Review: 8738 Toa Hordika Whenua

[Adam]

Name: Toa Hordika Whenua

Theme: Bionicle

Specific Theme: Metru Nui

Set Number: 8738

Sale Price (USD): $9.00

Pieces: 48

Realise Date: 2005

Whenua, along with his multiple Toa companions, were the first to introduce a few new playability mechanisms- specifically, the mobile arm and disk launcher. Realised in 2005 as part of the Hordika subtheme, Whenua was the rough and tough "digger" Toa. Each previous Whenua set (with 8738 being the Hordika version), incorporated some form of digging, with 8728 including drill-hands. 8738 also appeared in Bionicle 2: Ledgends of Metru Nui, a computer animated film staring...... bionicles! Though Whenua, Metru Nui's Toa of Stone, was vital for the plotline of Hordika, the set itself was quite ugly. I collected Bionicles for a while, and never really liked them, except when they were really cool. However, this was not one of those sets- Whenua's torso is far too small, his arms too bulky, his drillshang off aquardly, and he has a slapped together feel. However, putting aside my obvious dislike for the Bionicle theme, I will try not to put any bias in my review.

The Box and Instructions

The front of the box- not much here, just an image of Whenua.

The back of the box, showing features and compatibility with other sets.

The back of the box shows how Whenua can be merged with his firery Toa friend, Vakama, and the multiple playability features of the set. This includes the disk firing mechanism (more on that later), how the disk, launcher, and Whenua can fit into the box, and the location of the club code.

The front of the instructions- basically the same as the front of the box.

The back of the instructions show three other sets and the Metru Nui DVD.

A random instuctions page (page 13).

The Build

We start with the simple, black and silver torso:

Then the two, identical legs are built:

And those legs are added to the main body:

Even now, you can see how out of proportion the whole thing will end up being. The legs are about three times the length of the torso, which looks odd, IMO.

After the legs, we set to work on the arms. There's the normal arm...

I like the drill-hands. IMO, they are pretty cool.

...And the arm with a turning effect:

The mechanism is simple. You just turn the knob at the shoulder........ and the bottom part of the arm (the drill part) moves up!

The effect is nice, but it makes the arm stick out more than the other, which is strange. Also, the moving part of the arm is rather large, and when on the finished figure, will fall soon after you turn the technic gear.

The arms are added to the rest of Whenua:

The current figure with the moving arm raised:

As I said before, the arm will fall down quickly.

And the finished product, Whenuah with his head:

Now that Whenua is finished, you can see how odd he looks. The arms are too large, as are the legs, compared to the tiny body. The left arm also sticks out, which decreases even more from the overall set.

A close up on Whenua's head and those beady, trans green eyes:

And now, the second playability feature of the set, the disk launcher:

You simply pull the thingy....

And the disk goes flying! (Yes, I did hold it in mid-air)

When you tug the lever, it'll probably just spin, not fly off- it takes a good hard yank to get it airbourne, but when it is, it flies high. I had to hold the disk in the air for that last shot because I couldn't get a picture of it flying.

Here's the mechanism without the disk and launcher, to see how it really works. You just put the stick in the slot, place the disk on the yellow pad, and pull:

The Verdict

Playability: 4/5- I have to admit, this set has some good functions

Design: 3/5- It's bulky and out of proportion, but the drill hands are cool and the color scheme is nice

Price: 3/5- For this 48 piece set, $9.00 is too much, IMO

Overall: 3/5- And that's generous! It had nice playability, but it was UGLY

The Brickshelf gallery (when public), is here.

Thanks for reading!

[JINZONINGEN73]

Since my Walmart here never seemed to even get this wave of Lego in, it's nice to actually look at a pictorial review.

Feet. Ugly.

Head sticking far off torso. Ugly.

Elbow design. Absolutely freakin' ridiculous.

Spinner thingie. GET that JUNK off my LEGO!

Hand weapons... jesus. NO.

Upper arm gear housing part. We need to see this part in sets more often... might not because of it's "pointy" digit.

Mask. Okay part.

Yeah, broken down it's just those 2 parts I like.