Continuing Project Nuva, just how a Toa Nuva would be rebuilt (see below entry) would be to use these pieces... you can faintly see the lines of the graph paper I drew them on, so if you need a scale reference, it's there.

:: New pieces ::

• Modified single socket, similar to the rubber-lined ones of $20 set fame, except with the middle area shortened by half a stud. This allows for the gears to fit beneath it while still giving neck movement, keeping the head at the same level as the original Nuva (connected to the body by a 3-long axle).
• Modified Toa body, in the style of the Metru. Again, keeping the gears, but giving a connection slot for a Metru-type hip piece.
• Shortened Metru hips. Just an idea, having the beam part be only four studs long instead of five, so that they wouldn't have long bodies with short legs.
• In two pieces, a flexible Nuva leg. The upper half is Rahkshi-thigh-esque, except the socket is built in, making it only one piece. The lower half is one stud shorter than the Metru leg piece (as can be seen by the faintly visible grid).
• A new thigh armor piece. About the same size and shape as the Metru thigh armor, but smooth and round to work with the Nuva legs and armor.

As you can see from the pieces, the torso would be much like the Metru torsoes crossed with the originals – arms connected both by gears and by friction axle/pins, but with hips like we've had since 2004. This gives a much wider range of both arm and leg posability.

The arms would make use of the new Nuva legs, an unfortunate sacrifice of individuality between Toa in favor of flexibility. This means there's both side-to-side articulation, thanks to the single sockets at the shoulder, holding their armor, as well as elbows. But it does seem to be something of a trend that the leg pieces of one group become the arms of the next. (For instance, Tahu and Lewa Nuva's arms, the Metru legs in the Inika and Mahri...) Anyway, the legs would be what was the basic Metru leg construction – short double socket with the new thigh armor piece over it, with either Metru or Inika shins. I imagined Metru on Lewa, Gali, and Kopaka, with Vahki on Tahu, Onua, and Pohatu. And no, I did not realize until afterward that I had split the leg pieces between Wairuha and Akamai.

As to extremities, they would keep their feet and tools – after all, one of the many cool things about the Nuva was the dual tool functions. Their heads would use Metru heads, but recolored into light grey, with all their original eye colors. (Which means Metru eyes in trans-pink, ice blue, and trans-yellow!) It would also thus be useful for there to be six new molds of the Nuva masks, just replacing the stud mouthpiece with the axle mouthpiece (otherwise the Kanohi Nuva wobble on the Metru heads). Though something akin to Lhikan's Hau might be interesting as well, I personally have never disliked the Kanohi Nuva...

All of this is why I pointed out last entry that Lewa was an example – he conveys their general look, but the points requiring new pieces can't be illustrated photographically. He has the appropriate visual elements, but obviously not the new molds that would be needed...

He's still the mascot of Project Nuva, though.

~ ToM