Review: 1441 Fikou (tree spider)

[LuxorV]

Hi all, as some of you may know, even not being a fanatic Bionicle collector, I quite liked the theme and collected some sets.

Today I'd like to share with you a little reviow of one of the smallest sets from this line: the 1441 Fikou, or tree spider.

Originally designed as a sort of Easter Egg, combination of parts from Pohatu and Onua in 2001, this funny (at least in my view) creature saw life on its own and a new carapax colour in 2003 (which also makes it the first Bionicle set I bought).

Let's begin with the package, or more correctly the polybag (image from the web... mine is dispersed somewhere in the big box where I store my sets' boxes)

The art is quite simple, and is not so intuitive from this scene that the creature is a tree spider (for long years I thought it to be a land spider )

The bag includes the following pieces and a one page (front and back) instruction sheet

Inventory curtesy of BrickLink.

As far as I know, no new parts or colours were introduced with this set.

A random (it was very hadr to choose between the two ) page of the instructions (scan courtesy of The Brickfactory)

A mid-build shot

You can see how fast the set takes its final shape, as can be easily expected with 13 pieces.

Finished set, our spider is ready to climb on the nearest tree!

I'm not a fanatic of votes, so I'll limit my résumé to a few lines of personal consideration:

probably not the most innovative set, given its design had been used already in 2001 (two years before its release), nonetheless allows people to have a complete little set even when not owning Pohatu and Onua;

of course, not the biggest

parts-wise quite limited, but can be a good pats-pack to boost your Bionicle collection, given the small price.

All in all, I really enjoyed this little set, and used to make brick-built semi-Bionicle robots to sport the mask and claws untill I got some bigger sets.

Hope you enjoyed this review

LuxorV

[Aanchir]

Nice review! I myself never got this set (not even sure if it was mass-released in the US), but I got the 10023 Master Builder Set, which lets you build many Rahi including an orange Fikou that's almost exactly the same.

One difference that strikes me as notable-- is that Toa Mata head piece in light gray or dark gray? The Master Builder Set used a dark gray head piece. It's not as though it makes a difference, since neither type of gray appears elsewhere on the model, but it's an intriguing difference.

[prateek]

Nice review. I like this set, because of the mask, and the classic feel of it

[ZO6]

Thanks for this little review!

I remember often disassembling Pohatu and Onua to be able to build the Fikou spider. Even though it is quite small and simple, there is still a certain charm to it.

[Tereglith]

This was and still is the most adorable thing I've ever seen made out of BIONICLE parts. It's just so cute!

[Brickthing]

Thanks for the review of this critter!

I have quite a couple of them, and they're certainly my favourite 2003 set. It may be an old 2001 combiner, but the creative use of parts and the final cuteness are fantastic! One of the pluses of this set is that it includes a spare ball piece (4 total), which is always welcome for the spare parts bin.

Aanchir - The head is Light Grey, which looks slightly better than Dark Grey because it doesn't contrast the Orange.

They're also great challenges for bag-builders.

[Phantoka Kopaka Nuva]

I like the Fikou for one reason: it's fun to see the little guys getting killed by the Inika in BIONICLE Heroes it's simply cute.

[VBBN]

A fine review!

This set is one of the simplest Bionicle Figures,a nd alsoone of the best.It's simple but iconic, and get the purpose and image of a small Mata Nui bug done.

[ShadowWolfHount]

This is a really good small set, I do like the the color is almost all orange, the light gray do bug me a little but it do work with the set. For MOCers they are going to love to have 3 Ball Joint and for mask collectors they are going to like to have a Orange Pakari. Last is that this is a really cute set and like that they made it a spider and not something else.