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Set Review: 70789 Onua Master of Earth


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It seems like the idea that people can have different opinions even after seeing the same images and videos escapes you. No need to insult the people whose opinions have changed and accuse them of getting swept up in the hype just because your own opinions haven't changed one bit.

 

Who did I insult?! Iblis doesn't think I'm insulting anyone, we're discussing things because this is a discussion... At no point did I say it was wrong for people to like Onua or that noone was allowed any opinion contrary to my own. Just that I think people are getting somewhat overhyped by the new media we're seeing lately (like the unboings and reviews)

 

If you ask me,  the first insulting thing to come out of this thread is the tone of your address to me...

 

I apologize if I misread your post, but a comment like "people who have all now apparently forgotten how stupid it looks because OMG A VD RVW!" sounds to me like you are mocking people whose opinions were genuinely changed by the content of the review. As does referring to people's reactions as "blind praise", as if the people who like the new sets aren't actually paying attention to their quality.

 

I apologize if my own post seemed insulting — it wasn't supposed to. But sometimes people disagree with you about things that, to you, seem obvious. I know I'm used to that. If I were to list all the unpopular opinions about BIONICLE I've had over the years I'd be here all day. That doesn't mean other people weren't actually paying attention to things like quality to the same degree that I was, just that quality means different things to different people. To some people, features of the 2015 and 2001 BIONICLE sets like pop-off masks and gear functions are exciting, but to other people they're silly and pointless. To some people, a set with extremely exaggerated proportions is expressive and imaginative, but to other people it's ugly and unrealistic. And so on and so forth.

 

It's entirely possible for two people to see the same video and pay attention to all the details, and then for one person to have a positive reaction and the other person to have a negative reaction. It doesn't mean that one person is ignoring the flaws the other noticed, just that to them those things either aren't really flaws or don't matter as much as they did to the other person.

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 a comment like "people who have all now apparently forgotten how stupid it looks because OMG A VD RVW!" sounds to me like you are mocking people whose opinions were genuinely changed by the content of the review. As does referring to people's reactions as "blind praise", as if the people who like the new sets aren't actually paying attention to their quality.

 

Fair point, that does read a bit like I'm taking the p. but I assure you that's not how it's meant! Also for the record, I'm all for freedom of choice and such so people who love Onua (or whatever else they love!) can go ahead and get on with lovin'. My comment here referred to the people who seem to just suddenly be changing their mind despite the fact that there hasn't really be any new information to cause this. Certainly in my opinion I think the video review actually emphasises some of Onua's shortfallings (like the limb-joints) but I guess that's how you know it's a good review if it shows good and bad. Though I don't know if any comment was made re. the hips and shoulders as I skipped through some of the vid.

 

Anyway, I don't mean to say anyone is wrong for liking this set anymore than I'd say people are wrong for disliking it, it's none of my business what everyone else thinks! I just find the change in the atmosphere surrounding this set a little odd.


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Considering the opinions expressed in this topic as compared to this one, Munty's claims may be somewhat substantiated. 

 

However, some of the flaws mentioned in that topic were mentioned in here, like the flawed color scheme. Also please note that the mentioned topic focused on the color scheme specifically, while this one notes other things like the innovative gear function system - it's more all inclusive and through than a complaint about color. 

 

Personally I don't mind Onua. I do think his color scheme leaves much to be desired. The thing is, though, he's the same colors as Speeda Demon's bike (well, that has lime instead of gold, but close enough), and I never had a problem with that, so I'm a little confused. I see MoCing opportunities - he's likely to get disassembled and turned into something else (as opposed to being displayed proudly like Tahu), but that doesn't mean buying the set would be a bad idea. 

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a comment like "people who have all now apparently forgotten how stupid it looks because OMG A VD RVW!" sounds to me like you are mocking people whose opinions were genuinely changed by the content of the review. As does referring to people's reactions as "blind praise", as if the people who like the new sets aren't actually paying attention to their quality.

 

Fair point, that does read a bit like I'm taking the p. but I assure you that's not how it's meant! Also for the record, I'm all for freedom of choice and such so people who love Onua (or whatever else they love!) can go ahead and get on with lovin'. My comment here referred to the people who seem to just suddenly be changing their mind despite the fact that there hasn't really be any new information to cause this. Certainly in my opinion I think the video review actually emphasises some of Onua's shortfallings (like the limb-joints) but I guess that's how you know it's a good review if it shows good and bad. Though I don't know if any comment was made re. the hips and shoulders as I skipped through some of the vid.

 

Anyway, I don't mean to say anyone is wrong for liking this set anymore than I'd say people are wrong for disliking it, it's none of my business what everyone else thinks! I just find the change in the atmosphere surrounding this set a little odd.

 

Believe me, I understand how that can feel! It also felt a little bit odd to me in 2012 when people on other sites went from really hating Black Phantom in leaked preliminary pictures to really loving him after a review cropped up. In fairness, in that case the reason was quite understandable — the preliminary picture was cropped rather badly so a lot of the holes in the build looked larger than they were in the final set, and some of the preliminary parts were prototypes without the smooth, shiny textures of the final model, so it looked like the prelim version had one more color than the final version.

 

I can see some possible reasons why certain issues might bother people slightly less after seeing this review than before. For instance, regarding the color scheme, look at this picture. The difference in color between the Silver Metallic shoulderpads and the Dark Stone Grey Y-joints they're attached to, or between the Silver Metallic lower body and the Dark Stone Grey friction joints on the hips, is quite striking. So is the difference in color between the Tr. Bright Bluish Violet leg beams and the Medium Lilac shells and torso decorations. But in this picture from the review, these colors blend together better, so the Silver Metallic and Tr. Bright Bluish Violet don't look quite so out-of-place. This isn't one of the sets I own, so I can't say for certain whether the colors in the review photos or the official renders are more accurate, but from experience with other parts in those same colors (including some of the new BIONICLE parts I do have), I think the review photos are probably closer to reality. Then again, sometimes the look of a color will vary wildly depending on the lighting.

 

Other issues might just not bother everybody to the same extent. I'm not really any more bothered by the hips than I would be bothered by the hips of any other constraction set. I'm guessing the part that bugs you is the axle-thin strut connecting the ball joints themselves to the crotch of the torso beam? I can see why you might be bothered by that, but it's the sort of thing that I'm sure a lot of people have just learned to ignore. Though there are some mods that address that issue, like pushing small rubber tires over the ball joint to cover that part of the model. Probably not good for the tires, and it can limit the legs' inward movement,but it can be good for aesthetics if you feel like that kind of thing needs addressing.

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My comment here referred to the people who seem to just suddenly be changing their mind despite the fact that there hasn't really be any new information to cause this.

"New information" is the entire purpose of set reviews like this one, and it certainly provided some.

 

I was undecided on Onua because all I'd seen were the two promo images, one of which looked odd and the one that looked fine.  This review showed me that the odd one was mainly the issue of posing and that, while Onua may have unusual proportions, they work well enough.

OpAXNpl.jpg

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Indeed, the skinny ale is horrible I think. Not only aesthetically but it just looks ridiculously out of place on what's meant to be such a strong bulky Toa. Can you imagine seeing a bodybuilder like this? I guarantee he wouldn't be able to stand, let alone move about with all that weight on such skinny weak legs! The shoulders as well are too far apart in my opinion. See how in that review image you linked to they almost appear to be hanging from his shoulderpads rather than attached to his body. Even when you can SEE it's attached to the body it just looks unnatural to me. I can't really imagine any kind of pose that would disguise these joints or make the figure more pleasing to look at. I think it's the whole 'suspension of disbelief' going on for me. Yeah it's a toy and I'm a grown man who's well aware that none of this is real. But I like a lot of made up stuff, that doesn't mean it can't at least seem plausible. I think all the other Onua versions we've had to date have been plausible. Thinking quickly I think only the barraki had particularly odd looking builds but they were still significantly fleshed out to be conceivable as real creatures. The new Onua just doesn't really work in any form of reality though, even one where normal rules don't apply. Frankly, I'm quite surprised that the figure itself is able to stand up unaided and that kinda spoils the illusion IMO.


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Onua's design definitely isn't the slightest bit realistic, but it has a cartoony, top-heavy quality that I really like, which is apparent in both the set and the stylized depiction from the comics and webisodes. It's the same thing I liked about Toa Mahri Kongu — it makes Onua actually stand out as a big, strong guy even on a team of other big, strong characters. Though I think Onua carries it out a lot better than Toa Mahri Kongu, because even with such an exclusive physique, his textures and motifs help keep him visually consistent with other members of the team. And likewise he definitely pulls it off better than Krekka from 2004, because it's not nearly so gappy and awkward. Krekka's design is so bizarre that when I first saw pictures of him I was sure he was a robotic character like the Vahki, and it was a real shock to find out that he wasn't. But Onua's design feels no less lifelike to me than any of the other new Toa. Not as human-like, certainly, but still lifelike.

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Initially I thought Onua underwent the most drastic change from his 2001-counterpart among all the 2015 Toa, so much that he doesn't remind me of Gen 1 Onua at all. Thanks to this great review though, I now noticed traces of the Kanohi Pakari in this new Mask of Earth. A nice throwback :D

 

I like the color scheme (purple works well with black as we saw in Onepu) and bulky, huge build of this re-imagined Onua. I risk sounding blasphemous here, and I quite like the design of Gen 1 Onua, but IMO there is one aspect where this new design of Onua did better than the old one: it gives Onua a unique impression of wisdom, calmness, bulkiness and other Earth-element characteristics. These traits are precisely Onua's characteristics within the storyline and it also help distinguish him from Pohatu for instance.

 

Then we have Onua's new Toa tools. I welcome the return of multi-functional Toa tools with a passion :happydance: , and I find Onua's tools strike out as the most interesting among the 2015 Toa (not to mention the shovel being a throwback to Whenua Metru, as the review pointed out).

 

As I am still lacking Toa of Earth and Stone in my Bionicle collection, I think I will get either Onua or Pohatu. While I look forward to Pohatu's review, so far Onua certainly does not fail to impress!  B-)

Edited by Tahtorak ate my house!
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The purple accents almost make up for the (in my opinion) overabundance of gold and silver. Almost. :P

 

I appreciate the look at the comic in the instructions you gave us here (which makes the instructions not getting rolled up even better!!). Those are really, really cool inclusions.

 

Like you, I too can't not help but also wish now that the shoulder pads were black. That honestly would have probably fixed all the problems I have with the colors of this set, which are the only things holding me back from absolute affection. I still feel that there are too many colors on him, and having two metallics as armor (weapons are excusable really) doesn't help. But it might actually just be how much silver there appears to be thanks to the size of the shoulder pads. Those in black would have just been great.

 

Overall I still like the big guy. Unlike some other color clashing in this first wave I don't think I'll ever get over, seeing more of him... it really isn't all that bad. I am looking forward to him more now thanks to your review. :)

 

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"He walks among us, but he is not one of us."

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  • 3 weeks later...

Man, Ouna looks bulky! He looks like a version of the Hulk from Marvel. Ouna's build looks perfect for him! What a masterpiece that Lego has done for Ouna! I like his armor and hammer. The hammer, a.k.a. his claws, looks cool. The claws and mask are quite classic like the 2001 Ouna set. Even stickers on his Hulk-ish chest look like his mask with purple highlights. Ouna is like one of my favorite 2015 Bionicle sets because his his awesome design.:)

However, I don't think that it's necessary to give Ouna claw-y feet. I mean, he is not a monster.

I like Lego, Bionicle, and Hero Factory!:)

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