Best of BrickNerd - Article originally published April 28, 2022.

Bionicle… even mention of that word can be intimidating and confusing which causes many builders to stay away from it altogether. With hundreds of unique pieces, avoidance by LEGO builders is understandable—how do you even sort all those crazy pieces!? Hopefully, this article can show you a small bit of the potential of Bionicle pieces within System creations as the spark of NPU that makes people look twice.

Fortunately, some of the characteristics of Bionicle pieces lend themselves naturally to different themes. Vehicles—especially space ships—have countless opportunities for Bionicle usage, either with highly greebled and mechanical parts or smooth shell pieces for a sleek sci-fi look. Other Bionicle pieces have very natural and organic shaping, lending themselves as all kinds of plant life. Although seemingly complete opposites, architecture and Bionicle even have their own special way of working together.

Let’s take a look at a collection of LEGO MOCs that appear to be primarily System-based, but actually feature Bionicle at their core. Also heads up, throughout this article I use the term “Constraction”—this is just a general term that includes Bionicle, Hero Factory, and Star Wars Buildable Figure pieces. So let’s start learning how to feature Bionicle by looking at some implementations of it within amazing LEGO MOCs.

Spaceships and Vehicles

O0ger does a fantastic job of integrating constraction pieces in many of his builds. This small speeder bike's main NPU (Nice Part Use) is the Fangz Head that makes up the body. It meshes perfectly with the technic windscreen, and is complimented by the Hero Factory Shells on the rear.

Another build that is riddled with great Bionicle part usage is Blake Foster’s attack fighter. To start, the three Rahkshi Back Covers fit perfectly together on the rear. The thin slit in the top allows select pieces to fit making a very smooth transition, and the curved front end works perfect as an intake on the sides. Another use is the Rahkshi Foot that makes up the main body of the ship. The unique details and shaping fit perfectly with the windshield shape. Finally to tie it all together, the Nuva Shoulder Armor really creates the smooth front end you would expect to see on a spaceship.

Now for something a little more down to earth. Tino creates a wonderful racer using many different Bionicle parts. The seed part for the build was the Inika Torso, but if you know this piece you might wonder where it is. It is built into the chassis of the car. The ball joints on the toros pieces act as a pivot point for the rear wheels, giving it steering. As for the front wheels, those use Mata Hands and ball joints as steering for the front wheels. The Mata Foot on the side creates a great angle and texture. Another foot piece that shows up is the Tohunga Foot which is the support for the spoiler.

Plants and Vegetation

Although not full of constraction pieces, this wonderful build by Little John has one very creative use. Focusing on the tree trunk, it is built with two Star Wars Thigh Shells with printing from the Chewbacca set on them, which provides a unique and detailed bark texture.

Bart is not one to shy away from using Bionicle in his builds, and this scene is no exception. The vegetation is riddled with 3 different parts. IFB (Invasion from Below) Spikes combined with upside down Hero Factory Spiders make up larger sharp looking plants. Breez Masks are also placed upside down in order to show its jagged bottom edge, giving even more of a rough look to all the plants.

At first glance, this build by VB might seem like a system build, but a closer inspection will reveal it has a surprising amount of constraction worked into it. The grass floor uses multiple Bionicle pieces, Hero Factory Chest Armor, Tarduk Mask, Kualsi Mask, and an honorary Bionicle piece, the Midgard Serpent Head. These pieces create a very organic and unique ground shape that would be very challenging to replicate with system. Seen in the back left among the wavy plants there are also Large Horns.

Architecture

Architecture is where Bionicle really seems out of its element, but Disty expertly meshes the two. The Mata Arms create great detailing and shaping as pillars. They also form this wonderful diamond shape when used like this together which is very unique. The Metru Knee Covers not only compliment the columns from above, but also by surrounding the pool in the center utilizing their angled ends.

One of BrickNerd’s very own writers, Ted, is an expert at using Bionicle parts in all kinds of builds, and this is no exception. Using Hordika Chest Armor as roofing, in addition to a Bionicle Panel as a larger awning. Two shield pieces are used as well, a Large Shield as the halo on the statue, and a Bohrok Shield behind each waterfall. Speaking of the waterfalls, those are actually created using three Large Horns, generating a nice cascade effect. Moving back to the statue, the head is mostly shaped using a Star Wars Thigh Armor, and the trail of blue from its right hand uses a Lightsaber.

To finish, this build by Jayfa masterfully combines Constraction and System elements. Using Mata Hands in an arch to create a bridge over the water, which happens to be made with Hero Factory Bones. Along with that, friction extenders stacked on top of each other act as the perimeter of the garden. The result is quite elegant!

So the next time you sort through your LEGO and happen upon some Bionicle pieces, before tossing them into your untouched bag of Constraction parts, take a closer look and see what the shape inspires you to build. Who knows? You might come up with the next, great NPU!

What was your opinion of Bionicle before reading this article? What’s your opinion now? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.

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