Between the Queen and the soldiers, there has to be someone, right? The upper class...those who rule. The Beasts have their own class for that, the Senators. They're the aristocracy and the army commanders, the top of the society right after the Queen herself.

When I saw Splitter Beast's splitting function, I knew the most interesting thing to do would've been revamping the figure into two separate Beasts, each with their own identity. The big one was easy, just put some back armour and change a few things (that's a separate MOC I got planned that I'll complete once I get the set). What to do with the small one, though? I wanted to turn her/him into a mid size figure, I just didn't know how.

My first idea was the self explanatory Wyvern Beast (which stayed inside by head, and got shafted because another winged Beast seemed boring to me). Then, I realized we were missing a commander figure (Crystal Beast might fit in with his staff, but he has a different purpose in my universe), and that's what I decided to make. The first version I built was a very standard humanoid, like a Flyer Beast without wings (just some spikes jutting out of the back, like the final version). By then, I had decided the Beast's main colour was one the other Beasts tragically didn't use (except some bits), lime green (I finally got to use those lime bones!).

Then, yesterday the big idea hit me while I was analyzing Queen Beast's build. What if I made a smaller insectoid (similar to Tunneler Beast), using the Queen's built on a smaller scale? It'd make sense for the ruling class to look similar to the Queen. So Senator Beast was fully realized.

This is a WIP because a few things are missing: another claw/blade (as you can see, I cheated, putting one of them on the staff in some pictures and on the tail in the other ones), the proper upper head, and a more fitting printed shell. But aside from that, I have no reason to not post her (yes, this one is a girl, male Senators do exist though), the model is complete: what matters isn't the head colour, but the design I want to share.

If you fear she might be small, don't worry, she's actually pretty big (I tried putting the tail on the back, kinda looks like an high collar now..neat huh?).

Adding another blade on the staff, she has 68 pieces. Adding a minifig (what about Stormer himself? He tends to fight against the high ranking villains), they'd reach a decent parts count for a 15 Euro set. As you can see, no weird custom building on her, she has a very set-like quality (which is something I actually like giving to my MOCs).

Edited February 8, 201411 yr by Shakar

Wonderful build. Good colors except the purple head looks a bit odd since it is the only purple piece. Can't help that though since there is no green head, purple is the next best color.

Making a whole Social Hierarchy is a good idea and can allow lots of inspiration.

Thanks! I'm giving her Splitter Beast's azure head once I get the set. Still not sure on which printed shell I should use though.

And yes, I'm reworking the Beasts into a precise social hierarchy. Each Beast set represents a different class, but I'll post detailed info on that once I complete my Winter wave Beasts collection.

EDIT: Purpl'd.

Edited February 9, 201411 yr by Shakar

It is an interesting idea, to have a class system among the beasts.. we have not seen that side of them, and since they have a queen, I don't see why that can't happen..

Beast itself looks good. I really like the Lime and Azure together, and the use of that Chima fur-part on the back is very cool.

I'm not very sure of the purple head, it stands out against the other colors, but otherwise.. nice job.

The MOC looks like a mini-Queen.

and the use of that Chima fur-part on the back is very cool.

I disagree, fur parts are very specialized, and I think a Savage Planet part (like the one on the Queen's head) would be more appropriated. The two spikes on her back are too small, IMO, I think they need to be more visible. But I don't really know how you could solve that. x/

and a more fitting printed shell.

I don't know, I quite like the one you've put. By which one would you replace it ?

I like it, although the idea of ruling class does not fit with the semi-hive-like system of the official canon, nor is there much for them to rule over, besides, a bunch of infants. Oh well, the MOC itself is nice, and the use of the fur piece to represent a clump of spikes looks great, as do the larger ones near the shoulders. I agree with Leewan, the printed shell there is the most fitting one you can use; take it from someone who has all of the winter wave Beasts. Splitter Beasts' ones use even more orange, which would throw off the colorscheme you've worked out even more than the hint present in the Jaw Beast shell.

Beast itself looks good. I really like the Lime and Azure together, and the use of that Chima fur-part on the back is very cool.

I'm not very sure of the purple head, it stands out against the other colors, but otherwise.. nice job.

Yeah, I'm very fond of the azure+lime combo and the fur part (more on that piece in my reply to Leewan below).

As I said, Jaw Beast's purple head is just a place holder. As soon as I get Splitter Beast (which should be happen within two weeks), I'm going to use the smaller half's azure head on Senator Beast. I would've loved to use a lime one of course, but sadly no lime Beast exists, soo..

The MOC looks like a mini-Queen.

I disagree, fur parts are very specialized, and I think a Savage Planet part (like the one on the Queen's head) would be more appropriated. The two spikes on her back are too small, IMO, I think they need to be more visible. But I don't really know how you could solve that. x/

I don't know, I quite like the one you've put. By which one would you replace it ?

A mini-Queen, that's precisely what I wanted to build!

I'm afraid I disagree on the fur add-on. I personally really don't see it as fur anyway, more like a bunch of spikes, which means, IMO, it fits the Beasts' spiky motifs perfectly. I used them on Flyer Beast's shoulders and i think they work very well. I tried replacing the piece with the Savage Planet add-on you suggested, but her abdoment oses a lot of bulk this way. So this is one thing I won't change.

As for the spikes, I just realized I posed them wrong (they were in "high collar mode", when I started taking pictures). They're supposed to be flipped horizontally, like shoulder armour. I guess that still makes them look hard to see, but I never intended them to be particularly visible, just a subtle detail. I might add a short bone before each spike, we'll see.

I'll talk on the printed shell in the reply to Draiknova, since he addresses that issue too.

I like it, although the idea of ruling class does not fit with the semi-hive-like system of the official canon, nor is there much for them to rule over, besides, a bunch of infants. Oh well, the MOC itself is nice, and the use of the fur piece to represent a clump of spikes looks great, as do the larger ones near the shoulders. I agree with Leewan, the printed shell there is the most fitting one you can use; take it from someone who has all of the winter wave Beasts. Splitter Beasts' ones use even more orange, which would throw off the colorscheme you've worked out even more than the hint present in the Jaw Beast shell.

You're right, but my canon paints the Beasts as a much more organized and complex militaristic society, so the presence of a ruling class is sort of needed.

As for the printed shell, my initial plan was to use the Splitter Beast shell but, as you said, too much orange, while Flyer Beast's is too yellow. Jaw Beast's seems the most neutral at this point so I might have to use it. Sadly there are no new 4M shells (the biggest ones one can use on a XT4 torso) with printing in Summer: Tunneler Beast, my best bet (since he has some lime accents), doesn't seem to feature a printed shell at all.

I personally think the staff should be something industrial/real world. Like Splitter Beast's street lamp, or Flyer Beast's radio mast. Perhaps the boom from a crane, or something like that?