Sets/2008

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Sets Part of a series on: BIONICLE Sets ⬢ Set Year 2001 ⬢ Set Year 2002 ⬢ Set Year 2003 ⬢ Set Year 2004 ⬢ Set Year 2005 ⬢ Set Year 2006 ⬢ Set Year 2007 ⬢ Set Year 2008 ⬢ Set Year 2009 ⬢ Set Year 2010 ⬢ Set Year 2015 ⬢ Set Year 2016 ⬢ Set Year 2023 ⬢ Combiners and Alternate Models ⬢ Collectibles

2008 was the eighth year of BIONICLE sets.

History

The year 2008 marked a return to the typical release schedule for small sets, with six Matoran corresponding to the six canister sets released for the winter; for the first time, the Matoran packaging used more than cardboard, mixing it with plastic stalagmite/stalactite pieces.

Unlike previous years, the canister sets for the winter wave featured both the heroes and the villains, with three Toa (half of the returning Toa Nuva) facing off against three Makuta, all marketed under the same banner of "Phantoka". A large boxed set also saw wide release, depicting the "Toa" Ignika riding a Skyboard.

Two special-edition large box sets were also released in the winter, both of them villain characters: Icarax, with a geared action-feature arm, and Mutran & Vican, a Makuta with a Matoran that could be connected together like the standard canister and small sets.

In the summer, the canister sets contained the same hero/villain divide, with the other three Toa Nuva returning to face off against three more Makuta, this time known collectively as "Mistika". Like in the winter wave, the Matoran sets were advertised to connect to the canister sets, although with no story significance.

Though playsets did not make a return, the summer box sets featured large battle vehicles, each with a canister-sized figure riding it. Three vehicles - Vultraz, a Matoran figure and his included Skyfighter, Jetrax T6, and Axalara T9 - each included a Midak Skyblaster; another set, Rockoh T3, came with a repurposed Zamor Launcher. The last of the wide-release Titan sets depicted Takanuva in an enlarged form, and came with a Skyblaster and a new Kanohi Avohkii mold.

Two special-edition box sets were additionally released in the summer. The first was a brand-new model depicting the Matoran Mazeka and his turret vehicle, the Swamp Strider, which utilized a Zamor Launcher with multiple clips of ammunition. The second model was a recolor of the Jetrax T6 set, with yellow elements replacing the blue and silver ones.

A small promotional set also was included in the LEGO Magazine's "Brickmaster" initiative, featuring the Rahi klakk.

2008 saw the largest increase of price in sets (the cost of the canister sets rose from $9.99 USD to $12.99 USD coinciding with the release of the Mistika in July) in the U.S. since the line began. While the U.S. typically had the lowest prices of LEGO worldwide, rising costs of oil and, subsequently plastic and energy contributed to the cost change. Additionally, due to the line's heavy reliance on new molds, it was also impacted by rising steel prices.

Featured Elements

All of the Matoran used larger, prebuilt pieces (resulting in fewer parts overall), and utilized new head pieces for their Kanohi masks. Each Matoran could physically connect to one of the canister sets (both winter and summer) with an included pin piece.

All four winter Toa characters wielded a new projectile launcher, the Midak Skyblaster, while the Makuta were built with ribcages housing Tridax Pods and Shadow Leeches.

The summer Makuta all carried Nynrah Ghost Blasters, whereas the Toa Nuva carried Adaptive Weapons that had slight differences in-story, but set-wise were functionally identical to the Nynrah Ghost Blasters. These launchers had a pump that could be compressed to launch plastic dart ammunition.

List of sets

Small

Small Sets
8944 Tanma	8945 Solek	8946 Photok	8947 Radiak	8948 Gavla	8949 Kirop

Medium

Winter Medium Sets
8685 Toa Kopaka	8686 Toa Lewa	8687 Toa Pohatu	8691 Antroz	8692 Vamprah	8693 Chirox

Summer Medium Sets
8688 Toa Gali	8689 Toa Tahu	8690 Toa Onua	8694 Krika	8695 Gorast	8696 Bitil

Large

Large Sets
8697 Toa Ignika	8698 Vultraz	8699 Takanuva

Limited Edition

Limited Edition Large Sets
8952 Mutran & Vican	8953 Makuta Icarax	8954 Mazeka

Battle Vehicles

Battle Vehicle Sets
8941 Rockoh T3	8942 Jetrax T6	8943 Axalara T9

Limited Edition

Limited Edition Battle Vehicle Set

8942 (Limited Edition) Jetrax T6

Promotional

Promotional Sets
6126 "Good Guy 2008"	6127 "Bad Guy 2008"	6128 "Function 2008"

BrickMaster Promotional Set

20005 Klakk

Collections

Collection Sets
K8685 Phantoka Collection	K8688 Mistika Collection	K8942 The Ultimate BIONICLE Collection	K8944 Matoran of Light Collection

Collection Sets
66272 Costco Canada CoPack A	66273 Costco Canada CoPack B	66274 Costco Canada CoPack C

See also

• Gallery:Building Instructions § 2008