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xccj

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  1. xccj
    I mentioned my interest in getting some of these pens for the masks. Well, I managed to purchase two, and they finally got in. (I’m still not done with my search… four more to go.) Since I have them, I’m going to make it into a review! (Can’t go on the front page tho. Something about an 11 year old, rare-to-begin-with product that’s super hard to find even nowadays...)
     
     



    First off, the packaging for this is very neat. I believe it follows the standard design for Lego pens back in the day; it shows off the pen and a bunch of the extra beads. This one also has a purely Bionicle touch. The top and bottom piece (the bottom is actually within the plastic container) are the colors of the classic canister lids; basically, a shade of green and grey that were never seen in the actual sets. Behind the pens is a map of our favorite island (remember when it was actually an island and not some giant underwater robot’s camouflaged face?)
     
    The back of the package (not pictured ) shows off how you can customize the beads on your pen, and lists some of the features, including 13 bead elements, a soft grip, replaceable cartridge (wait, this thing has ink in it too? What, are we supposed to use it to write?) and a pen stand (This is supposed to be made up of the two colored plastic pieces, but they’re a loose fit, and it’s stretching it to call it a feature.) Then, of course, it also makes sure to point out that it includes a collectible Kanohi mask of power that can attach to the pens. Neato. Also included is a generic picture of the Toa and a short Bio. Did you know Lewa was the youngest of the Toa, and that Onua has infrared vision? I sure didn’t! (Oh wait, these were the discontinued Toa bios that didn’t make it to the official storyline but still ended up on some of the non-set merchandice.)
     
     



    Then there’s the beads. Each pen comes with 13 of them, plus the two body pieces of the pen, and the collectible mask. The Toa share a similar variety of beads. Lemme list them out.
    Each has an identical black Bionicle bead, with the word printed on one side and the symbol printed on the other.
    They each come with a black bead with the Toa’s name printed on it.
    Square beads with the letters of the Toa’s names printed on the four sides… in Bionicle text. (How this works for longer named Pohatu and Kopaka, I dunno, maybe they don’t have these beads.)
    A square bead that has the silhouette of the Toa on two sides, and then a landscape image on the other two sides.
    [*Square beads that show the Toa’s weapons on two sides (hatchet for Lewa, claws for Onua.)

    A square bead representing the Toa’s Turaga. The noble mask is printed on two sides, and the Turaga’s silhouettes are printed on the other two.
    Two round beads that show off landscapes again. (A forested mountains in the clouds for Lewa, and a cave’s interior for Onua.)
    The rest of the beads for each Toa are just generic shapes in the Toa’s respective colors. Onua actually had one additional square bead, which has the elemental symbol of four elements printed around it. (Pb for Lead, Mn for Magnesium, U for Uranium, and Fe for Iron.) I guess these help show that he’s an earth Toa. I’m sure they could’ve given Lewa one with elements that occur in the air, like Nitrogen or Oxygen.
    One large bead in a transparent color (trans lime for Lewa, trans dark green for Onua.) These are the beads that the masks attach to. The mask attachments themselves aren’t very solid, but somehow there’s enough friction that they manage to stay on. When putting them on the pens, a top bead can help secure them on. But I had something different in mind…




    Okay, I admit, the masks are a little wonky on the minifigures. A redesign is in order. But these masks will certainly help in the creation of a mini Toa Mata. Oh yes, they will. Now I just need to locate 4 other masks so I can create my mini Mata team! *Future note... I totally did this.*
     
    As for the pens. Well, there was a lot of great detail put into all the beads, from the mask to the various silhouettes. And you can stack about 6 of the beads on the pen at a time, and you have enough that you can do a decent job of customizing it. The pens themselves are actually pretty worthless; in the eleven years, they’ve since dried out, so if I want to use them I’ll have to figure out how to replace the ink. But back in the day, I think these would’ve made for a fine Bionicle writing utensil. As it is, the old 2001 elements bring back a nice wave of nostalgia for me, and I can find ways to use these beads for decorations. (After all, they do all somewhat fit on top of studs.)
     

  2. xccj

    My Thoughts on Arguing

    By xccj,

    So I guess there’s another blog war going on. Oh boy. But a few bits of it have annoyed me, and despite myself, I’m going to add in my words. (And to be fair, I've only read a few entries on this issue, and I’m not going to pretend to be some sort of expert or anything. Please hear me out before replying.)
     
    So, to get to the bone of it, there’s a discussion over LGTBQA+ rights. I should say something along the lines of “I’m a neutral party” but I’m just going to come out and say it. I am in support of Princess Grr’s Gender Squad. I do not like discrimination of any kind, and I think it’s an excellent idea to support those in the minority. BUT that does not mean I approve of the way some people have been doing so. (I’m not going to name names, and I’m not even sure if the people I have in mind are associated with Princess Grr.)
     
    Anyway. These people (I’m just gonna refer to them as Group A) fight fire with fire. They see hatred and fight back with equally angry stances. Now to step back. This is not saying Group A doesn’t have a right to be angry. This is not saying that they are completely overreacting. But the people they are angry against (for scientific purposes, let’s label them Group B) are human too, and deserve to be treated with basic respect. Again stepping back; this does not mean Group B is not in the wrong or that the issue should be ignored. What I think is that this method of “discussion” is ineffective and should be gone about in a different way.
     
    The way I see it is this; when Group A harshly puts down Group B for their actions, they are victimizing them. Group A probably doesn’t see it this way, and their reasoning is probably legitimate. But Group B won’t believe that legitimacy, no matter the facts. They will feel victimized, and as such be less likely to listen to any further reasoning from Group A. This doesn’t solve the conflict; if anything, it makes things worse. Another analogy: Group B is acting like a bully. Group A’s response is to bully them right back. I don’t know what your elementary school education was like, but I was taught that this isn’t the way to solve conflicts.
     
    Based off what Princess Grr wrote about, I thought the idea was to educate Group B about the issues of LGTBQA+ rights. You don’t do this by villain-izing them right off the bat. You open a reasonable discussion. You calmly explain to them why their comments were hurtful or disrespectful. I know I can’t say this for everybody, but I would like to think that most people aren’t actively trying to be down on LGTBQA+. Perhaps they are ignorant of how their words and actions hurt others, and given a calm discussion, they will realize the errors of their ways.
     
    Yes, that’s an insanely optimistic way to put it, but why shouldn’t that be the first step. This is a kids forum after all, and it wouldn’t surprise if people posting here don’t realize what their words are doing to people. They’re likely to have a point of view based on their upbringing, and by outright telling them they are wrong and evil, they’re going to get defensive. But if the first step... even if it’s just the first step... is to honestly tell them how you and others in Group A feel, then perhaps you will sow the seeds that will lead them to move past their outdated upbringing and become more progressive and opened to others who are different than they are.
     
    Is this the only step? Eventually, is verbal harassment the best solution for some people who won't change? Here’s a quick story: one year in college, I got forced into a room with a guy and we ended up having several conflicting lifestyle preferences, such as when to turn the lights off and what temperature to keep the room. We butted heads quite often, and I eventually went to my RA, who had us sit down and try to reach a settlement. I was willing to make some sacrifices to match his, but he was utterly unwilling to admit that his ways were perfect and wouldn't budge until I did everything according to his methods. Our sit-down went nowhere, and the eventual outcome was me paying to change rooms.
     
    The moral of that story? Some people are too stubborn or prideful to change their ways or beliefs. No matter how much reasonable discussion is had, they won't yield to a new way of thinking. In this case, more extreme measures might be appropriate. I was really into the idea of hitting him hard on the head, for example. (My RA advised me not to do that.) In this case, said member might be asked to leave the community, if they are truly incapable of being open to others. BUT such drastic measures are not the first step, and they should probably be avoided anyway. The first step is to try and calmly talk it out. That’s what my RA did, and that’s what they taught me about bullies in elementary school. Want another metaphor? Say that the problem is like a wound. Clawing and scratching at it won’t make it better, and could actually make it worse. Applying medicine will help it heal.
     
    So let’s apply some medicine to this situation. Let’s educate Group B about the LGTBQA+ community. Let’s teach them to be friendlier and more open. Let us not be like Malcolm X during the Civil Rights era, where we fight fire with fire. Let us be more like Martin Luther King Jr.
     
    We are all people. Nobody’s perfect. Some of us are wrong. Some of us can be very wrong. So help us correct the errors of our ways instead of shouting slander at us. The shouting might be legitimized and make you feel better, but ultimately, it’s not going to solve the problem.
     
    From what I read, Princess Grr’s Gender Squad is about using the metaphorical medicine to solve the problem, and I fully support that. I hope that others in this argument can back down and start taking an approach like this. Frankly I am disappointed that so many have taken the yelling approach instead. Come on, we can be better than this!
     
    I’m not saying this is the perfect solution. I don’t know what the perfect solution is at all. I just think that calm discussions are a better method than angry villain-ization, and I hope further discussions move away from the latter.
     
    Anyway, if you do see some error in my reasoning, please politely let me know. I’m willing to admit when I make a mistake, even if I don’t like doing so. It’s strange to write this, because I am clearly a pessimist, but I think you should look for the good in people first before you judge them harshly. My motto is to respect everybody equally, until they have proven that they do not deserve my respect. Even if Group B is being disrespectful, try to help them change for the better before putting them under some sort of evil label.
     
    Those are my thoughts for tonight. Thank you for reading, and peace out.
     
  3. xccj

    Kai's Blade Cycle

    By xccj,

    (Click for link)
     
    Yayz another 2012 set review, this time Ninjago. However, I've been seeing a bunch of 2012 sets pop up all over the place. 2012 Ninjago sets at Target, 2012 Ninja booster packs at Fred Meyers, Super Hero, City (Police and other), and Black Phantom (yuck) at another FMs, and then a small selection of Friends sets at a third Freddies! (Strangely, the third one had a super small Lego collection that was made up of 4 Friends sets, Waspix, and Rockah XL. Not the best Lego selection.) I'm eager to grab some more of these, but what I really want are the Series 6 collectible figs. Sadly, it looks like they're getting released in Europe first, and won't be here until after the new year. Last year was sure awesome, as the series 3 figs popped up in Fred Meyers FIRST! Oh well, can't get that lucky every year.
     
    Also, yeah, go read the review! Or, y'know, at least take a look at the picts and maybe the pros / cons. (Also my first review since the downtime. Maybe people would've forgotten how "horrible" my reviews have been that made DV's overly slanged piece look amazing. Yes, I still am sore over that.)
     

  4. xccj
    Hah, bet you weren’t expecting this one! (I dunno, is there any expectation really? “Oh look, he’s blogging again about some set he likes. Better keep scrolling.”)
     

     
    Anyway, last month I was in a BrickLink store and saw they had like half the pieces to this set, which was one I’ve considered for a while (out of Galidor sets.) But then I found a store that was selling the original set for less than buying all the parts individually, so I just went with that. And even though we know the theme failed miserably, I’ll review it to find out why!
     
    Allegra was the second human of the Galidor characters and only female. Um, that’s all I know about her background. I guess the two human characters, her and Nick Bluetooth, were warped to some alternate dimension, where they could swap out limbs between a cast of alien allies and fight evil. I don’t know why the show failed as badly as it did, cause that premise is not bad, per say. I’ve never watched the show so I can’t really comment on it, but I guess it wasn’t very appealing. (But I would’ve said the same about Chima, and that show lasted for a few years.)
     

     
    Anyway, onto the set. Allegra is a tall character (closer in scale to Gali Masters). She’s only made up of nine pieces, and I guess originally sold for $10, so that’s a pretty horrific price per piece value. (Oh, she also has two pieces for her robot worm pet.) Most of the joints here are click joints, similar to those used in the Bahrag and later in Knights Kingdom figures. They offer a fair amount of posability; heck, she even has bendable knees, and she came out a full year before the Rahkshi! Unfortunately, her arms don’t have elbow joints, even though her wrists do rotate. While the leg pieces can easily be switched from left to right, the design of her arms doesn’t allow for switching sides, which is unfortunate. She has another click joint in her neck, and also comes with a hair attachment. This is probably the most interesting piece here, because it has a standard axle connection. True, it is rubbery, so it doesn’t fit in standard axle holes quite as well as it should, but it allows for some more versatility. I’ll need to find a way to use that piece eventually. All in all, the pieces are very detailed (and large) but then this also makes them a little too specialized, in a way that even Bionicle never quite achieved.
     

     
    The main play feature of Galidor was to swap around the limbs, which doesn’t sound like a terrible idea, but for Lego fans we were certainly hoping for some more options. The joint connections do fit into technic pin holes, where they’re a little loose, or even in the technic click hinge pieces like that came with the Bahrag or Knights Kingdom (or Exo Force robots or most modern mech sets. . . that click hinge design has not exactly gone away.) Granted, swapping out limbs between Allegra and Gali Mata didn’t produce the most desired effects, but it shows off what can be done.
     
    She does come with a pet, to make up for the lack of anything alien or robotic about her appearance. I don’t know what it’s called, but it seems to be an orange worm that has robotic legs. The head has a connection point and can be detached (and connected to Allegra’s torso, for example) but overall it seems to just be a silly addition.
     
    As an action figure, she’s not terrible. Her arms could’ve used elbow joints (I think some of the other characters had them, so she just got neglected) but she has otherwise decent posability and plenty of detail. However, as a Lego set, it’s flawed, partially for having too few pieces, but mostly because those pieces are not very compatible with standard system or technic bits. Even when they do connect, the style of the Galidor pieces is just too organic. It’s a Lego Brand action figure, and let’s just keep it at that. They improved their character buildings later on with things like Knights Kingdom, Ben 10, and this other theme called Bionicle, which both predated and outlasted Galidor. Still, Galidor has the knee joints first. Sorry, Rahkshi, you were a year too late.
     

  5. xccj

    Wanna Be in a BZP Story?

    By xccj,

    EDIT: I've started on this, so any new entries will not be major characters.
     
    I have an idea for a new story to celebrate the return of Bionicle. Specifically, a story featuring members of BZ-Koro, the virtual village where Bionicle fans hang out. (An analogy for BZPower, obviously.) I planning to use a few story tricks I’ve done previously, and one of those is to have members submit their names to become major characters!
     
    All you’d have to do is fill out a short entry form in this blog and I’ll consider making you a character. Depending on how many entries I get, you may or may not get to be a main character, but I’ll do my best to make sure everybody who submits gets into the story. (And people are more interested in stories they’re in, so I hope to garner some readership that way too. ) You can pick your character traits, as stated below, so that I’ll be basing it off what you want to be like rather than just my impression of you. (Some higher staffies will be in this regardless. How else are we supposed to have a supreme overlord if I don’t include Black Six?) That said, I do reserve the right to make slight alterations to characters to fit the story. (Or, if, y’know, you make yourself too powerful.)
     
    Anyway, entry submission time!!
    Name: Generally based off your username, but pick one if you change it often, or pick a shorter nickname if your original is way long. So like somebody called “Blardy The Super Cool Toa of Extremeness” will get it shortened to “Blardy.” If you’d like to think up something entirely original, go ahead, I guess, but then people won’t recognize it as you.
    Area of Expertise: What’s something you know a lot about, Bionicle-wise. Is it masks? Weapons? Characters? Locations? Can you craft stuff, or are you stealthy? Choose something fairly limited, like a simple profession or area of study. Forge disks, purify protodermis, study Rahi, knowledgeable in Bionicle history? (This is one where I might tweak things if you try to godmod the character.)
    Mask: Choose a mask of power that you can use. It’ll be Great Mask level, and let’s limit it to the common ones, so no legendary masks of time, light, life, creation, shadows, energy, ext.
    Weapon / Element: You can choose a weapon that has elemental powers. Like a fire sword or earth hammer. You can pick the design and the element, but no extra gimmicks.
    Side: Are you good or evil? Or are you a turncoat? If you want to be the latter, enter in which side you want to appear as, and then PM me the details so we can keep it a secret.
    Motivation: Answer this question: Why would you embark on a quest? For the fame, or for the fortune? Help me learn what makes your character act.
    Fatal Flaw: Here’s where you deviate your character from yourself (or at least claim to.) Pick some sort of unique downside to your character. Are they afraid of snakes? Can’t swim. Weakness to lightstones? Inexplicitly turn into a koala one a day for just fifteen minutes? Be creative here, and it’ll challenge me to include this into the story!
    Other Details: If there’s something else about your character that you want to include that’s not covered above. Don’t go into too much detail here, cause there’s only so much characterization I can pull off, but something extra to add your special personality to the character in the story.
    Aaaaaand that’s all I’ve got for now. I might start writing in a few days or so, depending on how quickly I get entries. (Or if nobody is interested I’ll just scrap the project.) But thanks for reading, now submit your own character!
     

  6. xccj
    So last weekend, we finally got to show our giant Mata Nui Island Model off at Bricks Cascade. In general, we recieved some nice comments about it. Well, except from the BZPower Staff, where the general consesus was that they felt sick every time they saw the island. (Does that count as constructive critisism?) And, as I kind of expected, it didn't win any awards. But it was there, people got to see it, and overall I'm glad I got to show it off.
     
    But there were a few things to fix. Porportions, blandness of color, lack of a giant robot head underneith it. Since the island was up at Swert's place for the last few months, I was unable to help make any changes. (And so was Steven, apparently.) But there was one thing I could correct, based off the many, many complaints we recieved.
     
    I could add in the Ga-Koro Kaukau Waterfall.
     
    (Oh, and the Quarry while I'm at it.)
     

     

     
    Okay, so they're not perfectly porportioned. The Quary is alongside a cliff, and not inside its own special carved out mesa. The waterfall appears out of a small cliffside randomly. And the details were gained through a cheat; decals. Tough luck.
     
    The decals, as I've mentioned before, were created by Nuju Metru, and they were awesome! Maybe most of the public and other AFOLs didn't appreciate this little detail, but I'm sure Bionicle fans do. I know I do.
     
    And as always, the convention was a blast, and was over too soon. But this is not the last you've seen of the Mata Nui Island! It will appear again at BrickCon 2012, so if you're attending that, you'll get a chance to check this out!
     

  7. xccj

    Review: Gahlok Pen

    By xccj,

    There was some talk in the forums a while ago about the Bohrok pens, an abstract collectible item from the era of excessive Lego merchandising. In looking up some pictures, I discovered a relatively cheap copy of a Gahlok pen on BrickLink, and because I have no impulse control, I now own it. And since I previous wrote a review on the Lewa and Onua Mata pens, I decided to do the same with this one. So without further ado...
     

     
    It seems like the standard pen case for the Lego pens at the turn of the millennium. (Although I guess it's missing the plastic backing that would hold the spare beads on display.) A cool design bit is that the top is somewhat shaped like a Bohrok faceplate.
     
    ~
    (Click for larger images)
     
     
    The leaflet shows off some of the other various pens, including the original Toa Mata pens, the rest of the Bohrok pens, and a collection of the Toa Nuva pens. (I have the masks from all the Mata pens, but I haven't found any of the Nuva pens. There are a few available online from ebay and such... but I think they're going for $40 to $60. So that's a no from me.) There are some quirky descriptions of the pens (with a tip to add them to your collection ASAP, subtle marketing there) as well as a bio for the Gahlok Bohrok. (Which sounds vaguely familiar, so it's a little more official than the Mata Bios on the previous pen leaflets.)
     

     
    The full pen can hold about six beads, and comes with a handful of extras to let you customize the design. I mean, neat concept, but Lego played that out for a ton of different pens back in the day, so it's not exactly revolutionary here. The grip is kinda cool with the swirly blue design. Alas, the ink is long since dried up (it's been 16 years now) and I have yet to find a replacement cartridge. (I have looked through a few craft stores... if somebody more knowledgeable knows anything, please share, it would be kinda cool to make these pens usable again.) The main unique feature here is the Bohrok faceplate. Unfortunately, it's attached to the top of the pen (and as such to the pin that runs down the center of the entire thing) so you can't really use it to make a mini Bohrok. But it folds up and down nicely to cover the krana and keep it from falling out. (Kinda.)
     

     
    You get 11 beads plus the mini krana. The cooler beads, IMO, are the printed ones. The giant black one with the Bionicle logo appears in all the Bionicle pens, as far as I can tell, but it's still a decent design. Then you've got some medium blue beads with the Bohrok symbol, Gahlok shield, and a silhouette of the Gahlok Va. Then there's a blue bead that has an outline of the Mata Nui island on one side, and the name spelt out on the other. The rest of the beads are generic filler, including a blue, orange, trans orange, and thin medium blue bead (the latter of which it still on the bar in the image above.) The last large bead is actually molded after the Bohrok limb piece, which is clever.
     
    Of course, the beads are largely superficial decorations. Yes, they do roughly fit onto a system stud, but there's no real practical MOC use out of them. Instead, everybody's interested in the krana and the head bead it attaches to.
     

     
    The head bead does attach to a minifig neck... kind of. It attaches as well as any of the other pen beads, which is to say barely. Unfortunately, while the original Toa Kanohi hung down and covered the neck gap, the krana does not. (The head bead also sticks out quite a bit in the back, making it even more awkward to place on a minifigure torso.)
     

     
    The krana is a hard plastic orange Krana Yo (the tunneling mole krana, for those who haven't memorized the powers). It has a small pin connection that fits exclusively into the mouth of the head bead. It is too small to fit into a traditional system bar hole, but too large to fit into the small accessory holes seen in minifigure hairpieces. Basically, it's useless without the head bead to attach to. And the attachment is weak... I don't know if that has to do with age or not, but the clutch power is barely there.
     

     
    It's not to say the head bead is completely worthless. It attaches firmly to a stud, so it would actually work nicely to incorporate a small krana into a system MOC. There's potential... but not enough for me to go and track down the other five Bohrok pens. Unfortunately, it looks like the Toa Nuva pens also have unique masks that clip to the same head bead, which means that making Toa Nuva minifigures using the pen masks does not seem like a feasible project either, even if the pens were moderately affordable.
     
    So the pen is only sorta meh, and the beads and krana aren't quite as worthy as the Toa Mata pen masks. There's a nice nostalgia kick for those of us who grew up in the Bohrok saga, but honestly it's not a must-have collectible.
     
    And standard disclaimer: the Toa Mata masks pictured are from the *spoiler* Toa Pens from 2001. The torso decals were done by Nuju Metru (I gave him a handful of collectible minifigs for them.) I already did a post about maybe getting a bunch of torsos printed on commission, but there was no interest and instead people just griped about my color choices.)
     

  8. xccj
    I’ve been involved with a lot of awesome Bionicle Collaborative Mosaic projects that’s wowed the public at various conventions. (Or so I’d like to hope.) So I’ve decided to compile a list of em, with their size, where they showed up, and who helped make them. (I’m seeing a lot of repeated names too.) I've included some images, where I can find them. The first is the final design image that I got from the Mosaic Makers. (I still use Pic-to-Brick.) The second image is the finish mosaic at the convention. I’ll try to keep this post updated for future projects as well.
     
     
    Kopaka Mosaic
    Displayed at: BrickFair 2010
    Size: 96 x 96 studs
    *
    This is the first BZPower Bionicle Mosaic, organized by Chocolate Frogs and Nukaya. (Well, I did some of the initial design work.) Kopaka was selected because of his neutral color scheme, which was easy to convert into a mosaic. Arpy made the largest contribution to this one, with the 64x64 upper right corner all being his.
    Contributors:
    Letagi
    Xccj
    Arpy
    Kohila Piraka*
    Jedi Master J
    Black Six
     
    Onua Mosaic
    Displayed at: BrickFair 2010
    Size: 96 x 96 studs
    *
    When the Kopaka mosaic got filled up, we pushed harder and came up with a second mosaic. Onua was selected because he also had a neutral color scheme with blacks and grays. This was again organized by Chocolate Frogs and Nukaya, and I provided the initial design.
    Contributors:
    Nukaya
    Jedi Master J
    Chocolate Frogs
    Xccj
    Black Six
    Toa of Dancing*
    Mr. Fibbles*
    Sisen
     
    Toa Mata Mosaic
    Displayed at: BrickFair 2011
    Size: 192 x 64 studs
    *
    The following year, Chocolate Frogs and Nukaya went all out and organized a brilliant mosaic with all six Toa Mata. (This time, I did nearly all the design work.) Even with all the awesome Bionicle creations that year, this mosaic was the highlight, IMO. Plus, this had most contributors so far!
    Contributors:
    Arpy
    Letagi
    Xccj
    Jedi Master J
    Black Six
    Sisen
    Chocolate Frogs
    Kakaru
    Razlak*
    Nukaya
    Disky
     
    Kaukau Waterfall Mosaic
    Displayed at: BrickCon 2012
    Size: 96 x 96 studs 
    *
    This year I helped put together a mosaic based off a classic scene from the MNOLG. This one was a bit more challenging with the dithering pattern on the cliffs. Although for some reason I never got a full shot of the mosaic on its own, but luckily we did take a group shot.
    Contributors:
    Kopakanui
    Xccj
    Kakaru
    Razlak*
    Swert
    Letagi
     
    Lewa Protodermis Mosaic
    Displayed at: BrickCon 2013
    Size: 128 x 96 studs
    **
    This year I designed a mosaic based off a classic Lewa promotional image from 2002.
    Contributors:
    Xccj
    Chocolate Frogs
    Kakaru
    Brickthing
    Swert
    Razlak*
    Kopakanui
    55555 (I think... otherwise why'd we let him in the group picture?)
     
    Gali Masters Mosaic
    Displayed at: BricksCascade 2015, BrickUniverse 2015, BrickFair 2015, BrickCon 2015
    Size: 96x128 studs
    *
    I put together a new mosaic to celebrate the reboot of Bionicle, featuring the new Gali design taken from the animations. This one was interesting because I tried to include the dark azure color, which is still fairly rare. I did end up building nearly half of this mosaic myself, but it is also the first of our collaborative mosaics to show up at multiple conventions.
    Contributors:
    Xccj
    Chocolate Frogs
    Black Six
    Kayru
    Razlak*
    Danny316
     
    Pohatu Masters Mosaic
    Displayed at: BZPower 2015 - 2016 Convention MOC Circuit
    Size: 64x64 studs
    *
    This was a leftover design that got voted out against the above Gali design for the main mosaic of the year. But then Danny316 and I decided to throw this together at the last minute. The biggest change here is the use of side brick design for the mask, as opposed to the studs-out view of the rest of the mosaic, which gave it extra detail at a smaller scale.
    Contributors:
    Xccj
    Danny316
     
    BioniLUG Lenticular Toa Mosaics
    Size: Four mosaics at 96x128
    Displayed at: BZPower 2016 - 2022 Convention MOC Circuit
    *******
    *
    This was easily the most daunting mosaic project I’ve been a part of. I had been contemplating the idea of making a Bionicle themed lenticular mosaic for a while. (These mosaics would have two designs that would change based on the angle they’re viewed from.) Because the number of cheese slopes required would be quite expensive, I never truly considered it, but then Black Six suggest utilizing LEGO’s RLUG Project Support Program to get all the elements we’d need. But the program had some requirements, so we had to think big for this!
    The basic idea was arrived at fairly easily; the lenticular mosaics would showcase the classic Toa in their 2001 Toa Mata forms and their 2015 Masters forms. We selected the four brightly colored Toa: Gali, Lewa, Pohatu, and Tahu. (Unfortunately, Kopaka and Onua didn’t make the cut with their blander color pallets.) I designed 8 mosaics with contrasting backgrounds, with some input from other members. Even with RLUG Support, we still spent over $1000, but we bought nearly all the available colors of cheese slopes available at the time.
    Black Six hosted some builds at his place, but we were still constructing these during BrickFair Virginia 2016! (I was lucky enough to attend that year and actually got to help build these, having spent months on the design process.) We got them completed just in time for the public event, and they’ve shown up to nearly every Lego Convention BZPower has been a part of ever since. There has been some discussion about dismantling them and making something new, but we’re not quite there yet!
    Overall, it was a probably the most ambitious project BioniLUG has done, but we rose to the occasion and got these ordered and pieced together! (And my design and parts inventory helped quite a bit too, if I do say so myself.) It was awesome to finally see these in person, and even more awesome watching the public’s reactions when they realized that the images were changing.
    Contributors: Too many people to count! We had a good number of BioniLUG members who provided the funding required to pay for the pieces, and then we had multiple members building the sections both before and during BrickFair Virginia 2016. And Black Six has continued to display them at various Lego conventions ever since.
     
    Onua Uniters Mosaic
    Displayed at: BZPower 2016 Convention MOC Circuit
    Size: 96x96
    *
    I wanted to complete a classic mosaic featuring the current (and ultimately final) line of Toa. We ended up selecting Onua, Uniter of Earth, with Terak, Creature of Earth, who had a significant purple presence. This has been the last big group mosaic we’ve put together.
    Contributors:
    Xccj
    Black Six
    Danny316p
    Valendale
    Shilo
     
    Kurahk Mosaic
    Displayed at: BZPower 2016 Convention MOC Circuit
    Size: 64x64
    *
    Chocolate Frogs and I decided to continue making smaller Bionicle mosaics, and CF wanted to focus on one of the Rahkshi. We eventually landed on this menacing design of Kurahk, the Rahkshi of Anger, with a contrasting blue background.
    Contributors:
    Chocolate Frogs
    Xccj
     
    Thok Mosaic
    Displayed at: BZPower 2018 Convention MOC Circuit
    Size: 64x64
    *
    After a year’s break, Chocolate Frogs and I tackled another classic white Bionicle character. This time we chose an image of the Piraka, Thok, with a striking red background.
    Contributors:
    Chocolate Frogs
    Xccj
     
    Slizer Ski Mosaic
    Displayed at: BricksCascade 2019 and BrickFair VA 2019
    Size: 64x64
     *
    Chocolate Frogs wanted to switch themes but stick with a ice character, so instead we made a mosaic of the Slizer Ice / Throwbot Ski, based on one of the disc artwork designs.
    Contributors:
    Chocolate Frogs
    Xccj

    Takanuva Toa of Light 20th Anniversary Mosaic
    Displayed at: BrickFair VA 2021, BricksCascade 2022
    Size: 96x128
    *
    It's been a while since we last had a big group mosaic, but BioniLUG came together to celebrate the 20th anniversary of Bionicle with this Takanuva mosaic.  It also features lights behind the eyes, which is a first.
    Contributors:
    Allan O'Mara
    Black Six
    Chocolate Frogs
    Danny316p
    donutsftw
    Grayson
    Kanakalackin
    Ⲙⲁⲕⲩⲧⲁ Ⲗⲩⲣⲟⲕⲁ
    Xccj
     
    Gahlok Mosaic
    Displayed at: BrickFair VA 2022
    Size: 64x64
    *
    To celebrate the 20 year anniversary of the Bohrok, we created a last minute Gahlok mosaic, complete with new DOTs style lettering.
    Contributors:
    Danny316p
    Xccj
     
    *Names have changed since then, but this is what I had listed in my blog entries.
  9. xccj

    The B Z P Blog Story

    By xccj,

    Presenting...
     

     
    Have you ever seen those "Choose Your Own Adventure" books? Instead of being a linear read, each chapter ends by giving giving you options. Thus, instead of one storyline, you have a book that can take you on a dozen different journeys.
     
    That's what this story is supposed to be. You start off in the same place, but at the end of each chapter, you get to choose which path you'll take, and then see where the story leads you. There are over a dozen different endings, and a full 26 chapters to read through. And you are the main character.
     
    I originally started on this story back in December 2009, just after it was announced that Bionicle was ending. I asked for members to submit character Bios for themselves, and many did, and I have included all of them in this story. (Some have larger roles than others, of course).
     
    And a disclaimer: The characters in this story are named after real members, but their personalities and traits are fictional and are not meant to reflect on my opinions of the actual members. So if I made a character out to be evil or dull witted, I do not intent to label the actual member as such. (But seriously, it wouldn't be a good story if everybody was nice and friendly)
     
    The story is set in late 2009, just after the announcement of the ending of Bionicle. Although it has taken me over a year to actually finish this story, it does not reference anything we did not already know back then. The member names are the ones that were submitted to me back then; some of the members have undoubtedly changed their names since then, so I hope there is not too much confusion as to who is who.
     
    The chapters are short; most of them are less than a page on MS Word, so it won't be too lengthy to read. I have provided links connecting all the chapters, so you can follow them to continue on with your story. And in case you reach an undesirable ending (yes, there are some) you can always find links leading you back to the previous chapters.
     
    If you have any questions, feel free to post them here. If you spot any errors, in links or spelling (no doubt there are some I overlooked) feel free to point them out to me. And you can review the story either here, when you reach one of the endings, or in any individual chapter. And I would greatly appreciate any reviews you'd be willing to type up.
     
    Here's the cast list (in order of importance, and then alphabetically):
    You
    Sumiki
    Blue Dragon (Abbreviated as Blue in the story)
    Little Miss Krahka (Abbreviated as Krahka in the story)
    Arpy
    BCII
    Brickthing
    Eeko
    Emporer Whenua (Abbreviated as EW in the story)
    Kakaru
    Kumata Nuva
    Letagi
    Nukaya
    The Power that Is
    Taka-Tahu Nuva (Abbreviated as TTN in the story)
    Xccj
    Now, continue to Chapter A to begin, and I do hope you enjoy the story.
     

  10. xccj
    To take a break from official front page reviews, I’m going to do a couple of blog review. Mostly these were sets that I was planning to review, but for one reason or another they didn’t end up making it to the front page. (In this case, the Airjitzu Temple was just too large.) So here are some thoughts but without all the super details and pictures and video. (I mean, some pictures, but they’re not great quality cause I already had this on display and I wasn’t going to move it just for a photo shoot.)
     

     
    The Temple of Airjitzu is one of the most expensive sets I’ve ever bought. This took a whole afternoon to build (with Hobbit making-of video in the background.) But it was certainly quite interesting, and certainly makes for a highly detailed Ninjago set.
    First off, the figs. On one hand, it’s absolutely amazing that all the main protagonist characters are in the same set; it’s usually a challenge to get the full set of Ninjas, but they’re all here. I was planning on just getting this set to fulfill my Ninja collecting desire… but I did end up getting a bunch of other Ghost sets, so this will be my second full set of Ninjas. They’re all pretty cool, but then again they have all been seen before.
     
    You do get some extras. Sensei Wu is always a nice addition, and he’s in a unique outfit here. Dareth also gets to show up in a proper set, although still without a brown ninja hood; maybe later. Clair and Jesper seem to be civilian characters; I don’t remember them in the show, and they’re basically rehashes of city characters. But whatevs, you need your civilians in Ninjago too. The Postman is a neat addition and a nice surprise, but the real deal breaker is the Misako fig. She’s played a moderate role for at least three seasons, so it’s about time she got made as a fig. And the details match the show perfectly, which is great. So if you were after this for the figs, then it’s delivers. I mean, still a bit pricey to pay $200 for twelve figs (thirteen if you count the statue) but still, they’re good.
     

     
    But the main set is also amazing, and that’s probably what drew in so many non-Ninjago AFOLs to get this set. The two smaller buildings are fairly well done and stand off well enough on their own. The Blacksmith shop has a good interior, a nice sloped roof, and a few interesting trees on the outside. The marketplace is less interesting on the inside, but they did a fabulous job using the garage door panels as the sloped roof, which also has the benefit of folding back to reveal some hidden crates.
     

     
    The overall temple tower has five main levels; the shadow theater, a tea room, a training room, a study, and a small attic. The shadow theater mechanism is build into the base and isn’t really accessible. The lever for activating the light is a bit different; it hardly has any room to move, but it turns out to be just enough to switch the light on and off, so a clever design idea. And the theater works, so very neat. Another thing that caught me off guard were the doors on the tea room level; they are actually sliding doors, and they totally work. (I expected the window pieces to go in a wall panel or something, so was pleasantly surprised with that design.) The sloped roof elements are also a neat touch, if a little flimsy at times.
     
    The way the final product sits is angled differently than most models; it still covers about a square 48x48 base, but rotated 45 degrees, which means it can be troublesome to display. The fountain in the center is a neat touch, but I especially like the angled stairs leading to it. The bridge is also neat, but surprisingly doesn’t have a stud attachment to the main structure, so it just kind of sits in place.
     
    There’s a lot of playability with this, from the various features in all the rooms to some of the extra vehicles. (The firework shooter has the six stud launcher, but it comes with medium azure studs, so it’s worth it. The hang glider seems like too simple of a design and I would write it off as lame... except it’s a callback to the original Ninja line, so I guess it’s also passable.) There’s plenty to role play, since you have quite a diverse cast of characters. You don’t really have any enemies, but if you’ve collected other Ninjago sets, you can have the baddies storm the temple and force the Ninjas to defend it. But it’s also a stellar piece of Asian architecture, and makes for a great display piece, which is primarily what I’m using it for. And plenty of room to showcase the figs too. (It even makes sense to put the Ninjas on the roof, because that just means they’re training.)
     
    A great set, both for Ninjago fans and architecture fans. Good cast of characters, amazing designs, and a few neat pieces pop up here and there. (Sorry, not going to make a full list, but lots of special plates and bricks and walls that you’d expect to find in a larger structure set. Although there were four golden rings of power used in some of the pillars.) I can see why people have been praising this set, and it totally deserves it. Granted, at the price point ($200 USD) it’s not an easy buy. (Like I said, it’s tied with the Ferris Wheel as the most expensive set I’ve ever purchased.) But if you have the cash (not to mention the display space) it would be worth it.
     

  11. xccj

    Lego Moana

    By xccj,

    So I spent 8+ hours yesterday trying to sort my loose Lego pieces post-convention, and I decided to play the new Moana movie in the background. And then thus I was inspired to write this post.
     
    I don't think it was very apparent (because I wasn't blogging much) but I really liked the movie after I saw it last year. I had been working on one of my own stories that involved the Hawaiian goddess Madam Pele, and I was curious to see if she was references in the new movie. (She wasn't, I think they used other inspiration for the lava monster TeKa.) But I found the movie incredibly enjoyable, and the songs were great. Not just one or two of the big ones, but the entire soundtrack. I'd put it up there with my other favorite Disney movie, Aladdin. (As it turns out, both were directed by the same two people.)
     
    And after watching all the extra commentaries they had on the movie, I am even more impressed by the amount of work and detail that went into it. I've heard a lot of complains that this was just Disney appropriating another culture, and there are a couple of glaring instances of that. But when watching the commentary, I'm realizing that the Polynesian cultures had a big role in making this movie, so it really feels like they not only gave permission but actively helped shape it. And I guess a few groups are still upset about some aspects. But that's probably because "Polynesians" are so diverse, so what was cool with one area might not have been with another. I thought the movie had a distinct Hawaiian feel to it, but they were taking more cues from Fiji, Samoa, Tahiti, and New Zealand, and those are related but distinct cultures. (That's why there's no Pele, who is predominantly Hawaiian, I believe. Maui, however, is a demigod recognized in all these cultures, although with differing stories and origins.) Anyway, I suppose it's easy to be impressed by the making of a movie I already liked, but I still think it's awesome at how much of this culture they integrated in. (And I mean, it turns out there really was a thousand year period where the Polynesians of Samoa weren't voyaging, and then they just started again, and nobody knows why. So they give their fantasy explanation in this movie. I did not realize there was actually any historical significance to that.) And all the voice actors they used were actually of Polynesian descent... well except Alan Tudyk.
     
    Anyway, the movie was great, and so I ordered the Lego Moana set when it came out. But besides the figs, I was unimpressed with the design, so that had to change...
     

    BrCasc 17-171 by Froggy_Fotos, on Flickr. (I'm using Chocolate Frog's BricksCascade picture cause the ones I took didn't turn out well and I haven't reassembled the MOC yet.)
     
    I didn't like the original canoe, so I redesigned it to be a bit more streamlined, if not more mono-colored. I constructed most of it by memory, since it was really hard to find a decent reference pict of it online. Aaaand it turns out that I actually mirrored it; the float should actually be on the starboard side instead of the port. Whoops. But I liked the rigging I was able to add to it, and I think TeKa and the rock scape turned out nicely. (And even the wave action I threw it. You can't see it, but the chicken is also floating in the background.)
     
    I was a little irked when somebody else also brought a Moana canoe MOC in, and it was basically just a revamp of the actual set. (It has a border for the sail and was a tad bit larger, but otherwise it was basically the set.) However, most of the public seemed to recognize my MOC first, because it had the big lava monster. It was nice hearing kids point out my MOC, which is something that doesn't happen often at conventions I display at. (It didn't hurt that it was based off the recent Disney movie that was probably still fresh in their heads.) And I did make one other Moana MOC with the Maui bigfig, but most people didn't get the reference...
     

    Maui Raising Mata Nui by Jason, on Flickr
     
    These are the two Polynesian inspired stories that I'm fans of, so it was obvious I was going to have to combine them together in a MOC. (Although Lego is totally guilty of appropriating the culture for Bionicle, so that's an example of how not to do it.) And since Moana's home island is called Motunui, which sounds soooo close to Mata-Nui every time I hear it, how could I not make this model? I did want to make a bigger Great Spirit Robot, like with perhaps it's upper torso and arms... but I ran out of time / pieces, so this is it for now. I shipped the head and the Gali minifig boat to BrickFair, so hopefully they'll show up randomly on the Bionicle table?
     
    Anyway, that's it for my gushing about the movie and the sets I made from it. All said, I STILL have a lot of sorting left to do, so I'm going to have to put in a different movie now.
     

  12. xccj
    Onto more quick set reviews!
     

     
    Today I’m looking at 75090 Ezra’s Speeder Bike. This is from the new Star Wars Rebels cartoon, which is actually pretty decent. It features Ezra, the main character and a Jedi-in-training, along with ally Sabine Wren, a Mandalorian, against a generic Stormtrooper. Ezra and Stormy have appeared in last year’s Rebels sets. (In particular, this exact Stormtrooper, who I guess has some slightly different printing, including blue vents, that makes him stand out from others.) Sabine, however, is the last of the Rebel crew to appear in minifig form. While Ezra’s character looks close enough to the cartoon version to work (although maybe a little taller than he should be. . . guess they don’t want to give him short legs) Sabine’s character looks a little off. The hair piece especially seems too large for her (and I do believe it is a new mold?). Maybe the slenderness of her character didn’t translate into fig form very well. Normally that doesn’t bother me, but it does this time. She also doesn’t have her colorful Mandalorian helmet, but it sounds like they’re saving that for a pricier set this summer, so maybe she’ll look better then.
     
    As for the bikes, my first reaction was disappointment when I realized both have the same designs with just different colors. Like, it’s not even a Toa Inika kind of thing where the structure is the same with some different armor and weapons; these bikes are completely identical, with only color differences to set them apart. But after building the bikes, I find that this doesn’t bother me too much, because they have some excellent builds. There’s a lot of interesting SNOT designs (studs not on top) and a bunch of curved slopes that really makes the vehicle have a smooth exterior. I know I’m not a very knowledgeable Lego Star Wars fan, since I really only started collecting a few years ago, but these are the best Speeder Bike designs I’ve seen. (And I’ve bought like 3 other sets that came with one, so at least I have some experience on the matter.) As it is, I’m totally fine having the same design repeated twice, because it’s a good design. (Like the Bohrok. . . although I won’t be buying twelve different speeder bikes just for a completion’s sake.) Anyway, they’re stable and relatively swooshable, and having two of them means you have a fairly even field as far as the chase goes.
     
    As far as pieces are concerned, you get 253 in a $19.99 USD set. That’s actually a pretty good value, as far as Star Wars sets are concerned, even if a lot of those are small detailing pieces. You get a bunch of SNOT bricks and brackets, and a fair amount of curved slopes, including a few exclusive ones in dark green. Plus, the trans bright green 1x1 studs for Ezra’s stud launchers, which are still a fairly uncommon piece. Oh, and Ezra has a light-sabor coming out of some binoculars; this makes absolutely no sense unless you’ve seen the show, but there is a reason for it. IMO it looks cooler in the show.
     
    Anyway, it does seem like kind of a niche set for those who watch the cartoon and not so much for those who only follow the movies. (But hey, they’ve been doing Clone Wars cartoon sets for a while too, so nothing new there.) Still, good characters (or passable, in Sabine’s case, even if she could be better) and great bike designs make it worthwhile. If you’re interested in the material anyway.
     

  13. xccj
    I’ve been sick for the last couple of days, but the highlight has been getting in a Lego order and putting together some of the sets I’ve had sitting around for a while. The new Ninjago stuff has been fun, and the Nexo Knight year 2 sets aren’t too bad either. The BickHeadz are pretty meh outside of being parts packs. But although I was expecting to like the new Elves airship, it still turned out to exceed my expectations.
     

     
    The set comes with three figs; Aira, Emily, and a goblin. The goblin is a single mold and kinda bleh. Same style of arms as the Nexo Knight imps (which can be given to regular figs) but otherwise I’m not impressed. Aira and Emily have new outfits, but it’s fairly minor. Emily’s necklace now comes as a separate piece, but it only fits loosely around her neck. Also, I tried to put it on a standard fig; too tight a fit. Still, I expect someone will find a neat way to incorporate it into a small MOC. Aira comes with a new medium lavender boomerang, which is a total plus.
     

     
    It only has 343 pieces (plus a fair amount of extras) which may be a bit light for a $40 set, but there’s a lot of good stuff here. Some of the obvious choices are the lavender balloon pieces, white dragon wings, and gold tubing, some of which I think might be new. There are some gold twirely decorative elements that I believe are brand new, so they’ll be highly sought after. The set also comes with a decent amount of medium lavender and dark purple pieces (and some standard tans and browns too.) The goblin also comes with two purple ball joints with mouths printed on them. (Lego is certainly doing a lot of printing on ball joints nowadays.)
     
    The goblin’s flying postbox is forgettable, so I’m going to forget about it for the rest of the review. The airship itself is fabulous, and reminds me of the Elves ship from the first year as well as the Ninjago pirate airship from last year. And yet it turns out to be so much better. The hull is built around the wing mechanism. They hang loosely down in a rest position, but when you pull the lever on the back, they snap up alongside the edge of the ship. It’s quite a cool technic design, and I very much approve. The use of the curved gold elements really provide the ship with its shape, and the air balloon is just the right size for the craft. (Aesthetically, now sure if it would actually be large enough to realistically float the craft.) There’s not quite room for the whole gang of elves to climb aboard it; you might be able to squeeze them all on, but it would be a tight fit. And Aira’s position by the wheel is quite exposed; one step backwards and she’s falling overboard. They should really install guardrails back there.
     

     
    Overall, I’ve personally been less than impressed with the third year of Elves. It’s either more of the same or just straight up bland for my tastes. (Not saying it’s bad, just that last year’s selection was amazing so I personally don’t favor these new models as much.) But this airship is epic. I mean, it's taking design cues from two other great sets and then surpassing them. I might go as far to say it’s my favorite set of the year so far. (Although the Ninjago Dragon’s Forge and Samurai VXL have been quite epic too.) Anyway, the Airship is a great design and comes with some decent pieces too, so win-win there. I’d totally recommend it. (And I’d do a front page review, but that is way more effort than I can put in at the moment.)
     
    (Also, no posting about how I'm wrong and Elves Year 3 is great and I should like it. You know who you are.)
     

  14. xccj
    I wanna try and get rid of a few of my Kanohi Nuva, so what a better place that at BrickFair? There is even a buy/trade session, I believe, so maybe I can get some good stuff for them.
     
    Anyway, here's an image of my complete Kanohi Nuva collection. (Minus the red Hau Nuva... I do not know where it is. I must've rebuild Tahu Nuva and he's hiding in the bottom of my bin)
     

     
    The ones in a purple box are ones that I am unwilling to trade for... so unless I get a good offer, I won't be parting with them.
    And the ones in yellow circles are for CF. I owe him, so I let him get first pick.
     
    And no, I won't be willing to trade/sell them anywhere besides BrickFair, for now. If I have leftovers, maybe I'll consider. I also plan to do the same with my krana and kraata collections, although I don't have picts of them yet.
     
    But if you are going to BFair, I suppose you could reserve some now... if you're willing to trade, of course.
     

  16. xccj

    Improved Toa Figs

    By xccj,

    Search back through my blog, you're probably find plenty of entries where I talked about my plans to make Toa minifigures.
     
    Here's the basic idea. In 2001, they released Lego pens that came with mini Toa masks. It's possible to attach the masks (via a bead) to the top of a standard minifig torso. It's a little bulky, but it works.
     
    However, while I was able to get the colors of the minifig parts relatively right, the plain torsos looked a bit off. So I wanted to fix that.
     
    So I made a deal with Nuju Metru, who has famously created custom decal torsos for his LotR minifigs. I designed a Toa torso decal, send him the torsos, and he applied them for me! (It was a fair trade, since I gave him some other rare Collectible Minifig parts that he wanted.)
     



     
    So here's Gali, Lewa, and Onua. Sadly, those are the only pen masks I own. Swert owns all six, and I bought Gali off him and then borrowed Tahu, Kopaka, and Pohatu to make a fig scene for BricksCascade, but that was before I got the torsos decal-ed.
     



     
    I had Nuju make some torsos for Tahu, Kopaka, and Pohatu anyway, just in case I can get ahold of their pen masks in the future. Overall, Tahu, Gali, Lewa, and Pohatu's colors are a bit off, and Onua's turned out a little too dark. However, Kopaka's looks excelent, and I can't wait to use it on a fig! (And I can't really complain; Nuju warned me that bright colors like these don't always turn out well.)
     
    And since he was making torso decals, I had another project for him.
     



     
    Basically, I had this super-hero team kinda-based on minifig designs. I've had it around for a while, and these guys have even worked their way into my blog before. I've made real minifigs out of them before, but none with my star-themed torso design. So I had Nuju make custom torsos!!
     



     
    Oh man, these turned out really cool! I'm so excited to see these minifigs IRL. The one problem with the green fig is that I used a cheap Pharoah's Quest Battle Pack mummy torso, which is the kind made in China. As such, the arm and neck connections turned out too loose. But if I just keep him on display, it shouldn't be a problem.
     
    So yes, this is basically showing off these cool new figs that I have, and showing why Nuju Metru deserves the Side Block in my blog. (And Aaron, I hope you make good use out of the minifig parts I sent you!)
     

  17. xccj
    Name a character whose name doesn't have vowels (A, E, I, O, U) or the letters T, N, S, H, R. The letter Y can be in the name, but it cannot be the second letter or the last letter.
     
    The character doesn't necessarily have to be Bionicle.
     
    Go!
     

  18. xccj

    Gali Mistika

    By xccj,

    It's that time again. Time for summer set reviews, by yours truly.
     
    Anyway, I got a good deal on three Mistika, so I'm reviewing them now. First up is that ever lovable...
     

     
    Before you continue, be warned; these are my opinions on the set. I've seen alot of controversy over it, so if you have a problem about my views, keep it to yourself. (Unless you're just here to point out that, despite my constant assurances of the opposite, the Metru and Vahki limbs are the same length)
     
    Okay, first a little thing on the canisters. Gali's canister totally throws you off with the bright Mata blue lid. However, there is Mata blue in the set... those stupid recolored pins and rods. But the majority of the blue is dark Metru blue... a color I was never much of a fan of. And now I see that silver doesn't go well with it. Yes, I was impressed by Tahu's silver and dark red color scheme, but the same cannot be said of Gali. The blue doesn't stand out, and just looks dull. And, in her case, there is way too much silver. She might as well be a Toa of Protodermis.
     
    One last thing on the canisters... I discovered they didn't stack well. Better than the Phantoka, true, but not well enough for constant storage. Harumph.
     
    Now, onto Gali's build. Blah. The Piraka torso does not work (even when I flipped it, as shown in the image above). And the Inika legs as arm and leg pieces were too much for her... it made Gali look like the buff-est Mistika around. This would've worked well with Onua or Pohatu, but I don't see it with Gali. I don't mind her being as bulked up as the others (as apparent in her Nuva form) or even slimmer (like in the MoL movie) but being the toughest looking Toa? I don't think it fits her character or element. Sorry if you think I'm being sexist, but I don't think it works. (As a note, I already did away with the Inika leg pieces in her upper arms, switching them out for Onua's arms, which are slimmer looking and still in the same shade of silver)
     
    The two pieces that stand out the most for Gali is her mask and shoulder armor. Okay, yes, I can't see any similarities between the adapted Kaukau and any of its previous forms. The shape isn't bad... not exactly feminine, but I can deal. And the fins... I was expecting them to be new pieces, but they're just the silvery fins also seen in Tahu and Onua Mistika. Slight disappointment there. They do make her look odd (although they give her an interesting look when you tilt them downward) but this isn't a major point of criticism. In fact, I may be able to make use of the fins in silver. The real problem is her neck attachment... it's hunched over. No, no, no, Gali is not a hunchback. Onua is, Pohatu is, so is Whenua and even Hewki Mahri. But not Gali. I gave her a traditional neck attachment (used a blue +o rod) which increases her height by a length and alos gives her better movement. Bulked up Gali is bad enough... bulked out and hunched over is too much.
     
    The shoulder pieces are certainly the coolest parts of the set. They don't quite have the bulk of the Inika armor, as they leave alot of empty space around the shoulders, but the spikes are wicked cool. I can easily see these as weapons for some MOC... or even spiked feet or something. They look good, but again I have to question their use on Gali. It's only a short question, though, and I like them, and I can certainly see potential for them in future sets.
     
    The Nynrah blaster... well, I've said I liked it before, so why repeat. However, it doesn't give Gali the same kind of dangerous look that Kopaka's lone Midak gives him. First off, her sight is some small dinky piece... nothing very intimidating. It could've easily been included along with a small melee weapon for her other hands. They could've done better with her. And she also looks rather meek because her whole flight ability comes from two wimpy legs on her ankles... at least Kopaka had giant wings. When I pose Gali with her Nynrah in one hand (with both hands it looks tacky) I just know she needs something more. Plus, overall, she's way too short, thanks to the low Piraka torso. When sized up to the Phantoka and other Mistika Toa, Gali (and Tahu) just seem too short. Yeah.
     
    So, overall, Gali Mistika is full of disappointments. Too much silver, and what blue there is doesn't stand out. Jets might be enough to keep her in the air, but they don't look like much. The Nynrah is okay, but not enough to overcome the lack of a second weapon. The bulky legs and armor make Gali look too buff. And her mask power is useless since she'll just be mutated if she tries to swim in the swamp waters (Okay, so that last one isn't set related).
     
    On the bright side, you have the spikey shoulder armor. And I have all three versions of Gali now. So, in the end, I bought this set for the two silver pieces and the collectibility value.
     
    Yeah I don't think Gali is worth it... she looks better than Gorast, true, but if you want a good canister set, go for one of the other four Mistika.
     
    So, while this is a depressing review, I still have two others that I will be writing up. And I only did Gali first because she was my least favorite. So, yeah, expect others soon.
     

  19. xccj

    Review: Rattlecopter

    By xccj,

    (Click for link) Actually don't because it's broken right now.
     
    Anyway, cool Ninjago set! It's a snake helicopter that looks like a fish! Awesome designs. And I even took lots of pictures! You'll see them when the database gets fixed, I'm sure of it!
     

  20. xccj
    (Click For Link)
     
    Yay, another Ninjago Review! Last one from me (for this year at least.) Unless somebody wants to send me the Ultimate 4-Headed Dragon Battle set to review (and keep.) That is such an epic set and I want it but I don't really have money and if I do buy a large set this year it's going to be Helms Deep.
     
    Also, with this set I now have Cole ZX, which means that I have a complete set of Ninja. (Well, missing the green one, if you count him, but I'll grab his spinner pack when it comes out.) Now... well, I'm kind of eager for a snake army. Anybody have lots of snake figs they want to get rid of / trade. And I don't mean a bunch of Rattlas or Snappas... ideally I'd like one of each character, especially the generals, but I'm not willing to buy all the sets or pay the fig prices on Bricklink... so yep, if you have cool snake figs (and maybe want some series 6/7 figs, since I have extras) let me know! (Yeah, this is being hopeful.)
     
    Also, tomorrow, I'll take pictures of and enter my BBC Contest fiery creature. I'd post WIP images, BUT that would get me disqualified and also require the effort to take said picts. It is a rider and a steed, so hopefully it'll be allowed. (I asked like 4 days ago in the contest topic and have not received an answer yet, so if I get disqualified it'll be because of a last minute rule clarification... seriously last minute, since tomorrow is the last day to enter.)
     
    Oh, and also read / view the Lasha's Bite Cycle review. It's even been Velox-approved! How many reviews can boast that!? (None of my other ones, so this is a first for me!)
     

  21. xccj
    Aladdin is one of my favorite Disney movies (making Jasmine one of my favorite Princesses) but I’ve been disappointed that she hasn’t appeared in more than one Lego Princesses set. Well, this year she gets to be in a couple, likely hoping to capitalize on the live action Aladdin movie coming out. The biggest one of the Palace Adventure, so I picked that up. It’s $29.99 with 193 pieces.
     
    The main draw is the characters. Jasmine has appeared in one set before as a minidoll (included in the picture in the lower right). In this set, she gets some printed upgrades on her pants, torso, and face, and I like the details. It looks like her hairpiece is unchanged. Aladdin appeared once in the Disney CMFs, so this is his first appearance as a minidoll, and the details totally fit the character. I think they also reuse his hairpiece, but the rest of the printing is new.
     
    We also get the magic carpet; it was included in the Jasmine set as a simple build, but it’s a bit more detailed here. It uses a wavy wall with a decent sticker on it showcasing all the details. (Sadly, it’s not visible in my picture, and I didn’t quite get the sticker on straight, but it still looks great.) The bigger deal is the use of the gold tassels, which are a major part of the character. In theory, there is room for both characters to ride on the carpet, but minidolls aren’t really built to sit side by side like that. I added some studs to Aladdin’s feat, pushing him back just enough so their arms aren’t colliding, so it kind of works, but I think the set just wants you to use one character at a time.
     
    There are some interesting parts, including some lavenders, golds, tans, magentas, and teals (although those aren’t quite the colors I picture when I think of the palace from the movie.) Some of the big white / lavender wall / window pieces are fairly new, and it could be useful for some builders. Some of the rare or exclusive parts include the teal 1x1x5 brick, teal 2x2 round corner brick, teal 1x4 arch, lavender 8x8 plate, magenta 1x4 tile with 2 nobs, medium lavender doorway, medium lavender 6x6 round plate, purple wavy wall, gold 3x3x2 arch, gold 3x3x2 fence, and the new white bird piece.
     
    The build is. . . well, basic. The Lego Princess builds have never been anything to really call home about. You build two levels with some furniture and accessories on each. On the bottom level there’s a table with some seats, as well as a market stall. The top includes the balcony section with a domed room, and them a small patio with a chair, birdbath, and small tree. The big action feature is that the dome is built on a swivel and had a beam that can attach to the flying carpet, so you can spin it around and have the characters fly over the palace. I like this bit. There’s also a small Cave of Wonders build included, with a hidden compartment for the golden lamp, and a sticker with the Genie on it. The set comes with a lot of sparkly stickers, but I only included about half of them.
     
    One feature that I wasn’t aware of until I read the instruction was that all the Disney Princess rooms this year are semi-modular. You can mix and match them together, and the example picture shows that you can create quite the impressive Disney Castle when you combine most of the sets. I obviously can’t do this because I haven’t bought any of the others (and don’t plan to) but it’s a neat idea and gives the infectious “collect them all” mentality to this line of sets too.
     
    In short, I like the character designs and the flying magic carpet, and I really like the function that lets you spin them around over the palace. The rest of it is pretty bland, and I consider it an okay parts pack, since it does have a few interesting and rare elements. Worth the $30? Probably not, but I was impulsive. Maybe wait for a sale if you’re also a fan of the movie. (Or if you’re buying for somebody in the target audience; there’s plenty to like, but I’m a jaded AFOL who doesn’t appreciate that kind of stuff.)
     

  22. xccj

    New BrickCon MOCs

    By xccj,

    Okay, I want to show off some of the things I've been working on for BrickCon next week.
     
    Angled Mosaic
     

     
    Okay, I've blogged about this one a lot. I don't have enough cheese slopes to create something big enough to fit a 32x32 baseplate. (Much less a really massive one.) So I've made a deal with Dan Parker (thru Swert) to use his collection of cheese slopes to produce a 32x32 mosaic in this style. However, he wasn't as enthusiastic about the Hau / Krana idea, so instead I'm doing a classic Pirate / Ninja mosaic, featuring current Lego figs. It's not Bionicle, but it should be pretty cool. Besides, we don't want the first Bionicle angled mosaic to be a puny 32x32... And yeah, the other challenge is I'll be building this AT the event... to which I saw, bring it on. I can put mosaics together moderately quickly.
     
    The Dark Side
     

     
    Last year, they introduced a new theme called the Dark Side at BrickCon. If was for MOCs that wanted to utilize light, so it was a covered area to provide darkness to better enjoy the MOCs. I wanted to make something for the display this year, but I never really got the chance to play around with wiring up a lighting system in a MOC. Instead, I decided to go with their second option: black lights.
     
    I knew that trans neon green and trans neon orange looked good under a black light, so I went to build some MOCs in those colors. To practise, I got a small black light and used it to view my collection. Man, Lego sure looks different under black lights. In particular, I noticed that parts known to be made in china (Collectible Minifigures) look very different... especially the red paints. As mentioned, both neon orange and neon green look awesome under it. However, trans medium blue also looks exceptionally cool, but none of the other trans colors do. It's kind of sad that trans medium blue isn't as widespread in system, but practically all the trans blue Bionicle elements are of this color.
     
    So I made a couple of models for this. First is one I've been thinking of for a while: BZP Laser Tag. Basically, a recreation of the fun times had with BZP members at the Laser Tag arena next to the BrickFair convention. I also tried to makes some glowy Bionicle creatures, which at the very least will look cool under a black light. Sorry, I don't have the technology / patience to photograph these models under a black light, so I guess you'll need to come to BrickCon to see them.
     
    Rainbow Spaceship
     
     

     
    Dang, Ben, you got me thinking about building a SHIP and now I can't stop! Last year I attempted this with a couple of submarines based off the old AquaZone themes, and they were cool but the building styles were too similiar. For Bricks Cascade this year, I built a handful of smaller space ships, but nothing extra large. So it was time for something new.
     
    I've had this basic idea for a while. It's always a pain to choose a color scheme, because then you're stuck building the whole thing in that color. And I like to have variety in my colors. So why not have a ship with compartments that are in different colors? Like a rainbow ship! When thinking about it, I thought I might have trouble covering the color purple since I don't have a ton of elements in that color... but then I realized I was also fairly low on orange too!
     
    After getting a small parts order with some orange elements, I decided to utilize what I had in my collection and try something out. And this is what I ended up with. There are some design features in there that were forced due to my limited pieces. But overall I'm fairly satisfied with the overall flow of the thing. It's still short of SHIP standards... only about 80 studs long instead of 100. And I didn't compartmentalize it like I did with my subs last year, so it might be tricky to transport. But it should be slightly visible in the BrickCon Space Display.
     
    Bionicle
     
    Um yeah I'm bringing about two dozen Bionicle Rahi and such, but nothing that hasn't appeared at Bricks Cascade or BrickFair (or both) so nothing really exciting to blog about. Also have a few more mosaic-type creations that'll show up, as well as two mechs and a couple of steampunk MOCs. Even though I want to contribute to Bricks of Character, I don't have any decent ideas for something to make, so it'll have to wait until next year.
     
    Well, that's it for now. But I had to bring something new. I mean, if I'm going to a Lego convention, I need to bring some of my MOCs with me. Even if I'm not recognized as a great builder, I wanna show that I can still build. (Besides, I could fill in some blank categories and win trophies by default again!! Or not since BrickCon is much more packed than Bricks Cascade, which was only on its first year.)
     

  23. xccj
    And now I continue on with my non-official front page reviews that take much less time to make...
     
    Some people were excited to see the return of Arctic sets this year. Arctic was one of the last system themes I got really excited about back in 2000, right before I got consumed by Bionicle for the next 7 years. The explorers and parkas and snowmobiles and polar bears... it was a great theme. I only ever got two sets from it, but the mobile outpost one was definately a highlight. With that said, this year's theme had a lot to live up to.
     
    And it lives up to it by including the one thing the original theme didn't cover; dog sleds!
     

     
    I picked up the 60034 Arctic Helicrane last month primarily because it was the cheapest set to get the team of huskies with. Jumping straight into that, the dogs are a lovely new mold with excelent face printing and great two-toned color. Better yet, the shading of the gray on the back varies, so each dog looks unique. The actual sled is fairly basic, but works, and the use of the Friends handle bars to hold onto the dogs is ingenious. I would've love this on its own to be the cheap set instead of the snowmobile, but I guess they'd rather use it as incentive to purchase the bigger sets.
     
    And the bigger part of this set is the helicopter. I couldn't tell you if it is based off a real life helicopter, but IMO it looks a little bare bones. There are a lot of big, bulky pieces here, especially with the cockpit cover, making me feel cheated out of a more intricate build. (But that's just my complaint, I'm sure it's fine for a younger audience.) Basically, it feels like a long stick in which you attach the propellers, side legs, tail, and cockpit. In theory, the empty belly would get filled up with the storage device that's lifted up by the winch, so there's a very good reason it seems so empty in the middle, but the simplicity of the build still bugs me.
     
    There are good parts about it. There's an ingeinous design for the trusters that uses click hindges to achieve a nice SNOT angle. They also use the 5L propeller beams as essentially 5L plates to hold down the larger propellers, so that's a nice trick. (And you get 10x of those 5L propeller beans.) The winch is also securely worked into the design, and although I'm not a huge fan, it works. Plus, you get 6x of the new ski pieces on the end of each leg and bottom of the cockpit. Speaking of neat pieces, the classic rock element appears in trans light blue here. (Last time they had trans light blue meteors, so that's a slight change.)
     
    Parts wise, there's nothing exceptional besides the huskies. There are a few decent elements in orange. While orange makes sense as a safety color, I do kind of wish they had more of the blue color scheme of the original theme, but that's again just personal preference.
     

     
    The minifigs are nice, although neither is exclusive to this set. Still, like with the huskies, this is the cheapest one to get them in. I suppose the pilot is technically unique (according to Brickset) but none of his parts are. He has a classic brown jacket with some nice orange safety highlights to fit him in with the rest of the crew. I was surprised that the explorer was actually female; she seems to be in most of the sets as the huskies, so she must be their caretaker. She has a unique torso and face printing, as well as the new blue parka head piece. Again, I'm disappointed that the explorers don't come in various colors like they did in the original theme, but the consistant orange and blue scheme does make them all look like part of a team. And honestly, it's cool to see a female explorer who's not (only) in the most expensive set of the year.
     
    This is a hard set to reccomend. The figs are good, and the huskies are excelent, but the actual helicrane is a little too basic for my tastes. It does have some decent parts, but only 262 for the cost of $39.99 is a pretty bad value. And while this is the cheapest way to get the figs and huskies, they do appear in some of the larger sets, so if you can afford those, I might go that route instead. But if you like the design of the helicrane, then there's plenty of play value to be had as you explore the arctic. (Next year I want the team to go to the Antarctic so we can get more penguin molds!)
     

  24. xccj

    Hit Right on Target

    By xccj,

    I'd been hearing some reports about Bionicle showing up in Target, so I decided to swing by my local one... and found some.
     

     
    For Bionicle, they only had the two protectors, so I grabbed both. Oddly enough, the cashier was really excited to see they had them in and was bummer when I said there were only a few left. (And then seemed reluctant to sell me the ones I picked up... I assume it was all part of an act.) In addition to Bionicle, they had some other 2015 stuff from other themes, including Disney Princesses, the battle packs (Lions and Bears) from Chima, the Double Decker Couch from the Lego Movie (pictured above), and a bunch of Friends sets, some of which I don't even remember seeing online.
     
    Well, I could just brag about my find... or I could help you with your search!
     
    Yesterday, The Brick Fan posted a bit on how you could track Target's inventory if you had their DCPI number. It wasn't 100% accurate, but it would show you the stock stores nearby had. Unfortunately, the article only gave the DCPI number for the Frozen Princess set, and I couldn't find one for Bionicle... until I went to the store.
     
    The DCPI number for the Protectors is 204 00 1009. This number seemed to be shared between both protectors, so Target doesn't seem to currently be distinguishing between color for them... yet.
     
    And just for grins, the DCPI number for the Lego Movie set is 204 00 1476. In general, if they have one of the new sets in stock, they probably have the rest, given the inventory described above. I know I selected my specific Target cause it had the Frozen castle (had, it was sold out by the time I showed up) but it seemed to be a good indicator.
     
    Happy toy hunting. And if you can't find it... well, wait a few weeks and I'm sure they'll be everywhere. Besides, NYCC goers have already had these for months, so there's not much to brag about getting them early, now is there.
     

  25. xccj

    Tunneler Beast

    By xccj,

    Click here for full review
     
    I know this shouldn't be the most interesting part of the review, but I'm proudest of throwing in the word "spelunking" in the intro.
     
    Also, I tried using gray baseplates as a background, to give it a more Lego-y feel. I think it works, but I could potentially see it as being too busy. Thoughts? Or lack thereof.
     
    I also expect to get a lot of flak about my hatred of the hand design, but I stand by my opinion that they're terrible. Okay, I might not have worded my reasoning perfectly, but they're still bad. Bad bad bad!
     

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