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Showing results for tags '7th toa'.
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It recently occurred to me that LEGO may have attempted to replicate the original trope—if it can be called that—of the 7th Toa for 2004; not in the storyline, but in set-wise. Takanuva was essentially the 7th Toa Nuva in terms of build; analogically, Lhikan was the 7th Toa Metru. Both were visibly more exclusive than the rest of their teams and came in titan sets. What I'm trying to remember right now is when precisely Toa Lhikan was released in each country. What I remember from the old days was that fan sites seemed to omit the set or character entirely until after Legends of Metru Nui came out. I've had no access to any of the books, but I distinctly remember there wasn't a trace of Toa Lhikan on BIONICLE.com throughout at least the first half of 2004, nor was he present in any of the comic books, which is fairly strange, considering he was a major character from the get-go. I can't seem to find a lot of information online, but this BZP news piece seems to indicate the set was released no sooner than November 2004, which confirms what I recall personally. The set was not available in Bulgaria; I cannot attest for the rest of Europe; he was in fact featured in the first (winter) LEGO catalog of 2005, so perhaps he was released in Europe then? There definitely is a European release of the box, though; I can tell from the distinct designs. So what is the deal with that? Was he supposed to be a surprise set of sorts? My hypothesis is basically that the "7th Toa" trope (along with the general character/creature combo titan sets) became a solid sales strategy after 2002, the Boxor with its Nuparu being the very first instance. The approach peaked in 2003, subsided in 2004, then disappeared until it started once more in 2007 and was particularly strong until 2009, the difference being that the characters were no longer "exceptional" but rather an accessory to a vessel. What's peculiar about 2003 and 2004 is that it almost looks like LEGO attempted to "seduce" fans into purchasing titan sets for the characters alone. I often think that it would've been fair if characters like Takanuva, Lhikan and Dume were re-released, say, a year later as standard sets, not unlike a blockbuster takes a while to get to DVD. Everyone wants the special sets but not everyone can afford the cash grab.
