Here I shall post my concept designs I’ve been drawing up for the Mangaiains
Starting off, we have some concepts I came up with for a design of Vakama where I had envisioned him as being some sort of high sage. Vakama would’ve been the high priest of a temple dedicated to the Spirit of Fire. Another possible angle I was considering while drawing the “rank and file” sages/acolytes is that they wore headdresses reminiscent of Turaga Lhikan’s from LOMN. The idea was that in addition to the ornate headdress, was that the open face signifies his status as a chosen disciple of the Spirit of Fire. Detailed notes on my concept art:
And here is a concept I drew for a minifig of Vakama closer to the Brickonicle style. The elabroate Egyptian headdress was dropped in favor of something a lot closer to his G1 version. The religious angle of his character design was visually toned down, but I’ve considered writing a pitch where, he Nokama, Nuju, Bingzak (who I imagine might fill the role of Matau), Nuju, and possibly G3 counterparts of Whenua and Onua would all be the high council of some secret order dedicated to serving the Island of Arthaka, and the Toa. This organization would’ve been named “The Hand of Arthaka” after the organization in G1, but adapts characteristics of its successor, the Order of Mata Nui. Vakama would either be a sage, or perhaps an advisor/tutor of Narmoto/Tahu. I will write a more detailed pitch once I flesh this out more.
More concepts I drew up today. This one is of my initial sketch of a Mangaian guard, incorporating the Lhikan helmet as well as my initial sketch of Vakama, before I came up with the design I posted earlier. Also pictured are some ideas for different prints on the body pieces for the various tribes of Mangaians. So far this picture has a few variations of Tametruan and Takoronan bodies
Taking some ideas from the guard I drew up, i came up with the idea that Takoronans boasted the most powerful warriors of the Mangaians, but the Tametruans boasted superior metalworking skills, which is reflected in their Roman-esque armor. Below is a concept for a typical soldier of Tametruan stock…or a bobble head of one, you decide.
The question is, how can you simplify the design to make it work for a mini figure. The Ikir ornament wouldn’t work on a mini figure because it would be too small to put it in great detail. So I took a few ideas from my initial sketch of the headdress and tried to combine it with the memorable Sage-esque visage of the noble Huna. In trying to mimic the elements of the Brickonicle style, I removed the beard-like projection to allow for more movement of the head, but gave him a lap around across the headpiece to allow for the impression of a long handlebar mustache.
As for the armor concepts, I like the idea of giving the different Mangaian tribes their own armor styles based on the characteristics of their leaders in G1.
Takoronan(which I have erroneously referred to as Tametruan) Armor boasts the tribe’s superior metalworking skills, and reflects the image of either a Norse Viking or a Roman Centurion. Takoronan armor tends to be tailored to the user, much like plate armor
Takardan Armor I’m imagining could make a nod to the Av Matoran’s destiny to become Bohrok in G1 and might reflect a somewhat beetle-like appearance. It would also share characteristics of plate armor, allowing for explosive motions, but also expends energy, so Takardans tend to attack in large numbers
Tawahian armor is designed for maneuverability through the forests and might be made out of a leathery material (Mahi hide?), maybe some animal furs thrown in for good measure if such material exists in the universe.
Tavoyans are barely armored, living in a mountainous terrain and favoring the greatest amount of maneuverability. More emphasis is placed on weapons that can be used for other purposes e.g. Piruk’s shredder claws could be used for climbing as well as combat, Balta’s twin swords, etc.
Takatoan weapons and armor are a harder nut to crack for me, but I imagine they would favor functionality and mobility, issuing armor and equipment to their military as needed. E.g. if they have archers, they would probably need something easier to move around in than someone in the infantry.
At the moment, I think the bigger problem is if this would even fit in the Brickonicle canon. If I am to assume Oomatu’s map is canon, there are references to a “Mount Vakama” named after an ancient warrior, meaning Vakama is probably long dead by the time the current story takes place. Yet, the G3 bible makes no reference to such a location, though there is one to a warrior king who used to rule Mangaia when it was all under one banner.
A concept of a G3 Onewa I drew up for a pitch I had in mind. I had this idea that Onewa was this master architect who was responsible for many major buildings in Motara such as the Great Bank referenced in the story bible.
