REVIEW: 71304 Terak Creature of Earth

[VBBN]

Set name: Terak Creature of Earth

Set number: 71304

Pieces: 74

Price: $10.00 | £xx.xx | €xx.xx

Release date: 2016

To finish up our creature reviews, we will have a look at Terak, Creature of Earth. Terak shares a similar look to Melum, however as you will see he does in fact have a different mechanism. Is our little earth dweller here worthy of your money? Read on to find out.

The Box

Front

Like other Lego sets, we have have the CGi image, set information, and the current year's header.

That poor shadow trap looks to be running for it's life on it's stubby little legs while Terak holds his hands up menacingly.

Back

The back shows set features, the unification gimmick, and safety warnings. Moving on.

New and Interesting parts

New Bits

We have the new piece of unification in gold, the new gear, and oddly enough crystal armor in gold mixed with trans clear plastic. I don't entirely hate this, because it reminds me of the lightstones of G1, but I find it an odd choice seeing as the other sets all have crystals with their corresponding trans colors, so why wasn't this one mixed with trans dark purple?

Trap Halves

Here we have the new trap piece, both of which are identical and come in dark pearl gray.

Head

Like all the other creatures, Terak has the same head piece, this time in gold mixed with trans dark purple. (In this case, I'm glad they didn't go with trans clear.)

Recolors

Some delicious trans dark purple pieces in the form of the second longest M-F bone (which has gotten quite a few recolors this wave) and a 4m shell.

The Build

Shadow Trap

The "Earth Trap" isn't the most exciting of the traps, but I do like how he has little drills for feet.

Torso

Terak's function is a distinct change from Melum's, which uses a similar build to Ikir and Uxar. Instead, we build up something that only uses one of the new gear pieces, though it uses a similar looking lever to Melum with the spike and all.

Legs

We add on legs which are taller than Melum's, and mount his shoulder pieces.

Arms

Again, his arms aren't entirely different from Melum's, though they are more compact and well armored due to the different function, and he has four fingers on each hand instead of two.

Finished Set

Front

Color wise, Terak is spot on. He has a good distribution of black, purple/trans purple, and gold. He also looks more filled-in when compared to Melum due to the shorter arm construction.

Profile

Like Melum, I get some Bohrok vibes from his proportions. Like the other creatures, the actual mechanism for the function is well integrated into the figure.

Back

Here we can look at his function. When you pull up on the pearl dark gray pieces, his shoulders rotate up, thereby moving his arms up. There is some friction due to the blue 3m pin.

Mole by day

Articulation is good and you can get him into a variety of poses. While the function might not have the strongest friction, you can easily just move the arm on the balljoint.

5 dollar foot long

Since the easiest set to compare him to is Melum, another advantage Terak has is the longer legs, which allow for more noticeable changes in his stance.

Bohrok

I mean, even if he wasn't specifically based on the Bohrok, you can't deny the similarities.

Overall

Terak definitely ranks as one of my favorite creatures. He has a great color scheme, a simple but effective function that doesn't affect the set, some good new and recolored parts, and an overall solid design. When compared to Melum, the function isn't any better or worse, but the arms look better overall on terak as they are more filled in, and the legs extra length make psoing more interesting, even if in the slightest. Terak isn't the best in united form, as we will see, but on his own he is a good set and I would recommend picking him up.

[Aanchir]

Good review. Although, that is the second shortest M-F bone, not the second longest.

[Aethersprite]

Thanks for the review! My favourite creature, along with Ikir. And I agree, I love that he gives off Bohrok vibes!

[Umbra-Manis]

Nice review! Will definitely be picking him up!

[Dorek]

Good review. I didn't quite go for him; he looks good, but the function doesn't really hold up (literally...) and his combination with Onua is useless. Still, the armoring is top-notch, and some sets can certainly take lessons from that.

[SonofTheShire]

Nice review, VBBN, but you didn't address the most important question!

Is Terak a bat, or is he a mole?!

[Logan McOwen]

Brilliant little set. Great parts, great build. All around very good.

[TwistLaw]

My favourite creature. Less imposing than Ikir but with better looks and colours. Day one buy.

[Kalhiki]

Sometimes I wonder if the Bohrok-ish appearance was intentional...

Anywho, I really do like Terak. Maybe it's the giant hands. I love giant claw/hand weapons. But he's just so cute.

Though I wonder if it's possible to have his arms move alternately. Like the dual swinging arms of the 2015 Toa. Would make a neat digging appearance. Of course, that's not to say what he has is bad.

[Fulcrumfan91]

Love Terak's colours, his function makes sense for an earth creature. One of the better creatures of the wave for sure!

[CabooseBM]

So, I was kinda bleh on Terak for the most part, getting him mostly for pieces, but putting him on all fours brings his design up so much, he really pulls off the mole look, which separates him from Melum really well.

The parts work together well and offer a fine selection of new colors and parts, the decision to go with clear transparent crystals is a head scratcher, but they don't detract much from the look.

So, good stuff, LEGO.

Edited December 28, 2015 by CabooseBM

[zero1312]

Nice review, but I'm pretty sure the gear mechanism is misaligned in your build.

Edited February 7, 2016 by zero1312