United by Duty, bound by Destiny

Sir, that's my emotional support impulse purchase.

[kopakaskoolkompanion]

[coldgoldlazarus]

Inspired by the concept of video game demakes, I randomly decided to see if I could demake and simplify my Nuparu redesign back down to a classic Inika-style build. The result? Definitely still more detailed than a traditional canister set would have been, but it works pretty well as a 'low'-effort proof-of-concept sorta thing.

I did initially just go with the shield piece from the Mahri set, but wound up committing more to the Proof Of Concept angle than the Stylistically Faithful angle, all in service of an extra feature I have planned for the big version:

The shield can store on Nuparu's back, but more importantly, to go along with the Mask of Flight, it becomes a huge pair of wings, to really drive home the Stealth Bomber inspiration used in the original Nuparu Mahri design.

Albeit with these proportions, actually flying looks a little bit silly. Hopefully I can make it look better on the big titan-moc version, somehow. Also thinking the shoulder-mounted cordak launcher on any version, while great on the ground and as a nod to Nuparu Inika, may need to have someplace to relocate to for flying so it doesn't risk getting in the way.

As a bonus, here's an alternate version of the legs I did, which I wound up leaving off because they were still way too detailed even relative to my not-quite-canister-ready final design. Still for what they are, as a halfway point between the enforced minimalism I was going for, and the nutty scale of my plans for the proper big versions, this gives a slightly more comprehensive idea of what I wanna do with this.

Kinda going for a baggy mechanic's chaps sorta vibe

[shoddygunpla]

Pleated skirt (or half way to a ballgown)

[malwarewolf-mocs]

Spine Moc 2/3: Steltan Manticore

Apart from an odd similarity to a certain Skakdi warlord, the Steltan Manticore is mainly regarded as a hostile, cunning, and repulsive Rahi known for stalking the city streets and docks of Stelt at night. Armed from all sides with more venomous spines, fangs, claws, and stingers than gladiator pit filled with Nui-Jaga and Doom Vipers, nearly every person on Stelt knows better than to cross this particular flat-faced cat’s path. These Rahi are agile, nearly silent, and specially equipped to hunt shallow-dwelling Ruki and Takea sharks.

And that’s build number two of the mocs I’ve made for this bash. Small Rahi are just one of those fun builds that doesn’t need to be super technically impressive to look good. Sure, maybe I could’ve used Nektann’s spine in a little more creative fashion, but it’s still is believable as the face-like head of a big cat.

[coldgoldlazarus]

It begins.

[galis-gock]

In the darkest depths of Mahri Nui...

A fierce ambush predator lurks. Matoran who don't learn to swim away from the light might never make it back alive.

The humongous teeth aren't what is feared...

It's the DEADLY LASER NOSTRILS you should be afraid of!!

The Bakan fish

(Check reblogs for bonus)

[malwarewolf-mocs]

Spine Moc 1/3: Raihno

This guy was kinda entertaining to build, and I was able to get a good amount of rotation and movement on him. His shoulders can even roll forward and back.

Long ago, before the Skakdi were transformed into a destructive breed of warring savages, they were once a simple people, creating, crafting, and repairing the Great Spirit much like their Matoran counterparts. They were scholars, architects, builders. Sitting at a humble forge at the island of Zakaz, there lived a reclusive but renowned blacksmith, a Skakdi of Iron named Raihno. This master craftsman was legendary for his understanding of metal, and could create mechanical tools and machines the workd had never seen at that time. The story of Raihno the craftsman lives on in other cultures, though time and obscurity has changed him to a Toa or Steltan noble at times. The Skakdi himself still creates, but the never ending war on Zakaz means his forge is constantly demolished.

[origsmocs]

A distant relative of the common Ussal, the Zakaz Spiny Crab is a species of rahi found on the island which gives it its name.

It is unclear if the many spikes and spines that cover its exoskeleton are an adaptation to its craggy homeland or are a result of deliberate genetic mutation, but they are used by the crab for defensive purposes.

More ominously, the claws of the crab seem to resemble a pair of decapitated Skakdi heads. This is also of dubious origin, and could either be camouflage into a land seeped in death or a threat display.

Skakdi often hunt these creatures when more threatening opponents aren’t available, but are not highly valued as trophy kills due to their slow and solitary lifestyle. A quite uninteresting adversary.

[drei-hasen]

Zyglak - Toa Mata Combiner

A build I created a few years ago and wanted to repost here. Uses parts only from Tahu, Gali, Kopaka, and Onua.

Dinosaur and terror bird vibes.

[tempelbeast]

The other half of the Bionicle master builder set Rahi minus the Ussal crab.

[malwarewolf-mocs]

Spike’s 2026 Moc Challenge:

#SPINE06 !

Hello mocists everywhere! It is officially June, and as with last year and my #DH2005 challenge, I will once again be hosting a challenge based on year of G1 twenty years back. That makes this year’s moc challenge based on the groundbreaking year 2006!

This year, instead of requiring mocs to use only parts made before the year of the theme, I am going to free up parts usage to whatever builders like. Instead, the challenge will be only require ONE part.

Piraka Spines!

Obviously that makes builds a little easier to achieve without having to worry about “qualifying”, and I’m hoping more people will be interested in participating. If you DO only use parts made before 2007 feel free to brag about it! Last year a few people were dubious on the theme since they felt unsure of their ability to identify what year specific parts were made, and that’s fair not everyone has an internal catalog of Bionicle and Hero Factory sets and can’t easily discern that without research. I think a lot of us love Skakdi though, so this should be more accessible and fun!

However, your build doesn’t have to BE a Skakdi either! It only has to utilize a Skakdi spine, how you use that part is totally up to you! Is it a trophy worn by a Makuta? The face of some Bara-Magna desert animal? The tail of a Rahi? All up to you! One request I will make with any submissions people would like showcased is some sort of fun lore blurb, those were far and away some of my favorite things to read last year and I can’t wait to see them again this year.

Finally, this year I will be organizing all submissions into a “showcase” post at the beginning of next month, showing off as many submitted mocs as I can in a single post and talking about what I liked about each of them. I want to make it clear this is not a contest, it’s just for fun. This year the tag will be #SPINE06 MOCS.

As with last year, I'll be tapping some users specifically to participate, but if you're reading this don't feel left out, I can't wait to see what you'll make! As usual, I'll be tapping @binkybonkles, @kopakaskoolkompanion, and @origsmocs, who've been super helpful in arranging these moc bashes. I'll also be tapping @arzeron, @nihilpersona, and @biomechanicalfun, all of whom made some AMAZING Dark Hunter mocs last year. Also tapping @toaimahordika and @leftysupremacy, who interacted with the interest post for the June Challenge!

Once again, the tag for this years challenge is:

#SPINE06 MOCS

Can't wait to see your mocs!

[bioniclechicken]

Made a little guy

[boxturret]

They Use Every Part of the Crab

Mata Nui Online Game is one of the most core parts of Bionicle for me, I'd even go as far as saying I'm more of a MNOG fan who is also a fan of the tie in action figures.

I think one of the most endearing things about it is its art style, its sometimes quite rough, but it just comes together to make some very evocative imagery.

One of the most interesting examples of the very economical way in which this game was made is, I think, the Ussal crab.

The Ussal is first introduced in the Onu-Koro chapter of the game, an area focused around a large mine, and in keeping with this there's a lot of machinery. A few years ago I 3d modelled a lot of them, which is where I first had the realisation that the bulk of them are actually reusing Ussal graphics.

Its something that's come up quite a bit since so I feel I'd like to have a document that covers it all in detail for future reference.

To begin with: this is the Ussal. Its a cute little crab. It has a little rubber band function that lets it do little punches. Even though it first appeared as a set in 2002 it was all over 2001, from MNOG, to the card game Quest For The Masks, to the video games Quest for the Toa and the cancelled Legend of Mata Nui, and its even one of the first creatures you see in the comics!

MNOG, being a flash game, constructed the Ussal out of several simplified collections of parts that could be animated separately. They then reused these parts, flipping them around, overlapping them, scaling them, all sorts, to make all the various machinery you see throughout the area.

So I thought it would be a bit fun to tear apart a couple Ussals for purely demonstrative purposes.

These are all the main usages that I'm aware of. Note these aren't 1:1, there's some scaling involved in some plus extra little bits here and there.

Small Lava Valve

Large Lava Valve

Lava Pump-aka Tower of Crab Corpses

Drill-This one also contains parts of Whenua!

Light Stand-As I recall this was the what made me finally realise the Ussal connection, the bent beam was confusing me until I worked it out.

Lever-Yeah every time you ride this thing you're grabbing an Ussal's eye.

Elevator Winch-its up there, looming out of the darkness.

This object also includes many parts seen in the ziplines.

And while that may be it for the Onu-Koro chapter the Ussal bits make one last surprise appearance in the little electric bug from the next chapter, Le-Koro.

This one is playing a lot with scale, and its using the back of a Kewa bird for the abdomen. it means that the little guy isn't really buildable, but I've tried.

These are all the usages I'm aware of, I'd love to know if anyone's found any others! I'd also like to quickly note where the Ussal was not used, as I find it interesting.

When the Toa Kaita fight the Manas, a much larger, treaded crab, they end up having to smash these large control towers. The towers are full of miscalaneous mechanical bits, but no crab bits.

And at the end of the game, the void features entirely Toa bits and tubing, so no crab bits there either.

I just wanted to make a note of that since it was something I once wondered when looking in to this.

In conclusion, I find it so inspiring how effectively they used their assets. Like, did you know that Lewa's head here when he gets the infected mask knocked off is just reusing the foot graphic?

Wild stuff. Its just very in keeping with the whole building system Bionicle is based on and I love it.

Hope everyone filed their taxes on time. Good night.

[bioniclechicken]

"Can the Spider-Toa come out to play?"

[onvermel]

I have acquired this lovely German 2002 promo video. Now just need to test to see if she still works.

[shoddygunpla]

yawn and stretch

[malwarewolf-mocs]

Putting out feelers now, I’m planning on making another challenge like my Dark Hunter 2005 challenge last year, and making these annual every June based on the year of G1 that was X decades back.

I won’t reveal the 2006 challenge just yet, but if you participated in 2005 or you liked the concept but wanna be tapped for this year, let me know down below so I can shout you out in the Challenge post itself!