Cap'n Tek

Point in exactness...

So, the prototype Gali has no weapon? 'Kay thanks

...then melted a bit =P

Toa Gali Nuva (Mistika) Unfortunately This has to come... the discussion about The "new" Gali. Yes, I picked on her quite a bit below, however, there is one good thing in her that I can tell, but I'll get to that later. Now I'll got over the new mold and newly colored parts. ones aside from the ones I mentioned under Tahu.... (2) Mystery Gray/Silver New Shoulder Armor Parts (Shoulder armor.... well, it should wrap around the shoulder, hopefully it's still a prototype...)(4) Mystery Gray/Silver Inika Leg parts (These are awesome... if they are sliver, that is...)(4) Mystery Blue Long Double Sockets (I can't tell what blue these are... I'm still hoping they aren't dark...) (1) Dark Blue Melted piece of plastic called a "Mask" (I really hope this is just for the prototype!)(2) Silver (I assume) Small Fins (Really?! On the side of her mask?! LEGO can't be serious. . .)(1) Silver (I'm guessing) Nynrah Blaster Target...er (Cool concept I guess... but why does Gali have this?)(1) Silver (It seems) Giant Weapon Shield Thingy (Really? this is all we could come up with? Again, I hope it's still just for the prototype...)Mm'kay.. Her mask is total fail... the Piraka torso also is as well. However, the few new parts we get on her are quite nice. I hope that the parts actually are Silver--especially the Ignika legs. Most of what I said about Tahu can apply to Gali as well. Unlike her previous forms there is no indication that she is a water being aside from her color (She has no fins that go on her feet and no mask clearly for Water breathing.) On that note Isn't her Mask supposed to be a Kaukau--the mask of Water Breathing?! What's with the Nuju-esque eye? Her shoulder Armor looks as if it's been designed by Mega-Blocks... seriously, as I said before, I hope it's a prototype thing that will be changed. Still, the things I like about Tahu I like for Gali; the Blaster is nice; the parts can be useful for MoCists; and most of the new molds (With the exception of the mask and the shoulder armor) are good. I think this is the hope of every fan that knew the old Nuva--hopefully these are just very early prototypes. I don't know if I'm getting Gali yet... we'll see... //.Tek

Excellent design ToM. Very, very nicely done. Here is something that may irk you though, Look at the new Takanuva... his mask specifically. See how it resembles the old MoL? Why couldn't LEGO have done that with the rest of the Kanohi this year? Just something I noticed... and it drives me bonkers >> //.Tek

Kirka is The most awesome Makuta everWhy do we no longer have Makuta "Masks"?Throwbot arms? Really?LEGO must really be proud of their new Matoran limbs--practically every set has 'emTAKA'S MAST RESEMBLES THE ORIGINAL MOL--WHY CAN THE NUVA MASKS RESEMBLE THEIR FORMER SELVES?!Who Melted Gali's Face?While we're at it--Why does She have horns?...And a "Shield thing" on her back?...and why does she have Mega-Block-esque Shoulder armor. . .Yellow and Black for a Makuta is goodAs well as Green and Black......Wait didn't we already have a green and Black Makuta?Vehicles? Seriously? I really don't know what to think here...Why do we have all these mystery Pilots?Yellow Rahkshi Legs FTW!Bitil Has a Vahki head for his head...Are Makuta really over-grown bugs?No new Matoran?They really just discovered the 3 angel piece? They seem to like it alot...The Nynrah Ghost Blasters are so much better than anything after the Piraka Zamar...Kirka is still Awesome...//.Tek

Tony Does! You should know who I mean =P

Ah, time for a somewhat serious post here. With the new sets revealed undoubtedly there are those on both sides--Those who Love 'em and, well, those who don't... However, I think that there should be balance, yes they have killed the last hopes of Mata Red and Mata Blue (funny how those colors have to be defined nowadays...), and yes, most of the color schemes on the Toa are ruined by specs of other colors, BUT, this does not (At least in my opinion) justify a total disregard of the sets entirely-- there just may be some good in the sets (but trust me, it took me a while to think this through). I may as well go set by set here considering they are all photographed nicely. I'll start with Tahu.... ya know, the guy who used to be the Mascott for Bionicle His Hau(s) were Everywhere. I'll do the other Toa in later posts. Toa Tahu Nuva (Mistika) Ah first let's look at the New Parts shall we? (1) Mystery Grey/Silver Piraka Torso (In all fairness this could be useful) (4) Mystery Grey/Silver Piraka Lower Leg Sections (These can Be useful as well--Toa of Iron Anyone?) (3) Mystery Grey/Silver Helicopter Blades (Yes there are 4 parts to the blade. Look closely) (4) Mystery Grey/Silver "Rocket Jets" (These are interesting parts--they seem to have quite a few functions, though, putting them in Tahu's Armpits... just doesn't work for me...) (1) Nynrah Ghost Blaster Interesting invention--more compact than both the Cordak and the Midak, however the air pump is slightly unsightly...) (2) (At least) Pearl Dark Grey Nynrah Darts (Better than Squid! --and Zamar for that matter) (1) Dark (Metru) Red Murdered Hau Nuva (Eh, so I may be a bit harsh there... This bares as much resemblance to the Hau Nuva, as the Hau Nuva did to the original Hau... plus the color change...) (2) Dark Red "Fins" (These look interesting--almost like miniature versions of Kopaka's wings) (2) Mystery Gray/Silver Lower Leg Backs (apparently these double as claws/ hands in other sets... interesting part) (4) Dark Red New Long double sockets (Not much to say here... except they should have been Mata Red) (2) Dark Red Toa Ignika Hahli feet (same as part above... though, the new Mata feet may have been nice to see again...) The rest of the parts are not worth noting as we have seen them all before. (Ya'know 2 axels, blue have pins, black single sockets etc.). Oh, by the way his brain is TNGreen... (And as a side note, I, for the life of me, cannot figure out weather the "Mystery Gray/Silver" is Dark Gray like the Phantoka Nuva or Pearl Light Grey [silver] as a new limb color). Okay, so there are the facts. We have a total of 7 new molds for Tahu. (Better than Lewa Phantoka's 4 [discounting the socket change]). However, I feel the Helicopter shield just doesn't replace the Fireswords we've loved--there's not even a hint of flame on the parts. Infact, there is noting on this set that specifies him as being a Fire Being. On the flip side, if the parts that can be silver are silver, we now get a whole bunch of new parts that are great for MOCists. Not only that but the Parts that are new molds prove to be quite useful. I can think of several things the red fins can be used for--especially in Miro-Bionicle MOCs--or even some System MOCs. However, like I said above, where these new parts are on Tahu, they don't fit. The jets in his armpits really does not work--would you like to have stuff poking out of your sides? As well as the back lower-leg claw things... it just doesn't seem to work. Ah, but I digress. Tahu uses most of his parts in a good way--the limbs, hands and feet. The Blaster is nice. (However, the Piraka torso should be flipped). In total Tahu seems to be a so-so set. There are some good things I like, and some things I really don't like. I probably will get him though... just 'cuse... I'll do another set some other time--probably Gali next... Before I go though, I really, really like the white&red Makuta... I'm thinking of getting 1 million of him and decorating the whole town with him everywhere. (Yay for Hyperbole!) //.Tek

Ah, the site that resells LEGO is very useful for collecting... (Unfortunately that link is not allowed here... but I hope you know what I mean. . .) I actually completed my sets (And got quite a few "Rare" Kanohi) there... That reminds me... I need to finish off my Noble mask display and photograph 'em. . . Cool stuff though '01 Kanohi Rule. //.Tek

In order? Tanma, Photok, Lewa, Phoatu, Inika, Mutran&Vican, Antroz, Raidiek, and Kirop. I do actually hope to finish off the collection this time =P //.Tek

....But I really don't have time too. . . //.Tek

I have as much of the brawl soundtrack as I can get xP Yeah, I can't wait =D

I win. =P //.Tek

Yeah... quote from Super Paper Mario there. . . Welst, I've been rather busy as of late.... I've been downloading videogame tunes from a site I found.... I have all the tracks from Zelda, Zelda 2, Zelda: ALttP, and Zelda: TP, (OoT is coming today, as well as MM and maybe a few GB Games). I also got Mario 1, 2, and 3..... Yeah.. this is over 200 songs sofar.... and I've had to download them one by one. . . So yeah, That's where I've been //.Tek

...Wait?! You mean that you can't be in a marching band playing Piano? My dreams are broken!!!! *Runs off to Sob* //.Tek

I was Wondering the same thing. . . =P

(I've been waiting to use that Emote...) Want some Pain... go Here Most of it is just terribly sad... occasionally you'll get a gem.. yeah... By the way.. if you think I'm referring to you--just think of your self as one of the Gems... I'm not picking on anyone in particular (Nor should anyone who desires to comment here....) //.Tek

Well... I don't really know If I hate you or not... I just visit your blog and comment on it every now and then... maybe I read some of your posts... but we haven't come in contact with each other much more than that... so I don't Know =P //.Tek

Ah, Cool. That's the same reason I started Latin... Greek on the other hand I plan to take in Collage.... Cool Stuff //.Tek

Hmm. Why is it that you take Greek? Just curious =P

Ah well, continuing on with the Reviews, Today's pick is Photok. Bofore I get to the set I'd like to address one slight issue: The issue of Orange. Why on earth (no elemental pun intended) would the stone characters be orange? Well, in my mind the answer is really quite simple. It's a lighter, flashier brown. Admittedly I've always liked the Red-Orange color combo for the Fire Beings, but for LEGO's goal of making the stone sets sell better orange works just fine as a replacement of brown. And with that, on with the review... Outer Appearance Obviously this is an important feature; The Box is what people see in the store before they buy anything. A plain paper box won't do. As mentioned in my last review: the Matoran Boxes are still awesome. I really like Photok's though in it's color. This orange one was the one that I saw first in the Toys 'R Us--it's what drew my attention to the shelf of Phantoka sets. I say the mix of bright colors and dramatic pictures does it's job. On the front cover, there is a picture of Photok (it's slightly less dramatic than Tanma's, but it works) and on the back it shows how Photok can clip onto Pohatu's back. Pretty much everything I said about Tanma's box can also go with Photok's. Inner Contents Of course, no one would buy just the box--it's what's inside that really counts...Or does it? Again, these Matoran sets only come with 14 parts--Photok's parts are almost identical to Tanma's except for the colors and a few parts. You really got to love the orange on this guy though. Quite simply, the Orange Feet alone are worth the whole set. Unlike my Review on Tanma, I'd like to point out a few of the new parts. The head is an interesting piece. At first glance it's hard to tell what it is or even how to use it. There is a socket at the base and two plus rod connections (One at the "Mouth" and another at the back of the head). The fact that the part is all one color (Unlike past heads), and that that color is transparent, makes it hard to distinguish the features such as the eyes. However, for these Av-toran I think it works well (However, I must agree with ToM and say that they should have been yellow... TNGreen does not work with Photok's orange...) (Sorry for the blurry Pic, but it's all I have...) Next up is the much anticipated Sockets. The new sockets are a decent enough switch. They are noticeably different than the old and that may cause MOCing problems. However, I assume that in time there will be enough to work with. I will say, these joints are stronger then the old--two on my Hahli Mahri's broke the first day I got her (Yes, the single sockets...). So it's a good switch if it saves the parts from breaking. The next parts I'd like to take a look at are the torsos--both Tanma's and Photok's. As you can see from the picture above they are noticeably different. On both torsos the shoulders are one stud back from where the hips are. Tanma has the more equally proportioned torso with the Shoulders being below the neck. Photok, however, has shoulders that are above his neck. His neck is also lowered slightly--all this gives him a slightly hunchbacked appearance. Both Torsos have a + of one axle connector in the middle surrounded by pin holes, this is to connect to the Toa (Or Makuta), still is makes it customizable--and I can't wait to see what MOCers come up with using this piece. Finally, the Kanohi. Again, I'm comfortable calling this a Kanohi mask--it has almost the exact feel of the original Kanohi (Trust me, I know--I have the full set of 73 '01 Kanohi). It's a little longer than any mask we've seen thusfar, yet I believe that is due to the length of the new head piece. I love the look of this mask, it's smooth, yet detailed. Quite simply, it's Nice. Building Process Half the fun is putting sets together--"Oh, no that piece goes over one more stud." "Someone! I can't find the last Part!" The building process is what LEGO is all about. "Ah-Ha! that's what that's used for!" You can see the back and the front of the instructions there. Same as Tanma, Photok is built in 4 steps: Head and jetpack, limbs, hands and feet, and mask and tools. Yup it's pretty basic here. Read what I said about Tanma, because it's the same feeling here... Finished Product Now that it's all built it's ready for display...or play, your pick. Still how do all the parts in this set work together to make this an Awesome..or Not-So-Awesome set? Photok is a little more difficult then Tanma to pose; that is because Photok uses the 90º bent limbs for his legs and the 135º bend for his arms (Personally I like Tanma's proportions better). Due to the Torso and the legs, Photok is hunchbacked and hunched over, but I guess this is alright for a "Stone" type Matoran. Still, if you figure out the limits there is quite a range of poses here. Just like Tanma, Photok has the same 9 points of articulation. And in the same way as most recent sets He is very much an action figure. Closing Remarks So, How does everything add up? Should you buy the set or pass it over? Is it all really worth it? So, should you get Him? I say yes. Here's the Rundown-- Pros Orange feetAwesome KanohiCan Combine with Pohatu The New PartsConsHunchbacked and shortOnly 14 partsLimbs are hard to get used toGet Tanma before you get Photok (Unless you really want the Orange parts). But if you have some extra money got for Photok. And now, after nearly a week of (on and off) writing this is the end of the review. I shall leave you with a Picture of the two Matoran I own--Enjoy! Gallery //.Tek

The spoofs were indeed awesome xP Have you gotten Dashel yet?

I love writing. Virtually every thing I do pertains to writing in some way; on the Internet I write posts on forums (and Blogs like this). If I read a Book I write a review (and that is why I don't read much)--I'm always critically analyzing stuff... Yes, even LEGO sets. So, with out further adieu, I present to you My Review of Tanma... as well as my own review format. Outer Appearance Obviously this is an important feature; The Box is what people see in the store before they buy anything. A plain paper box won't do. Let me just say this up front: I love the new Matoran Boxes. They are my favorite small set box in the whole line of Bionicle. The plastic top and bottom are really cool, and I think it adds alot of attraction to these sets. (Just a quick note--All the thumbnails in this review are clickable) I've already mentioned the plastic lids, so onto the rest of the box. The front of the box sports a rather dramatic picture of Tanma--swords and all. The background isn't as detailed as other sets' have been, however I think it keeps the focus on the actual product better that way. at the very bottom of the container is the much loved LEGO trademark as well as the address to Bionicle.com. along the sides are the stats for the set: the Age Range, the Set number, and... the part count--a mere 14 parts. The Back of the Box explains that Tanma can attach to Lewa's back (Set interaction is Good), but there is not much more then that. The sides just have the Bionicle brand name. Inner Contents Of course, no one would buy just the box--it's what's inside that really counts...Or does it? After struggling to get off the white band I was finally able to open up the box--the top just slides right off. For Only 14 parts I was pleasantly surprised to see that all but the Katanas were new molds. I especially love the Legs and arms, simply because they are one of the first parts to have a socket on one end and a ball on the other (Rahkshi thighs don't count because of the multiple parts). Oh, and yes the feet are a new mold to--they run in the same vein as the new sockets. As seen above, Most parts are rather large, so you get your money's worth in plastic, still I would have liked to see more smaller parts, but that may be just me... The Kanohi, yes I said Kanohi, is the best we have seen since the Toa Metru. I find that it is more Bionicle then any of the ones in the past few years. It's nice and smooth, with out the rigid details, yet it still has enough detail to distinguish it from other masks. Quite simply: It's awesome. Building Process Half the fun is putting sets together--"Oh, no that piece goes over one more stud." "Someone! I can't find the last Part!" The building process is what LEGO is all about. "Ah-Ha! that's what that's used for!" I was a little saddened when I unfolded the instructions and found that there were only four steps to building Tanma. 1.) place Head and Booster pack on torso 2.) Pop arms and Legs on 3.) Put on hands and feet and 4.) give him his mask and swords. It was quite boring, honestly. I had him built in less then a minute. I would have liked these Matoran to at least be slightly more complicated... kinda like the Mahri Matoran. Ah, oh well. It is what it is... Finished Product Now that it's all built it's ready for display...or play, your pick. Still how do all the parts in this set work together to make this an Awesome..or Not-So-Awesome set? First off Tanma is full of poses--if you want to display him he's great for that. His limbs are a little hard to get used to seeing as they are somewhat differant than what we have had in the past (The Arms especially), but once you figure them out he fun to play around with. Tanma, as with most sets as of recent, is more of an Action figure then anything else. he has nine points of articulation (2 for each limb then the head), and quite a few features that make him quite playable. HIs mask can obviously come off, he has a pair of swords that kids can use to hack at enemies and he has what appears to be a jet-pack. All of these make this set fun to play around with. Closing Remarks So, How does everything add up? Should you buy the set or pass it over? Is it all really worth it? I'd say you should definitely get Tanma. While he's short on parts I's say all the new parts make up for it. here's a quick Rundown of everything: ProsAlmost completely filled with new partsLime PartsCan combine with LewaHas an awesome mask Cons Only 14 partsLimbs are slightly hard to get used toIn closing: Go and Get Tanma--as soon as you can. Gallery //.Tek

Ah, so much has happened recently. We had somewhat a belated Christmas Vacation, so, that's why Sunny and I have been off for the past week or so... Here's a quick splash as to what has happened since my last Blog post. Christmas (Dec. 25) --I got Super Paper Mario and a Subscription to Brick Master. (Yes, I have beat Super Paper Mario) My Birthday (Dec. 31) --I'm Now an official AFoL! (AKA: I turned 18) ---I got an iPod, Brain Age 2 (For my DS) a Wii Nunchuck, duck tape, and a few other things We Left on our Trip (Jan. 3) --My dad was asked to do a wedding about 10 hours away, so we packed up and left to get there for the rehersal and then the wedding that happened later on that week. Wedding Rehearsal (Jan. 4th)The Actual Wedding (Jan 5th) --It was awesome, very God Honoring, as it was supposed to be, and very fun as well. During the Reception, I found a few people I knew. It was quite Fun. Oh, and when the Bride and Groom left the Brother of the groom and a bunch of other guys Silly String'd the couple--the Groom was totally covered. It was awesome. 6 cans of silly string on one guy... Met Up with Some Old Friends (Jan. 6) --After the Sunday Service (We stayed and went to the Church the wedding was in), we met up with the parents of some friends of ours. We were Missionaries in Germany at the same time these people were missionaries in Germany, and we knew them quite well. Anyway, the parents told us that after leaving Germany the family had moved just an hour or so away from where we were. So off we went to visit them. After the visit we went back to the hotel where I beat Super Paper Mario. Went to the Creation Museum! (Jan. 7) --About 4 years ago, we toured the Creation Museum while it was still under construction. Now, it's been open for about 1/2 a year. It was quite awesome. It really was. If you ever get a chance I suggest you go. Oh, and after that night we went to a Toys 'R' Us, and I picked up Lewa, Pohatu, Tanma, Photok, and Ignika. Yeah, cool stuff. We Went to the Creation Museum--again! (Jan. 8) Yeah, we went to the Museum again--this time we did some things we hadn't done yet--and we toured the Staff areas--due to some connections we have. Yeah, It was awesome to see some sneak peaks and stuff. After we finished everthign there we were back on the road--headed for home. (Oh, and we stopped by a target on the way and my little Bros bought a bunch of LEGO stuff.) We stopped by our Cousins' (Jan. 9) --We arrived at our Cousins' Church/School in the mid-afternoon, it was cool to see where their new ministry is and to get a tour of their Church. After that we went to their house, they have an awesome house with a great view. it was fun seeing them again. We got home (Jan. 10) --Well, I guess it was technically last night we arrived... but it was after 12 AM so, yeah it was today. After we got home and got Aslan (our Dog) and unloaded our Van we all settled in for a good night's rest. Seriously there is nothing so nice as to resting after a week-long road trip. It was fun and all, but I'm glad to be back. this morning, we've all been building LEGO. Sooner or later I'll get to writing a few reviews of some of the sets I got. We'll see... But for now I'm just relaxing... END OF CHAPTER And so ended this section of Tek's journey. "Boy that sure was Fun," Sunny remarked as the two laid back on the couches. Tek just nodded and was soon asleep with all kinds of thoughts floating around in his head as to what's coming next adventure... Eh... Heh, too much Paper Mario? //.Tek

Merry Christmas Omi!