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Yay! I'm going to Brickfest 2006! I'm entering in THIS MOC, to start. I'm working towards putting in my Fused Piraka, and a minifig sized lawn mower. Anyway, Brickfest is a big event that happens in Virginia, USA, Earth, Milky Way Galaxy; August 25, 26, 27, standard Earth timing. This year it is at the Sheraton Premier Hotel in Tysons Virginia. Visiting hours are on Saturday (26) and Sunday (27) from 12-4, PM. $10 for both days, $7 for one day. There is a ton of rooms for every theme. The Bionicle Room is organized this year by BZP's Omicron! It should be great. But that's not all. There is a Mecha room, Space, Star Wars, Town, Train, Castle, Mindstrom, FLL, and the newest: Dark Room. The Dark Room is a room that has its lights out. Then black lights are fitted in. The MOCs on display are planned for this, and contain transparent/luscent peices. This makes the MOCs glow eerily. This years theme is water/ocean/sea, etc... So, I hope to see you there! -CF
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Olda, Nuva, Metru, Hordika, Hagah... Since 2001, we Bionicle fans have been introduced to five generations of heroes. Each with their own quirks, designs, and stories. And now, in 2006, we're introduced to the future of Bionicle: The Inika. But with so many heroes, and so many designs, just where do the Inika fit into the grand history of the toyline? Well, many who have recieved their Inika over the past few weeks have taken to ranking, and though I usually don't like actually trying to rank my favorites of various things (just look over my posts in any "Top #" discussion to see what I'm talking about), I felt it would be a great blogging exercise to actually try and do a Countdown. So, without further ado, I present: Torhu's Toa Countdown #6: The Nuva If the Nuva had been introduced during the 2006 storyline, it's quite possible they'd have been built just like the Inika we have today. Instead, we saw the classic Olda sets transformed into these armored heros. But why would I rank the Nuva at the bottom, below even the designs they replaced? Because looking back, it was the Nuva that began the trend of reducing the unique elements between canister figures. The Nuva each had the same armor, and essentially identical designs. Yes, we had to suffer through the Bohrok, but it takes a second go to actually begin a trend. And that's why I put the Nuva at the bottom of the Toa hierarchy. #5: The Metru Holy cow, what a difference time makes! I remember seeing pictures of these and thinking LEGO had done it. They had brought Bionicle into the era of action figures. With articulation at every major joint (except the waist, but I'm not complaining), the Metru were able to stand in every pose I could think up. And with a variety of weapons (including a clever Kanoka launcher/jetpack), the characters promised a new direction in the storyline. However, they were about as identical as two sets could be. Take off the Kanohi and the weapons...and which Toa are you looking at? I had no idea, and it quickly turned me off of the sets. #4: The Hordika Okay, I have a feeling this one is going to draw some questions. When looking at people's rankings, I usually see the Hordika ranked dead last. I don't see them that way. The Hordika were an interesting experiement from the designers of LEGO. The first (and so far only) Toa to not wear Kanohi, the Hordika also incorporated the gear gimmick into the arm. Combined with the Rhotuka launcher, these were also the first Toa to boast two action features. However, the Hordika once again suffered from the lack of individuality that plauged both the Metru and Nuva. On top of that, the concept of being part-Animal was lost in the details. The Hordika had very mechanical looking feet, and their faces (though unusual) didn't draw any particular animals to mind. But I liked the action features enough to look past the similarities, and the posebility was on par with the Metru. This to me puts them above their predecessors. Well, except for one group. #3: The Olda With my comments regarding the Metru and Nuva, you must be curious why I'd rank the Olda over either of them. Let alone both... I'll admit when I started writing this, I had the Olda ranked dead last, with the Nuva up in this posistion. But as I wrote my explanations, I came to realize something about the Olda. As it stands, the original Toa were basic figures. Featuring no elbow, knee, or neck articulation, the Olda were more showy then functional. However, the upside of these sets were their indivduality. From Tahu's chest ball and Gali's little blue chest bump to Pohatu's upside-down torso. Every Toa had something unique about their design that helped them stand out when together on a shelf. This made the character's (and figures) memorable. And it's why I place them near the top, above even their evolved form. #2: The Inika This one took a lot of deliberation in my head before I was able to make an honest choice. I've already written a review of the sets, so hopefully that will help you get a feel for what I think of them on the whole. The Inika are a step back towards individuality that I hope to see continued as the generations of Toa continue to come forth from the LEGO creative team. Each Inika has the same 13 points of articulation that the Metru featured, while also going back to adding unique elements between sets. Nuparu's shoudler-mounted Zamor launcher and Hewkii's chain are the most prevalent. However, the Inika feature two different types of chest armor and two different foot designs. It's a small difference, but each Toa makes use of these pieces to bring their own style to the set. This was something that hadn't been seen in any of the regular Toa releases. It was, however, seen in a pair of very special Toa. #1: The Hagah Bionicle fans in the US were lucky to get their hands on both of these sets, and it's a shame that the full squad wasn't released. I have heard rumblings about the original intent for these two sets (Norik's resemblance to a certain Turaga of questionable allegiance should be mention enough of this) that explain why this was not the case, but I can't help but feel slighted. The Hagah had it all, poseability, playability, and personality. Using slightly modified Metru designs, the Hagah were also given the Rhotuka shield, which allowed the focus of the set to remain on the figure itself. Meanwhile, the two Toa were given distinct design differences. Iruini wore Metru shoulder pads and a Bohrok claw, while Norik sported a silver Dume chest plate and Nuva shoulder armor. With the clever use of previous sets to fill out the armor, I'm left wondering what LEGO designers could've done if given an opportunity to build the full team. It's this perfect blend of form and function that should earn the Hagah a special place in the collection of any Bionicle fan. And it's why they take home the #1 spot, only in my opinion of course. Though our opinions may differ when it comes to exact rankings, I'm sure one thing can be agreed upon. In the last few years, LEGO has taken big steps in the design of the Toa. With the release of the Inika behind us, and the initial feedback coming through...it's clear that they've struck gold with these new heroes. I can only look at the current generation of Toa and wonder what LEGO has in store for the future years. And I truthfully have no idea what to expect.
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Ah, BZPower. Home sweet home. My home in my home, or at school or a friend's house or the library. My point is, we all love it here. And because of that love, BZP is still up and running today. I love it enough to renew my premier membership each year. And I keep my posts spam-free, and be nice to everybody. I also see others doing the same. In hopes that nonpremiers are reading this, [Hapori Tohu/Uncle Sam pointing finger at you] Aparently BZP has it's history right after Bionicle started. The original site merged with others in the years to follow. And the result is what we have today. I came to BZPower over 3 years ago. It was totally awsome. Now, here I am blogging away. All because of BZP Because of BZP, I have learned to type better, write better, MOC better, surf the web better, and more. It is such an awesome place. Without BZP, either I would be going crazy about not knowing all I know now about Bionicle and upcoming info, I might have lost my interset in Lego. And then where would I be? This is pretty much my life. I've also met other BZPers: RC-1136 BionicleMasterTheMighty Kofan Skwidjm Omicron Binkmeiser TotalNut BionicleRex So, here's to another great year of Bionicle and BZPower
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Yay! I'm a POBZPC (which means Premier Outstranding BZP Citizen, full proto!)
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With all the talk about the Inika, many have started posting in various forums about their favorite Toa sets. Since I haven't seen a place for that topic to actually be discussed, I decided to take it to a blog...where if it you want to ignore it. You can. But without Inika in hand, it's tough to do any sort of fair review. So while I sit and wait for the next generation of Toa to arrive on my doorstop, I've been left to ponder something that's been bugging me since the "Top Toa" comments have started. Put simply, it doesn't sound like many people liked the Hordika. I see them consistantly ranked as the worst Toa behind the Olda and Nuva. And I'm somewhat surprised. The common complaints appear to be that they weren't unique enough, had awkward pieces, and a lousy action feature. This is unfortunate. LEGO had a great idea with the Hordika, they just apparently didn't execute. Half-Toa/half-Rahi...from a storyline approach they were set. The attempts to control their feral side, fears of being trapped that way, the new abilities that came with it...all seemed to work. So what went wrong? Well, for one....what kinds of Rahi were they? Each Toa is aligned with a certain element, which would lead one to believe that they'd each be likely to liken in appearance to some Rahi associated with the same element. Instead, they were just Toa with some different faces and various weapons. They looked feral, but they didn't look like anything else. They all had the same feet, the same torso, the same arms....their weapons and their face were all that set them apart. What could LEGO have done differently? Well, just as a suggestion, they could've made the various animal forms more noticeable in each Toa. This could be done with only minor changes to the Kanohi and possibly the feat. Vakama becomes a dragon. His Kanohi is modeled after the dragons of chinese lore. A more prevalent snout, perhaps fins behind the eyes. That sort of thing. He's given talons on his feet rather than just the standard design.Nokama takes on a form similar to a mermaid. Her face is moled to have scales, and perhaps gills near the base. The feet are modeled to look more like flippers or fins.Matau becomes an eagle. He's given a crest w/feathers and a beak in his design. His feet use the same talons as Vakama.Nuju becomes a bear. He's given a snout (similar but a little smalelr to the one he has now) He's given a similar pair of talons to Vakama and Matau (they could be molded in a way that they work as both talons and claws)Onewa becomes a boar, he's given the flippers of Nokama (which in a clever design job can resemble either hooves or flippers). His head is molded to contain a ridge of fur and tusks.Whenua is a mole. His head is made pointer...perhaps with molded whiskers and the two teeth we associate with rodents. He's given the claw mold used on Vakama for feet. The idea of half Toa/half Rahi creature is something I would like to see LEGO go back to. With the gusto in design that they've shown with the last few releases. I'd like to also see them take some lessons from the Inika and perhaps make the sets more unique as time goes on. Part of what made the Toa Olda interesting was the little odds n ends . Remember Tahu's chest ball? Gali's little pegs on her hips? The four pegs on Pohatu's legs? It's stuff like that which would add to the flavor of the newer sets, and make the Hordika idea work this time. A tail here, or a wing there....the little touches.
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It's unfortunate. I knew they were coming, I just sorta let it slip my mind that it'd be this soon. Needless to say, I'm buying the Inika. The last three or four years have been especially difficult financially, with a college education being a much bigger drain on my assests than even the most cynical of graudates could've preparred me for. To get to the point, thanks to student loans, I'm currently $10k in debt. This will not, however, distract me from my usual Bionicle tradition of tracking down and aquiring the newest Toa sets as soon as humanly possible. If these means shelling out $60+ for a set of Inika at release, than that's going to be the final say on that. I really shouldn't, goodness knows there are enough things in the fall coming out (2 DS games, the final Xenosaga game, Twilight Princess) that I shouldn't add one more purchase to what is slowly becoming just like every other summer. "Oh, this year I'll cut back. I won't spend as much as I did last year." Of course, then the Inika come out. And these sets look awesome. Each new Toa cycle, LEGO seriously outdoes themselves. Looking back on the original 6 Toa, it's amazing that Bionicle has evolved into the sets we have today. I feel that I have to pick up these sets, to encourage LEGO to continue this franchise until I'm able to get back into it with the resources I once had available to me (namely my parent's income...and the lack of any significant out-come) I've already made a few sacrifies to the Great Beast that is higher education (heretofore known as Käreti). Mostly noteably are Axxon (who will maybe find his way into my home when he drops down in price) and the Nintendo Wii (this one hurt a lot saying no to). But these Inika will be mine. And they will be mine soon. The next step (as is further part of the tradition) will be to build my two Pa-Tahi MOCs of this generation. More on that in a later blog. It also kind of answers another question. I've been trying to figure out what from my room at home will come with me to the new apartment. There's already a few Twins things, as well as some family pictures. But to make it feel more like home (which is what it'll be for at least a year), I've got to bring a few more things that make me who I am. One is probably going to be Johan (which is another item I've actually got to buy first), and the other will probably be my centaur MOC once I've landed my set of Inika. Of course...then I've got to track down replacement Inika figures. The other part of the tradition is that I display all 6 current-gen Toa plus my two MOCs. That's a financial set back for another day. The moral of today's blog, kids: Take advantage of your parents generocity...and save whatever you're able to. College works-out the pocketbook almost as much as your brain.
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So, a couple of days ago I said I really needed a really big Hapori Tohu pic. Well, I got one! Big Hapori Tohu I think it didn't turn out so badly. I put him up as my wallpaper. So, please, enjoy, and use if you want. I certainly didn't make him for my self only.
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So I was rereading my Bionicle comics today (like I do every day)* and picked up Volume 2, Issues 1 and 2 (issue 0 is on my wall). While reading, I acknowledged how awsome Stuart Sayger draws. Now, I have noticed this before, but I was just blown away once again that it inspired this Blog. The lines were amazing. The piraka spines were aswome. His own personal Kanohi for the inslaved matoran were great. And the way he shows the Piraka acting together, it goes great with GregF's planning. (everybody on the team seems to give this their best effort). So, if you haven't read the comics yet, hop to it! Subscribe to Lego Magazing (it's free!) and enjoy the Bionicle storyline. (actually, read the books too, they have storyline info not told in the comics) Actually, a while back, I was thinking I should probably go to a comic shop and check out other stuff by SturatS. It's sure to be just as good. -CF *J/K
