19 replies to this topic

[Ballom]

When I first heard about the contest, I was rather disappointed that I wouldn't have been able to enter my MOC Stoxutu. However, this entry came out far better than I had expected at first. It's a Skakdi with flames. Skakdi are pretty Bionicle-esque, right?

"Fill your enemies with primal fear, then fill their lungs with fire!"
-- Ancient Gand proverb


^Link to entry picture^

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Gallery

So yeah, he's pretty much a seemingly random Skakdi warlord of Zakaz, who has a big freakin' flamethrower, a spine of flames, and other fiery looking armor. That's about it. Oh, and imagine the black top of his head as akin to something burnt by intense fire, you know?

Comments, criticism, and support in the contest are all welcome.

~B~

Edited by Ballom, Jun 10 2012 - 06:16 PM.

[Wind Elemental]

The head has to be the best part. The Mahri Hewkii mask looks great on the Piraka face. The torso is nicly designed and the flamethrower looks great. Also, if this is a Skaldi, where are all of those spiky spines on the back?

Edited by Veigar's Shadow, Jun 10 2012 - 06:36 PM.

[Sisen]

The flamethrower you created turned out really wicked, and the way it is incorporated actually looks really good as well. The use of the head and piraka teeth is awesome though, it really makes the MOC stand out.

[Dralcax]

Hmm... the hose and spine are quite interesting, but the white teeth clash. Still, the torso is well-designed, and this will definitely be one of my rivals in the contest. Still, I wish you luck in the contest!

[Silver the Hedgehog]

You probably just defeated the purpose of me making it to the finals with Chaos., everything about this Moc is perfect. The style, and design has no flaw. It actually looks like a skakdi, and if not, a better skakdi then lego designed. This is probably my favorite Moc I seen. Good luck in the contest, you definatley got my vote.

[Zorrakh]

Wow, it seems like you got your entry done much faster than usual; were you already working on this prior to the contest?

Anyways, the Skakdi skull and Kanohi Garai work well with the MOC, although there is a slight problem with color schemes (which I'll get to later). The torso looks solid and the spine looks great, however the flames on the lower section seem a little weird from the front because of how much they stick out. Also, that one light-grey axle in the base of the neck sticks out a bit. The tubing looks nice and the System parts are used well. I also like the use of the Hero Factory 2.0 chest armour; it flows well with the rest of the MOC. The only real question I have is the use of the rubber band: is it being used to hold the upper and lower torso together?

The arms and legs look nice and sturdy. I like the System parts on the lower arms and the upper leg armour has a nice thickness to them. Unfortunately the lower legs have a lot of Keetongu Orange on them because of the Inika leg piece (because there is so much of it on the sides, which I know can't really be helped); I think perhaps that could be partially solved by putting some more red on the back of the legs. The feet also look good and it seems to blend well with the Rahkshi heads right above them.

I really like the flamethrower. I especially like the canister (nice use of those circular pieces, by the way) and the tube. Does a System-thin tube fit through those connectors? Or are you using several pieces of tubing to connect them together? The Rahkshi head and the Hero Factory armour pieces work well together.

Now, for the color scheme. The balance looks great, but I really think that adding black would help a lot with the color scheme. Since it's so prominent on the head I think it would have looked even better to have a color scheme of Red/Keetongu Orange/Black. Without that third color it feels like, to me at least, that there's something missing. But aside from that, you did a really good job balancing out the colors you used, which can be a difficult thing to do.

Great job, Ballom, and good luck in the contest.

Edited by Zorrakh, Jun 13 2012 - 05:20 PM.

[Ballom]

The head has to be the best part. The Mahri Hewkii mask looks great on the Piraka face. The torso is nicly designed and the flamethrower looks great. Also, if this is a Skaldi, where are all of those spiky spines on the back?

Thanks for the comment's, Veigar's Shadow. You seem to be quite active here in BBC, so I appreciate another review of yours. The spines, however, are in fact present on this MOC, in the form of the large flaming spine down his back. Admittedly, it isn't quite as spiky as those of the original Piraka, but the flames fit quite well, I'd say. I was originally planning on the spine extending to his upper arms as well, like on the Piraka, but unfortunately with the wideness of the Garai and other factors it didn't quite work out.

The flamethrower you created turned out really wicked, and the way it is incorporated actually looks really good as well. The use of the head and piraka teeth is awesome though, it really makes the MOC stand out.

Thanks, Sisen. I'm glad you like the flamethrower, it's my favorite part of the MOC as well.

Also, the use of the Piraka skull with that mask actually isn't new to this MOC. I've seen a number of Skakdi MOCs with it prior to mine.

You probably just defeated the purpose of me making it to the finals with Chaos. , everything about this Moc is perfect. The style, and design has no flaw. It actually looks like a skakdi, and if not, a better skakdi then lego designed. This is probably my favorite Moc I seen. Good luck in the contest, you definatley got my vote.

Well, you never know what will happen in the polls.

But, thanks for your generous praise. I'm certainly glad you think it looks like something Lego might have designed, as that was a necessary component of the contest theme to fit. Also glad to know I've already won over a voter here.

Wow, it seems like you got your entry done much faster than usual; were you already working on this prior to the contest?

Anyways, the Skakdi skull and Kanohi Garai work well with the MOC, although there is a slight problem with color schemes (which I'll get to later). The torso looks solid and the spine looks great, however the flames on the lower section seem a little weird from the front because of how much they stick out. Also, that one light-grey axle in the base of the neck sticks out a bit. The tubing looks nice and the System parts are used well. I also like the use of the Hero Factory 2.0 chest armour; it flows well with the rest of the MOC. The only real question I have is the use of the rubber band: is it being used to hold the upper and lower torso together?

The arms and legs look nice and sturdy. I like the System parts on the lower arms and the upper leg armour has a nice thickness to them. Unfortunately the lower legs have a lot of Keetongu Orange on them because of the Inika leg piece (because there is so much of it on the sides, which I know can't really be helped); I think perhaps that could be partially solved by putting some more red on the back of the legs. The feet also look good and it seems to blend well with the Rahkshi heads right above them.

I really like the flamethrower. I especially like the canister (nice use of those circular pieces, by the way) and the tube. Does a System-thin tube fit through those connectors? Or are you using several pieces of tubing to connect them together? The Rahkshi head and the Hero Factory armour pieces work well together.

Now, for the color scheme. The balance looks great, but I really think that adding black would help a lot with the color scheme. Since it's so prominent on the head I think it would have looked even better to have a color scheme of Bed/Keetongu Orange/Black. Without that third color it feels like, to me at least, that there's something missing. But aside from that, you did a really good job balancing out the colors you used, which can be a difficult thing to do.

Great job, Ballom, and good luck in the contest.

Haha, I guess I have become known for entering chronically late entries into BBC Contests, haven't I? No, this was actually made entirely for the contest. It's just that I had a lot more free time over the course of last week, so building sped along quite faster than for other contests.

Anyway, to get to responding to some of your comments. The light gray axle does stick out a bit, I admit. However, I'm not sure how plentiful black axles of that length are and, quite honestly, I was rather lazy in not wanting to search too hard for them. Still, I think it actually looks slightly heartlight-ish, from a certain point of view, so there's that going for it as well. Tubing, yes, I absolutely love Mahri tubing (as you may have noticed by now, lol). As for the rubber band, it's actually necessary to hold the spine in, as otherwise it would spring outward, and not be attached to the torso. The body itself holds together well, using various axles.

Yeah, the keetorange on the lower legs was rather hard to work around. If looked at from the point of view that he's a yellow-skinned being in red armor, it makes sense that a less critical area such as the lower legs would be less armored, as I believe is the case with real life body armor. The tube connecting the flamethrower is actually a single piece of pneumatic tubing, as those connectors have holes just small enough for it to pass through. Still, it's rather rigid overall, and doesn't really allow that hand much articulation, as the photos prove.

The color scheme . . . yeah, the lack of black does bother me a bit. The thing is, the head has black on keetorange, and if I had put more black on him, it would have been black on red, which obviously isn't the same blend. Also, the black smoothly running into keetorange was another thing I would not have been adequately able to replicate elsewhere. More black would have looked worse and thown on, in my mind. Honestly, I was hoping the black would be overlooked as a necessary evil, like the white teeth. Oh, and you seem to have mistyped red as bed, amusingly.

Anyway, thanks for your review! I always appreciate your in-depth reviews, so thanks again, Zorrakh.

~B~

Edited by Ballom, Jun 13 2012 - 04:06 PM.

[Toa of Geek]

Wow, this is really good. I like the spikes and flames. Good job with the hero factory chest armor, I'm surprised how well it fits in.

[Taipu1]

Best entry I've seen for the competition so far. Worryingly, it's also Toa size, and holding a flamethrower. Which is what my entry will be when I post it. So I see you as competition.

I reckon you've already trumped me on the flamethrower, that is one sweet thing. Generally looks more fiery than my entry as well. Better colour scheme choice, orange and red is better than red and dark red. Where you've really got it good is that spine. My MOC is a Toa, so there's nothing exciting round the back. That spine is awesome though. Looks like the flames could come loose easily though, which might be a problem if you're shipping it to brick fair.

Good luck with the comp.

[Ballom]

Wow, this is really good. I like the spikes and flames. Good job with the hero factory chest armor, I'm surprised how well it fits in.

Thanks. The Hero Factory chestplate did actually need a connection method that slanted backwards slightly, to attach to the chest properly, but it does fit the overall aesthetic quite well when attached fully.

Best entry I've seen for the competition so far. Worryingly, it's also Toa size, and holding a flamethrower. Which is what my entry will be when I post it. So I see you as competition.

I reckon you've already trumped me on the flamethrower, that is one sweet thing. Generally looks more fiery than my entry as well. Better colour scheme choice, orange and red is better than red and dark red. Where you've really got it good is that spine. My MOC is a Toa, so there's nothing exciting round the back. That spine is awesome though. Looks like the flames could come loose easily though, which might be a problem if you're shipping it to brick fair.

Good luck with the comp.

Well, we'll have to see how the ongoing polls turn out, then. Our entries may even face off eventually!

Anyway, glad that you like the spine. It and the Skakdi skull actually were the original ideas for the MOC, with the rest of it being based around them, so it's good to know that the fiery look paid off. The flames actually do tend to fall off easily, so I expect when it's sent to Brickfair all of them will be detached. However, I'll be attending myself, so I'll be able to get Bokoch back in prime shape easily enough.

Good luck to you too!

~B~

[Kosdan]

I really like the flames on the spine. It looks like a shell, but instead of being a hard material, it's made of flames, which is pretty cool. I also like the idea of the black on his head representing a place where he has been scorched, and I think you should try implementing the same idea elsewhere in the MOC, for example, making parts of one of his arms black to represent more battle damage.

I feel like the armor on the upper legs is too chunky and mismatched. You have some HF armor, with hard angles, and then round, bulbous Nuva shoulders. I think trying to find a single piece to cover the top would look better.

I like how the flamethrower has a kind of handguard thing going on, but I think it is too short and stubby, which could possibly be fixed by elongating the barrels a bit.

[Ballom]

I really like the flames on the spine. It looks like a shell, but instead of being a hard material, it's made of flames, which is pretty cool. I also like the idea of the black on his head representing a place where he has been scorched, and I think you should try implementing the same idea elsewhere in the MOC, for example, making parts of one of his arms black to represent more battle damage.

I feel like the armor on the upper legs is too chunky and mismatched. You have some HF armor, with hard angles, and then round, bulbous Nuva shoulders. I think trying to find a single piece to cover the top would look better.

I like how the flamethrower has a kind of handguard thing going on, but I think it is too short and stubby, which could possibly be fixed by elongating the barrels a bit.

Thanks for the comments, Kosdan.

First off, it's good to hear someone agrees that the black part on the head can actually be resolved with the rest of him. However, in regard to your mentioning possibly giving him other black battle damage on him, I'm not entirely sure where that may be placed. Much of him is in relatively block sections, so replacing small parts with black may end up looking rather strange. Still, I may investigate that idea in possible revisions.

As for the top of the legs, looking over him again, I do rather agree. However, I'm not sure how to approach it. What pieces would you suggest as replacements?

Finally, I disagree about the length of the flamethrower barrels if only because I'm disproportionately fond of the look of stubby gun barrels, like for the unrealistic sawed-off shotguns seen in fiction.

~B~

Edited by Ballom, Jun 21 2012 - 07:46 PM.

[darkslizer]

The head has to be the best part. The Mahri Hewkii mask looks great on the Piraka face. The torso is nicly designed and the flamethrower looks great. Also, if this is a Skaldi, where are all of those spiky spines on the back?

Yeah, In my opinion, it isn't a real Skakdi without the head and back spines. No offense, or anything.

[Ballom]

The head has to be the best part. The Mahri Hewkii mask looks great on the Piraka face. The torso is nicly designed and the flamethrower looks great. Also, if this is a Skaldi, where are all of those spiky spines on the back?

Yeah, In my opinion, it isn't a real Skakdi without the head and back spines. No offense, or anything.

Perhaps you could have looked at its back, to see the spine of flames coming from its head down its back? I also said as much in my reply to FF Ice Master.

~B~

[Killer_Myr]

I like the colour scheme. The flamethrower is really neat, and the tubing leading to it is interesting. The spine though. That's awesome. It gives me an interesting idea for a piece of armour. 9.7/10

[Ballom]

I like the colour scheme. The flamethrower is really neat, and the tubing leading to it is interesting. The spine though. That's awesome. It gives me an interesting idea for a piece of armour. 9.7/10

Thanks, and I'm glad that I might have inspired you in creating something similar of your own. Always nice for a MOCist to be able to inspire others into building more.

~B~

[Killer_Myr]

I like the colour scheme. The flamethrower is really neat, and the tubing leading to it is interesting. The spine though. That's awesome. It gives me an interesting idea for a piece of armour. 9.7/10

Thanks, and I'm glad that I might have inspired you in creating something similar of your own. Always nice for a MOCist to be able to inspire others into building more.

~B~

It's a pity I don't have a good camera, so that I could post the result of my endeavour. Oh well, that can't be helped, with this economy. Anyway, it's nice to know that there are still talented individuals who consider BZPower worth their time.

[Ballom]

I like the colour scheme. The flamethrower is really neat, and the tubing leading to it is interesting. The spine though. That's awesome. It gives me an interesting idea for a piece of armour. 9.7/10

Thanks, and I'm glad that I might have inspired you in creating something similar of your own. Always nice for a MOCist to be able to inspire others into building more.

~B~

It's a pity I don't have a good camera, so that I could post the result of my endeavour. Oh well, that can't be helped, with this economy. Anyway, it's nice to know that there are still talented individuals who consider BZPower worth their time.

Well, if you do find a decent camera, make sure to PM me these results. I would be interested in seeing them. And yeah, there are quite a lot of excellent MOCists who still are quite active here.

~B~

[Killer_Myr]

I like the colour scheme. The flamethrower is really neat, and the tubing leading to it is interesting. The spine though. That's awesome. It gives me an interesting idea for a piece of armour. 9.7/10

Thanks, and I'm glad that I might have inspired you in creating something similar of your own. Always nice for a MOCist to be able to inspire others into building more.

~B~

It's a pity I don't have a good camera, so that I could post the result of my endeavour. Oh well, that can't be helped, with this economy. Anyway, it's nice to know that there are still talented individuals who consider BZPower worth their time.

Well, if you do find a decent camera, make sure to PM me these results. I would be interested in seeing them. And yeah, there are quite a lot of excellent MOCists who still are quite active here.

~B~

I will. Now that I think about it, my phone's camera isn't that bad. Well, I'll let you know if I come up with anything.

[Ballom]

Sure. However, this discussion should probably be carried over to PM if you wish to continue it, as it is straying a little bit off-topic here.

~B~