|
| | War Turaga | |
| | Author | Message |
---|
Veritamancer Relict Antihero
Posts : 206
| Subject: War Turaga Thu Feb 21, 2013 6:46 pm | |
| Greetings to all.
For the greater part of the last half-year, I have had various half-finished BIONICLE and LEGO projects strewn across the furniture and floor of my basement, due to a lack of inspiration in any way to continue their various constructions. This Turaga was one of those long-incomplete projects, and I suspect that it is time to simply clear it out of my "to-do list" without further procrastinatory action. More models will surely follow in the coming weeks.
I have no particular backstory assigned to this Turaga, other than the apparent wartime armor and weaponry, and there is no basis for this creation in the BIONICLE storyline.
Pose Front Side (arm removed) Back Gratuitous Comparison to Recorder and Tohunga-style Vhisola=|/-\|= | |
| | | The Spectral Mask Head Librarian & Game Master
Posts : 3659
| Subject: Re: War Turaga Fri Feb 22, 2013 3:49 pm | |
| Ha, I love this build!
I like the overall use of dark red pieces, and the armor keeps the same overall look throughout. A bit tall for a Turaga, but then Solek was the same height as 2001's Onua.
My one caveat is the mask. There's no copper anywhere else on him, which I assume is because the two Copper Masks are the only copper pieces LEGO ever produced. While I bought myself a Copper Huna, too, I've never thought about using it, partly because it doesn't seem to fit anywhere. I like the overall build, but I wonder if he'd look better with a black Huna, or even a dark red Huna misprint.
Still, if you set out to use a copper piece, I'm not sure dark red was the best second choice. They're sort of close, which, to me, makes them look mismatched ... a mostly white or tan model with a copper mask might work, or perhaps a steampunk sort of fellow with various mismatched pieces.
Overall, I like the model. I hope to see more! | |
| | | Veritamancer Relict Antihero
Posts : 206
| Subject: Re: War Turaga Sun Feb 24, 2013 7:01 pm | |
| As with any of your reviews, I am pleased that you enjoyed it for the most part.
The mask may, in retrospect, serve in part as an obscure callback to the canonical feature of the two Copper Masks as trophies. These Kanohi are associated, in a manner, with the fortune of victory, and the usage of one would be appropriate for such a figure as this (involved in war). Even other than in storyline function, I would support the usage here. I do not own many other copper pieces that are not components of Exo-Force minifigures, and hoped to integrate the mask with a similar color scheme rather than a wholly different or patchwork one. It is not my intention to make deliberately highly mismatched creations, most especially not as polar as an inexplicable white-and-tan figure with a lone copper piece, and I certainly would not consider making anything in a "steampunk" fashion.
It is also worth noting that not only do I not own a dark red Noble Huna, it was a prototype rather than a misprint, and fewer than five are confirmed to exist. I cannot obtain (and could not have obtained) any, due to the apparent general unsaleable status of prototype parts.
=|/-\|= | |
| | | The Spectral Mask Head Librarian & Game Master
Posts : 3659
| | | | Veritamancer Relict Antihero
Posts : 206
| Subject: Re: War Turaga Tue Feb 26, 2013 2:44 am | |
| A copper creation remains difficult to execute, even with additional parts from minifigures.
As for the dark red Noble Huna, I believe it was a prototype for one of the Metru Nui Matoran - there was, after all, a dark blue Noble Matatu produced as well. I doubt that the LEGO Group would have seen fit to break the difference between Great and Noble masks.
=|/-\|= | |
| | | The Spectral Mask Head Librarian & Game Master
Posts : 3659
| Subject: Re: War Turaga Tue Feb 26, 2013 8:01 pm | |
| But at the time, it hadn't been established that Noble Masks were the devolved forms of Great Masks. All the fans knew was that there were separate classifications, not what they meant. The Toa Metru were unveiled with Great versions of their Turaga counterparts' Noble Masks, which was what spelled out the relationship. Before then, it could have just been a prestige - much like the Toa Team titles themselves, actually.
Still, I would have preferred the 2001 masks over the 2004. I do like the Great Komau, but I didn't care much for the others, and actively loathed the Great Rau and Matatu, for looking too much like the Kaukau and Akakus, respectively. Moreover, it was the end of the shortlived knock-the-masks-off feature, which I loved then and miss now.
Of all the gimmicks LEGO has thrown at us since (literally, in the case of the Kanoka ) nothing beat the 2001 masks. Don't forget it was the end of gear functions, too.
... hm. This is off-topic for this thread, but unusually on-topic for this forum. Interesting. | |
| | | Veritamancer Relict Antihero
Posts : 206
| Subject: Re: War Turaga Tue Feb 26, 2013 10:14 pm | |
| I cannot confess to knowing the details of the dichotomy at the time. I was and am still primarily a creator; I know only the cumulative sum of the storyline at any one time, and do not necessarily remember when the specifics of anything such as the Kanohi designations were explained.
It is also my opinion that the 2001-2003 Kanohi were simply manufactured better than the 2003-2010 Kanohi, but in choosing among the masks of the Toa Metru, I was probably most fond of the Great Huna. However, I never used the so-called "knocking-off-masks" function and give no regard to that feature of the older style of Kanohi.
I feel the need to first note that gear functions were highly prevalent in 2004 canister sets, and persisted in a nearly-vestigial form in the arms of the Toa Hordika the following year. But I feel no nostalgia for the time when they were present, and if anything, I vehemently oppose gear functions. I have never built a custom creation that contains gears, and I own a drawer full of gears that I never use - its dimensions are approximately 6.5"x12". Anything that I cannot build with is a waste of my money-on-components, and it is exceedingly difficult to make custom models containing gears. This Turaga is possibly too small to incorporate gears in a meaningful way.
If you have further thoughts on the matter of gears or other nostalgic features, I do suggest starting a topic on it or them.
=|/-\|= | |
| | | Sponsored content
| Subject: Re: War Turaga | |
| |
| | | | War Turaga | |
|
| Permissions in this forum: | You cannot reply to topics in this forum
| |
| |
| |
|