Here we go -- the winners of the 2nd Chances Beasts MOC contest! The following beasts will be featured in Bionicle Paracosmos Epic #4: Twisted Island -- writing has already begun and outlining is in medium stages. Too often good MOCs die in the dustbin of BBC history. I have seen so many good old MOCs that didn't get enough recognition IMO -- this contest was a chance to bring some of them back in what ways I can. So who won?

Firstly: 2nd Chances Powerpoint Compilation -- Sorry for the slow load time, but there's the .ppt file I used to arrange the winners and put all the bios and suchnot in one place. If anyone wants. (I might try a real file hosting site later, especially if anyone wants that.) Also includes info about roughly how many of each type of beast will be on Twisted Island.

I'll arrange this in three categories -- the two actual contest categories, and a third "parawin" category. Parawin is an honorable mention basically; the member who made the MOC already won in another category (since each person could enter up to three beasts), but I like the beasts enough that they will get cameo mentions in the story.

Bold parts of bios are added by me (not counting minor typofixes and wording improvements).

Thanks to Ojhilom for helping me choose winners. And here we go...



Category: 2nd Chances

1st Place

Member: Bundalings the Bunny
Beast: Kunu Leke War Slug
Bio: A cow-like sea Rahi, it often oozes quietly to itself. () Don't let its size and placid attitude fool you; when it's angry it can move amazingly fast and be extremely vicious. They live in herds, and eat algae.

Host Comments: Bundalings can thank my brother Ojhilom for winning first place in this contest. I was going to rank it a little lower, but Ojh liked it best and convinced me to like it best as well lol. We chose this one because it's very coherent, inventive, and is built very innovatively. It's got similarities to a Tarakava with the treads, it keeps a very consistent three-way color scheme, and the design is perfect as a slug Rahi. The Rahkshi feet and other surface pieces are used so well they create an almost scale-like layering effect. Also, notice the pieces holding the small white spikes on the very back/top ridge in -- those are hard pieces to use in MOCs, speaking from experience () but here they fit right in. The use of the ball pieces on the ends of tentacles as slug eyes is inventive too. All in all, this has the best of the best in our opinions/tastes as a MOC.


2nd Place

Member: Shine
Beast: Venom Swimmer
Bio: Muscular and swift, the Venom Swimmer is a water serpent with mutagenic venom in its spines and fangs. The mutagen has random effects, but it always makes it harder for a being to move or fight. It can affect physical shape as well as powers.

Host Comments: This is also a very coherent MOC that uses pieces in innovative ways. The tons of joint pieces work excellently as a serpent sort of beast, and the Bohrok forehead and Rahkshi jaw pieces work perfectly together as well. I usually don't like red and blue together, but it works well here (and on Takadox), especially with so much black (better IMT than Takua for example but maybe that's just me). And that about sums it up -- it's pretty simple compared to the Kunu Leke War Slug, which is why it's second, but it's also an excellent MOC, definately worthy of more than being left in the dustbin of past BBC contests.

Note that the beast names and (most of the) bios for both this one and third place are my ideas, used with permission.


3rd Place

Member: Darth Vader
Beast: Mecha Spider
Bio: Giant spider. Venomous, and creepy. Eats things, and is found in many places.

Mecha spiders are the elephants of the spider Rahi world, towering over Toa and walking on powerful legs and wide feet. They are so named because only their brains and some internal organs are biological -- their legs and most parts of their body are totally mechanical.

They are strong enough to uproot or topple trees. They digest their biomechanical victims into a metallic substance they weave into super-strong webs. The substance is kept in molten form inside their adbomen section, which is a totally mechanical forge. They use the webs mainly to construct dens and to climb; they’re hunters, not trappers.

Host Comments: This wins for basically the same reasons as the first two -- innovative use of pieces and coherent MOC design. The use of the Rahkshi shoulder pieces as feet especially sold me; those are very difficult pieces to incorporate. Also, the back torso use of tires is innovative too -- tires are used a lot in MOCs, but rarely do I like how they're used. Here, they make sense. It ranks third mainly because it's a little simpler than the first two and doesn't look to have had quite the amount of work put into it as those, but I must say this is my favorite beast in the whole contest. Its potential for my epic is pretty big -- in a way it kinda reminds me of some of my original ideas of the LOST Monster (before it was revealed to be smoke, which I admit I like even better than my mechanical ideas), so you can expect some LOSTish feeling moments.


4th Place

Member: -Zip Er-
Beast: Zu Rama
Bio: A smaller species of Nui Rama that inhabits the caves of the island in hives. They cooperate with each other and can change color to fit their surroundings, although their original color is red. They feed on liquid Protodermis, and have no predators, but are very stupid and tend to get killed in flights and fights. These bugs enjoy fighting larger creatures and flying.

Host Comments: It's a small MOC, but a very well-built one. The use of the Mantax/vine antennae, Barraki eyes, and face piece (also used on the body) is masterful. The limbs are simple, but fitting and the whole thing works great as the creature it is (even though I believe it was originally created to be Radiak, heh). It has an energetic, dangerous yet stupid look about it, like a lot of real bugs, unlike most bug MOCs, and that fits the bio perfectly. Plus the color scheme is very coherent, and I must admit that the orange and blue helped sell me enough to rank it fourth. Oh, and the use of folding wings is excellent whether it's Radiak or a Zu Rama -- most bug Rahi sets and MOCs neglect that function in my observation.


5th Place

Member: ((Primus))
Beast: Kran
Bio: Makuta Kran was mutated in a horrible accident that fused his Kanohi to his face. Thus, Kran has gone partially insane (before, he was rather sensible). He is rather aggressive and quite Rahi-like.

Host Comments: IMT this is the best Makuta MOC I've seen, better even than the sets for the most part. It could pass as a very, very coolified Chirox anyday. And yet it is also clearly a beast from the way he poses it. The best piece use is the silver Onua claws as ribs -- makes a great empty-chested look kinda like the Phankuta if you take the weapon out which makes it look undead. Head and mouth design is very good as well. It ranks semi-low mainly because it is still humanoid, and I did specify that I was looking mainly for non-humanoids.


6th Place

Member: ~Blue Diamond~
Beast: Haze Glow Beast
Bio: Haze Glow Beasts are gargoylish creatures typically depicted as winged humanoids with demonic features: generally horns, a tail, and sharp talons depending on the gender. Their legendary name comes from their strange habit to glow at night giving them a ghostly appearance. Their ghostly features go even further as they have been known to phase through solid objects. Unlike any other typical Rahi, these beasts feed on nightmares as well as evil thoughts for a source of energy but are powerless in sunlight. They are typically found in caves and forests.
Haze Glow Beasts are mutated Kriitunga who spent much more time in their desert island's mutagenic sands than is safe. Their ghostlike powers were gained because they almost spent too much time in the sands -- much longer, and they would have gradually become more and more ghostlike until they died. Their haze glow is orange in color.

Host Comments: Before I comment on the MOC I must say something about the bio. This entry, and one other in the New MOC category, was astuondingly close to creatures/enemies I already had planned for Twisted Island. Kriitunga are creatures similar to Matoran but instead of a mask-wearing head they have a variety of sort of conical forward-facing heads, and come in a wide range of designs due to the mutagenic sands mentioned above. The main antagonists of Twisted Island are in fact also mutated Kriitunga, mutated in ways extremely similar to the Haze Glow Beasts. It almost makes me wonder if you guys are telepathic, 'cuz nobody on BZP knew that yet.

But onto the MOC: This is also somewhat humanoid, but it's different enough that it clearly looks like a beast, or at least a ferocious alien/mutant. The head design's pincher claws and (if I'm understanding the image right) Pridak feet work well as an innovative beastly head. The faun leg design is also good. Aside from the wings the rest is pretty standard humanoid designs, but it's well made, especially with the hand claws. I also like the four-winged design -- nice to have a change from the old two-wings every once in a while. Plus the very consistent white and black scheme works.


7th Place

Member: Major Marvelous
Beast: Nui Dragon
Bio: Originally supposed to be the ultimate weapon against the Dark Hunters, this Rahi proved to be too powerful, even for the Makuta, and was sent to be executed by Kojol. Kojol instead had him transported to the Dark Hunter base anyway. Kojol, expecting the dragon to be there by now, had then learned of a boat being sunk about 50 miles from the shores of Destral and a report of a giant dragon flying away. Recently, the Nui Dragon had been living on Voya Nui until captured and placed in a zoo.

Host Comments: This is a complex almost-masterpiece beast. Ignoring the wings for now, everything about this is extremely coherent. Right away what made it stand out to me was the use of wide legs and body tapering to a smaller head -- a perfect stable design for a massive and tall creature. Too often I see MOCs of large beasts that don't pay much attention to realistic physics -- something this heavy should be built more like an elephant than a giraffe. The side-by-side Piraka feet work great in that category. Further up, the body and especially the Axonn-ax pieces as shoulder blades look great, and the head is awesome, bearing some resemblance to the Haze Glow head design actually. Plus the hands look innovative.

Now, the wings are the biggest flaw. Frankly, they don't look like wings, but like a jumble of pieces randomly sticking off the back. There's also some incoherence with the neck, legs, and arms -- including what appears to be a Lerahk staff sticking out of the neck's side for no apparent reason. I can cut some slack for the leg incoherence though, as it is difficult to master that really thick look and keep it coherent at the same time (again speaking from experience, and from observation of others' MOCs). But the wings are the biggest reason this isn't up there in the top three -- they bring the look of the whole beast way down IMO. Still, of the "lower-down" winners, this is my favorite and it will undoubtedly get a much more significant story role than the MOCs to come.


8th Place

Member: Jadis Faust
Beast: Charybdis
Bio: This rarely-seen swamp creature is avoided at all costs. Charybdis wait submerged in the murky waters for unsuspecting prey to pass too close. They then lunge out and latch on with razor-sharp claws and teeth, dragging the unlucky individual back into the water.

Host Comments: Judging Jadis Faust's first two entries (the third I didn't like much) was extremely difficult. Between this and his Shadow Griffin, the only thing that made me choose this is that it looks more Bionicle, at least for this epic. Then, once we chose this of the two, placing it among the other winners was torture. It's a very excellent MOC, among many excellent MOCs. Look at the pic in zoomed-in-view -- the piece arrangement speaks for itself pretty much as there is innovation all over it. For some reason, though, I still didn't feel that this was quite the feel I wanted for the top most featured beasts in my epic, and that is the main reason it has ranked here.

A flew design aspects I didn't like, though, include the red piece -- doesn't fit the rest, the chain, and the other two big silver parts. Also, the body's bulk is well-designed, but IMT it doesn't look cool so much as just fat. The direction I would have gone would have actually made it fatter, but just putting some stylistic armor piece in the front and trying some layering like with Bundaling's MOC would have improved it. Also, for the weight, the arms seem rather weak.

But the head design, body shape, claws, and tail all work great together, and it definately works as a beast.


9th Place

Member: Distorted
Beast: Ragnarok
Bio: An ex-Dark Hunter, Ragnarok mysteriously disappeared while on a mission to recover some stolen DH weapons. He was found a month later, apparently mutated and unable to speak or understand Matoran language. As a result, Ragnarok was thrown out of the Dark Hunters and left to fend for himself.

Host Comments: I love this design -- the main reason it's ranked so low is that it is hard for me to see this as "beast" and not as "humanoid". The bio makes it work as a beast, but I have to rank mainly from MOC design, and the appearance still looks more like a Dark Hunter than a beast. So for this one, it ranks low not because of MOC flaws as a general MOC -- I can't find any -- but for not fitting the theme as well as the above winners.

As a MOC in general, though, this is top-notch. Knights piece on the head, cyclops look, and tire pieces on the limbs stand out to me as the main innovation. Plus the black with clearblue look is striking. The cape works, though this would still be just as top notch without it. I especially like the wrist/hand design -- those two pieces work great togethere there. Body and lower leg design is very simple, but anything more complex there would have ruined the look IMO. So great job on a superb MOC, Distorted -- and don't let the ninth place make you think otherwise; it's just slightly misplaced in this contest.


10th Place

Member: The Pointy-Haired Boss
Beast: Pack Muncher
Bio: A small vicious (with a cute appearance ) creature with powerful jaws. It hunts in large packs (hence the name). They are essentially equivalent to land piranhas.

Host Comments: A very very simple MOC, but a very very coherent and cool one, the idea of land piranhas itself is one of the topmost brilliant ideas in this contest, second perhaps only to the Macrovirus or the top three winners' designs. And it places here without even factoring that really. Not that much to point out about the greatness of that simple design -- just look at it! I'll note that though he comments on its cute appearance, to me it looks vicious mixed with cute. The curve down of the forehead combined with the Rahkshi "teeth" gives it that deceptive "I'm cute, come closer so I can bit your head off" look. Perfecto. Obviously, it ranks tenth simply because it is so small and simple.


11th Place

Member: Cap'n Bionicle
Beast: Paleiteo (pal-ai-tee-oh)
Bio: An ancient beast spawned from the very depths of the earth, a carnivorous beast that haunts the bogs and deeper trenchs of the Swamp. It lurks into shadows and is unseen except for its pale, luminescant eyes. Fangs the size of steak knives and fins as big a Cathedral windows cut through the thick water like warm butter, and legend has it that the accursed monster can even crawl onto dry land in times of great need for food.

Of course, any who see it are considered raving lunatics, so who knows if such a horrid thing exists within the gloom of the Swamp. Whether it's true or not, it has certainly given the place a reputation.

Host Comments: This Rahi reminds me of one of my own sea-ish MOCs, the Fihbawa Squirt-Gun Rahi (the second Ta-Koro boss in my RPG), as it's somewhat awkward-spindly looking, yet also dangerous looking. It ranks so low because there's a lot of incoherence in the body and neck design IMO. But it's okay, and if you take it for intended to look spindly, it's an innovative blend of whale and stilt-bug that I like. The tail is the best part, and the cookie-cutter head design works well for this MOC. I like the clear blue "spikes" at the top of the head too.

What I would have changed would start with that Piraka claw on the torso -- I'd have rotated that and extended it so it formed ribs, rather than just a piece on the side, which would have made it look even creepier than it does, and I would have changed the torso, mainly getting rid of that blue piece at the very top. As it is, it's not top-notch, but it shows an imaginative mind and that is primarily why it's among the winners.


12th Place

Member: -Veq-
Beast: Collosus Keras Crab
Bio: Big crab thingy. Eats... anything.

Host Comments: Not much to say, just that I liked this as a powerhouse giant crab. It features a lot of good design, but also looks kinda patchwork rather than coherent. The clashing green color at the top, and the mismatched leg designs stood out the most as flaws to me. But it uses cool parts well, and also uses layering pretty well. Mostly, it creates the impression of being a Collusus very well.


13th Place

Member: Taka-Tahu-Nuva
Beast: Brachio
Bio: A dino thingy, based on a Brachiosaurus. Just ignore the little Norik guy =P. Gigantic - is probably around 30 bio long. Is generally a calm beast, but once enraged, you can't stop him. Lives on mountains.

Host Comments: Another that I really don't have much to comment on, but it's a good MOC. Very in proportion to be a Brachio, and the tail design is the kind I think all dragonlike beasts should aim for, BTW. As for the rest, well, it's kinda run of the mill and looks very stiff. Having the rest fit the sleek, sinister design of the tail, even keeping it in proportion, would drastically improve this MOC. But for what it's worth, it's cool.


14th Place

Member: kyuubi
Beast: Rahi Trap
Bio: As the name suggest, this is the Bionicle version of a venus fly trap. Rahi traps look like plants, which confuse other Rahi. This is how they eat. Their roots help them move around from place to place.

Host Comments: I was hoping I'd get some plant entries, and this is one. It's extra-simple, but clever to use the green spines that way to form a fly-trap type plant. I expect these will get a fair amount of presence in the story, although more as scenery than major plot drivers, since Twisted Island is a jungle-swamp.


15th Place

Member: chetario
Beast: Muraenidae
Bio: For centuries, the Matoran of Mahri-Nui have feared the dark waters for many reasons, but one of the major dangers that infests the water is Muraenidae. This creature has taken many of the Matoran's Hydruka while they were harvesting, and Matoran themselves. It has also taken many of Kalmah's squids (which he is not too pleased about). Like all water-breathers, the air bubbles that the Hydruka shoot are lethal to it, but it takes a massive amount of them to take down this giant eel.

There have been many attempts to tame this awesome creature, from the Matoran to Ehlek, the eel Barraki. It is known to be one of the only creatures to be untamed in the water by the Barraki. Muraenidae has a lot of powerful attacks: a bite that can mangle a Matoran's hand, powerful fin strikes, and fin blades that can cut though the toughest airweed. When it travels in the darkest parts of the waters, its natural fluorescents light up, along with its eyes.

Host Comments: The final winner in the 2nd Chances category, this MOC was chosen as the single reprentative of a style I've noticed. The winning MOCs above all generally pay close attention to coherence and exhibit often a wide arrangement of pieces in the MOCer's collection (and skill in the MOCer's head). But there's a second sort of "style" of Bionicle MOCs that comes more from a lack of pieces, and probably experience, as well as skill, but that the people who use it seem to enjoy. There were many entries in this contest and in BBC contests that use this style, and vast majority of official combo models use it (notoriously so lol) ever since the '01 Kaita.

For lack of a better term, I'll call it Grade B MOCs. The vast majority of Bionicle MOCs are in this style, and I do have to say, they may make awful photos, but in person they actually tend to look way better. And to most Bionicle fans who like simple snap-together styles, they may even look cool; I know kids who make MOCs like this and are excited about them. So I wanted to choose one "Grade B" MOC in each category as the last place winner in fairness.

I chose this one because the jaw design is cool, mainly. It actually looks somewhat coherent in main shape. It gives me exactly the sort of impression of a creature that the bio describes -- a creature so alien, deep marine, that it has to have a Latin-sounding name, and is far more fearsome than attractive, with powerful jaws. I don't really like it at all from the halfway point to the back, but the front half I like.

The main advice I have for MOCers who make MOCs like this (at least assuming you would like this better; I dunno) is to think about cool pieces for armor, and to pay attention to coherence in design and color scheme. Front half of this is fairly coherent in both categories. It flows well together. But the back half looks like random pieces happened to get stuck together in the storage bin and magically turned symmetrical -- that's not coherent. Also, the use of blue and yellow that don't match anything else is incoherent there too. Also, the frontmost jaw pieces look "armored" which is good (IMT) -- the rest basically has no armor (the Metru feet pieces are okay for this though I guess).









Category: New MOCs

The contest theme is both a Paracosmos contest and an old MOCs contest -- in fairness to those who like the theme idea but wanted to make new MOCs, I changed my mind shortly after starting the contest and added this category. I think this basic setup will be the tradition for all future Bones Blog MOC contests -- 2nd Chances and New MOCs categories -- because it turned out great in both categories. Without further ado...

1st Place

Member: Atako
Beast: Nui Chiropt
Bio: He is a type of bat found in Onu-Wahi tunnels known as the Nui-Chiropt. (For those of you who don't know, Chiroptera is the name for the bat family.) This guy is feared by many Matoran who work in the tunnels, and with good reason. Nui-Chiropts have been known to grow to such size that they can swoop, grab two Matoran by their masks, and carry them away into the dark recesses of the tunnels. Fortunately, they can be scared off by the waving of a single lightstone. This guy also has a face only his mother could love.

Host Comments: This MOC absolutely blew me away. IMT, it is far better even than the vast majority of BBC contest winners, and it was made just for my contest. That's cool. This is a perfect lesson in coherence -- every piece is strategically placed to work together to form a cool-looking (and practical) shape as a whole creature.

What stands out most to me is the backwards Antroz wings to form the part of the wings that connects to the body, the torso piece that creates the exact body shape that real bats have, and the ears. There's a balance of tiny, almost dainty parts like the perfect feetclaws and the teeth and snout, with strong, thick looking parts like the bulkiness of the head and the hugeness of the wings. It perfectly balances huge striking shapes that look strong and capable of real flight that are big enough that you can clearly get the shape just at a glance, with tiny detail you want to zoom in closer to in a few places -- same balance I strive for in my .ppt artwork and have mentioned in the guides for those incidentally. Also, the torso piece is used in exactly the right way so that its cool texture appears as armor, even though there is no extra piece added to it.

Notice also how the color scheme is done. There really isn't much white or red/orange in it at all, and yet where it is appears purposeful. The eyes are obvious, and the mixed colors in the wings are built into the pieces, but there's enough space between them and they are prominent enough that they look a lot like a typical butterfly wing pattern (except on a bat), plus the black of the top Chirox wing cuts through the Antroz red to create a serration pattern (another thing I mentioned as a good thing in my .ppt guides). The red fits well enough with the orange eyes, creating a bit of matching there, and the white of Chirox fits well with the sensibly white claws and teeth, being spaced out reasonably rather than bunched in one random place -- plus the Chirox white is right where a real bat would have a claw, incidentally.

Another thing this shows is that you don't necessarily need a huge parts bin to make a coherent MOC -- there's really only seven major chunks in this MOC and the small parts are common pieces. The trick is to use the pieces strategically, and this MOC is the emitome of strategic design.

Sheer brilliance incarnate in plastic, Atako!


2nd Place

Member: Vaka-Nui
Beast: Esranos Dragon
Bio: A powerful beast, native to an island far to the west, though some have migrated elsewhere. They have powerful claws to slash on their front legs, while the back legs’ claws are meant to grab prey. They are most awesome in the sky, dominating other fliers, but are weaker on the ground, though they are still a formidable foe even there.

Unlike some Rahi, they have an excellent ability to think. They are very observant, and you will not be able to fool the same one twice. They are masters of using the wind to their advantage in the sky.

These Rahi are usually by themselves, but will help one another if one is hurt, or there is a draught or lack of food. Fortunately, not many are left, almost to extinction, due to not enough food for them to eat at some places, otherwise these Rahi could destroy much together.

Abilities: They have powerful bodies, which they know how to use. They rarely go walking blindly into traps, but if they do, they have enough strength to get out. One could defeat a entire team of Toa (with some bad injuries). Their roars can be loud enough to make some enemies collapse.

The scales of these creatures are strong enough to prevent some damage from protosteel, and therefore cost a fortune to buy (if any hunter gets one alive)

Host Comments: Another very innovative new MOC, this is one of the best dragon MOCs I've seen in a long time. Dragons are a tricky business, IMO. They're very common MOCing subjects, but very uncommonly do they actually look as cool as other creations. Cliche dragon designs to me look more wimpy than realistic or cool. I think with a lot of people, dragons just get an automatic pass because the idea of dragons is cool -- not so with me. But this one actually looks awesome.

The Fenrakk piece combined with the Nuju tools for teeth was the first thing to wow me here. I've never seen anyone else think of that -- indeed, the Nuju tools often seem neglected in MOCs in general. Seeing the pieces together there, it just seems like the combination was destined. The second thing to wow me was the spine. Very cool and speaks for itself. Now, the body design is kinda standard, but it looks strong, and the legs are pretty good too. The front feet I like -- they remind me of a design I just used in one of my own MOCs actually. Back claws look more like a result of lack of pieces than good, though. Oh, and the use of the Matau Hordika tool at the end is good -- that's a clumsy piece in general but it works there.

The main weakness is the wing design. It's okay, but it's the airplane-style of wing design, which to me doesn't come off quite as an aerial acrobat wing design. It doesn't compare to Atako's wing design. It's enough to place this MOC second instead of first, but the wings are much better than for example the Nui Dragon wings, and if you like the airplane style on a creature, I suppose they're fine. They just don't wow me, unlike the head and spines.


3rd Place

Member: Toa Talvak
Beast: Scorch Ant
Bio: Insectoids with a fiery bite that live in vast, underground colonies and known to collapse the ground around prey to catch it. Some Matoran have tamed them and used them as mounts for military.

Host Comments: At first, Toa Talvak's Kerta Air Serpent was going to be his winning MOC. Ojhilom liked the Scorch Ant better, and I really wouldn't mind either way -- the serpent would have placed the same, as both are brilliant MOCs. The Scorch Ant is a very Indiana Jones-esque bug that is very cool looking and very coherent. The design is large but simple -- and elegantly so. Rahkshi back pieces are some of my favorite armor pieces, as are Metruan armor pieces, and this MOC shows why -- they work great together to make a roundish, bulky, thick-armored look. The moderate use of silver and the use of dark gray fits well with the mounted Cordak. The Barraki jaws work perfectly as bug jaws. And if you look closely, you'll see that the Bohrok body pieces that make up the back of the body have a stinger attached.

Overall the body shape is striking too -- huge head but small abdomen section, unlike real ants. It makes a more intimidating appearance IMO than real ants (which have more of a "squish me!" appearance ). It ranks below the top two because 1) Atako's MOC is so brilliant, 2) it's simpler than the Esranos Dragon, and 3) I do have some complaints with it. For one, it's unclear whether the black pin pieces are the eyes or the Metru brain pieces are (I'm assuming the brain pieces are; in which case I would have tried to remove the sticking-out pins somehow). Something more on the legs might have been nice -- not much, but perhaps some red Bohrok eye pieces to balance the colors even more. And the antennae look clumsy. Still, freaky-cool MOC!


4th Place

Member: TOA BIONUI
Beast: Macrovirus
Bio: Normally these are tiny creatures about the size of Protodites and Niazesk. But one specimen got enlarged under mysterious circumstances and now poses a threat to anyone passing its way. The virus attaches to its prey using its teeth and tentacles and then drains the prey's lifeforce like a sea squid.

Host Comments: As I alluded to earlier, this is one of the most brilliant ideas in the contest (and indeed that I have seen in a long time). The use of the Jaller crab/armor pieces to form a germ shape is Einstein. The red spikes complete the shape, which otherwise I always felt just looked off for a crab -- this is a far far better use of the piece than any official set, lol. Elegantly simply way to combine them, and the open maw look with the teeth makes it seem just savage and threatening enough to naturally large creatures that it's not just a lightbulb-shaped germ sorta thing that looks freaky but harmless -- this looks like it can latch onto you and kill you fast.

Very very simple, which is why it's 4th, not first, but hugo kudos for an inventive concept in both piece usage and story!


5th Place

Member: Toa Zaxvo
Beast: Twayzivl
Bio: Twayzivl is a humanoid beast about the size of a Matoran. He resides in the forests of the wilderness, and has great intelligence and memory. His senses are much better than a Matoran or a Toa; he has the eyesight of a hawk and the hearing of a dog. His claws are natural protosteel, and no one has gotten close enough to understand how that can be and lived. He has great speed, and his black and grey armor help him blend into the shadows.

Overall, even with all his great senses, he prefers sticking to a stealth approach to capturing prey. His tail has a blade at the end, he has great control, strength and flexibilty with this tail. He can use it as a third limb, a weapon or even a climbing aid! The possibilities are limited only to what is in his range and what Twayzivl can think of. His heart is located not in his chest, like Matoran, but in his neck, which is why his neck appears to glow.

Twayzivl is a mutated Kriitunga who fled those beings’ desert island after spending too much time in the mutagenic sands. Prior to being placed in the zoo, he lived on the jungle island of Nhoakrus.

Host Comments: This is the second of the two entries so close to things I'd already planned I wonder if the enterers are telepathic (and can somehow read minds over the internet... ). In fact, this is actually closer to my original design of Kriitunga than the MOCs I have now and haven't taken pictures of yet due to my Stupidcam™. It's a neat little MOC that uses pieces in innovative ways left and right. I especially like the torso design, as it's similar to a design I've sketched myself, but never seen anyone actually use. Tail and arm designs are probably second best besides that.

Weakpoints -- well, the whole heart in the neck thing feels random. Seems out of place on the MOC. Also, the thumb Bohrok eye pieces are angled weird to be thumbs -- better would have been to aim those up to face the rest of the hand like an actual thumb. Also, the connection for the mouth area is a little weird.


6th Place

Member: ~~Zarkan~~
Beast: Guurgorn
Bio: With its giant maw of teeth and huge forelegs, the Guurgorn looks quite fearsome. However, this extremely dangerous Rahi’s true power is not in its strength or jaw, but in a bizarre power it possesses. The Guurgorn seems to have some sort of connection with the powers of the Mask of Repulsion, only used in reverse. Instead of pushing itself away from things, it pushes them away from its body.

This power allows the Guurgorn to hunt extremely effectively – when it spots food, it pushes the unfortunate creatures away, knocking it against walls, trees, and other objects until it succumbs to the pressure. It can also prevent blows from even grazing its armored skin, thus it is not wise to challenge a Guurgorn with standard weapons. Fortunately, Guurgorns are quite rare, and they have not been known to attack Matoran or other sentient beings unless provoked.

Host Comments: A bearlike sorta creature, this MOC is pretty strong in body design and armoring department, and in head design. The limbs feel awkward, which is main reason it ranks here. Nice back feet design, and interesting way to armor the upper half of the front legs. Inventive bio, BTW. The Piraka feet as leg armor doesn't seem to work so well, and although the huge foreleg tiny backleg approach is unique, it just seems awkward. But all in all this is a cool beast with a cool bio.


7th Place

Member: Crudelious
Beast: Lizard Spider
Bio: Highly venomous fangs, acid spit and burning gaze (turns foe into ashes if they don't get out of the spider's view quickly)Looks: A lime and dark green spider with glowing bright green spikes on its back and tail and a glowing bright green head. Red eyes and six legs, front legs have claws and can be used as "hands". The tail is used as stabilization and has a venomous stinger. Very stealthy and a quick tree-jumper.

Host Comments: This MOC is sorta on the border between what I consider a Grade A MOC and Grade B. It's fairly coherent. The color scheme is good. It's also generic in a lot of places, though, especially the head which is just Ehlek, which hurt its ranking. But notice the innovative piece usage in the leg with the claws and the back leg. I think the biggest weaknesses are the head and the simple fact that there are three types of limbs that seem to have no relation to one another. Biggest strengths -- it still looks pretty intimidating, its color scheme is spot on, and there's some innovative piece usage. The bio makes it sound like a terrifying foe storywise, so I'll have fun with it.


8th Place

Member: Nara
Beast: Daddy Long Fangs
Bio: It was mutated by Roodaka to make an ultimate species of Visorak. Something went wrong, and it enlarged and will attack Vortixx on sight. There are only 50 of them left in the Matoran Universe, due to Vortixx weaponry. It eats anything smaller then itself (He's about 30 bio), but loves the mountain on Xia.

Host Comments: Like Muraenidae, this is the reprentative "Grade B" MOC for the New MOCs category. What I especially liked about this one was that it goes with the thin limbs theme in a sensible way -- as a Daddy Long Legs basically in Bionicle form. And the front two legs are good for that. I've noticed a sort of anti-thin attitude among many MOCers, which is fine if that's their preference, but as a realist I accept that there are thick and thin, and both can be dangerous in their own unique way. So I like it when I see a MOC that doesn't just slap more parts on just to avoid thinnitude.

Body is straightforward. Back legs though -- I wish they had been kept more like the front legs. On the plus side there, though, there are eight of them, which is what real world spiders all have (unlike Fikou or Visorak lol). Too many spider sets and MOCs neglect that. (Not that I have anything against bugs with less legs, but the label spider is confusing -- Bionicle gets away with it, don't get me wrong, since it's not Earth Physics. Still.)







Parawins

"Para" means "alongside" -- Paracosmos means "universe alongside" -- so a parawin is a win alongside another win. The following MOCs are from members who already won above, but are good MOCs that I like and will get at least a cameo in the story (NOTE: the final one is an exception that won't be in Twisted Island -- read on ). Due to pic limit, I won't d-link these.



Categ: 2nd Chances
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Member: Bundalings the Bunny
Beast: Kamitsu's Pain
Bio: It seems like a plant, like the Daikau, but it's really quite sentient. It devours prey like the venus fly trap. At night it sometimes moves along the ground, seeking better hunting grounds. Its flowers/mouths turn brown and shrivel when malnourished.

Host Comments: Ironicles. This is actually the MOC that inspired this contest, and it isn't a winner. Add to that -- it was the very last MOC snuck into the entry period at the last second. I am 100% serious. You could not make this stuff up. Of course, Bundalings got first place with another MOC anyways. But it's so awesome and I owe it for inspiring this thing. So it is the top Parawin, and you can assume that its cameo role might be more than the usual definition of cameo. We'll see.

I think the brilliance of it speaks for itself. Just... wow. That roxorz various soxorz.


Categ: 2nd Chances
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Member: Bundalings the Bunny
Beast: Deadwing
Bio: This bulky beast lumbers around and flies and does... stuff.

Host Comments: Have I mentioned Bundalings makes good MOCs? I think I may have somewhere in there. BTW, notice how he's used those L-pieces with the curve (here on the arms, and in Kamitsu's Pain on the "necks") -- those pieces are often used poorly IMO in both sets and MOCs. Often they don't look very attractive, as if they'd be better left off. But both those uses look good. I avoid them except where they actually fit into the flow of the MOC, as in these MOCs.

Deadwing is a cool-looking mix between rhino, ape, Makuta, and plant. It's a mix that works. Although in the normal poses it looks a lot more humanoid and less beasty.


Categ: New MOC
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Member: Toa Talvak
Beast: Kerta Air Serpent
Bio: A vicious flying serpent. Spits acid and eats carrion. Multitudes of these beasts can be seen flying in circles above potential prey. Matoran consider the Kerta Air Serpent to be a bad omen.

Host Comments: The aforementioned alternate placer for Toa Talvak, I went with the Scorch Ant over this mainly for story reasons on Ojh's advice. This is a carrion beast, whereas the Scorch Ant is a beast that's more likely to be on the direct attack. MOCwise, it's rad cool, and I especially like the six wings -- eight if you count the tail wings. Color scheme is again very coherent. Head is good. Wings look powerful, good for flight, intimidating. Tail looks good thin -- makes it more believable that this thing could actually fly. I would classify this as a good dragon design, though it doesn't go by that name.


Categ: 2nd Chances
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Member: Vaka-Nui
Beast: Mahvoki
Bio: Special Rahi, these creatures mostly live in jungles. They were brought from a distant land by a trader, and have spawned in many places since.

Mahvoki are fast and ferocious, and have lots of energy. They usually hunt in packs big enough to overpower huge Rahi, but small enough to be able to escape/hide from any danger. Sometimes they hide in the bushes until wandering Rahi come by for them to pounce on. They will let their prey go and chase it for fun at times.

They usually are quite cooperative with one another, enough to have a pack sometimes temporarily combine forces with another pack to accomplish goals they need help with.

Host Comments: This is another really good small MOC, and fourth of four Parawins that I don't really see flaws worth mentioning. It seems very catlike in appearance and bio, but without the ears. Reminds me of my family's Hunter, a female Calico. She can be fast and ferocious too (bandaids on the arm right now from the latest incident lol -- but she's sweet otherwise). Anyways, everything about this is a strong point; the legs are angles just right so as to look realistic, the head is clever and has a back part that makes sense. The body is simply but sensible and cool-looking. And the tail is good. Note the joint in the body's center -- makes it look very agile. This isn't a main winner simply because it's so small it would place lower ranking in the 2nd Chances category compared to the Esranos Dragon's 2nd place in the New MOCs category.


Categ: 2nd Chances
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Member: Jadis Faust
Beast: Shadow Griffin
Bio: Shadow Griffins are the complete opposite of their noble cousins. Creatures of darkness, they swoop silently through the night looking for sources of light to devour. They especially crave the bright heartstones of those who stand for good. The darkened heartstones of evildoers give them no satisfaction.

Host Comments: As I mentioned, this and Charybdis were really tough to judge. Many of the flaws I mentioned in Charybdis aren't present here. But I still felt at the end of the day that Charybdis was closer to the "Bionicle" style. This one feels... I dunno, like it doesn't fit with the other winners. I know I wanted variety, but the angular, blocky, heavy wings especially felt more like a different genre than variety within the styles I was aiming for, whereas Charybdis flowed more biomechanically. This seems more like a robot gargoyle.

But it's good enough for a cameo, definately. So it serves the variety, just not with as much storywise focus. Specifically designwise, the legs are well-formed, and the head and front claws especially work great together. The wings feel a little conglomerated rather than coherent, although I hesitate to criticize that here because it feels intentional as part of a different style. (Or maybe it's just the limit of pieces Jadis Faust had to work on. ) Back feet and wiry-thin tail are kinda iffy. Thinnitude and all, but it was -so- thin compared to the rest of it it felt out of place, and ideally I'd want four claws like the front two.

Alas, though, I cannot say I am rocksolid confident in the parawin status of this one. Perhaps there's a Parauniverse out there where a parabonesiii ranked this #1 in the 2nd Chances category.


Categ: 2nd Chances
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Member: -Zip Er-
Beast: Rastreador
Bio: A completely alien creature, it originally came from another dimension. It has no organic tissue and is very similar to Bohrok, except that it can function on its own. Its multi-jointed arms can grapple any object for balance on trees or land, and its outer claws help it slice through thick objects. It uses sonar tracking with its head to find materials to repair itself when damaged, and if another Rahi gets in its way, the sonar tracker blasts out waves of heat energy to incinerate the threat. It is rumored that these creatures are controlled by another force, due to the fact that they show no emotion or feelings. They can be found in the inner parts of the island.

Host Comments: I love this MOC -- it isn't a main winner for two reasons. 1) The Zu Rama was so cool and felt more beastlike. 2) It's got very few actual Bionicle parts in it. But the whole concept is rad cool and I can't resist having it have at least a cameo so here it be. It's very Johnny Questian BTW. (Sp?)


Categ: New MOC
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Member: Vaka-Nui
Beast: Rurzquator
Bio: This beasty is a terrifying sight. The origins of this Rahi are unkown. They are extremely dangerous due to their hostile nature. They will even attack each other to keep intruders away from their territory. They have little brains, but make up for it with enough strength to make the ground shake.

Host Comments: Ignoring the cheesy-but-funny name lol, this is a pretty good MOC. It didn't feel "terrifying" on sight enough to me, though, unlike the Esranos Dragon (or a real T-Rex). The oversized head in this case looks more "cute" than scary. I can believe that if you knew what it was capable of bio-wise you'd be terrified, but again I had to judge primarily on MOC design. Main suggestions would be to cut the Fenrakk head from this one and try something more innovative, to make the torso more bulky and hunched over like a Rex, and to make that tail start bulky and taper off. Also trying for a bigger jaw (without just using the old Fenrakk cookie-cutter teeth) would make it more intimidating. The head fin things are good, the arms are good, and the legs are good, though.


Categ: 2nd Chances
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Member: kyuubi
Beast: Silver Serpent
Bio: The silver serpent is a old rahi. It eats a lot of things, especially if they are in its way.

Host Comments: I wasn't going to include this one, but Ojh liked it. And it's got a lot of strong points. I'm just biased towards having at least one main winner be a plant creature, I guess, and against just having a whole slew of giant beasts (which wouldn't be very varied). So kyuubi wins with the Rahi Trap instead of this. But this is pretty good.


Categ: 2nd Chances
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Member: -Zip Er-
Beast: Kyrakky Crab
Bio: A hermit crab that lives on the bay of the island, it eats microscopic sand organisms. It uses its shell to protect it from predators, and is very cautious.

Host Comments: There's nothing dangerous about this creature, so "beast" would be a stretch. But Ojh liked it and it's well-built, so it deserves at least an honorable mention. And it's possible a few non-dangerous creatures could be in the epic's zoo, so I'll try to squeeze in a cameo.


Categ: New MOC
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Member: ~~Zarkan~~
Beast: Kiku Fly
Bio: At first glance, the Kiku Fly is not a particularly fearsome creature. Spanning only about a foot in length, this insect looks fairly weak, and would seem to be easy prey for larger creatures. However, the Kiku fly is actually an extremely dangerous creature. Using a self generated magnetic force, the Kiku fly works in large swarms, latching onto creatures far larger than themselves and carrying them away to their hive.

Any unlucky creature that runs into a Kuku swarm will quickly find itself flown away to its doom. Besides their main power, Kiku flies also are resistant to most forms of energy attacks, including fire, plasma, and sonics. Their one weakness is that they are extremely susceptible to water based attacks. Matoran and other sentient species know to run to the nearest water source if they are being chased by a swarm of Kiku flies.

Host Comments: Neat design and awesome bio, so that's cool.


Categ: 2nd Chances
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Member: TOA BIONUI
Beast: Takea Shark
Bio: The Paracosmos version of the Takea Shark, this is a common sea predator all over the Matoran universe and the sea around Mata Nui Island. They are fierce and acrobatic, and eat fish or any other creature unfortunate enough to find itself nearby when you’re hungry. The sight of their fins is enough to strike terror into the hearts of Matoran. However, if they’ve recently fed, they will leave you alone.

Host Comments: This isn't really a Twisted Island beast (was entered as a "Katea Shark"), but I loved the design way better than the official Takea, and TOA BIONUI has given me permission to use this pic anytime a Takea is used in the Paracosmos. (Such as in my Epics Contest #7 winning story, Mindfire.) So in a way this is actually a big win, as I use Takea sharks a lot in many stories (you can specifically expect many in Epics #5 and #8, eight being the last of the Mata Nui Island stories). I suppose there might be some in the zoo, since they are after all dangerous, but there's a story reason that's unlikely so I doubt I'll include any in Twisted Island.