Unspoken Words

I actually want less gears and more rubber band/techinc beam functions. Gear are cool, but sets like the Nui-Jaga and Tarakava have really cool functions.

^ I have the opposite opinion. Rubber bands tend to dry out which means that in order to make some functions work you have to replace the rubber band every few months. The sole exception to these seems to be the bands on the Bohrok and Kal, which for me are still working 12 years later.

 

Anyway, I'm always game for more gear functions.

^ I have the opposite opinion. Rubber bands tend to dry out which means that in order to make some functions work you have to replace the rubber band every few months. The sole exception to these seems to be the bands on the Bohrok and Kal, which for me are still working 12 years later.

 

Anyway, I'm always game for more gear functions.

Most rubber bands these days are more like the ones in the Bohrok than the ones in the 2001 Rahi (which DID wear out over time), so I think we're pretty much safe in that respect.

 

1. Yes, I'd like more functions. Not that I'm dissatisfied with the ones we have, I just don't want ALL future sets to use these same functions instead of experimenting with new ones.

 

I like that the summer villains are giving us some real variety with functions, like how Skull Slicer's gearbox swings two arms on one side instead of two arms on opposite sides, Skull Basher's function swings its arms together horizontally, and Skull Scorpio has a unique grabbing function in its tail. All of those four are apparently $15 sets, by the way.

 

I think the current sets have made a good call by giving the smaller Protectors blasters instead of gear functions, as it would be hard to give them so much variety at that scale with a function that is integrated into the build. Also, it gives people a good incentive to get both the smaller AND larger sets, since the smaller ones offer a function you won't find in a Toa-sized set.

 

2. I love 'em. I don't think they're a necessity for a set design by any stretch of the imagination, but they do add a lot of play value. With many "creature" models like Lord of Skull Spiders, sacrificing some of the articulation for a clever function is a fair trade-off. With a many-legged model you often don't want there to be TOO much articulation anyway, or posing it can become a bit frustrating. And sometimes functions and articulation can work at cross-purposes — you don't want to have to "reset" a set's arms or legs every time you use them to attack an enemy.

 

My biggest regret about Lord of Skull Spiders is that unlike many sets with funtions (including the skull villains we're getting in the summer), there is no "failstate" for competitive role-play. Many sets have a way to signal that the character was "defeated", usually involving knocking a mask off, and sometimes something more elaborate in classic sets. Defeating Muaka and Kane-Ra would make their legs fall off, defeating the Tarakava would make them go slack-jawed, defeating the Manas would disable their movement, and defeating the Bahrag would lock their neck and jaw function. There is no way to signal that the Lord of Skull Spiders has been defeated. But it's still a great set with an elegant function.