BBC Contest #69: Visorak Oohnorak

[Munty]

Hi all, I've never done anything like this before but I saw the post for BBC Contest 69 a while ago and for some reason my immediate thought was to build a visorak for it! I guess I figured the Skull Spider's legs would be a good place to start from and originally thought about making a red one as Tahu has 3 of the large torso armour pieces to make a quick easy shell. In the end I had to go with black though as that's the colour of the LoSS legs! So it turns out this week has got off to a pretty bad start to me and I decided to take a break this evening and dismantle Onua and LoSS to have a go at making a Visorak!

 

I think this turned out pretty well but I'm not over the moon with the gaps around the neck area and I wish the pincers retained more of their function. The rhotuka also seems a little small since I've upscaled the set slightly but I don't think that can be helped. I tried to keep the new build as close to the original as possible while using as few of the old pieces as I could. The eyes, fangs, knees and spinner parts are all from an actual Oohnorak set while most other components are from my new 2015 Bionicle sets. Some other technic parts were taken from my spares box but it's probably about 75% CCBS I think. It also uses Oohnorak's torso/skeleton piece as a base for attaching the pincers but looking at this now I think it could probably be improved. I can't change it once I post here (as far as the contest goes) but I will try and fix it at a later date to create a more attractive set I think! 

 

EDIT : I almost forgot to mention, the rhotuka spinner has full function! I wasn't sure I'd be able to incorporate it but always intended to try! In the end I managed to get the look I want and just slightly lowering the two front side armour pieces allows the ripcord to be used easily! Score one for the Visorak

 

Anyway, these pics are pretty awful right now, will get some better ones tomorrow. I just wanted to show it off a little before going to bed as I know this is when a lot of our members are active so you can let me know what you think I'll be taking better pics before officially submitting this but I have a few weeks so it'll definitely be getting entered by then! Enjoy and all feedback and critique welcome. I'm pretty new to CCBS so let me know if there are any particular parts that could work better on this model!

 

Here are some new pics, hopefully they're better! Link to the album is HERE

 

 

 

 

 

Edited February 11, 2015 by Munty

[joev14]

I find it quite interesting you did the same model as I did. You should consider swapping out the gray rhotuka base for a black one, and lower the spine above the eyes. It's pretty good looking through.

[Munty]

Dang man! I hadn't even seen that and it looks like you made yours days ago Luckily we've gone down TOTALLY different paths with our designs or I would've been really disappointed but I have been considering it for a while (I mentioned it in the other BBC Visorak thread too actually though even that may have been after you made yours) Whatever though, no harm done. Yours doesn't seem to use any CCBS either which is to my understanding the whole point of this contest. So perhaps more of a revamp than an entry?

 

On the feedback, I'm not hugely happy with the spine piece, I'd have rather used a black weapon but I don't think I have any that would work (though I actually didn't check in the end which was daft!) It was hard to attach anything at the right angle and in the right location though as the head is based on one of Onua's feet which has the big ugly ball joint socket on top of it! As for the rhotuka base, I agree, it should definitely be black. I managed to make almost every other piece in the build adhere to the original scheme but I can't find a spare black rhotuka launcher and I'm not ready to go ripping into my original collection for one piece! I'll probably order a replacement for post-contest but can't change it now anyway (da rules) I'd also prefer to use more recent y-joints in place of the vented ones from the actual Oohnorak set but again, I don't have them spare right now! 

[Konahrik]

Beautiful. This visorak is chock full of NPU including the beast foot for the secondary pincers. The only thing that I think you could make it look better, would probably be to extend the back legs, with a a regular lower leg piece and another keetorange shell. This is a really good entry and I hope it doesn't get overlooked in the voting.

[Onvermel]

Wow this is amazing! I love how you used the new pieces and yet make such a perfect rendition of Oohnorak. Much better than the actually set. Great job.

 

-Onvermel-

[Axilus Prime]

Now that is an awesome Visorak, and you pulled it off perfectly without even needing to use the original Visorak's body. The way you arranged the pieces to make a new body for it is genius. Nice.

[The Hip Historian Iaredios]

At first glance, I thought you just replaced the front legs to make use of Hero Factory armor and added mouth fangs, but at closer inspection I now realize that you made this from scratch (which is always the best way to go)! This is really good!

[Munty]

Beautiful. This visorak is chock full of NPU including the beast foot for the secondary pincers. The only thing that I think you could make it look better, would probably be to extend the back legs, with a a regular lower leg piece and another keetorange shell. This is a really good entry and I hope it doesn't get overlooked in the voting.

 

Thanks Konahrik, I hope so too I did actually have two more of those orangey limb pieces on the front legs but I realised just in time that the front ones should be shorter! Looking at it now it's a little hard to tell that they actually are though as the front legs are on the shoulders of the Torso and so already start off much wider than the back legs (which are on the hips) despite them being one piece longer already! I did try adding another leg piece early on in the build ( I actually started just by building the legs onto a Master torso!) but it looked too gangly. Of course the back legs on the original set WERE kind of gangly so I may experiment with it post contest when I change the other few bits I don't like. The difficulty with extending them (that I found when I tried) was that all the limbs I have are black and they break up the colour of the legs which should be orange as in the original. It does suddenly occur to me that I have the two short orange ones I removed from the front now though, perhaps I could fit them between the knee and foot without making it look too strange?

 

Wow this is amazing! I love how you used the new pieces and yet make such a perfect rendition of Oohnorak. Much better than the actually set. Great job.

 

-Onvermel-

Now that is an awesome Visorak, and you pulled it off perfectly without even needing to use the original Visorak's body. The way you arranged the pieces to make a new body for it is genius. Nice.

At first glance, I thought you just replaced the front legs to make use of Hero Factory armor and added mouth fangs, but at closer inspection I now realize that you made this from scratch (which is always the best way to go)! This is really good!

 

Thanks guys, I appreciate the kind words It's also really nice to hear comments on the body as, of course, it's custom built. I actually made the head first as I always knew the trick would be getting the original parts to look right so the fangs and eyes were a big deal for the build! Then the back was mostly built around Onua's torso armour at the back and the spinner assembly in the middle. I had REAL trouble filling the front in but eventually came up with what you see now and am happy with it for the most part. I think it could definitely be better if I had a few more black CCBS parts just to fill in the gaps but perhaps not!

 

I'll try to post up some proper shots of this a bit later and update the first post. Then I'll officially enter it later and hope for the best. There are some really nice entries and it's still early days so I'll be over the moon to even make it out of the first round! Please remember to vote for Oohnorak if you like him and thanks again for the feedback! T

[BrickPharaoh]

Another very solid-looking entry! Love everything about this one, from the incredibly creative shell design to the inclusion of a Rhotuka spinner as well! All the best, and see you in the voting polls I guess XD

 

[Petewa]

Good job,

 

Please try to post more constructive feedback in the future. What is good about the MOC? What did you like or dislike? -B6

Edited February 11, 2015 by Black Six

[Nidhiki of the Shadows]

Well, I honestly kind of doubted one could successfully recreate a Visorak primarily in CCBS and you have proved me dead wrong. This is amazing. The use of CCBS shells and shaping to reconstruct the previously one-mold body is clever and ingenious in its creativity. It looks good, fills holes and also retains the original action feature from the original. The colour distribution is similar and the addition of the original fangs and eyes with additional features like the lower mandibles works a dream. Wish you had more pics so we could see the construction from more angles. This is really intricate. A solid entry that will be tough to beat.

 

-NotS

[The Hip Historian Iaredios]

There is something you could fix: you could make the fangs go inward like a real spider. Just take a look at dear Shelob, she pulls off the look very well!

smexy gal

(put it as a link because, though anatomically accurate, is pretty creepy and disgusting. Thou has been warned)

[Munty]

Thanks guys am working on taking some better pictures now so will aim to post them up shortly! Thanks NotS, I tried to go with the original shape and colourscheme as best I could, shame I don't have the other leg parts in keetorange as then it would be just the same as the original set colour wise! I think the shell worked out nicely, just that neck bit I don't really like but can't be helped sadly!

 

laredios, I had a little play around with the mandibles when I placed them and couldn't really decide what looked good. The main reason I added them was to add some detail to the beast foot that forms the head but I think they add to the model nicely as well. That said I wish there were silver ones, I think they may clash less with the pincers although it could look pretty strange too I guess! But yeah, there are some ways they can be positioned that look rather odd while a few arrangements look solid. I stuck with this one because I think it does the best job of detailing the head AND complimenting the pincers which should always be the main attraction

 

Off to get piccies now so bear with me for what hopefully will be much better shots!

[Petewa]

While the second two pictures have terrible quality, or at least worse than the first, this looks good in CCBS, and to think people will criticize anything non-humanoid made out of the stuff,

[Munty]

Yup those pics were awful, have added better quality ones now including a whole load of detail pics if you follow the link in that first post! I'd like to think the third pic shows a normal visorak submitting to the Alpha

[Nescent]

Lovely new photo. This improves on the old design so much, while adding some nice new details. I like the shape of the body, how you integrated a Rhoduka without giving it that ugly circle on its back. The legs work well and contribute the most to its Gen 2 style, I think. The knees of the hind legs don't seem to have much rotation, but that doesn't detract from the photo. I also love those little pincers! They make him look a lot scarier than the original.

[Munty]

Lovely new photo. This improves on the old design so much, while adding some nice new details. I like the shape of the body, how you integrated a Rhoduka without giving it that ugly circle on its back. The legs work well and contribute the most to its Gen 2 style, I think. The knees of the hind legs don't seem to have much rotation, but that doesn't detract from the photo. I also love those little pincers! They make him look a lot scarier than the original.

 

Just want to clarify, the design hasn't changed, it's just more visible as the former is against the contest rules But thankyou! Annoyingly I feel like some of the new pictures (while clearer) aren't as good as the ones I got originally but hey clarity is key I guess! The more I look at this MoC, the more I realise the back legs are too small, especially next to a Gen1 Oohnorak. It'll have to do for now, hopefully it won't end up costing me too many votes To be honest none of the knees have a great deal of rotation but it's really vertical movement they need (to point up or down) as all horizontal movement can easily be done at the hips, especially at the back where is has the extra limb piece.

[Nescent]

Lovely new photo. This improves on the old design so much, while adding some nice new details. I like the shape of the body, how you integrated a Rhoduka without giving it that ugly circle on its back. The legs work well and contribute the most to its Gen 2 style, I think. The knees of the hind legs don't seem to have much rotation, but that doesn't detract from the photo. I also love those little pincers! They make him look a lot scarier than the original.

Just want to clarify, the design hasn't changed, it's just more visible as the former is against the contest rules But thankyou! Annoyingly I feel like some of the new pictures (while clearer) aren't as good as the ones I got originally but hey clarity is key I guess! The more I look at this MoC, the more I realise the back legs are too small, especially next to a Gen1 Oohnorak. It'll have to do for now, hopefully it won't end up costing me too many votes To be honest none of the knees have a great deal of rotation but it's really vertical movement they need (to point up or down) as all horizontal movement can easily be done at the hips, especially at the back where is has the extra limb piece.

 

I meant that it improves on the original Oohnorak. For the most part, I don't think the back legs are too small, just the Keetorange bone.

[Petewa]

Apparently I can't just say good job, I've gotta explain why it's a good job,

 

 

Oh well, I like those newer pictures,

[MrSciFiGuy]

I'm a sucker for custom torsos, and you used the black armor shell that I dislike on LoSS wonderfully here. I was thinking about a visorak MOC but, looks like I wont be able to compete with this! And I also like the similar size when compared to the original set

[Cirkitree]

Well done! You've managed to nail the styling of the original Visorak body with the new pieces. That foot in the face is quite versatile. I mean, it's a foot, and it's basically the whole front of the head! Really like that, and the extra 'pincers' added in make it feel more spider-like (That, and in the third Bionicle movie installment, they had those extra pincers.. it's kind of bonus-points for me).

 

I'll admit that the rear legs don't seem long enough from where I'm sitting, but otherwise, this is a fantastic recreation of the spider species into the new styling. And, best of all, you've gotten the spinner to work. That to me is probably the best thing of all!

Best of luck in the contest, mate!

 

[Zeb]

Whoa, this is great! I love how it looks so much like the original while using CCBS parts! I'm also very glad you kept the Rhotuka launcher functional.  Overall a very good revamp!

[Anapouri]

Oh I love this. It's actually really cute, hah~ I kind of want to hug it.

I love how it sticks to a very vivid color scheme. I think it pops more than the original set. Also, it looks very sturdy.

[Petersheikah]

This is very accurate and looks exactly as the original one. You also managed to keep the function, and that's great! Maybe the legs are a bit too small, but it's still awesome!

[Munty]

Thanks guys, this fella is my current desk mascot and will probably stay that way for the forseeable future as I've rown rather attached to him I imagine the PoE is growing tired of being locked in mortal combat but it makes for a nice display piece so he can just deal with it Sadly a bunch of my 2015 sets are now missing legs as a result of this creation though, so perhaps I'll bricklink them

 

Regarding the comments, the back legs are DEFINITELY too small. I think I like them the way they are though honestly... I know it isn't representative of the old sets and I'll definitely try enlarging them after the contest for a more authentic feel but I always used to think those lanky back legs in the original sets were terrible so losing them isn't the worst thing in the world

[Prowl Nightwolf]

How have I not gone through this topic yet? Well now that I have, I guess I'll just have to say that I am liking this MOC. It looks as though it is a very good representation of the Gen1 variant. the reason I know this is in the battle post between the two I could not tell where Gen1 stopped and Gen2 began. It is very cool that you managed to effectively and completely integrate the Rhotuka spinners into this version. Though if they chose to integrate the old spinners into Gen2 I could see me buying this as a set. I never got to get any of the actual Visorak sets as a kid so missed out on them. Anyway with the Gen2 weapons being the Protector blasters, that could be a cool addition to think about. It could make it feel even more Gen2...

 

EDIT: hey wait a minute.... Isn't the original is suppose to have orange not yellow... What happened here? Well I still think it is a good representation...

Edited February 16, 2015 by Prowl Nightwolf

[Zeb]

How have I not gone through this topic yet? Well now that I have, I guess I'll just have to say that I am liking this MOC. It looks as though it is a very good representation of the Gen1 variant. the reason I know this is in the battle post between the two I could not tell where Gen1 stopped and Gen2 began. It is very cool that you managed to effectively and completely integrate the Rhotuka spinners into this version. Though if they chose to integrate the old spinners into Gen2 I could see me buying this as a set. I never got to get any of the actual Visorak sets as a kid so missed out on them. Anyway with the Gen2 weapons being the Protector blasters, that could be a cool addition to think about. It could make it feel even more Gen2...

 

EDIT: hey wait a minute.... Isn't the original is suppose to have orange not yellow... What happened here? Well I still think it is a good representation...

Actually, both the original and the revamp use Flame Yellowish Orange, also known as Keetorange, a color that is a sort of orange-ish yellow. The lighting just makes it look like Bright Yellow.

[Munty]

Thanks prowl, glad you like it The colour it uses is the keetorange from 2015 lewa so it's the same as the original oohnorak. That's why it's the same colour as the one it's shown fighting with above

 

The rhotuka isn't very gen 2 but incorporating the new cannon just wouldn't work as it's not right for the visorak. Substituting one for a skyblaster or other similar weapon would work but stuff like kanoka and rhotuka are just too unique to be replaced with something so totally different imo...

[Prowl Nightwolf]

So does that mean you are not up to the challenge? I admit that it may seem strange, though I think I still would like to see it. instead of a single fire weapon, you'd have six smaller rapid-fire ones.