Bionicle Height Resource Center (last Update: 7/4/08)
Entry posted by Aanchir
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Anyone who read my last entry on Mistika height might get the impression that I have dabbled before in BIONICLE heights for set and story, and so I have. In fact, a few of my recent PMs to Greg have dealt with the height of certain characters in story. But anyway, I've managed to get a decent word document together for my own reference when dealing with issues of height, and decided today while updating it with tentative information on the canon height of Takanuva that it was worth posting here, though I expect only artists and others who pay attention to this stuff anyway to read all of the information that follows.
Matoran
Matoran are about 1 bio tall. (Reference: Metru Nui Matoran; Toa Metru). Today’s standard for average Matoran height is still about 16 modules, as was the case in 2004.
An Av-Matoran exposed to the energies of Karda Nui is 16-18 modules tall. Therefore, while some are scarcely above average height, others reach a height of 5 feet, or 1.11 bio.
The Matoran of Mahri Nui are around average height. One can estimate a Voya Nui Matoran to be around 0.8 bio in height, given their set-based height of around 13 bio, or half the average height of a Toa. Pre-2004 Matoran do not conform to a one-bio height, as is detailed in the Turaga section below.
Toa
Toa are about 1.6 bio tall. Today’s standard for average Toa height is around 26 modules, or around the height of Kopaka Nuva Phantoka
A Toa of Light exposed to the energies of Karda Nui is assumed to be 2.63 bio tall or 11.81 feet tall. This is derived from the height of the Takanuva set of 2008, which may like many large boxed sets deviate from the canon height relative to Toa of the era. (Interestingly, this approximation of Takanuva’s height relative to the height of a regular Toa is around the same proportion as the height of a Toa to the height of a Matoran. This ratio in turn is approximately equal to the golden ratio.)
Turaga
Turaga are arguably about 1 bio tall. (Reference: Turaga Dume; Metru Nui Matoran, Toa Metru). Today’s standard for average Turaga height is still about 16 modules according to this model. However, the Turaga of Mata Nui had highly differing heights with a mean of 10.33 modules and a mode of 11 modules. This means Turaga are on average only around half of the height of a Toa, or .8 bio. The solution to this puzzle becomes clear when one considers the height of the rebuilt Matoran of Mata Nui. These sets were also 11 modules tall. Rebuilt Matoran are supposedly normal Matoran height, represented by the Metru Nui Matoran to Toa Metru ratio. It becomes clear that a change arose in the BIONICLE canon around the time of BIONICLE: Mask of Light, rendering average Matoran height and thus average Turaga height larger, as is visible in the movie. Thus, we can assume that the Dume model is the more up-to-date model and that the standard for average Turaga height today is indeed 16 modules. Variance from this norm has not been shown, but it is likely as possible as it was among the outdated heights of the Mata Nui Matoran.
On the subject of height in modules
One module represents approximately 3.185 inches in story-defined Earth measure according to today’s standards. Therefore, the variance between a 27-module Toa Mahri Jaller and a 21-module Toa Mahri Kongu is around a foot and a half—A considerable difference, considering that this renders Kongu less than six feet compared to the average Toa height of 7’2”! This is perhaps the highest negative variation from the norm that can be allowed, that is, five modules today. The highest positive variation yet seen is in Lewa Nuva Phantoka and Toa Mahri Nuparu, with a mere one stud. Thus the “average” heights referred to on this page should be read as “normal” heights, and are more a mode than a mean approximation. An accurate mean sadly cannot be established, not having seen a considerable amount of Toa who fall into today’s standards of measurement.
For Artists Only
Using one comic book standard for proportions which approximates an adult or superhero figure as 7½ heads high, we find that a 3½ module head (the almost unvarying norm) calls almost exactly for our convenient 27-module Toa. The 3½ module head and 16 module height of a typical Matoran give us a height of 4½ heads high. This rarely will suffice for an artist in HSB, due to the tendency of expressing Matoran as preteens or at least well-developed children, but may prove suitable for other styles. Remember that in any style the head height in inches, feet, or bio is not to be identical—If one Toa is taller than another, this likely owes itself to the figure having a larger head (Sorry, Tahu).
In movie style or any other style requiring an expressive mask, remember that the head height is dependent on the height of the mask-wearing figure. Therefore, you may wish to deviate significantly from the normal human proportions and follow the movie-style criteria. A movie-style Toa figure is typically around 6 masks high, while a movie-style Matoran falls closer to their height in feet—approximately 4-4½ masks high.
There may be errors-- I tried to proofread it and ended up messing up some of my calculations in the process, and have since attempted to fix my mistakes. I hope someone finds this useful.
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