 Bionicles are mostly just snap together action figures.
At the end of the day, it's kind of apples and oranges. G2 figures are really good action figures (at least the Masters are; I'm not a fan of the Uniters), but they don't look the same, don't feel the same, and ultimately seem like less of an open ended building toy and more like action figures with swappable parts. I love 'em, but they are a different thing.
G2 is also bulkier and in general never really allowed for simple curved geometric shapes, either adding crevices/folds or spikes and the eyes in the mask were always kept very narrow. The builds also included more colors ( silver and gold were more dominant), instead of the classic two-color system with maybe additional armor colouring.
The summer of slug is the best
I caught that Mass Effect reference. Nice one Slugger.
I had that Kopaka when I was younger, but have no clue where he is now.... hopefully someday we will reunite
Oh wow, did not expect that full intro theme, I seeing people's passion for music and the like seeping into their other work, you still have some of the best presentation in the entire LEGO hobby sphere.
CCBS had a lot of promise to me, and I think you hit the nail on the head with a lot of these. On top of having more variety in the textures of CCBS parts (just taking regular CCBS shells and cutting out grooves/vents/pistons would've really sold the old-school BIONICLE vibe), I also can't help but wonder if they'd be more beloved by the community if they had more stud connections, or just more technic pin/axle-holes. That could have allowed for even further cross-pollination between their traditional LEGO parts and the old bionicle and technic elements from G1 and older Constraction themes.
I do also agree 100% that most of the modern G2 sets are some of the best builds we've gotten from the franchise. Granted, I do understand how some people are more drawn to the extremely simple color schemes of the original Toa Mata (primary, secondary, eye color, plus shared black + grey) as opposed to the more varied color schemes of the Masters and Uniters, I still think they have much more distinct character designs and silhouettes compared to their G1 counterparts... minus Pohatu, it's hard to get more distinct than that.
It you want some really impressive CCBS builds, Witch Doctor has a pretty hefty technic selection, but he's still cool, but the 2015 General Grievous figure is almost purely CCBS parts and is absolutely massive. I also think in terms of simplicity, a lot of the Breakout wave from Hero Factory do a lot with a little. Toxic Reapa, Core Hunter, Splitface, there's some really fun designs there.
I love the video! I would love to see you visit the Chima theme one day! They also had the best ccbs figures. 😁👍
CCBS's loss is honestly a crime, i agree it never truly tapped its creative potential but even with what it did do, it made customizing and interchanging parts to make new builds so much more simple! and i still stand by thatif given the room to grow it could have thrived, but with G2's failure and the much higher prices these figures carried in lines like the star wars contraction figures, its not a surprise it had to be completely killed off,
but if the alleged bionicle 2025 rumors are to be believed i AM curious to see to what extent the designers will be able to take the Lego system we know to create things on par the 2015 Toa, cause with less tecnic and no CCBS, there gonna have to bring there A game, i have faith but i am curious
Another episode of "R.R. Slugger religiously defends Galidor" 😅❤
Thank you for saying Gen 2 is better than Gen 1 !! The CCBS system, although imperfect, is way more flexible than old bionicle pieces, and the technic intergration far smoother too ! Mocs are so much easier and fun-er to make with CCBS, I'm sad we don't get any more construction figures these days 'cause I'd love to get my hands on more pieces, or new pieces ! You said it yourself, CCBS lacks variety and I would love to get new shells and 3rd layer stuff to customise and improve my toas !
The intro is a sneak preview of what Slugger will sound like when he does the Dreamzzz retrospective in 2053
I started this video completely unaware of what that acronym could be. Seems that system also happened during my dark age, though for some reason I do have one of those spider mask things from some sort of promo.
What a wonderful summer this slug has provided!
My issue with the G2 Bionicles, beyond the story thing which was A Big Deal, is that they all look like giant football players. I prefer the more skeletal look of the older figures. In particular I much prefer the texture of the bone parts and even the armor bits in the G1 sets. It's a lot more interesting than just flat plates with some stickers sometimes. I also kind of disliked how easy it is to ping the armor pieces off.
CCBS got me back into the bionicle after the poorly designed cracking sockets of late G1 turned me off as a kid. Hearing CCBS had a more robust design excited me.
“He’s gonna bring up Galidor, isn’t he-
Yep, there it is”
You know me too well, haha. 😉