Nuhvok Kal - Protector of the Swarm (BBC #69)

[RahiSpeak]

Hello everyone! This is my entry topic for BBC contest #69, "Everything Old is New Again". This is also the first creation of mine that I have posted to this forum so the pressure or success is extra high! Before I get into sharing my pictures and describing my MoC, I want to thank Takuma Nuva, Prowl Nightwolf, and Nescent for helping me post my pictures. The "link" and "image" buttons still don't work, but the BBCode is going strong. Now with that out of the way, I should probably start with my entry picture for my Nuhvok Kal revamp to keep you all interested. Actually, maybe I should list all of my pictures in one spot for ease of access. Makes sense, yes?
-Entry picture
-Back
-Relaxed (profile)
-Relaxed (side)
-Offensive stance (front)
-Function (part 1)
-Function (part 2)
-Krana
-Top
-"Ball" (profile)
-"Ball" (top)
-"Ball" (side)
-Extra pose
 
After I had decided what I wanted to do for the contest, I made up some criteria for what it should end-up like:
 
1)It had to be as clean and polished of a build as possible; if it looks a little sketchy than I had better fix it.

2)The head had to be able to extend as well as turn.
 
3)There had to be some sort of unique "gear" function.
 
4)It must be able to curl up into a ball
 
5)There must be a substitute for its krana (facilitated from the beginning by a Mask of Skull Spiders).
 
I could discuss how I built my MoC in any number of ways, but I think it best to break it up by body-section.
 
HEAD:
 
The first thing that I began working on was the head. As mentioned above, the Mask of Skull Spiders was always meant to be Nuhvok Kal's krana. In fact, I had decided on doing a bohrok specifically because I wished to use the mask as a krana. That is really how most of my creations start; I have cool-looking piece that I want to use and design the rest of the model around that piece.
 
Building a large enough head that resembles a bohrok's without being able to use the same pieces was pretty daunting at the start; trying to fit one of Onua's digger-claws and a couple eyestalks together really made me wonder what makes a bohrok look like a bohrok. Thankfully, I had thought of using those weird "spike-thingies", if I may call them that, from Bulk 3.0 to change the shape of the head to something more befitting.
 
At the very end (yesterday), I decided to widen the front of the head and to replace the nuva-armor that I was using with teeth instead. I don't have any images about what it used to look like, but I will say that it now looks a world-and-a-half better and significantly more like a bohrok. Vaguely resembles one of the Bohrok Queens too doesn't it?
 
BODY:
 
This was probably the hardest part; it went through two different designs before landing on the third. One of the reasons that the previous versions were scrapped was because of their use of purple. I am very fond of the introduction of purple in BIONICLE and have made it my mission to collect all future sets that include that color. But no matter how hard I tried, the addition of color really destroyed the way Nuhvok Kal felt; and being that most of my CCBS pieces are either black or silver, there was no way of changing  to a more colorful bohrok like Tahnok. Nonetheless, I am happy with the way it turned out and that I was able to include a mask in the build.
 
It should be noted that I include pins as attachment points for the limbs when folding into a ball.
 
FUNCTION:
 
You may think that a simple color-change would not warrant a complete overhaul of the torso, and you would be right. Remember how I said that color was only one of the problems? Well, the big one was adding a gear-function. Originally,  rotating shields were going to propel my Nuhvok Kal forward using a custom wind-up gearbox. But after many tests (including one built into the body), it became apparent that even if I could find a rubber band strong enough to move my MoC (I couldn't), no normal LEGO pieces could possibly hold up under the tension. After trying another unsuccessful idea, I was struck by brilliance (that's what I'm calling it and I'm stick'n to it). I ended up using the same type of function as found in the Toa but with one small modification: rather than turning a gear on the back of the model, you rotate the torso around the stationary pelvis to make the arms move. So if you push the torso one way or the other the arms will sway accordingly without moving the head or legs. It may not be radically different from what we already have seen, but that's what good building is, isn't it; taking something that already exists and using it in a different way?
 
Anyway, I hope you al like my entry. As you can probably see by how close this is to the deadline, it took me a while and I tried really hard at this. However, I can see that many others have put their best-foot forward as well and that is making me a little nervous, but remember that if you like my Nuhvok Kal then be sure to vote for him.

EDIT:
The links should be fixed now!

 

EDIT #2:

Fixed some miscellaneous typos. I'll fix others when I find them.

Edited February 22, 2015 by RahiSpeak

[Prowl Nightwolf]

Wow, just wow... I am fully impressed.... These Bohroks just seem to get more and more as new ones come out. Sad that we really only see Nohvok, though I am not complaining...  seen the ice one on another topic looks cool and works well. I should mention first that some of your links are broken and do not go to their respective picture.

 

You're color choices are fully understandable and respected. I am loving how you incorporated a Skull Spider into your MOC as it was discussed in the Gen2 Bohrok topic that they would make good Krana with their mind controlling abilities. You also kept with the original and placed it within the head itself. Very gen1 as well. As apposed to just simply placing it on the head exposed to the world. Speaking of heads I noticed you used two of them for the lower sections of your MOC's face... nice use of texture. The head looks very Bohrok. Not completely sold on your choice of function however if at all possible I'd love to see it in action before making a final analysis. I am seeing more and more folding into a ball added to later Bohrok MOCs and you don't disappoint here either. Though still not an actual ball, looks more like a log in my opinion. Though it is clear we have the curvature parts that I am starting to believe more and more with each MOC I see that a CCBS Ball set is possible.

Edited February 19, 2015 by Prowl Nightwolf

[Jacks]

This has rendered me speechless. Not only is it big, scary, and functional, it has the distinction of being the first Bohrok revamp I've ever seen that can roll up into a ball (or at least an ovoid)

 

This is amazing

[RahiSpeak]

Wow, just wow... I am fully impressed.... These Bohroks just seem to get more and more as new ones come out. Sad that we really only see Nohvok, though I am not complaining...  seen the ice one on another topic looks cool and works well. I should mention first that some of your links are broken and do not go to their respective picture.

I'll fix any broken links later, at very least by tomorrow. You have no idea how long it took to put those links up before I discovered that I could copy and paste links if I was using the BBCode editor.

 

 

This has rendered me speechless. Not only is it big, scary, and functional, it has the distinction of being the first Bohrok revamp I've ever seen that can roll up into a ball (or at least an ovoid)

 

This is amazing

Thank you for such high praise (oh, and Prowl Nightwolf too). 

[Jacks]

 

Wow, just wow... I am fully impressed.... These Bohroks just seem to get more and more as new ones come out. Sad that we really only see Nohvok, though I am not complaining...  seen the ice one on another topic looks cool and works well. I should mention first that some of your links are broken and do not go to their respective picture.

I'll fix any broken links later, at very least by tomorrow. You have no idea how long it took to put those links up before I discovered that I could copy and paste links if I was using the BBCode editor.

 

BBCode is so much easier and more efficient once you get well accustomed to it. I've been manually typing all my code tags since 2006 sometime But I digress. I forgot to mention how perfect the gold Skull Spider mask is as the Krana -- I didn't even realize until I saw this that the bright gold is a near-perfect match for Nuhvok-Kal's krana, despite the latter preceding the former by three years.

[Gitaxian]

The parts usage here is awesome, especially the new heads used as part of the face and the mask being used to fill out the front of the body. 

[Prowl Nightwolf]

I only give to those what they deserve, you earned it plain and simple...

Edited February 19, 2015 by Prowl Nightwolf

[Zeb]

Wow! The functions, the look, the fact that it rolls up into a ball... you did a fantastic job! I really like the use of a Skull Spider mask as a Krana-Kal. Well done!

[BrickPharaoh]

I am equally impressed with the design as I am with how incorporated requirements engineering into your build! It's not easy having so many clear-cut design requirements with a Lego MOC, and sticking to them is a whole other level of determination!

 

(Note: mechatronics 3rd year undergraduate, hence the bit on requirements... cuz that's all we seem to do )

 

This is actually one of my favorite entries as of yet!

[RahiSpeak]

The parts usage here is awesome, especially the new heads used as part of the face and the mask being used to fill out the front of the body.

 

In another topic I had mentioned that the new masks can be attatched to pieces other than the new heads, so naturally, I wanted to include a mask somewhere. However, that got me thinking, "What can I use the new heads for"? It is good to see that they are appreciated!

 

Wow! The functions, the look, the fact that it rolls up into a ball... you did a fantastic job! I really like the use of a Skull Spider mask as a Krana-Kal. Well done!

Well, it seems that my "krana" and bohrok-transformation are becoming the real stars of the build. I don't know if I would have guessed it, but I'll take it. Thank you for your comments!

 

I am equally impressed with the design as I am with how incorporated requirements engineering into your build! It's not easy having so many clear-cut design requirements with a Lego MOC, and sticking to them is a whole other level of determination!

 

(Note: mechatronics 3rd year undergraduate, hence the bit on requirements... cuz that's all we seem to do )

 

This is actually one of my favorite entries as of yet!

Build-season just ended for the FIRST Robotics Competition. I never thought of using anything like a design statement or the like before, but since our "robot"(technically a drone) turned out so well, I wondered what would happen if I added some structure to the design process; I think I will do it again. Edited February 21, 2015 by RahiSpeak

[Munty]

Not sure how I missed this before but it's a seriously impressive Bohrok! It feels a bit too big and overly detailed when compared to the original (and particularly gen2 sets) but that certainly doesn't detract from the wow factor!

 

I just LOVE the head, it looks seriously scary and the incorporation of the SSKrana is pretty neat too! I think the use of his waist in the movement function is really ingenious and the ball form is nicely executed too. It's more of cylindrical than round but I think it looks grwat, like an egg. Can you imagine the original scenes of the hatching with hundreds of these guys hanging around a gigantic cave?

 

Great work and best of luck!