Competitions
| Competitions | |
 A contest entry page from 2007 | |
| Media | |
| Type | Contests |
| Years released | 2001-2010, 2014-2016 |
LEGO has periodically held Competitions (or Contests) involving BIONICLE, dating back to the line's inception in 2001. These competitions have taken various forms and resulted in a number of different prizes. Many competitions were held directly through LEGO's various LEGO Magazines or comics, while others were hosted by promotional partners such as Cartoon Network.
History
2001
Build Your Own BIONICLE Web Site
The Build your Own BIONICLE™ Web Site Contest was one of the first BIONICLE contests, and tasked entrants with designing their own website based around the BIONICLE theme. The contest was divided into two categories: "13 and Over" and "12 and Under", with the winners of each category receiving a 14k Solid Gold Hau. The winner for the 13 and over category was Kelly McKiernan (later webmaster for BIONICLE.com) and the winner for the 12 and under category was Jacob Andreas.[1][2]
2002
Toa Nuva Sweepstakes
The BIONICLE Toa Nuva Sweepstakes was a 2002 contest held by American cable television channel Cartoon Network. Participants were asked to validate an email address to enter.[3] The contest began in October and lasted until October 21, 2002.[4] The grand prize was one of the limited solid gold Hau masks produced by LEGO.[5]
2003
Search For The Seventh Toa (LEGO)
LEGO held a sweepstakes in late 2003 called Search For The Seventh Toa in the US and Canada.[6] Prizes included one $6,000 value grand-prize, two $1,300 value first-prizes, one hundred $300 value second-prizes, and one thousand third-prizes of a Panrahk.[7] All the winners were listed on BIONICLE.com.[8]
Search For The Seventh Toa (Cartoon Network)
Cartoon Network hosted a sweepstakes from September 26 to October 17, 2003[9] that was also titled Search For The Seventh Toa. The contest featured a unique, one of a kind collectible prize: a platinum Kanohi Avohkii. Other prizes included BIONICLE sets from 2001-2003.[10] Participants were asked to call in during the commercial breaks of Cartoon Network's Toonami block on Fridays, in order to reach an operator and be placed on the entry list.[5][11]
Other
The LEGO Club, Puffin Bionicle Competition was a contest held through the UK LEGO Magazine September 2003 issue which asked entrants to write a backstory for a creature-based LEGO model of their own creation. Ten winners received a copy of Tale of the Toa, The Official Guide to BIONICLE, and Beware the Bohrok.
2004
Rahi Building Challenge
The Rahi Building Challenge was announced in the March/April 2004 LEGO Magazine, and was the first BIONICLE competition to feature a prize of appearing in the story. Entrants were asked to build a Rahi of Metru Nui, in addition to writing an essay on it, with the grand prize winner being credited in and their model being drawn in an issue of the BIONICLE comic series. The grand-prize winner was Justin Lamb, who designed the Tahtorak; the model was featured in BIONICLE 21: Dreams of Darkness, and later made an appearance in BIONICLE Adventures 8: Challenge of the Hordika and appeared on the cover of the BIONICLE: Rahi Beasts guide. The grand-prize winner also received five copies of Comic 21, signed by Greg Farshtey and Randy Elliott. In addition to 49 selected first-prize winners,[note 1] they also received the prize of all six Vahki sets. The names of all the winners were listed on BIONICLE.com.[12]
Though not part of the contest's prize, some of the winning models of the contest were invited to be featured in the Rahi Beasts Guide,[13] including Archives Mole, Artakha Bull, Blade Burrower, Catapult Scorpion, Crystal Climber, Dermis Turtle, Doom Viper, Fader Bull, Frost Beetle, Furnace Salamander, Kanohi Dragon, Metru Mantis, Phase Dragon, Proto Drake, Razor Whale, Silver Chute Spider, Spiny Stone Ape, and the Vahki Hunter. These winners were also given a free copy of the book. The Rock Lion was another winner of the contest who was invited, but the builder did not submit the model for an official photo, so it was reduced to a mention in the guide.[14] Another winning entry, Tunnel Stalker, built by BS01 user Pekel, was not included in the book but was included in BIONICLE: Encyclopedia at Pekel's request.[15] The Phase Dragon and Blade Burrower were also published in the Brickmaster Edition of the January/February 2005 LEGO Magazine.
The "Yari", "Mantas Tamer",[16] "Mantis",[17][18][citation needed: Winning Letter?] "Protodermic Swamp Chomper",[19] "Dragon-Lizard Rahi",[17][20][citation needed: Winning Letter?] and "Kaenarahk",[17][21][citation needed: Winning Letter?] were among the winning models but were not invited to be featured in BIONICLE: Rahi Beasts. Before that guidebook was published, Greg Farshtey expressed that he considered all winning models to be official Rahi, even if they did not appear in the book.[22] Other winners include BZPower members Life&Death Jr., Lyger2000,[17] and Tairo,[23] although their entries have not resurfaced.
Seperate contests were held in different regions, but only the winners of the U.S. contest were posted on BIONICLE.com, and only U.S. contestants were selected for BIONICLE: Rahi Beasts or were eligible to be featured in the comics. One such contest was held jointly in Germany, Austria, and Switzerland. Much like the U.S. contest, the prize for the 50 winners consisted of all six Vahki sets, and the contest required the entrants to write an essay on their entry.
Movie Scene Contest
The Movie Scene Contest was a competition exclusively announced in the November/December 2004 issue of BrickMaster. The prompt invited entrants to imagine a movie with their Bionicle sets. In addition to this, fans were directed to Bionicle.com where they would find a sample movie script created for inspiration. This sample has since been lost.
2005
Toa Building Challenge
Announced in the January 2005 LEGO Brickmaster Magazine was the Toa Building Challenge, a competition asking entrants to build a Toa who "once lived in Metru Nui, but vanished on a dangerous mission". The contestants were additionally asked to describe the Toa's Kanohi and Elemental Powers, and personality. The Toa would make an appearance in BIONICLE Adventures 10: Time Trap. John Dexter won the grand-prize contest with his model Krakua, the Toa of Sonics, although his storyline role was later changed. 50 first-place winners were additionally selected, receiving the Toa Iruini set, and were listed on BIONICLE.com.[24] The only first-place winners that have been identified are bennydude, DestinySwordsman, kopaka8536, Shadrahk, ToaMira.
Dark Hunter Building Challenge
The Dark Hunter Building Challenge was announced at the end of BIONICLE 24: Shadow Play asking entrants to build their own Dark Hunters, in addition to providing an essay describing them. 35 first-place winners were to be selected, and published in the BIONICLE: Dark Hunters guide. However, only 29 were ultimately featured in the book, the models being Airwatcher, Amphibax, Ancient, Charger, Conjurer, Darkness, Dweller, Eliminator, Firedracax, Gatherer, Gladiator, Guardian, Hordika Dragons, Kraata-Kal, Lurker, Mimic, Minion, Poison, Primal, Prototype, Ravager, Savage, Seeker, Shadow Stealer, Spinner, Subterranean, Tracker, Tyrant, and Vanisher. Devastator, Silence, and Vengeance were also featured in separate Brickmaster editions of the LEGO Magazine,[25][26][27] whilst Phantom was featured as an entry in the BIONICLE: Encyclopedia Updated, leaving two unknown winners who were never featured in official story material for unknown reasons. Each of the 35 winners also received one of three sets, a limited-edition BIONICLE Comic-Con T-Shirt, as well as a signed copy of BIONICLE: Dark Hunters when it was published.[13]
In October 2020, one of the unseen winners of the Dark Hunter contest, created by Casey Kinsey, surfaced.[28][13][29] This entry was sent to LEGO, but for unknown reasons was returned without being featured in the book.[30]
Catch the Power of the Visorak
Cartoon Network held a Catch the Power of the Visorak! contest in October of 2005.[31] Much like their Search For The Seventh Toa contest, contestants were required to call in during a specific programming block (in this case, Miguzi) in order to be placed on the entry list.[32] The grand prize was a life-size statue of Visorak Keelerak built out of LEGO System bricks, while other prizes included BIONICLE products from 2005.[33]
2006
Piraka Trivia Contest
The Piraka Trivia Contest was featured in the first Ignition comic inviting fans to submit answers to five trivia questions for the chance to win the first three comics signed by Greg Farshtey and Stuart Sayger and one of the exclusive BIONICLE T-shirts from Comic Con International 2006. The questions were as follows:
- What is the name of the island the Piraka have invaded?
- What are the little green balls the Piraka shoot from their launchers called?
- What is the name of the black Piraka?
- What is the nickname of Zaktan, the green Piraka?
- What is the name of the Matoran leader on the island?
Winners were going to be featured in the Ignition comic released in September, although this doesn't seem to have happened.
Blaze of Battle Challenge
The Blaze of Battle Challenge was featured in the fourth Ignition comic. Participants were invited to set up a battle scene with their Piraka and Toa Inika sets, then submit color photos of the scene together with a short essay describing how the battle would end. Five winners would be chosen who in turn would be given any assortment of sets worth $100.
Zamor Sphere Challenge
The Zamor Sphere Challenge was a challenge featured in select Wal-Marts letting participants test their Zamor launching skills. Winners would receive free posters featuring Umbra, the 2006 Wal-Mart special edition set. The Zamor Sphere Challenge was announced in the fourth Ignition comic.
Fusion Building Challenge
The BIONICLE Fusion Building Challenge was a contest featured in the January-February 2006 LEGO Magazine. The challenge was to build a model representing the merge of two of the Piraka into a single monstrous being. The grand-prize winner was Benjamin P. (BZPower member and Staff Writer ChocolateFrogs), and his creation appeared in BIONICLE Ignition 5: In Final Battle as the Piraka Fusion. The first-prize winners were Daniel W., Elijah H. (BZP member Sidorak The Feared[34][35]), Daniel G., and the team of Gar and Keane S.
Super Stronghold Building Challenge
The BIONICLE Super Stronghold Building Challenge was a competition featured in the July-August 2006 LEGO Magazine. The contest tasked entrants with building a fortress for the Toa Inika (who did not receive their own in the story) out of their own LEGO pieces, focusing on the minifig scale used in the playsets. Entrants were also asked to include a 200 word essay describing the special features, such as defense mechanisms, of their fortress. Five winners were selected and awarded with a free LEGO set, and their models were featured in the November-December 2007 issue.
Design A Mask Competition
The "BIONICLE Heroes" Design a Mask Competition was a competition hosted by TT Games, makers of BIONICLE Heroes, that ran from August 4th to August 24th, 2006.[36][37] By going to bioniclecomp.com, entrants could use their mask builder in order to design and submit a new BIONICLE mask shape. The selected winner would have their design featured in BIONICLE Heroes, along with receiving a solid gold mask.[38][39] Entry was limited to European residents under the age of 16.[40] The winner was Mitchell A. Proctor, from the U.K.[41] whose mask design was one of the golden canister collectibles. Proctor was also named in the credits of the game.
2007
Comic Cover Contest
The Comic Cover Contest was an art competition featured in the March-April 2007 issue of the LEGO Magazine.[42] Entrants were tasked with drawing a comic book cover showing Toa preparing for battle in Mahri Nui, with the winning design being adapted for a future comic issue. The grand-prize winner was Ryan N. whose illustration was used as the basis for BIONICLE Ignition 10: The Death of Mata Nui's cover, drawn by Stuart Sayger.[43]
Prisoners of the Pit Building Challenge
The Prisoners of the Pit Building Challenge was promoted in the March-April 2007 issue of LEGO's Brickmaster Magazine.[citation needed] The challenge was to build the prisoners of The Pit. Winners of the contest were: Drewdika by Andrew Hugna, Tinnurron by Andy Urschel, Xyron by Christopher Sanchez, Zakron by Ethan J. Slepitis and Zarnak by Dale Cerett. In 2011, the BZPower Bionicle Story Squad requested of Greg Farshtey to canonize the models,[44] although the names were not canonized as that would require sending them through LEGO's legal team.
2008
Makuta Building Challenge
In January 2008, a BrickMaster-exclusive Makuta Building Challenge was announced in that month's BrickMaster magazine.[citation needed] Entrants were asked to create a Brotherhood of Makuta member to aid in the assault on Karda Nui, with the grand prize winner's creation appearing in the 2008 story. The grand prize winner was Sarah Newkirk, whose model now represents the former Brotherhood of Makuta leader Miserix, although he was never present in the battle of Karda Nui, instead attacking Teridax directly in the Core Processor. In addition to the grand prize winner, four first place winners were chosen to appear alongside the winner in the May/June BrickMaster magazine. The four first place winners were: Olena Zozulevich (Disky on Brickshelf), Nick Santoni, Jonas Liptak, and Joshua Guthrie (GreenBioGuy on BZPower).
2009
Glatorian Building Challenge
The Glatorian Building Challenge was a contest featured in the September-October issue of the LEGO Magazine.[citation needed] Entrants were tasked with building a Glatorian warrior, with prizes going to the 20 best entries.
2010
Who Am I? Contest
In March 2010, the Who Am I? contest was announced in the final comic of the BIONICLE Glatorian series. Entrants were asked to create a biography for a character based on a combiner model of the six Stars sets of 2010. The winner of the contest had their character featured in The Powers That Be, who was named as Gaardus.
2014
Battle For The Gold Mask
Battle For The Gold Mask (also known as Battle For The Golden Mask, abbreviated BFTGM) was a multi-website building competition created by The LEGO Group, to celebrate the 2015 return of the BIONICLE line after it had been canceled five years prior. Hosted by five fan-based online groups (including LEGO's own ReBrick social media platform) the competition centered on building a BIONICLE-themed villain. The prize was a 14-karat solid gold version of the Golden Mask of the Skull Spiders.
Five websites were chosen to host the competition, all of them social media based fan groups.
- ReBrick - A bookmarking site created by The LEGO Group that culls photos of LEGO models built by fans (MOCs, or My Own Creations) from various other image hosting sites, such as Flickr, YouTube, and Brickshelf.
- BIONIFIGS - A large French-language BIONICLE forum.
- EuroBricks - An online Registered LEGO User Group (RLUG), based around a European audience.
- PockyLand - A Taiwanese based online RLUG.
- BZPower - BIONICLE Zone Power, an online forum with a focus on BIONICLE and constraction.
- RUSBIONICLE - Russian-speaking online BIONICLE community.
The contest began on October 20th, 2014, and ended on December 1st, 2014. The premise was to build a BIONICLE villain as a counterpoint to the heroic Toa that were introduced. Each creation was mandated to be at least 75% Technic or LEGO constraction bricks, the kind predominately used by BIONICLE and its related themes. Entrants needed to be members of the site they were submitting it to; multiple entries could be submitted to multiple sites, though ultimately only one would be selected from one site.
Only a single entry out of multiple entries per person was considered. Each site had a first, second, and third place winners, with the first place winners being considered semi-finalists and then put into competition against the winners from each site. The panel of judges for the semifinal round consisted of: Sara Moore, LEGO ReBrick.com; Alexander (VBBN), EuroBricks; Eddy (Exo 6), Le Club Bionifigs; Rack, Pockyland; tahu_nuva, RusBionicle; Black Six, BZPower.
After each semifinalist had been chosen, the remaining six creations were then evaluated by a jury of LEGO professionals, who decided on the overall winner. That panel consisted of: Cerim Manovi, Lead Designer for BIONICLE; Kari Vinther Nielsen - Assistant Marketing Manager; Nicolaas Vás - Junior Designer.
The entries were judged based on four broad categories: "overall coolness and creativity", "inspired originality", "uniqueness", and "creative use of parts".
Winners of the three places received tiers of prizes: first place was given all six Toa sets, signed by the designer; second place was given three selected "hero" sets; and third place was given one "hero" set. The grand prize winner was given a 14-karat version of the Golden Mask of the Skull Spiders, one of eight solid gold mask variants that were made for BIONICLE's 2015 reboot.
The grand prize winner, announced on January 13, 2015, was BZPower's Breann Sledge (Roa McToa), with her model Akutahn.[45] The judges liked the "detail" and poseability of the final model. The other winning models included:
- Rebrick: Hysleria by Mitch
- EuroBricks: Terror Bite by IGU
- BIONIFIGS: Diatan by Peter Bionicle
- Pockyland: Dark Fang Warlord by Cid Hsiao
- RUSBIONICLE: Makuta Nakken by Launcher
2015
Bionicle Mask Hunt
The Bionicle Mask Hunt (advertised primarily as the social media hashtag #BionicleMaskHunt) was an online competition hosted by LEGO that had participants try and find mask-shaped designs in everyday objects and settings. The prizes for the contest were six solid gold versions of the Golden Masks of Power.
The Mask Hunt was open to all entrants who had access to the social media platforms used by the competition: Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. LEGO also created an app on their Facebook page where people could directly submit their photos. Every participant needed to include the hashtag #BionicleMaskHunt in order to be considered eligible.
The assignment for the competition was to find shapes and patterns that resembled Masks of Power, with color schemes matching the six elemental Masks of Power wielded by the Toa. Pictures of those patterns were then uploaded and judged by the team.[46]
Beginning on March 30th, 2015, the competition ran for six weeks, ending on May 10th. Every week, six "weekly winners" were chosen from among the entrants, with the final grand prize winners being selected from amongst the 36 total weekly winners.[47]
The Mask Maker Challenge
The Mask Maker Challenge, promoted with the hashtag #BionicleMaskMaker, was a competition to create the best life-sized Mask of Power out of existing LEGO and BIONICLE pieces. The prize for the competition was the only known 14-karat Mask of Creation.
The competition was made open to all entrants (barring LEGO employees and associates, as well as their families), posted publicly to the LEGO BIONICLE Facebook page. To start the competition, the Facebook page posted a video of LEGO BIONICLE set designer John Ho and his "Mask of Black Magic." The Mask Maker Challenge began on October 12th, 2015, and ran until October 31st, 2015. The winners were posted by November 2nd, 2015.
TECHNIC and Constraction bricks were considered separate for the purposes of the contest. LEGO System pieces were allowed as accents and detailing, but the primary focus was on using the Creature and Character Building System (CCBS) employed by BIONICLE's reboot.
According to the LEGO Group, their fictional character Ekimu the Mask Maker judged based on three "Rules of Forging," which they would use in determining the quality of models. The rules were:
- Creativity: "Always forge with an open heart and a focused mind."
- Construction: "Be clever, build strong."
- Color: "Know your element."
Each rule was accompanied by a Seal, which the Facebook page periodically ascribed to batches of entrants to show what their judging process would look like.
Three winners out of all of the entrants were selected, and presented with first, second, and third place, with corresponding prizes. The first place winner received a solid gold 14-karat Mask of Creation, one of eight solid gold masks made for BIONICLE's reboot. The second place winner received the full line of commercially available 2015 BIONICLE sets, while the third place winner received the second wave of BIONICLE sets, the five Skull Creatures.[48]
The winners were:
- 1st place: The Mask of the Sea Queen by Sean & Steph Creations
- 2nd place: The Mask of Hyper Plasma II by 陳傑克
- 3rd place: The Mask of Psychosis by JJ Noodler
Two of the winners were briefly seen in the final episode of BIONICLE's Netflix series BIONICLE: The Journey to One.
2016
The Makuta Challenge
The Makuta Challenge, also known as Show Us Your Makuta, was a BIONICLE building competition held on Rebrick, and the final contest of BIONICLE Generation 2.[49] To celebrate the end of BIONICLE's second generation, the BIONICLE team conceived a building contest based around the perennial villain of the franchise, Makuta. The contest was revealed to select LEGO Fan Media Ambassadors and set for the beginning of August. It was first announced by video featuring inspirational models built by LEGO and BIONICLE designers.[50] The contest ran from the first of August through the sixth of September. Winners were originally scheduled to be revealed September 29th, but the reveal was later pushed back to October 17th due to the amount of entries.
Entrants were tasked with building a character that could be described as Makuta, the ultimate BIONICLE villain. Entries had to be primarily Technic/CCBS/BIONICLE parts, though were able to include dioramas and backdrops that could use any LEGO part.
Three different tiers of winners were initially scheduled: Five "Tier One" winners would receive an exclusive Art Book, and a collection of all commercially released 2015 and 2016 BIONICLE sets. Five "Tier Two" winners would receive the 2015/2016 collection, and a random entrant would receive the Art Book. These tiers were later reorganized into "Tier One" and "Bonus Prize" winners, with six of each category.[51]
The "Tier One" winners for the competition were:
- Makuta, Tectonic Crawler by mfarhan93
- Makuta, Lord Of Darkness by Pierre-Artus
- Devourer Of The Light by TolerantAxe97
- Makuta by bioniclebud
- Makuta The Cursed One by FusedTremah
- Makuta The Mask Breaker by Djokson
The "Bonus Prize" winners for the competition were:
- He, who binds the shadows by teri467
- Makuta the Traveler by MeltE2
- Makuta Sin Teridax by soujigakari
- Makuta, Umbral Wyvern by nosegobblin
- Makuta The Mad King by LustyRustyVar
- G2 Makuta by chubbybots
References
Notes
See also
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