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And now, for a topic commemorating my eighth anniversary of my joining BZPower, I have revamps of two of my oldest creations, Zakarath and Hakeahu. Although at the time they were some of my favorite MOCs, especially from their roles as mortal foes in my epic The Power Within, their original forms were created around 2006, and thus were in grave need of improvements. Hence, here they are, new and improved!
 

Zakarath
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Flickr


Hakeahu
13938593592_d527e2be97_n.jpg
Flickr


And, for reference, here are photos of their older selves:
 

Original Zakarath
13476424814_b619739af6_n.jpg
Flickr


Original Hakeahu
13938609621_4dde4bac51_n.jpg
Flickr


Comments and criticism appreciated. :)

~B~

Edited by Ballom
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Zakarath is as a whole a vast improvement on the original, but I must say I prefer the lower legs on the original more; the gold doesn't quite match the other gold, which I'd imagine was a big factor for changing it, but it has a nicer shape than the Metru foot attached to the Piraka leg does. The lower arms are similarly distracting, but not to the same extent. I love the use of blades all over, though. The stickers are a nice touch, too. The idea of using stickers on pieces they weren't intended for has never occurred to me.

 

The biggest improvement on Hakeahu to me is the torso. The original almost feels rectangular, while the revamped torso has much better shaping. The lower legs are an excellent use of the HF 2010 leg cladding, a piece I thought almost unusable. The hands are good, though it appears the thumb still comes from the center of his palm, which is a minor annoyance. The shoulders are good on both the original and the revamp, but on the revamp you managed to improve upon them excellently. tbh I couldn't tell what the mustache was until you said it was a mustache, but it's an interesting touch.

 

Excellent work! I don't think I've ever posted in one of your MOC topics before but your MOCs have always been an inspiration to me.

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I must say that these are some pretty epic titan MOCs you have made. I adore Zakarath overall and consider him near flawless. I love the use of the Irnakk spine and I'd also to congratulate you on even simply owning this rare gem. Hakeahu looks great in his overall design, but I think the weapon he had back when he was in original form looked better on him. In the end, Ballom, you have outdid yourself and have made some fantastic titans.

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Zakarath is as a whole a vast improvement on the original, but I must say I prefer the lower legs on the original more; the gold doesn't quite match the other gold, which I'd imagine was a big factor for changing it, but it has a nicer shape than the Metru foot attached to the Piraka leg does. The lower arms are similarly distracting, but not to the same extent. I love the use of blades all over, though. The stickers are a nice touch, too. The idea of using stickers on pieces they weren't intended for has never occurred to me.

 

The biggest improvement on Hakeahu to me is the torso. The original almost feels rectangular, while the revamped torso has much better shaping. The lower legs are an excellent use of the HF 2010 leg cladding, a piece I thought almost unusable. The hands are good, though it appears the thumb still comes from the center of his palm, which is a minor annoyance. The shoulders are good on both the original and the revamp, but on the revamp you managed to improve upon them excellently. tbh I couldn't tell what the mustache was until you said it was a mustache, but it's an interesting touch.

 

Excellent work! I don't think I've ever posted in one of your MOC topics before but your MOCs have always been an inspiration to me.

Thanks for the detailed critique! First of all, I agree with you that the Sir Danju armor pieces from the old Zakarath are very nicely shaped, but the slightly different gold color just stood out too much to me after a while. That's why I stuck with the pearl light gold pieces on his lower arms, even though they bulge, and with the black Toa Metru feet on his thighs, even though they could use more gold. But I'm glad that you like my use of the cut Chima stickers to add a little more gold.

 

As for Hakeahu version 2, I tried to be creative for his lower legs, and I think it pretty much worked. Also, you are right about his body -- it is an immense improvement over the original. (Rubber band holders were a bad idea on the old version, I admit.) His hands are not particularly realistic, to be sure, but I could not for the life of me get him to hold that axe with his thumb attached in a more realistic way (to the side of his palm, with the socket piece facing upward). And yes, I am glad that you approve of Hakeahu's Dali 'stache. :P

 

Finally, I am flattered that you have found my MOCs to be a source of inspiration, so many thanks! ^_^ Normally I'm the one who says that line to LEGO mavens like retinence, Roa McToa, and Darth Vader.

 

I must say that these are some pretty epic titan MOCs you have made. I adore Zakarath overall and consider him near flawless. I love the use of the Irnakk spine and I'd also to congratulate you on even simply owning this rare gem. Hakeahu looks great in his overall design, but I think the weapon he had back when he was in original form looked better on him. In the end, Ballom, you have outdid yourself and have made some fantastic titans.

Why thank you! I couldn't agree more: Irnakk was a lovely set with an awesome recolor on the Thok spine. But what is it that you find off-putting about Hakeahu's new axe? Is it the new pommel, or the spiked top, or the thicker head?

 

~B~

Edited by Ballom
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Zakarath is as a whole a vast improvement on the original, but I must say I prefer the lower legs on the original more; the gold doesn't quite match the other gold, which I'd imagine was a big factor for changing it, but it has a nicer shape than the Metru foot attached to the Piraka leg does. The lower arms are similarly distracting, but not to the same extent. I love the use of blades all over, though. The stickers are a nice touch, too. The idea of using stickers on pieces they weren't intended for has never occurred to me.

 

The biggest improvement on Hakeahu to me is the torso. The original almost feels rectangular, while the revamped torso has much better shaping. The lower legs are an excellent use of the HF 2010 leg cladding, a piece I thought almost unusable. The hands are good, though it appears the thumb still comes from the center of his palm, which is a minor annoyance. The shoulders are good on both the original and the revamp, but on the revamp you managed to improve upon them excellently. tbh I couldn't tell what the mustache was until you said it was a mustache, but it's an interesting touch.

 

Excellent work! I don't think I've ever posted in one of your MOC topics before but your MOCs have always been an inspiration to me.

Thanks for the detailed critique! First of all, I agree with you that the Sir Danju armor pieces from the old Zakarath are very nicely shaped, but the slightly different gold color just stood out too much to me after a while. That's why I stuck with the pearl light gold pieces on his lower arms, even though they bulge, and with the black Toa Metru feet on his thighs, even though they could use more gold. But I'm glad that you like my use of the cut Chima stickers to add a little more gold.

 

As for Hakeahu version 2, I tried to be creative for his lower legs, and I think it pretty much worked. Also, you are right about his body -- it is an immense improvement over the original. (Rubber band holders were a bad idea on the old version, I admit.)  His hands are not particularly realistic, to be sure, but I could not for the life of me get him to hold that axe with his thumb attached in a more realistic way (to the side of his palm, with the socket piece facing upward). And yes, I am glad that you approve of Hakeahu's Dali 'stache.  :P

 

Finally, I am flattered that you have found my MOCs to be a source of inspiration, so many thanks! ^_^ Normally I'm the one who says that line to LEGO mavens like retinence, Roa McToa, and Darth Vader.

 

I must say that these are some pretty epic titan MOCs you have made. I adore Zakarath overall and consider him near flawless. I love the use of the Irnakk spine and I'd also to congratulate you on even simply owning this rare gem.  Hakeahu looks great in his overall design, but I think the weapon he had back when he was in original form looked better on him. In the end, Ballom, you have outdid yourself and have made some fantastic titans.

Why thank you! I couldn't agree more: Irnakk was a lovely set with an awesome recolor on the Thok spine. But what is it that you find off-putting about Hakeahu's new axe? Is it the new pommel, or the spiked top, or the thicker head?

 

~B~

 

Oh, my bad. I thought you had changed out Hakeahu's axe for a broad sword. Seeing that it is now an axe, it is beautifully designed. Once again, sorry for my misconception. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

Oh, my bad. I thought you had changed out Hakeahu's axe for a broad sword. Seeing that it is now an axe, it is beautifully designed. Once again, sorry for my misconception.

No worries! I can easily see how it could have been seen as a sword at a quick glance. But yeah, I think he's much more interesting as someone with an axe to grind than as yet another sword-wielding dude. :P

 

~B~

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The biggest changes on both MOCs is the torso. The new Zakarath torso is a whole lot more nicely shaped. It is well proportioned, giving a solid, muscular look.The blades are a nice touch. His limbs are fine, but not too notable, though changing his hands/claws from that old unoriginal Piraka foot is great. Even more appealing to the eyes is his color scheme, which is vastly more balanced. His new weapons are also an improvement. Simple, but rather pleasing. More original than the originals. :P

 

I'm less fond of Hakeahu's new torso. It feel garbled. While the upper torso displays some creative smoothness, it doesn't follow it all the way down the body. His legs are better then the old ones, looking less awkward without the Rahskhi backs giving a weird curve. But the knees look bare and wimpy for such a big guy.

 

I am a big fan of Nokama's hydro blades, which are very aesthetically pleasing (and thus your axe is also. Using the Bohrok shields improves the look of the new axe even more, making it less messy than the original.). It is unfortunate they have those annoying long squiggly handles, which prevent them from being used enough. But I still cringe whenever any LEGO piece is cut, which is what you apparently did here. Now, despite your axe's lovable design and looks, it does appear out of place. A titan like Hakeahu looks like he could wield something bigger. Not necessarily an Axonn-sized axe, but something heavier. It looks like he can easily wield his current axe with one hand, which doesn't make it look like an intimidating weapon.

"What we see depends mainly on what we look for" -John Lubbock
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The biggest changes on both MOCs is the torso. The new Zakarath torso is a whole lot more nicely shaped. It is well proportioned, giving a solid, muscular look.The blades are a nice touch. His limbs are fine, but not too notable, though changing his hands/claws from that old unoriginal Piraka foot is great. Even more appealing to the eyes is his color scheme, which is vastly more balanced. His new weapons are also an improvement. Simple, but rather pleasing. More original than the originals. :P

 

I'm less fond of Hakeahu's new torso. It feel garbled. While the upper torso displays some creative smoothness, it doesn't follow it all the way down the body. His legs are better then the old ones, looking less awkward without the Rahskhi backs giving a weird curve. But the knees look bare and wimpy for such a big guy.

 

I am a big fan of Nokama's hydro blades, which are very aesthetically pleasing (and thus your axe is also. Using the Bohrok shields improves the look of the new axe even more, making it less messy than the original.). It is unfortunate they have those annoying long squiggly handles, which prevent them from being used enough. But I still cringe whenever any LEGO piece is cut, which is what you apparently did here. Now, despite your axe's lovable design and looks, it does appear out of place. A titan like Hakeahu looks like he could wield something bigger. Not necessarily an Axonn-sized axe, but something heavier. It looks like he can easily wield his current axe with one hand, which doesn't make it look like an intimidating weapon.

Yeah, quite a lot of the changes made were to fix sections that were horribly unoriginal on the first versions, like Zakarath's weapons and hands, so it's good the new versions seem to fit better.

 

As for Hakeahu's torso, while I agree that it doesn't flow perfectly in some places, like in the abdominal area, I still think it's an improvement on the original, and I don't see how the old version is any better in terms of flow. The knees only really look awkward directly from the front, and while they are slightly underarmored, it's out of necessity, as it's hard to beef them up without sacrificing a lot of poseability. As for the axe ... well, it's almost half his height. That's roughly the same ratio as Zakarath's sword has to him, and any larger would be getting ridiculous, I think. Axonn's axe was absurdly oversized compared to him, and would have been impossible to wield properly.

 

Thanks for the reply, V-N! I remember years ago, when you were Vaka-Nui, you were a fan of Terra Nui and the associated epics, so it's good to see an old friend like you dropping by.

 

~B~

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