Collecting BIONICLE sets – Then and Now

I have a lot to say about BIONICLE on Palm City Life 2026, and here’s the reason why: it’s because I spent most of last year collecting BIONICLE sets. As of today, even though I have a pretty good collection (for example, I have all of the Toa, the Turaga, and the Matoran sets from 2001, plus Takua, Nuparu, Hahli, and most of the Chronicler’s Company), I still have a lot to go before I am finished. I still don’t have all of the masks as of today (I currently have 56 masks of the 96 masks I planned on getting), and I’m also focusing on building additional creatures that didn’t have an official set.

While I’m still working on it, I would also like to discuss my experiences with collecting BIONICLE sets and pieces, from when I was a kid and from last year. Between both time zones, collecting them is much different. Although the franchise officially came to an end in 2016, as the original series came to an end in 2010, the sets I was looking for have been discontinued between 2003 to 2005. Thanks to the website BrickLink (which was launched a year before the BIONICLE franchise began), I can buy older sets and pieces again and fulfill my dream. However, buying from BrickLink is much different than buying from retail or ordering from a site like LEGO or Amazon. If you’re collecting BIONICLE sets today, you’re buying long-discontinued, used products from other people rather than new products from official stores. Everyone is their own CEO. They get to make the rules, set the prices, and set the purchase requirements. And if your business with them was bad because of you, they can block you from buying from their stores.

Today’s entry will be on how much harder (or easier) it is to collect BIONICLE sets, and why they’re harder or easier. This could apply to buying old Beanie Babies, old Pokémon trading cards, and other collectibles.

Differences between BIONICLE and other LEGO themes:

Before I go over difficulty, I can explain the differences between BIONICLE and other LEGO themes. While this is not to say that BIONICLE isn’t a true LEGO theme, as you should never say that in the faces of BIONICLE fans, it’s true that BIONICLE is different to other themes. This is part of the reason why older BIONICLE sets wouldn’t get re-released.

• Most LEGO themes, ranging from classic themes like Space, Pirates, Castle, and Adventurers, to licensed themes like Harry Potter, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and Super Mario, are primarily playset-based. They use ordinary LEGO pieces like blocks, plates, and tiles, and you can build any building using these pieces. But BIONICLE is a Technic-based theme. Despite the playsets from 2005 to 2007, they were supposed to be more like action figures than creative models. Very few LEGO themes are Technic-based.
• Some pieces may be more universal among LEGO sets, but the pieces that were made for specific LEGO themes have multiple applications. You can make a store using LEGO CITY blocks and items from licensed themes. I’m sure (LEGO) Darth Vader would appreciate a new shovel and net (from Animal Crossing). But pieces that were made for the BIONICLE theme were only made for BIONICLE, and they could hardly be applied to any other set. This is especially true for the Kanohi due to the lore behind the BIONICLE franchise. Imagine building a store out of LEGO bricks, and then putting a Hau mask as a decoration. The same arguments against cultural appropriation could apply here. Also, much of the pieces made for BIONICLE sets are incompatible with other themes, not even Technic. And much of the other LEGO pieces are incompatible with BIONICLE.
• The buildings and vehicles for most LEGO themes are good enough to fit smaller minifigures, which already have enough detail in them. But since most BIONICLE sets are action figures, a detailed set would have to be a lot larger. One minifigure can fit through a 4×1×6 door frame, but not an arm or leg coming from a Toa set. This makes BIONICLE sets way out of scale in respect to other LEGO sets. Imagine building two LEGO Modular buildings (like the Café Corner and Retro Diner), and then putting a Muaka next to it. That’s like putting Godzilla or King Kong in the middle of a city. Whereas putting Muaka next to a Toa is like putting a tiger next to a soldier. Even putting a McDonald’s Matoran near the modular buildings seems like a giant attack robot.
• Piggybacking on the second reason, most themes aren’t story-based, and if they are story-based, they’re usually a licensed theme. While BIONICLE has a much deeper story. The sets released each year reflect a different chapter, as they were made for the specific chapter. So trying to use creativity with BIONICLE pieces would be no different to writing a fanfic than using creativity with other LEGO pieces.
• Early within the first run of BIONICLE, several collectible pieces were also released. They included different-colored masks of the same shape. If you were trying to collect multiple LEGO pieces of other types of multiple colors, that would be like collecting different rocks or wooden planks. If you were trying to collect all of the BIONICLE masks, that would be like collecting art.

These above differences also explain why BIONICLE is more suited for me than other LEGO themes. Within the last few years, I’ve been taking some of my Pokémon plushies everywhere, mostly to restaurants and hotels. I even brought them to class and was allowed to have them out (unless if they think that another class was better than the class I took them to). With less space for everything and more attention given to the Grass Pokémon plushies, action figures are more suited for me than models. For the last many years, I bought several LEGO sets because they were cool or looked cool. But once I finished building them, I stopped playing with them and only used them for display. Playsets were meant to be played with, but I don’t have the time to play with them when I have other stuff. And they take a lot of space. But BIONICLE sets, due to being Technic-based, I can play with them like how I play with the Pokémon plushies. Sure they take a lot of space, but I can pack them based in a box or bag based on volume better than I could for playsets.

How it’s harder today:

Although BIONICLE first came out in 2001, I didn’t get involved until 2002 when I purchased my first set, Toa Lewa. We used to collect them a lot as kids. But now, I have to buy them from BrickLink, so the experience in collecting them is much different.

First of all, the reason why it’s harder to collect them now than it was before is because of the prices. Due to being a long-discontinued franchise, coupled with inflation, the sets are more expensive now than they used to be. Let’s use the original Toa Mata as an example since I got them all. They include the price from 2001 and the actual price I spent in 2025. Keep in mind that I, an American buyer, only buy from American sellers.

• Tahu – original retail price is $7.99 in US dollars. I spent $32.00 on one last year.
• Pohatu – original retail price is $7.99 in US dollars. I spent $16.00 on one last year.
• Onua – original retail price is $7.99 in US dollars. I spent $12.80 on one last year.
• Lewa – original retail price is $7.99 in US dollars. I spent $25.60 on one last year.
• Kopaka – original retail price is $7.99 in US dollars. I spent $28.00 on one last year.
• Gali – original retail price is $7.99 in US dollars. I spent $16.00 on one last year.

Yes, I spent that much on them last year, on used sets no less. This is not to mention that they didn’t include the instructions (which I can read online for free) or the canisters (which I don’t need). In 2001, the latter prices would be unreasonable, considering the number of pieces in each set. If Lego put a hefty price of $32 on a 33-piece set, that would be a rip-off, especially if they were being mass-produced. But now that they have been discontinued for years and are being collected by many other collectors, they have gotten scarcer over time. Therefore, such prices are reasonable in today’s world. But if you think that’s too expensive for a used set, don’t even bother looking at the prices for new (or unused sets).

Another big difference between collecting them today and collecting them years ago are that the prices are uneven. As the above list shown, all six Toa Mata sets had a flat price of $7.99 back in 2001. But using today’s prices, you can see how supply and demand are really kicking in. Looking at the low prices for Onua and Pohatu and the high prices for Tahu shown that Tahu is higher in demand than the other Toa, while Onua and Pohatu are lower in demand. Just letting you know, I bought all six Toa Mata from the same seller.

These two differences don’t just apply to the sets. They also apply to the masks. Last year, I spent $52.82 on a single mask, and even that was a good deal compared to other sellers’ prices for the same mask. A mask pack (which includes two masks, one Toa mask and one Turaga mask) costs $1.99 in 2001. Now I did buy some masks for a much lower price, but the difference is that those masks were included in the main sets or other sets.

Another major issue with collecting them today is scarcity. Given that it’s a long-discontinued franchise, it’s by no surprise that BIONICLE sets would be scarcer. They also sell out faster than other LEGO themes on BrickLink (and other shopping sites) due to their high demand and nostalgia. New sets (which are unused sets) are even scarcer, especially for the Rahi sets and Tohunga (aka McDonald’s Matoran) sets. Some used sets also have scarcity issues. Getting a used set with no broken pieces, no discolored pieces, or missing pieces? No problem. Many of my purchases last year were still in good condition. Getting certain sets or used sets in their original packaging? Good luck. Here are some of the scarcer sets:

• Any set that includes both the instructions and box/canister or even the box/canister alone.
• Any of the combiner model sets (Takutanuva, Ultimate Dume, etc.).
• The McDonald’s Matoran (Jala being the worst offender).
• Manas (8539)
• Cahdok & Gahdok (8558)
• Master Builder Set (10023)
• Hydraxon (8923)
• Nocturn (8935)
• Lesovikk (8939)
• Karzahni (8940)
• Limited Edition Jetrax T6 (8942-2)
• Makuta Icarax (8953)
• Skopio XV-1 (8996)
• Toa Mata Nui (8998)

The Toa Mata Nui set is especially hard to get. I guarantee you; you can’t purchase one on BrickLink for any less than $500.

Finally, given their age, the pieces are more vulnerable to breaking. While LEGO bricks and pieces are durable and resilient, some of the smaller pieces tend to crack more easily. You can use super glue to fix the pieces, but the bonds are still getting weaker. You can only do this enough times before they are beyond repair. Some of the battery-operated ones, like the light-up swords and the Manas, even more so. Electronic toys tend to wear down after continued years of usage.

How it’s easier today:

Of course, despite the difficulty of obtaining older sets, the promotion of them from years ago may have made some sets and pieces harder to obtain at the time. But now that it’s gone, the promotions become meaningless.

One reason why they’re easier now is because the ones who grew up with them now have disposable income. As kids, they get their monthly allowance money or do chores to earn money. But as adults, they can earn money in ways that they couldn’t earn them. If you have a lot of money, the high price barrier will be lower. You don’t even need to be rich to collect them again. And that includes having a complete mask collection.

While masks have gotten harder to obtain due to high prices, they’ve also gotten easier to obtain. That’s because you know what mask you’ll be purchasing when you order one off of BrickLink. When they came out in 2001, they were primarily blind box goodies. You’ll have to buy multiple boxes to get the mask you want, and they have two masks each. The end result is that you would have a lot of duplicates, and there are some masks that you’re missing. But when I tried collecting them as an adult, I can easily identify the missing masks. This also came in handy when completing the Chronicler’s Company sets, which didn’t have their own sets.

Going even further over the mask collection, it’s not just limited to the blind box masks. I can also order the masks belonging to the McDonald’s Matoran and the LEGOLAND exclusive masks and put it as part of my collection. If you tried doing that in 2002, you’re out of luck. But if you try doing that today, you can easily do so on BrickLink. And surprise! The LEGOLAND exclusive ones are a lot cheaper and easier to obtain than most other masks.

The third reason is more limited to the McDonald’s Matoran, but in 2001, they were limited-edition Happy Meal toys. Since the toys assigned to you are random, you may get a lot of repeats without getting them all. You also had your chance when McDonald’s was giving them out. Once they stopped giving them out, it would be too late to get them. Trying to collect all of the 2001 sets would be limited to the Toa, Turaga, and Rahi only. But today, since they’re being resold on sites like BrickLink and eBay, you can buy them at any time for as long as they’re up for sale. This will allow you to include the Matoran in your collection if you’re getting all of the 2001 sets. BrickLink also allows you to buy pieces individually instead of just the sets, including the masks. This can help you build additional Matoran that McDonald’s never gave out, like Takua, Hafu, and Kopeke. Oh, and did I forget to mention? If you collect certain pieces that never existed back then, you can replace their heads with the Toa heads to be more consistent with the Mata Nui Online Game or the 2002 animations.

Finally, buying pieces individually would also make it easier to build additional creatures without having to repeatedly buy the same sets. The Master Builder Set only has so many pieces included, so you wouldn’t be able to build all 15 creatures as seen in the instructions. But buying the additional pieces would allow you build all 15 of them. You can also get different-colored pieces to build different variations of the same creatures, like Puku the Ussal crab. You can even build other creatures to have a thorough collection if you ordered the pieces, like the Mata Nui Cow and the Kinloka. Sometimes, it would be cheaper to buy the pieces individually instead of the entire set.