Review: 7145 Von Nebula

[Ratbat]

Von Nebula is a set that has gotten a lot of discussion due to the unique changes that he makes from the standard Titan design. Do these changes help, or impede on the set?

Year:2010

Piece Count:156

Price:$19.99

The Packaging

The box art is pretty kickass. I'm guessing the symbol next to his name is supposed to represent a black hole. The Bionicle tribute is in the bottom right corner.

The back advertises Furno and Stormer. His stats are located under the picture.

The Pieces

Almost all the pieces have been seen before, so I'll just be going over the new and recolored pieces.

Bionicle fans will drool over the black Hydraxon mask. The blades are now in a darker silver, as are the pistons in his legs. The tridax pod pieces are now in black with spots of blue. The piraka feet are now all black. The spike pads are black with some blue on the upper spikes.

Building Process

Von Nebula's build is VERY interesting, but quite short. The torso is a Makuta Phantoka torso piece, with some mods done to it. The legs are the most interesting part of the build, with the pistons now serving as knees, with the usual leg pieces now serving as the supports. The feet are a bit uninspired though.

The Completed Set

Von Nebula looks pretty damn cool. He was designed to be hunched over, but he can stand up straight if you so desire.

Back View:

The Staff:

The blades on the staff can spin around the black hole generator thingamabob. Yay.

Some close ups:

I like the head. The glatorian head is turned around to have everything fit, which surprisingly doesn't bother me too much. What does bother me, is the fact that the entire head assembly, including the Bohrok plates, wobble. It isn't a huge problem, and it isn't annoying as the wobbling heads on the Makuta Phantoka, but it does get annoying.

The Arms:

This is where most of the discussion regarding Von Nebula has gone. The arms have no elbow movement, and are rather short due to the lack of forearms. I'm not happy about the lack of elbows, but I don't mind the fact that he doesn't have them. It makes him more unique, and I think the short arms make him look a bit cooler. Another point of discussion is why there is a gray piece attaching the claw. It makes a gap, but it does make the arms just a little bit longer, which I think is why the designers did this.

The legs are awesome. The pitons being in the front make make them feel much more robotic, and it's cool to see them move when posing the figures.

Articulation

Despite the lack of elbows, Von Nebula can still get in a good amount of poses. The head articulation in particular is excellent.

Overall

If you don't mind the lack of elbows and some wobbly parts, then Von Nebula is a must have. He looks awesome, and I'm glad the designers sacrificed some articulation for his overall appearance.

[Front]

There goes the core of a guitar player (last picture).

Nice review.

When I built the set I thought, ohh no, wobbly builds (head assembly etc.) We are going to hear complaints about this in reviews. I don't know why the designers don't try and avoid this more. It was a problem too with the heads on the old sets using this torso originally.

[Ratbat]

There goes the core of a guitar player (last picture).

Nice review.

When I built the set I thought, ohh no, wobbly builds (head assembly etc.) We are going to hear complaints about this in reviews. I don't know why the designers don't try and avoid this more. It was a problem too with the heads on the old sets using this torso originally.

The Metru feet are very easy to fix to be stable, but I'm still thinking about how to mod the head.

[prateek]

Great review. I don't see why people don't like this, although the arms could be better.

[Ratbat]

Here's what I did to fix the wobbly metru feet and head.

[The Crazy One]

The arms are a super easy fix. I just stuck the old hand piece in instead of the joint, clip on an arm and your done.

[Ratbat]

The arms are a super easy fix. I just stuck the old hand piece in instead of the joint, clip on an arm and your done.

That got me thinking if it was possible to mod the arms to have elbow movement without making them longer. So I came up with this:

Take a "4-unit" bare piece, cut it inhalf, and replace the two halves with the red axles.

I'd also recommend applying some nail polish, or super glue to tighten the elbow movement.

[Pate-keetongu]

Thanks for the great review! I bought this set few days ago. Viktor Von Nebula has very nice desing and he is a cool charecter, but the head totally lacks all the important details (mustache, monocle, tophat). I also made an accurate revamp of the set.

[Ratbat]

Thanks for the great review! I bought this set few days ago. Viktor Von Nebula has very nice desing and he is a cool charecter, but the head totally lacks all the important details (mustache, monocle, tophat). I also made an accurate revamp of the set.

How did you do the monocle? I must know!

[jala12]

I don't know. Despite the nice boxart, Von Nebula doesn't seem very appealing to me. He seems like a distant cousin of Tuma or something.

[zero1312]

The arms are a super easy fix. I just stuck the old hand piece in instead of the joint, clip on an arm and your done.

Pics of it?

[Gahrak]

Great Review!

I want Mr.Vonny! (Von Nebula) xD

[Pate-keetongu]

How did you do the monocle? I must know!

It's a minifig magnifying glass. Some reference pictures:

I hope that this helped you.

Edited August 18, 2010 by pig

[Ratbat]

Snipity snip

Thanks! Now to get a magnifying glass...

Edited August 18, 2010 by Ratbat

[Masked Builder]

Great review! Now I really have to get this....

[Flare]

Nice review! This definitely was a very informative and helpful review If I was a Bionicle/Hero Factory fan I would definitely pick it up... but alas I am not

[Nannan]

Tainting those awesome black spikes and sphere with blue is such a fail. So many black fantasy creatures will never be made because of this move.

[Captain Blockbeard]

This is the one Hero Factory set I was considering purchasing, so I'm glad to see and hear that it is an impressive set.

[Delta 38]

Tainting those awesome black spikes and sphere with blue is such a fail. So many black fantasy creatures will never be made because of this move.

I actually thought the blue was nice, and I would have liked more of it. Still, I can see how it might not be so good in MOCs.

Anyway, the lack of articulation is strange, as is using the pistons for the front of the legs. The small thing on the box is a bit strange too (I believe it says something like "from the makers of Bionicle". Who would have guessed? )

[Icesaber]

Huh. Bionicle with a different name. Not fond of the design too much, but I spot more than a few interesting pieces...

Anyway I don't have any of these Hero Factory (is that the name?) sets so a few ?s:

Is the silver on the weapons the same as the 2001-2005 silver in Bionicle?

Is it just silver on the weapons that's changed or is it stuff like pistons too?

How does his mask attach?

Thanks in advance.

Edited August 22, 2010 by Icesaber

[cheesey skrall]

Is the silver on the weapons the same as the 2001-2005 silver in Bionicle?

Is it just silver on the weapons that's changed or is it stuff like pistons too?

How does his mask attach?

Thanks in advance.

The new silver is a gun-metal kinda silver,I think its new, correct me if im wrong. Theyre replacing the old silver with the new silver,only Bulk uses the old silver.

His mask is an iron man head on its side with the claws attached into the side holes.

[Monasti]

The silver you get in a set depends on the wave that they were manufactured in. The first ones had the old silver, the new ones have new silver.

[Icesaber]

Thanks cheesey skrall and Monasti.