So, I finally got my hands on three of the new Bionicle Stars: Tahu, the Rahkshi, and Takanuva. Without delay, let's take a look, shall we?

Canisters are fairly traditional; CG image of the boxed character on the front, an advertisement for the combination thing in the lower right.

Opening them up, you don't get a lot of pieces, but for $7-$8, you can't expect a boatload of pieces. One thing that did make me happy though was the Rahkshi's new spine in a way. On the one hand, I don't like that the head and the back are connected(Albeit, thinking about it, I can see why), although I am very happy to see it's one of the few rubber pieces in a canister I've received without being bent and warped.

No spinal damage!

Right then, onto what a lot of us love doing, myself included; Dumping out the pieces! Left hand provided for scale, though since my hands are larger than normal, I'm not sure if it'll help much.

Takanuva! So, on the plus, I dig this little guy as much as I do his larger cousin. That said though, why is he silver now? That's like painting Kopaka black, it makes no sense. Also, when did he get a second staff? Part of what made him awesome was the staff was so awesome it made up for the fact he had no other armament. Either way though, this guy is clearly Takanuva, and the nostalgia began flowing when I finished him.

Being older though, the Rahkshi, who I have named Satch since he has no name, brings more nostalgia. As always, due to being more based on anthropomorphic animals than strictly human, Satch's build is more entertaining than Takanuva's, and more interesting. Even so it's fairly straightforward, and you could probably build both with just a reference image. And while I may miss brown, I have to say, the yellow actually looks pretty good. The one-piece head/spine does annoy me though, I may end up buying another in the future for the spine and taking a scissor to the new one.

Ready? Fight!

"When did you get a second staff?" "I'm not sure."

Despite how it went in the plot, being as I have always preferred the Rahkshi sets to Takanuva, Satch wins this round.

In doing so though, he appears to have knocked over an old friend...

I have no doubt many of you, like me, had Tahu as your first set. As such, after building Tahu, the aforementioned nostalgia came about in full-swing. I do have to say though, why does he have green eyes? It's jarring next to the classic red and orange, and considering how many parts they give new colours in these sets, I don't see why a pink eyepiece would be so much to ask. I digress though, that's a small concern for a very heartwarming set.

Lofty ambitions.

I love this pic.

Being as Satch is there though, this Tahu has to either be Nuva or have a gold mask. We can only do one, so let's, shall we?

I have to say, I've always liked the old gold masks colouring from 2000-2003, but I like the colouring of the new ones just as much. Will get a side-by-side sometime this weekend.

Remember me?

*Grab*

*Toss and crash*

*Hand up*

Tahu Olda has always been one of my favourite sets, and as such, him combined with what I liked of Takanuva beats out Satch. That said though, it would appear that this win too has awoken another old friend...

I thank you for the freedom.

"You're huge!" "No, you're just short." "Both?" "Likely."

I give you, my least creative set combo ever!

And since I'm too lazy to do another fight, we'll just skip to the end and give you a fist bump.

Of justice!

But yeah, I had a lot of fun photographing these guys. They're not the most poseable, but they're undeniably fun, nostalgic, cute, and cheap. What more can you ask for at $7-$8?

In summary: These are fun little sets, if you're thinking about getting some, go for it, I definitely recommend them, though I would've loved to see a Bohrok Star. Those guys were probably one of if not my favourite line.

On a semirelated note, Takanuva looks awesome when being adjusted to be put into his canister.

In a thousand years, I shall rise to save Hawaii from the other Volcano God!