Kek

 

 

Going to echo the comments about feeling like the size outweighed style, again. I'm not surprised by the results, but I don't remotely agree with them.

 

I would have picked the snake guy, personally. But whatevs, I'm not in charge of the contest, the six panelists were in charge of the semi-finalists and TLG chose the winner. They get to do what they want.

 

Congrats Roa.

The tentacle villain was my favorite amongst the finalists as well. The rest were just eyesores.

 

A reminder that bashing any of the MOCs and/or buil ders - that is, calling them "eyesores" - is poor conduct and will only serve to get you barred from other BZPower building contests. Let's remember our manners, people.

 

Allow me to be more thorough then, if my comment seemed too offensive. All the other entries had going for them imo is size. They look formidable, but at the same time cluttered. There's just too much going on. There's so many tubes, spikes, pistons, and holes in Roa's MOC for example, that I personally find the end result lackluster. Sorry if eyesore is really too harsh of a term. I'll be a little more considerate next time.

Going to echo the comments about feeling like the size outweighed style, again. I'm not surprised by the results, but I don't remotely agree with them.

 

I would have picked the snake guy, personally. But whatevs, I'm not in charge of the contest, the six panelists were in charge of the semi-finalists and TLG chose the winner. They get to do what they want.

 

Congrats Roa.

The tentacle villain was my favorite amongst the finalists as well. The rest were just eyesores.

 

The MOC with the most parts wins. Not surprised. It's quite an impressive piece, but i feel like a parts limit would've given other contenders a better chance. Congrats anyways, Roa.

I think a parts limit would have been a rather pointless limitation. Some people work better at a larger scale, or have ideas that take a lot of parts to execute. There's no point in putting an arbitrary constraint on people's creativity in a contest that is designed to be fairly open-ended

 

If anything, future contests like this should maybe have size categories: so there would be one category for models no larger than 5 inches / 12.7 centimeters / 16 modules in any dimension, another category for models no larger than 10 inches / 25.4 centimeters / 32 modules in any dimension, and another category for models larger than ten inches in one or more dimensions. But of course, the way this contest was set up, that wouldn't have worked, because the end goal of the contest was to narrow things down to one winner from each site and one grand prize winner from all the sites.

Size catagories sound promising, Aanchir. A much better solution.

 

 

 

The MOC with the most parts wins. Not surprised. It's quite an impressive piece, but i feel like a parts limit would've given other contenders a better chance. Congrats anyways, Roa.

 

Its got nothing to do with the quantity of parts though. Someone could have used several thousand parts on a entry but if it didn't look good it wouldn't have gotten anywhere in the contest.

Not going to debate this, It's not just Roa, it was a bit of the finalists in general. In my opinion, the smaller scale pieces blew some of the larger ones out of the water in terms of unique parts usage, original design, and just being visually pleasant to look at. Yet they placed below other MOC's that only had size as a true contender. It's just a lopsided competition, because there are plenty of Moccers out there that possess the talent, but just lack the funding for models of such scale.

Being able to make good-looking small mocs doesn't mean that you can make decent big ones

Being able to make a large MOC doesn't mean you possess more skill over somebody else. Having a limited amount of resources and being able to create something substantial takes talent. Some of the individual websites' semi finalists went above and beyond with what they had put into their entries.

 

The MOC with the most parts wins. Not surprised. It's quite an impressive piece, but i feel like a parts limit would've given other contenders a better chance. Congrats anyways, Roa.

 

Its got nothing to do with the quantity of parts though. Someone could have used several thousand parts on a entry but if it didn't look good it wouldn't have gotten anywhere in the contest.

Not going to debate this, It's not just Roa, it was a bit of the finalists in general. In my opinion, the smaller scale pieces blew some of the larger ones out of the water in terms of unique parts usage, original design, and just being visually pleasant to look at. Yet they placed below other MOC's that only had size as a true contender. It's just a lopsided competition, because there are plenty of Moccers out there that possess the talent, but just lack the funding for models of such scale.

The MOC with the most parts wins. Not surprised. It's quite an impressive piece, but i feel like a parts limit would've given other contenders a better chance. Congrats anyways, Roa.

I think that's a joke...

 

...although if it is true, levitating skull spiders would be really creepy. 

 

(Plus also I thought aquatic spideys were confirmed in Gali's character vid. )

Yeah, just realized they were hinting Gali, Tahu and Lewa's G1 mask powers. No idea why I didn't get it.

The other three Skull Spiders are now confirmed to be aquatic; have a hard, resistant shell; and be able to levitate.

Source on this?

Okay, back to the actual topic here.

 

I like this theory, though it heavily weighs on whether or not we get three new breeds next wave. The only other color in the comics is red, so I don't know.

 

I like to think Ekimu will give them new masks and armor by the end of the year so they become the Toa Nuva once again.

 

Who knows though. I wouldn't mind three new breeds.

 

Remember when that one member did a random URL search to pull up that image of the Mask of Creation? The admins allowed it because it was within Lego's domain, therefore it wasn't put out there by some random third party.

I object. It wasn't random, I knew perfectly well what I was doing.

 

I thought so too, it definitely shares a similar rectangular shape and the same ridges as the Inika Sanok.

 

But that must be a coincidence right? It's not like I called "evil Toa Mahri" as possible future enemies months ago when I pointed out that the new Makuta could be Teridax in the body of the Golden Skinned Being, and remember the Being enslaved the Mahri with his powers of CONTROL (familiar?)...

 

I suppose we'll have to wait and see if there are going to be five villains in the Summer wave, rather than the usual six, seeing as the Toa Mahri had five members (RIP Matoro), whereas every other villain wave in the past had six main members...

I'm pretty sure any similarities in the masks and any correlations in the numbers are purely coincidential. Personally, I believe that if there is any connection to the old story at all, it's just the origin of the Toa, and even that is not going to affect the story in any way.

 

I was drawing a comparison of the URL manipulation used to get the image with the URL manipulation to get the unique search results for the summer sets. However, I understand that since the information to even get the pages is considered leaked, it's not the same and is outside of boundaries to discuss. I believe the leaked content policy should elaborate on the difference between safe and unsafe URL dabbling on the Lego site, so other users don't get their links or posts deleted or edited when it could just be avoided all together.

 

Apologies for any confusion.

Still nothing new on LoSS. I'm just itching to get even a speck of character development on the guy.

 

 

Typing in the set numbers and names of the supposed leaked summer sets in a product URL on the Lego S@H site gives you a "product not available" page, as opposed to the standard "page not found".

 

TTV elaborated on this on one of their newest YouTube videos, as well as a post on their message boards going into further detail on the subject. Since it's on the Lego site, it's fair game.

 

Remember when that one member did a random URL search to pull up that image of the Mask of Creation? The admins allowed it because it was within Lego's domain, therefore it wasn't put out there by some random third party.

 

Same thing when I pointed out the "Coming soon" page when you searched Bionicle in the product search bar. It was within boundaries. By this logic, now these new names should be allowed to be discussed because they're not leaked. Lego is putting them out there for us.

Except that the only reason you know those names (and are thus able to put them in) is because of leaks. That's not really the same thing at all. It didn't take any extra information to put in Bionicle and get the coming soon page, because Bionicle is, well, Bionicle. But to even know what to put in this time, you first had to get it from leaks. So.

 

This is correct. The leaked summer set names and numbers are off-limits.

 

Oh boy. The pages exist on the website. Uploaded by TLG themselves. Regardless of how, they're officially there. I'm not getting into this. Anyone who's interested, go to the TTV message boards, or their Youtube channel. They have the information, pages, names, etc. I'm not going to pick apart how this is ridiculous and refrain from wasting my breath. I'm out.

 

Actually, one more thing. They wouldn't give the MoUP to us this early. We're most likely getting the Mask of Creation in the summer due to the 14k one appearing at NYCC, as opposed to the other two. I'm pretty sure we'll be getting one for each of the three years the line will be running, and the MoUP seems like the last we'll receive. It also doesn't even look like the one in the trailer because it lacks the six extending fins. It's probably just the mask mold for the summer wave villains.

Come on now, guys. BZPower's stance on leaks hasn't changed a bit, so discussion on anything related to summer sets beyond the tiny teaser in that promo image is not allowed. There are plenty of other places to discuss those things if you must, but you'd make life much easier for the administration if you could just not do it here. Everything will be known in a couple of months, but for now, just don't talk about leaks. Rules are rules, and all.

 

Anyway, sure is a creepy mask. Looking forward to seeing the set it belongs to....

Typing in the set numbers and names of the supposed leaked summer sets in a product URL on the Lego S@H site gives you a "product not available" page, as opposed to the standard "page not found".

 

TTV elaborated on this on one of their newest YouTube videos, as well as a post on their message boards going into further detail on the subject. Since it's on the Lego site, it's fair game.

 

Remember when that one member did a random URL search to pull up that image of the Mask of Creation? The admins allowed it because it was within Lego's domain, therefore it wasn't put out there by some random third party.

 

Same thing when I pointed out the "Coming soon" page when you searched Bionicle in the product search bar. It was within boundaries. By this logic, now these new names should be allowed to be discussed because they're not leaked. Lego is putting them out there for us.

Glad to see some CGI promos returning. In other news, a teaser for the fourth Webisode has surfaced on Bionicle.com. "The Protectors Fight Back." Some further characterization for the little ones, perhaps?

Looking at it, I'd say the Vahi is only half of the MOUP. Perhaps when Makuta was struck by Ekimu, the mask split into two halves: one of Time, the other being something interesting.

 

Or, perhaps its just a random relic. Maybe Makuta will get the MOUP again and Tahu will need to go back in time ala Terminator to fix the past.

 

Which reminds me. The gen1 Vahi cannot use Time Travel, so I don't see how, if at all, the Vahi could create a paradox between this generation and the original. I think it's more that TLG is using the mask more so for how iconic it is, and again, the whole aspect of Time Travel. I doubt it's the same Kanohi from the original universe, since slowing down or accelerating time couldn't just up and craft a whole other tangent of existence like people are speculating.

This set is the most lackluster Protector, imo. This is a bit ironic seeing as how Gali is my favorite design in terms of the new Toa.

I'll still be getting the set though. I'm thinking about grabbing two of this set as well as two Protectors of Fire in order to make a G2 Takua.  The review was well done, btw. Good parts coverage and speed builds are always fun to watch. 

Yes you shouldn't judge someone from a few controversial posts.

Precisely. I've seen one too many do this, though.

Ok fine. You guys are right. I have no right to police other people's behavior. I was unreasonable.

 

I was wrong.

 

You win.

Nobody really wins. This wasn't a competition. You have my respect for being humble, yet if somebody did win anything, it's those who learned something from this. Don't be too hard on yourself.

 

No personal animosity toward you, Sailor. I'm not going to judge your character entirely off of one obscure topic. I'm sure this could also be said for plenty of other users here. Have a good one.

Your post is already in handy bullet-point format, so I'm going to analyse it similarly. 

 

I know there are many people in the Bionicle fandom who dislike art that re-interprets Bionicle characters as human or organic.

True. They're biomechanical slaves, not people. The great beings and tren krom however, ARE organic.

I disagree. I think that humanized art can be a wonderful interpretation if it's done well. Not to mention that some Bionicle characters are already quite organic looking, like the Barraki and Piraka.

Each to their own.

However, there is a frequently-pervasive aspect of humanized art that is problematic, and that is the tendency for most or all characters to be drawn as white. This baffles me to no end.

White people draw white people to relate to them.

We have a group of characters who live on a tropical island, in tribal societies, with a language clearly based on, and even directly taken from, Maori? Nope, must be white people!

I'm going to give an example. You see the last supper? Thirteen white dudes, clustered around a table. Except IRL they were all middle-eastern.  Renaissance artists drew middle eastern people as white because they were white and their patrons were white. People draw other people as the same skin tone out of habit and to increase relatability. The entire point of drawing them as organic is to make them more relatable, drawing them as someone from a completely different part of the world defeats the point. It also nips certain debates in the bud, such as "You drew tribal characters as black? You're so racist!" Realism and racism overlap a lot, in many people's eyes and the most politically correct course is usually to draw them in the style of the most common ethnicity in the area.

It would be like drawing human versions of the Lion King characters, a story that takes place in central Africa, as white people. Oh wait people already do that.

Please read last text wall.

Other areas of the Matoran Universe don't have a cultural base (Metru Nui, Voya Nui, etc), so those characters are more up to interpretation, but Mata Nui's inspiration is obvious.

I will say though, that 2015 Pohatu is so Australian it hurts, so he's definitely Aboriginal.

Now how offensive would it seem if someone drew all the backwards tribal characters in bionicle as black or Maori, and all the city-dwelling or cultured characters as white? Your point is that it would befit the canon, my point is that people would complain far more.   

Also, Bara Magna was based on ancient Greece and Rome, so it would be ok for a good chunk of the Agori to be white.

The matoran were slaves, made to work against their will for the great beings. Drawing the great beings as white and their slaves as black people would be considered very taboo.

Of course, I, or anyone else, can't really stop you from drawing white bonkles.

But as socially-conscious people, we have an obligation to represent underrepresented groups.

And to depict characters who are so obviously based on Pacific Islander culture as white people is insulting, and frankly, quite racist.

Yeah, no. You're just being a bit of a social justice warrior here, you haven't really thought out the other options. I bet that if all the mata nui bionicles were dawn as Maori there would be far more people (probably including you) complaining far more about it.

Basically, drawing matoran as non-white would seem stereotyping of tribal cultures, racist to blacks and insensitive to slavery.

Just because it would make more sense for matoran to be black, doesn't mean it would be a good idea.

Plenty of valid points.

 

I think the tendency to depict human Bionicle characters as white is less a deliberate decision and more an artifact of anime-based art, which is where most human Bionicle artists got their start (even some of the best of the best). A lot of anime features mostly white-looking characters, and it can occasionally be a challenge for artists to break free of that and force themselves to take racial diversity into account.

This. All the "exclusively white" humanized Bionicle characters I've seen over the years come from sub-par artwork heavily influenced by typical manga style drawings. It's not an issue. It's teenagers expressing their enjoyment of the franchise through their own artwork. If you honestly think they depict their favorite Toa as "white" because of some underlying racism or social issue, you need to reevaluate yourself. 

 

Bionicle characters ARE Polynesian. There's no way around it. Anyone who denies that is participating in the cultural erasure of a marginalized group.

Bionicle characters are not anything, nor are they nothing. They are whatever the artist or mocer for that matter, cares for them to be. But now you are changing you tune, for in your opening post you stated that different areas of the matoran universe were open for interpretation, yet now your stating all bionicle characters are polynesian. 

 

They were never meant to be on the island to begin with, by the way. Their origin can be paralleled to Lord of the Flies, where they ended up there due to a freak accident, and they merely adopted their new culture over time due to their new home. They could be literally any race being as they were once city folk, so saying "they can only be Polynesian or you're wrong" is ironic since it conflicts with the established canon.

 

I'd say instead of adding armor to the ankles, and instead of using a torso beam, maybe use multiple long limb beams and have them connect to something like that piece used in Thornraxx, and clip that onto the Stormer XL foot. Then tack shells onto that. It's what I've done with my HF MOC Breaker that I have yet to post here, and it works really well. Very stable, too.

 

Does that involve using pieces outside of the combiner's pieces? This sorta breaks the whole idea of using just the pieces from the three sets. 

 

 

I'm thinking incorporating the spare heads as ankles and building off of those. I honestly can't tell what Aanchir has left in terms of spare parts, so it's hard to say how one could make bulkier feet.

Now that we're done with that, can we please move discussion back to the topic.

Fair enough. Any methods you can think of that may add to the feet? 

 

 

Tone it down. Critiquing a MOC doesn't give you a license to be abrasive.

You're absolutely right, Tufi, nor does it mean that I can't be blunt. I was just saying that if you post a MOC you should be able to accept and recognize criticism instead of just brushing it off

This isn't simple bluntness. You can critique a MOC without attacking the MOC or builder, which you're coming very close to doing. You need to dial it back.

 

Brash word choice doesn't mean attacking. There was no questioning of the MOCer's skill nor any insults being thrown about. It's all perspective here, and yours appears somewhat skewed from what was trying to be said. No offense intended, just saying you may want to approach this from a different angle. 

DoktorFreizeit really wasn't being abrasive. He had legitimate criticisms, of which should not be ignored because that wasn't the artist's intent. So what if it wasn't the intent? I can see the angle he was coming from. Also, if we can take Aanchir's rebuttals into account and look over DoktorFreizeit's views due to misinterpretation of what was trying to be done, by this logic, Freizeit's alleged "abrasiveness" is simple misunderstanding and not an issue at all. Simply "taking it the wrong way".

Whatever though. Even if his choice of words was crude, the MOC does look like it could use a little tweaking, specifically around the lower torso and hips. Also, a way to beef up the ankles would help the silhouette a lot. Otherwise, it's impressive for the first attempt at a G2 Wairuha.

I love how stocky and compact the Protectors are. It makes me think of the 07 Matoran, and how robust and strong they were both set-wise and within the story. I also adore the fact they all share the same mask. While some would say this takes away their individuality, having the same mask in six unique colors just screams gen1 to me.

 

The launchers are also very nice. They are nowhere near as cumbersome as previous gimmick weapons, and are another component that helps these six little guys appear as a team.

 

As for the Skull Spider, I feel as though it works better as an in set enemy for the Protectors, since the size difference isn't as severe. Next to the Protector of Ice, it looks like something to fight. Next to Onua, it looks like something to step on. I wish the silver ones were a different color though. The green and dark blue look quite exotic, but the silver ones just look too artificial IMO. The gunmetal limbs probably add to this, but hey. More spiders for army building.

 

Look forward to your next review B6. Keep it up.

Blind bags are what's big right now in toy lines. I get that the mask packs didnt sell well initially since they were just accessories, but a little blind bag with a Skull Spider and Toa Mask for a couple bucks would be epic. I really hope we get something down the road. If Lego can make Zamor ammo packs, they can easily do Gen 2 mask bags.