Last Saturday I got a particular canister set, and failed to get two Titan sets that I've been waiting to get for a long time. Now, today (Saturday), I've got the two Titans I wanted. And what did I think? You'll have to read to find out!

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On to everyone's [should be] favourite, Toa Ignika [XD]. Reading what that character's personality is, he's great. On to the set, the only really interesting thing is the Ignika itself. That will be the seller for the set. Otherwise, there isn't much to say. It's another yellow Toa, almost a clone of Lesovikk this year. There are no really new pieces, not even in the board. Still, it will be a MOCers delight, as there is a large menagerie of good pieces there. It has a sword (same piece as Hewkii's Aqua Warblade), a Midak Skyblaster (yay!) and a Skyboard, which looks...really cool. The Ignika...so silver...he comes in a normal box, which at the moment is about the best packaging so far for '08

He may actually be one of the best designed Toa we've had for a number of years. His armour sits really nicely on his legs and shoulders, and he generally looks cool. One thing I'll mention that I realised recently with buying Bitil was how putrid Keetongu Yellow is! Bitil was a nice change, and Ignika is just...bleh in that regard. If the torso wasn't that colour, I probably wouldn't mind as much. I've been hearing that some people have had warped Ignika's. Luckily for me, no such problem. And it's a pretty cool mask, but it's not shiny enough. The silver pre 2006 was SO much better, sigh. And for once this year, the board is SMALLER than I thought, especially the engine at the back, and it's a bit disappointing in a way. But generally the two really work together for play and for looks. The Midak Skyblaster looks nice on him because of the board, I am guessing. It doesn't look so big that way.

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Nothing I can add without talking about the Miskuta, so next we have Krika. Everyone loves Krika. I love Krika. Sadly, no one can pose him, so this really hard to write about. He has the same armour piece as Onua, only in white, and works REALLY well with the Batkuta body. He has a very small piece count, which is made up by the fact he towers over just about everything. The use of red and white works well yet again, and black once again. It's almost like Pridak has had another ugly mutation. The limbs are all black 90 degree Avtoran limbs, but because of the size of his weapons, it's OK. Krika is a great companion for Vamprah and Radiak, the four legged crew. The pieces are all spiny and threatening, and the theme spreads to the head, which is perhaps the coolest head piece we'll ever see. What's weird is the extra limb for the Nynrah Ghost blaster. Yeah. I wish they tried to pose him better.

He sure is massive, but he actually does not tower over the two tall Batkuta and Mutran for starters, and Bitil when standing straight gives him a run for his money as well. And for once I felt the building experience was really unsatisfying. There is just too little here to make it interesting. But man oh man, his spiny ness is really creepy. Not since Takadox have we had such a creepy looking character. All new molds all work for him, and it's a really good design, despite its simplicity. The head piece is really cool, and the extra arm is not a problem if it is tucked into his back out of sight, although it does work out as well. And I should be employed at Toyfair, because I can at least pose him well. I still don't think $20AUD is at all a fair price, so go for a Nuva if you have to. They have more pieces than the Batkuta do.

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My only gripe with this set is that it's Solek. Sure, we get to see the limbs again (I was really perplexed with why they were ONLY released with Solek), but come on! The only difference between the two is one has grey hands and the other has white, and the mask. The closest to being clones two figures have ever been. Cept for maybe Lewa Phantoka and Lewa Axalara, but that's fair enough. To an extent. I don't really mind Mazeka has a Volitak, since I did not get any Mahri last year. A different colour would have been nice for those that did, though. White or even grey be good. Least it's not a Tryna. But as for the vehicle/gun turret itself, I cannot diss it. I like the idea of the large Zamor Magazine, and that should work quite well, I'd assume. The whole thing is a bit complex, which hopefully means it can move into many different positions. It can turn on it's axis at the bottom, and I can assume it stretches. The idea of the trigger being right at the back is fantastic and ingenius, because it would have been annoying to release the trigger from inside. Also...it just LOOKS really good. The leg design and general shooty awesomeness is great. The only blue titan for the whole year, which is great. Definetly a set I will be getting. Double him with Vultraz and you have a really exciting playing oppurtunity with the two. Makes the serial later this year sound really interesting.

There is really little to say about Mazeka that hasn't already been said, but surprisingly I really like the Volitak. But the first thing that shocked me was the size of the box. Oh man...I thought this would be an Ignika sized set. I, was happily, wrong. It is MUCH bigger! It took me ages to build and for the first time in a long time it was a really fun build! Despite doing 3 of the legs, which were the same as the other two. If you're not going to get a large vehicle but want complexity doubled with awesomeness, get Mazeka. However, that's the look, what about the features? Like others have stated, it's annoying that the legs go up and down. My other gripe is that the turret itself does not go lower than a certain point, so you have to adjust the legs so the turret can aim down. The seating arrangement for the Matoran is ingenius! Works so well! There are controls that MOVE when you move Mazzy's arms (sorta). And...Mata Nui it looks good. Makes me rather keen to get Vultraz, even if he is mediocre in appearance. Yes...one of the best sets of the year, that's for sure.

So at long last I have all the Phantoka sets. And from quick working out, I realise I only have 5 more sets EVER that I want, Tahu, Vultraz, Gorast, Takanuva and Gali. Oh gee...wow.