Honestly if you HAVE to use something other than a metru torso to fit a piece on, it probably won’t look right as a ‘metru’ build anyways
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I don’t think I’ve heard anyone call a custom torso a Metru build, and the only way it can really look like a Metru torso is if it uses the torso piece.
To me this issue seems very clear cut. A Metru build requires the Metru torso piece, plain and simple. This also keeps the rules simple while ensuring the MOC fits to canon.
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This only works if you consider the piraka build and potentially others as being “Inika” builds. If someone else defines the Inika build strictly as using the Inika torso build, then its the same situation as the Metru build, hence why I asked in the first place, to see what people thought.
If I had known simply asking, not taking a definitive stance of my own, would’ve gotten backlash still, I wouldn’t have asked at all.
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I once again offer this solution and hope maybe the staff sees it and considers it beyond a like:
A Metru Build is a Bionicle model which both utilizes the Metru torso piece/mimics its torso construction identical to that of the piece, and also confines itself within the proportions and general scale of the officially-released Metru-style sets, those being the Toa Metru, Toa Lhikan, and the Toa Hagah Norik and Iruini.
I would like arguments against this description if there are any. Otherwise, I think this is the de facto description.
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To clarify, this does not require the same waist piece or front cover the Metru sets use, correct?
As of right now, no one is suggesting that a certain waist piece must be used, no.
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Yes. You left out Lhikan.
I am a purist and I’d also say pretty much only count a metru torso piece, not an imitation. It should also be able to house an identical gear function. Its just easier on EVERYONE to get the torso piece…
I think this is impossible if someone wants to use the Nuva armor on it, I think, so I don’t think we should require the gears.
The “mimics its torso construction identical to that of the piece” is the only/biggest problem here. If the end result is going to have the same shape and proportions as the metru torso, why waste the time on building a custom replica? If color availability is the issue, use Stud.io or paint the part. The metru torso is what makes a metru build, which seemingly everyone in this discussion, save for two people, agrees on. The only benefits to using a custom and identical torso is making use of connection points not found on the metru torso, which violates the spirit of requiring it to match a metru torso at all.
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I have several mocs using both nuva and metru torso with functional gears
This is pretty much what I have in mind, minus the text I crossed out. If you’re going out of your way to have the same shape and proportions as one piece, something I doubt anyone will pull off in good faith, then why not use the metru torso? If the artwork is going to include the metru torso, then why not require it for the moc contest and make it possible to build the figure portrayed in the canon artwork?
I wouldn’t call a moc with glatorian necks and technic liftarms mixed together an inika build? Why should a fully custom torso be called a metru build?
It’s not difficult to make a creative metru build (read: moc with metru torso and proportions of Toa Metru/Hagah/Lhikan) unless you’re bad at making mocs.
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You can custom build every single limb, body section, and even the head if you want to. It Must match the proportions and appearance of the officially released Toa Metru - same width of the hips, of the width of the chest, et cetera and et cetera.
There’d be some wiggle room ofc, but it’d be entirely up to the staff’s discretion as to what qualifies and what goes too far.
Ugh fine I’ll add him dad jeez
I would leave the option to custom build open. If it matches the proportions exactly, and doesn’t look wildly out of place, then I’d say it should qualify.
As for the gear function, you didn’t need to have the gear function present or else the set would stop being a Toa Metru. It shouldn’t be mandated here.
“If it can be custom built out of hundreds of little greebles, in spite of any limitation, it will be.”
-Gandhi
Sadly, that’s simply not true. The torso alone is half the job; it must also match the proportions in the limbs and size of the head. Lhikan with Gadunka’s maw is not a Metru build because it breaks the mold.
For one thing, it’s customization. It allows people the freedom to be as technical with their build as possible, and believe me when I say I’ve seen some people pack an impressive amount of detail into such a tiny space. If it can be done in good faith, and it can, I think it should be an option.
Because it’s mimicking the Metru build to a T, and is only different in comparison due to the parts count.
The easy way to tell if it qualifies as Metru build is this: Does it look like a Metru build? Could you slide this figure next to Lhikan or Norik and seamlessly blend in? If not, it probably isn’t done correctly.
tbf, I’d just call that a metru build with gadunka’s head/jaw on it.
I don’t think anyone in their right mind would do that and try to enter it in total seriousness, but yeah, I’d still consider it a metru build. A custom/different head doesn’t change the core of the build.
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Where is Bionicle Diogenes when you need him?
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To this effect: Must a “Metru build” be a Toa? Is that part of the description?
Not necessarily, no. The build is what matters, not in-universe species or classifications.
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How so? Then it’d be a bobblehead Metru build.
Well, a Toa is a featherless biped.
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Aye, but as we’ve seen with some of the other wild arguments here, the torso alone cannot be the build. Different hips, different limbs, it no longer resembles a Toa Metru and thusly cannot be a Metru build. The torso doesn’t do it alone, but it’s the one piece in the construction which isn’t reused elsewhere, so people associate it with the Metru build more than any other.
Let me ask you this: All Metru sets use the same upper arm/leg piece. If that was custom built, would it no longer be a Metru build?
Well, no, but if you’re entering a contest to canonize the appearance of a Toa, it’d probably be best to build a Toa.
Look at Kodiak’s Zaria, which I’ve posted before.
This is a Metru build. A souped-up one, but a Metru build nonetheless. Only a few pieces are shared with the Toa Metru, but it’s the torso construction that counts.
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I’ve used different limbs and hips on metru builds before too, they totally still resemble a toa metru. The torso piece and general proportions remain the only constant.
Is this not still a metru build even though it uses a different waist?
Also, I can’t take a new picture of him because It no longer looks like this, but here’s a metru build with CCBS arms:
Again, is it not still a metru build?
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