Pics: Bio-Cupit entrants

BIO-CUP IS THE premiere community run LEGO tournament — yet many fans could browse through a year’s worth of entries and barely recognize a single piece. For most builders, the LEGO hobby is all about System. Studs and anti-studs, little interlocking bricks, all the parts you know and love.

And then there is BIONICLE. More specifically, there are LEGO action figures, featuring a wide range of specialised parts, frequently with no studs or anti-studs to be seen, and loaded down with odd angles and shapes. Many AFOLs take one glance at these parts, ask, ‘what on earth is that good for?’ and toss them into the kids’ bin.

But a few builders — and increasingly notso-few — take a look at BIONICLE and other constraction parts and see masterpieces. Every summer, these builders come together as an incredibly talented group to participate in Bio-Cup. It’s a fast-paced, single elimination tournament, with two-week-long rounds and specific themes for each match-up. Starting with a free-for-all preliminary round, Bio-Cup then pits contestants immediately against each other in four grueling rounds. Besides awards for those who have the skill and determination to make it to the finals, Bio-Cup also awards special categories across the tournament, including ‘Most Creative’, ‘Best in Show’ and ‘Best Mask Use’.

Over the years, Bio-Cup has refined the single elimination tournament for LEGO competitions and has tapped into the competitive spur it gives builders. Round after round, builders are pushed to raise the bar. The end result is an inspiring spectacle of builds featuring the most unique LEGO parts.

BIO-CUP Q&A

Since its beginning in 2011 on the now defunct LEGO image sharing site MOCpages, Bio-Cup has a rich history. Somehow, builders just haven’t stopped being inspired by the very unique parts the LEGO Group has produced for action figures — dubbed constraction parts (i.e. construction + action). Toni Alliu (Lord Oblivion), one of Bio-Cup’s current organisers, explains what has kept this incredibly unique competition going strong.

Blocks: How did Bio-Cup first begin? What’s the history of the competition?

Toni: The contest was first hosted on MOCpages in 2011. The format was pretty similar to what it is now, but more focused on what was traditionally considered BIONICLE. Interest in the contest waned over the years, before it ultimately ended with the death of MOCpages. In 2017 my friend Mitch Henry brought up the idea of revitalising the contest on Flickr, so some friends and I joined in.

With this new Bio-Cup we made it an objective to solve the issues of the original and build upon what worked. We cranked up the quality of the themes, the prizes, the feedback and the competitiveness. This has led to the contest exploding in size and popularity! What once was a decently sized contest for BIONICLE builders is now arguably the largest premier building competition in the entire community. But, most importantly, Bio-Cup is now an event that has a history of bringing people together and showcasing everyone’s talent.

What do you think makes building with BIONICLE and constraction parts attractive?

I believe they are just a lot of fun to use. Simple as that, really. BIONICLE and constraction parts have so many fun shapes, angles and textures that it would be a shame not to use them. Older BIONICLE parts are more detailed, while newer constraction parts are smoother. I believe that the diverse group of parts means there can always be a place to naturally use these elements in a build.

What is special about Bio-Cup’s tournament style?

The format really brings out the best in people. Bio-Cup is the perfect spotlight for a builder to develop and showcase their skills. When you know who your opponents are it forces you to focus on what it takes to win a round. The further you advance, the more ambitious and creative you need to get to win. You rarely see anyone phone it in. In fact, usually you see some of the best builds of the year in this condensed period. Seriously, these are all basically two week builds – we consistently see contestants break out of their comfort zones and really come into their own. This is why it’s such a great contest for all experience levels, it is an invaluable learning experience.

How do the organisers choose the themes? What makes for a good theme?

We usually start with pitching multiple different broad ideas. It is important that the theme can be broken down into sub-themes that are not too repetitive or restrictive. Depending on how these themes and sub-themes shake out, we can tell which round to assign them. There are plenty of instances where we will save themes for later years too. We also listen to any and all suggestions from non-judges. We may not use a suggestion immediately, but we always mark them down and consider them for future rounds.

A good theme is one that strikes the balance between broad and specific. Too vague and the builder is overloaded with ideas. Too specific and you force someone to build something they don’t want to build (or everyone builds the same thing). You need to allow contestants to be creative but guide that creativity in a way to prevent every round from being a free build. In the end, a great theme gets a builder to love being outside their comfort zone.

Build: Dragon Blades Builder: Anthony Wilson Category: Tools of the Trade Year: 2017

Build: The Shimmer Builder: Alex Category: Live Action Year: 2021

Build: Petunia the Pummeler Pixie Builder: Djokson Category: Fusion Year: 2018

Build: Hellgeist Balzuulg Builder: Dominc Makepeace Category: Scary Monsters Year: 2019

Build: Art Nouveau Candelabra Builder: Sergei Rahkmanioff Category: 19th Century Art Year: 2020

Build: Matthias of Redwall Builder: Matt Goldberg Category: Books Year: 2021

Build: Archangel Michael Builder: Tino Poutiainen Category: Renaissance Year: 2020

Build: The Devil Went Down to Georgia Builder: Jack Gardner Category: Music Year: 2021

Build: Bultungin Builder: Yannick Godts Category: Mythology and Folklore of Africa Year: 2020

Build: Six Flags Builder: Ari Hytti Category: Number 6 Year: 2022

Build: Xenomorph Rakashi Builder: Mitch Phillips Category: BIONICLE Remixed Year: 2021

Build: Unseen Adversary Builder: Leo Fredholm Category: Scary Monsters Year: 2019

Build: Elder Beast Builder: Cody Avery Category: Mollusk Year: 2020