Mahrillaneous
I had been really looking forward to using "Ave Mahria" as a title in praise of the Toa Mahri... But unless these are indeed prototypes and change drastically before their final forms, it looks like that won't be happening.
"I must confess I am actually shocked at the mostly positive reaction here so far. These sets appear horrid to me. ... 2007 has started on such an admirably high note; I do not wish for it to end on a bad one." – Sméag
"I usually look for the positives, but... There are few. Too few." – Takatu
If you don't read this entire entry, read those two quotes – in them Sméag and Takatu sum up my thoughts perfectly. But because I like being specific...
Let it be known that I despise them as they currently stand. They look little like Toa beyond humanoid stature (Hewkii), look even less like their characters and Inika selves than the Inika did relative to Matoran (Kongu), look like they were thrown together (Hewkii, Nuparu), and the guns are horrid and ammunition stuck all over them ruins their color schemes (Kongu, Hewkii). (In parentheses are the worst examples of each.) I personally don't like any of the masks, and utterly hate Hewkii's.
But I could live with them as a group if not for Kongu. He's been given the stature (short), body shape (wide-shouldered), color scheme (dark grey), and bulky weaponry associated with Onu-characters, all of which are in opposite polarity to Le-Koronans, who are tall, thin, lithe, bright-colored, and weild simple, efficient tools. And for Hewkii, who looks as though he were constructed with no thought to aesthetics: black and yellow-orange is great, but not the way it was distributed, with spikes and red and silver and loose chains all over everything.
Matoro's hunchbacked form and mess of tubes on his back look horrid for one with a high and noble destiny and incredible power, but I can live with him. Same with Nuparu's holey, awkward, and spiky construction. Jaller is not a bad build or arrangement, but not one I'm partial to.
Hahli is the saving grace of the Toa Mahri. She has plenty of solid dark blue pieces, awesome wings, and the cool color of lime green – even if that color is totally illogical for a Ga-Toa. I like her mask and weapons no better than the others', but her body saves her.
Otherwise, the variety of recolored pieces – including a white Inika body and dark green Rahkshi feet! Yaay! – are the only things I especially like about them. I am desperately hoping that these are indeed prototypes and that the finals will be at least somewhat better-looking – though Kongu is beyond repair.
...Well, that was a longer tirade than I had intended to give. I have other stuff to blog about, finally, but I think a good, heartfelt rant on the Mahri will suffice for one entry, don't you?
If nothing else, seeing these sets is driving me to make quintessential Toa Mahri MOCs as soon as possible, if only to totally blow these out out of the water... literally.
~ ToM
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