Set Review: 71309 Onua - Uniter of Earth

[xccj]

Great pictures, Andrew. Thanks for the review!

 

I'm not a huge fan of Onua among the next wave of Toa. The color scheme matches last year's Onua, although still a little gold heavy IMO. (There's hardly any visible black... although I like the abundance of trans purple.) But the main deal is that he's just too tall and lanky. (I had a similar complaint of his 08 version.) On the other hand, when combined with his creature, he looks adequately bulky and fits right in. It's great because I think the combiner makes both of the original sets look much better, and it's a big step up from the Protector / Master combinations from last year. Its a big enough reason for me to grab every Toa and Creature this year.

 

Looking forward to seeing what the rest of these look like!

 

[Rahkshi Lalonde]

like others have said, Onua is pretty good, except for his generaly lanky-ness (this kong even has a funny face, oh no.)

 

also i woul liek to point out here, since we've finally seen the new body build, is that Onua (and presumably all the Uniters) has a /more/ technic-based build than any comparative canister-size set did in G1 bionicle's entire run! (pointing out because people always call G1 bionicle "technic-based-builds" when that really only applie to the titan-size sets...)

 

anyway, i hope we get a non-turntable armless-torso beam, for use with the gearbox n whatnot. (if what i've seen is correct, Star Wars constraction is keeping the gearbox mold warm while Bionicle tests this new function out. u: )

[Aanchir]

anyway, i hope we get a non-turntable armless-torso beam, for use with the gearbox n whatnot. (if what i've seen is correct, Star Wars constraction is keeping the gearbox mold warm while Bionicle tests this new function out. u: )

The Star Wars sets that use last year's gearboxes also also introduce a new torso beam that's pretty much just what you're asking for. Other than the lack of a turntable, its main difference from the 2016 Bionicle torso beam is that it doesn't have a built-in neck joint.

 

Also, thank you for making that point about the G1 Toa sets, because it frustrates me when people use Technic as a catchall term for anything they liked about G1 that they don't like about G2, when really the G2 sets use plenty of Technic — The 2015 Lewa, Gali, Onua, and Kopaka all have more Technic pieces than their 2001 counterparts had pieces in general! And the 2016 sets use at least as much Technic if not more!

 

I still haven't gotten an answer to my question about the new torso shell, though — can it attach to the previous styles of CCBS torso beam?

Edited December 8, 2015 by Aanchir

[Click]

While I have a LOT of issues with the new Onua, the shoulders and mask are not among them. The mask very strongly echoes the 2015 Mask of Earth, much more than how the 2002 Pakari Nuva echoed the 2001 Pakari (which is to say, hardly at all). The vents adjacent to the eyes are still there, the vents in the forehead are still there, and even the shape and texture of the mouth are similar. And yet, at the same time, the new mask also brings in some traits of Onua's other masks over the years, like the 2002 Pakari Nuva's characteristic wideness and even the 2008 Pakari Nuva's angular contours and narrow triangular side-fins (very apparent in this picture).

As for the shoulders, like Lyi said, they're the part of the build that most strongly echoes Onua's 2015 design. They're very similar in shape and size to the 2015 Onua's shoulders, just with a more jagged, crystalline look.

 

No, I'll admit that the mask does a great job of looking like the 2015 version. I can see the similarities as plain as anyone. But that doesn't mean it looks good. I had plenty of problems with the 2015 version, and these problems are only exacerbated in this version. The forehead and mouth are too massive, leading to tiny, squinty eyes that you can barely see through all the details. Most of all, I just really hate the design of the cheeks. If those had been smoothed out a little better, I would like the mask so much more.

 

The shoulders have a similar issue. Sure, they remind us of his 2015 incarceration, but they don't look good. They highlight rather than disguise the gappy shoulders with the tiny, frail-looking Hordika neck. Just a few more pieces in there to fill out the sides of his chest and give him a bit more bulk would have been greatly appreciated.

[Black Six]

Question: can you actually separate the torso and hip pieces easily, or are they meant to be permanently attached?

How easy is it to remove the hip piece from the torso? If it's anything like the six-shooters then I'm kinda bummed out by the lack of ease of customisation (assuming the hips and torsos come in different colours across the different Toa.

Yes, you can remove the two pieces fairly easily. The ball joints on the hip give you pretty good leverage to pull it free.

 

Also, is there any sort of axle or pin connection that can be made in the clip at the top?

It doesn't seem like it, no.

 

The new torso patterns are nice but I don't like them quite as much as the more painted-looking patterns on the 2015 Toa. I do, however, like the colors. Does the new torso shell fit on a regular 7x9, 9x9, or 9x11 CCBS torso beam? This would be useful to know for MOCing purposes.

Yes, it does, although there is about a 1M gap between the back of the armor and the torso beam in the chest area, for about 3M. This could be a good thing or a bad thing, depending on if you want to attach any pieces to the front of the torso beam.

[Toa DNL]

I really like the trans Purple and gold on Onua. I personally like the Onua's hammer having a hammer function and a blaster function as well. Also his new mask looks awesome and I like his Shoulder pads in trans purple. Although  many people would find flaws i each of these sets I personally try to overlook that and focus on the parts and the clever action features built into it. Also i want to get an opinion on something. What do most young adults or even adults do with these Bionicle sets? Do they play with it or do they Just display it on a shelf?

[Nescent]

Also i want to get an opinion on something. What do most young adults or even adults do with these Bionicle sets? Do they play with it or do they Just display it on a shelf?

I really don't play with the sets anymore, usually I build with them or place them on display.

[dviddy]

I really like the trans Purple and gold on Onua. I personally like the Onua's hammer having a hammer function and a blaster function as well. Also his new mask looks awesome and I like his Shoulder pads in trans purple. Although  many people would find flaws i each of these sets I personally try to overlook that and focus on the parts and the clever action features built into it. Also i want to get an opinion on something. What do most young adults or even adults do with these Bionicle sets? Do they play with it or do they Just display it on a shelf?

I have one of each of the 2015 Toa on display in our apartment, and the other copies of each set I bought get taken apart (if they even get built) for MOCing. I've had Tahu16 sitting in front of me for a few days, and I like to randomly pick him up and turn his gears while I work on other projects.

[Lyichir]

I really like the trans Purple and gold on Onua. I personally like the Onua's hammer having a hammer function and a blaster function as well. Also his new mask looks awesome and I like his Shoulder pads in trans purple. Although  many people would find flaws i each of these sets I personally try to overlook that and focus on the parts and the clever action features built into it. Also i want to get an opinion on something. What do most young adults or even adults do with these Bionicle sets? Do they play with it or do they Just display it on a shelf?

It really depends whether I have any uses for the parts. I generally don't like taking a set apart completely during the year of its release (and when I do, it's often to make a combi model or the like rather than to mix the parts into my collection en masse), but I'm not opposed to scavenging one of the completed sets for parts if I have a MOC idea that needs parts that I don't have extras of. I've currently got most of the 2015 Toa together, but Skull Grinder is pretty much in pieces due to me using a lot of his parts (eyes, shoulder armor, bones, etc.) in a MOC of a Skull Villain for Gali.

 

With the sets I do have together, I do occasionally take them down from the shelf just to mess around with the action features or just generally admire the look of the set.

[Lenny7092]

I love how the new Onua set looks! He looks dang awesome!

I love his new hammer! I love the fact it is a combination of a hammer, drill, and shooter. However, I would rather remove the studs before I would start spin the drill without making a mess. I'm glad there is this container on the back of his left leg.

 

I love the new hip pieces. They look very interesting when you turn his hip around.

 

I'm glad the chest plate piece never included stickers. I would go crazy if that would happen.

 

I love the designs of the new pieces, including the masks. The transparent purple looks beautiful!

 

There are some things that I am not impressed. The Uniter doesn't look Hulk-ish like his Master version. I like that he is taller, but de-Hulk-ing him for some reason is a bit odd. I wonder if Onua didn't had much gamma radiation now.

The asymmetrical arms is a bit weird, too. Why having two different kinds of articulation?

 

Anyway, I also love how Onua looks with the Terak united with him. He looks more epic! I love how the creature's head matches Onua's golden Unity Mask very well!

 

I love the comic, too. Looks slightly different from the 2015 ones, but it is epic.

 

Overall, Onua, one of my favorite Toa as always, looks very awesome! Man, I would like to buy him when he comes out officially!

[Xboxtravis]

Also i want to get an opinion on something. What do most young adults or even adults do with these Bionicle sets? Do they play with it or do they Just display it on a shelf?

 

I build them, I display them, I take them apart and rebuild them.

 

And sometimes I sit on the floor and play with them. Yeah, its still cool. 

 

I actually haven't been that much into Bionicle since 2007, but the arrival of the new sets changed all that... Nostalgia is a great factor in buying stuff.

 

And in the hypothetical future when I would get married and have kids; if Bionicle is still around then you can guess my kids would be having some interesting birthday and Christmas presents! 

[32one]

Does the torso have friction?

[Black Six]

Does the torso have friction?

The torso will stay where you put it when you're posing the set. If you pick it up and start playing with it though, it will move a bit.

[Toa Pyroccido]

Onua looks so cool and athletic! I think he went to the fitness after Korgot said he was fat...