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Thanks Alto Magna. Both in response to you and Flaredrick, the mask was just making the best of a bad situation: I actually damaged my Ignika and because I couldn't repair it, I continued the deterioration further (with merely an exacto knife) and painted it to match the color scheme and to show the different colors through which the mask fades in its stages. The paint is acrylic covered in a protective enamel layer. I would like to make an undamaged one... I just need a fresh Ignika.

Wow, I thought no one would post in this topic again. Now, several more! Dual Matrix, OH MY MATA NUI... how did I not think of that already? Brilliant idea. Also, the exo-force arms make the hand too stubby and big, al least for this model. Thanks all!By the way, does anybody know why I cannot make my text color-formatted without doing it manually with code? Button in the toolbar does not work.

Srakii~Pktaaim, no offense taken. That is exactly how I wanted it to look... at least, something out of the Bionicle line before Lego started making Inika clones and all.Thanks Toa Solon!

WOW. This is really good... usually LDD stuff is so-so at best, but this is like a company in Asia did a knockoff... (there have actually been instances of that). It's like it's Bionicle, and yet not Bionicle (making the scale and textures/piece types acceptable; one has to admit that this figure is rather inconsistent with regular MOCs). Nicely done!

You know, a kilogram is a unit of mass, not a unit of force. It would be 4214 Newtons.

Thanks all. Wow, I never suspected that the mask would be such a hit.

Thanks all! Onewa7, do you mean in comparison to the System yellow or just in general? ShadowWolfHount, I'd like to see the Nikra design to which you are referring. Mr. Fluffy, I agree. I am making the legs just a bit longer to aid with articulation as well as proportions. And yeah, the glider should be way bigger.

Great design, but the eye holes in the head plate distract from the actual eyes of the MOC. Try to fit in orange pieces there. The pink teeth clash terribly with the orange, but white would look great (almost any other color would be better). You may want to experiment with contrasting eye colors too (instead of trans-orange), like trans-dark blue or trans-neon green. If you have trans-pink 1 x 1 round plates for eyes, maybe you could make those teeth work. Excellent work!

Fantastic work. The color layering and proportions are really well done. For the gaps you mentioned in the chest, you could use some black hose or even small 2 x 2 black rubber tires. I know there is a System rope with integrated bar segments ended with 1 x 1 round plates that comes in green; maybe it comes in black. This could be used, perhaps along with some minifig hands or claws attached to the bar segments.

WOAH! This is stunning. At first glance, this looks like a Mata Nui revamp and the best one I've ever seen...The hordika legs have got to go, though. Also, the upper body is yellow on black, not black on yellow as the bottom is. I suggest making the arms have the same construction but with black ball joints and yellow connectors, like the legs, or vice-versa (consistency!). While the shoulder design is to die for the neck and head are disappointing. I've never seen system plates used well alongside large, generic Bionicle parts. Barbs are excellent, but not modified plate teeth (speaking of which, the black 1 x 1 on the arm should go). The neck space is cavernous - fill it in with tires or hoses. The head is too small for this magnificent body; maybe use the real Ignika or perhaps another mask, preferably black (or painted yellow and black). Most importantly, though: custom limbs. Sometimes it works for the overall aesthetic to use generic limbs, but here I think it would work better to use the same level of complexity in the lower limbs as in the torso. If you wanted, you could change the lower half of the torso into yellow-on-black and use those yellow hydruka parts (that usually come in silver or marbled dark red and black). Pretty much all I'm saying is to homogenize the elements of this MOC. Anywhoo...Fantastic work!

This is excellent. He looks a bit like an inchworm too! I would add armor to the other sides of the connector blocks and position the metru forearms vertically, all for symmetry. I wonder if Lego has made white or light grey HF limbs yet...

Thanks all! Atarius: the waist has about the mobility of the human waist. Thanks to being connected with ball joints, the "pistons" rotate in accordance with the waist guard. So he can't rotate 360 degrees like before, but he can twist.Here is a gallery with my breakdown of the Nuva torso (along with some other stuff I've been making).

Indeed.

Excellent. This would be awesome.

Sorry Paleo, I didn't mean to insinuate that non-customizers are fearful. I was going for "apprehensive of" or "opposed to" the practice. As for the general argument for customization, one could think of the modifications as merely utilizing the medium of Lego to its highest potential. The part needed is within the piece Lego provides, as a statue exists within a block of marble. Lego can be both a subtractive and additive medium (woodworking, stained glass and metalsmithing are similar endeavors; modified parts coming together to create a unique and altogether better creation than what could be done with raw lumber, unshaped glass or metal ore). One could argue that it takes more imagination and is far more challenging to build with what does not yet exist than to build strictly with what one has been given. Not that building within the confines of pure Lego doesn't take a great deal of talent... in the end, I think that both practices (purism and customization) are equally valid and neither takes more imagination, creativity, or talent than the other.

joev14: Thanks, I'll try to do that this weekend. The torso requires a few cut pieces, but nothing major. The thumb joint is made up of two modified pieces: the base is a cut and sanded and polished part of a 1 x 8 x 2 bar and the inserted piece is a cut and sanded lance base: Lihkan... interesting idea. I don't think it was a helmet, but more of a headdress/hood type thing. But it would be neat. My only problem is that he is dead, and never coming back, thus has little use in my collection...Thanks to Ehlekdude and fameman as well!

Excellent design, though I fear the torso and arms are too big for a matoran MOC. The legs are wonderful, though, so try to scale down the rest to match the legs. He also needs wider and longer feet - maybe attach triangular technic pieces to the front? The weapons are beautiful, and the mask works perfectly. Hands would work if the upper arm were shorter, too. Nice work!

If you have them, you must try: GORAST WINGS! This is a beautiful MOC, but I feel it looks better without the green canisters. But then there is something missing... and I think wings of any sort would compliment it greatly. Also, maybe grey or green as a secondary color (under black)?

They make transparent hoses with DARK green centers?! Hoorah! Well, this is a pretty good design with a surprisingly good color scheme (not very Christmas-esque as one would imagine). The chest plates are held in place with... *shudders* ...rubber bands... If you must, it would look better with black ones (two greens don't work).Good job on this.

Very (very) reminiscent of Matoro Mahri. The colors are good, and the torso design is unique - I wish there were pictures of it from the side. I have a feeling it looks more than a bit irregular from that angle. If this problem does exist, I suggest using different hips (that would attach to the Mata, not Inika, torso) and using some armor/filler on the shoulders. The limbs are in dire need of customization, and I think he needs something to distinguish him from Matoro. Maybe a totally custom launcher, a very different and exotic one, and the claws can be attached at an angle, losing their parallelism and looking like a narrow 'v'. Trey to take more pictures of your next MOC too!Nice work.

Lovely flower - and such scale! The shields are truly enormous pieces, so this thing is comparable to a sunflower! In terms of photography, try to get lots of diffuse lighting pointed in dark areas, in this case the stem and dirt. Also it often is best to use a low ISO, low aperture and low shutter speed if there is enough light to do so, for a more even exposure. Sometimes with flower photography (which applies to these contrasting colors) the petals seem overexposed, but with some saturation editing they can look just right. Even if you can't get pictures whose parts are all perfectly exposed, still include pictures where a particular section is (even though others are overexposed). They may not look presentable, but it helps in figuring out the design. The leaf is a good idea (I would have two, for balance, or just one larger one), but the piece seems wrong. Use a full-green one instead, or perhaps multiple smaller green pieces to make up a single leaf. Thorns may make a nice addition, too. And is the pot you are using a Lego store cup? That would be superb. For the future it would be neat if you could make roots for this flower.Very well done.

TNG Prime: You must be referring to my Flash Fire entry. Since then I've definitely improved the design, but of course the build is almost identical for each Toa Nuva. Having Toa Ignika have a Nuva body may seem strange, but it is possible that the mask of life simply imitated the Toa in Karda Nui. Regardless of storyline explanation, Toa Ignika has really just been more of a test of my Nuva Project than part of it (as was my Matoro). The mask was the result of an initial mistake (trying to remove edge-fraying) and the subsequent attempts to fix said mistake. Whittling with an exacto knife, painting with acrylics, and then a clear enamel coat. Many months of tinkering a couple hours a week, just like with the MOC itself. Thanks to you and to High Voltage!

No, that wasn't it; I never posted pictures, sadly. And since the Rahaga are Toa again, they are now being disassembled for pieces. The Agori's colors are great, but the design is only so-so. I suggest using a green vahki leg and getting rid of those metru parts on the arms, and making the legs bigger. The va is nice, but the black teeth on the arms should go, and the legs should be black (use black connector blocks and use the same HF pieces as on the upper arms for the upper legs, and articulate the hip). That perpendicular connector piece on the waist should go too, it hangs too low. And you may want to consider bulking up the waist, maybe with tires. Again, nice work.

DARKSIDERZ: I did consider it, but I never actually got one. It seemed WAY too small and cheap-looking when I saw the Glatorian sets on display. However, I do want to eventually design my own, smaller, less elongated version of the Ignika that is more Toa-sized. The modifications I have done to the current Ignika actually make the mask appear far smaller than an untouched one, thankfully.Charles J. Guiteau: Thank you! I am glad someone finally shares my perspective on the chest armor. I agree with you on the feet - with the other Toa nothing so large is added to the front of the foot, making them much more proportional. I plan to get more yellow feet to try again with fewer additions. I agree again about the legs, though unfortunately I have failed to create any other design that is armored and shaped as completely as this one.

Incredible! The complexity is staggering, and the colors are well done. What I like especially is the use of spin-tile parts for the inner joints. It looks great and takes away bulk that other pieces would add. I think that the upper joints should use just the normal, round plates and the lower joints should use just the spin-tile parts, meaning on both the inner and outer side of the limb. The claws might be a bit too big, but nothing can be done about that, as they add too much to the MOC to be taken away. And the black arm, while excellently done, is a bit out of place. While in some cases an arm like this does compliment a figure, I think that black is too dark a color. It may look far better as merely dark bluish grey. Also, it is entirely black, while the rest of the MOC has color variation. You may want to add another shade to the arm, for consistency. Honestly, I think that the arms should be of the same color and construction (although keep the weapon, it's nice). The head is AMAZING. The only thing I think it is missing is an eye (where that minifig hand is) - instead of using a grey bar, perhaps a transparent one. Trans-clear would be best, and you can always make one from a few different trans-clear System pieces with incorporated bars. Maybe there are trans-clear antenna too, if you don't mind a larger eye... regular 4-length transparent bars are extremely rare!Anyways, this is a very impressive MOC. Superb work as usual.