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Set Review: 70781 Protector of Earth


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Are you guys getting bored of all these 2015 LEGO Bionicle reviews yet? Good, because neither are we! Today BZPower Forum Assistant Nuju Metru is back to take a look at 70781 Protector of Earth, the smaller, more purple Earth-themed set from the first wave. Will he burrow his way into your collection or will you leave him buried by bedrock? You'll have to read on to find out!

 

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Okay, you sold me. I'll try to pick up this guy first. :D

 

I love the color scheme, and he has a great design. I love the stocky proportions and the unique chest blaster. Plus, more trans-purple than Onua.

 

"What is that?"

"Well, I call it my Crystaline Earth Shredder, but you may know it my another name... Star Drill."

"What?"

"C'mon man, Star Drill? Amazing spinny thing of death?"

 

:P

Edited by Click
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I just think that it's a little weird that one of the weapons lies in his chest...

I love it! It's super unique, the last character to have a chest canon of any sort was Keetongu and that was well concealed. I think the chest blaster on the Protector of Earth looks really nice, and the way the armour is built around it looks great. Weapons yeah, seem a bit weak. But the colour scheme is glorious, a definite return to form for purple. If I was to get a Protector, it would be this one. The review has sold me on it.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

-NotS

Edited by Nidhiki of the Shadows
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That purple really looks fantastic. And that gun being in his chest really gives Barney a very unique appearance amongst his brethren. It's also just a pretty clever placement. Of the Protectors, he might be my favorite (definitely is so far of the ones reviewed).

 

~|ET|~

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E-T... Phone home.

 

"He walks among us, but he is not one of us."

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I just think that it's a little weird that one of the weapons lies in his chest...

I love it! It's super unique, the last character to have a chest canon of any sort was Keetongu and that was well concealed. I think the chest blaster on the Protector of Earth looks really nice, and the way the armour is built around it looks great. Weapons yeah, seem a bit weak. But the colour scheme is glorious, a definite return to form for purple. If I was to get a Protector, it would be this one. The review has sold me on it.

 

Thanks for the review!

 

-NotS

 

I'm not saying it looks bad, but I think they did well with working the armor around it. I just don't like the fact that it is so open and easily triggered when compared to (your example of, thank you btw) Keetongu's spinner, which would be revealed after activating a mechanism built into the figure. I understand that the Protector is small, so I'll give Lego credit for pulling it off, given the size constraints.

 

And before anyone gets on my case, size does not matter to me. I was always the smallest in school, so I know how it is. ;)

http://i.imgur.com/kbP5Svg.gifhttp://i.imgur.com/O8CcqC5.pnghttp://i.imgur.com/kbP5Svg.gif

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TRANS PURPLE OH MY MATA NUI. I will be buying this set for sure for many reasons.

1. Look up.

2. Only protector with three weapons!

3. Lots of nice pieces, such as the hangers that attach the Hordika necks, the CCBS shells, the mask.

4. To spite my brother, who loves rare pieces and purple especially.

5. Good price.

6. Nuju Metru's awesome review.

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I HATE SCORPIOS


 


~Pohatu Master of Stone, 2015

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This is my favorite set so far out of the ones reviewed.

 

The color scheme isn't as cringe-worthy as some of the other sets -  the purple and black work well together and they didn't overload it with too many colors.

 

I love how the gun is in the chest rather than as a hand-weapon. I actually like the trans-purple drill weapon, too.

 

I like the Protector's masks in general and the black and trans purple just looks slick.

 

If you couldn't tell, I like this set.

 

Thanks for the review!

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2. Only protector with three weapons!

Technically, the Protector of Fire also has three weapons: two flame swords and a shoulder-mounted blaster. Protector of Earth is still the only one with three DIFFERENT weapons, though, since the Protector of Fire's swords are identical!

 

I really like this set's build. Great proportions, a unique chest-mounted blaster, and cool weapons. I'm not entirely a fan of its color scheme, though. In certain lighting he looks almost entirely black since the Tr. Bright Bluish Violet is such a dark color. I feel like the set really could use more lighter colors like silver so it feels like less of a big black blob when not brightly lit. Perhaps silver shells on the torso might have been enough. Maybe throw in silver feet and/or hands if necessary. But as it is, the model feels a bit flooded with dark colors unless you have it backlit, and I don't think that look works to his advantage.

Edited by Aanchir
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Why are the studs in opaque violet?  I feel a little betrayed by that detail...

 

Yeah... I was expecting it to be in trans-purple, and then I was disappointed. :/ At least the mask looks amazing. The blend of colours, although not so prominent, gives a really awesome highlight to the mask. Definitely picking this set up if I can spare the cash. :D

"Keep in mind that if Star Trek fans had, as a group, said, 'No point in talking about this anymore, it's never going to come back,' it never WOULD have come back."

 

-Greg Farshtey

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Why are the studs in opaque violet?  I feel a little betrayed by that detail...

Probably because it was over budget — 1x1 round plates have never been released in Tr. Bright Bluish Violet, not even in System sets. When you see the actual package, the illustration on the back makes it especially obvious that they're not transparent, and it's apparent on the front under close inspection, so I wouldn't call it false advertising, but it is a bit of a shame. If ever there was a set where transparent ones might have been appropriate, it's this one.

 

Speaking of which, did you call him Barney because he's purple, or because he has a Fruity Pebbles launcher in his chest?

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Why are the studs in opaque violet?  I feel a little betrayed by that detail...

Probably because it was over budget — 1x1 round plates have never been released in Tr. Bright Bluish Violet, not even in System sets. When you see the actual package, the illustration on the back makes it especially obvious that they're not transparent, and it's apparent on the front under close inspection, so I wouldn't call it false advertising, but it is a bit of a shame. If ever there was a set where transparent ones might have been appropriate, it's this one.

 

Speaking of which, did you call him Barney because he's purple, or because he has a Fruity Pebbles launcher in his chest?

 

 

I thought it was 'cause barney's last name was rubble. :0

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I really like this set's build. Great proportions, a unique chest-mounted blaster, and cool weapons. I'm not entirely a fan of its color scheme, though. In certain lighting he looks almost entirely black since the Tr. Bright Bluish Violet is such a dark color. I feel like the set really could use more lighter colors like silver so it feels like less of a big black blob when not brightly lit. Perhaps silver shells on the torso might have been enough. Maybe throw in silver feet and/or hands if necessary. But as it is, the model feels a bit flooded with dark colors unless you have it backlit, and I don't think that look works to his advantage.

Didn't we have a bunch of people in another topic complaining about an overdose of silver? If someone on here noticed it, I bet good money that the kids who bought Hero Factory noticed too. 

 

Plus also he does have those silver rock pieces on his shoulders anyway. Onua is a good example IMO of what happens when you put too many bright colors in with black and purple, so you win some, you lose some. It's probably better this way, since those of us who want the metallic parts with black will get Onua, and the ones who don't can enjoy the Protector of Earth. That's a win-win, isn't it? 

 

With that said, I do prefer Onua simply because he has a wider variety of parts that I want, but the Protector of Earth (P of E?) isn't a bad set. It's just not one of my favorites, and I blatantly heart purple. It just doesn't add up as well as the Jungle Protector for some reason. :shrugs:

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Well, I wasn't expecting Avak to appear at the end of the review. :P

 

Anyways, I like this set a lot, especially with the purple pieces on it. I'm not a fan of its blaster being a part of its chest though. I know it helps it be unique among the other Protectors, but I still kind of prefer body armor on its chest instead of the blaster being there. But that is just my opinion on it.

 

Thanks for the review!

Everyone is one choice away from being the bad guy in another person's story.


 


pc0lX6T.png

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Why are the studs in opaque violet?  I feel a little betrayed by that detail...

I wondered about this, too; I didn't know that the parts hadn't been released in trans-purple before (thanks, Aanchir!), so I assumed that they chose flat colored studs because a dark trans-color would've been even easier to lose against carpets, etc., which is also a valid reason I think.

 

Speaking of which, did you call him Barney because he's purple, or because he has a Fruity Pebbles launcher in his chest?

I just happen to like the name Barney... I actually didn't realize the brilliance of the the purple dinosaur connection until midway through the review. The ensuing laugh threw me off my productive streak for a good 15 seconds.

 

Well, I wasn't expecting Avak to appear at the end of the review. :P

It ain't Avak.

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I guess this might signify the beginning of a glorious "Black + Purple = Earth" Era in the history of Bionicle. These two colors make for a wonderful "Earth-esque" aesthetic combination, I LOVE THEM!  :inlove: May very well start collecting more Earth-element sets due to this reason. Both Onua and Barney look fantastic in those colors. Barney's silver shoulder guard further add bonus points to his set design.

 

Chest cannon though?  :blink: Wow... simply, WOW. Never see that coming. But while I take time to get accustomed to it, I admit that it is a truly ingenious design indeed.

 

Barney's tools/weapons are my major gripe with him. Felt that both of his weapons need more menacing appearances which doesn't necessarily involve making them a lot bigger than they are now. But overall Barney remains one of the cooler Protectors.

 

P.S. Having seen 4 Protector set reviews, I am starting to feel that the Protectors could really use more variety in their mask designs, especially with the "horn"/upper adornment designs.

Your left brain contains nothing right, while your right brain contains nothing left.

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I have a question- can the gatling gun fire a 1x1 round brick?

This sets looks pretty cool and the review was good as usual.  :)

Yes it can! I was really impressed to find that out, since the earlier single-shot click shooter (featured in the 2014 Star Wars, Hero Factory, Ultra Agents, and LEGO Movie sets) couldn't fire ammo that had a hollow stud. But the new rapid-fire shooter definitely can!

 

Just be aware that smaller ammo pieces will generally fly farther and faster than larger ones.

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I have a question- can the gatling gun fire a 1x1 round brick?

This sets looks pretty cool and the review was good as usual.  :)

Yes it can! I was really impressed to find that out, since the earlier single-shot click shooter (featured in the 2014 Star Wars, Hero Factory, Ultra Agents, and LEGO Movie sets) couldn't fire ammo that had a hollow stud. But the new rapid-fire shooter definitely can!

 

Just be aware that smaller ammo pieces will generally fly farther and faster than larger ones.

 

LEGO has been doing a great job with launchers recently. Some do make sets look cheesier than flick fires did but all the new weapons actually fire well and consistently.  :)

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I must say, the blaster is great, even though that you could easily lose the studs as ammo and it's wierd that it is attached to his chest.

Anyway, the Protector looks great. The transparent purple pieces looks quite lovely. Reminds of of Onepu. I do like his Star Mace weapon. It looks pretty cool. The dagger is a pretty nice touch, too.

I like how you put a picture of the ultra-Ouna pairing with the Protector to fight the Skull Spiders. It looks awesome and reminds me of the Guardians of the Galaxy movie. I mean, little guy + big guy = awesome!:)

Edited by Lenny7092
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I like Lego, Bionicle, and Hero Factory!:)

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