KMOI Posted July 21, 2006 Posted July 21, 2006 NOTE: There are MORE photos in this review then what you see here. Just click the links in the review to see more. Well, I've had this set ever since Feb and I never made a review for him. Well, no more! When I woke up today, I shouted "Hark! I shalt enscribe a review on yonder boards!" to the heavens, and then snapped some photos and decided to write a review for Piraka Thok. While this isn't exactly an accurate retelling of what happened, I'm still here, aren't I? :-P My previous review on the Stealth Hunter was very well recieved, so I decided to write this just for the heck of it. I'll also do a Toa Matoro review pretty soon! So, anyhoo, the review! As 2006 swept in, Bionicle was given new life. What's new in 2006, you ask? Well, Bionicle got a kick start. Gone is the Metru-Nui storyline (And profound amounts of retconning) and we're back to the present, instead of hearing what happened in the past. The Piraka are the main baddies of this new saga and they're good at what they do. They're essentially murdering thieves, but their traits lead me to view them as kind of an anti-Toa. Oh, and by Toa, I'm refering to the first ones we have come to know and love. On that note... THE CANISTER The back of the canister Gone is that damp, webby and swampy Hordika campaign. Instead, we're given a clean, white background with Thok leaping out at you. If you ask me, this is the best step since the Nuva saga. Sure, it may be the complete opposite of what the storyline is, but it still looks like a winner. Other then the new look for this year, we're also treated to a new gimic with the packaging shown here: Yep, looks like the 2005 trend of lightups is still present. BUT, it works for Bionicle. It's really well executed here. But more details on that when I get to the set review. BUILDING Canister sets have always been made to be easy. This is no exception! It's a rather interesting build and quite different from the Metru-Nui sets. I can now honestly say that I think Lego has finally mastered the articulated "frame" for your average Bionicle biped. Once small note to make would be this: It's the foot piece, but I really like the design. It's almost like one of those funky tiki masks. I see, hear and smell great potential for this piece. This is the Zamor launcher that is the "gimic" for this year. The Inika have it, the Piraka have it, and the theme sets got it too. I like the idea, but I honestly think Thok looks better without this B-Daman (B-Densetsu!) reference. THE SET Here is Thok, in all his glory. Yes, this man is 120% evil. Piraka are pretty well much murderous thieves, armed with a double purpose tool, laser eyes and the generic launcher thingy. They're essentially grunts, but they all have their exceptions. Thok is a particularily smart and very lethal one. He's basically an evil Kopaka. He's got pretty jagged armour, and if you ask me, it suits him well. He has a spine that attaches to his "mask", forearms and back, and it looks stunning. Not even the Rahkshi were this good with the spines. Since Piraka are more of the sneaky sort of villians, I had Thok posed as if he's about to strike, which isn't far from the truth. However, if you have them stand fully upright, they look quite dignified, as seen here: Fully upright (Front) Fully upright (Back) Quite nice, don't ya think? :) Thok is has two main colours. Baby blue and white. You tend to think he's harmless from the colour scheme, but he's a whole whopping load of trouble. Yes, "toothy" here has an appetite for murdering and mass destruction. Though we don't get to see much of that in the comics, it's almost for certain this guy has raised whole villages with his compatriots. Fun fun fun! The only real problem that Thok has is that his arms are somewhat limited in movement, as the spine prevents him from forming a "T" with his body. However, it's not like you'll actually ever need to pose him like that, so it's fine. *y* I'm going to go over each part of the set in the next few sections. THE HEAD Well, I've heard alot of critisism about the head. It's always along the lines of that the spine gets in the way of the head movement. While this is true, I think it really contributed to the overall Look and feel of it. With this lack of the typical action figure head movement, it really makes him look as a beast. Another thing that rocks about the head is that it has light-up eyes. While I have photo to show you that, I've never seen anything like this before. It actually lights up far brighter then anything I've seen coming from Lego. AWESOME. All you have to do is just pretty this button above is head and he's eye-beaming everything in sight! Cyclops got nothin' in Thokmeister! TEH BUTTON FOR TEH HUEG EYE BEAMZ! His teeth also glow in the dark, which is just that finishing touch that makes it all worthwhile! Ah, Crest, what would we do without you. :D THE WEAPON Folded in Folded out It's actually a really good one. The entire arm is basically suited to the weapons and in Thok's case, it works like a charm! As seen in the standing upright photos, it looks stunning. Obviously, it's supposed to be a gun kinda thing when flipped out. But what is it when it's not? This is open to alot of options, thanks to their careful attention on making this thing double sided. I tend to think of it as that device from Final Fantasy: Advent Children, the one that enhances your punches. Aaanyhoo, pretty cool stuff indeed! Posing Undoubtedly, it's really, really posable. As I said before, they rally found the perfect balence between articulation and asthetics with the Piraka. I'll let the pictures do the talking here. ;-) Take this, off-screen target! THOK SMASH PUNY VILLAGER! The "James Bond" CONCLUSION If you're a Bionicle fan, this is a given. For those fans that have become alienated by the Metru Nui saga and their sets, this one is definately for you. Even for those who aren't interested in Bionicle, there are alot of useful parts in here that will come in handy, such as the clear blue tubing or the feet. Sure, it's not posable as that 54-joints Spider-Man figure, but as I always emphasize, it's USEFUL articulation that's at stake here. My verdict? A definate buy! Final Rating (Out of 5): Quote
JINZONINGEN73 Posted July 26, 2006 Posted July 26, 2006 The only thing to make this better is a pic of all the parts included. ;-) Quote
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