Why'd the blue pins stay?

 

I'd love for them to be black, but I'm trying to balance what I would like with what Lego would actually do – and changing the pins back to black seems unlikely, alas...

I like the modifications. It's like a picture of a MOC, only without the MOC.

I want you to make every set forever from now on.

I don't know ToM, it seems kind of clon-ish like the Inika if you keep on using those same old shoulder and torso armour like that of your Gali's.

still.. if you were to become a LEGO designer, wouldn't the first thing you'd do would be to bring in the black pins?

 

anyway, that's an incredibly nice drawing! Why must you be the best:

 

-MOCer

-artist

-staffie [well, Takuta-Nui is tied w/ you]

-poet

 

one of the best writers too!

 

ah well, that way I don't have to remember 20 names, I just have one! ToM Dracone.

 

Zip_er: he's trying to be realistic. Think about it. The LEGO designers obviously aren't in any mood to change their designs. He's trying to improve the sets, not make 50 new molds for each one

 

I don't know ToM, it seems kind of clon-ish like the Inika if you keep on using those same old shoulder and torso armour like that of your Gali's.

Why wouldn't he? They are the Nuva, after all.

Well, they are the Nuva, so Nuva armor on them tends to help that identity considerably. That's half the reason I'm redesigning all of them, so that they have their defining armor... And think of it this way: if you use the Inika torso/updated-Nuva-armor design for all of them, you get Inika torsoes in four new colors, lime (my version of Lewa), medium blue (as in Gali), medium red (as in Tahu), and dark bluish-grey (will be used in Pohatu rather than Lewa).

 

I'd take six very similar torso designs with adequate proportions any day over the Nuva's real torsoes – all but Kopaka have flat chests with no depth, and even his Inika armor isn't all that deep.

 

One idea I had was to give Kopaka and Onua iron grey armor, just to throw in a little variety. I haven't completely ruled it out (despite the picture above), but I like plain silver on all of them so much that I went with that for Kopaka...

Forgot to ask, how would the shoulder armors be attached?

Oh, Mata Nui.

 

 

Lego. Hire him. Now.

My thoughts.

 

I think you should have the arms use just the Nuva shoulder armor and not the Metru, changed so it attaches to the middle hole like Inika shoulder armor but also have it curve so that it covers his shoulders (unlike the Inika armor). Or maybe what you have now is better. I will think about it...But I think I'm preferring your idea. So go with your's.

 

The wings are good. However, I would change the dark bley to light (for the whole color scheme). I like the idea of each Nuva having his/her own color scheme (so the dark bley would go to Onua).

 

I also don't see the point in the new socket molds, so I would leave that out because it's an unnecessary new mold.

 

He needs a longer sword that's double-bladed. Maybe shoulder-mount the Midak? I think you could keep the laser scope, but not the blade. Just mount the bar on a 1x2 Technic beam or something. And is that a 10x10 disc? If so, good.

 

I still don't like the mask. It's better now that the scope is on the right side, but I'd just scrap that mask and go for a movie-style Akaku Nuva with a stretched top to cover the head. And leave a hole for a trans-red stud.

 

I think he should have Toa Mata feet. In white, of course. And for some reason I think he should have Rahkshi shins.

 

I think a nice idea would be to have color-coordinated Metru heads. So Kopaka would have a white head. Not necessary, but I think it would be cool. Ice blue eyes are good.

Excellent "set" drawing. I especially like wings, I'll have to use that in a MOC sometime.

 

Couldn't you have made him light bley? And given him a sword and/or shield?

 

Glad you changed the eye color though.

(I don't see a point (in general) for him to be flying around with a stick in his eye. Nothing against you though.)

 

But without the little personal tidbits, this is amazing!

 

-CF

Hm, first time in a while I've done a quoting-by-sections reply... And Kame and CF, I'll answer both of you here as well.

 

I think you should have the arms use just the Nuva shoulder armor and not the Metru, changed so it attaches to the middle hole like Inika shoulder armor but also have it curve so that it covers his shoulders (unlike the Inika armor). Or maybe what you have now is better. I will think about it...But I think I'm preferring your idea. So go with your's.

Um, that is what they use. Nuva armor, pretty much exactly the way you described.

 

(and @ Kame, I'll post a picture of the redesigned Nuva pieces tomorrow or so – they attach to the back, so the left and right pieces are mirrors of each other.)

 

The wings are good. However, I would change the dark bley to light (for the whole color scheme). I like the idea of each Nuva having his/her own color scheme (so the dark bley would go to Onua).

To you and ChocolateFrogs alike, if given completely free rein that's how I'd do it – each Toa with his or her original color scheme intact. But since I'm keeping the adaptive armor idea, the dark grey is there to stay, I'm afraid...

 

He needs a longer sword that's double-bladed. Maybe shoulder-mount the Midak? I think you could keep the laser scope, but not the blade. Just mount the bar on a 1x2 Technic beam or something. And is that a 10x10 disc? If so, good.

I had been going to give him his full armament initially, but this is what changed my mind: he'd be way too cluttered. If he had a sword, shield, wings, and a blaster over his shoulder, there would be so much going on he might fall over. As a result, one of them has to go, and the most dispensable is the sword in this case. (Why? Because, if the shield went, dual-wielding a double-bladed sword and a gun is a bit odd, so it makes more sense to have a shield and a gun with a blade in it rather than a full sword. I wish I didn't have to keep the blaster, but that's focus groups for you.)

 

I still don't like the mask. It's better now that the scope is on the right side, but I'd just scrap that mask and go for a movie-style Akaku Nuva with a stretched top to cover the head. And leave a hole for a trans-red stud.

I agree, the mask's not my favorite, but I'm just working with what I'm given... @ CF, the eye-stick wouldn't be so bad if only, say, a stud or two of it were showing and the rest were inside the lens, I think.

 

I think he should have Toa Mata feet. In white, of course. And for some reason I think he should have Rahkshi shins.

 

I think a nice idea would be to have color-coordinated Metru heads. So Kopaka would have a white head. Not necessary, but I think it would be cool. Ice blue eyes are good.

Mata feet are great, but since the wings make him rather heavy, he really needs something that gives more support – thus, Inika feet. I've also been wanting white Inika feet since 2006, and we just had white Mata feet last year. As to Rahkshi shins, they'd be on the skinny side... and I wanted a slightly stronger look than that for Kopaka.

 

Metru heads in more colors would be amazing, but think about this – if he has a white head under a white mask, there's not much contrast in the eyehole. The dark grey had provides that. And white on white in such a situation is always a bit weird to look at.

 

One last thing to CF – he has a shield... and the rest was addressed above.

Hm, first time in a while I've done a quoting-by-sections reply... And Kame and CF, I'll answer both of you here as well.

 

One last thing to CF – he has a shield... and the rest was addressed above.

Oops, yeah, I overlooked that due to the other awesomeness....

 

One thing I forgot to say is that I like how you put the eyepiece on the right correct side.

 

On the topic of feet, Mata feet work fine, it just takes some nifty posing. (Which is why Lego is doing bigger and bigger feet (they've grown in length, and width , over the years) so the kiddies can stand them up.) And it's really the back that needs to be extended if anything, unlike how the Inika feet are bigger in the front, because the wings, Matoran and body would make him go back.

But you choice. These feet work well in the Kopaka Phantoka set.

 

-CF

Hm, first time in a while I've done a quoting-by-sections reply... And Kame and CF, I'll answer both of you here as well.

 

I think you should have the arms use just the Nuva shoulder armor and not the Metru, changed so it attaches to the middle hole like Inika shoulder armor but also have it curve so that it covers his shoulders (unlike the Inika armor). Or maybe what you have now is better. I will think about it...But I think I'm preferring your idea. So go with your's.

Um, that is what they use. Nuva armor, pretty much exactly the way you described.

 

(and @ Kame, I'll post a picture of the redesigned Nuva pieces tomorrow or so – they attach to the back, so the left and right pieces are mirrors of each other.)

I was thinking something else, like they'd go into the O-hole, not the +-hole, but I like your idea better.

 

The wings are good. However, I would change the dark bley to light (for the whole color scheme). I like the idea of each Nuva having his/her own color scheme (so the dark bley would go to Onua).

To you and ChocolateFrogs alike, if given completely free rein that's how I'd do it – each Toa with his or her original color scheme intact. But since I'm keeping the adaptive armor idea, the dark grey is there to stay, I'm afraid...

I still don't see why adaptive armor has to make everyone dark bley, but oh well...

 

He needs a longer sword that's double-bladed. Maybe shoulder-mount the Midak? I think you could keep the laser scope, but not the blade. Just mount the bar on a 1x2 Technic beam or something. And is that a 10x10 disc? If so, good.

I had been going to give him his full armament initially, but this is what changed my mind: he'd be way too cluttered. If he had a sword, shield, wings, and a blaster over his shoulder, there would be so much going on he might fall over. As a result, one of them has to go, and the most dispensable is the sword in this case. (Why? Because, if the shield went, dual-wielding a double-bladed sword and a gun is a bit odd, so it makes more sense to have a shield and a gun with a blade in it rather than a full sword. I wish I didn't have to keep the blaster, but that's focus groups for you.)

That makes sense. I'd still prefer a sword and shield, but it probably would be too cluttered.

 

I still don't like the mask. It's better now that the scope is on the right side, but I'd just scrap that mask and go for a movie-style Akaku Nuva with a stretched top to cover the head. And leave a hole for a trans-red stud.

I agree, the mask's not my favorite, but I'm just working with what I'm given... @ CF, the eye-stick wouldn't be so bad if only, say, a stud or two of it were showing and the rest were inside the lens, I think.

Okay.

 

I think he should have Toa Mata feet. In white, of course. And for some reason I think he should have Rahkshi shins.

 

I think a nice idea would be to have color-coordinated Metru heads. So Kopaka would have a white head. Not necessary, but I think it would be cool. Ice blue eyes are good.

Mata feet are great, but since the wings make him rather heavy, he really needs something that gives more support – thus, Inika feet. I've also been wanting white Inika feet since 2006, and we just had white Mata feet last year. As to Rahkshi shins, they'd be on the skinny side... and I wanted a slightly stronger look than that for Kopaka.

 

Metru heads in more colors would be amazing, but think about this – if he has a white head under a white mask, there's not much contrast in the eyehole. The dark grey had provides that. And white on white in such a situation is always a bit weird to look at.

 

One last thing to CF – he has a shield... and the rest was addressed above.

You know, I was thinking the same thought about the heads last night after I went off BZP. That it would be too bland. So I guess dark bley is good, even if I'd prefer him to have light bley with a light bley head.

 

I can see your reasoning behind having Inika feet, but I think the problem would be the weight of the blaster. And if he's not using Mata feet, smooth Inika feet are the next best choice IMO. Although the white smooth Inika feet would be in Takanuva anyway (albeit with only one and three times the price, but you could get a bunch secondhand).

 

And as to the Rahkshi shins, I can see why, but eh. Still want him to have Rahkshi shins (some weird idea that I refuse to let go of).

WOW! I really like this. Would it be okay if I tried to translate this from art to actual Bionicle pieces and post it on BZPower?

I just noticed you gave him Metru legs as arms: good job! These 8 stud long arms are driving me crazy!

 

-CF

I would have probably added new limb pieces too, but yeah, that's something Lego wouldn't actually do.

 

Beautiful job. Kopaka is probably the 08 Nuva I have the least problems with, so this just perfects him.

 

ToM, you're a genius. And as most people probably know, I absolutely love everything you do artwork/MoC wise and set-commentary/revamp wise. You're just an awesome person. 8D

 

By the way, how would the updated Nuva shoulder armor attach?

Near-perfect. You still changed a bit more than I would have liked, but on the whole kept much of the flair of the current Kopaka.

 

Compliments:

• The shield is a fabulous idea. A new piece would make it even cooler, but having that in addition to the mask and wings would overstep our new piece budget of newmask-newtool-newflightdevice that we managed to get for each Phantoka, even if we weren't blessed likewise in the Mistika.
• The mask=win.
• One handed Midak Skyblaster might not be necessary, but as the two-handed one makes designing a realistic and standard skyblaster configuration for the Phantoka in my drawings a hassle, it's forgiveable. And hey, it allows for both the shield and the eyepiece-swap, which on the whole lends the skyblaster the more graceful appearance it needs for the bayonet to look suitable, if not realistically-wielded. (What the heck, this is science-fantasy! Pistols with bayonets are the futuuuuuuuure!)
• Legs and feet left the same=maximum good! Engrish-esque phrases aside, however, the change in arms is not something I consider quite necessary, though not unpleasing.

[*]Ice blue truncated Metru eyes seem like a fine decision. Of course, I can't judge whether it would be a sound decision for LEGO yet as I cannot tell whether LEGO intends to continue the use of Metru eyes and eyepieces next year-- new colors for such parts might be a bad decision if a new head piece is intended to supplant the old. On a related note, who here thinks Greg should have skipped the story explanation for the eye color change and just say "yeah, they changed, it just happened like that"? No offense, but the "eye filter" explanation is so dodgy that it becomes more of a problem than the color change itself was.

 

And the complaints:

• Why the change in torso armor? While I love continuity as much as the next guy, stylistic consistency is far higher on my list of priorities. Nuva-style armor loses this consistency with the leg armor, and moreover has a dismal lack of textures to itself when compared with more modern armor. While I can tell by the wings that you were trying to stick to stuff for which you had an artist's model, some major modification is needed for this to regain the glory of the set armor. The slight stylization you did offer is pretty fabulous, but I'm sorry to say that without the lower-torso armor, it's not nearly as valuable as other forms of stylization might have been.
• Speaking of wings, I can't remember why you wanted avian wings. Let me remind you why I want mechanical wings. Toa=robot machines. Villains=cyborg monsters. While this is clearly the simplified approach, it still reflects something I find central to BIONICLE and central among the reasons the Inika were so easily confused for villains. Meanwhile, do angelic avian wings really reflect the cold and calculating warrior we know Kopaka to be? Nay, the tech is your friend. Redesigning the existing wing pieces to be able to fold back, however, would be a grand and noble endeavor that would perhaps spare us that "folded up even when flying" approach we've been disgusted with far too often this year.
• Even with Nuva armor, the motifs on the Inika thigh armor which the set had on the upper arms far better reflected the smooth textures of the Nuva armor than the Metru armor used here. I shouldn't even have to mention the profuse use of smoother textures elsewhere on the actual set, as well as the lack of pieces with such extreme pistons and frame armor. Just ditch the Nuva shoulders, replace the Metru upper arm armor with Inika upper arm armor, and stylize the Nuva chest armor what little is needed to match, and all should smooth itself out.

Overall, besides the flaws that would probably only become evident in the actual set, this is a great design. I look forward to seeing more such redesigns and analyses.

Thank ye kindly, Dokuma and CF.

 

Now, more quotes!

 

I still don't see why adaptive armor has to make everyone dark bley, but oh well...

Well, it does work very well to create the armored appearance (on Lewa more than Kopaka, though), since there's nothing to suggest full body armor if they all have their original colors. Mind you, given free reign I'd just make all of them using their proper color schemes, but again this is working with the adaptive armor story...

 

Why the change in torso armor?

 

Just ditch the Nuva shoulders ...

Because Toa Nuva = Nuva armor. Basic point of all my redesigns. It's the single clearest way to establish the group identity, and it's also the single most defining trait of the Nuva. Nothing more to it.

 

As to the stylistic mentions, the rest of him is quite smooth already (as you mentioned), notably the Piraka legs, and the Inika thigh armor's reasonably sleek as well. So, the general lack of texture on the chest and shoulder armor doesn't exactly stand out in a negative way. And again, the point is to be simple and sleek, just like the original Nuva armor.

 

Also bear in mind that a real piece would have more subtle texturing by its very nature; there's only so much you can do in a sketch to show general appearances...

 

One thing I'll definitely agree on is the Metru thigh armor, which is incessantly annoying that way. However, it's the only thing that works there – if I used Inika thigh armor (like the set), his arms would have to be disproportionately long; and the Nuva shoulder armor certainly isn't going anywhere. Ideally I'd like there to be a new Metru-thigh-armor-esque piece that's just smooth, but that would require a new mold, of course...

 

Speaking of wings, I can't remember why you wanted avian wings. ...

This is one of those things that could go either way infinitely. I think the airplane wings look boring, ugly, and borrowed directly from the real world, and as a result I hate them, especially on Kopaka. You, by contrast, like them for exactly those reasons (except that you don't think they're boring and ugly). So nothing's going to change either of our thoughts on them.

 

But what I can say is this: this sort of avian-based design can fulfill all the "technological" requirements you list for Kopaka. They're certainly not soft and fluffy; they're made of sharp metal blades. They have plenty a machine look through the practical pistons you like so much, too – the only thing they borrow from the organic origin is the general principle; everything about them is metal and mechanized. So they count as both machine and cold, hard, and sharp as ice just as much as the airplane wings do, really.

 

So in this case it really is just a matter of taste. You like the airplane wings. I hate them and like angelic wings better (and also think Kopaka with angel wings is glorious). Both fulfill Kopaka-requirements. End of story. : /

 

On a related note, who here thinks Greg should have skipped the story explanation for the eye color change and just say "yeah, they changed, it just happened like that"? No offense, but the "eye filter" explanation is so dodgy that it becomes more of a problem than the color change itself was.

Yes and no. Just saying "it happened; deal with it" is instant death in the realm of plots. The obvious solution was just to give them their original eye colors and not have to make up an awkward explanation for the rest – the "filter" works from the front, but not from any other angle...

You know, originally I didn't have a huge problem with the jet wings (didn't love 'em, didn't hate 'em), because they always struck me as being an adaptation of his former dual blades. But the more I think about it, avian wings are infinitely more aesthetically pleasing. =D

 

Any idea how the Nuva shoulder armor would attach?

Yeah, I mentioned that earlier – they're a new piece (well, two new pieces, mirrors of each other), which attach to the back via a 3-long pin. The same one that attaches the Metru armor. I'll have a drawing up soon or so...

Personally, I like your Gali more (maybe because the Gali Mistika set is so weird and un-Gali, while the Kopaka Phantoka didn't have as many problems). The wings are nice, though, but I'd have replaced the grey with silver.

Ah, I see. Good idea, too... it allows for the smaller double socket piece to be used for proportions' sake.

 

Although what I usually like to do is, for example, with a set like Jaller Mahri, put the armor on the back of the arm (also making sure that the front of the Metru leg piece is facing backwards), thus assuring the arm can fold in the front fully.

 

Also, something I just thought of--in addition to what you said about the red lightsaber rods, if you also had your version of Gali Mistika, one could switch them and put the blue rods on Kopaka. Y'know, just as a set modification to please people like us. >=D

Your business with the Nuva armor... Would it be like a Jaller Inika chest armor in silver with a Nuva armor piece fused onto it? Because that's what it looks like...