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I should probably make it clear that I do not intend to start ranting about 2006 in general. I intend not to make the slightest comment about the storyline or to particularly critiscise the sets. So what on earth do I plan to talk about? Well the answer is two-fold. Firstly, there are the Piraka torsos. Secondly, the Inika torsos. When I first saw them, I was quite excited by the idea. They took Bionicle in a whole new direction - one that easily allowed poseability. It opened up numerous doorways and was a good step forward. Unfortunately, the set designers appear to have become complacant and refuse to budge from their current position. I'm sure I'm not alone in noticing just how much the torso pieces are cropping up. This screams 'dull' to me in a thousand different ways. Up until that point, almost every canister set had tried to be different. Noteable exceptions are the Nuva and the Kal, and the Kal certainly proved to be a huge mistake. The situation now is also slightly different, as it is not a line that's being cloned but an individual set. The Mahri and the New Nuva do, for the most part, copy previous styles to such an extent that, weapons and masks aside, you could practically build them yourself. Obviously pieces might not exist in those particular colours, but between an old piece in a new colour and a completely new piece I'd say the latter is much more interesting. Now I'm not saying every set should have completely new pieces for everything either. A certain amount of copying from previous sets is inevitable, not least to address the clone issue. But really, does that mean no new pieces can be released? This year there has been precious little that is genuinely new. Not a single new arm or leg piece was made, and next year appears to be following here, and only one set introduced a single new body piece - Kongu Mahri. Unfortunately his proportions and colour scheme were so atrocious (there's only so many metru green and bley sets I can stand) it almost negated this fact entirely. As much as I like humanoid sets, some originality in their construction wouldn't go amiss. I cannot bear building exactly the same set over and over and over again with every purchase, and steadfastly refuse to buy any canister set unless there's something worth buying it for. Infact, this goes for all sets, hence my only purchase this year being Maxilos (maybe I should consider Mantax - only Barraki with an interesting non-stick design). Next year's evil Phantoka sets show promise. I'd need to look more closely, but they appear to have something new in terms of body design. Definitely need to check up on that. I strongly suspect I've missed my own point somewhere along the line, but ah well. The odd rant's always fun, and my opportunities for them are so few!
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I just read the Bioniclestory updates and upaon hearing Itd I've suddenly become afraid of the Ignika. Dont know why? read the updates.Lets just hope that mask doesn't go black. *Yami*
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So I have a WIP up my sleeve... well it's out now, but I've been holding back on it for awhile. Mainly for the reason of being distracted by other contest and ideas along the way. *She* actually has a tail now, and has been updated more, with major added details, but the bad weather has left me without pictures.... I leave you with this Pic for now.... can anyone guess what it is? Or what it is going to be? Or what it will be in the future? Weh, to many qustions for ya. And Ballom, you know, so no cheating.
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So I was shifting around with some of my pieces and something began to appear in the shape of a well known friend.... Weird<<<<<<<<<<
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Well, today my new membership was activated, and I couldn't have been any more excited to start my Blog. It just seems more *magical* when you have your own blog... to get to the point, I have noticed that I've been here for about 4 years, yet few people know me.... so, this is the perfect chance for people to get to know me! Just like youv'e seen in most Blogs, ask me anything you want. Don't hesitate to ask random questions. They are always welcome here. Hope to have a great year with you all!
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Now that I've built both of them, I can officially say that the two are a good contrast of a good and a bad set – both the yellow set of their groups, by an interesting coincidence... The same could be said of Mantax and Nuparu, actually, and perhaps Ehlek and Kongu, though which of the latter pair is the good one is bound to vary from person to person. :: Carapar :: His color scheme is not perfect, but it's still far better organized than Hewkii's. The biggest problem with it is that the pure yellow-orange always attracts attention to itself, and the waist and extremities are not where one wants attention to be drawn straightaway. Though the hips are the only really odd area. There's also the fact that his Inika torso is black, while nothing else in him is. But that's only really a problem from the back, since from the front it works perfectly with his chest armor. Oh, that armor. I love it. Thigh/shoulder pads included – great shape, and the color is much nicer in real life than a lot of pictures have shown. The blend with transparent dark grey is great... It would work better if he had old dark grey instead of the bluish kind, or, since that's not possible, iron grey, but the combination isn't bad at all. Besides, that means we get both Rahkshi feet and Inika legs in dark bluish grey. Though I wouldn't mind some more pieces in the yellow/trans-dark grey blend... His claw is a bit awkward in relaxed poses since his arm is long and claw huge, also because of the way it attaches to his hand, but it works. His biggest problem is the color stuff, really. And the squid. Excluding his one-stud-wide waist, he's nicely bulky, with all of his pieces contributing to that, and the result is swell and smooth. But then, in the same color in the latter half of the year, there's Hewkii... :: Hewkii Mahri :: Hewkii's color scheme is just horribly done. The yellow and black are distributed unevenly. On Carapar, silver was just an accent, through his mandibles and tools, but on Hewkii it's almost an accent – but then becomes a main color through his thigh armor. And then there's red splashed on top of that. Just... no. The yellow is concentrated and prominent in his upper right half, thanks to the Piraka arm, while it's obscured in his legs thanks to the thigh armor. As a consequence the black is uneven as well, again because of the yellow Piraka arm. The silver would have been nicely balanced if left to his tools, spikes, and breathing tube, but the spike ball halves upset that balance by dragging it into his main color scheme. Then you have the red Cordak stuff on his shoulders, his horn, and the axles in his left arm and legs, competing for attention with the yellow. When you throw all these together, you get something eye-searing to look at because there's little balance, contrast all over the place (not helped by the shadows within his Piraka body), and neither rhyme nore reason to the whole design. Oh, and the chains. They further increase the confusion. Not bad on their own, but when on top of everything else... If I could only change one thing, it would be to make all the red black. That still wouldn't leave the greatest color distribution ever, but with only three colors he would be far easier to look at. Fortunately, however, a revamp isn't limited to changing only one thing. Next is his build, on two levels: proportion-wise and as Hewkii. Going in reverse order, Hewkii was the powerhouse of the Inika – he doesn't need to be as bulky as Carapar, far from that, but if he just had the general robustness that, say, Jaller Mahri has, he would look adequately strong. Long, thin upper arms, short, slender legs, and a complete lack of a chest make him look scrawny. That's not a bad look in and of itself (except for the arms), and desirable underwater, but it's the opposite of strong-looking. And then he's missing his right hand! Then there are his proportions. Oh dear. Wide body, short, thin legs, and enormously long and thin arms – they do not go together. The sheer width of his mask doesn't help, either. There is a very big problem when his arms are so long they're three studs from the floor if left to hang – that means they're almost as long as his legs and body combined. Carapar doesn't suffer from this – he's evenly bulky and lacks the huge disproportionalities Hewkii has to begin with. He's also not a character expected to have human proportions... But despite all those things, he has wonderful pieces. Yellow-orange Piraka body, Piraka forearm, and black clawed Inika feet in the way of recolors are all excellent, then his various blades and the breathing tube are all nice pieces. (I love the aqua warblade, by the way.) His mask, too, has a nice shape, even if it's rather odd without the mouth attachment, and I've been wanting the spike ball halves for a while... Fortunately, there are poses where he doesn't look terrible, mostly helped by having his mask pointing downward. It really doesn't look good face-on, but from other angles it's quite nice... It's mainly his arms that make posing hard, since they're so disporportionately long... So, there you have it, the two yellow canister sets of 2007. Carapar, a very good set overall – he has those armor pieces for distinction, his unique (and mostly well-executed) color combination, and a smooth and streamlined design. Then Hewkii, who is generally terrible but saved from utter shame by his pieces. Uneven color scheme, awkward proportions, and, in contrast with the smoothness of Carapar's overall design, can be seen straight through all over the place, has an intricate "texture" in all his pieces, and is just difficult to look at. But he has nice parts. As I've said before, what made the Barraki quite good was their unique molds that tied their whole design together – Hewkii lacks such a piece, which is probably the reason what he does have doesn't work together... Though one could say his shoulder spikes fullfil that, and they are his non-mask/tool distinguishing piece, they don't fulfill the role. Expect a full revamp tomorrow or so. ~ ToM
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Bzp's Some-won Dyed!1!1! Culture, & The Killed Off Psychological Shield
bonesiii posted a blog entry in blogs_blog_39
Please note: The following will NOT spoil the identity of a Bionicle character who recently died. I wouldn't even tell you that, but it's been basically leaked past the point of no return now, but I'll hope at least somebody didn't hear who yet. So there will be no spoiler tags here today. This is an expansion on a recent post about this. And please note, I'm not trying to be offensive in any way about this -- if you feel I'm speaking to you, I apologize if my tone seems that way. I must admit I'm annoyed about this but I won't want to seem to be belittling anybody. What I'm trying to get across to someone like this is -- I think you're making a mistake. And here's why. Okay, guys, here's the deal. I was planning to finish my History of Bionicle Set Gimmicks entry for this one, but something else has come up in response to the latest comic in which a character died (not Mata Nui; he was already dead). If you heard the news, you know who I mean, but please don't say it without spoiler tags. This blog entry is about one -- no, two -- of my main Pet Peeves. *Product Placement Alert! * It's the "Dumbledore dies!" culture. "Someone Dies!" I've noticed this trend growing both on BZP and off it for a long time now. You know me -- I watch S&T as much as I can. Lately that's maybe not as much as I'd like, but I'm reading at least half the topics, I'm watching the topic titles, I'm getting the gist of what's going on in discussion. When a Bionicle character dies, we get this "Lhikan dies!" proclamation everytime. I've seen it getting more and more feverish as time has gone on, to the point that people seem to leapfrog over each other in a mad dash to be the one that posts the topic first. Now, I'm a moderator of S&T, a guy who eats up spoilers as much as I can when I'm "on-duty". I expect to run into spoilers like this, because I'm often the guy who has to remove/spoilertag them. But this time, I'm taking a break from my moderating duties for the most part due to college, so I'm not reading reports right now, I'm not trying to stay up on all the spoilers, and during this time I'm trying to feel what it's like to be a "normal" fan again. As I speak, this comic has not reached my mailbox. And yet I have known for days what happens on one certain page of it. "[Censored] dies!1!!!!!1!" There's something wrong here. If it wasn't in the fifteen or so posts I saw in one day trumpeting the death of this character whether I wanted to know or not, it was in the banners that put an image of the character right in front of my eyes as I'm just trying to help approve some posts or look for some question I can help answer, etc. with something like "RIP" on it. Come on! Do you guys really think people can't figure out that means they died? Translation: Use spoiler tags. What is Wrong With This But it's a lot worse than just spoiling things -- it ignores what this is really supposed to be. A story. Life in fiction. This matters to someone like me, an aspiring author who wants to write serious fiction, even if it is for entertainment. In stories and in life, people die sometimes. In both, they smile sometimes too. Where are the "OHMYGOSH DUMBLEDORE SMILES ON PAGE 107!11!" people? Most of the responses aren't that extreme -- many are just about whether it bothered you or not, but it's the same thing, isn't it? It seems odd, and somewhat disturbing, to single out death as the thing to object to, or say you don't object to -- it wasn't about that. Now, I know, smiling isn't as sensational as a death, but what is a story about? It's not about whether the hero lives or dies, but about the hero as a character, as a person. It's about who they are. It's not about doing something that "bothers" you as a reader or not. It's about telling a story; it's about a "who". This character's "character", if you will, is now crystal clear. But only if you read the story. You don't get it from the "Heshe died!" topics or the "RIP, [Censored Identity]" banners. Just seems like a slap in the face to the author. Memorialize the character? Great! That's taking it seriously. Make banners? Fine -- as long as you wait a long time before making them. Memorialize them in spoiler tags. Not topic titles. Fine -- that is taking the author's writing seriously. That is a compliment to the author and it takes herhis character seriously. Emotions getting tangled up in this? I understand that perfectly. When a character you really liked dies, that's a strong emotional connection that you feel has been cut. I know several people that actually cry when they read a book with a character death. That's a healthy response -- if your grandmother died, you shouldn't go "Eh, doesn't bother me." I'm just saying, you wouldn't go "Grandma dies!!1!11!" either. The character's death is just as important as the moment where this character smiles at a joke one of the other characters just told. It deserved the same respect, IMO. "Killed Off" A related pet peeve -- when a character dies, we say they were "killed off". As in, by the author. Guys -- if your grandmother dies, do you go "Eh, she was killed off."? I know it's a popular cliche in our culture, and it's a psychological shield to avoid pain of death. But if you did it in real life, it would be disrespectful to her memory. It's almost to the point where an author of a series can't even have a story that involves death if they want to touch on serious themes. Good authors do it anyways, so I'm very glad Greg did this -- but it's still a disturbing phenomena among some readers/viewers/fans. I can almost -- aaaaaalmost understand it with a TV show with live actors. Generally they die in the story because the actor wanted off. But not always, and to just brush all TV live action death aside as "Killed Off" is demeaning to the writers, IMO. But this isn't TV, and these aren't actors. Nobody's contract ran out. There's no such excuse to pretend this was done just to get rid of a character. And even if it was an actor who wanted out -- why should that belittle the story being told? Why could we still not say "they died", and treat it with respect just like any other reason? Not all death is random and unscheduled, after all -- sometimes it's cancer that is known ahead of time to probably be lethal at a certain time range, or the like. That's a very comparable situation, except it's real instead of fictional. What I'm NOT Saying Now, again, I understand this is fiction, and entertainment. I'm not saying you guys should bawl your eyes out over this. Honestly, I wasn't that affected by it even after I saw scans of the page in question (though I haven't yet seen the whole comic). What I'm saying is, let's treat this storyline event with the same respect we would show for any other moment in the Bionicle storyline. And I'm not saying there's anything wrong with giving death a unique notice, with the proper delay in discussion to avoid spoiling it for someone else. I am exaggerating about the smile thing. A little. I'm saying, why be so feverish about it? I'm not saying I had anything against Greg announcing Mata Nui was going to die. Heck, if you scroll down in the Bones Blog far enough, you might find a joke about that. I'm also not saying there's anything wrong with memorial banners, or wishing the death hadn't been used in the story, or wishing the character could come back. All of that can be done respectfully, so there's nothing wrong with those things by themselves. Nor am I making fun of poor spelling. I just think this needs to be emphasized. In Other News Gimmicks entry coming soon, and don't forget the Pet Peeve Contest is open till November 29. Other news: My old bonesiii_topics website has been spiffed up a little to cut that hugo intro paragraph down and add contact info. (Plus the latest two topics.) That contact info is also now in the bones blog -- and you may notice my AIM name is now revealed there too. If you wanna talk to me that way (and for some strange reason I'm actually online), please feel free. And if you missed this topic of mine: Post Counts Are Not What Count, check it out, because it was almost a blog entry at one point in planning. -
...who likes Bionicle in my School. Two of my friends like Bionicle, but one has really no use for them but wants to know the story. He might be selling some of his to me! I'm even gonna' start tutouring him in the Bionicle story tomorrow.
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I found the pieces there were missing from my collection...well, most of them. I was looking for a missing Cordak rocket I shot at my computer chair in the shelf behind it. After removing the books I found a basket that used to be on the computer's desk. I thought the Bionicle pieces had been taken out of it and basket put away ages ago. But apparently only the latter was done. So yeah, I welcomed back my Zaktan foot, Jaller Inika thigh armor, Vakama lower arm, and three red pieces from Sidorak. They're on the sets now, but I know the pieces because I'd been puzzling over their disappearance since BBCC39 (which explains their colors). Cordak was retrieved as well, BTW.
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So, I got my Lego Magazine, not much, but I have it, I haven't gotten them since we moved >_< And the bionicle comic, well, matoro dies, so I'm gonna make a sure-fire guess that it'll affect sales. Now, on a note of life, Its almost '08! Wow, this year went by fast, and, I'm almost 14 (yay me), if your Mormon, you can probably guess why. And, I want to say something to you rating lower-ees, 2 stars, that's pathetic, and, that being said, so are you.
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If you know much about the four fundamental forces, could you PM me? PS: What were the previous two entries about?
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The IAIA wishes to inform you that according to Adventurer's clock, BIONICLE 2007 is over and BIONICLE 2008 will be starting soon. That is all.
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I'm considering buying some Mars Mission stuff, are they any good?
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I has a new Titan! View it. Now. :angry:
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I will now bring you my thoughts on the little evils of 2008. The first thing of notice which I failed to look up on the first part of this extended review was the price. I noted that the amount of new pieces wasn't ordinary for those types of sets. I was wrong. These sets will be (according to the links we received) selling for 6.99 Euro. Sure, that'd be a good price if it was in USD, but it's in Euro. And it converts to $10.1495 USD. To save me from doing this in parts 3 and 4, that makes the larger sets (Phantoka and Nuva) $14.5055 USD. And finally, Toa Ignika will be $26.1215 USD. It seems the usual USD prices are now the Euro prices. Our $6.99 boxed sets are now 6.99 Euro. Our $10 canisters are now ten Euro. Ah well. Hey, it looks like age went down to six but still won't go above 16. These sets show the boxes and box graphics rather than pictures of the set, so we don't get to see as much detail of these as we did with the Matoran. The box design on Radiak immediately made me think of a volcano-type box often uses on those little packs of dinosaurs. I wonder if both the top and bottom come off or just one of them. Radiak (red): Looks like we get more of Tanma's arm pieces with this one. The piece is alright so I won't complain. They're just small sets anyway. This amount of new pieces is usually...unusual. Four more of the slightly changed hand pieces and--surprise--they included more Takanuva staffs. This shocks me. The pieces is hardly ever used. The four-legged design is interesting, though not usual for intelligent beings, which these would appear to me. I suppose it's time we broke away from the humanoids being intelligent. Can't see much of the body, except that it is a grey-ish color, in contrast to the other pieces' color except the hands. The head is...interesting. Reminds me of something previously used, but I can't tell what except possibly Hakaan. Kinda cool, though. Gavla: (blue): Carapar's weapons are way big on (I hope) her. But being almost longer than Gavla's height gives a sort of cool effect. Can't tell what the arms are but the legs have been used on the previous three sets I talked about. I think they're Tanma's arms again, but I'm not really sure at this size and angle. Ah! The arms are Photok's legs. Um...wow. Are those what I think they are? Two-toed Piraka claws? Very strange. I think they clash as well. Body appears similar to the others'. Mask is interesting, new. Somewhat looks as if they tried to make it stream-like. Again, I wonder if those eyes are really there. With the Kongu Mahri piece, eyes can be put in without limiting posability. Kirop (Uh...white? Black?): Photok arms and Tanma/Solek legs! Wonderful. Photok's arms are the best I've seen so far and I'm glad they're on this set. Well, like everyone else, I like this one the best. The body is similar, but on this one we have little funny-looking wings. And Matoro's twin cutters are the weapons, which work nicely. The head is great and the eyes might possibly be the studs, sideways this time, used on the Barraki. The color scheme her is good as well. Next: Toa Nunuva
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I had heard they break easily, so when I got Hahli, and later Lesovikk, I was careful when putting them together. Nothing went crack. I was also careful not to remove the joints after that. Until one day. Without thinking, I had Carapar cut Hahli's head off. After the battle, I realized with dread what I had done. I took the Faxon-wearing head in one hand, and Hahli's body in the other. When trying to connect the two, my hand slipped because I was putting the pressure in the wrong place or something. It was the sort of slipping action that usually precedes the breaking of a joint. But this was no ordinary break through the thin part of the join like usual. This had cracked in the middle of the hand piece's curve, and the crack continued all the way through one of the sideways + holes. Hahli's head was basically limp, as opposed to the slight looseness of the other sort of breaks. A replacement was needed. So, knowing the danger, I took off the hand that Lesovikk doesn't need to use and replaced it with Hahli's neck. When I put Hahli's head in her new neck, it was discovered cracked in the same way, though I felt none of the pressure or slipping. I didn't even hear breaking. Hahli's permanently decapitated until I can come up with a replacement. Maybe grab a dark blue piece from her MOLtoran or Gaaki.
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Meh. Everyone does it, but that's only expected. Everyone has an opinion and these are a major revelation, so it's natural that everyone would express their thoughts on new sets. And now, I make mine known, in a four-part blog entry series. Most people are doing two, but I think four works best for me. Tanma (Green Matoran): Sounds more like a Ga-Matoran name to me, but whatever. I like the mask, despite its looking like a Great Huna. At least it is new, unlike previous small sets. I wonder if those eyes are edited into the picture... These new limbs look awesome. It looks like both of Tanma's limb pieces are new. The design of a socket-to-ball piece is an interesting idea, not pulled off since the Rahkshi thigh. Something I liked about the Rahkshi thigh that isn't present here is that the socket is stuck, not an addable piece. Ah well, it's cool and at least there are + and O holes. Looks like we're taking a break off of the viking horn holes this year. I haven't seen the Toa Mata food since...oh yeah, Matoro Mahri. I noticed something different about the hand pieces. They don't have the see-through parts on the long side of the socket showing the + holes as previous sockets have. They are covered, perhaps to add sturdiness? Can't see much of the bodies, but it appears to be a 1-or-2 piece body. Solek (white): This mask is flat an awkward, IMO. Another new arm piece in this set with an interesting mechanical look, and what might appear to be a new weapon (I dunno, it might be from a Mahri, I'm not all caught up). I can't tell if those leg pieces are the same as Tanma (Green)'s or not. They may be new. I think I see a slight difference in where the shoulder ball joints are on this one, but I can't really tell with these pictures. Photok (Brorange): This mask just looks stone Matoran material. The shape is great. A similar body to the others here, but I think the shoulders are somehow broader. I dunno, it's probably angle; we'll find out more later. There arm pieces are the best non-bendables yet. They're half 7-length double socket (with the three O holes in the middle) and half Hordika leg. Wonderful. You can see here the rounded ends on the horizontal + holes (those not holding weapons) on the socket piece, like those on the + hole-to-socket pieces. Not like the square edges seen before. Not going to comment on the Chronicler's staff weapons. The legs are Tanma's arms in a new color, a piece that could prove to be quite interesting. I love the orange Mata feet. Notes: Now, note that I think people have positive reactions to these more than to the Nuva because these are not existing characters. If these sets had been Tamaru, Kopeke, and Hafu, people would have probably disliked them, complaining about how they don't look "in character" and about the color change. The point is that people aren't used to seeing these characters represented in this way, and so they get more positive comments. But people also want to see the Nuva return. The choice is hard for Lego, and I think they've done what they could to satisfy. Looks like 4-5 of those limb pieces that are new. Almost 100% new pieces. I don't know how Lego is going to afford that without these being rediculously high priced. Like, higher than the Toa Metru. Or at least Toa Mata price (which we've had before with much less new pieces than this). I certainly hope they aren't using cheaper plastics. It also seems that Lego is making battle-play more possibly at all points of the year this time, instead of starting out with 6 canister villains and 4-6 small good guys. This will make battlers happy, I should think. And it also marks the return of villain small sets, which I'll be reviewing in the next installment.
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...and it's Maxilos.
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I might be able to buy Maxilos today!
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I've saved up my money, and I'm wondering whether to buy Maxilos or a video game? Hmm...
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But I don't think you can help me to get these pieces. There are only a few people that could, and it would take a lot of time for them to do so. When I was recently MOCing I noticed there are a few pieces needed, similar to many existing, but not yet made. The pieces can be found below with text explanation and an image representation, though small. Link to image, just in case. Note that the 1.5 length O rod is already in existence.
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» Click to show Spoiler - click again to hide... «Well, here are the Makuta: Antroz, my favourite of the Makuta we've seen so far Pros: The orb in his chest looks interesting...The shoulder armour suits his mask His mask is awesome, can't wait to see what power it will have...Cons:The feet are Piraka feet. Can't really complain with all the new pieces though The overall legs look a bit bland, that is made up through his overall appearance though Vamprah's turn in the spotlight now Pros: The mask again is awesome.The same red orb looks interesting.Cons:He doesn't stand out as a set very well.Again the feet are old pieces. The vampire I mean Chirox's turn now Pros: The design looks fairly interesting The wings really suit him.Comes with the cool orbs Cons:He looks lie Mantax a bit.The wings look like they may fall off easily...The mask isn't as good as others.[*]Legs are pretty run of the mill...
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...I don't think the Nuva Phantoka are terrible as sets. They have a plethora of recolored pieces, among which are some I've been wanting since 2006 – white round Inika feet and (apparently) silver smooth Inika chest armor. Dark bluish grey Mantax feet, Piraka legs (unless they're light bluish grey, which would be wonderful, but even the leaked pictures didn't establish firmly what color they were), Inika thigh armor, Inika bodies... a dark bluish grey Kongu Mahri body construction is good in principle, but because it is absurdly disproportionate, looks no better than it did on Kongu... Lime blocky Inika chest armor is also good in principle, but a piece I have no use for. Yellow-orange Piraka thighs and clawed Inika feet are great – I still say Hewkii should have used the former. Yes, I know they look orange. We'll see what color they turn out to be; I'm just assuming yellow-orange... like how I'm assuming dark bluish grey for the white Toa's legs. As to their tools and means of flight, here I'm dragging their identities back in. I sort of like the propeller-claws on Pohatu – they're both an inventive but continuitous (... making up words here) redesign of his Nuva tools, and also a fine means of flight (I mean, he has the Miru and Kakama at his disposal – they do help in maneuvering). One I got over the initial shock and anger, I started to like them. I've already mentioned how much I hate the airplane wings. (To quote Lah, "Kopaka is not, to my knowledge, an airplane." I agree with her.) If it were up to me, I'd have given Kopaka angelic wings more similar to Hahli's – combine sword, shield, and wings, and voilà, he's an angel! On Lewa, the boosters look fine on the set, but he already had a means of flight – the alternate function for his Katana, combined with his Miru and elemental power. I do not approve of doing away with that. Well, it's not like I'm going to be paying any attention to him having this form anyway... I've already mentioned I hate that sword, too. Proportion-wise, they suffer many of the flaws of the Inika and Mahri. Kopaka and Lewa both have arms the length of their legs – that's a big no. Metru and Vahki legs all the way for forearms, preferably with short double-sockets for upper arms. Also, for some reason Lewa has the far bulkier Inika leg piece in his arms, with the comparatively skinny Rahkshi shins for legs. Pohatu suffers as much as Kongu – though short-and-stocky works a lot better with his character, nobody should be cursed with shoulders that impossibly wide. He too has no chest at all, which is made just as bad as Kongu by his absurd shoulders. As to the Matoran, my initial reaction was dislike. After the more complex-yet-simple bodies of the Voya- and Mahritoran, what looks like a one-piece body is a grave disappointment. The villains I want to see frontal pictures of instead of just from above before I decide on them... I dislike Antroz, not fond of Vamprah's face one bit, but I like Chirox (a question on him: how do you readers pronounce his name?) enough. Overall I think I'd like the latter two more if they had a more formidable air to them. I know Makuta can shapeshift, just... I'd want a bit more to them for being the first non-Makuta of Metru Nui (who shall forever remain just "Makuta" to me) Makuta introduced as sets, especially Vamprah. Interesting look, but doesn't inspire the sort of menace I'd want a Makuta to. I might go over just what I'd change in the Nuva to make them acceptable in another entry. It's quite fun to think about... And no, Project Nuva has not been forgotten... for Pohatu I can't take a picture and tweak it; I have to draw him from scratch. *works on a short story and comic script he's been getting ideas for* ~ ToM
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An idea I've had brewing for a while now, spurred to life recently... We know the Nuva will be returning as sets at some point – this is my imagination of how they ought to look. Not transformed, just restyled – flexible limbs, post-Metru hips, and poseable necks, but keeping their armor, masks, (most of) their colors, and the gist of their appearance. Lewa above is an example of their general appearance. The arms and hips would be different, as well as having gears again (the socket makes them physically impossible with existing pieces, but I have a design for that, hence the larger gear on his back just to represent their presense), but those would require new molds. The shapes for which I have designed, and which you will see next blog entry... The black accent in their color schemes is replaced by other dark shades – dark green (as above), dark blue, dark red, dark grey for Kopaka, and I haven't decided Pohatu's yet, but the way things are going he may not need one. The Metru thigh armor is there just for example, by the way; a new, rounder piece, to preserve the smoothness of the Nuva designs, is what I have in mind. Oh, the glorious new and recolored pieces that would come about if Lego did this. ~ ToM
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I do seem to like using interrogative words as titles... This time, it's what I would change if given the 2008 "Nuva" basic designs to work off of into Toa Nuva restyled... even though that doesn't use the word "how." :: 8686 Toa Lewa Nuva :: First, Nuva chest armor redesigned to appropriately fit onto an Inika or Piraka chest, then Nuva shoulder armor remade to attach like the Inika's. But keeping the overall smooth, clean shape. In silver. Legs ~ lime joints with green (Lewa's original color) over them. I think I'd make the Rahkshi legs into green Metru legs, to prevent the long, spindly legs with a short, blocky body look he has now, but I might keep the Mantax feet...Arms ~ uppers are lime short double-sockets (with the new Nuva armor on them), lowers green Metru legs.Body ~ lime Inika body with green hips, and Nuva chest armor. I wouldn't say no to new a 7-wide torso piece instead of the current 9-wide one (not including shoulder balls).Mask ~ Working off the Faxon-thing he has now, I'd bring in the cheek... turbines a little, then extend their top outer edge into a sweeping point like on the Miru Nuva. Add two similar points above to, again, resemble those of the Miru Nuva. I'm not sure about the color; either green or lime could work. Also, a clear visor instead of ice blue.Tools ~ Keep the twin Katana, except shorter and a lot less huge-messy-and-spiky than the new sword. These would then attach to his back to serve as wings when he needs to fly – I'm not sure if it would just be through simple Technic pins or a construction like Hahli's Metru hip on her back. :: 8685 Toa Kopaka Nuva :: Legs ~ keep the shape, but the ambiguous grey would be quite definitely light bluish grey. White round Inika feet are glorious.Arms ~ again, short light grey double-sockets with Nuva armor for the uppers, but light grey Vahki legs and white hands. The Vahki legs, though bulky, are so he can attach a shield to his forearm via this piece and a pin/axle piece, leaving his hands free for blaster and sword.Body ~ white with Nuva chest armor. For wings, again the Metru hip on his back, with either a two-piece construction like Hahli's, or his wings made of a short double-socket and Hordika neck each, with a "feather" piece attached to each... Either way, they'd be posable, Bionicle-ized angel wings.Tools ~ I'd keep the ice skate shape, but something akin to his original sword would be fine too. So long as he actually has sword and shield, and, little though I'm fond of it, blaster. Oh, that shield would be a white or silver 10-studs-wide System dish, the same appearance as his Nuva shield, only two studs wider.Mask ~ Since I dislike the overall look and style of the "Akaku Phantoka," I'd adhere more to the Akaku Nuva in design. Most necessarily, a visor on the right side of his mask. And no lightsaber beam poking out of it. :: 8687 Toa Pohatu Nuva :: I'd keep his general build, just changing colors, since short-and-stocky is fine for Pohatu. Except for Mata Nui's sake without those shoulders... Legs ~ brown clawed Inika feet, brown Piraka thigh armor, and yellow-orange joints and Vahki legs. I'd love to leave his feet and their spifftastic toe guards, but I think they might look too small with the rest of his new build...Arms/tools ~ yellow-orange short double-sockets with Nuva armor, then I'd leave the lower arms the same. As I've said, I like the propeller-claws enough... though I'd be tempted to make the "forearms" brown or yellow-orange.Body ~ brown Piraka body, yellow Metru hips, and Nuva chest armor...Mask ~ give it a top half that continues the sweeping, curved look of the Kakama Nuva, which negates the need for a visor... All of that would actually be reddish-brown, the color Avak had, which replaced brown at the same time as the greys were replaced by their bluish counterparts. But moot point. He'd be advertised as a yellow set, just like Hewkii Inika... I'm not overly fond of the brown/yellow combination, but I have severe doubts Lego would use anything else if he had any brown at all. Of course, if redesigning the Nuva were left entirely up to me, I'd make Project Nuva, since that's what I would want. But the above would actually look like redesigns, as the Nuva Phantoka supposedly are, instead of the near-complete transformation that Lewa and Pohatu look like they underwent... ~ ToM
