He was awesome in the book, he was wicked in the comics, but how is he as a set?

Well, here are some of my opinions on...

Okay, I actually got him a couple of weeks back at Target. I stopped by on the way to the grocery store (a little out of the way, perhaps, but I digress) I was searching for the Mstika, and Fred Meyers didn't have 'em yet. Well, Target did. They had a bunch of Gali and Onua and a few Bitils, but only a couple of Gorasts and one Krika. Oh, and they also had one Tahu. It was obvious that they had been stocked recently, and judging by the general absence of Krika and Tahu, they were popular, even at the price increase. So, IO grabbed the Tahu (did I mention it was at the very back, so I didn't notice it at first). And then I forced myself not to build it in the car and instead went shopping for food stuffs (the original reason my mom let me leave the house... otherwise it's hard manual labor digging trenches)

Now, off the story of acquisition and onto the set itself.

First off, the canister. Yeah, it's the best since the... well, Inika, although it's better than those. I'd have to say that the only other canister to top it were the Toa Metru, with their circular lid and everything. This canister rocks. It looks wicked cool, and also stacks! Yes, it's a storable canister. Mind you, it's still massive... easily as big as an Inika canister. But on my shelf where I'm storing my sets in the canisters, the Mistika will be standing up properly next to the pathetic piles that are the Barakki and Mahri (and even the Phantoka, who don't stack well). Of course, it took some reefing to get the Ignika lid off, but still...

Now onto the set. I was pleasantly surprised with the color scheme. Of course, it's Metru-red... cursed Mata-red canister lid threw me off (well, not really). But it wasn't that... it was the silver. The limb pieces and armor (and weapons, and jets, and claws) are all shiny silver. Why am I excited about an obvious overuse of silver? Well, because I thought it would be bley. I have all three Phantoka Toa, and they're plagued with bley everything. Pohatu and Kopaka can only really boast two feet, four armor pieces, and a mask in their primary color... the rest is blah gray. So, as I never looked too closely at the Mistika in pictures, I assumed Tahu's limbs and body piece would be in dull bley as well. Nope, shiny silver. And it's a good shade of silver... more like the Bohrok Kal's silvery pieces. So while other people gripe about it, I'll just say this; I'm so happy it wasn't bley instead.

Moving onto other distinct features. The limb pieces are all Piraka legs. I was worried about this, because they worked poorly on Kopaka, as the Piraka legs on the arms jammed with the armor piece, so Kopaka couldn't get a good bend at his elbow. But Tahu's armor is the old Metru armor, and much thinner... so there is no problem with the limb pieces. Bravo. Additionally, I like the leg spikes jutting out of Tahu's lower legs. At first they seem out of place, but they do blend in, and could be to make him more aerodynamic. Of course, the arms and legs are the same length (being made of mostly the same pieces) which I frown upon. Arms should have a slightly shorter limb piece, at least. But I guess I've gotten used to it, as Lego had shown to be much more ill proportioned with other sets (Carapar and Lewa Phantoka come to mind)

The torso, of course, it supposed to be backwards. It's the same for Hewkii and Hahli Mahri, and Gali, I believe. Well, as with Hahli and Hewkii, I was able to flip the torso around on Tahu without much difficulty, and it looks much better. The only problem is there's a bit more restriction with the head, but it's not terrible. The jet connections to the body are nifty, and I like the jets with the fins (I especially like the red fin pieces... I believe Onua has more, and I hope to get him too) The jets in and of themselves are a disappointment... shames they're the only things holding Gali in the air. On Tahu they work nicely, so no complains with him, but I wasn't quite as satisfied when I tried to attach the pieces to my Makahi MOC. (Which was the main reason why I bought Tahu first... although he is the coolest of the Mistika). Lego could've been more original with the other Toa, but I guess molds are scarce.

Now, the weapons. I love the spinney shield. Not as good as Pohatu's propellers, but certainly the best of the Mistika. The Bohrok shield is not great... I can't fit it to the hand without making it look awkward. And if you put it in like the instructions say (having it cover up most of the hand piece) then the rod space is pressed upon by the ball joint, so it doesn't spin! The blades are wicked awesome... especially since they have a small connection instead of a pin of their own. The tri-blade owns, most definitely.

Then there's the Nyhrah blaster (or however it's spelt). Well, it doesn't look a million dollars, but it's interesting and made up of multiple pieces. Plus, the pieces don't amount to the same mass as Midak or Cordaks, so Lego must be saving on plastic with those. (But then why'd the prices go up?) They shoot pretty far... first time I shot it off, I lost it across my room. I was surprised at the distance. They can pack a pretty powerful punch for just some air pressure. Only thing is... they misfire a lot. Half the time (or ore often) I hear a soft hiss but the projectile doesn't move. It can't be jammed in too tight, or it sticks. And it it's too loose, the distance is terrible. It has to be just right... and pressing down hard and fast helps. The ammo itself is cool looking, although the color is dull. I think the green that comes with the Makuta Mistika is better. Overall, Lego has impressed me this time with their projectiles.

And, lastly, a note on the mask. Doesn't look at all like a Hau Nuva (thank goodness... I was never a fan of the Hau Nuva) and it doesn't look like a Hau Mata (shame). But it's nice, and looks good for a flier. (And it's much smaller compared to the Phantoka Toa Kanohi) I like the idea of giving it a connection slot instead of a rod makes MOCing a lot easier. I think this is so that you can opt to put in a visor or not. For example, Kopaka's Akaku can fit a visor, but the rod is too short to support it and stick to a face. While a visor doesn't really work well in the Hau, it's a nice feature for other masks, I'm sure.

All in all, is Tahu worth the extra cash? Well... probably not, but he's one fine Toa. Not speaking for the other Mistika, this Toa is cool enough to bear the name of an elite Toa Nuva. There could be improvements... for one thing, he's short compared to the Phantoka, which is odd since I picture Tahu as a taller Toa. But with those jets (and the fin!) and that spinning tri-blade, I'd say he can lead the Toa Nuva. If you're going to buy a Toa Phantoka, get him.

In the future, I plan to pick up Gali and Onua (mostly just for nostalgic sake... I want all forms of the Toa Mata / Nuva / Phantoka / Mistika) On the Makuta side, I must have Bitil, and Krika looks nice too. I'm hoping to stop by Fred Meyers in a few months. They always have these "Buy Two, Get One Free" sales on Lego... and if it's a "Buy One, Get One Free" I'll pick up four, including Krika. But since Fred Meyers is probably just now stocking them, I may have to wait a while for the sales.