jmflem

What's up with the little dude?

Isn't Jungle just a tribe from Bara Magna (I could be wrong)?

 

Thank you for the advice. I'm working on arm experiments now and using your advice as I try. The majority of black will only be on the torso with it being surrounded by green pieces. Resembling the dark shade under a tree.

 

As for thorns, I would have to say no. This is a passive and motherly toa, thorns would give a different message. I have a few nature pieces from system but they don't stick.

 

For custom limbs (primarily forearms and upper legs) I've found these two pieces along with any sized axle, a ccbs shell, and anything else you want to build off of it works well. Also this piece connected to the side of that piece can help allude to elbows on the arm and/or help fill out the "butt" of a leg. I hope that makes sense, it'd be easier to show with pictures.

Here's a picture. Like this. It might be hard to see, and FYI that's a tire slid onto the shaft of this piece.

Looking at your WIP, I'd suggest adding some blue if you're trying to represent the Jungle element (aka "The Green", I assume that's what you mean by plant life) since its colors are green and blue.  If not then never mind.

 

If you're going to add SYSTEM flower or plant elements, do it very minimally.  Maybe a couple on one arm or something on the chest to replace the "heartlight".  Too many small details and it may end up looking cluttered.

 

Personally I'd try to use the Hero Factory IfB pods as some sort of large flower decoration; they happen to come in both green and blue.  If you can get your hands on a couple, nesting one inside the other can create a cool flower or bulb look, and depending on the rest of the build it might look interesting on its back or on a staff of some kind.  But that's just me, and I like trying to use big ridiculous pieces in strange ways.

I think the OP is referring to this: http://bionicle.wikia.com/wiki/Toa_of_Plantlife

Also, about that pod piece, I forgot to mention that could definitely be used as well! I remember seeing a smaller matoran/protector sized build using one of those in green as a cloak before. The build was small enough that the leaf reached near the bottom of the MOC like a cape, and the black fold-over at the base looked like an unused hood. It looked fantastic, and I am now very interested in trying that myself . I just need to get one of those pieces.

I've personally wanted to make a plant-life Toa for a while, but have never gotten around to it. There are a lot of pieces that I've thought about using however.

As for general building tips, if you aren't very experienced at building, I'd suggest staying simple. If you try a bunch of custom stuff without much experience it can start to look a bit shabby. That doesn't mean you shouldn't experiment though. Experiment with stuff, a lot! That's the only way you're gonna figure out new stuff.

I'm not that great at making things myself, but I'll tell you what I know and have learned myself. Simple can actually look really good though, and you can add a few tricks here and there to really make it look better. A simple build with just a few innovative or original techniques can actually really make a model look a lot better IMO. CCBS is a very good system to build with for simplicity. It's easy to work with and has very simple lines and textures to it.

What I've been doing for my latest MOC is I took the basic design of the new 2015 CCBS Toa builds, but added in a lot more Technic (for custom limbs) and just a little bit of system and G1 parts. Since, I'm not very good with custom torsos, the torso is almost completely original (one piece torso, torso shell and chest piece) but I have added some tubes and some back coverage to help fill it out. I wish I could show you but it's not finished yet.

Look at MOCs from other people around the community for inspiration. Finding someone who has a similar building style to you will really help as well, if you like what they have built that is. Even if you find some really complicated builds that you feel you could never replicate, sometimes you can pick out a few different techniques that you can use on your own creation.

A good color scheme can make or break a MOC as well. Try to make sure you use color blocking and layering, and try limiting the amount of colors you use. For plant life personally I would recommend lime as a base/main color, mostly because it is a very bright, nice color. When you look at most plants they are usually bright green. Then adding additional colors will really complement the base color. Red, yellow, orange, white, brown, and darker green are good colors. Even some purple would look nice (think flowers). I noticed on your BBC (Bionicle Based Creations) post that you were using a lot of black. Though black can be a really useful color for a skeleton or to tone it down a bit, heavy use of it might not work too well for a plant-y character. Not many plants have much black too them. Most don't have any at all. Think brighter greens and more natural colors maybe. Also, you can try throwing in some metallic (I'd suggest silver) colors to simulate armor (the new 2015 piston add ons are nice), and some translucent pieces can really help as well. The new Toa definitely took advantage of both of those, and I personally think they look fantastic.

Also, for a plant character, it would be very cool to have some stuff growing off of him, e.g. thorns, flowers, leaves, vines, etc. This can be accomplished by system pieces, and a lot of those can be add using CCBS shells due to the system rod sized holes on them, and also these pins can be helpful for System connections.

As for personallity traits, thats left for you to figure out. Just try to express them in your build as best as you can . That's all I got. Hope it helps!

ALSO, if you don't have some pieces and you really want your MOC to look the best it can, consider making an order from Bricklink.com. Its a bit hard to explain how it works, but just google it and watch a couple walkthroughs on Youtube. Its a really easy, affordable way to get individual parts that you don't have.

 

 

And this is why Bionicle is good for and in CCBS. G1 got us used to new pieces and designs regularly, so G2 should bring a wealth of new bones, shells and add-ons to the system

 

I find I like bare bones when the model is small, but not when the model is medium or large. The Toa just look silly without shells, but the skeletal Skulls rock the look quite well. It all cones down to intention and preference. I like my models having shape, so I like the shells.

 

None of the new Toa have uncovered bones, IIRC.

Personally, I don't have much of a problem with CCBS on paper. The problem I have with it is the execution of its system in finalized sets.

 

CCBS is, as we know, a three-layer system. You have a generic skeleton, which you cover with generic shells, which you then cover with armor add-ons to give it a unique look. My problem is that the third layer doesn't seem to be utilized as often as it could be. With sets such as Brain Attack Breez, or even the new Protectors, you can see that one armor add-on can make a huge difference. However, the variety of armor add-ons is very slim, and that lack of variety in the third layer can make the whole system seem bland.

 

As for the other drawbacks with the system, I don't mind them really. I just think that they should make more armor add-ons to expand the options for customization.

For a lot of HF sets I don't like how the system was used. Some sets look great though, like Toxic Reapa (now I wanna buy him ) and most of the 3.0 series. I think the addition of Technic helped a lot in the new Bionicle line, and the overall designs are much better than any of the HF heroes IMO. I do really like the new piston add-on, and couldn't agree more with wanting more add-ons. Also more specialized bones would be nice, as opposed to shells like most people want. We'll be seeing some of this with the new skeleton bones this summer. More stuff like that I would love to see.

You are both clearly talking to each other and no one else. Just hit reply and stop quoting huge blocks of text.

 

Thank you.

I was just about to say that lol. There's a "delete" key for a reason.

At first I didn't like the look of the summer villains, but now they're really growing on me and I really like them. Same thing happened with the first wave, but now they're my favorite Toa sets ever made.

No, I have not read much of the old story. I imagine reading a Bionicle book to be quite harrowing, since it's probably not aimed at my reading level, the same way I would not pick up a book of, say, "Animorphs" anymore. It would be interesting if anyone here would actually recommend them as literature in their own right, to someone not particularly invested in the Bionicle story. In other words: Are they good reads?

I have seen the movies, although only recently. Suffice to say, I was not impressed by the storytelling. But then I am far out of hte target demographic.

 

Furthermore, my comparison regarding the intended age ranges was only between the 2001 and 2015 sets. To be honest, I don't even know what a Piraka is, nor do I have any particular desire to find out. I looked up an image, and the toys did not appeal to me at all. But I did take a gander at their packaging, and their recommended age range is 7-16.

I would conclude from this, that teenagers were absolutely part of the intended audience, but absolutely not the sole target.

 

 

And the point I'm trying to get at remains: Even if I were to agree that these Priaka were intended solely for teens, would that have made them any better or worse?

 

Take a movie like Wall-E, by Pixar. That movie can be watched by children of all ages, and is still a very mature and smart movie, with rich cinematography and elegant storytelling.

 

Pacific Rim on the other hand is not suitable for small children, but is in no way a smart or mature movie (to be fair, it did not set out to be one).

 

The point is, the true measure of maturity is sophistication, not violence, sex or "darkness".

 

Another point would be this: Things for little kids can be enormously fun. My Little Pony: Friendship is Magic is targeted at little girls, but I haven't had that much fun with a cartoon in ages.

I've actually never read any of the books, but if you want to learn the story while still being entertained and not bored by simple sentence structure , check out the comics. The story is fantastic and the art is quite good (though the artists do change throughout). I haven't read them in a few years but I do remember them being great.

Hmm there's so many good ones! I have multiple favorites. First one that comes to mind is the Kraahkan. It looks fantastic, it's cool how it can be used multiple ways, and I've always found it to be thicker, heavier, and more "heavy-duty" feeling than other masks. I really like the feel of high quality things so that is something I find very nice.

Also, I love the new 2015 designs, specifically Tahu's, Onua's, and Lewa's. I also really like how they attach to the new heads; they're a bit more like actual masks rather than pacifiers

Basically this mask (which I haven't ordered yet). Also just fiddling around with pieces, as well as the new 2015 designs.

 

 

 

 

Please, no G1 vs G2 nostalgia war here...

Lulz.

Oh the irony.

Well, you do seem to be one of the ones contributing to it...

yes, Cwog, even after all of that.

I find it funny how you never give any practical reasoning for your decisions, other than just nostalgia.

Please, no G1 vs G2 nostalgia war here...

Lulz.

I'm a bit rusty on the story, since I haven't read it in so long. Don't get me wrong though, I used to be completely obssesed with the comics. I remember Metru Nui being one of my favorite parts of the story (excluding Hordika), and that was also one of Bionicle'a darkest times. It even seemed a bit trippy at some points too IIRC But yeah that was a great part of the story, a d was also quite dark.

Do you own any CCBS sets and/or new bionicle sets, and if so how many/which ones?

Oh well you still haven't answered my question

oh, oops.

That's not an answer....

I was being sarcastic. You still haven't answered my question though.

cool.

So do you like the set now?

cool.

 

and p.s. I did read what you said.

You've never answered my question. Do you own any of the new sets? Or any CCBS (or skeleball to you) comprised sets?

DW it can be done:

1: That's actually not gold. It's sort of a Keetongu yellow (I know because I have the set in hand).

2: They can not, because of the gearbox.

You could definitely figure something out with extra pieces though.

Workbench, I didn't say I "got around plants" I just don't specialize in them.

 

Jmflem, so you can't MoC them onto his back? I find the wing arms to be weird.

 

While we are on the subject of Gali, I find her use of gold to be the worst. It's too envocitive of the Glatorian line.

Please take the time to read what I said. I said you CAN make your own if you wanted to, it would require some modification and extra parts though. Also I explained how the wings can be seen as not-weird. But that's mostly personal preference.

ok ok,ill take it back then, if that's how you feel about it.

It's not how we feel, it's a fact that the gold masks are an optional extra

its my term for ccbs. I personally think it sounds better, as the system IS a skeletal frame with ball connectors. its also far easier to pronounce.

 

she dosnt have too much gold, she has gold, which dosnt mesh with the blue, overall, I find the decision to give the toa gold parts to be a poor one.

Gali has one optional mask that's gold. The actual set doesn't have any gold at all. Same goes for Lewa and Pohatu. They come with the gold masks as an extra basically.

Keyword: "sometimes"