Toa Hovoki Zehvor

I accidentally posted this on my secondary account 🤦‍♂️

As far as games go, I think Junkbot has to be right up there with MNOG (blasphemy, I know) and I found the Alpha Team ice world game to be very fun and underrated. I definitely put a lot of hours into the adventurers game, and I have fond memories of the Knights Kingdom II games as well. 

Other than games, I always loved when a theme home page had a characters section that you could surf around, learning things about all the different characters present in those themes. It's a shame Lego has so few story-driven themes these days so there's less character exploring to be had. 

9 hours ago, Aderia said:

https://biosector01.com/wiki/The_Rebuilding

I think you answered your own question. This page on BS01 states that Matoran have the ability to rebuild parts of themselves. I think it's totally canonically plausible that Nuparu, because he is a very talented engineer, can modify his extremities for things like piloting a Boxor, then modify himself back again pretty easily. I'd say you don't need an 'official expansion of the lore' for his character to make this work in your head because 'the official lore' kind of already covers this. We just have to take it and run with it as the fans. 

Nuparu modding his hands is big-time headcanon now, love it! 

Hahli Mahri was the first sign of things to come for me, I haven't heard of anyone having trouble with 2005 joints.

2 hours ago, Lorentz said:

Tell me more how you relate to the personification of the Ignika.

I would say the themes of directly modelling oneself after people you look up to and trying to do what you believe is right while stumbling along the way despite your good intentions (the misplaced and misguided anger and confusion Ignika felt after Mutran tricked the Nuva into attacking it). 

A lot of the time I feel as inexperienced as a living being as Ignika probably did, and I admire how despite this inexperience Ignika forges forward. The concept of Ignika's consciousness also implies loneliness and I get choked up at Ignika giving up the existence it so wanted to experience for the good of all.

I also feel like I have kind of a similar relationship with gender to Ignika, which is rare when the story is usually so gender binary.

To my surprise, Toa Ignika has been developing into one of my favourite and most relatable characters as I've been reading more about Bionicle. For that reason, '08 has been becoming more important for me lately. 

As the fall season commences, I'm always looking for ways to feel frightened. This did the trick. Great work!

I don't have a source for this, so take this with a grain of salt, but I think I remember reading at one point that there are active BZP members who remember the username of the creator, but the creator had disappeared from BZP long ago. 

I remember those days though. I fell for it hook, line and sinker. Back then I was constantly looking for new toy fair pictures and rumours of new Bionicle products, and Voriki seemed like a godsend with his awesome purple colour scheme and very convincing (at least to me at the time) new pieces. I stuck to the belief of his authenticity way longer than I should have, and honestly I wish I still believed. 

Good luck with the doc! I hope someone is able to help you better than I could, and I hope to see your documentary in the future!

When coming up with a name for my personal Bionicle universe character in the mid-2000's, I decided to try combining some of my favourite Bionicle names and terms in order to create a name that sounded authentic. I ended up settling on a combination of the Kanohi Hau  and Avohkii: Hovoki! Not long after that, my parents finally allowed me to create a BZP account after years of lurking, and I began posting and making friends in the hugely popular The Bionicles Try to Run a House comedy written by MT Zehvor. I was graciously welcomed in by the members of MT's Toa team, the Zehvor, where we adventured through the worlds of comedy and BZPower! 

And that's how I became Toa Hovoki Zehvor! Lately I've been thinking about changing the spelling to Hovokii, but I feel like I have to earn my little naming day ceremony so maybe I'll do it when I've contributed something really cool to the community!

I'm looking forward to hearing all of your username stories!

19 hours ago, TuragaNuva said:

I never found the Rahkshi heads too bad (you can always push an axle through the hole in the top). The Mata eyestalks are tough, but I've found that a butter knife works great for removing them.

The worst, in my opinion, is removing the second liftarm from inside the Rahaga heads. I ended up building a tool specifically for that, and even then it's tricky.

How does your Rahaga remover tool work? I think my success rate for removing the second liftarm has been no higher than 5%, I always give up and my Rahkshi/Rahaga head part compartment is littered with heads still attached to that liftarm. 

Does this imply the existence of lime and orange Muaka and Kane-Ra prototypes?

Wow though, these are gorgeous. Something about Mata red with trans-blue (which I can't recall seeing before) seems to work very well here.

A very interesting and unique part of Bionicle history to be sure, thank you for sharing a cool look behind such a prominent set!

I personally have always considered it canon (if only just for me) that Matoran of all genders make up every elemental group! 

I think just about every Bionicle fan I've spoken to learned lessons about being unique and accepting + being proud of themselves from their time enjoying the theme, but unfortunately the gender balance of the Matoran Universe characters was something that was really lacking in that regard. Bionicle is best when everyone feels at home and can see themselves represented in the story we love.

I'd like to think that in a Bionicle G3, characters of all genders would be present in most factions.

I think Bionicle fans are very lucky in that we don't have any truly bad years to pick on. I think That Matoran with a Vahi's point about flashback fatigue is probably the biggest reason why 2005 failed to gain the traction that some other years enjoyed, thus meaning it isn't always looked back on as the greatest year. That being said, perhaps our time away from the characters established from 2001-2003 helped make their 2006 return feel more triumphant and truly needed, helping the story and theme overall springboard into the Ignition trilogy's success?

I've been really happy to see Web of Shadows get some love on Twitter over the last few months, as I feel it truly deserves it. While Vakama's turn can appear rushed, the themes of a leader corrupting under the pressure to do the right thing were always very interesting to me and seeing Vakama redeemed and accepted back by his team was something I loved to see and still take a lot of meaning in today.

Set-wise, while I currently have a great appreciation for everything 2005 had to offer, I remember being disappointed by the lack of true Kanohi masks for the Toa Hordika. I was pretty young at the time, and I think the head builds / face aesthetic of the Hordika may have alienated some of the younger fans, but not too badly.

The Toa Hagah will forever be some of my favourite sets in Bionicle history, and I still can't wait to get my hands on Keetongu. 

I hope this post prompts a lot of discussion! 2005 may not be the most popular year, but there's no denying that it had a lot of depth and content to discuss even now, 16 years later!

A smash-style game with characters from Bionicle, Hero Factory, Ninjago, Monkie Kid, Power Miners, Mars Mission, Nexo Knights, Alpha Team / Agents, Knights Kingdom, Exo-Force, Adventurers, Hidden Side, and other Lego IP's would be such a dream to play, I personally would probably main Hikaru's stealth hunter from Exo-Force!

Some characters from across the themes I think would make great playable characters in a game like this:

Bionicle: 6 Toa Nuva, Tahnok, Teridax, Lerahk, Takanuva, 6 Toa Metru, Brutaka, Axonn, 6 Toa Inika, 6 Piraka, Vezon

MK from Monkie Kid, Wu and the Ninja from Ninjago, Witch Doctor and Von Nebula from HF, rock monsters from Power Miners, aliens from Mars Mission, the knights and Jestro from Nexo Knights, Ogel from Alpha Team, the knights, Vladek and the king from Knights Kingdom, honestly anything from Exo-Force, Johnny Thunder from Adventurers, and so many others I'm forgetting / not familiar with.

This was a cool concept to think about, thank you for the discussion prompt!

As if Bionicle could get any cooler!  Great job, I think Nuparu Inika has some competition for most punk rock looking Bionicle!

I switch the mask out for a fake. Not a good enough fake to completely fool you, but good enough to buy me a minute to escape.

The mask is mine!

Sarda 

These are so awesome! I've always wanted to be friends with so many of these characters, but these designs make me wish I knew them more than ever (if that makes any sense). I love the little details like Kapura's cloud, Takua and Onepu's Ussals, Hafu's creation, etc! These are so cool and such a fresh take. I kind of want to wear some Mata weapons on a carabiner like Wairuha now! 

I'm not sure who made it, but I remember laughing really hard at one that said 

"What's Nuhvok-Kal's favourite song?"

"Gravity hurts!"

I really liked keeping them when they were story-relevant, like the Toa Mata, Bohrok and Toa Metru. I thought the Metru lid Matoran sphere function was especially cool and creative. 

57 minutes ago, Mukaukau Nuva said:

I've kept most of mine. The only exceptions (& I can't think of any specific ones now) are the Mahri & Phantoka 'canisters' that fail to serve as proper storage space. Frankly, I don't know how you could 'keep' those, given you basically have to destroy them to get them open. 

Ditto for the Av Matoran & Agori 'canisters.' I tried to keep them, but the cardboard bent out of shape anyway and rendered them unusable. 

I agree with Mukaukau Nuva, the Mahri and Phantoka canisters were/are kind of unfortunate. I still have some but they don't hold up as display pieces very well simply due to the material and/or design. 

Regardless of whether they're kept or not, I definitely loved the look and feel of canisters when the set was brand-new. I hope if there is a third generation of Bionicle sets, they can figure out an easily recyclable or biodegradable canister material.

My Grandmother gifted my five Bohrok for my fifth birthday, but the first Bionicle I was able to buy with Money I had earned was Radiak in 2008! I think I then bought a few other '08 sets at the time, but that was it for the original retail run. I then came out of my first dark age by buying the 2016 Uniter Kopaka (I didn't know Bionicle was back until it was almost too late, but that's another topic in itself) and then I purchased my childhood white whale in the beautiful Axalara T9.

On 5/11/2021 at 10:11 PM, Mukaukau Nuva said:

2001 & 2002 felt like ancient history to me at the time, so going back then to grab obscure stuff, like the Power Pack or random Kanohi packs would be right up my alley. I totally missed the collectables, & unlike the sets of that era, it's hard to 're-create' the experience by just re-building an old set. You'd have to actually open rogue Kanohi packs that managed to survive unopened for 20 years, but that feels flat-out irresponsible given how few sealed ones are left. 

Plus the chance of grabbing Muaka & Kane-Ra is just too good to pass up. 

Seconded! My rational answer is '01. I still don't have most of the Rahi and it will be EXTREMELY hard to find them without spending a mint going forward here. Additionally, I just know I'd have an amazing time collecting masks. If Bionicle ever does come back as a Lego line in some form I hope there will be some element of collectibility. Another reason to go back to '01 would be to fulfill my lifelong dream of assembling an army of mctoran (and enjoy some nuggets and apple slices while I'm at it). I'd also definitely do whatever I could to get my past self on the proto-squad. I'm still a little fuzzy about how that worked to be honest. 

I'd also consider going back and joining the hunt for a sterling silver Krana-Kal (anyone selling?), but I kind of feel like I'd just work myself into a frenzy and never find one so maybe it's for the best I wasn't aware of those until much later.

My nostalgic answer is '06. I have all the sets so it doesn't make a ton of logical sense, but I would go right to my Bionicle happy place: the Lego aisle at Zellers (if you know, you know). Picking up those canisters, looking at the different Zamor colours, testing the Inika swords and the Piraka eyes, copying down the Kanoka Club codes on my notepad, looking longingly at Brutaka (who I wouldn't acquire for another 15 years)... it was just a special time for me as a Bionicle fan. Plus, I could pick up a ton of Exo-Force and classic Star Wars sets!

EDIT: Wow, I just became a Tohunga! Cool stuff  

I recently bought some used Bionicle sets and their canisters smell quite smokey. Soap and water helped a little bit, but the smell definitely still lingers. Does anyone have experience with this sort of thing and have any solutions / tips they could share?

Thanks!

I know the shift in tone definitely wasn't for some, but I look back on the launch of the Ignition comics as something that really drew me back in after I had felt confused with the story at times in 2005. That comic cover with Thok emerging from a canister was shocking in such an exciting way for me and I think that's really when I went from a fan of the toys to a true fan of the line. Stuart Sayger's work on those comics still represents some of my favourite Bionicle visuals and I actually hope to have an Ignition-style tattoo of some form in the not-too-distant future! 

I had a chuckle at the article describing the '01 sets as "futuristic-looking". I remember feeling like the Bohrok were the most space-age toys imaginable when I first had my parents help me build them in '03, and then being awestruck every year thereafter after as each wave seemed to top the last! 

11 hours ago, Max Nui said:

I was browsing the interwebs today and found this article about the early days of Bionicle: https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/2001/08/19/lego-plots-a-comeback/8b0fdf1f-534b-4996-8429-b45ac055d9d6/

Its a fascinating read, as it was written before many of the sets were released. Really gives you a perspective on how the theme was viewed externally.

Thanks for finding and posting this, it really does add an important perspective that gets lost sometimes: that Bionicle truly was a phenomenon that was hard not to take notice of.