Review: 8915 Toa Mahri Matoro

[Masked Builder]

Matoro was the greatest hero of us all.... I got this set last summer on sale at the Lego store for a great price. Wanting to complete my Mahri collection I got him but they were sold out of Toa Mahri Hewkii. So I just got him. One of my other reasons for getting him was that he saved the Bionicle universe. He died when he used the Mask of life but that's a different story.

Name: Toa Mahri Matoro

Set Number: 8915

Pieces: 62

Price: $9.99

Ages: 7-16

Minifigs: N/A

Theme: Toa Mahri

Year of Release: 2007

Inventory: Bricklink

Bricklink

Peeron

Brickset

Here's the Brickshelf gallery.

The review:

Box:

The front of the Mahri boxes was very different for Bionicles. I must admit that the box art here while rather simple is quite an eye catcher.

The back of the box has a computer like layout displaying the Mahri that came in the set. I quite like it. It also shows off the new Cordak blaster.

From this shot you can see the images of the island of Mahri Nui and the Island of Voya Nui. It's also easier to see that white plastic part of the box doubles as a play-feature.

Manual:

The front of the manual has about the same art as the box does. But this time with a neat circular print.

the back of the instructions has probably the best back art of any set. I really like the lay out of the Toa Mahri here.

Inside the manual has a part call-out and a very cool faded image of Mahri Nui.

Parts:

The parts layout gives you a general idea of what was in each Mahri set. All of the Toa featured new hoses and a Cordak blaster.

Interesting parts for this set include, a great new mask for Matoro, some cool new knives, and one of those very neat trans-blue mask inserts.

The Build:

in the first few steps you build the torso for him. Nothing special but I do like the use of these parts for shoulder Armour.

The next part instructs you to build legs. While they do use last years lower leg part I still think that they're good.

Of course the next step is to put on the mask and legs. The legs also gain Armour for the upper parts.

Because his arms are asymmetrical you build them one at a time. His double knives are put in his left hand.

Lastly, you build his other arm and put the hoses in. Notice that this arm is shorter then the other.

The very lonely extra piece.

Complete Model:

Front view. Here you can see that his head is very low. You can also see his hoses that connect to his hand.

From the side view you can see very easily that his is quite hunched over. I think it's very good looking for him.

From the back you can see his multiple hoses and his extra ammo. I think Lego did a great job stashing it on the figures.

Firing The Gun:

To fire the blaster you push the red part on the back which then fires one of the bullets and turns the Grey bullet holder so you can fire the next on in rapid succession. You can actually make the gun fire rather far. I've gotten mine to fire up to six feet!

Final Thoughts:

Ratings:

Playability: 9/10 His playability is great! I heartily enjoy shooting his Cordak blaster at the Barraki.

Design: 9/10 Very well designed for these dudes. I like his hunchback position. It fits his charter. Though the Cordak blaster is a bit heavier then I would like it to be but I've managed to pose him quite well.

Parts: 10/10 This parts in this set are very nice. I very much like his mask and the gun.

Price: 8/10 While he only has 63 parts being cool more then makes up for the price difference.

Overall: 36/40 A great score for a smaller set.

The Great Spirit Mata Nui is dead..... (last image links to 4000x3000 version)

[Aanchir]

Great review. Matoro and Kongu were some of my favorite Toa Mahri. A lot of people disliked this set because a hunched back was in their eyes totally incompatible with an actual hero, much less a Toa of something other than Earth or Stone. Apparently for many people a noble hero had to be a tall bishounen resplendent in gleaming armor-- any posture that was less-than-perfect was reserved for comic-relief characters and dumb muscle.

I think Matoro's posture really did a great job reflecting the burden he has to carry-- not just as the bearer of the Mask of Life, but moreover as a Matoran who had countless secrets forced upon him as Nuju's translator. His mask is nicely designed-- the large eyeholes are expressive, but the eyes behind them come out looking solemn if anything. I liked his color scheme, too-- it really established a continuity with his previous form where his mask and weapon failed to (not that they weren't beautiful in their own right).

Your photos are great and really show off this set's appeal. It was definitely a fun read, and brought back many memories of my debating days on BZP.

[Brickthing]

Thanks for the review! It's always nice to reminisce over older sets with the help of a good writeup and photos.

Matoro wasn't my favourite Mahri, mostly because of the asymmetric arms and mask, but he was one of the best Mahri for parts. A visor, twin cutters, new armour and especially 3 Mahri tubes made his purchase worthwhile.

[Masked Builder]

Thank guys! Bionicles have always stuck around as one of the themes that I've liked.

[The Crazy One]

Thanks for the great review. The Mahri were my favourite Toa team, and Matoro was one of my favourite of the team. I really am considering rebuying this team.

[Walter Kovacs]

Nice review, Masked Builder. It looks somewhat familiar

Matoro was the first Toa I bought for my collection. I liked the way his clawed hand looked, and the Cordak Blaster was certainly one of the better Bionicle weapons (too bad it weighs so much).

[Masked Builder]

Thanks The Crazy One! I say go for it!

Matoro was the first Toa I bought for my collection. I liked the way his clawed hand looked, and the Cordak Blaster was certainly one of the better Bionicle weapons (too bad it weighs so much).

He's very cool! So true.

[prateek]

Great review. I think the Toa Mahri line is one of the ugliest Toas, but I do like the blaster, if not a big huge.