blogs_blog_518

On the Miru Nuva Phantoka, the top Left mask is my favorite... Better than the one out with the set...

 

Hewkii Ignika Prototype FTW... I want that now...

The first Miru Nuva looks like Master cheif.

Note: I think the Kopaka Prototype has the Metru-Nui Matoran body piece as armor, so it's not really new, but I do agree that it's better than a repeat of the Inikia armor.

 

Actually, Onua/Pohatu Phantoka doesn't have new leg armor. It's actually Matoro Mahri's shoulder armor in black.

 

~SB~

Actually, Onua/Pohatu Phantoka doesn't have new leg armor. It's actually Matoro Mahri's shoulder armor in black.

 

~SB~

And have we seen that armour in black before? Nope - ergo it's new.

 

-Seran

Good point...

 

~SB~

Why no Kongu and his psuedo-Kraahken?

Because that was really boring and everone knows about it, Lluviohafu.

 

-Seran

I daresay that while some prototypes end up looking awesomer than the sets (Hahli Mahri with fins AKA "Nuparu should be cool, but not exclusively cool"), none of these strike me as surpassing the sets. The masks, aside from Hewkii's which would appear to be the finalized Axonn mask, are typically sloppy-looking. Kopaka's wings are off a model plane, having no BIONICLE-looking motifs. The Miru Nuva Phantoka prototypes tend to disappoint me for representing the character of Lewa, except the middle one in the second row which would be ideal if this were intended as a Miru rather than a Miru Nuva.

 

For Pohatu Phantoka, did I hear you say the color scheme is good? Zounds! Black and dark bley is a cliche color scheme, and one I would genuinely shudder to see used on a Toa of Stone without any other colors accentuating the needed element. And that "new leg armor" is just Matoro Mahri armor in black, attached in a manner that rather turns me off. Shoulder armor is new, though.

 

Kopaka Nuva's prototype rather disgusts me, and just barely manages the Akaku look. The chest armor is a nice idea, but doesn't flow, and I much prefer the armor of today (granted, there is stylistic consistency, but not nearly so much as on the current set). And the Toa tool... I pray they weren't serious about that. *puke*

 

Admittedly, the prototype Hewkii's tool is better aside from the battery case, which is much better in the set. His mask, though, doesn't fit Hewkii at all in my eyes, and I much prefer the vaguely Kakama-shaped mask with determined expression which he got in the set.

 

Prototype Nuparu, Jaller, and Hahli are perhaps my favorite prototypes ever, though I can say with certainty that I prefer Hahli's mask from the set. Nuparu's prototype mask totally owns the actual Kadin.

I daresay that while some prototypes end up looking awesomer than the sets (Hahli Mahri with fins AKA "Nuparu should be cool, but not exclusively cool"), none of these strike me as surpassing the sets. The masks, aside from Hewkii's which would appear to be the finalized Axonn mask, are typically sloppy-looking. Kopaka's wings are off a model plane, having no BIONICLE-looking motifs. The Miru Nuva Phantoka prototypes tend to disappoint me for representing the character of Lewa, except the middle one in the second row which would be ideal if this were intended as a Miru rather than a Miru Nuva.

Sloppy looking? I think most of them look pretty good. Yes, some of them are awful, but I only picked out a few of the better ones. That was the point; a lot of the stuff they design is bad, but there are some great ideas that never make it to the sets. And I didn't mention Kopaka's wings, as they were obviously just stuck on there to get an idea of what the set would be like, not a final design.

 

For Pohatu Phantoka, did I hear you say the color scheme is good? Zounds! Black and dark bley is a cliche color scheme, and one I would genuinely shudder to see used on a Toa of Stone without any other colors accentuating the needed element. And that "new leg armor" is just Matoro Mahri armor in black, attached in a manner that rather turns me off. Shoulder armor is new, though.

Yes, it's cliched, but it is actually a nice colour scheme. When it's used all the time, that's when it gets boring. And I would hate to see it used for a Toa of Stone too, I was merely saying that as a whole, the prototype looks pretty cool. And we haven't had the Matoro Mahri armour in black, so it's new.

 

Kopaka Nuva's prototype rather disgusts me, and just barely manages the Akaku look. The chest armor is a nice idea, but doesn't flow, and I much prefer the armor of today (granted, there is stylistic consistency, but not nearly so much as on the current set). And the Toa tool... I pray they weren't serious about that. *puke*

Of course it's disgusting, it's a really early prototype. I don't really like the choice of chest armour either, but at least they were trying to do something different. And about the Toa tool - they weren't serious about it, look at how it ended up.

 

Admittedly, the prototype Hewkii's tool is better aside from the battery case, which is much better in the set. His mask, though, doesn't fit Hewkii at all in my eyes, and I much prefer the vaguely Kakama-shaped mask with determined expression which he got in the set.

I despise Hewkii's actual mask; I think Axonn's mask suits him a lot more.

 

Prototype Nuparu, Jaller, and Hahli are perhaps my favorite prototypes ever, though I can say with certainty that I prefer Hahli's mask from the set. Nuparu's prototype mask totally owns the actual Kadin.

Agreed.

 

-Seran

Wow...Just, wow. Good stuff flushed down the drain.

 

-+L

I daresay that while some prototypes end up looking awesomer than the sets (Hahli Mahri with fins AKA "Nuparu should be cool, but not exclusively cool"), none of these strike me as surpassing the sets. The masks, aside from Hewkii's which would appear to be the finalized Axonn mask, are typically sloppy-looking. Kopaka's wings are off a model plane, having no BIONICLE-looking motifs. The Miru Nuva Phantoka prototypes tend to disappoint me for representing the character of Lewa, except the middle one in the second row which would be ideal if this were intended as a Miru rather than a Miru Nuva.

Sloppy looking? I think most of them look pretty good. Yes, some of them are awful, but I only picked out a few of the better ones. That was the point; a lot of the stuff they design is bad, but there are some great ideas that never make it to the sets. And I didn't mention Kopaka's wings, as they were obviously just stuck on there to get an idea of what the set would be like, not a final design.

I dunno. However creative, Prototype Kopaka's armor fails to flow and only has a slight amount of stylistic consistency. I prefer the armor in the set, however cliche, because it actually looks good in my eyes.

 

For Pohatu Phantoka, did I hear you say the color scheme is good? Zounds! Black and dark bley is a cliche color scheme, and one I would genuinely shudder to see used on a Toa of Stone without any other colors accentuating the needed element. And that "new leg armor" is just Matoro Mahri armor in black, attached in a manner that rather turns me off. Shoulder armor is new, though.

Yes, it's cliched, but it is actually a nice colour scheme. When it's used all the time, that's when it gets boring. And I would hate to see it used for a Toa of Stone too, I was merely saying that as a whole, the prototype looks pretty cool. And we haven't had the Matoro Mahri armour in black, so it's new.

I guess it's an OK-looking color scheme, but the problem is that it is used far too often. Anyway, when you said new leg armor I thought you were meaning a new piece (ironically, he does have new shoulder armor, apparently based on such parts as Inika thigh armor and Mantax feet).

 

Kopaka Nuva's prototype rather disgusts me, and just barely manages the Akaku look. The chest armor is a nice idea, but doesn't flow, and I much prefer the armor of today (granted, there is stylistic consistency, but not nearly so much as on the current set). And the Toa tool... I pray they weren't serious about that. *puke*

Of course it's disgusting, it's a really early prototype. I don't really like the choice of chest armour either, but at least they were trying to do something different. And about the Toa tool - they weren't serious about it, look at how it ended up.

See above for my reason for preferring the set armor to "something different"-- Stylistic consistency is a big thing for me, since I like to make my artwork as setlike as possible on an HSB drawing and it's always a treat when LEGO makes it easy for such to look good. Of course, I will stylize much of Kopaka Phantoka's armor anyway to distinctify it from the characters on whom the armor originated, as I would be forced to do with 2004 Matoran armor.

 

Are you saying you like the tool of today or not? Hard to tell, though I personally love it and have little quarrel with people who don't.

 

Admittedly, the prototype Hewkii's tool is better aside from the battery case, which is much better in the set. His mask, though, doesn't fit Hewkii at all in my eyes, and I much prefer the vaguely Kakama-shaped mask with determined expression which he got in the set.

I despise Hewkii's actual mask; I think Axonn's mask suits him a lot more.

I think his mask in the set gives him a nice look of athletic determination. Anyway, I don't even know why he has this mask in this picture-- it must be a very early prototype, because in all honesty it's nowhere near as fabulous as the prototype masks for Jaller, Hahli, and Nuparu. Or maybe it's a later one, since it has the light-up feature. Heck, could just be a different one, and both designs were presented to the focus groups. I dunno, but either way I prefer the mask of the actual set to the one in this specific prototype.

 

Prototype Nuparu, Jaller, and Hahli are perhaps my favorite prototypes ever, though I can say with certainty that I prefer Hahli's mask from the set. Nuparu's prototype mask totally owns the actual Kadin.

Agreed.

 

-Seran

On all points, or just the Kadin? I don't think I've ever seen people share my opinion on the Elda, though I feel it's possibly the most feminine mask we've ever had besides possibly the Rau.

Aanchir, I do agree with you in most respects, apart from Hewkii's mask. The point I was trying to make is that, in my opinion, the set designers seem to be experimenting a lot more than most people give them credit for, including myself. Most people, again myself inclusive, seem to be complaining that the sets are just Inika with parts slapped on, but it seems that the designers are genuinely trying to make new designs, but they eventually turn out as modded Inika anyway, presumably at the call of the focus groups.

 

-Seran

The top left Miru Nuva is amazing...

Well, if the Focus Groups are asking for Inikas, it hardly seems possible to get out of that rut.

Well, if the Focus Groups are asking for Inikas, it hardly seems possible to get out of that rut.

We did. Our way out was called the Mistika, and is in my eyes one of the biggest disappointments LEGO has dealt us. Not that they are especially ugly, but that the Phantoka are especially attractive, and to imagine that both depict Toa Nuva and Makuta of the same teams is a difficult feat.

 

More importantly, we're not due for new and innovative canister set constructions until next year, the start of the new story book. We've already been treated enough this story book what with the Barraki, the Makuta Mistika, and the Mahri, all of which expressed innovation in canister set construction in one way or another. People should count their blessings.

I miss prototype Takanewva

I totally agree with you. Maybe someone like Binkmeister or GregF at LEGO ought to get some of these prototypes and give them out to members, so we can use the ownage-ness of their custom pieces. But still, they're pretty cool.

 

Thank goodness we're getting completely new designs next year, that probably make these look like trash.

 

I actually found a way to attach the chest armor like on Kopaka (though it may involve different pieces).

 

BToD

I miss prototype Takanewva

I like the new one. Honestly, I don't know why people are so attached to a mask that looks more like Knight's Kingdon than BIONICLE. Give us sharp, mechanical-looking angles! Give us holes!

The third Miru prototype on the second row belongs to Tahu. It should have been used on Tahu