blogs_blog_39

That gear is probably the life counter that people have showcased in their glat reviews. =P

 

Personally, I'm not much for Strakk, since I don't like the color blending of pieces, unless they're fairly common (like the Jutlin) or if the cool outweighs the moc potential hampering.

No gears- Life counters for a half-baked game thing that are on every glatorian.

 

Tarix uses gold, not orange, a trans-orange head like most others, silver, metry blue, and mata blue, but mata blue is only on the hands and feet.

 

Skrall does use a vorox limb armor piece on his chest.

 

And, the only problem I have with Malum's claws is that they hang down to this ankles. They do make good feet, though.

That gear is probably the life counter that people have showcased in their glat reviews. =P

Ah, yes, I had read that and promptly forgot it lol. Thanks.

 

Tarix uses gold, not orange

Really? Even better. Is the image from the 2009 topic outdated, or is it just hard to tell in pics?

Uhh, Bones, I don't mean top rain on your Tarix-color parade, but that's gold, not orange. (Orange would have been Soooo much cooler)

 

And that gear-like thing on Strakk's back is a "life-counter" for the new battle game that uses the Glatorian.

 

-Nuju Metru

Tarix uses gold, not orange

Really? Even better. Is the image from the 2009 topic outdated, or is it just hard to tell in pics?

It's just hard to tell with that quality pic. Trust me, I own him.

Please note that I only skimmed the comments and glanced at the images of the actual sets that some members have posted in the Sets Forum -- I believe it is essential that a set be judged based on its marketing images alone before such in-hand reviews are considered, as those are what really sell the set vast majority of the time, by kids and/or parents just walking down the toy aisle and picking sets whose images stand out at them. (Besides, I don't have time right now.) So if my analysis seems to be glaringly lacking knowledge from those topics to you, that is why.

Ya know, the online S@H catalog is up; you could use that to get a better idea of these sets' features. It shows a lot of features you'd otherwise get from the backs of the boxes, like the "life counters" and the "BIONICLE Action Figure Game", plus the action features on the large sets.

 

Three. The brown-doom prophets have been proven wrong yet again. Exactly as I predicted, Bitil's yellow represents a range of variety for canister sets, not the end of brown.

Vorox really came as a surprise for me, but it's not as if I wasn't hoping for more brown in BIONICLE. Still, I hope brown can continue to make an occasional comeback after this, along with all those other "stone/sand" set colors that are currently in deficit among many MOCists due to LEGO's perpetual indecision on a main color for that one out of every six canister sets.

 

The rest of Vorox is pretty standard, except that he showcases the only new armor piece I see in the Glatorian.

*ahem* Strakk's shoulders? True, though, Vorox's is the only one used in more than one set.

 

Here's Vorox's thornax projectile. It's a nice combination of Kanoka disks and Zamor spheres in functionality, and I love the idea of the spiky fruit design and story.

Of course! It's a BIONICLE cactus, after all!

 

I predict Vorox will sell a little better than the traditional brown sets, and his rad-cool villainey appearance just might make up for the color scheme enough that he will sell on the level of the other sets. Whereas I usually predict that the brown set will sell worst of the set despite my and many BZPer's love of the color scheme, this time I think all six will sell roughly equally well.

Not equally well. Reasonably well. There's no way this will sell on-par with, for instance, the red sets.

 

Of course, if I am wrong and Vorox does sell particularly poorly despite all the benefits, the brown-doom prophets might become right after all and brown will disappear entirely. (One alternative would be to be cautious to only use brown in combo with a popular color like red or blue, though, which I would actually love even more.)

The problem with that hope is that there will in that case be only so many brown parts available to MOCists, which won't please them all that much. Nevertheless, after this I don't think we should ever discount the chances of something appearing again, even if it sold poorly last time.

 

Best part about it to many people will most likely be the colored tool. Finally, finally, finally, we see the end of the silver-only trend. Yes, I know 2005 had colored weapons, but they were done so poorly for the most part (IMO) they don't really compare to the 2001 weapons. (Sorry... "tools." ) Also, many of them were combos with silver. And yes, I know there are silver tools too. But this is the first time since 2001 that some of the weapons have been both cool in design and totally colored in such numbers, IMO/IMT.

*coughPridakcoughKalmahcoughcoughOnuaMistikacoughKrikacoughcoughHACKcough*

 

Wow... musta had somethin' awful in my throat there.

 

I strongly support the shoulder piece used as chest armor there too BTW. Armor is something too many past canister sets have lacked. Glad to see it present in all but two Glatorians -- and on them I don't think it detracts. (Vorox's torso design flows well, and Skrall's torso design is so unique it is probably better sans armor.)

Skrall's torso does have armor (same style as Vorox's legs, but in flat black). Same with Vorox-- I will never understand why people think that an Inika torso piece can't be armor when it's nearly as thick as most chest armor these days anyway. *hugs Rockoh-edition Pohatu* As you said, it flows well, just as it has in every set that has used that style of armor. It's just very flowy armor.

 

In my judgement, the designers are doing an awesome job of mostly only bringing forward the best of the best of limb armor from past years to combat clonism, while dropping less attractive pieces. (If only they'd do this with feet -- I abhore that lumpy round Inika foot that won't die -- but maybe I'm either weird on that or we just don't have enough feet yet to replace them. )

I don't really find any of the parts they're disusing to be less attractive-- I happen to love Vahki shins, as well as Piraka shins. Both have stylistic consistency with a wide variety of pieces, as well as very nice shapes for BIONICLE armor. The "lumpy round Inika foot that won't die" is in fact another favorite of mine, and I think LEGO has done a good job since the Inika of putting it on the sets where it is most suitable.

 

And of course, note the bent torso. I'm very foggy on how exactly, from the pic, that is put together, but here's a zoom.

It's a ninety-degree Makuta Phantoka-style Matoran attachment piece between the torso and hip pieces. Not trying to spoil your untainted appreciation of the sets from official images alone; I actually figured that out early on (and way more easily than Skrall's torso, which I still don't quite get)

 

This shows what appears to be a gear! Have the designers done as I proposed in my Bring Back Gears entry?! Bringing a gearlike system back in just one canister set? I dunno, but it looks interesting. (Here's where anybody who knows from the in-hand reviews gets to show off their knowledge in a comment. )

As someone else commented, it's a life counter, which can easily be seen from the back of the canisters. Note that it's also on Vorox and Skrall's feet, as well as the other Glatorians on whom you can't tell from the official images. Anyway, it's not a gear, but rather a wheel similar to the larger type used with the large treads that appear in several System sets. And it's printed.

 

Strakk suffers IMT from the lump-foot, and unfortunately from a massive but clumsy ax design:

While I love the axe's look, I agree that it makes no practical sense. Like, at all. It's even harder than a Piraka tool to figure out how it works, which is really saying something. Your solution, meanwhile, seems unnecessary to me-- really all it needs is a straighter handle with fewer joints (but still a piston here and there).

 

I predict Strakk's sales to be unpredictable. :-P The super super super coolness of the shoulders and head just might put it ahead even of the red set as the best set ever. Or the fact that it's white might make it sell mediocrely as in the past, but I doubt it given the abundance of iceblue in it.

Since when are white set sales mediocre? I always thought they were pretty good, even close to red set sales.

 

He suffers in my personal ranking only because I would have wanted a cooler face and I am just biased against red. I will concede that if ever red was done perfectly, it is here. Like Strakk, I will have difficulty NOT buying him.

I love the face/mask/helmet (which according to Greg act as helmets, but will indeed be called masks in the story). It has the same sort of flair as the Kanohi Calix or Elda, both of which I continue to love. In fact, I really don't dislike any of the Inika masks besides the Iden (RAWR lion in earmuffs) or the Kadin (which has neat patterns, but just too plain an overall shape)

 

BTW, though I assume all the 2009 faces are like this underneath, I love the trans-skull appearance of the face. A step up from Hordika eye structures, way better than Inika faces though similar, and yet something inventive beyond the typical Metru/Mata/Tohunga/etc. faces. Good.

 

I agree that they are better than Inika faces-- in fact, better even than my early-conceived solution of printing a more traditional, mechanistic "face" on the Inika heads. I like these faces a fair deal, even though I would probably have been reluctant to accept such on a Matoran or Toa face. (not that I mind the top-of-head attachment for any mask, just that the style of the mouth is awkward on an older variety of set)

 

Skrall's shield and weapons are freakin awesome. This is nearly the ideal use of red IMT -- sparingly and contrasted with black or a similar dark color. The maze design of the shield is like nothing we have ever seen in Bionicle before -- I applaud this loudly. Well, imagine I'm applauding loudly anyways -- I'm not actually clapping.

I would have liked it better if it had been just a maze-motif over top of an already existing saw blade piece, like that used in Exo-Force and Indy sets of 2008. As it is, while an awesome tool, I don't see much potential for reuse in any upcoming sets. The sword also has a nice motif, as do the Rock tribe masks-- in fact, all these great Rock Tribe sets are fabulous in their stylistic consistency with that motif alone.

 

This is a great face -- if all you want in a 2009 set is a typical Ga-Toa Kanohi design. That's what it looks like to me. I like the design, don't get me wrong. But it's also all one color, unlike Gresh/Malum/Strakk, and given the orange and silver so prevalent in the rest it is immensely dissapointing to me that the mask is not representative of those. I believe a canister set's face should, ideally, represent the rest of the set in color scheme.

Hope you realize that color is Brutaka-gold, not orange. I agree that the mask could have done better with some color variety, and it's not my favorite in shape either-- a bit too plain.

 

It's also the only of these six faces not to at least go a little beyond the typical Kanohi we've seen before. It looks like an Ingika. Now, if this IS the Ignika I'll eat my words as it's supposedly going to be in a set this year. :-P But even Gresh's face went beyond Kanohi with a color mix. Here's there's nothing. Just a cool masklike design in totally blue.

No idea where you see the Ignika in this-- the Ignika has a clearly-defined curve to its face, while this one seems just straight up-and-down.

 

 

[Regarding the tool]It's decent. I like the design just fine, except I would have made the "stick" handle into something blue and something fancier. I'm torn about the light blue. On the one hand, it looks elemental well. Fine fine. On the other hand, though, it's a fifth color in addition to the three main colors and the inexplicably yellow eyes. Too much color going around. I think a dark trans-blue would have looked better -- and even better yet, blue fading into the lightblue would have made the fifth color tolerable and even cool.

I think the tool is fabulous. Finally water gets a more elemental look to its tools rather than just streamlined, traditional-style weapons. You involve eye color in your judging of color scheme? I think that's a bit harsh-- IMO, the eye color is best being as far from the rest of the colors in the color scheme as possible, as executed wonderfully in the Toa Metru. Trans dark-blue on the tool, though, might have been preferable.

 

(And the yellow eyes reeeeally should be orange. Three colors should be the maximum of any color scheme.)

Orange eyes would be bleh on this set. Orange looks mighty evil in general (part of the reason it's used for red eyes in so many sets, like the Makuta and Piraka), and I much prefer the bright yellow-green on hero sets. This year breaks from that trend that I was so happy about... nevertheless, it's bearable that Gresh has orange eyes and Strakk has blue (though I wish the blue-eyed sets would have the far-more-vivid light blue from Kohrak and Toa Nuju than the ice blue of the Mahri visors and original Kopaka).

 

[Regarding the Thornax launcher]Why? It's super-simple, it's cool, it looks effective, and it also looks excellently MOCable.

I don't see how it'll be that MOCable. It has no shape of its own, so it's almost like a Bohrok eye in that as a structural piece it will be relegated to minor details. Meanwhile, unlike several recent blasters, most notably the Zamor launcher, there's no way of putting it in any sort of mechanism as was done so beautifully on my darling Rockooooooohhh... *ahem* Simple, it seems, is not always better. The plus side to this is that it will be attachable in several ways to sets, but only as a launcher-- I don't see much other potential there.

 

I'm assuming it's silver rubber like the squid launcher -- not sure -- but either way wouldn't matter to me in this case. The only sure downside is the lack of any possibility of an ammo clip as with the Zamor, but I think the rest of it more than makes up for this.

Nope, not rubber-- my little bro has Tuma and I can confirm it's just plastic.

 

[Regarding the hero vs. villain canister set scheme]But I worried that its plausibility would go down in the future. Could we accept that every single year the situation would just so happen to require our heroes to split up into two teams of three? Could we accept that in addition to that the villains would think of the same thing?

...or we can just avoid having teams of six in the first place. Is it really that hard? After all, this year there isn't even clear distinction between heroes and villains. Obviously the Skrall are the bad guys, but besides them and the relatively-neutral and largely-bestial Vorox everyone is just another combatant.

 

Finally, everybody and their brother always points out the multicolored pins in all sets. I didn't see these as conflicting in any way with these six sets, so I bring it up only as a nod to the many that seem unable not to get all worked up over the ease-of-building color code system of today. I have seen some as conflicting in the past but they seem tolerable here. Maybe it's just the poses.

Having seen a few reviews, I can confirm that it is a bit bothersome from certain angles-- some sets have the pins sticking out the back awkwardly where a shorter pin might have solved that problem. But I've never really been the sort to call these the "ruination" of any set, besides arguably the already-rather-lousy Metru Nui Matoran.

 

Overall, I'm impressed with next year's sets, though I'm not sure if I'm even going to get any what with college next year (i.e. no room for vast hoards of MOCing pieces, plus the difficulty of sharing those pieces with my younger brother) and no clear artistic style for me to depict these fellows in. Lyichir urges me to draw them, but how can they be compatible with my human yet entirely seperate Toa and Matoran? Alien species are hard to tackle, particularly when masks take on a entirely different role and the use of old armor becomes inexplicable. I'll probably crack eventually and just get these guys for the sake of getting, building, and playing with LEGO sets, but overall I think I'll restrict myself to careful observation of story and sets with less emphasis on my MOCing or drawing. Maybe I'll enjoy them more that way anyhow.

About the White sets Aanchir, they sell pretty bad on some instances, but mediocre in general.

 

2007 was a low for white sets.

S@H, The Lego Stores, TRU and multiple Targets were filled with excess Pridaks and Matoro Mahris well after many of their friends have been sold out [Winter and Summer of 2008 respectively].

 

[-The Alchemyst-]

You'll find that for once (mark this moment!) I mostly agree with you. There are some areas I disagree on, such as Tarix being even remotely interesting, but those are minor quibbles.

 

They look aesthetically better than usual (it's interesting to see your 'ruthless elegance' [iE: my 'TOO BUSY'] style merged well with my 'smooth and streamlined' look. I think it strikes just the right balance.

 

And as for the launchers, I said this in my Gresh front page review (which I think you'd enjoy reading... ), but if I have to be stuck with launchers, then I'm glad that we got these. Finally, something small and unobtrusive, with pieces that I can use for MOCing! And as the MOCing community representative in your blog, I approve of that (though I still dislike the idea of launchers in general).

 

Gresh is so pretty.

Ya know, the online S@H catalog is up; you could use that to get a better idea of these sets' features. It shows a lot of features you'd otherwise get from the backs of the boxes, like the "life counters" and the "BIONICLE Action Figure Game", plus the action features on the large sets.

 

 

Vorox really came as a surprise for me, but it's not as if I wasn't hoping for more brown in BIONICLE. Still, I hope brown can continue to make an occasional comeback after this, along with all those other "stone/sand" set colors that are currently in deficit among many MOCists due to LEGO's perpetual indecision on a main color for that one out of every six canister sets.

 

*ahem* Strakk's shoulders?

I suppose that counts as armor -- I see it more as decoration. After all, how effective could ice be as armor? But it is a new piece, so granted, I guess.

 

True, though, Vorox's is the only one used in more than one set.

 

Of course! It's a BIONICLE cactus, after all!

 

Not equally well. Reasonably well. There's no way this will sell on-par with, for instance, the red sets.

I meant it'll be six roughly in the same category, rather than the usual five with one lagging way behind. Obviously red will sell better than most (as mentioned later).

 

 

The problem with that hope is that there will in that case be only so many brown parts available to MOCists, which won't please them all that much.

Sure, but I wasn't only talking from a MOCing perspective. Remember MOCers aren't the majority of Bionicle fans.

 

Nevertheless, after this I don't think we should ever discount the chances of something appearing again, even if it sold poorly last time.

 

 

*coughPridakcoughKalmahcoughcoughOnuaMistikacoughKrikacoughcoughHACKcough*

Eh, Kalmah Onua Krika don't count IMO. Krika's is more his "feet", and Onua doesn't have a weapon in the normal sense. Kalmah, maaaaybe. I mean, it's a tool and it's colored. But then a rubber squid type tool couldn't really be silver and look right, nor does it equate with a blade or staff. Pridak's I did forget, though, you're right.

 

Wow... musta had somethin' awful in my throat there.

 

 

Skrall's torso does have armor (same style as Vorox's legs, but in flat black).

As I speculated on later and someone above confirmed -- but I mean something bulkier. Anyways, not an issue really.

 

Same with Vorox-- I will never understand why people think that an Inika torso piece can't be armor

Because it's the same piece -- by "armor" people usually mean a seperate piece that snaps on. I mean, technically the Mata chunk was all "armor" as the whole outer shell of biomechanical beings is called that in the story, but it's not "armor" in the sense of the Toa Nuva silver armor that's added on top. I meant the latter.

 

It's not that the Mistika-style "armor" looks awful, but IMT it just looks lacking the excellence it could be with an added piece of armor over it.

 

when it's nearly as thick as most chest armor these days anyway. *hugs Rockoh-edition Pohatu* As you said, it flows well, just as it has in every set that has used that style of armor. It's just very flowy armor.

 

I don't really find any of the parts they're disusing to be less attractive-- I happen to love Vahki shins, as well as Piraka shins. Both have stylistic consistency with a wide variety of pieces, as well as very nice shapes for BIONICLE armor. The "lumpy round Inika foot that won't die" is in fact another favorite of mine, and I think LEGO has done a good job since the Inika of putting it on the sets where it is most suitable.

Well, to each his own, of course.

 

 

It's a ninety-degree Makuta Phantoka-style Matoran attachment piece between the torso and hip pieces. Not trying to spoil your untainted appreciation of the sets from official images alone; I actually figured that out early on (and way more easily than Skrall's torso, which I still don't quite get)

None of which makes it any clearer in my mind. I think I'll have to see it in person.

 

 

As someone else commented, it's a life counter, which can easily be seen from the back of the canisters. Note that it's also on Vorox and Skrall's feet, as well as the other Glatorians on whom you can't tell from the official images. Anyway, it's not a gear, but rather a wheel similar to the larger type used with the large treads that appear in several System sets. And it's printed.

And having read DV's Gresh review on this now, here's my reaction -- it's definately gimmicky, but I like it. Makes a ton of sense with the story (of course, set probably came first as it usually does, but hey, either way both sides of it did a good job IMT). And gives kids a simple game to play with the sets that is, IMO, way better than the 2001 "slap each other's masks off" thing that made no sense, since all six Toa were on the same team anyways. The 2001 one was okay too, so I guess this is just a bit more okay.

 

(And of course, many nostalgic fans have been begging for the return of some sort of "game" gimmick for a long time.)

 

 

While I love the axe's look, I agree that it makes no practical sense. Like, at all. It's even harder than a Piraka tool to figure out how it works, which is really saying something. Your solution, meanwhile, seems unnecessary to me-- really all it needs is a straighter handle with fewer joints (but still a piston here and there).

 

Since when are white set sales mediocre? I always thought they were pretty good, even close to red set sales.

There's a couple different misconceptions on this going around. Here's the basic scoop. The usual order of success is red top, blue and green pretty close behind, white and black somewhat behind those, and brown far far behind.

 

There's a misconception that white and black are as poor as brown in success -- that is incorrect, and that's probably where your confusion is coming from. Perhaps "mediocre" is too confusing of a word choice, but I mean "good, but could still be better".

 

 

 

I love the face/mask/helmet (which according to Greg act as helmets, but will indeed be called masks in the story).

(Noted.)

 

It has the same sort of flair as the Kanohi Calix or Elda, both of which I continue to love. In fact, I really don't dislike any of the Inika masks besides the Iden (RAWR lion in earmuffs) or the Kadin (which has neat patterns, but just too plain an overall shape)

 

I agree that they are better than Inika faces-- in fact, better even than my early-conceived solution of printing a more traditional, mechanistic "face" on the Inika heads. I like these faces a fair deal, even though I would probably have been reluctant to accept such on a Matoran or Toa face. (not that I mind the top-of-head attachment for any mask, just that the style of the mouth is awkward on an older variety of set)

 

I would have liked it better if it had been just a maze-motif over top of an already existing saw blade piece, like that used in Exo-Force and Indy sets of 2008.

Interesting. I suppose -- but wouldn't it have been harder to accept as a "shield"?

 

As it is, while an awesome tool, I don't see much potential for reuse in any upcoming sets.

Perhaps not, but IMO that is never a good excuse not to produce awesomeness. I mean, Strakk's shoulder pieces for example probably have no or little such potential, but does that mean they shouldn't be made? No -- and perhaps too we are just not thinking imaginatively enough. Really, all you need IMO is a plausible story explanation and you can re-use any piece.

 

The Skrall shield, for example, could easily be used in green instead of red to fit with a Tuma-style set. That particular use would even make storyline sense along the same lines as the Skrall tool that's already used that way in Tuma (and Fero). And given enough time, I think even a totally unrelated set could use it as a shield again, such as a "Matoran" set.

 

The sword also has a nice motif, as do the Rock tribe masks-- in fact, all these great Rock Tribe sets are fabulous in their stylistic consistency with that motif alone.

 

Hope you realize that color is Brutaka-gold, not orange. I agree that the mask could have done better with some color variety, and it's not my favorite in shape either-- a bit too plain.

 

No idea where you see the Ignika in this-- the Ignika has a clearly-defined curve to its face, while this one seems just straight up-and-down.

It's just the same basic shape, as compared to much different shapes elsewhere (Hau, Miru, Malum, etc. -- Kaukau, Ignika, and similar masks share a basic shape and decorative face style IMO). Dunno what you mean about the curve thing. The Ignika has existed in several different versions too, remember.

 

I think the tool is fabulous. Finally water gets a more elemental look to its tools rather than just streamlined, traditional-style weapons. You involve eye color in your judging of color scheme? I think that's a bit harsh-- IMO, the eye color is best being as far from the rest of the colors in the color scheme as possible, as executed wonderfully in the Toa Metru. Trans dark-blue on the tool, though, might have been preferable.

Well, that's a fair point about the eye color. I can see that. Of course, someone said the eye IS orange (and the orange is gold -- go figure).

 

Orange eyes would be bleh on this set. Orange looks mighty evil in general (part of the reason it's used for red eyes in so many sets, like the Makuta and Piraka), and I much prefer the bright yellow-green on hero sets. This year breaks from that trend that I was so happy about... nevertheless, it's bearable that Gresh has orange eyes and Strakk has blue (though I wish the blue-eyed sets would have the far-more-vivid light blue from Kohrak and Toa Nuju than the ice blue of the Mahri visors and original Kopaka).

 

I don't see how it'll be that MOCable.

Really? Well... okay.

 

It has no shape of its own

I dunno what you mean by that. It is in its shape. Basically a spike (two spikes). Decorative spikes, claws, armor decoration, etc. etc. Tons of uses.

 

, so it's almost like a Bohrok eye in that as a structural piece it will be relegated to minor details.

Dude, the Bohrok eye is one of the most important MOCing pieces ever from Bionicle. IMO/IMT at least. Minor uses, perhaps -- but that depends totally on how the MOCer chooses to use it. The bigger pieces are usually used for inner structure and have less uses.

 

Meanwhile, unlike several recent blasters, most notably the Zamor launcher, there's no way of putting it in any sort of mechanism as was done so beautifully on my darling Rockooooooohhh... *ahem* Simple, it seems, is not always better. The plus side to this is that it will be attachable in several ways to sets, but only as a launcher-- I don't see much other potential there.

I really don't understand any of this. If someone wanted to use it in a "mechanism" (especially since it's plastic as you say), couldn't they devise a mechanism to use it? That's a very broadly defined word, after all. And I dunno why it would only be usable as a launcher?

 

Nope, not rubber-- my little bro has Tuma and I can confirm it's just plastic.

 

...or we can just avoid having teams of six in the first place. Is it really that hard?

Well, it would have been a bit implausible with Toa. But yeah, this year it's not an issue, which I like.

 

After all, this year there isn't even clear distinction between heroes and villains. Obviously the Skrall are the bad guys, but besides them and the relatively-neutral and largely-bestial Vorox everyone is just another combatant.

 

Having seen a few reviews, I can confirm that it is a bit bothersome from certain angles-- some sets have the pins sticking out the back awkwardly where a shorter pin might have solved that problem. But I've never really been the sort to call these the "ruination" of any set, besides arguably the already-rather-lousy Metru Nui Matoran.

 

Overall, I'm impressed with next year's sets, though I'm not sure if I'm even going to get any what with college next year (i.e. no room for vast hoards of MOCing pieces, plus the difficulty of sharing those pieces with my younger brother) and no clear artistic style for me to depict these fellows in. Lyichir urges me to draw them, but how can they be compatible with my human yet entirely seperate Toa and Matoran? Alien species are hard to tackle, particularly when masks take on a entirely different role and the use of old armor becomes inexplicable. I'll probably crack eventually and just get these guys for the sake of getting, building, and playing with LEGO sets, but overall I think I'll restrict myself to careful observation of story and sets with less emphasis on my MOCing or drawing. Maybe I'll enjoy them more that way anyhow.

Personally the Glats are even easier to do art with than Toa, but maybe that's just the novelty of 'em. I suppose it depends on the kind of art. If you mean the whole "human Toa" thing, I dunno, as I'm not a fan. I mean, aren't Toa/Matoran just as alien as Glatorian from humans? (A big reason I don't like human Toa. )

 

 

About the White sets Aanchir, they sell pretty bad on some instances, but mediocre in general.

 

2007 was a low for white sets.

S@H, The Lego Stores, TRU and multiple Targets were filled with excess Pridaks and Matoro Mahris well after many of their friends have been sold out [Winter and Summer of 2008 respectively].

 

[-The Alchemyst-]

I dunno about Pridak, but for the record, the Matoro thing is actually another misconception -- LEGO actually made a lot more of Matoro than most other sets, basically made too many. Matoro did sell well.

 

 

 

You'll find that for once (mark this moment!) I mostly agree with you. There are some areas I disagree on, such as Tarix being even remotely interesting, but those are minor quibbles.

 

They look aesthetically better than usual (it's interesting to see your 'ruthless elegance' [iE: my 'TOO BUSY'] style merged well with my 'smooth and streamlined' look. I think it strikes just the right balance.

 

And as for the launchers, I said this in my Gresh front page review (which I think you'd enjoy reading... tongue.gif ), but if I have to be stuck with launchers, then I'm glad that we got these. Finally, something small and unobtrusive, with pieces that I can use for MOCing! And as the MOCing community representative in your blog, I approve of that (though I still dislike the idea of launchers in general).

 

Gresh is so pretty.

Have read your review. I think we've mostly agreed on something before, haven't we? But anyways, yarr.

I suppose that counts as armor -- I see it more as decoration. After all, how effective could ice be as armor? But it is a new piece, so granted, I guess.

How can't ice be effective armor? Not as hard as metal, maybe, but then Kalmah thigh armor and Carapar thigh armor hardly resemble metal, yet they are regarded as armor by most folks.

 

 

Eh, Kalmah Onua Krika don't count IMO. Krika's is more his "feet", and Onua doesn't have a weapon in the normal sense. Kalmah, maaaaybe. I mean, it's a tool and it's colored. But then a rubber squid type tool couldn't really be silver and look right, nor does it equate with a blade or staff. Pridak's I did forget, though, you're right.

Nocturn disagrees-- He had the exact same tentacle piece as Kalmah, but in silver. Overall it looked fine.

 

Because it's the same piece -- by "armor" people usually mean a seperate piece that snaps on. I mean, technically the Mata chunk was all "armor" as the whole outer shell of biomechanical beings is called that in the story, but it's not "armor" in the sense of the Toa Nuva silver armor that's added on top. I meant the latter.

 

It's not that the Mistika-style "armor" looks awful, but IMT it just looks lacking the excellence it could be with an added piece of armor over it...

But really does it matter which armor has the joints on it-- the front or the back? The Rockoh-edition Pohatu looks very good-- imagine that the orange back armor is the real torso piece and the silver chest armor is just what you clip on top. The only difference is which piece has the shoulder joints attached, and since they attach dead-center on the overall torso construction it makes no real difference. Admittedly such sets as Gorast and Vorox have no well-established "back armor", but still you must see why I feel a torso piece can just as easily act as chest armor as a removable armor piece that attaches to the torso. You wouldn't want to remove Inika torso armor, anyway, right?

 

It's a ninety-degree Makuta Phantoka-style Matoran attachment piece between the torso and hip pieces. Not trying to spoil your untainted appreciation of the sets from official images alone; I actually figured that out early on (and way more easily than Skrall's torso, which I still don't quite get)

None of which makes it any clearer in my mind. I think I'll have to see it in person.

This help?

 

There's a couple different misconceptions on this going around. Here's the basic scoop. The usual order of success is red top, blue and green pretty close behind, white and black somewhat behind those, and brown far far behind.

 

There's a misconception that white and black are as poor as brown in success -- that is incorrect, and that's probably where your confusion is coming from. Perhaps "mediocre" is too confusing of a word choice, but I mean "good, but could still be better".

Yeah. You see, I was under the impression that white sets were among the most popular-- I could almost swear I'd heard Greg say that at one point in explaining why Krika and Kopaka were the leaders of their respective groups, just as Tahu and Antroz had been.

 

 

Interesting. I suppose -- but wouldn't it have been harder to accept as a "shield"?

Why would it? It would look exactly the same for the most part. It would merely make the "maze piece" more versatile, perhaps as a tortoise-creature's shell or something. You would no longer be relegated to the use of the saw blade and the maze motif as one single piece.

 

Perhaps not, but IMO that is never a good excuse not to produce awesomeness. I mean, Strakk's shoulder pieces for example probably have no or little such potential, but does that mean they shouldn't be made? No -- and perhaps too we are just not thinking imaginatively enough. Really, all you need IMO is a plausible story explanation and you can re-use any piece.

The problem is that unlike several pieces you can use in different ways, anytime you use Skrall's shield your mind is bound to tell you "That's from Skrall" (which of course might be acceptable in another Rock Tribe set, just as his swords were, but not in anything completely unrelated to Skrall). There's your "plausible story explanation", but depending on how long we remain focused on Bara Magna's six tribes this explanation has its own limits.

 

The Skrall shield, for example, could easily be used in green instead of red to fit with a Tuma-style set. That particular use would even make storyline sense along the same lines as the Skrall tool that's already used that way in Tuma (and Fero). And given enough time, I think even a totally unrelated set could use it as a shield again, such as a "Matoran" set.

 

It's just the same basic shape, as compared to much different shapes elsewhere (Hau, Miru, Malum, etc. -- Kaukau, Ignika, and similar masks share a basic shape and decorative face style IMO). Dunno what you mean about the curve thing. The Ignika has existed in several different versions too, remember.

About the "curve thing"-- the Ignika background on BIONICLE.com shows it pretty clearly. Meanwhile, Tarix's mask is pretty much straight up-and-down besides the domed forehead. Pretty boring, almost like some Knights' Kingdom masks (particularly the 2006 ones). As for a "decorative face style", besides the fact that the mouth is framed by two vertical-ish bars, I don't see how there's much similarity. BTW, I can confirm that this isn't the Ignika-- none of the Glatorian masks have powers.

 

Well, that's a fair point about the eye color. I can see that. Of course, someone said the eye IS orange (and the orange is gold -- go figure).

Orange? Really? Huh-- I thought it was that yellow-green we'd seen so much of as of late. Orange I suppose is OK, in contrast with what we've agreed is a boring mask in a boring color, though I still feel orange would look far too evil here.

 

I dunno what you mean by that. It is in its shape. Basically a spike (two spikes). Decorative spikes, claws, armor decoration, etc. etc. Tons of uses.

But only one or two connection points! That's the issue-- really, with that limitation, you can only use it for detailing, as I went on to explain:

 

Dude, the Bohrok eye is one of the most important MOCing pieces ever from Bionicle. IMO/IMT at least. Minor uses, perhaps -- but that depends totally on how the MOCer chooses to use it. The bigger pieces are usually used for inner structure and have less uses.

The problem is that the Thornax piece is so much larger than a Bohrok eye, and thus its use as detailing is far more limited. Partly because it can't be used as unobtrusively as Brutaka's chest had the Bohrok eye piece used, and partly because it will most certainly stand out more. Sure, you can use it as shoulder spikes or something (which I'm glad to know you love as much as I do), but it would get tiresome if used on more than one set. Eventually all the uses will have been exhausted besides those that expert MOCists (or, as we've seen in recent years, the geniuses who come up with combiners) can unlock.

 

I really don't understand any of this. If someone wanted to use it in a "mechanism" (especially since it's plastic as you say), couldn't they devise a mechanism to use it? That's a very broadly defined word, after all. And I dunno why it would only be usable as a launcher?

What I mean is that a "mechanism" will be harder to make in a simplistic enough manner to be in a set, as the Rockoh and Mazeka sets demonstrated. Still, a couple reviews have pointed out that Thornax fruit fits in a Zamor launcher and functions perfectly well inside one, I suppose a mechanism can be used-- just not with the Thornax launcher piece itself.

How can't ice be effective armor? Not as hard as metal, maybe, but then Kalmah thigh armor and Carapar thigh armor hardly resemble metal, yet they are regarded as armor by most folks.

Well, it's science fantasy, so anything's possible, but how does it compare to C or K armor? Organic armor (especially clam shells, for instance) is often just as hard if not harder than metal in real life. I'll grant you that that's not true of your typical real-world crab, but for a human-sized crab, I imagine such armor would be very tough.

 

As for Kalmah, I always saw that as just painted metal armor myself.

 

Ice is of the brittle type of matter -- you hit it hard enough and it just shatters. Whereas metal, organic armor, plastoids, and a lotta other stuff bends a little instead of shattering, making it far better armor.

 

 

Buuuuut all this might be semantics as, like I conceded, the piece is a new piece in the position of armor. And maybe there's metal underneath it. I dunno.

 

Nocturn disagrees-- He had the exact same tentacle piece as Kalmah, but in silver. Overall it looked fine.

Okay, I forgot about that one. He's not a canister set, though... What I meant was, orange made natural sense as a squid tentacle. The point is weaker given Nocturn, yes. Still, the whole theme about Kalmah is "squids" so IMO silver would not have worked well on him (and he's red, so orange matches well), whereas the theme with Nocturn is superstrength and his "nocturnal-esque" color scheme, where orange would not have matched well.

But really does it matter which armor has the joints on it-- the front or the back? The Rockoh-edition Pohatu looks very good-- imagine that the orange back armor is the real torso piece and the silver chest armor is just what you clip on top. The only difference is which piece has the shoulder joints attached, and since they attach dead-center on the overall torso construction it makes no real difference

 

Well, I'd have to go back and look, but what I'm saying, I guess, is that Tahu Mistika and Gali Mistika's chests did not look protected by "armor" to me. I think of armor as a somewhat flattened layer atop the more mechanical parts for the most part. Smoothish, yanno? As Nuva armor and Carapar armor epitomize, I guess.

 

*looks at Rockoh Pohatu*

 

Yeah, that looks good. But he's not a Mistika -- I've never seen much of a problem with any of the Phantoka in this regard, so not sure why it's relevant. I'm talking about, mainly, Gali and Tahu Mistika, and some of the Mahri. Lemme dig up some pics...

 

http://www.bzpower.com/Imaging/setref/8689_image4.jpg

 

This one of Tahu -- the silver almost saves it, but it doesn't look like a flattish armor piece. It just looks like a silver part of the body that isn't structurally protected very well. It's structural, not "skin"-like, if you will.

 

http://www.bzpower.com/Imaging/setref/8690_image1.png

 

Onua's armor, by contrast, looks like it's built on top of the underlying structure, so it looks more protective, like armor.

 

Admittedly such sets as Gorast and Vorox have no well-established "back armor", but still you must see why I feel a torso piece can just as easily act as chest armor as a removable armor piece that attaches to the torso. You wouldn't want to remove Inika torso armor, anyway, right?

Inika torso armor counts as armor to me... if that answers the question.

 

This help?

I guess.

 

 

Yeah. You see, I was under the impression that white sets were among the most popular-- I could almost swear I'd heard Greg say that at one point in explaining why Krika and Kopaka were the leaders of their respective groups, just as Tahu and Antroz had been.

As was said above, it varies. Green and Blue are among the most popular too, though.

 

 

The problem is that unlike several pieces you can use in different ways, anytime you use Skrall's shield your mind is bound to tell you "That's from Skrall" (which of course might be acceptable in another Rock Tribe set, just as his swords were, but not in anything completely unrelated to Skrall).

Only to older fans. Don't forget that the vast majority of buyers two or three years after a particular year have zero memory of that year, because they were too young at the time to be into Bionicle.

 

I mean, it's been eight years since 2001 now -- I'm sure there are tons and tons of new fans who weren't even born at the time to remember Tahu's fire sword, so they won't think about that when they see the blue Agori's sword this year (unless they frequent BS01 or BZP, etc., but that's rare overall).

 

 

Meanwhile, Tarix's mask is pretty much straight up-and-down besides the domed forehead.

If you say so -- it looks about the same to me. But I don't see how that's relevant -- I was talking about the basic shape and design style, not whether it's curved more or less. The mask it looks closest to, IMO, is an Ignika. 'Tis all I meant.

 

But only one or two connection points!

So? Most smallish pieces only have one or two connection points -- the Bohrok eye has only one (two if you count the other end of it I suppose). I really think you're overthinking it -- I'm just saying, it's way more flexible for usage than most past launchers in many other ways beyond just launchers.

 

And read DV's comment -- he agrees it's very MOCable.

 

I never said it's the superduper most usable piece ever.

 

 

you can only use it for detailing

Why? And what's so horrible about detailing? IMO detailing is very important. For example, look at the Esranos Dragon -- one of the winning new MOCs in my recent blog MOC contest -- it uses a long row of Bohrok teeth as a dragon's spine spikes. People have used them as claws, the trans ones have been used as "armor" styling officially in the Voyatoran, they can be energy thingies on a body or weapon -- tons of stuff.

 

MOCing is art -- and in art, detail is key.

 

The Thornax "spikes" could be parts of a staff, limb armor, spikes, part of a face, toes/fingers, or any number of other uses. Frankly, I dunno why we're even debating this -- isn't it obvious that it's very MOCable? o_O

 

 

Given that it's a small piece, I fail to see why having only a few connection points is an issue. It's adding to the existing variety of parts that can be used in MOCs. And anyways, I for one plan to use it a ton in MOCs.

 

 

The problem is that the Thornax piece is so much larger than a Bohrok eye, and thus its use as detailing is far more limited. Partly because it can't be used as unobtrusively as Brutaka's chest had the Bohrok eye piece used, and partly because it will most certainly stand out more. Sure, you can use it as shoulder spikes or something (which I'm glad to know you love as much as I do), but it would get tiresome if used on more than one set. Eventually all the uses will have been exhausted besides those that expert MOCists (or, as we've seen in recent years, the geniuses who come up with combiners) can unlock.

All I can say is, whateeeeehver maaaan. I think it's a pretty simple and obvious statement to say that it's more MOCable than most previous launcher pieces and indeed many other peices. I don't see why that simple true statement needs to be parsed and debated.

 

Sorry if I'm being a spoilsport or whatnot. I appreciate that you're commenting your POV, which is of course what I asked for. So don't misinterpret any of this.

 

 

What I mean is that a "mechanism" will be harder to make in a simplistic enough manner to be in a set, as the Rockoh and Mazeka sets demonstrated. Still, a couple reviews have pointed out that Thornax fruit fits in a Zamor launcher and functions perfectly well inside one, I suppose a mechanism can be used-- just not with the Thornax launcher piece itself.

Like I said, "mechanism" could mean anything. I don't see how you can blankly rule out a piece being used in any way, on principle -- because piece usage depends largely on the imagination, which is really unpredictable. Maybe in actual sets that will be rare, but mechanisms in general are rare in sets anyways, so yeah...

 

 

 

 

 

Orange? Really? Huh-- I thought it was that yellow-green we'd seen so much of as of late. Orange I suppose is OK, in contrast with what we've agreed is a boring mask in a boring color, though I still feel orange would look far too evil here.

Tarix' head is the trans-neon-green colour we've become so used to- and I'm tired of. I'm very glad for the new head in light blue, and I'm glad the good and bad aren't colour coded by eyes anymore. That was silly, and I really could've used the new Mahri eyepiece (the half one) in more than just that ostentatiously bright neon colour.

Nice long reviews here... of only pictures!!

 

I probably would buy all six immediately if I had lots of moneys, but since I don't, I'll probably be going through the same process as you. Some interesting ideas you bring out, some I agree with and some I don't. (I think you used the term "cool" too much. )

 

BTW, do we every really get a ranking of the best selling sets. The "brown sales worst" was the excuse given when Hewkii turned keetongu orange, but does Lego ever say stuff like "Tahu and Gali sold best, followed by Gorast and Bitil, with Krika and Onua coming in last." It would be really cool if they released this kind of information, though.

 

I agree that Tahu and Gali had very non-protective "armor"-- I'm still kinda miffed at that, since it hardly matches the heavily-armored look of the Phantoka, but by this point I've kind of come to see that the Phantoka and Mistika were meant to provide two entirely seperate "looks", and that the two with their similar simplicity of color scheme can still be understood as one single team even with their differences. Onua's looks different largely because, as you said, it was layered. That is part of the reason I find Toa Ignika to look more armored than Tahu or Gali, though I'd have hated his posture on either of those characters and can't imagine Tahu and Gali any other way without a complete overhaul in design (and given my lack of creativity for such an overhaul, I can't imagine them any other way regardless).

 

The problem is that unlike several pieces you can use in different ways, anytime you use Skrall's shield your mind is bound to tell you "That's from Skrall" (which of course might be acceptable in another Rock Tribe set, just as his swords were, but not in anything completely unrelated to Skrall).

Only to older fans. Don't forget that the vast majority of buyers two or three years after a particular year have zero memory of that year, because they were too young at the time to be into Bionicle.

It's not an issue of memory, it's the issue of the piece standing out more than any other on presumably any set you put it on. The piece is in its design inextricably tied to Skrall, and it would be hard to design another set around it (as you would have to do for such a massive piece) without several new parts or you'd have a design very much like Skrall's own.

 

I mean, it's been eight years since 2001 now -- I'm sure there are tons and tons of new fans who weren't even born at the time to remember Tahu's fire sword, so they won't think about that when they see the blue Agori's sword this year (unless they frequent BS01 or BZP, etc., but that's rare overall).

Speaking of which, don't you hate when people have such trouble getting the idea that it's water now-- not fire? I mean, please! LEGO's been using fire pieces for water for several years now! I myself even postulated which of the Toa from the vision in Time Trap would have gotten which weapon from the Suva, and I settled on Vakama's jetpack/disk launcher for Vhisola. But anyway, yeah, I agree that a part that has a distinctive origin today wouldn't keep that origin in future sets-- the only difficulty arises with parts like Skrall's, which are tied stylistically to certain parts and need major new part designs to look appropriate next to others. Just another part of my stylistic consistency obsession, I suppose.

 

Given that it's a small piece, I fail to see why having only a few connection points is an issue. It's adding to the existing variety of parts that can be used in MOCs. And anyways, I for one plan to use it a ton in MOCs.

The issue is that it's not a small piece-- my little brother has Tuma and I can confirm that it's a fairly large piece. Not as large as, say, a Cordak Blaster or a Midak Skyblaster, but still not that much smaller than the Zamor Launcher overall (a piece which I have seen used in several creative armor designs). So yes, it's better, but I have yet to come up with any real uses for it besides a launcher.

 

What I mean is that a "mechanism" will be harder to make in a simplistic enough manner to be in a set, as the Rockoh and Mazeka sets demonstrated. Still, a couple reviews have pointed out that Thornax fruit fits in a Zamor launcher and functions perfectly well inside one, I suppose a mechanism can be used-- just not with the Thornax launcher piece itself.

Like I said, "mechanism" could mean anything. I don't see how you can blankly rule out a piece being used in any way, on principle -- because piece usage depends largely on the imagination, which is really unpredictable. Maybe in actual sets that will be rare, but mechanisms in general are rare in sets anyways, so yeah...

I doubt after the vehicle sets (including the award-winning Axalara) LEGO will be too sparse with mechanisms-- I anticipate at least a few among summer sets, though given the lack of advanced technology we've seen so far on Bara Magna I haven't the foggiest idea what sort of set they'll find themselves on.

 

Orange? Really? Huh-- I thought it was that yellow-green we'd seen so much of as of late. Orange I suppose is OK, in contrast with what we've agreed is a boring mask in a boring color, though I still feel orange would look far too evil here.

Tarix' head is the trans-neon-green colour we've become so used to- and I'm tired of. I'm very glad for the new head in light blue, and I'm glad the good and bad aren't colour coded by eyes anymore. That was silly, and I really could've used the new Mahri eyepiece (the half one) in more than just that ostentatiously bright neon colour.

I really love the neon colors. They stand out on a shelf, even if you don't have the set heavily lit (the same reason "safety orange" and other fluorescent colors are used on high-visibility clothing). In my opinion it sure beats the Toa Mata and Toa Metru where you had to have them under direct light for the eyes to glow (particularly the Toa Metru, on whom there was an unsightly gap between the eyes and the eye sockets from certain angles). I'd have much preferred the Kohrak variety of light blue for its fluorescent traits, and I loved the good-evil color coding, even if there is no need for it anymore now that the "Battle for Power" has ceased and the distinction between good and evil becomes a fair deal more realistic, i.e. less blurred. Speaking of which, I love the tribal pride/nationalism of the Skrall in the last comic. They've only just come out and we already have a gold mine of beautiful quotes. Keep up the good work, Greg!

I got a good look at Malum's face there. Notice the insane grin. Man, that's insane. Seriously. Combine that with a bulky look and Malum's like, manliness incarnate.

Someone seems to be missing...

 

*cough*Tuma/Fera and Skirmix*cough*

 

 

I doubt after the vehicle sets (including the award-winning Axalara) LEGO will be too sparse with mechanisms-- I anticipate at least a few among summer sets, though given the lack of advanced technology we've seen so far on Bara Magna I haven't the foggiest idea what sort of set they'll find themselves on.

 

In terms of storyline, Glatorian can fight matches in vehicles. Perhaps they will introduce a set with a Glatorian or Agori (or both) on a motorcycle or other wheeled vehicle. I think it would be interesting to give something like that a cruder design than most vehicles, like how a Model T compares to most vehicles today, only with its own Bionicle-ish style. It would have to look like it could be used for rough play in the desert, yet is easy to break down.

 

But whatever.

 

Anyways, I would like to reply to the thing about Vorox's helmet. Bones, you have no clue. That image doesn't do his mask justice, and it looks much cooler in person. Also, to me, his armor also looks like its made out of bones, which A) I like, B ) I think most people would find interesting and contributing towards his look, C) anyone who likes General Grievous will like, and D) I also know you would like. On a side note, I also think that it ties into the storyline, considering that it's primitive armor and they are the most primitive tribe.

 

On the matter of Malum's mask, I think that it is well syndicated with the rest of his color scheme overall. His chest armor has the same color blend, and his head it of course right next to his chest, so that entire part of his body has the same blending scheme.

 

I will agree with you on Tarix's color scheme. I liked the gold/orange, which I think works better than steel armor and is a nice change, but the main reason I didn't buy him was because he had too many different colors, and that is especially too much when not all of them match perfectly. I don't mind blue and gold, but three shades of blue and gold it not quite as good. I liked Vorox's multi-layered color scheme better, since all of the colors were directly related to each other elementally.

 

When you said that the Metru leg pieces were ugly, you said IMO. Did you really mean it or was it just a typo for IMT? If it was intended to be IMO, then could you explain?

 

Your Honor,

Emperor Kraggh

Typing this little bit before I finish reading, I'll come back and edit this post, but it's really hard to read "IMT" and have NO IDEA what it means. Sorry.

 

So far I've read of Vorox--awesome tan! And of Gresh in all his greeny glory.

 

I'm not too keen on Strakk's bent body. It looks really weird. And the dark blue never fits well with me on Ice.

 

What do you say about Malum's bley? I think it should be keetorange instead. But you're right in that he looks perfectly strong.

 

The only problem I have with Skrall's red in the sword, as well as your suggestion to put red on the three pieces of limb armor, is in thoughs of MOCing. Just like the brown in Vorox's armor, the more colors mean the less it can be used.

 

You keep saying the spiked Inika foot is your favorite. How do you feel about Toa Mata and Metru feet?

 

You also keep saying Tarix has orange. Why don't you think it's gold? I feel the spikes are bad, as they stick out and look silly, IMO.

 

-CF

Late reply, and as I go down the line of posts I find I really have little to say. Don't really dispute anything in your post, I guess, Aanchir.

 

 

BTW, do we every really get a ranking of the best selling sets. The "brown sales worst" was the excuse given when Hewkii turned keetongu orange, but does Lego ever say stuff like "Tahu and Gali sold best, followed by Gorast and Bitil, with Krika and Onua coming in last." It would be really cool if they released this kind of information, though.

No; LEGO doesn't release info that specific as a general policy, to prevent other companies from basically stealing their market research and more easily copying off of them.

 

We do from time to time, however, get part of the picture from Greg, usually in reply to complaint topics.

 

 

Anyways, I would like to reply to the thing about Vorox's helmet. Bones, you have no clue. That image doesn't do his mask justice, and it looks much cooler in person. Also, to me, his armor also looks like its made out of bones, which A) I like, B ) I think most people would find interesting and contributing towards his look, C) anyone who likes General Grievous will like, and D) I also know you would like. On a side note, I also think that it ties into the storyline, considering that it's primitive armor and they are the most primitive tribe.

When you said that the Metru leg pieces were ugly, you said IMO. Did you really mean it or was it just a typo for IMT? If it was intended to be IMO, then could you explain?

Erhwoops. Meant IMT there.

 

 

hard to read "IMT" and have NO IDEA what it means. Sorry.

In my tastes. Means same as IMO except it clarifies that I am just talking about what I like or don't like, instead of what I believe.

 

And I have been predicting that someone would say that for quite some time now.

 

 

 

What do you say about Malum's bley? I think it should be keetorange instead. But you're right in that he looks perfectly strong.

That's an interesting point. Maybe. I personally like all manner of gray, though. I love color combos that have one "bright" color (like red, blue, green, yellow, orange, etc.) and one "earthy" color (grays, browns, gunmetal, etc.). But in that case keetorange might make him feel more fiery. I could handle it either way, I guess.

 

 

(And on that point I really have no idea what most fans prefer.)

 

 

Just like the brown in Vorox's armor, the more colors mean the less it can be used.

Perhaps, but it also means the cooler it can look in the few uses it has. Personally I prefer more more more specialized pieces as a MOCer -- it's more fun to figure out how to build with them than to just have a bunch of bland but flexible pieces. More inspiring, to me, that way.

 

 

You keep saying the spiked Inika foot is your favorite. How do you feel about Toa Mata and Metru feet?

They're coo'. I especially love to use the Mata foot as a small MOC torso basis (like the Voyatoran basic idea). As a foot it's reasonable for small sets; on Toa or the like I'm not too fond of it.

 

Metru's alright too, but I think it looks better as armor, actually.

 

 

You also keep saying Tarix has orange. Why don't you think it's gold? I feel the spikes are bad, as they stick out and look silly, IMO.

Likeisay above, the pic makes it look orange, on this screen. That's been mentioned already. I know I should edit but I haven't had time...

 

And the reaction to the spikes is pretty much what I expect -- what looks verycool to some people will tend to look veryuncool to others, as opposed to blandness in between.