I Just Can’t Help Myself: Jaller And Hahli Review
Entry posted by xccj
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Okay, so here’s the deal. There was a special trip for UW students to go to a Fred Meyers and buy last minute college supplies. I already had all I really needed, and then some more (I’m sure). But I went anyway… I wanted some dry erase markers, and they’d be cheaper at some big retail store than the local bookstore… I think.
Anyway, Fred Meyers is also the place where I find my best Lego deals, and I’ve only grabbed Hewkii this summer. So, you know, if I happened to find a good sale…
Well, I did. Buy one, get one free. The usual sale is buy two and get one free, which turns me off because I don’t want to cash out twenty bucks in one go… but ten was fine. So I bought Jaller Mahri and Hahli Mahri. And since it’s only one in the morning, I thought I might as well write a review on them. (It was a Midnight trip, BTW)
Jaller Mahri
Major complains I’ve heard about Jaller were that he was pretty much Jaller Inika with a new mask and weapon, but I had a feeling that he might be a good buy, so I grabbed him instead of Nuparu. The body is awesome… very customized and the best design I’ve seen in 07 so far. (Yeah, even better than Mantax). The legs also fit with the body well… I always liked the Inika legs. It’s the arms that always got to me. The arms here aren’t so bad length wise, because I’ve just gotten used to those lengths. The upper shoulders could be a bit bulked out, though.
The mask is wicked cool… finally, a usable new mask… I haven’t seen a good one since 04 (and 05 if you count Iruini and Norik). Double color is good, and basic design can work for a villain or hero, I suppose. The tubes do constrict the movement a bit, but I can always remove them. The sword… well, interesting design, but it’s like only half a sword! It’s obvious that this is made more for Levoskii’s (sp) vehicle, on which it looks cool as far as I can tell from pictures… but it doesn’t seem to work so well for Jaller. Nonetheless, it’s a big up from his last sword (I hated those glowing swords). The Hannah crab… well, it’s what I like about smaller MOCs… small, simple, and yet effective. Uses Jaller’s chest piece rather well (or maybe the piece was originally intended for the crab, and then given to Jaller as an afterthought.) Anyway, it makes for a cute little thing that can do some damage with the Cordak blaster on it. (Note, I don’t like how the extra ammo on both Jaller and Hahli are placed, but I don’t have anyplace else to store them for now)
Jaller, despite some short comings, exceeds my initial expectations. Sure, he’s a rip off of the Inika form, but this one loses some of the flaws of the Inika (mask, weapon) and adds a few more things in (great torso and a crab!)
Hahli Mahri
Hahli, when I first saw the Inika, was the one I decided I needed to get. However, after going over her piece count and overall look, I picked up Hewkii first, but I was still tempted to get Hahli, even if just for her lime green pieces. So now I have her… and I’m just not sure if she was worth it.
The body is a basic Piraka body, also uses in Piraka and other Toa Mahri. I guess the only nifty thing is how the two leg pieces are added on (the back one for the wings and the regular one for the legs). The rest of the limbs are pretty much copies from the Inika… new colors for some, but not new pieces. Hahli’s mask is interesting, especially with the trans blue pieces covering the eyes and such. The tubes… well, they aren’t a necessity, in my opinion. The interesting things about Hahli were her weapon and wings… but they don’t seem to be worth too much. The talon is big and nasty, but it just doesn’t look like a useful Toa tool for a Toa of Water. Seriously, leave the claws to Onua and make something more sleek for the Toa of Water. (Of course, if Nivhawk had those pieces for talons, that would’ve been some set!) The wings… well, they’re okay, but maybe not entirely necessary (except that, without them, Hahli would look even duller). Worst part of the weapon and wings is that they’re a bit flimsy… I like hard plastic weapons, like with the Nuva’s. Thin weaponry is not something I like (I didn’t like it on Zaktan either).
But my biggest beef with Hahli is not her wings, her tubes, or her arms that are a little bit too long still… but her overall look. She looks like a pretty buff Toa all in all… but she doesn’t have any feminine characteristics. I mean, she’s bulky! I know designers probably aren’t thinking of gender while designing sets like this, but I always preferred my Toa of Water to be more… sleek than their other Toa counterparts. Jaller’s body might’ve worked out better for Hahli! But, hey, what can you do? I didn’t think Hahli Inika looked all that feminine either, Dalu was definitely buffer than her fellow Matoran, and Nokama Hordika was as much a mess as her partners. I guess you just can’t win on this front anymore.
Anyway, these are my first impressions of having the sets in my hands (or displayed on my printer) so they might change. Those wings might make for some good MOCing parts when I get home… more orange and lime green pieces might make a nice addition to my collection, and Hahli’s mask could work well on a female MOC if I get rid of those darn tubes. But now you’ve read through the ramblings of my mind while I look at these sets. Now I’m going to go to sleep. Night.
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