tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5965169340687184112024-03-19T02:14:56.977-06:00Speaking of Collecting...Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.comBlogger43125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-79463818863536833142022-03-15T11:01:00.001-06:002022-03-15T11:01:43.988-06:00The Arkham Horror Project<p>Holy shitballs, he's back!</p><p>Okay, it's not like I actually went anywhere. But, as I've <a href="https://giantboxofcomics.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-40-years-of-comics-project-day-xxxx.html" target="_blank">just noted on my comics blog</a> in a post that puts the 40 Years of Comics Project on hiatus, creativity is not infinite and there's only so much energy to go around.</p><p>If you haven't heard or read me going on about the music I'm making right now, it's <a href="https://soundcloud.com/damabupuk" target="_blank">right here</a>. That's all I'll say, aside from noting that my style is, literally, all over the place, so I like to think that there's a little something for everyone in my musical meanderings.</p><p>However, another outlet errs more on my need to do and create in a more physical manner. A few years back, while in conversation with a friend about my, frankly, ridiculous LEGO collection, the suggestion was floated that I make a large-scale board for <i>Arkham Horror</i> (2nd ed.) out of the building medium. I was fired up and built a few pieces that were in scale with the RAFM Call of Cthulhu classic miniature range.</p><p>And then a workman in the basement bumped a shelf, and they fell on the ground and shattered. And I just didn't have it in me at the time to rebuild what had taken a remarkably long time to begin with (my Police Station even had a working jail that you could put a figure in who had been arrested).</p><p>Fast forward to COVID. One of the things that has kept me sane these last couple of years is painting gaming miniatures. I've loved it for a long time, but, as only an ADHD person can, I threw myself into it wholeheartedly in order to stave off the existential crisis I, and the world, was going through. And growing from that was a desire to craft cool terrain for these little people and creatures to inhabit, I was brought back to the idea of a 3D <i>Arkham Horror</i> board.</p><p>As of this writing, I'd say it's about 60% done. I'll post development pics and write a bit about the components of each piece. I'm fucking loving it. As with my comic collecting, I'm approaching this project with an eye to the dollar bin, so to speak. As much as possible, I'm trying not to spend too much money on the board. Lots of it, especially the substructures, are recycled lumber left over after the last people moved out of the house. Many of the buildings and structures were bought on sale, though enough to make it an expensive project were not.</p><p>Building the board has necessitated a full reworking of my basement lair, and the placing into storage of some things in order to make room for the board. I hope to have it completed within the next few months. This will mean not only a full and complete range of locations and other worlds, but also places on the board for all of the necessary technical functions of the game. I want the board to not only look cool, but also be completely playable. And I've had some neat ideas in incorporating that stuff into the various components of the table.</p><p>So that's where I'm at with my blogging these days. I love my comics, but I'm only one person and I'm not one of those ones who has infinite reserves of energy. Pictures and posts forthcoming.<br /></p>Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-71156751775057087842018-03-15T09:00:00.000-06:002018-03-15T09:00:10.008-06:00Simulacra: Bootleg BIONICLES - Xiang Yu, I presume?<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2GQvNyUcKSlMDc10DPXV3FXW6s4xine8hY28kiRUf9Xir5-Dtip8fhyphenhyphen8Nos1K7GIF36c9ez-aCRJaKJZu1qmj2amiy-kBDKU2P2rpasz9Zi5gtijX6MjNCAX3N86uG0B0ft0YIh96Vog/s1600/IMG_1969%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2GQvNyUcKSlMDc10DPXV3FXW6s4xine8hY28kiRUf9Xir5-Dtip8fhyphenhyphen8Nos1K7GIF36c9ez-aCRJaKJZu1qmj2amiy-kBDKU2P2rpasz9Zi5gtijX6MjNCAX3N86uG0B0ft0YIh96Vog/s640/IMG_1969%255B1%255D.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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Pretty sure that this guy is <a href="http://koei.wikia.com/wiki/Xiang_Yu">this character</a> from <i>Dynasty Warriors.</i><br />
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Pretty sure.<br />
<i> </i><br />
But whether he is or not, he's pretty cool.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2BV5bjWCGIW_67KuDlElNbaSxNh8Vp_vczBqZRut3F0pTOtYFPLPdbsvo6twu78atZ0ZcmUiPdfhE8exWQpaUu2QthcdgIXtPoKIg-ds-WCCtxgGzGWz9t1cQ7_DWj9yUGlrZn8RZK5w/s1600/IMG_1970%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi2BV5bjWCGIW_67KuDlElNbaSxNh8Vp_vczBqZRut3F0pTOtYFPLPdbsvo6twu78atZ0ZcmUiPdfhE8exWQpaUu2QthcdgIXtPoKIg-ds-WCCtxgGzGWz9t1cQ7_DWj9yUGlrZn8RZK5w/s640/IMG_1970%255B1%255D.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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As far as the overall build, I have to say this is amongst the most sturdy bootlegs I have. Likely this is because his build is a variation on the same basic skeleton of every CCBS figure. It's a design that works, so why mess with it, a la my last two reviews. He is, of course, not quite LEGO quality, so there are some shaky bits. The axle on one of the red shoulder guards (more on them in a moment) is loose in even official parts, a problem that is unfortunately not quite solvable (though now that I think about it, perhaps plumber's tape). There's also a kind of odd addition to the leg that doesn't quite work, though I think I've figured it out in rebuilding the figure.<br />
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And speaking of rebuilding, let's look at some of the features of this guy. First, I realized, as I was dismantling Mr. Yu, that I've never actually shown the basic torso structure of all of these models.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmw67BdTniTmYW4UmLWUgoTg6LU6tSyUKYz8_Y7zryFHkeuNOzpgbT5ocvRxipNgG9HubXqzuyz4cRRdFVr8KMVTUnBSZliU7HN7PTVj8oP-BausF0HKkSiLVAO2fjZ2SwHwk_mzj-xA/s1600/IMG_1980%255B1%255D.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpmw67BdTniTmYW4UmLWUgoTg6LU6tSyUKYz8_Y7zryFHkeuNOzpgbT5ocvRxipNgG9HubXqzuyz4cRRdFVr8KMVTUnBSZliU7HN7PTVj8oP-BausF0HKkSiLVAO2fjZ2SwHwk_mzj-xA/s640/IMG_1980%255B1%255D.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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At first I wasn't a fan of the little addition at the bottom. Why not simply use the larger CCBS torso? But then I noticed that all of the characters now have this extra spot for armouring, and it's a spot that really suits the East Asian style of armouring that we see throughout that region's martial history. So that's one of the cool things about these original builds coming from China - the designers, building on the very basic structure of one of these figures, have rethought the basic build through a different cultural lens. Armouring of CCBS figures follows a very European tradition of armouring. This small addition to the torso allows another culture to be expressed in the build.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyRhggTOtSaZFCD7ZoHAP7sy7j2VizFhgYnrAAyYIuJjFIbdI6FZ6wOr0LObvhP5lZbHWXGBCitUn8THV1WhTGlTwIGVA1rva9_kcoRn0bQ1U6xDcn7fIbGimxrkF8_D4uK-nQccQFq0/s1600/IMG_1979.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhgyRhggTOtSaZFCD7ZoHAP7sy7j2VizFhgYnrAAyYIuJjFIbdI6FZ6wOr0LObvhP5lZbHWXGBCitUn8THV1WhTGlTwIGVA1rva9_kcoRn0bQ1U6xDcn7fIbGimxrkF8_D4uK-nQccQFq0/s640/IMG_1979.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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The leg, once again, is a bit weird. The double ball joints at the bottom there are meant to hold some large armour, but the positioning of the front ball doesn't allow any natural ankle flexibility. In rebuilding it, I instead but the front armour on the main ball, and raised the back armour up a bit. The difference is negligible. That aside, the legs function very well, though the dual friction piece to accommodate the leg armour is a bit weird.<br />
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And here's the pieces that are cool and new to this set:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0INytgAzD9sFMN6ky5aCWmH41_bXA5DKwLmpjN19pzViu8ZXPs_qngsVcZp9OPJf0768WsodxsNtr99LCSpttC_hKdoQEG8XIzOhAzuQ386LJnx7XxH0mju1z71XKYKajC3QD_Z_s2g/s1600/IMG_1978.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1226" data-original-width="1600" height="490" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjf0INytgAzD9sFMN6ky5aCWmH41_bXA5DKwLmpjN19pzViu8ZXPs_qngsVcZp9OPJf0768WsodxsNtr99LCSpttC_hKdoQEG8XIzOhAzuQ386LJnx7XxH0mju1z71XKYKajC3QD_Z_s2g/s640/IMG_1978.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Aside from the hands (of course), and the new prints on the armour (of course), and the new face (of course), the neatest bit of this set is the red <i>Hero Factory</i> Brain Attack mask that serves as shoulder armour. These, I think, are only officially available in gold, so that's neat. The Black sword is also great, and I should mention that the sword build for this figure is pretty cool. I've already copied it a few times for my own builds. The red triple axle piece is cool, but not particularly well-molded.<br />
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Overall, a decent model. Not quite as much new stuff, but a much more satisfying build, in that when I finished him, out of the bad, he actually stood up properly and didn't have bits falling off of him.<br />
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We'll hit up Lu Bu next.Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-82660716369205719602018-03-01T08:30:00.000-07:002018-03-01T08:30:03.567-07:00Simulacra: Bootleg BIONICLES - Chu Han Han Xin?The name I give this figure is the one that's on the <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/Marvel-Avengers-Super-Heroes-Bionicle-Building-Blocks-Chu-Han-Han-Xin-Heroes-DIY-Assemble-Brick-Kid/32823753372.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.3btRAe">AliExpress (who, no, are not paying me for the advertising) page</a>. There's no video game reference, and I have found characters who just might be this one in both <i>Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI</i> and <i>Destiny Warriors</i>.<br />
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So I'm just going to start headcannoning the names I'm giving them. Last week's is now officially "That Blue Guy." And today's is now Chu Han Han Xin.<br />
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I've got a couple more pictures of the full model this time, since they're much more poseable than That Blue Guy (see, it's catching on):<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGT1aoJxWjS41ikiSrjKfQqFLmJLYE6S7EN2kwdOcZAFqhWkqD4FZiN7BeEn35x5apMn3qQ085I8Qu5CPPOIGbDxG09TLN0WDoo2rRnaRdAkyQunqRDYKUMa5-k6PytxTOaEfGd0TaGk/s1600/IMG_1937.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgCGT1aoJxWjS41ikiSrjKfQqFLmJLYE6S7EN2kwdOcZAFqhWkqD4FZiN7BeEn35x5apMn3qQ085I8Qu5CPPOIGbDxG09TLN0WDoo2rRnaRdAkyQunqRDYKUMa5-k6PytxTOaEfGd0TaGk/s640/IMG_1937.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWhX_yzldgZObA9vGDfA_jWQRqaIcHESoydltt9hKkIJucaaTyyjUmTZSt5VXsnTkIt8i48pypdvs1h2Jl4jjd4rKpm_LJ1rkKY0KjWqUJhW6m1-0-sApRA2RXDah6-YSVxFgMg-Kt9e4/s1600/IMG_1938.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgWhX_yzldgZObA9vGDfA_jWQRqaIcHESoydltt9hKkIJucaaTyyjUmTZSt5VXsnTkIt8i48pypdvs1h2Jl4jjd4rKpm_LJ1rkKY0KjWqUJhW6m1-0-sApRA2RXDah6-YSVxFgMg-Kt9e4/s640/IMG_1938.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhixtzKG27raLbl6qUlHSV_9DldcklDGUEx3lhfY875VVqJsG5i5Gh2e870jgpBj4-LJqq4xtfAUXsXUhWXmtPFpWoex38TQDe6CIM5B2dH37m8CivhuxoCJ4AF-EE8Ci5eXcdXFaIgg/s1600/IMG_1939.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEikhixtzKG27raLbl6qUlHSV_9DldcklDGUEx3lhfY875VVqJsG5i5Gh2e870jgpBj4-LJqq4xtfAUXsXUhWXmtPFpWoex38TQDe6CIM5B2dH37m8CivhuxoCJ4AF-EE8Ci5eXcdXFaIgg/s640/IMG_1939.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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What do we make of Chu Han Han Xin?<br />
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Well, first, a much sturdier figure than That Blue Guy. This is evident just from the fact that I can pose them a in at least 2 poses. You never know...we might discover a third one of these days. What this of course speaks to is a better quality of ball and socket pieces, though even on the bottom picture you can see that I've had to replace those white balls with the official black ones to increase the figure's sturdiness. It, too, has awesome poseable hands, this time in black (as I'm writing this I've just pulled the figure apart and I'm dying to make something using all these bits!), and a great selection of CCBS armour in light blue like last week's figure, and light grey, another colour not produced officially by LEGO. Further, as you can see in the pictures, the shoulder armour is the helmet from <i>Hero Factory'</i>s Furno 3.0.<br />
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The cons? I'm coming to realize that even though these articulated hands are amazing to look at, they're not actually great for holding tools. Not that every MOC has to hold a tool, but it's always fun to make them. So, from an aesthetic point of view the hands are amazing. From a practical stance? Not so much. Then there's that antenna-looking get-up on the helmet. I like it, don't get me wrong, but these pieces just did not want to sit still. Very little friction going on up there.<br />
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But that's not the worst of it. That is, as with last week's model, left for the legs. <br />
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The arm and body construction are much the same as That Blue Guy. But the leg construction differs vastly.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYWJgfvDR7VTnHm0rUOnoasw5tD17grR5wT4IG9jG5ieqdfxZvRkY0bHlLCUd8-Si6kMYARjiFvDBChAZwSFiNDpcu-XqPCeeqUl9Gv6OhnuEwCe444NBdo1J2Nwe53vwk03idQY6Iiw/s1600/IMG_1941.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiVYWJgfvDR7VTnHm0rUOnoasw5tD17grR5wT4IG9jG5ieqdfxZvRkY0bHlLCUd8-Si6kMYARjiFvDBChAZwSFiNDpcu-XqPCeeqUl9Gv6OhnuEwCe444NBdo1J2Nwe53vwk03idQY6Iiw/s640/IMG_1941.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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At top is the armoured leg from the model. It looks pretty cool. It's hard to see, but those feet are actually a really, really dark purple, and the thigh armour is pretty close to original Toa Mata brown. But then shorn of the armour, you get...well, I'm not sure. I can see why this build - it opens up possibilities for attaching armour on the leg. But it also removes the knee, kind of in the same way that That Blue Guy's legs do, but much sturdier. Any leg poseability for this figure comes in the hip joins and ankle joints, which is super-awkward without the knee. When I get around to rebuilding this model, that leg will be undergoing some radical reconstruction.<br />
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What else? There's the tool (I've stopped calling them weapons - the original Toa and Turaga had tools, and I think it's important to think about the way we normalize weaponry. Isn't this kind of the problem that the United States is having right now?).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYsk1sy7ewzEi0COTzHHEpMqk9BY2iqZ5vCIN8k54PWdGr5WjsCHIuiuPmGAM3i6aDeTjeQFvbRJdFoUMkz87r7lSOo_M5udd9CdgWVDOc1IO0fLc9-J-zgHTWqdcW66WGwYvVyUoKms/s1600/IMG_1942.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEizYsk1sy7ewzEi0COTzHHEpMqk9BY2iqZ5vCIN8k54PWdGr5WjsCHIuiuPmGAM3i6aDeTjeQFvbRJdFoUMkz87r7lSOo_M5udd9CdgWVDOc1IO0fLc9-J-zgHTWqdcW66WGwYvVyUoKms/s640/IMG_1942.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Kind of a generic staff, though the three prongs up at the top are cool, in that they're pieces not traditionally available in those colours. I'm actually not even sure if the little one with the barbs is even an official LEGO piece. I don't know that I've ever seen it outside of this set and last week's. Again, when I rebuild this, I'll be thinking about ways of making this staff much more agreeable to being held in the figure's hand.<br />
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A final wrap up of the bits and pieces that are different and interesting that come with the set. The two skeleton pieces in white there are very cool, though they're also amongst the more flawed pieces in these bootleg sets. They're nice for decoration, but if you're looking to be able to manipulate a figure, they're probably not the way to go. The real prize of this set, hands aside, is the armour. Look at the cool prints and colour of that light grey stuff. It's going to make for some fantastic MOCs. Once I've bought one of these figures, I bookmark some of them to a wishlist called "Another, Perhaps?," reserved for stuff like this that comes with parts I simply can't get anywhere else. Add in the dark brown armour, the big round gold shoulder pieces, and an axle that is dark purple (as well as the feet!), and it's worth what I paid, certainly.<br />
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The other three sets in this series are not quite so gifted with new parts, as they use colours that are official colours. But we'll get to that next time.Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-6221881734263010042018-02-22T16:57:00.002-07:002018-02-22T17:03:44.395-07:00Simulacra: Bootleg BIONICLES - That Blue Guy.(Just before posting this, I checked to see when the last time I posted was, and it was a year ago almost to the day. Dang.) <br />
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I thought it was time to get back into writing about BIONICLE. Much has changed since I was last here, but I now find myself with both time and inclination to get back to this blog.<br />
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What I'm going to start with is a look at some new figures I've bought in the last little while. And they're not the <i>Star Wars</i> line of buildable action figures. They're from a game called <i>Destiny Warriors</i>. Well, mostly. I think.<br />
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I recently discovered <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/">AliExpress</a>. I'm not sure how, but I'm assuming it had to do with my researching bootleg BIONICLE on the Web, because that's where I've been buying my cool new toys. It's a little dicier than shopping in North America, admittedly, and if it was just bootlegs, I wouldn't have bothered; but these are actual original figures, with new colours and prints on the old armours and pieces, new builds, and new masks (sort of). I'm in the midst of procuring them at the moment - as it's overseas, the shipping takes quite some time, and I'll admit there've been a couple of times that shipments haven't arrived, for whatever reason. But the refund system is pretty good, and the vendors represented on the site are quick to return your money.<br />
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So to get us back into the lovely building system, I thought I'd look at each of these in turn as they arrive. A warning that there may often be weeks or months between these posts - as I said above, the shipping is a little dicier than on the continent. But I've got four figures, so expect at least four of these in the near future.<br />
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The first problem I've run into is actually identifying the characters. I've noted they're from <i>Destiny Warriors</i>, but that franchise has 9 installments, and hundreds of characters to go through. Add to this the problem of video game to CCBS representation (a problem for most of these kinds of media to LEGO adaptations), and identification becomes tricky. It doesn't help that the <a href="https://www.aliexpress.com/item/A-Toy-A-Dream-Marvel-Avengers-Heroes-Bionicle-Building-Blocks-Romance-of-the-Three-Kingdoms-Heroes/32824313126.html?spm=a2g0s.8937460.0.0.EYL0M3">original page from which I ordered the figure</a> doesn't list any names anywhere either. And lists <i>Romance of the Three Kingdoms</i> as the game.<br />
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*sigh*<br />
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Here's my guy: <br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXqdn6jrX6w_HjqjyRSzBYLslFc_N0_nVcGqg2_DbuRvz4jeU-ObzZmUUYmXYC6-cph2sC5j9XrnYMtkCAAiJgYd6_53IZfBVv-i7vhpdsSB1UzfzR5f2AYzcyvd5xWJy1FzwJ1t-if8/s1600/IMG_1928.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1600" data-original-width="1196" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQXqdn6jrX6w_HjqjyRSzBYLslFc_N0_nVcGqg2_DbuRvz4jeU-ObzZmUUYmXYC6-cph2sC5j9XrnYMtkCAAiJgYd6_53IZfBVv-i7vhpdsSB1UzfzR5f2AYzcyvd5xWJy1FzwJ1t-if8/s640/IMG_1928.JPG" width="476" /></a></div>
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The obvious first reason for having bought these figures is the hands:<br />
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These are a game-changer as far as building one's own figures goes. Official BIONICLE has never had articulated figures like this. The closest we get is some weird, claw-like appendages in some of the <i>Hero Factory</i> stuff. But nothing like this. I'll be honest when I say that getting these hands is almost worth the cost. The rest of the figure is bonus.<br />
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The other nice thing about this particular figure is the colour scheme. The official CCBS armour does not come in this kind of pale blue, and it makes a nice addition to building Water Toa, and to round out the amount of blue armour one has. It's a colour that is actually pretty sparse.<br />
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So what's the model like?<br />
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Kinda crappy is my assessment of this particular one. I've been buying bootlegs for some time now, my first ones well over 10 years ago. The one thing they have in common is what I call their Wobbliness Factor. I actually use this as a measure with my own MOCs - one of the ways I judge a figure is on its structural integrity, specifically its wobbliness. This figure is very wobbly. Partially this is due to the quality of the parts. I don't think we really appreciate the precision that is involved in making a toy like this. Consider that BIONICLE and its ilk are made by LEGO, and LEGO professes (or used to) that every element of every one of their sets is compatible with every other element of every other set. Having spent a fair bit of time around LEGO, I can attest to the veracity of this claim. Which means that <i>every single piece</i> has to be perfect. By contrast, most bootleg pieces are pretty close, which sounds okay but actually makes a big difference. My propensity is to replace these wobbly bits, most often in both the CCBS style and original Technic-esque style the ball joints and their sockets.<br />
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But that's only part of its wobbliness factor. The other is the build. This one is really, really weird. The body is pretty standard CCBS skeleton, with a small extension added at the bottom to increase the height of the character. Ball joints and limbs are added to hold armour. But have a look at these legs:<br />
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That's what each leg looks like without the armour. You can see that the knee joint bends in exactly the wrong direction, unless the knee is actually halfway up the thigh. And then there's that weird contraption of a shin. What it requires is somehow having ball joints on both sides and on the front. But surely there was a better way to do it than this! And then the ankle is two ball joints connected by a 2 length axle. What it all adds up to is a figure that wants to bend its legs along the plane of its body, rather than perpendicular to it.<br />
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Moving on.<br />
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The arms are neat, and I've adopted them into my own building practices.<br />
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In order to accommodate the hands, we have a double socket CCBS limb - one of my favourite pieces, actually. They are very good for combining CCBS and original styles into a single figure. What's really cool is the use of the late-era <i>Hero Factory</i> heads as shoulder joints. It's got a ball joint attached to it that connects it to the rest of the build. What it lets one do is use things like the <i>Hero Factory</i> beast helmets as shoulder armour, which is, it should go without saying, awesome.<br />
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Though it's not visible in this picture, the ball joint is a standard black one, as are the ones in the previous picture. Those are unfortunately all replacements with official pieces. I say unfortunately because the joints that came with the figure are cast in white, which really changes the aesthetic of the under-structure. But they're terrible, terrible pieces. The axle holes (another common place of difficulty with bootlegs) are rough and often too small, and for the most part they're not even remotely snug in a socket.<br />
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Unfortunately, though the hands look really cool, they're not exactly the best at gripping things. Especially when they look like this:<br />
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I honestly can't wait to see what the original of this looks like, if I ever get a chance. I like the use of the <i>Hero Factory</i> emblems as decoration, though I can't unsee them as "h"'s every time, which makes me feel like everything I use them on rolled off the Hero Factory production floor. That aside, it's super-top heavy, hence, in the photo, him supporting it with the other hand.<br />
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Aside from the hands, the most prominent feature of these figures is the heads.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCNI066nhUnRXyqPIXNzbjV9AnuQ4jsV5UO2qLxlbscqpmB9gqTsN1sO0LU7EORK-T4Riim9Wek4DukaBUsdXW78FQWmC1G6ZGdtbFDL2e8T1yxGi8b53b-yV-f09Mjum2jBhZ0kVR0E/s1600/IMG_1935.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1195" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCCNI066nhUnRXyqPIXNzbjV9AnuQ4jsV5UO2qLxlbscqpmB9gqTsN1sO0LU7EORK-T4Riim9Wek4DukaBUsdXW78FQWmC1G6ZGdtbFDL2e8T1yxGi8b53b-yV-f09Mjum2jBhZ0kVR0E/s640/IMG_1935.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The figures are based on characters from a video game, and as far as I can tell the company that makes these has taken a screenshot from one of those games and printed it on a <i>Hero Factory</i> visor somehow. They're kind of cool, and add a nice variety to the kinds of faces one can use in building. It shouldn't be a surprise that the kind of face a MOC has has a lot to do with its personality. These are a good alternative to the more-stylized <i>Star Wars</i> heads, and the more LEGO-like Knights Kingdom heads (and wait til we get to the smaller figure I bought - the head's amazing!).<br />
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To wrap up, let's have a look at the parts that came with this set that are different. The skeleton is a medium <i>Hero Factory </i>one, but in white, which is neat. Here's the rest:<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1SOSfIt4u9wONbdYfrp3ORmY5BlF2a47nzkh4vsRCIU8wgwjbpAXS4WkSzeWToz8HqV_SktDGxvRkJEq64H8wZsvNLkXfUJuOB70Nn-fKyqkt2IF_SsgkFnNBA-_62md57E-KTcdgDE/s1600/IMG_1933.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="1196" data-original-width="1600" height="478" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhf1SOSfIt4u9wONbdYfrp3ORmY5BlF2a47nzkh4vsRCIU8wgwjbpAXS4WkSzeWToz8HqV_SktDGxvRkJEq64H8wZsvNLkXfUJuOB70Nn-fKyqkt2IF_SsgkFnNBA-_62md57E-KTcdgDE/s640/IMG_1933.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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The hands and blue armour aside, there's a couple of nice prints to use, some parts in white and dark grey that we don't generally see in the official sets, and some light blue accoutrements that add nice flavour to any build.<br />
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Final verdict: Okay? 2.75 Kanohi out of 5? A grade of B-? I don't know. It's not a great figure. Now that I've dismantled it for this post, I'm going to try rebuilding the figure and see what I can do about the design flaws. Or, y'know, just build other cool things with the bits.<br />
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I did do one rebuild and "sturdied-up" the figure:<br />
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<a href="https://scontent.fsea1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/22519317_10155368593092599_3869649341427295385_n.jpg?oh=312cc85a437cc57734d8de026f19c412&oe=5B4C003F" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" data-original-height="800" data-original-width="598" height="640" src="https://scontent.fsea1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t1.0-9/22519317_10155368593092599_3869649341427295385_n.jpg?oh=312cc85a437cc57734d8de026f19c412&oe=5B4C003F" width="476" /></a></div>
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Now I just gotta figure out his name. If you have any idea, I'd love to know. More to come!<br />
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<br />Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-9609870604400213922017-02-19T02:03:00.004-07:002017-02-19T02:03:56.094-07:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through On Hiatus<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvjz1T1nul6uh2PzR9loLdw03njhAa8qBx3nKkFTzi97mSegLI6SifL53ro0iq1NpC831cg7Da0NcbObBRXW_BhBStVfAYmzeBX5VX0xo94OYgKAOx6ZLcIRPhF5wozV1QLzEiM_c9to/s1600/DSC_0138.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEihvjz1T1nul6uh2PzR9loLdw03njhAa8qBx3nKkFTzi97mSegLI6SifL53ro0iq1NpC831cg7Da0NcbObBRXW_BhBStVfAYmzeBX5VX0xo94OYgKAOx6ZLcIRPhF5wozV1QLzEiM_c9to/s640/DSC_0138.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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No that the series has been particularly punctual anyway, but I'm going to take a break from the Bionicle building for a bit. My thoughts and interests are going in other directions at the moment, so rather than force myself to build through, I'd rather wait until I'm back in the mood to have interesting things to say. Probably should have done this a while ago. I will continue the series, eventually.<br />
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Thanks for reading along thus far, and have a look at some of the other collections I write about.Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-9582729680946461482016-12-22T14:27:00.001-07:002016-12-22T14:27:52.680-07:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through part 5.1 - 2005<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3nNDY9YRbdQlFGC0FBIH3DfTAOeNiZuDFtTeARSe8IHpc0hmqjejmEP7vZTPMl1g2CqRrVP2fAgTgYn91HYeeOL_jy774rDtSp3uv1ikM8JI3QcevYWDK2dOYbIfQzkClZsH_LwwWbd4/s1600/DSC_0137.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh3nNDY9YRbdQlFGC0FBIH3DfTAOeNiZuDFtTeARSe8IHpc0hmqjejmEP7vZTPMl1g2CqRrVP2fAgTgYn91HYeeOL_jy774rDtSp3uv1ikM8JI3QcevYWDK2dOYbIfQzkClZsH_LwwWbd4/s640/DSC_0137.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Welcome Back!<br />
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It's time to get this show on the road again, and not solely because I'm tired of having the 2005 models on my shelves.<br />
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(Though I am dying to build some of the 2006 stuff)<br />
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We'll start off today looking at the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Visorak_(Rahi)">Visorak</a>. Though they're called spiders, these creatures don't really conform to our definition of arachnids. Even counting their pincers, they've only got 6 legs. However, we're not talking about creatures from our reality, but from that of Bionicle, so spiders they are.<br />
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The Visorak represent a nice change for the villains of the series in the six sets offered. Though ostensibly clones, there are subtle variances in the builds and in the pieces used that give each one a bit more character than their Vahki predecessors. Also, these sets reintroduce the original brighter colours of the first three years into the series, which brightens up what had become a very dark series of toys. Of course, the darkness of the colour scheme matches nicely the darkness of the story at this point - the Metru Nui series is a grim one.<br />
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What 2005 really provides for us is a remarkable amount of combiner models. Not only are there combiners included in the instruction booklets, but canonical models were also made available in the Lego magazine and on the website. While some of the combiners suffer a bit from that problem of the earlier ones, in that they look like they've been cobbled together from other sets, some actually look like they could have been marketed, official sets. Let's have a look at some of the Visorak combiners.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfLt9xItoe2E17aWacFbDqI9r9NANdyQal-bh3AzBwqtn1ojmL2e74YHf02zwhLmoYxiJZJtu7AZSkagLNHAvYxHI4f2MS7rT3EFwDJpuxom_3cQ1eL1BtqmpvJIvvPFKAUnLHJtwNTEA/s1600/DSC_0141.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="266" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgfLt9xItoe2E17aWacFbDqI9r9NANdyQal-bh3AzBwqtn1ojmL2e74YHf02zwhLmoYxiJZJtu7AZSkagLNHAvYxHI4f2MS7rT3EFwDJpuxom_3cQ1eL1BtqmpvJIvvPFKAUnLHJtwNTEA/s400/DSC_0141.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Kahgarak">Kahgarak</a> is an elite Visorak, built from the blue and white sets commercially released. It plays a part in the novel series, and of all of the Visorak sets (with the exception of the Zivon), it's the only one that actually had eight legs, and can therefore be considered a spider in both Bionicle lore and our own natural science. The <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Gate_Guardian">Gate Guardian</a>, on the other hand, goes quite a different route, and though it incorporated elements from the Visorak sets, its look is decidedly un-spiderlike. If I'm to be honest, when I build this set, it reminds me of something from the Beatles' <i>Yellow Submarine</i> film. A little awkward, slightly ridiculous-looking, but ferocious with those pincers nonetheless.<br />
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The <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Chute_Lurker">Chute Lurker</a> and the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Venom_Flyer">Venom Flyer</a>, though they share a number of characteristics with the Visorak, are actually considered separate species in the Bionicle lore. Both are affiliated with the Visorak, and are used for particular purposes by the horde, but are not Visorak proper. As these creatures were all created by members of the Brotherhood of Makuta, we could perhaps consider the similarities to be aesthetic choices made by a particular member. The creation of the Visorak is credited to Makuta Chirox (who we'll meet in 2008), so perhaps these other creatures were also created by him. I quite like the idea of an aesthetic that distinguishes particular branches of the Rahi, rather than an evolutionary path.<br />
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The last of the smaller Visorak combiners is the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Parakrekks">Parakrekks</a>. Unlike the previous combiners, this one represents a creature that menaced a Toa team many years in the past, and though there are supposedly still surviving members of the species, it seems they have very little really to do with the Visorak and their concomitant creatures. As such, it's the combiner that bears the least resemblance to its constituent parts, and looks more like one of the titan sets, really.<br />
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Last, but certainly not least, we have the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Zivon">Zivon</a>, a combiner of all six Visorak sets. It's a bit wobbly, hence my inclusion of a stand beneath the model. In-story, this is a creature that terrorizes the Visorak, and lives in a shadow-filled realm from which it is only seldom summoned. As with a couple of the aforementioned combiners, this set is not to scale with the Toa Hordika, Visorak, or titan sets from the same year, but is instead a smaller version of a monstrous creature. Perhaps one day I'll attempt a properly-scaled model of the Zivon, if I can determine what that scale might be.<br />
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Next time, we'll have a look at the Hordika and the Rahaga, the heroes of this particular part of the series. Though one of the Hordika acts in a less-than-heroic fashion, and the Rahaga are far more than they seem.Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-92230796039026985182016-11-18T11:58:00.000-07:002016-11-18T12:07:49.143-07:00The Trouble of Recycling Toys<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
It will come as no surprise to many of you that I am a
thrifter. One of my great pleasures in life is spending an hour carefully going
through the book section at Goodwill, or the toy section at Value Village, agog
at the bizarre, bizarre artifacts that greet my eyes.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Seriously, there’s been a book written about everything you
can possibly imagine, and about a whole bunch of things you can’t.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Thrifting is where you move up to a higher tax bracket, in
some ways – from garage sale to thrift shop. I say this not to denigrate either
practice. Let me be clear on that. This kind of shopping is essentially an
environmental act. The garage sale represents an ideal – the buyer and the
seller directly interact. While the very thought of that sends shivers down the
spines of many, the thought of unmediated human interaction in an economic
transaction, it has moments of great joy. Of conversation over shared
interests, over histories of objects. Perhaps the garage sale represents an
interesting point between the proletariat and the bourgeoisie of Marx. Exchange
of manufactured goods without the mediation of rich.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In that case, the thrift shop, with its retail store and its
higher prices, represents both a willingness to pay more for your environmental
action (in that, you pay more money for what is essentially the same environmental action as
a garage sale), and also your willingness to ignore to some extent the direst
relation between even a relatively small corporate entity and environmental
degradation. The fact of the Corporate Entity is directly to blame for many of
the perils facing the planet. This is a part of the higher tax bracket I speak
of. Being taxed isn’t always about money. Sometimes it can be about
accountability.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
When I go to thrift shops, I’m searching for a couple of
things. Books and toys, most generally. A lot of the time, of late, I’m looking
for manga and Bionicle chapterbooks. And Lego. Bionicle Lego. Lots, and lots,
and lots of Bionicle Lego.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Part of my practice in collecting these toys is the careful
sorting, upon initially tearing into a bag, of the Bionicle from the
non-Bionicle. Once this is done, a further process separates the non-Bionicle I
want to keep from the non-Bionicle I do not want to keep. Of the things I keep,
they are sorted again into their own classifications (thus becoming
non-Bionicle), and are then stored (or more often, left on the floor for a
month and then stored) in their respective locations. The non-Bionicle that I
do not want to keep goes through one further sort: things that I will take back
and donate to a thrift shop, and things that I will not. Once a large enough
pile of thrift shop-worthy items accrues, I take them there, and of course
wander about for an hour or so, beginning the process anew.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Of course, the Bionicle I want to keep is itself sorted into
components and then catalogued into the storage system I have that TAKES UP A
WHOLE CORNER OF MY BASEMENT!!!!</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
(Please don’t ever mistake me for not understanding the
pathological nature of collecting. I’m well aware.)</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
That other stuff goes into the recycling.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
Today, a chilly November 18<sup>th</sup>, 2016, I took the
recycling bin from my office out to the dumpster in our complex. There is a bar
across the lid, sometimes, that gets locked in place, so you have to take each
individual piece out of the recycling and place it into the receptacle. This
keeps one from putting boxes in that aren’t broken down (which seems to vex
recyclers for reasons that no one has ever quite made clear to me), I suppose,
but it’s a pain in the ass on a cold Calgary morning, let me tell you.
Thankfully, today, the lid was not locked down, so I lifted it and dumped the entire
contents in, thus saving my already-chilly fingers some pain. As I tipped the
contents of the bin into the dumpster, I saw those last parts, the
non-Bionicle, non-kept, non-rethrifted pieces, the death of a number of toys.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
This is how I came to think of it. </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
In the critical exegesis to my <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Garage Saling Manifesto</i>, I make an argument that the garage sale
and the thrift shop represent an expansion on the spectrum of “value” that
material objects are assigned in culture. Use value and exchange value give way
in these settings to disposal value – once something has passed through the
crucible of consumer culture, what is the least amount of capital that that
thing can bring? There are, of course, different valences of this depending on
where in the spectrum of the secondary markets you are buying, or selling, an
item. Church Basement sales carry with them a whole other branch of ideological
reasoning that inflects this reading. Used book or record shops are somewhere
else on this spectrum, and bring with them their own concerns.</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
But at some point, somewhere in the process, there has to
come a time when the disposal value is zero, that the thing, whatever it is,
ceases to have an identity as an economic entity attached to it, and is
therefore no longer of use. When this happens, they are consigned back to the
materials from which they rose – plastic. If, as Kansas says, we’re naught but
dust in the wind, then these sad, broken, occasionally unidentifiable parts of
toys are plastic on the heap. This act, too, is an environmental one for the
thrifter/saler. You are tasked with making that decision, making that call for
the end of this particular piece of the production process, and all that that
process represents, for the cessation of its place in the structure of capital.
And if you think of it that way, it’s a huge thing to do. One thinks, “This no
longer has economic value, nor could it have economic value to anyone,
therefore I shall terminate its existence, so that it can be changed back into
something that does have economic value, a different something. The process of
that change will damage the environment, but not as much as throwing it away,
so I will accept my accountability in environmental degradation.” </div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
I did this today for a number of things. I thought it was
worth thinking about.</div>
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Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-37947264572406287862016-08-17T08:30:00.000-06:002016-08-17T08:30:15.107-06:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through part 4.2 - 2004Okay, catch up time again. I feel a bit bad rushing through 2004, but I really want to get on with thinking through this series, and the 2004 line have been built and on my shelf for a long while now. Plus, 2005 has some really very cool combiners I'm eager to get to. Once again, I'll apologize for the cellphone picture quality, though this is a panorama, so that's kind of neat, right?<br />
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One of the earliest posts in this series was of <a href="http://speakingofcollecting.blogspot.ca/2014/02/the-building-chronicle-critical_27.html">Ultimate Dume</a>, the large figure next to the lava lamp in this picture. He's one of my favourite builds in the series and provides a remarkable amount of poseability and articulation. He incorporates the three Titan sets from this wave, the first true titan sets, with the possible exception of 2003's Makuta. It was recently pointed out in fan circles that Makuta, considering his fundamental role in the series, only really receives proper sets in these early years. Ultimate Dume is his manifestation at the end of the first Metru Nui storyline.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGHI1YrXjrLko9OQX3QhVn-9xbDu90rzR4YldEP5DkK65ffxBFjcoj14o1XXnwCa69OB7-rfnZ7gzSAahF7ueH52CtzLiKS1rg_qMo9RBcWEtLy99hbxi9fMiPeq4OmPMRwWyVDsU9hg/s1600/BionicleYr4Panorama+%25282%2529.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGHI1YrXjrLko9OQX3QhVn-9xbDu90rzR4YldEP5DkK65ffxBFjcoj14o1XXnwCa69OB7-rfnZ7gzSAahF7ueH52CtzLiKS1rg_qMo9RBcWEtLy99hbxi9fMiPeq4OmPMRwWyVDsU9hg/s640/BionicleYr4Panorama+%25282%2529.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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A closer look, and we can see the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Vahki">Vahki</a>, a robotic police force that kept the Matoran of Metru Nui working. It's a bit strange to me, this need for enforcement drones, but when one realizes that the Matoran exist within a vast robotic body (more on this in later years), perhaps the Vahki can be seen more as control programs, making sure that the smaller parts of the body accomplish their assigned tasks. To the far right of the picture is <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Dume">Turaga Dume</a> and <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Nivawk">Nivawk</a>, one of the titan sets that comprise Ultimate Dume. This version is meant to be yet another manifestation of Makuta, who took over Dume's form in the last years of Metru Nui. This ephemeral nature of Makuta is perhaps a clue as to why we don't see any other actual physical manifestations, though he does end up possessing numerous characters throughout the rest of the series. As Bionicle exists in a far simpler world, similar to that of superheroes, Makuta's actual possession of other entities, and his evil nature, make him easy to read as a metaphor for the evil that seems to be inseparable from sentient creatures.<br />
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Also of note in this picture are the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Kranua">Kranua</a> and the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Kraawa">Kraawa</a>, combiner models using, respectively, the Vahki and the Toa Metru. As the parts comprising each figure type become less and less specialized over the course of the series 10-year run, the combiners we're given are more like sets themselves, rather than models cobbled together from other sets - the 2004 combiners suffer from this. 2005's combiners take a quantum leap forward in dealing with this, but the 2004 combiners definitely point toward a more nuanced idea about combiners from the Lego designers responsible for them.<br />
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The final bit of this year shows us the titan sets <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Nidhiki">Nidhiki</a> and <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Krekka">Krekka</a>, the combiner models <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Kralhi">Kralhi</a> and <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Kraahu">Kraahu</a>, and one of the first really complex models the instructions for which appeared in <i>Lego Magazine</i>, the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Lohrak">Lohrak</a>. The combiners are yet more robotic policing drones, and there's something really horrendously totalitarian about the idea of these massive robots keeping watch over the Matoran, who fill the roll in the series of the innocents that we're meant to sympathize with. Krekka and Nidhiki are servants of the possessed Turaga Dume during this story, Krekka being one of the most reviled sets because his build is so chaotic. I'd agree with that assessment, but I also recognize that it comes from a place of morphological symmetry which we human beings struggle with. Nidhiki is one of the most interesting characters in this series, and does much to add to the lore of Bionicle, as it is revealed that he was once a Toa who defected to a league of assassins known as The Dark Hunters (who we'll see a little bit next time), and was mutated into his current insectoid form.<br />
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And we'll finish 2004 there. A good year, full of innovations in both builds and story, and a real darkening of the plot, which only continues in the next story with the animalistic Hordika, and the almost-betrayal by one of the Toa Metru of his team.Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-23353018281869409692016-08-10T08:30:00.000-06:002016-08-10T08:30:00.158-06:00Microcollections 2: Horror Role-Playing GamesOne of my main collections is my archive of Lovecraft and Lovecraft-related stuff. I've been a fan of his writing almost as long as I've been a comics fan, which is to say most of my life. Part of that collection is my shelf of <i>Call of Cthulhu</i> role-playing game books. As I've picked up, bit by bit, <i>CoC</i> stuff over the years, I've also branched out, slightly, into other horror-related gaming titles. Mostly this is in an effort to find things I can apply to <i>Cthulhu</i>, but every now and again, I discover something really cool in and of itself.<br />
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I'll start with <i>Chill</i>, the books that are arranged at the bottom of the picture. These are from two different versions of the game, from two different gaming companies (and, if I'm not mistaken, another version is being released imminently). <i>Chill</i>, both versions, has a really cool aesthetic to the volumes, and plays more into the traditional horror genre, featuring werewolves, vampires, ghosts, and cryptids of various kinds. Also, this is from well before the White Wolf-inspired games of playing horror monsters as sympathetic characters, a boundary that defines this little collection, actually. I generally don't go in for the Anne Rice/Stephanie Meyer-style of horror game. I'm more interested in the interaction of "normal" people with the abnormal than with the abnormal as metaphor for the normal. The book at the back, <i>Beyond the Supernatural</i>, is of a similar ilk, and investigatory adventure into the weird.<br />
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<i>De Profundis</i> really ought to be a part of the Lovecraft collection, but it's got enough potential on its own to merit being thought about separately. It's a letter-writing RPG, intended to mimic the epistolary-style of some old pulp horror stories. One is meant to take on a persona, write letters on a typewriter, and engage in something called "psychodrama," that is, venturing out into the world but allowing yourself to see it through the lens of the character and narrative that you've taken on. I haven't managed a proper game of it yet, but I live in hope. In front of that is a game I'm relatively unfamiliar with. It's amongst the latest additions to this collection. <i>Little Fears</i> is a RPG that asks you to take on the role of small children and to fight the kinds of nightmares that such people have. I feel like it could be a really disturbing game, which may explain why I haven't given it a go yet.<br />
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Finally, <i>Kult</i>, arranged at the top right, is a game for which I actively seek out books. It plays with Gnostic Christian thinking, and is set in a city that is the archetype of all cities, inhabited by creatures who have been imprisoned by God, or gods. The system itself is a bit clunky, but I enjoy the background material so much that I don't mind. <i>Kult</i> is one of those games that I'd love to run, but that you would need a really serious group of gamers to pay. One day. Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-933413137934367092016-08-03T09:12:00.000-06:002016-08-03T09:12:46.017-06:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through part 4.1 - 2004Since I've dropped the ball a bit on this series, I'm going to play some quick catch up and do a two-parter on the beginning of the Metru Nui saga in 2004. As I write this, the Bionicle fan community is reeling from the news that Generation 2 is being cancelled. There's a lot of vitriol and criticism aimed toward Lego's handling of this new iteration of Bionicle, which I've come to understand is what fans do when they feel they've been wronged by a company or property. I get it, but I also think that the attitude that comes across of a company somehow owing something to the fans is a bit misguided. Yes, we buy and support their products, but these companies put the products out to make money, not to contribute somehow to culture, be it big or small. I'm happy to have had a bit more Bionicle, to have been given some new elements with which to build, and to have seen new interpretations of some of my favourite fictional characters.<br />
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One major criticism has been over the simplicity of the storyline, a criticism with which I fully agree. That said, at the end of the Netflix series <i>Journey to One</i>, we're introduced to a shadow realm within which Makuta is trapped, along with a number of Otokans, so I think that had the series continued, we would have seen some interesting cross-dimensional battle. And intimations of a coming Toa of Light were also pointing toward a more fleshed out storyline.<br />
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In Generation 1, 2004 is where the story really started to complexify. The revelation that the Turaga of Mata Nui had been Toa thousands upon thousands of years ago, in a city of great technological accomplishment to boot, began the movement of the series through its pseudo-fantasy beginnings and into a cool amalgam of fantasy and science fiction - an amalgam that I think I might equate, as I do with so much, with myth.<br />
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(Let me just apologize for the picture quality. I used my cell phone, and the lighting was a bit low.)<br />
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So what do we do with the fact that the Matoran and their protectors lived in an <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Metru_Nui">island city</a> ten thousand years ago, a city located deep beneath the island of Mata Nui, and that they somehow were forced to migrate from that city to their far-less-technological island home? Coupled with that is the fact that not only were the village elders of Mata Nui Toa, but they were shepherded through their transition into Toa by an even older Toa, last surviving member of his own team. Four years into the story we begin to realize that there's so much more going on than simply a battle between Makuta and the Toa. These new/old Toa are far more unsure of themselves, and the shift of colour from the bright primary colours of the Toa Mata to the darker colours of the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Toa_Metru">Toa Metru</a> signals a shift in tone that resonates through the rest of the Generation 1 story. Even more interesting is that these Toa were originally Matoran, so we begin to question where exactly, or rather who exactly, the Toa Mata came from. The answer is not so simple. Further, these Toa are aware of the history of these heroes through a vast and proud history, and of the various factions around their world that oppose both the Toa and the Great Spirit, and who support the machinations of Makuta. Clearly by this point in the series' production, Lego had decided to let their creative team loose, and the team had jumped at the chance.<br />
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But what of the builds?<br />
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As I noted earlier, the Toa Metru are the first figures to allow for articulation of the head piece, giving us the ability to use that articulation to communicate emotion and attitude. It's a quantum leap forward for the toys. Not only this, but the arms now have elbow and knee joints, so action poses become a possibility - the toys are beginning their move from mechanical/Technic building to the portmanteau "craction" figures. We still have a gear system inside the Toa's bodies, which does make posing from the shoulders difficult, and it's a difficulty that was only ever solved by removing the gear systems altogether. Whether or not this was a good idea is something best left to individual opinion. The Matoran builds of this wave are only slightly better than those of the previous wave. They're not particularly wobbly like the 2003 Matoran, but they're also not particularly poseable, given the limited range of movement of their arms, legs, and heads. They are also only really nice to look at from the front. From behind, they are completely unfinished, which makes posing the characters in conversation with others a problem.<br />
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Off to the far right in that picture you see Toa<a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Lhikan"> Lhikan</a>, last survivor of an older Toa team. His build is identical to the Toa Metru, and it's really his steed that is the interesting part of that set. The Kikanalo is a herd beast that roams the stone realm of Metru Nui, and represents one of the first non-Toa creatures to be given the same articulated treatment as the Toa themselves. This is the wave that introduces the Titan sets, which is where we'll pick things up next time. Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-18108771022328761702016-07-20T08:30:00.000-06:002016-07-20T08:30:13.304-06:00Microcollections 1: Superhero Ephemera<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As I consider my collections, the ways I go about organizing them, adding to them, and appreciating them, I also realize that the large collections (primarily my comics, Bionicle, and Lovecraft) are accompanied by smaller collections, some intentional and some completely arbitrary. I thought it would be fun to have a few brief looks at some of the smaller collections in my collection of collections.<br />
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First up, superhero stuff.<br />
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While clearing up our storage room the other day, I opened up a box I had labeled "Superhero Ephemera." Inside were these little treasures. I used to have some of them in the spaces between my comic boxes, but having rearranged those shelves to optimize space, the ephemera was relegated to a box. However, a few weeks back we visited the very strange and awesome Miracle of America Museum in Montana, a place where knick knacks and stuff were just spread over a warehouse-sized space to celebrate the innovation of the American nation. I have a few more thoughts about that, but I'll save it for another post. Inspired by this, I made a little bit of space to display some of my knick knacks, superhero style. The accumulation of this little collection is a random process. Many of the little figures, mostly fast-food toys, are things that came in bags of Bionicle that I get from thrift shops. There's toys that come from Kinder Egg-style candies, inserts from <i>Wizard</i> magazine, lantern rings that were given away during the "Blackest Night" event. The black Spider-Man toy in the bottom left corner has been the subject of one of my <a href="http://giantboxofcomics.blogspot.ca/2015/04/return-ofthe-horror-from-dollar-bin.html">Horror from the Dollar Bin</a> posts, a naughty little toy if ever I've seen one. There's a couple in there, the Wolverine at the front and the similar Captain America at the back, that are actually pens. And then there's the Fleischer <i>Superman</i> cartoons, on video cassette. There's a belt buckle, little tiny reproductions of comics, bracelets, zipper pulls, little figurines. The day after I took this picture, I got a Super Grover figure in a bag of Bionicle parts. He graces the shelf now too.<br />
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A fairly important part of my dissertation is going to be looking at exactly this sort of intrusion into the material realm of these kinds of fictional characters. Toys and knick knacks like these make up a sort of mythic background radiation. We see them at flea markets, garage sales, McDonald's, and pay them little attention. But they are important manifestations of fiction into reality, and I think that's something that's worth thinking about.<br />
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Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-83346458527923978382016-07-13T09:00:00.000-06:002016-07-13T09:00:06.551-06:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Toas of LightBefore we move on to the 2004 wave, and travel back tens of thousands of years into Mata Nui's history, I'd like to offer this consideration of Takanuva, the messianic Toa of Light. Takanuva shows up at a particular juncture of the story's history because it's necessary for him to do so. There is a prophecy about him, and the prophecy is fulfilled.<br />
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But this got me wondering what would happen if he'd had to show up in different eras of the story. Or even earlier iterations of the kind of building lines that eventually led to Bionicle, and those that led from Bionicle. Here's what I came up with.<br />
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Slightly before Bionicle debuted in 2001, Lego tried the buildable figure /epic storyline tack with both Throwbots and Roboriders. Both featured robotic characters in conflict, sometimes with one another, but the set-up of both stories didn't seem to have an extended storyline in mind. So these are my suppositions of what would have happened had a Toa of Light-like figure showed up in these two stories.<br />
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As there's already a first-wave Toa of Light, I moved on to the Toa Metru era of Bionicle for the next models. Above is the Toa Metru of Light, accompanied below by his Horkida version, had he come into contact with the Hordika venom in same way that the Toa Metru do in the canonical storyline. I'm pretty happy with the Metru version of the character. There's a nice range of gold armour designed to use with this body build, so I was able to put together a consistent-looking figure.<br />
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I'm not as happy with the Hordika version. The body is pretty good, but I had to go with silver pieces, as the Horkida builds were never made compatible, really, with gold armour. I used the sparkly Kanohi Avhokii for this figure, too, to give him a definite personality distinct from all of the other models. The way I see it, once the Hordika venom begins swirling through his system, he ceases to reign in the light he can emanate.<br />
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The Toa Inika have never been my favourite build for the Toa, but their articulation, coupled with their pseudo-firearms, makes them excellent for Tarantino-esque poses. As I was building these variations on the character, I wasn't thinking of how I could make the builds better, however, but how I could adapt Takanuva into the aesthetic of each Toa variation. I think this one captures the Inika nicely.<br />
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Of all of the builds I did for this little experiment, the Toa Mahri of
Light is by far my favourite, and the only one who wasn't dismantled
after I'd finished. I love his trident, his armour, everything, really.
The Mahri were the wave of Bionicle in which all kinds of different body
builds were being incorporated into the line, a trend continued in the
Mistika, Phantoka, and Glatorian waves that followed. Though they eschew
the more mechanical construction of the earlier waves and, as I've
noted elsewhere, proceed from the mechanical to more biological (robot
to android, perhaps), this is the wave in which poseability reached its
apotheosis, at least for G1 Bionicle. <br />
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The Mistika/Phantoka wave of Bionicle actually includes an official Takanuva set, though it's a titan, and I prefer him as a Toa. I was able to go back to the dark gold armour, though if I'd been able to make his wings the same colour, that would have been great. Much of this is based on the Tahu build from this wave.<br />
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The Glatorian version of the Toa of Light is a little more sparse than his predecessors. Glatorian, and the whole Bara Magna storyline, smacked of post-apocalyptic society, so I wanted to make sure that the Toa of Light we had here was one that fit the setting. He's a dingy, banged-up Toa of Light, struggling through a barren wasteland to assist his fellow Glatorians.<br />
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These are two different versions of Takanuva as a Generation 2 Bionicle. I built the first at the same time I made all of the others. There's still much hope in the fan community that we might see a Toa of Light, but I suppose that will depend on where the G2 Bionicle story goes. The second model, made a few months later, was build after I received some paints for my birthday. The mask and the chest armour on the lower picture are custom paints. The paint I used matches remarkably well with the Pearl Gold colour of G2 Bionicle, so I spent some time with the hybrid Technic/CCBS system of G2 to try to put together a Toa of Light worthy of the new construction methods. I'm pretty happy with both versions.<br />
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To finish off, here's my take on Tara Knuva, a light-based hero from the Hero Factory line. These are versions of the character from the first four years of the line. I don't know much about the Hero Factory story, so I can't really give any details like that, but I stuck as close as I could to the build styles of each wave. Of all of them, I think the wave 1 figure turned out best.<br />
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So those are my Toa(s) of Light. Hope you enjoyed them. Next week we'll move forward to 2004, though backward through history, and begin experiencing the stories of Vakama, Onewa, Nokama, Whenua, Matau, and Nuju. The revelation that the Turaga were once Toa, tens of thousands of years ago, solidifies the mythic nature of the story, and the building innovations offer us some of the more memorable models of the series.Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-10128906502125687922016-07-06T09:00:00.000-06:002016-07-06T09:00:37.929-06:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through part 3.4 - 2003<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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As we come in for our finish of the 2003 sets, I'll apologize for the decline in quality of my pictures. 2004 will be better, I promise. One of the things the 2004 wave introduced to the series was the idea of the Titan figure - larger-scale figures that combined the action figure style builds of the Toa with more complex Technic pieces. The large sets from 2003 prefigure these Titans, but don't quite qualify.<br />
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<i>The Mask of Light</i> follows the exploits of two Matoran, Jaller and Takua. They are sent on a quest to find the Seventh Toa, the Toa of Light, which takes them through the varied landscapes of Mata Nui, and in and out of conflict with the Rahkshi. As with most children's movies not intended for theatrical release, <i>Mask of Light</i> is kind of a drab piece of storytelling, more an advertisement than a story, really. It stands in stark contrast with the series of books that comes out in its wake, those dealing with the tales of the Toa Metru, which are routinely dark and explore some interesting aspects of morality and duty. Two of the large sets of this year depict these two main characters. Takua and Pewku is a pretty neat set. The giant crab that Takua rides around the island is a neat mix of Technic elements, and its movement mechanism, small wheels concealed beneath moving, but cosmetic, legs is really great. As with the other Matoran from this wave, Takua (and Jaller) is a bit wobbly. The builds for the various Matoran throughout Generation 1 are amongst the weakest. The balance between simplicity and poseability never seems to have quite worked out, though I'd have to say that the Mahri Matoran from 2007 are probably, in my opinion, the best. The Jaller and Gukko Bird set is an odd choice, reflecting a scene from the film that lasts only moments, and the bird has no feet and/or stand on which to display it, hence, in the picture below, my choice to hang it from the bottom of the shelf.<br />
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In the picture at the top, it looks like we have three different versions of Makuta, which is sort of correct. The one in the middle is the Makuta set, and is actually quite fascinating for its identity as the only official model of the storyline's main villain that was ever released. We have combiners (such as next year's Ultimate Dume set) that portray versions of the villain, but never another specific set called "Makuta." This is odd, considering his intrinsic place in the tale. Makuta, the set, attempts to offer some more poseability, though combines it with the odd wobbly build of the Matoran from this year, making him a good model, but not a great one. The same goes for the two combiners that flank him. One is a beastial version of Makuta, a combination of the Makuta, Takua, and Jaller sets. Again, it's good, but not great. The other is Takutanuva, the end result of the battle between Makuta and the Toa of Light. <br />
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The last large set from this year is the Seventh Toa himself, Takanuva, who, you may be able to guess from the similarity of names, is actually <i>MoL</i> protagonist Takua reborn as a Toa. It's hard to see in the picture, but Takanuva comes with a really great vehicle that he can ride, though his actual build is still using Toa Nuva pieces from the previous year, and so is a little underwhelming. But the character himself stands as a messianic figure in the prophesies of the Matoran, so our interest in him can stem from the fact that this kind of a prophesied figure is not only brought into what really amounts to a kids story, but also incarnates, so to speak, in the material realm as a toy. Which, I suppose, if one considers the fact that I own a Jesus Christ action figure, is not so odd.<br />
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The next post will be a bit larger a consideration of the Toa of Light from a building stance, and then we'll move on to the saga of the Toa Metru, and of the City of Metru Nui, where things get a little more murky, narratively speaking.Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-54227557651095025652016-06-29T09:00:00.000-06:002016-06-29T09:00:25.277-06:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through part 3.3 - 2003Our second-last foray into the <i>Mask of Light</i>-era of G1 brings us the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Rahkshi">Rahkshi</a>. Created from strange, slug-like creatures called <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Kraata">Kraata</a>, the Rahkshi, at least the ones that the Toa Nuva encounter in this particular stage of their quest, are foes unlike any they've faced before. The six Rahkshi lay waste to Ta-Koro and Onu-Koro, and hand up defeat after defeat to the Toa Nuva until a new ally reveals itself. More of that next time.<br />
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Though, as with many of the villain waves, the Rahkshi are basically clones, their construction raises them up from the level of the Bohrok clones of the previous year. I noted in a prior post that the movement of the head on later waves of Toa give them far more potential for poseability and character, but that this innovation doesn't reach the Toa until the introduction of the Toa Metru in 2004. However, the Rahkshi demonstrate a rudimentary form of this articulation, and, though their bodies are, like the Matoran of this year, a bit wobbly, their ability to gaze at you, snake-like, is unnerving and cool. Of all of the models up to this point, including the large ones from previous and the current years, the Rahkshi are the ones who begin to transcend simply being representations of living creatures in a fiction, and instead start to embody those creatures.<br />
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The Rahkshi also provide some very, very cool combiner models, although the ones included in the back of the instruction manuals are not the greatest pieces.<br />
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The three combiners you see here are culled from the Japanese version of <i>LEGO Magazine</i>, as far as I can tell. The first two have instructions <a href="http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/combiners-2/">here</a>, and are definitely a couple of my favourite combiners. The top one, made from pieces of the red and brown sets, has a very cool martial artist aesthetic, which is reflected in it's possibilities of poseablity. The second, the green and white, takes a good deal of inspiration from the mechs popularized in Manga and Anime. It's not quite as poseable, but it makes up for that in the intimidating presence that the build exudes. And, as you can see, the ability of these builds to move their heads allows much more characterization, and much more expressiveness, than their predecessors. The bottom picture, a blue/red/black combiner, appears only as a picture in the North American <i>LEGO Magazine</i>, one highlighting the kinds of cool creations that appear internationally in LEGO communities. No official instructions were ever released, I think, but there's a fan-made video on YouTube that demonstrates how to build this figure. As with the Matoran combiners from this year, such models can be extrapolated from pictures based on the available parts in given sets.</div>
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Next time, we'll have a look at the proto-titan sets that round out this year, and finish off this part of the story. </div>
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<br />Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-27633868831759187772016-05-11T08:00:00.000-06:002016-05-11T08:00:09.467-06:00 The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through part 3.2 - 2003Before <i>Mask of Light</i> dropped and we were graced with an official Makuta set amongst the large sets of 2003, the Toa Nuva had to finish dealing with their Bohrok problem. Though the swarms were defeated, and then Bahrag re-imprisoned, a last ditch failsafe plan comes into play, and six very special Bohrok attempt to steal the Toa's powers and reawaken the queens. The <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Bohrok-Kal">Bohrok-Kal</a>.<br />
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As you can see, they're basically Bohrok with new paint jobs and tools, though they really are pretty badass, and in-story (which I'll be reading through in comics over at the <a href="http://giantboxofcomics.blogspot.ca/">Giant Box of Comics</a> pretty soon) they bring the Toa to their knees.<br />
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Though, so do all of the other villains, really. And the Toa always bounce back. You know they do.<br />
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It seems that it wasn't only the toys that were starting to clone in 2003, and perhaps that's why the <i>Mask of Light</i> film seemed, despite the title, so lackluster. And even the promise of the awakening of Mata Nui, which was only really mysteriously hinted at in the film, wasn't enough to save the movie.<br />
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The Bohrok-Kal are notable, at least in my personal opinion, for one thing: one of their combiners. To combat the Toa Kaita Nuva, the Bohrok-Kal were gifted with the ability to fuse into a gestalt entity known as <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Bohrok-Kal_Kaita_Ja">Bohrok-Kal Kaita Ja</a>. He's a pretty great model, and as with Wairhua Nuva from 2002, branches out somewhat from the typical build.<br />
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Whatever that might mean.<br />
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This is all to say that Kaita Ja is one of my favourite models. I've used the head build for him in a couple of MOCs, and I don't think he's given up all of his secrets yet.<br />
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Today's post is going to be a bit short. I don't really have much to say about the Kal that I haven't said about their less-powerful cousins. The notable bits of this year happen in the second wave and in conjunction with the release of the film. The Kal suffer for this, feeling like an afterthought of the previous year's storyline, and a prologue, but not that important a one, for the coming of the Toa of Light.<br />
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Who we'll meet soon. But first, the children of Makuta rise, and the Toa actually face something they haven't yet encountered - real evil. Beware the Rahkshi.Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-82294401895420653212016-05-04T08:00:00.000-06:002016-05-04T08:00:08.759-06:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through part 3.1 - 2003<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml>
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<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: inherit;">2003 was an exciting year for Bionicle. Following the
release of the first wave with the Bohrok-Kal, news broke of a film in the
works. I was absolutely stoked to see a Bionicle film, to see the Toa, even if
it was the Toa Nuva, walking around, talking, interacting with an environment
as rich and mysterious as Mata Nui.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BHHAQqdwuxDcp7qVx4NuW4shScRpRMig32_76brjf19IfYxx_BzKym8tEaQNytm9jIilDA-TM6wwX3HiNeMTuuLRHRQTxyJqQXXURRfIV7Bf4qQizfagEp3QsU0D1cWYgvV_QPMsfHc/s1600/maxresdefault.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="360" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg2BHHAQqdwuxDcp7qVx4NuW4shScRpRMig32_76brjf19IfYxx_BzKym8tEaQNytm9jIilDA-TM6wwX3HiNeMTuuLRHRQTxyJqQXXURRfIV7Bf4qQizfagEp3QsU0D1cWYgvV_QPMsfHc/s640/maxresdefault.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">It was…well, anti-climactic. But I think that a problem that
often happens with childrens’ features that are released directly to home media
is that they’re not courting the adult market that a film released in the movie
theatres needs to. Even if that market is just parents taking their kids to the
film, there has to be something, so the parents will deign to come back for the
next film. Pixar are masters of this. <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Bionicle:
The Mask of Light</i> was not.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But that’s not that big a deal. Not all branches that a
franchise grows into can be amazing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">How were the toys?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I sometimes get the feeling in fandom that 2003 isn’t
well-liked. The proto-titan sets of Jaller and Gukko, and Hewkii and Pewku
usually meet lukewarm reception, as do the revamped Tohun….er…..Matoran (their
name is changed as Lego is faced with a lawsuit from the Maori people over
intellectual property issues – my thoughts on this are stewing still – I see
both sides, and I’m not sure what the solution is). The Rahkshi are cool, but
are clones, as are the earlier Bohrok-Kal. But there’s some interesting spots.
In lieu of a video of me putting something together, I’ll jump right in, and we’ll
look at the smallest sets of the wave, the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Matoran">Matoran</a>.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6TIMBtnCIk2ruGscEXHqgwPohpp2V9FUneDZMmZvWhcki9APlVUlv-9OPNyIf9dQg6fml4DU5i3yvg9mqzh2YQNoanYGNbkyLnw_LHnROBLrLLhytnCfhWcfqwGTqk49QDTXST-j80M/s1600/IMG_1410+%25285%2529.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="356" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiL6TIMBtnCIk2ruGscEXHqgwPohpp2V9FUneDZMmZvWhcki9APlVUlv-9OPNyIf9dQg6fml4DU5i3yvg9mqzh2YQNoanYGNbkyLnw_LHnROBLrLLhytnCfhWcfqwGTqk49QDTXST-j80M/s640/IMG_1410+%25285%2529.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Part of the story of <i style="mso-bidi-font-style: normal;">Mask
of Light</i> is the gathering in Ta-Wahi of teams from various villages for a <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Kolhii">Kolhii</a> tournament. Each
Matoran set from this wave came with a Kolhii stick and puck, and a gear
mechanism that allowed a swinging motion of the torso. They were sort of like
Bionicle Hockey players, but a little less sturdy than one might hope. The
looseness of the gear system also makes them quite difficult to pose, often
relying on the stick to steady a wobbly body.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">To cap this sort of disappointing revamp of what were once
badass villagers, there was no combiner and only three of the villages were
represented – Ko-Wahi, Ga-Wahi, and Po-Wahi, or White, Blue, and Brown. The
larger sets featured red characters from Ta-Wahi, but never were any Onu- or
Le-Matoran produced. And as a result of the colour schemes of the existing
ones, MOCs are difficult to make. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">But back to the combiners, or lack thereof. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">A
few years back, I discovered something in the recesses of BioSector01 (and,
actually, right now, as I search for the link, I’ve just discovered something
else in there, another Kabaya combiner – off to hunt again!). This picture, of
what’s called the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Set:8581%2B8582%2B8583%2B8584%2B8585%2B8586">Matoran
Kohlii Combiner</a> is all the information I have about this model. I don’t
know where the picture came from. But, as I gradually gathered the pieces
together, I decided to attempt to build it. It’s an interesting process in
the case where all one has is a relatively low-res picture. What I did was first figure out which Matoran it utilized. Then I
went through my collection and put together as much of each of them as I could,
which was a fair bit. And then, using only those pieces, I tried to put this
four-armed dude and his dog together. The result was pretty good (though I’m
still missing two light blue torso pieces for the feet.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCfhY6OOMHHJRN53O5hoSRXRWBpAFfRte3OR9IdM5dRImfYRs-2ka3KGXqGuR79nK_oi7oGC6vHptGvf7wuvlN5MpouVym_kLFAxfLNTuea029q5u0WbtSEXv9BwzxhoTKbpTiWtje4v8/s1600/IMG_0732.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="640" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjCfhY6OOMHHJRN53O5hoSRXRWBpAFfRte3OR9IdM5dRImfYRs-2ka3KGXqGuR79nK_oi7oGC6vHptGvf7wuvlN5MpouVym_kLFAxfLNTuea029q5u0WbtSEXv9BwzxhoTKbpTiWtje4v8/s640/IMG_0732.JPG" width="478" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">I’ve messed about trying to make Matoran for the other
villages, but their body pieces are so specific to their region that it’s
virtually useless. I painted up some pieces to make an Onu-Matoran once, and I
may attempt with my newfound proclivity for painting to create some Le-Matoran.
We’ll see.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: inherit;">Before I finish for today, I can’t remember if I’ve
mentioned the <a href="http://biomediaproject.com/bmp/">BioMedia Project</a> before, but it’s an online initiative to archive
all of the Bionicle digital media from the first and second generations of the
series. Bionicle was one of the first media properties to really explore
digital space, and it’s worth noting how it all happened. Here’s a video from
2003, one that was unlockable with codes one collected from the cannisters,
called “Rahkshi Rock.” We’ll talk Bohrok-Kal next time.</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen="" class="YOUTUBE-iframe-video" data-thumbnail-src="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/WDONVtEfPkU/0.jpg" frameborder="0" height="266" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/WDONVtEfPkU?feature=player_embedded" width="320"></iframe></div>
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Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-56880758328431468132016-04-25T13:50:00.000-06:002016-04-25T17:19:03.597-06:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through part 2.4 - 2002<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
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By way of wrapping up my look at 2002, I present the Master Builder/Combiner menagerie. One of my criticisms of the latest wave of Bionicle is its focus solely on characters on the island of Okoto, and not the island itself. In the early years of Generation 1, we were treated to numerous creatures, either made using other sets or as sets in and of themselves. The Master Builder Set, a Lego Store exclusive in 2002, widened the variety of creatures one could encounter on Mata Nui substantially, and they're a lot of fun to build. Rather than try to build a creature using the set pieces and then take it apart to build the next one, I used pieces from my collection to represent all of the possible builds from the set. Some of them turned out quite nicely. </div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSILeJCOdaoBM3M-6VnGfvssorelRzZwZEkIomszRFgHlkxNeUiBIGlqJ-5fV0XHOqJGJ55cxKVyrwBJ2nmjMkrKu0D_1EaO-tEsFeHa852Wop_gxB23UW_0WNer4iMJiRxbBbkTIFkc/s1600/IMG_1127.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjOSILeJCOdaoBM3M-6VnGfvssorelRzZwZEkIomszRFgHlkxNeUiBIGlqJ-5fV0XHOqJGJ55cxKVyrwBJ2nmjMkrKu0D_1EaO-tEsFeHa852Wop_gxB23UW_0WNer4iMJiRxbBbkTIFkc/s400/IMG_1127.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here we have the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Ruki">Ruki</a> and the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Hoto">Hoto</a>. I had very recently seen my son's drama department production of <i>The Little Mermaid</i>, and it was only when I'd finished building the Ruki that I realized I'd made a Bionicle version of Flounder!<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMMTkyCtDYqDuHL4D8106oANNLD9TLJFy8vjGzSfwX-6Ax9me5m-BTsLqMrz6FsGVMvn91Xg45K6EBRTB5dqiYFi3O6nZPAMbyaK6CLs-eFMBjG6Gj4CiDs0PDgqiw66knlevgI2PXNM/s1600/IMG_1128.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjmMMTkyCtDYqDuHL4D8106oANNLD9TLJFy8vjGzSfwX-6Ax9me5m-BTsLqMrz6FsGVMvn91Xg45K6EBRTB5dqiYFi3O6nZPAMbyaK6CLs-eFMBjG6Gj4CiDs0PDgqiw66knlevgI2PXNM/s400/IMG_1128.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Next is the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Makika">Makika</a> and the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Kofo-Jaga">Kofo Jaga</a>. I like the Kofo, and it looks nice displayed next to the previous year's Nui Jaga. It also offers one of the very few instances where it looks like there are particular Genus (Jaga) on the island, comprised of separate species (Kofo, Nui).<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifHjkmUJn0CEhOQexXCAH-NB2v4OIPVokVqRwXFvfPTzTBoyOXSqvglc7og7EZfcUUNCS9lrxAxD0pEACMQJDfXfMOtbjC8Ud4oh_mqKN64uZP7q2U7DqgkEkeEeX-TlMs6hidYRNbIdE/s1600/IMG_1129.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEifHjkmUJn0CEhOQexXCAH-NB2v4OIPVokVqRwXFvfPTzTBoyOXSqvglc7og7EZfcUUNCS9lrxAxD0pEACMQJDfXfMOtbjC8Ud4oh_mqKN64uZP7q2U7DqgkEkeEeX-TlMs6hidYRNbIdE/s400/IMG_1129.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Here we have the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Vako">Vako</a> and the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Takea">Takea</a>. One of these days I'm going to make a larger version of the Takea (probably just using the same instructions, but with longer lift arms), as I feel like this should be like a Great White Shark in the waters surrounding Mata Nui.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIxQGwmnvayV8mUFPbtpJIxHIixaPO9rW-rFLOQ2x6hmy9bE84T-Lp55DX7pR1yvo5Y7xb8ves6o4uD37-Vm3whyphenhyphenT_sOvBmt3LrqkZHrylEwqkln_YFz3dR29jlErksn3nJS0ofHZI3w/s1600/IMG_1130.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiEIxQGwmnvayV8mUFPbtpJIxHIixaPO9rW-rFLOQ2x6hmy9bE84T-Lp55DX7pR1yvo5Y7xb8ves6o4uD37-Vm3whyphenhyphenT_sOvBmt3LrqkZHrylEwqkln_YFz3dR29jlErksn3nJS0ofHZI3w/s400/IMG_1130.JPG" width="400" /></a> </div>
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The<a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Kewa"> Goko-Kahu</a> and the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Bog_Snake">Kuna</a> are next. The Kuna is cool, using the lift arms of the set in novel configurations to simulate an undulating snake. It's not the most successful of experiments, but it does the trick. The Goko-Kahu (also called the Kewa) is a strange, bird-like creature. You'll see that I used a Roborider head for this version, as I like the colour scheme, but wasn't willing to clean off the pattern.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucYo598C-9EhVPkCkI6Jz5rkNDpimRygbOT_N1ro-_mIC60VEWpKCSwYvxTq_AU0kq_5N0A8rTX9plgCx3VRkuU1Ms8D_Wb8PyU6bc3Q3JemtVKjnCBZ2TR0zDDTy_rRjtdjOqMnC4wI/s1600/IMG_1131.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjucYo598C-9EhVPkCkI6Jz5rkNDpimRygbOT_N1ro-_mIC60VEWpKCSwYvxTq_AU0kq_5N0A8rTX9plgCx3VRkuU1Ms8D_Wb8PyU6bc3Q3JemtVKjnCBZ2TR0zDDTy_rRjtdjOqMnC4wI/s400/IMG_1131.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Husi">Husi</a> and the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Fusa">Fusa</a> are two of my favourites from this set. Most of the models in this set have actions, except for the very small creatures. The Husi offers amazing poseability, due in part to it's use of the Throwbot build to move it's head. The Fusa is like a boxing Kangaroo Rat, and is a really fun build.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMsadb9utaPWTPSeSVn-P9zYdTm016-hWTsnthTLL0b4SvxPHz28hRcdebJ2Phs7dk5okGb6kzSpyC3LBzKvTBKnrZuKW5dWiTWXXO5XpsECjPtSH_PONDAS8K78ll6Oaod5AR1UPWdA/s1600/IMG_1132.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhEMsadb9utaPWTPSeSVn-P9zYdTm016-hWTsnthTLL0b4SvxPHz28hRcdebJ2Phs7dk5okGb6kzSpyC3LBzKvTBKnrZuKW5dWiTWXXO5XpsECjPtSH_PONDAS8K78ll6Oaod5AR1UPWdA/s400/IMG_1132.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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The last three from the Master Builder set are the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Shore_Turtle">Hoi</a>, the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Fikou">Fikou</a> (which we've seen last year in black, and which we'll see as a promotional set next year in orange), and the creature that graces the cover of the MBS instructions, the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Hikaki">Hikaki</a>. The Hoi is an adorable little sea turtle, and I once made an entire tribe of them that lived under a shelf in my library. I may get the colony started again when I have some clear space. The Hikaki is a cool model, definitely something that one could see interacting with the more mainstream figures and creatures of the series.<br />
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03sYIIgUycoglTMshSWdJV4HKUH59KB-WkyfkNumc4F3-bleQp0d_XMTHoSMSsgdzgxjG3g-uv9PG1tZyUmh0l7rC-NFBb1oKG2-p2XajZWkSylihZbzPLZB3dO9Mo301PJAcpfL6gk4/s1600/IMG_1133.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi03sYIIgUycoglTMshSWdJV4HKUH59KB-WkyfkNumc4F3-bleQp0d_XMTHoSMSsgdzgxjG3g-uv9PG1tZyUmh0l7rC-NFBb1oKG2-p2XajZWkSylihZbzPLZB3dO9Mo301PJAcpfL6gk4/s400/IMG_1133.JPG" width="400" /></a></div>
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Our final three creatures are Bohrok combiners the instructions for which were on the Lego website at the time. The <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Waikiru">Waikiru</a> is constructed from parts of Pahrak, and is a cute little seal-type creature. The <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Ghekula">Ghekula</a>, built from Lehvak and Gahlok seems to be part frog, part bull, which is actually a kind of badass mixture. The <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Keras">Keras</a>, constructed from Lehvak and Tahnok is an excellent crab model. There seem to be a lot of different kinds of crabs on Mata Nui.<br />
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That does it for 2002. This was the last real glut of creatures on the island. Next year, the story arc becomes highly focussed on the Toa and the Matoran, and though 2004's wave teases an archive beneath Metru Nui filled with strange creatures, we only get model representation of a few. But first, Makuta makes his move, the Rahkshi storm the island, and a storyteller fulfills his destiny.Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-39233755622733302762016-04-25T12:00:00.001-06:002016-04-25T12:00:21.674-06:00Contest!!It's been nearly 2 months since I've updated this blog, due to a number of reasons that continue to feel like they're beyond my control!<br />
<br />
But later today, I'm planning on finishing up 2002 in my Bionicle build-through, and start 2003. To celebrate, I'm going to hold a draw. The prize package is as follows:<br />
<br />
1 Vahki Bordakh - used set, but complete, including instructions<br />
1 McDonalds Toa Hahli Inika figure, sealed in bag<br />
1 Bionicle comic, issue #19, featuring Bordakh on the cover - will ship flat, bagged and boarded<br />
1 flat silver Kanohi Avohkii (The Mask of Light)<br />
1 green Ehlek head<br />
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Entering is easy. One entry per person, just leave a name in the comments section. In one month, May 25, 2016, I'll randomly draw one name and that person will be the winner. I'll announce it here, and then we'll figure out the rest of the details then.Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-26692454524019668322016-02-03T09:00:00.000-07:002016-02-03T09:00:01.948-07:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through part 2.3 - 2002<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvswqwvv-9TyWIZfvC4PgMT-eA0g59UQci-k7LeZn5RpZER39CwLsn_JTLTV_6-lVts7dMAaBvLoxj-XwHp3vjYtF2aXZ7qZUXzrULqzF-U1dYlT6b9zTqMA62kc8HvtdINYo8-lzK8mU/s1600/IMG_0921.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="260" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjvswqwvv-9TyWIZfvC4PgMT-eA0g59UQci-k7LeZn5RpZER39CwLsn_JTLTV_6-lVts7dMAaBvLoxj-XwHp3vjYtF2aXZ7qZUXzrULqzF-U1dYlT6b9zTqMA62kc8HvtdINYo8-lzK8mU/s640/IMG_0921.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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Welcome to The Swarm! Above you see the majority of my <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Bohrok">Bohrok</a> swarm, minus of course the 2003 Bohrok-Kal, and the Bahrag Spider, a combiner that wouldn't fit on the shelf, and that I'll show a little further down.<br />
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As I noted in my introduction to 2002, the cloning of the Bohrok in this wave led to a troubling trend in Bionicle. The two villain series of the next wave, the Bohrok-Kal and the Rahkshi, follow this trend, changing only colour and accessory, but keeping fundamental builds the same across the series. It's for this reason that I find myself gravitating, during this particular build-through, to the combiner models. They simply offer more interesting entertainment, and sometimes challenge, than the official, or mainstream, models, however we might want to refer to them. Having said this, I do like the Bohrok and the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Bohrok_Va">Bohrok Va</a>. Unlike the Toa Nuva that they oppose, these models offer far more flexibility when it comes to posing, though not quite as much as the waves later in the decade. The Bohrok attack function is also pretty neat, and offers a nice combination of action figure and Technic parts. If only they'd been a bit more varied in their construction. The smaller Bohrok Va are also mostly cloned figures, though some of the leg and head assemblies vary enough to keep them interesting, despite their low piece count. Again, it's the combiners (or those that I have, at least) of these little figures that I find to be the more interesting parts of this wave.<br />
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But before I wax lyrical about the combiners, there's also the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Bahrag">Bahrag Twins</a>, Queens of the Swarm, to consider. Basically, they're Technic dragons. These figures, and the larger figures from the next wave, are ancestors of the Rahi from the first wave, built almost entirely of Technic parts, and not clad in any armour or accessories to disguise the fact. Whenever I build the Bahrag I have the same problem: once I've finished one, I'm less-inclined to build the next, since they are virtually the same model, part colour aside. They're also fairly lengthy builds, so once one is done, I usually take a break and build some of the other Swarm members before moving on to the next Queen.<br />
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These next two models are the combiners, the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Bohrok_Kaita">Bohrok Kaita</a>, the instructions for which are in
the backs of the Bohrok books. Though there are slight variations in
the torso builds, these models are very similar to the Toa Kaita and Toa
Kaita Nuva. This is not to say that they're uninteresting, and one of
the most fascinating things about the various combiner models is the
ability of the Lego designers to create a relative coherent model out of
pieces that were never actually designed to create such things. The
pieces in these models were explicitly designed to build the individual
Bohrok models. Combining them into these giants is really pretty cool.
Both retain the Bohrok head -thrusting action, and are relatively
poseable, though the legs are a bit wobbly, due to the nature of the
individual Bohrok leg pieces.<br />
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The next combiner is a Japanese model, the construction video for which I posted in the introduction to this section. Like it's larger compatriots, it's a bit wobbly, but the fashioning of accessories out of the Bohrok body parts, and the aesthetic quality of the model make it something interesting. The <a href="http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/TheKraahkan/Unknown/unknown.png">instructions</a>, much like those for the Kabaya Rahkshi combiners from the next wave, are worth mentioning as well. Unlike the step by step instructions commonly found in Lego manuals, these combiner instructions assume a familiarity with how the pieces work, and instead of going piece by piece, the instructions go section by section. It raises the level of the challenge, especially when one is working from low resolution scans.<br />
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These next two models are Bohrok Va combiners. Of the combination models that are officially recognized, those for the Bohrok Va are the ones I have the least of. There are two more variations of the model on the left, another Kaita style model using blue, white, and green pieces, as well as a number of small animals that could be constructed by combining the pieces of two models. They are also some of the most difficult and rare pieces to find, especially the feet, which were produced and included in these particular colours only in these sets. But if there was nothing left to hunt for, I'd probably have lost interest a long time ago.<br />
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The final combiner for this time is the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Set:8558_%28Alternate%29">Bahrag Spider</a>. According to the BS01 wiki, this creature has no canonical significance, but that doesn't keep me from including it in the Swarm. Perhaps the Bahrag Queens were actually triplets, not twins, and the Spider is the forgotten and deformed third sibling. Actually, that's my headcanon now. It's a fun build, for sure, and does some interesting things with the Bahrag pieces. Beneath the picture, I've included a video demonstrating its biting mechanism.<br />
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.blogger.com/video.g?token=AD6v5dxU2MRVq9yNAFVevjZFd_fpfYABscoQVQhjTueFJ07c1-HyJAsT_ZacOcR1XYMINK7M7m_x3YA9N7OyeA4-7g' class='b-hbp-video b-uploaded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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That's it for today. Next time we'll finish up 2002 with the menagerie of combiner fauna and Master Builder Set, all presided over by the two version of the Exo-Toa. See you then.Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-24163233779946626802016-01-27T09:00:00.000-07:002016-01-27T16:07:26.306-07:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through part 2.2 - 2002Okay, I lied slightly. Last time I said we'd have a look at the Swarm, but we're not. Not quite yet. First we'll look at the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Toa_Nuva">Toa Nuva</a>, superpowered versions of our six focal heroes from 2001, and at the Tohunga/Matoran, who start to fight back against the threats to the island of Mata Nui.<br />
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(Note: the controversy over the term "Tohunga" stems from an appropriation by the Lego company of Maori terms for their own use. A <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tohunga">Tohunga</a> is an expert practitioner, often a priest, in Maori culture. Thus the Tohunga from 2001 and 2002 become the Matoran of 2003.)<br />
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As I mentioned last time, I'm not a huge fan of the protodermis-mutated masks of the Toa Nuva. Some of them are cool. I really like Gali Nuva's mask, though I wish it had been transparent blue, like her old one. I think my main problem with them is that where the original masks and original Toa were designed together, the Nuva bodies are only very basic redesigns of the originals, yet the masks are radical redesigns that, in my opinion, are far too large for the older bodies. Now, having said that, the addition of the early armouring goes some distance toward fixing this problem, but, as I've said, not enough I think.<br />
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The various Toa teams straddle an interesting line between originality and cloning throughout the first decade of Bionicle's existence. In some cases, the Inika series for example, there is so little differentiation (aside from colour) that the figures are amongst the least popular of the series. Their second form, however, the Toa Mahri involves perhaps the most diverse range of builds that the Toa ever see. In this, we see an important delineation between the ways we can think, and how collectors think, about these series. On the one hand, we can talk about the models from the perspective of what kinds of different flourishes, different armours and weapons, a model possesses, and on the other we can talk about them from the perspective of the complexity, or novelty, of the build. It is the sets that do both that are often the most popular and lauded.<br />
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In the 2001 series, it was the Rahi that provided this novelty of building, and for 2002 it is the proto-Titan models that do so. For today's post, these novel builds are represented by the Toa Nuva combiners, and the two variations of the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Boxor">Boxor</a>. I've already waxed lyrical about the <a href="http://speakingofcollecting.blogspot.ca/2015/12/the-building-chronicle-critical_22.html">Wairhua Nuva </a>combiner, who is sadly obscured behind a clock in the picture. <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Akamai#Toa_Nuva_Kaita">Akamai Nuva</a>, our other combiner, is a very basic redesign of the original Akamai, and, if I'm to be honest, is not really that interesting. The Boxor, both versions, on the other hand, offer both a novel build and a cool aesthetic design, which makes them one of my favourites of this wave. The creator of the Boxor (which, rather macabrely, is built from destroyed Bohrok) is the Tohunga <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Nuparu">Nuparu</a>, who eventually becomes one of the aforementioned Toa Inika. He's interesting, in that of the Inika, he's one of only two who is not based on one of the 2001 McToran figures. The Boxor is one of the last gasps of truly Technic-style building for the Bionicle line. The main model features a punching motion that is activated by pushing down on the model and making it walk. The gear assembly for this model is really great. The secondary model (over to the far right in the picture) isn't quite as interesting, but certainly offers some variety in a wave that is, sadly, overly clone.<br />
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That's enough for today, I think. I'll move on to the Swarm next time, and then the Rahi zoo of the Master Builder Set.<br />
<br />Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-90863751883271744422016-01-13T09:00:00.000-07:002016-01-13T09:00:12.037-07:00Flea Market FindsThis past weekend, I did something that I very rarely, if ever, do. I bought a box (a whole box!) of comics.<br />
At a local flea market I found myself flipping through a single long box
sitting below a vendor's table. I'd been disappointed with this trip to
the Hillhurst-Sunnyside Community Centre, as this was the only box of
cheap comics (and actually the only cheap comics, period) that I could
find. There was one other vendor selling key Silver Age issues at guide
prices, but no other "dollar bins." This particular one had quite a few
issues of the latter bits of <i>Avengers</i> v.1, issues up in the 300s,
which is the section of that series that I'm currently in the process
of tracking down. So I'd decided to pick up a few, maybe $10 worth, when
the lady behind the table said she'd do a good deal on the whole box. I
considered for a few long moments, and then asked what kind of deal.
She said $50 for the whole thing. Again, a few long moments passed, and
then I agreed. I dashed to the ATM, got another $40 out, and left with a
box of comics.<br />
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I've spent the last 4 days going through, databasing, bagging, boarding,
removing duplicates. In the end, doubles included, there were 228
comics, which very roughly breaks down to 22 cents per issue. I think I
did alright there.<br />
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Up above, there, you can see the collection laid out after I got home.
The stacks of comics are all issues from the same, or similar, series.
Thus, the <i>Avengers </i>pile is all <i>Avengers</i>. The Archie Comics
pile is all Archie Comics (the only bit I haven't finished cataloging
quite yet). I bought the collection primarily on the strength of the
number of <i>Avengers</i> comics in it, though, of all the runs in the
box, that was the one that produced the most duplicates. It was, in
fact, the stuff that I initially dismissed as "filler" that turned out
to be the gold amongst the dross (yep, I'm looking squarely at that
enhanced cover <i>Silver Sable</i> #1 from the 90s).<br />
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Up in the top left corner there is a pile of <i>The Official Handbook of the Marvel Universe</i>,
both initial and deluxe editions. I love these encyclopedias, so it was
a nice treat to get them. I'm also in the process of tracking down
duplicate issues of each one so I can remove the covers and use them as
posters. There were a few doubles in that pile, but mostly it was new
stuff. The large pile of Archie comics is mostly mid to late 80s. Betty
and Veronica's fashion sense was, in a word, atrocious in that era. I
remember living through those fashions, both the first time and in the
ill-advised 80s revival that seemed to take the world by storm a few
years back.<br />
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Next to the Archies is the pile of comics I was most surprised by. It's an almost complete run of <i>Marvel Two-In-One, </i>Marvel's
solo title for The Thing, from #80 to #100. I had little to no interest
in this run, written predominantly by Tom DeFalco, who I immediately
associate with the deplorable Clone Saga. But, as my impetus for the <a href="http://giantboxofcomics.blogspot.ca/search/label/%2340YearsofComics">40 Years of Comics Project</a> had it, I shouldn't automatically assume that a
comic is bad having not read it. I did read a few of these issues (once
I'm done with <i>Age of Ultron</i>, I'm going to devote a few weeks to
the stuff in this collection), and I have to say I was pleasantly
surprised. In particular, issue #86, and the story "Time Runs Like
Sand," now ranks as one of my favourite comics ever. I'll re-read it and
blog it next week some time.<br />
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There was also some late-era <i>Fantastic Four</i> v.1 in the box,
which, again, I had little interest in, until I realized that it
encompasses the majority of Walt Simonson's run on the title that I have
been meaning to read for quite a few years now. So I'll chalk that up
as a win too.<br />
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Before I talk about the other piles, I'll note that there were, as you
can see, a number of individual issues of various comics. The ones I've
read (<i>Guardians of the Galaxy</i>, <i>Silver Sable</i>) were pretty unremarkable, which is probably why whoever bought these in the first place didn't get any more.<br />
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I've already noted the <i>Avengers </i>comics as being the most important, at least from a collecting viewpoint, in the lot. Most of the pile of <i>Superboy</i>
were duplicates, and in truly terrible shape. That version of the
character was never one I had that much interest in, though the "Zero
Hour<i>" </i>tie-in issue does feature the old, pre-<i>Crisis</i> Superboy, so that should be interesting. One thing I will note about the <i>Avengers</i>
comics is that they included full runs of both Walt Simonson and John
Byrne's tenures as writers on the title, both quite short, but probably
pretty good.<br />
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The last little bit is that pile of <i>Marvel Age</i> comics, a good 30
of them in sequential order. This might seem a low point to end the
assessment of the collection on, until one realizes that, by and large,
these are comics that have never been reprinted. That is, of course,
because the series functioned as a news magazine, and only included the
occasional sequential strip (Fred Hembeck's center pages
notwithstanding). What they do contain, however, is a chronological
recounting of the events of each year of Marvel Comics narratives in the
"Marvel Age" feature at the end of each issue. The earliest one I have
starts in 1973, more than a decade after the "Age" begins. The articles
are fantastic for the fact that rather than recounting publication
history, they actually tell the fictional histories of the characters. I
envision this as a scanning-and-sharing/cataloging project for the
future. There's also occasional exclusive comics (like the Kirby/Stern
piece that graces <i>Marvel Age Annual</i> #2, or the Shadowline summary from <i>Annual</i>
#4) and the aforementioned Hembeck work, which I'm assuming has been
reprinted somewhere, but maybe hasn't. Add to this the occasional
article about the workings of the company, <i>faux</i> Daily Bugles, and
such, and it's actually a pretty great find. Not one that I ever would
have gone out of my way for, but pretty great nonetheless.<br />
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And that's it. As I said, I don't buy collections like this very often,
due to both space and financial constraints, but I felt like treating
myself on the weekend, and it turned out to be more of a treat than I'd
expected. Look for some examples of what was in the collection over the
next couple of weeks of the 40 Years project.
Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-1072420715308604612016-01-06T09:00:00.000-07:002016-01-06T09:00:00.216-07:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - Building Through part 2.1 - 2002Welcome to 2002. Today will be a brief introduction, and then we'll have a look at the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Bohrok">Bohrok</a>, the <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Toa_Nuva">Toa Nuva</a>, the early "titan" sets, and the menagerie that is the Bionicle <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Set:10023">Master Builder Set</a>. We're still very early in the series, but the 2002 line brought to Bionicle one of the more reviled aspects of the series: the clone.<br />
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Though the original Toa and their Matoran/Turaga counterparts were very similarly designed, there were divergences, slight and not-so-slight, that distinguished figure from figure. Whether it was Gali's dual arm motion as compared to the Tahu and Kopaka single arm, or Onua's head and neck placement, or the vast difference of Pohatu's upside-down torso, the figures were based around a similar morphology, but not identical.<br />
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This comes to an end with 2002 first wave of Bohrok, the insect creatures that swarm the island once the Toa have completed the first phase of their quest and retrieved the golden masks.<br />
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Though this picture does contain some variety of design, if we look solely to the Bohrok, it's merely a matter of colour that differentiates them. Okay, not only colour. They do each come with individualized krana (the small rubber mask-like bits that fit inside their carapaces) and individualized hands/weapons. These, however, are more accessory than integral body feature. The body build is identical, with no flourishes depending on environment or personality. It suits an insectoid/robot hybrid, I suppose, but makes for a sort of boring wave of figures. You'll note some variations on that shelf, which I'll post a better picture of next time, but these are combiners and non-canonical models, rather than the main figures of the wave.<br />
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And, on the topic of combiners, if you missed the <a href="http://speakingofcollecting.blogspot.ca/2015/12/the-building-chronicle-critical_22.html">previous post in the series</a>, it highlights what I think is the best build of the wave, <a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Wairuha#Toa_Nuva_Kaita">Wairhua Nuva</a>, the combiner model of the Nuva versions of Gali, Kopaka, and Lewa. <br />
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We're also introduced to more powerful Toa in this wave, with the advent of the Toa Nuva, and I'll admit straight out that though I'm a fan of this early attempt at armouring the figures, I don't like the mask redesigns. The original masks were inspired, I think. These protodermis-mutated masks are too big, and a bit cartoon-y looking for my tastes. Again, though, we'll look at this more fully when I deal with the Toa and Matoran of this wave.<br />
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2002 also introduced one of the more interesting sets of the series, the Lego Shop exclusive Master Builder Set, which offers 15 different models of Mata Nui fauna. I really love this set, and to illustrate each of the animals, I've gone through my collection and built each one. Though they're not the same colours as the Master Builder Set originals, it will give a sense of the creatures presented in this relatively rare set.<br />
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I don't have too much in the way of ancillary merchandise for the 2002 wave, though there certainly was a fair bit made. I'm not sure if it'll warrant its own post, but I'll have a look somewhere at the 3 or 4 pieces I do have that aren't building sets.<br />
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But before I go for this week, another building video. This is a 2002 Japanese Kabaya fusion of Kohrok and Nuhvok, the white and black Bohrok, and it really begins to show the difference of aesthetic in combiners that I looked at <a href="http://speakingofcollecting.blogspot.ca/2014/04/the-building-chronicle-exercise-in.html">here</a>. So enjoy the video, and next time we'll look closely at The Swarm!<br />
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<br />Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-22072351493834127322015-12-28T18:22:00.001-07:002015-12-28T18:22:35.655-07:00A Review of the Latest BIONICLE Graphic NovelFrom my comics blog:<br />
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<a href="http://giantboxofcomics.blogspot.ca/2015/12/the-40-years-of-comics-project-graphic.html">BIONICLE: The Gathering of the Toa</a><br />
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<br />Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-86287842591240557262015-12-22T14:35:00.001-07:002016-01-26T16:36:09.921-07:00The Building Chronicle: A Critical Consideration of LEGO's "Bionicle" Series - An Exercise in Limitation 2My previous <a href="http://speakingofcollecting.blogspot.ca/2014/04/the-building-chronicle-exercise-in.html">limitation exercise</a> drew from Japanese combiner model aesthetics that differed quite substantially from the more familiar North American models. This time around, I'm going to play with one of the more novel builds that I've come across as I build through the series.<br />
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<a href="http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Wairuha">Wairuha</a> is a combiner model, a Toa Kaita in the parlance of the series, constructed from Gali, Lewa, and Kopaka. The original version from 2001 is fairly rudimentary, and shares a build with Akamai, the Kaita of the other three Toa. In 2002, however, with the release of the Toa Nuva, Wairuha's build alters fundamentally, and adds a very cool body model to the MOCer lexicon. I noted in the previous limitation post that I'd always had trouble making MOCs from the very early Bionicle, but with this build, potential has opened up.<br />
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Here's Wairuha Nuva:<br />
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The body build is one upside down torso attached to two backward facing torsos. As far as I know, this is a unique build to this character, though for the life of me I can't figure out why. It offers so much more poseability (and possibility) than the previous build, or the Akamai Nuva build. The arms are the shortfall of the model, as they're attached to gear systems, and are thus very difficult to pose. The feet, too, are a bit problematic, as they're single axles attached to balls, and tend to fall off. This is not an insurmountable problem though, as my next few builds will attest.<br />
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Setting myself up with the instruction manuals, I proceeded to make this model:<br />
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I call it Swashbuckler. It's built fairly faithfully to the same design as Wairuha, even down to the foot design that keeps falling off! I adapted the arms somewhat, though, to improve its poseability, adding Glatorian neck pieces to allow for a later wave arm construction. Aside from that, though, he's pretty close to the original instructions. What's cool about these builds is that they've added the poseable head, something which I find adds a lot of character to a model, and which finds its way into the series as a regular feature in the 2004 wave of Toa.<br />
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My next build takes a step back in time. I isolated all of the pieces of the original three Toa that make up Wairuha, and decided to see if I could adapt those pieces into a Nuva-style build. Here's the result:<br />
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I actually really love this model. There's some real attitude coming from it. I did have to improvise a bit to make up for pieces from the Nuva that were not present in the Mata, but it all came out alright in the end. I should also note that the "official" versions of Wairuha wear Lewa's mask, both Mata and Nuva, but I'm a big fan of the Gali masks, and thought they suited the models more.<br />
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Having gotten the hang of this build, I decided to let my imagination run rampant, and see what happened:<br />
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This is the Desert Mech. It follows the same body and leg build as Wairuha, but uses the adapted arm build from Swashbuckler. I used axles with stoppers and the ball joints that accompany them for the legs, to stop the feet from falling off. The way that the torsos point backwards allows for a lot of potential for accessorizing, as evidenced here by the cooling unit fans behind the head. What's harder to see in the picture is two Karda Nui-era wings on the back that function as solar panels, fueling the mech as it crosses the desert.<br />
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After these builds, I started to wonder what a Wairuha made from another wave might look like. Breaking somewhat from the limitation I had set myself, I sorted out a green, white, and blue Glatorian, and fused them into Wairuha Glatorian. I'm not super-happy with the results, but it had to be done:<br />
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And that's my limitation exercise for this time. There's been a few cool builds for bodies that I've come across so far, but this one has certainly made my use of Mata and Nuva era torsos more likely.<br />
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Not sure what next time will be. But I can't wait to get there!Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-596516934068718411.post-49909344131766106012015-12-16T10:00:00.000-07:002015-12-16T10:00:01.039-07:00Collection: Religious Ephemera Part 2 My first piece in today's post is something my son brought home for me from school, given to him by a friend for a laugh. I have a fair bit of respect for much of the ephemera that grows up around religions. I don't always necessarily agree with the tenets they proscribe, but I admire the dedication to one's faith that drives people to offer this kind of secondary writing. If more fundamentally religious people dedicated themselves to the pen, and not the sword, we'd have a far more interesting world.<br />
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That said, I think I fail (or pass, depending on your point of view) this test.<br />
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It's a well-recognized fact that many religious organizations find new converts amongst the lost and directionless of the university campus. I do truly believe that these groups, the ones that have a table in the student center, or who advertise on the bulletin boards, have altruistic origins, even if their practice is not quite the same as their praxis. I find numerous pieces of this ephemera tacked up to the boards I walk by on my way to and fro in the school. These three pamphlets were packaged together, and I've got a couple of other bundles too. Though of slightly higher quality than something like Bill Ashmore's exegesis from the previous post, they're still products of an independent press seeking to offer elucidation of Christian principles. What I think would be interesting about these sorts of works would be to compare their conclusions to the more rigorous and accepted interpretive texts.<br />
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My final piece for today is a bit of a joke, though one with some teeth. In my first year of the PhD program, I was given a research position (more a "catalogue this office" position, really) that involved going through a large collection of amateur science fiction fanzines from the mid-70s and "bibliographizing" them. A substantial portion of collection was a publication called <i>Minneapa</i>, and within one of the issues was this send-up of dogmatic religion. My own thinking on religion accords something like this just as much veracity as any other piece of ephemera, and it's kind of amusing in its own right. As you can see, it's credited to Al Kuhfeld, who was a regular contributor to the zine. Hopefully he doesn't mind my reproducing it here.<br />
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<br />That's it for this installment. See you next time.Tom Millerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16872052228898599872noreply@blogger.com0