Hands: Stylized or Detailed?

[Sir Keksalot]

I'm making this thread because I want to know what you guys think about hands. More specifically, do you prefer the charm of the stylized hands used from '02 to '08, or are you a bigger fan of the realistic hands used from '09 on through Hero Factory and G2; and why? Because I'm kind of torn on the subject myself. On the one hand (heh), I think the stylized hands are more versatile and practical pieces overall and can be used to attach more objects, and they kinda make me nostalgic; but the "fist" pieces generally look more believable.

Edited December 13, 2018 by Sir Keksalot

[Lyichir]

For me it's usually "none of the above" since I usually prefer either the Hero Factory fists (like the '09 ones but with five fingers instead of four) or some variety of brick-built articulated hands (whether they use ball joints like Axonn's huge hands or System-based robot arms like Hydraxon's). The '09 hands were decent for what they were but were pretty quickly supplanted, while older non-articulated "hands" like the Toa Mata or Metru hands have a certain nostalgic charm but that's about it.

[Pohaturon]

I'll forever prefer the standard y-joint "stylized" hands introduced with Kopaka Mata and popularized by the Toa Nuva, used all the way until '08. They don't look realistic, sure, but they're versatile, still believable as hands (as much as any other bodypart of the sets were) and they're just so iconic on top of it all. The higher echelons of the moccing community don't look fondly on their use, but I still usually stick to them when building. While there are custom built hands that look better overall, they are ar better in my opinion than the official replacements used in '09, HF and G2. While the CCBS hands fit the SW buildables, I wouldn't have minded if G2 Bionicle sets also sported the new type y-joint for hands.

 

[Bfahome]

Depends on what I'm making.  If I'm going for a lot of detail I'll just build articulated hands; the Mixels really opened up a world of possibilities for those.  If I just want them to be holding something I'll use the current fist piece, because it makes for a good looking grip.

 

The thing is probably over half the things I build (or rather, built, past tense, haven't been able to do much of it in the past couple of years) don't even have hands, so it's not something I really have to choose between that much.

[CommanderKumo]

I like the classic hands better because they are more versatile (try fitting some of the weapons in the new hands, it can get pretty awkward) Plus they do have that wonderful classic charm to them.

[Cheesy Mac n Cheese]

I like the classic hands better because they are more versatile (try fitting some of the weapons in the new hands, it can get pretty awkward) Plus they do have that wonderful classic charm to them.

That’s true. The Staff of Light wouldn’t even fit into a 2009 fist, would it?

[Bfahome]

 

I like the classic hands better because they are more versatile (try fitting some of the weapons in the new hands, it can get pretty awkward) Plus they do have that wonderful classic charm to them.

That’s true. The Staff of Light wouldn’t even fit into a 2009 fist, would it?

 

Depends on how you build it.  Connecting the Staff of Light in that particular way relies on the through-hole connection of the single socket joints, which the hand pieces lack.  You could build it in such a way that it would fit, just like it could fit into the basic socket hands in the other way.

[ArchAngelleofJustice]

The new CCBS hands look amazing and I almost always prefer them.

Unfortunately, their size makes them look a bit wonky on the older Toa Mata/Nuva, and the 2009 hands look much better on them. Unfortunately, black ones are pretty rare, and the joints snap easily on them.

[Aanchir]

Generally I prefer hands that look more like hands, particularly the CCBS fists or more custom-built hands.

 

A case can be made for the greater versatility of Y-joints, but frankly I think that would only matter if the newer hand pieces were entirely taking the place of Y-joints rather than just taking their place in certain contexts.

 

Also, I don't think the number of older Bionicle weapons that are less compatible with the new fists is a really strong case against them, since if the sets they originated with had more realistic hands to begin with, their weapons would have been designed accordingly. Also, many cases like that entail using the weapons in awkward configurations like how the Piraka and Toa Inika held their Zamor Sphere launchers or how Mistika Toa Tahu carried his Nynrah Ghost Blaster, which basically kills any chance of them being believable as hands.

 

And what's more, there's something fundamentally weird about the idea that characters with claws have discernable fingers with implied articulation, and most characters without them don't have anything of the sort.

 

Needless to say, for certain robot/monster/creature builds (e.g. Thornraxx, Toxic Reapa, or XT4), or characters with MegaMan style gadgets that would envelop or replace the entire hand/forearm anyhow (e.g. Breakout series Evo or Nex), who intentionally aren't meant to have hands or fingers with any kind of dexterity? Y-joints or even shells are perfectly fine. Same for humanoid characters who are meant to have some type of non-hand-shaped prosthesis like a pirate hook.

[Canama]

gimme the classic hands any day

 

do they resemble hands? no. are they distinctive? yeah.

[Zidonaro]

I love me some Mata hands 

[Master Inika]

Y-joints for me. What they lack in actually looking like hands they make up for with versatility, having three points of connection and being widely useful as other things too.

[Cheesy Mac n Cheese]

I love me some Mata hands

The two-fingered ones that Tahu, Lewa and Pohatu have that they also opted to give Kopaka in The Game?

[Smooth Ostrich]

The older the better for me. I love Mata hands too.

[PokamuTheChexGuy]

 

I love me some Mata hands

The two-fingered ones that Tahu, Lewa and Pohatu have that they also opted to give Kopaka in The Game?

 

Don't forget that all of the Toa ended up having them after their transformations. Stylistically speaking, these are actually my favorite. I think if these were done more recently, they'd have some kind of articulation in at least the fingers and the "palm" bit would be smaller, not unlike the way they are in The Game. Pipe cleaners might be a bit of a ghetto solution lol.

 

Practically speaking (and probably no small thanks to nostalgia) I'm definitely a fan of y-joints.

[Cheesy Mac n Cheese]

 

 

 

I love me some Mata hands

The two-fingered ones that Tahu, Lewa and Pohatu have that they also opted to give Kopaka in The Game?

Don't forget that all of the Toa ended up having them after their transformations. Stylistically speaking, these are actually my favorite. I think if these were done more recently, they'd have some kind of articulation in at least the fingers and the "palm" bit would be smaller, not unlike the way they are in The Game. Pipe cleaners might be a bit of a ghetto solution lol.

I remember that my friends and I thought the fingers were machine gun barrels when they first came out! In retrospect, I guess we can blame Destroyer Droids for that. Edited December 23, 2018 by Cheesy Mac n Cheese

[Valendale]

Eh, I like both and I think they can both exist together without too much trouble. Although I will say that when it comes to the more realistic fists, I much prefer the later ones used by Hero Factory and G2 to the ones used in 2009.

[Daler99]

While I like the ‘09 and HF hands for style purposes, I really love the classic ‘01 to ‘08 hand piece. Not only does it look good, but it also is much more useful. It is less bulky and has an extra connection point.

[Jobber]

Depends on the type of set. For small stuff like the Toa Mata/Nuva or Matoran the 'block' hands look great, everything else later on realistic or build hands look best.