Jutsu - Vortixx Dark Hunter

[The Iron Toa]

I finally built a recurring character in my latest epic, a Vortixx Dark Hunter codenamed 'Jutsu'. Here are the links:Gallery (when public)FrontSideBackAll weapons put awayPosing with swordPosing with throwing knivesPosing with daggersPosing with a dagger in one hand and shuriken in the otherUnarmed combat poseSpeaking with Toa ImlenBeheading a Steltian Brotherhood of Makuta lieutenantHe was inspired by ninja and samurai. He is named after a Japanese term meaning 'technique', 'spell', or 'trick' , because he is skilled with many combat techniques and weapons. Those words in English would not sound as good, but Jutsu conveys a special ninja-like meaning. The silver pieces on his head are meant to resemble a topknot. According to Wikipedia, the large katana-like sword is called an odachi or nodachi. Brutaka's blade doesn't make a perfect one but it's as close as I could get with the right size. I would have preferred straight daggers, but I don't think I have anything suitable. The knives, while simple, actually took a bit of thought. I first tried using a belt with narrow peg holes I got from Rocka to hold the knives over his chest, but that did not look good, so I used those T-shaped pieces. The knives tend to fall off, but they usually have just enough friction to stay on. I wish I could have come up with something better for the shuriken, but I had to settle for the smallest round pieces I had - those tiny flat axle stopper pieces.I meant for the model to resemble Roodaka, but not too closely. Also, lots of silver would not go well with the stealth theme, so the only silver parts are his weapons and his 'hair'. Roodaka is also very tall, I made Jutsu shorter so as not to completely tower over Toa. His lack of Roodaka's elevated ankles contributes to his shortness quite a bit. I tried giving him articulated hands like Hydraxon's, but those were too big, and besides, I didn't have enough tiny silver claws.I hope you like it. Comments and suggestions on how to improve this model would be appreciated.

[FrozenFlash]

The torso and the shoulder armor are both nicely designed. The colors flow together really nicely. My only complaint is that the lower legs are a little too thin but other than that, great job on this!

[turtleman]

I like the body and the head, but I think that he needs to be either completely black or black and another color.

[The Iron Toa]

I tried putting armor on the lower legs and thought it was better without, I'll try adding some again and taking a picture for comparison. As for the colors, I don't have those hands in black, so he has to be part dark gray. And those light gray pieces he has I only have in light gray. I also wanted the 'hair' to be silver to match Roodaka.

[Nine Ball]

Love the feet, it makes him look like he could stride on water (which should be a job requirement of anyone who can call himself 'stealthy'). The raised shoulders look also adds to the intimidation factor. Overall, I think the MOC is well done. However, the color scheme feels very 'off', if anything. The blue pins stick out (I wish black friction pins were more widespread...), and that red piece in the middle clashes with the blue pins which clash with the black/grey and it just ends up looking messy. While I understand what you're trying to accomplish with the silver (and it's perfectly acceptable to have silver weapons for obvious reasons), the silver is poorly spread out among the rest of the MOC. I think you should replace those silver Bohrok teeth with black ones, so that it can relegate silver to weaponry only. Finally, I think there should be more grey incorporated into the color scheme. As it is now, it looks stuck between a sub color and a highlight color, so adding more grey to the MOC overall will stabilize the color scheme.Sorry about making the criticism part look more prominent than the compliment part...I think it is a good MOC, but the color scheme could use some work.

[darkslizer]

The whole thing with throwing knives on his shoulders and legs, awesome. I never liked those hands, though, mainly for their lack of third axle hole. I was a little disappointed with the Shuriken, but those would be hard to make for a being of that size. Love the raised shoulders for their intimidation value. Very nic swrod also.Overall, very good MOC.

[The Iron Toa]

Actually, I think I will keep the legs the way they are. I can't take credit for the shoulders, really, it's just the Roodaka design with different armor. The silver Bohrok eyes are weapons, they're his throwing knives, as darkslizer said. The 'red piece' in his chest is actually his heartlight. The weapons could be better, I know, especially the shuriken and also the knives. If I had something suitable, I'd use it. Some particular minifigure weapons would come in handy if I had them. I'm glad the sword came out okay, but I wish it was more katana-like. What parts do you think should be changed to gray, Nine Ball?