Some of you might know that I built a Lariska MOC back in 2016 (will post below again, too). In late 2019 I took that apart with plans to build a new Lariska. Then suddenly as I was trying things out the contests became a thing in spring 2020. I held on to my MOC, figuring I’d post it for the contest, but seeing the slow progression, I’ve now decided otherwise. Old MOCs are allowed for the contests, and maybe I can tweak the design a bit until then if I can get some interesting parts or have some more ideas. Just seeing this gathering dust for no good reason seemed a bit like a waste.
That said - time for more pictures:
Of course, seeing how this is Lariska, the MOC needed to be very poseable - and can actually be balanced only on the mechancial arm.
Size-wise, I went for “small titan” to have room for custom designs. At the same time, I of course wanted to not make her enormous. As someone who imagined Lariska as a “not-Vortixx” for the longest time, and seeing how almost every species is taller than a Toa, I think the height fits. Especially since the lore can be read in a number of ways. Greg’s writing implies to me that Lariska is neither too much taller than a Skakdi nor too much shorter than Brutaka, the way she interacts with other characters. Feats of strength like catching and carrying Spiriah indicate at least a certain scale to me as well, as does Brutaka’s introduction of her to the rest of the team, and TSO’s remark in Tiem Trap. Though of course tehse things can be read differently. SInce Greg’s statement that she’s the size of a Toa in context of the quote is readable as “same size category”, I also see this MOC within canon bounds. Though I should point out that this is also specifically Inika scale, seeing how we saw Lariska with her mechanical arm only ever with TSO before Inika scale, while I aimed for FoF Lariska - hence also the large daggers supposed to be her protosteel ones.
And now of course I need to adress the head:
As said, for the longest time I imagined Lariska as a “not-Vortixx”, so I based the design off of a Vahki head at its core:
With a bit of trial and error I then ended up with this design I actually quite like. The horn thingies add a nice unique look to it - and since they’re poseable can actually be used in a limited way to convey expressions, which for a Bionicle MOC is certainly nothing you see too often:
A building tutorial for the head (allowed to be used for the contests) you can also find here.
Another special thing you might have noticed are the poseable feet, which have articulated toes and an articulated middle part.
Otherwise poseability-wise, as you can see above, a minimum of 90° in every relevant direction in every limb is possible.
And here the promised comparison between 2016 Lariska and 2021 Lariska:
I believe that’s everything for the moment.
Hope you enjoy and as usual C&C appreciated!
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. To a Toa everyone not wearing a Kanohi might have a strange face.