Banana Gunz Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 So I hear a lot of great things about the mctoran and how nostalgic they are, but are they really solid sets (for what they are)? Does their quality match up with their size? One day in the future when I can I'd like to buy one (or all, but first probably just one) of the mctoran, and I'd like to know which one you think looks the coolest. At the moment I'm leaning towards Onepu because I love purple and the Pakari but I'd like to hear some of your wisdom! tumblr: it's a lovely place to be if you've gone madflickr: mah yummy gross pics mmmPew Pew Pew Pew Pew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aanchir Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 They were good for what they were: EXTREMELY low-priced sets that could be given away as McDonalds Happy Meal toys. The material and molding quality was on par with regular retail LEGO sets, even though their part designs were more specialized than most BIONICLE parts. The disk-flinging right arm was effective, at a considerably smaller size than the Throwbot/Slizer arm which had previously been used for the same type of disk. Its asymmetry made its uses more limited than the left arm, though. They were a great opportunity to get masks in unusual colors, though Onepu shared his with one of the Nui-Jaga. Their articulation was inherently very limited, something the $4 Matoran sets from 2003 were seemingly designed to correct. And with just eight pieces each, there definitely wasn't any room for real variety in their builds. Still, these were obvious limitations of the way they were released. It's quite justifiable for people to be nostalgic for them, especially since it's been a long time since LEGO fast-food promotional toys have included actual LEGO parts. 9 Latest MOC: PAIGE (Prototype Artificial Intelligence, Gynoid Expression) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sumiki Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 They're adorable. They're not worth it if you're looking for good MOCing parts, but they're just so cute. I'm biased towards Kongu because teal, but Onepu was good color-wise, especially if you don't have the Nui-Jaga. 5 avatar by Lady Kopaka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Click Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Nostalgia-wise: Yes! Look-wise: As Sumiki said, they are adorable, but they're pretty limited as well. They're just display pieces really.Set-wise: Parts: The only really useful part in a McToran is their masks, Kongu and Maku even have exclusive masks you won't find elsewhere. The rest of them can only be used really, really creatively. I've seen MOCists like Chro use the torsos and legs, but the heads and arms are pretty near useless unless you have a desire to recreate things from MNOLG. Playability: The posablility is very limited. You can push turn their feet or push them around to make them punch, or you can pull back their arms and punch or fling disks. After a few years though, I've been finding my McToran arms broken and even more useless. So it really depends on what you're looking for. If you find a good deal and want the pieces or nostalgia, then go ahead. They're probably not worth more than $7 or so though. 1 ~ Corpus Rahkshi: Fang | Hoto | Tube | Tear | Canvas | Garrotte | Reda BZPRPG: Azusai | Mitsuri The Scarabax Library | Flickr | Deviantart Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toa Smoke Monster Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 I wouldn't say that they were the best sets in Bionicle's history, but they were great small sets none the less. I actually think that they are better than the 04 Matoran, but that is just my opinion. My favorites would be Jaller and Naparu. (I know he came with the Boxor set, but he still has the same body design, so I would think that he would count in this. ) Everyone is one choice away from being the bad guy in another person's story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
randomreviewerbros Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Of course they were great, they were free with any Happy Meal purchase, their design was simplistic but it conveyed a message of how colorful and simple 2001 was for BIONICLE, they went perfectly with the Toa Mata, the Turaga and the Rahi, so overall yes they were great sets, if you can find them cheap (under $10) now then yes get them. Go check out our Youtube channel! We review BIONICLE and other LEGO related items! https://www.youtube.com/user/RandomReviewerBros Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Archon~ Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 Theyre totes adorbz.I have to say I was a big fan of Kongu cuz teal, and Macku, since she had a noble mask in primary coloring. :-3 Archon *** "For one to truly feel alive, the person must kill oneself a little bit each and every day." Check out my MOC, one of the new generation of Toa on Spherus Magna! ***Toa Kyraan*** Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tuuli Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 They are worthy sets, otherwise I guess they would not have even been released. For free sets, heck yes and you got them with your meal from McDonald's. They were arguably the last good toys McDonald's ever offered. They had limited posability but their cute form made up for that and besides, they included rare masks! They could also sling those discs really far, I haven't seen any other disc shooting sets do better. They even shoot better than those cheap 2004 disc launchers. In a way, you could look at these sets as "glorified mask stands" for mask display or just have fun playing with them as the villagers they are. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adventurer Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 I had a lot of fun collecting them (an excuse to have McDonalds too ). That being said the best things about them for me were the characters behind them - at the time they were characters I knew and loved from the online games, but didn't have sets of - so getting them was a big deal at the time for me. Furthermore, their small size made it easy to re-enact some of the larger Matoran events (like the battle of Kini-Nui). That being said - the sets are nothing particularly special - I think most if not all of the pieces have shown up in other sets as have most if not all of the characters. I'd say they're cool to have - but nothing to stress over. Particularly for me in terms of the characters and story - the Matoran aren't in that form anymore and it wasn't their original form either, so the purist in me would rather collect the "current" or "original" story Matoran. That's one way of looking at it anyway if you get what I mean. 2 Credit to Pohuaki for the awesome banner! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ektris Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 If you can get them at a really cheap price, they are fantastic. Have to echo Sumiki again in that they are definitely adorable. I will always have a soft spot for Kongu as the only one I got as a kid. The other five I only got.. 2 years ago? But hey, thanks to his teal he is pretty unique and cool even without nostalgia goggles. ~|ET|~ E-T... Phone home. "He walks among us, but he is not one of us." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Kohran Posted September 8, 2014 Share Posted September 8, 2014 There isn't much you can do with them parts-wise, but somehow the MNOLG has made the appeal of these almost unassailable. There's also a compactness to their bodies that later Matoran designs lacked. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Korero Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I think they are crazy nostalgic!And they are freakin cute! Yeah! A Bionicle! Wadaya know?My favourite has to be Kongu, his colours are awesome, and I like that he's the captain of the Le-Koro Gukko force.(I'm working on a custom 2003 Kolhii Kongu)KONGUUUUU Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Skrade Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 (edited) The Tohunga sets were so neat with their disc arms, I had Kongu and that arm just got so warn out flinging discs at poor Kopaka. Besides Hahli, they had awesome and unique mask colors as well. Edited September 9, 2014 by Skrade Check out my sprite kit, the Nobelus Kit! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kopekemaster Posted September 9, 2014 Share Posted September 9, 2014 I love 'em, and am super excited when I find one for a good price.Quality-wise, I consider them equal to other LEGO things. I love that (even for that year) they released actual LEGO sets at McD. Unlike some other Bioncle McD things... **cough piraka cough**Nostalgia-wise, they're great for anything Mata Nui related, obviously, and make me think of MNOG.Set-wise, they're great for what they are. They're great anyway. I would've bought them in stores if they sold them there. 1 My Writing Blog (more writing coming soon!) My Bionicle/LEGO Blog (defunct) Hyfudiar on Spotify (noise/drone/experimental music) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nidhiki of the Shadows Posted September 10, 2014 Share Posted September 10, 2014 They were free with a Happy Meal. That justifies the piece point. And even then... they were LEGO. The pieces are compatible and they introduced so many awesome colours in Bionicle that were unfortunately never used again. But man, did I love the colour scheme of the Mctoran. Teal, purple, sand brown, bluish grey... aw yeah. That was hot. Way more worthy as sets than the 2007/2008 happy meal stuff too. -NotS 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zidonaro Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 They're so adorable, you will want like 600 of each. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Wrinkledlion X Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 The Mctoran are like jelly beans or Volkswagen Beetles. There's just something so satisfying about seeing them in a dozen different colors. Onepu and Kongu are probably the two best-looking Mctoran, with maybe Jala in runner-up. I'm also a big fan of Nupara and Hafu (who I admittedly think of as Taipu), if you can get a hold of them. 1 [bloog] [brickshelf] [This used to be my library but the link is broken] Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
doodleloot Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 I think they look best in a team of 6, but if I had to choose one I'd take Jala and replace his mask with a light blue Pakari.Kongu and Matoro have the nicest colors in my opinion though, so I'd take one of them if that's what you're after. Hail Denmark Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cambion Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 i'd say they're worth collecting, between the nostalgia factor and the great colours. plus if you buy multiples along with some extra feet and masks in different colours you can make your own cute little rainbow army of McToran. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reya Posted September 11, 2014 Share Posted September 11, 2014 It is definitely worth having at least one in your collection. They are adorable, nostalgic, simple, and brightened up your collection with their great colour schemes. I would definitely try get Kongu! That teal/lime combo was awesome! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bonesiii Posted September 12, 2014 Share Posted September 12, 2014 It's not so much a matter of quality as a built-LEGO set, but quality of style. They were the coolest-looking Matoran ever. It's mainly those arms. The feet too, though. The build had more "personality", if you will, than most later Matoran builds. (By personality I don't mean that they weren't clones, so I'm not talking about individual personality, I mean they seemed less like generic robot-lookalikes.) But yes, there were no balljoints, and yes, that throwing hand messed up the look (even though it was the whole point of the awesome arm design lol), and yeah, the other hand was a crab-claw lol. They were still awesome. Best probably has to be Onepu because purple, but they were all pretty cool. The Destiny of Bionicle (chronological retelling of Bionicle original series, 9 PDFs of 10 chapters each on Google Drive): Part 1 - Warring with Fate | Part 2 - Year of Change | Part 3 - The Exploration Trap | Part 4 - Rise of the Warlords | Part 5 - A Busy Matoran | Part 6 - The Dark Time | Part 7 - Proving Grounds | Part 8 - A Rude Awakening | Part 9 - The Battle of Giants My Bionicle Fanfiction (Google Drive folder, eventually planned to have PDFs of all of it) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banana Gunz Posted September 13, 2014 Author Share Posted September 13, 2014 Thanks for all the responses! Onepu and Kongu seem the most popular. The only thing I'm not sure about is how strong the arms are; do they break easily or only if you wear it out with aggressive play? I won't be getting any right now but you've all convinced of them. Would've been cool though if they were released in more colors. It would've been amazing if they were sold like collectibles in vending machines that had different colored parts (but organized to work together) and you cool make all sorts of matoran. I'm kind of hoping Lego does something like that for the future as a sort of tribute to the past, but sadly I doubt it'll happen. tumblr: it's a lovely place to be if you've gone madflickr: mah yummy gross pics mmmPew Pew Pew Pew Pew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aanchir Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 Thanks for all the responses! Onepu and Kongu seem the most popular. The only thing I'm not sure about is how strong the arms are; do they break easily or only if you wear it out with aggressive play? I won't be getting any right now but you've all convinced of them. Would've been cool though if they were released in more colors. It would've been amazing if they were sold like collectibles in vending machines that had different colored parts (but organized to work together) and you cool make all sorts of matoran. I'm kind of hoping Lego does something like that for the future as a sort of tribute to the past, but sadly I doubt it'll happen.I have never had a problem with the arms breaking, so I'm going to say only if you wear them out. Randomized Matoran might have been cool, but it would probably have been a logistical nightmare. Interestingly, though, there IS a cluster of McToran parts in the LEGO Group's database (sadly, no longer viewable through their website) that never appeared in sets. These included...Arms and torsos in Earth Orange (classic brown), Bright Blue (classic blue), Bright Violet (classic purple), Bright Orange (classic orange), and Dark GreyFeet and Kanohi Huna in Bright Bluish Violet (never used in BIONICLE)Feet and Kanohi Komau in Bright Yellowish Orange (used for the Gukko's beak in 2003, otherwise never used in BIONICLE)Feet and Kanohi Kakama in Sand Violet (never used in BIONICLE)Feet and Kanohi Miru in Medium Yellowish Green (never used in BIONICLE)Kanohi Pakari in Sand Blue (Matoro's primary color)Kanohi Ruru in Bright Yellow (Jala's primary color)Kanohi Matatu in Bright Bluish Green (Kongu's primary color)Kanohi Rau in Sand Green (Zaktan's secondary color, otherwise never used in BIONICLE)Kanohi Akaku in Dark Red (Metru Red)Kanohi Hau in Bright Violet (Onepu's primary color)Kanohi Mahiki in Dark Orange (Huki's primary color)Also included in this cluster were Turaga tools in unusual. It seems like they might have been meant to go with the Matoran parts, which is odd since the Matoran can't really hold them. In any case, it's unclear just what these parts might have been intended for. Notably, the element ID numbers they are registered come far before the element ID numbers for the final masks of the McToran (bright yellow Hau, dark orange Kakama, sand blue Akaku, etc). So they were probably intended to be used instead of the McToran masks and color schemes we got, not in addition to them. Even so, there are enough mask, foot, arm, and torso colors listed for ten different McToran, whereas in the end we only actually got six (not counting Hafu from the 2001 Power Pack and Nuparu from the 2002 Boxor, who both reused torso colors from the other McToran). Also, several of the colors never actually ended up appearing in the BIONICLE theme in any capacity. Even the Matoran of the Mata Nui Online Game basically just reused colors from the Matoran, Toa, and Turaga sets, and Hahli from the Bohrok Online Animations was the first Matoran in any media to introduce a brand-new color for the BIONICLE theme (Earth Blue/Metru Blue). Back then, of course, it was not unusual for parts only used in prototypes to be registered with element ID numbers in the LEGO Group's database. There were also some parts in the database that indicated that the prototype Toa and Turaga might been different than the final sets in their designs and color schemes (for instance, Turaga Whenua's Drillstaff appears in this database in Earth Orange long before it appears in Black, suggesting it might have been originally envisioned as Turaga Onewa's badge of office). Today, these kinds of entries are merely a curiosity — though one does have to wonder whether any of these preliminary parts might still exist somewhere in the LEGO Group's vaults in Billund, or in a BIONICLE designer's personal collection. 4 Latest MOC: PAIGE (Prototype Artificial Intelligence, Gynoid Expression) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Kohran Posted September 13, 2014 Share Posted September 13, 2014 It's not so much a matter of quality as a built-LEGO set, but quality of style. They were the coolest-looking Matoran ever. It's mainly those arms. The feet too, though. The build had more "personality", if you will, than most later Matoran builds. (By personality I don't mean that they weren't clones, so I'm not talking about individual personality, I mean they seemed less like generic robot-lookalikes.) I think you've really hit the mark here about what made the original Matoran design so appealing. The later Matoran designs don't come anywhere near, something I blame particularly on the Bohrok pieces riddled throughout them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vraiment Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 I had Huki and as my favorite matoran was Takua, I made the terrible mistake of paint Huki (and a spare pakari) in Takua's colo scheme and the result was terrible awful, sadly But yeah they are worth it by nostalgia mostly, I think what make them special is the fact they were the protagonists of the webpage videos and games the first years. Came for the sets, stayed for the story. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dee.3x3 Posted September 14, 2014 Share Posted September 14, 2014 The mctoran were what got me into Bionicle, when I got Jala from Mcdonalds. They were pretty good quality, and they were compatible with other Bionicle parts. However, they had there flaws: they couldn't hold anything other than the disks, and their heads behind the masks were quite ugly, and also had no eyes/brains like the Toa and Turaga. Luckily now its possible to attach the toa heads to them, using this part. Also, I think Onepu was one of the coolest, as well as recognizable. Macku was probably my favorite though. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Banana Gunz Posted September 14, 2014 Author Share Posted September 14, 2014 (edited) @Aanchir Huh, it's always real interesting to see what Lego might've been planning as they were making Bionicle. Sadly those parts will never be released... And I get what you're saying about the vending machine idea. To organize body parts so that the arms/legs are the same colors as each other and for the general color scheme to be accurate/make sense would just be fantastically hard. *sigh* One can only dream... @Refy L.S. I get what you're saying about the heads. Looking at them, they seem kinda strange and peak from outside the mask too much. But with the budget Lego had for these Mctoran I can see why they wouldn't want to add complicated transparent brains to them. But I do think it's cool how you can attach the disks to the back of their heads; something I wish could be done with the other heads. Would've been wonderful if they could also hold tools... darn. @Vraiment There really was something about the matoran in the MNOG. The way they were animated and how they looked so silly and fun just sold me on them. Perhaps mobility is a problem with them but they still look great. Edited September 14, 2014 by Banana Gunz tumblr: it's a lovely place to be if you've gone madflickr: mah yummy gross pics mmmPew Pew Pew Pew Pew Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tahu3.0 Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 they were good and adorable i mean you could get them at any happy meal and they played a great story in the bionicle universe i say the were good sets and my favorite is jaller I'm just a simple man, trying to make my way in the Matoran Universe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Axilus Prime Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 For free stuff coming with your McDonalds food, they are definitely worthy. And they were actual sets, however small they were, unlike the scrap they packed with the meals in later years. Silly non-buildable miniaturized little things... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matsuoka Nui Posted September 21, 2014 Share Posted September 21, 2014 Wow I remember back when I first got into BIONICLE thanks to the Mctoran sets. XD I remeber opening the bag up and I was sooo curious on what this "toy" was and my first set was Huki/Hewkii. (Wow that was 13 years ago! O_O ) I really enjoyed them and even though it does have limitied abilities. They were at least cute to have and they were so tiny that I almost thought I have lost them. For the Team! - Rin Matsuoka Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xxxswagbuckxxx Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 They should be added to your collection, and are good collectibles if you want to add to your Bionicle Universe. Also the best looking one in my humble opinion is Matoro. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sir Keksalot Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 For their price, they're alright. In general, they're more or less bricks with a weak throwing function. At least the Kardatoran could be posed to some degree. Rule #1: Always listen to Kek. Rule #2: If you break rule #1, kindly don't. Rule #3: EVERYBODY TYPE IN THE CHAT "AVAK IS A STUPID TRIGGER" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fry Posted February 20, 2018 Share Posted February 20, 2018 this thread is four years old Visit my Bionicle 2001 site recreation! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pohaturon Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 Thread got necro'd harder than Tuyet 2 Stone rocks Model Designer at The LEGO Group. Former contributor at New Elementary. My MOCs can be found on Flickr and Instagram. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Planetperson Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 I'm sure 4-years-ago Banana Gunz is grateful though. 2 July 2009 Comic Scans | MNOLG Soundtrack Official Greg Discussion Weekly Digest | My Lego Network Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Eyru Posted February 21, 2018 Share Posted February 21, 2018 They should be added to your collection, and are good collectibles if you want to add to your Bionicle Universe. Also the best looking one in my humble opinion is Matoro. Hi xxxswagbuckxxx, please make sure to check the date of the last post in a topic before replying. The post before yours was made back in 2014! The limit is usually 60 days, so this counts as topic revival. If you want to continue the discussion, please feel free to make a new topic. Jaekoff, Pohaturon, and Planetperson: please remember to simply report anything that breaks the rules instead of commenting on it. Thank you. Topic closed. BRPG Forum Rules • BZPRPG Starter Topic • Q&A Compendium • SK:A Profiles Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts