SET REVIEW: 70785 Pohatu: Master of Stone

[Voltex]

So! My Bionicle 2015 sets arrived today and I've decided to review each of them. I was going to review Lewa first but there's still one important picture of him that I need to take, so Pohatu gets the honor of being the first 2015 set I review instead!

 

Also, I realize this won't really match up to the official BZPower review, but... well, I enjoyed reviewing the NinjaCopter back in October, so here we go!

 

SET REVIEW: 70785 Pohatu: Master of Stone

 

PRESENTATION

Sorry, I didn't actually take any pictures of the box or instruction manual on their own; I'll try to remember to do so for future reviews. That said, I think by now we've all seen the packaging, and it's... odd. Odd in a good way - it's visually appealing, and I like that the desert background is unique to Pohatu and the Protector of Stone. The hexagonal shape allows Pohatu himself to be front and center, while the legal information such as piece count, recommended age, and other miscellaneous information that I don't really care for take up space out of immediate view. I will note that the box is rather flimsy; despite being padded with little airbags, several of the boxes for my sets had been partially crushed in transit. I wish they were a little more durable.

 

BUILDING

Out of the sets that I have built so far, Pohatu was by far the most simplistic - coming in at an absolutely underwhelming 66 pieces (a lower piece count than half of the Protectors, although admittedly they are all composed of tiny pieces), Pohatu is probably the fastest and easiest of the Toa to build. That said, it was still loads of fun; the gearbox especially was entertaining to put together.

There it is in all of its completed glory... from the view that doesn't really allow you to see how it is constructed. I do apologize for that. The gearbox is definitely the most complex part of this set, but that's not to say that the rest of the set isn't fun to build as well. Of note here is that the gearbox is only designed to swing Pohatu's right arm; his left arm remains stationary like the arms of most sets since 2006.

Here we have Pohatu almost finished, lacking only his mask, weapons, and torso armor. The burnt orange and trans-lime green (or whatever it's called, I know somebody will correct me) work surprisingly well together, although I do wish that it was trans-yellow instead (even if that might not be as bright). The over-abundance of silver also works - and thanks to the asymmetry of his arms, I am now operating under the headcanon that Pohatu lost his left arm in some mysterious accident, and has replaced it with a robotic arm. 

 

Because robotic arms are cool.

 

SET DESIGN

Here is the obligatory "interesting pieces" picture:

As you might notice, I forgot to include the gearbox, the headpiece, the eyes, and a few other pieces. Oh well - we shall cover those in another review, I suppose. What we do have is a silver brain attack torso (which gives the impression that Pohatu has some serious abs), a printed burnt orange chest piece, burnt orange armor, two versions of Pohatu's mask (gold and, you guessed it, burnt orange), the boomerang piece, the Rahkshi staff, the dark blue Skull Spider head/body/whatever thing, and the trans-lime-green-pieces-that-have-a-different-name limbs. 

 

Personally, I am a fan of the burnt orange that is being used; the old browns were always rather dark or boring in the old Bionicle (except for Avak, who looked like a delicious piece of chocolate), and it matches well with the shades of red, blue and green used by some of the other Toa. Pohatu's new mask does bear some resemblance to his masks of old; specifically his original Kakama and his 2008 mask... or if one wants the mask that it appears to be almost directly based upon, just look at Photok below.

Yes. 

 

PLAYABILITY

I'm going to be honest; I probably won't be doing much playing with any of my 2015 sets. Mostly just displaying them and admiring how beautiful they are because they are like perfection itself. But if I DID play with them, well, I do have a few thoughts. The first is that I am annoyed when trying to move Pohatu's head, because I have always gripped the front of the mask and then the back of the eyes; but I cannot do that anymore since the eyes pop the mask off. So I am slowly adjusting. I also don't really get the dual-purpose of Pohatu's weapons; I kind of wish they functioned like the Piraka's weapons in that regard, where it was a very simple switch. Although those weapons were hard to use when building creations, so at the end of the day I think we're alright. Plus, Lego made boomerangs look cool as weapons.

Of course, the set does come with a Skull Spider (like all of the 2015 sets so far) - and this one has a stinger, since it is hardcore and lives in the desert. You can have it follow Pohatu around as a pet, or maybe it will jump up and eat his face! Really, you can decide. I rather like the Skull Spiders and wish Lego had more sets include something like them. And of course, Pohatu can discover his golden mask, which grants him... something. I don't really know.

Pohatu goes on an adventure! Pohatu finds his golden mask! Pohatu has his face eaten by a Skull Spider! Oh dear.

 

FINAL THOUGHTS

Pros

• Burnt Orange!
• Skull Spider is cool
• ROBOT ARM
• Makes boomerangs cool
• Comes with three masks, three weapons, and three charactersdarnit

Cons

• 66 pieces makes me feel ripped off even though I know the Protectors have tiny baby pieces
• Not enough burnt orange
• ROBOT ARM is probably not really a ROBOT ARM
• I have to learn a new way to move heads and it's weird and why am I even complaining about this maybe it's because there's really not much to complain about

So what are my final thoughts? I say go for it. You know you want all six Toa. You know it. In fact, you want doubles of each one, because you want to build Wairuha and Akamai too. In all seriousness, Pohatu is probably my least favorite of the Toa - but when I'd say this whole lineup is pretty darn close to perfect, that's not really that bad. So buy him!

 

Just buy him last.

 

Coming 2015 - Pohatu: The Winter Soldier

Edited January 10, 2015 by Strange Festive Voltex

[Toa Smoke Monster]

Good review. Its odd that you post this review on the same night that I decide to build my Pohatu set which I got the other day.

 

But anyways, I agree with a lot of the points you make about the set. I also wish that he had a few more pieces on burnt orange, thought his color scheme as is is cool regardless. I also support the theory that he has a robotic left arm. (And if he doesn't in the official story, I'll headcannon that he does! )

 

His weapons are really cool and the build of his body is also well done. His legs on particular are probably my favorite thing about him, in that they sort of pay a tribute to the Pohatu of 2001 and 2002. His mask isn't my favorite though, but I still think that it look good on him.

 

One minor complaint I have about him is that when you have the Rahkshi staff part on his back, it makes it look like Pohatu has a tail. Which is kind of distracting on him IMO. But one can just remove it from him to fix that, so its not a big deal.

 

Overall, Pohatu Okoto is a good set. And though he wasn't the last set I got, I don't regret getting him at all.

[Nescent]

Nice review! I love his weapons, but they don't work so well on his feet. Don't really provide enough support in my opinion, especially if you orient them towards his front. The comic even demonstrates him flying without the boomerangs on his feet, so they don't seem so useful in that regard. I also think that brown feet would look better than silver, to even out his colors and make them blend less with the shins (maybe that's what they were going for though).

 

Since you own all of the Toa, how does your Mask of Stone compare to the other masks in terms of looseness? Mine is really wobbly.

[Lyichir]

One minor complaint I have about him is that when you have the Rahkshi staff part on his back, it makes it look like Pohatu has a tail. Which is kind of distracting on him IMO. But one can just remove it from him to fix that, so its not a big deal.

Most pictures of the set have it attached diagonally, which I feel better suggests that it's just a holstered weapon and not a part of the figure itself.

[Vrokorta]

So what are my final thoughts? I say go for it. You know you want all six Toa. You know it. In fact, you want doubles of each one, because you want to build Wairuha and Akamai too. In all seriousness, Pohatu is probably my least favorite of the Toa - but when I'd say this whole lineup is pretty darn close to perfect, that's not really that bad. So buy him!

 

Just buy him last.

 

Coming 2015 - Pohatu: The Winter Soldier

One: They better have kaita.

Two: I like pohatu, even if he has 66 pieces.(He was the only one who could kick[unless you built the other toa upside down])

Three: I'll buy him if I see him (depending on price and other options).

Four: Winter Soldier, that's funny!

[MetaStriker]

Good review. I definitely won't be getting him but he is sorta cool anyway. Maybe I'll change my mind.

 

Looking forward to the rest of your input on these sets!

 

~SS16

[bioniclepluslotr]

I never though of Bionicles as having much playability. The best they usually do is projectiles.

Also, 66 pieces seems like a lot.

[Voltex]

I never though of Bionicles as having much playability. The best they usually do is projectiles.

Also, 66 pieces seems like a lot.

 

It's in comparison to the other Toa... who all have at least 20 pieces more than that.

[Blueblur21]

Someone want to tell me how Pohatu is supposed to get that dagger off of his back?

Edited January 11, 2015 by Blueblur21

[Xarok]

I know this Pohatu is getting some hate for being underwhelming but I actually like this design choice. It fits the character, Pohatu shared a lot in common with the other Toa, being strong and stubborn like Tahu (but without the temper) and like Lewa he had a tendency to be a bit of a clown (although where Lewa seemed to be more sarcastic, Pohatu's humor was hardly ever mean spirited) and like Gali he was one of the more mediator Toa. (especially during the Mask of Light where even Gali started getting pretty cold toward Tahu) All of the Toa eventually matured and put aside their petty differences in the name of the greater good, where Pohatu was always a team player. He was just a really nice guy throughout and never felt a need to compete to be the "better Toa", which I find so refreshing especially with the oversaturation of the "angry short man" trope. Pohatu doesn't need to show off to anyone he just wants to get the job done, and I feel like the lack of showiness actually works in the set form, especially now that the Toa have even great height differences than they did before.

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

Looks like a great set but will probably be the last Toa I pick up. The build looks pretty fun but not as extensive as say, Gali or Tahu. Love the colours and mask though. I agree with you - these sets are pretty darn close to perfection.

 

-NotS

[fishers64]

I like this set because it's incredibly fun. I can just picture a little boy getting this set and spending all day flying him around and chasing his little sister with it.  

 

Good review; nice pictures, and typical Voltex wit.

[Makuta Luroka]

You guys know I was the one who mentioned the Winter Soldier after he posted this right?