Okay, I can understand why in 2001 there weren’t any BIONICLE™ costumes available for Halloween (since noone really expected it to become so popular in such a short amount of time), but with the sheer number of kids who want to dress up as one of the many BIONICLE™ characters, I’m a bit shocked that there aren’t any for 2002. However, for those who want to go Trick Or Treating as one of two characters, there’s a small glimmer of hope.

While the original TAHU flame sword and ONUA claw were available as child-sized weapons, they have so far remained exclusive to the various LEGO® stores and theme parks, and very few people can just go out and buy one. With the holiday shopping season starting earlier every year, the LEGO® Kiosks have already been in operation for about a month, and most, if not all, of them have received shipments of foam child-sized versions of TAHU NUVA’S Magma Swords and ONUA NUVA’S Quake Breakers. I stopped by the closest Kiosk to check them out last weekend, and as a bonus, I got to chat with the Kiosk manager (who is very cool, and has even dyed some of her hair about the same shade of red as the LEGO® logo, though I can’t say for sure if that was the intent).

The first thing I noticed was that they were pretty tiny, at only 20 inches long. While they make look appropriately sized for a young child, adults would look like they were running around with Magma Knives or Quake Massagers (though actually, now that I think about it, the Quake Breaker blade is about the same size as a real chainsaw’s blade). They were priced at $7.95 each, which is about the price of a TOA NUVA set, but a lot of kids are probably going to have a hard time convincing their parents that they do, in fact, need matched pairs if they want their costume to look authentic. I think kids will have a lot of fun with these, but I can guarantee that a lot of parents are going to hear complaints about how they’d rather have Air Katana, or Aqua Axes, or… (which leaves the question of just how feasible would a Kodan Ball be?)

Parents need to keep a couple things in mind when buying these. Just because they are foam, do not think for a minute that they aren’t capable of destroy a LampRok or TV-Kuta if used indescriminately indoors. They’re made out of a rather dense foam, so while they aren’t capable of cutting someone, they are sturdy enough that a hard hit in the right location could cause some bruising. Just as a suggested guideline, perhaps below the belt and from the neck up should be declared off limits. Also, parental supervision for any dueling matches is definitely a good idea.