Hello, manchildren (and my female readership, which is probably, like, two people a month plus Krahka). As this entry’s title so poetically states, this is indeed a review of Krika with good photos. BUT WITTY! At least, I certainly think so. But then, I think rain is wet, so who am I to judge?

The can is unremarkable for the most part, except of course for the fact that THE ZARKING LID IS ASYMMETRICAL!!!!!!!!!111

Blahblahblahdamagedignikastorylineblahblah, but it pretty well ruins the idea I had to use Onua’s as the hood for a Batmobile-type car. Oh well. Also, the opening to the canister is rather puny. I wonder if putting canister-sized sets in the boxes normally used for larger sets would cut costs?

Partswise, of note are the spines, made from Mata red and slightly opaque plastic of the sort found in Visorak lids and Pick-a-Brick cups. As you’ve no doubt noticed, Krika also has four black Avotoran limbs and seven of the new socket types in white. And then there’s the new armor piece, appearing only in this set and Onua. It is, perhaps, not as suitable as I had hoped for MOCing, but it fills out the Phantokuta torso nicely.

I don’t think I need to beat the building experience to death. Krika is simple. I was able to build him without the instructions. Stand back. I know basic operations. Yadda yadda yadda.

Now we come to the Nynrah Ghost Blaster, which, when launched, makes a popping sound I tend not to associate with ghostly things. I was pleasantly surprised to see upon assembly that it was not one part, but rather four. They are the silver barrel, the red air pump, and two #3 axles, which hold the red air pump in place after insertion. Finally, we have a launcher with components that can be easily used in MOCing! (Not that the others can’t be used, but their use requires either a great deal of ingenuity and building around them or a willingness to use them for their intended purpose.) The “ghosts” themselves can be held by a minifigure. I suppose it helps with aerodynamics or something, but I would have preferred it if they had a solid sphere for a “head” instead of a ring with a fin bisecting the interior.

Apart from the fact that he’s got a giant launcher stuck on his back to appeal to younger kids, Krika exudes evil. Of course, he’s got the prerequisite bad-guy frowny-face, but his overall spindly, spiky look is most schway and winningful. I can just imagine him scuttling about like that one monster from Attack of the Clones and firin’ his lazers from his forelimbs.

His overall color scheme is amazingly unified, with only the Nynrah launcher and Matoran attachment (Both of which I’ve since removed) messing with it. Even the red #2 axles match, and there are no (!) blue axle/pins in the set.

My only complaints with the set are structural in nature. Firstly, the two red bits connecting Krika’s forearms are loose in most configurations. I had to mix and match the six pieces involved before finding a snug fit. Also, as with the Phantokuta, Krika’s neck wobbles. And if his neck wobbles, then his launcher attachment does too. What’s really irksome about this is that Lego could have fixed this quite easily. A #5 axle instead of a #4, two 1 x 2 liftarms connecting that to the white torso filler, and a red #2 axle too. Only three extra pieces, all quite small. The lack of elbows, while extant, doesn’t really bother me. Here he is all fixed up.

Overall, Krika is a very nice set. The price is still a little steep, but if you don’t mind or you get a gift card or something, buy him.

PROS:

o New and interesting parts

o Older parts in different colors

o Potentially quite useful launcher

o Wicked scary-looking

o WILL EAT YOUR SOUL

CONS:

o Would have been even more awesome if spines, etc. were glow-in-the-dark.

o Price

o Loose/wobbly bits [can be fixed]

o WILL NOT EAT YOUR LITTLE SISTER’S SOUL [can be fixed]

o Pets [can also be fixed]