While working on Toa Dume, I had a thought: “What if I revamped my Toa Mangai to fix the major problems with them?” The problems I had with Tuyet were the Shoulder mod, the lack of anything new in the build and most importantly of all, it felt like I just made Nokama with different parts.
It is my pleasure to introduce you to…Tuyet v2.0:
My main focus when designing her was the following details:
1). Armor Matoro could recognize as Toas, meaning parts from pre 2006, with an emphasis on the Mata/Metru armor.
2). A blue color scheme that didn’t restrict part options.
3). Looks outwardly heroic, while still having a hidden darkness.
Another point was to make Tuyet similar to, but not just a Metru build. We have no reason to assume she had a Metru build, as nothing in story or outside outright confirms this. I chose to make her a Mata/Nuva and Metru Blend with some armor from the Mahri, as Toa Lesovikk and the Mahri use these pieces so Matoro would still recognize it. it also plays into the smooth meets piston look I’m going for.
My original plan was to have Tuyet’s colors reflect the ocean itself, with the lightest at the top, and the bottom being black. Instead the colors ended up being Medium Blue and Metru Blue, as Medium Blue proved to be an excellent color to build custom parts out of.
Old and New design showing this:
Improving the shoulder articulation was a major focus, as the previous was overall too limited and damaging in the long run. The new connection allows for a full range of movement, with the exception of less forwards and backward at the shoulder.
The chest also features a removable waist, so you can cut Tuyet in half without having to dismantle the body or sacrifice the group cohesion.
The only thing you have to do once pulling out the waist is remove the chest armor from it and reattach it to the upper torso. If you want a tighter connection, you can swap the heartlight for this piece, making the connection stronger.
The sword is based on the Koa Sword, at the suggestion of Takutanuva:
Before this quote I was struggling to figure out a design, so special thanks to Takutanuva.
The sword is Gunmetal due to parts restriction but this actually works to show the difference between Tuyet and the other Toa.
The mask is a placeholder and can be changed. The current mask was made by Galva.
Link to the background used for the promo shot: BIONICLE Liminal Spaces - Album on Imgur
Stud.io File: Toa Tuyet, Empress of the Depths
Tell me what you think of her!
(More pics will be added soon)