On Tuesday, I came across a 40%-off clearance sale on Mistika. I bought the only one I'd been loath to pay full price for, and the only one I was missing:

Bitil.

My expectations were low, low, low. My general impression from images of the set had been that it was mediocre, lackluster, sub-par. BZP friends on MSN had told me Bitil wasn't worth the money. The only pieces I really wanted were the yellow Rahkshi limbs, and I knew where I could get those separately. But forty percent off for the whole set sounded about right. So, along with Vorox and Skrall for 9.50 € each (regular price 11.95 €, woot!), I walked out of the store with it. When I got home, I tore into the main-event stars, Skrall and Vorox, with a vengeance. When I was finally done building, posing, and admiring those two, I turned to the throwaway bonus act, Bitil.

In the end, I was pleasantly surprised.

In fact, the only thing Bitil really has going against him, from my MOCist's perspective, is his fugly, nearly useless Av-Matoran torso. The rest of his parts were all welcome, not useless at all. I was especially struck by the synergistic design of the mask as it fit over the Vahki head in a way I had not anticipated, that looked actually very cool. I must admit also that his feet and weapons, although DS, are quite cool in their own right.

The retro Throwbot limbs are a piece I already have a veritable handful of in yellow -- but these ones, ahh, these ones are New Plastic Blend. More clear ABS in there, looks like. Much yummier-looking than the old blend, IMO.

One thing that was a total surprise was the 1x5 liftarm, a piece that I, for some odd reason, didn't have in yellow before. Cheers for that.

Overall, as a set, Bitil is not bad. He's dreadfully skinny, to be sure, but insects are skinny. The DS panels are able to be posed like real wing covers, lending him some resemblance to his namesake creature. His long neck allows for a wide range of motion and would have looked ridiculous with any standard torso configuration other than the "fugly" one, which loses much of its fugliness as a result of not having the dude's head squished between its perpetually-shrugging shoulders. And as for his mask: it is, I think, the highlight of the set. Sleek, subtly angled, perfectly fitted to the Vahki head underneath, and even a hole that shows off the detailing of the head. Oh, and don't forget the yellow-to-black blend. Very nice.

Certainly worth the money I paid.

(Heck, come to think of it, what's money really "worth" anyway? Hmm. It's really only valuable insofar as you can exchange it for something of real, intrinsic value, isn't it? Otherwise, it's just bits of metal and paper and electricity. Pfft.)