After two years of development, my version of Marendar is ready to be shown
It has multiple fun functions, lore references and it is made using only G1 pieces (plus 4L light saber pieces) so anyone back in 2010 could have built it in theory.
No illegal connections and No black axel-pin pieces. I tried to use as common/cheap pieces as possible.
Without further ado:
Marendar, The Protector of Agori and The Hunter of Toa.
Weapons Storage, Transforming Rocket legs and Shoulder canons
He is here to help… by any means necessary
Functions
Weapons and Storage
Weapons storage
Swords and blaster fold open. All weapons are stored neatly in the back until needed, fully modular no removal of pieces needed.
Swords
Marendar has two swords that are stored in the back. They contain same technology as Umbra’s energy swords. Light bars are meant to represent energizing of the swords.
Toa are unable to use Marendar weapons since Great beings did not want their technology to be used against Agori. But Marendar is more than capable of using toas own weapons in a pinch.
Double Bladed Lance and The Wrist Blaster
Using middle piece on Marendar back, Marendar can combine the swords into a powerful lance in order to increase his range and change battle style in mid battle
Marendar can also attach a folding blaster to the lance in order to aid in battle and hit further away opponents.
This blaster can also be attached to the wrist of Marendar. The connection is solid.
Folding Shoulder Canons and Rocket Boosters
Folding Shoulder Canons
Marendar has two twin cannon shoulder blasters to aid in battle. Especially in aerial battles and against far away opponents.
They are attached on ball joints and fold to the back with satisfying “click” sound.
They do not hinder his arm movements in any way.
Folding Rocket Boosters
In order to travel fast and fight, Marendar has folding rocket boosters that lock in place when in off mode. Most toa do not fly so it gives him significant advantage. Also, they allow faster movement underwater, where Toa of Water could try to escape.
Marendar can stand and pose in both forms. They have a small friction-based lock on the side that prevents transformation. It does not have the satisfying “click” sound like the shoulder canons, but it is all right function wise.
Other tactics and The Red Crystal
Removing Kanohi leaves Toa Powerless
Using the hooks of his weapon and long range, Marendar can steal masks from Toa’s face. Since removing mask weakens Toa and their powers, removal of masks is a powerful tactic.
Lamps on the arms
There are a set of lamps on Marendar’s arms, they could be sensors feeding Marendar data or location of the toa.
Or these could be a high energy flash lamps that can be used to momentarily blind Toa. Rare are toa who can fight while blinded.
Red Crystal under the chest
Red Crystal under the chest is supposed to represent the machine/organ that either nullifies, steals, resists or whichever toa related power Greg would have decided Marendar has. It is red because Toa Power is red inside a Nui Stone (blue in movies.)
Hidden Blue Crystal inside Marendar is a power source. Notice how tubes seem to come from there and from the red crystal.
Personal theory:
@NOTaHFfan suggested Marendar feeds upon Toa Power. What if the Red Crystal in his chest is actually a Nui Stone?
Nui Stone could absorb Toa Power, transform it into a fuel for Marendar’s weapons and allow Marendar to locate Toa.
It is also an excellent Fail-Safe. Unlike Baterra, Marendar’s energy is not near limitless. Few days after last Toa is down the energy runs out and Marendar shuts down.
And if any new Matoran becomes Toa, Nui Stone begins to absorb energy kios away, reawakens Marendar and sends him after the new Toa.
Elemental power
I lived 10 years thinking Marendar does not have elemental powers. Now BS01 says he might actually have them. If Marendar must have an elemental power, I think it could be light.
If any Toa were to turn against Agori it would have been a Toa of Shadow. Great beings never created Shadow Matoran since their only purpose would have been to destroy (Greg).
Element of Light is necessary against beings of shadow. And if other elements rebelled, Light is quite good against them as well.
Assault Mode and Transformation steps
Marendar has ability to transform into another form. This form allows Marendar to concentrate on overwhelming offensive power while sacrificing agility. Also, sudden change in battling style from finesse to beast will momentarily disorient opponents.
I imagine the monster form could also help Marendar to dig himself out if he is trapped under a landslide.
Transformation steps
No annoying pin removal/reattachment required, all pieces are modular.
Inspiration from other GB creations + size comparison
Inspiration from Umbra
Marendar has a great semblance to Umbra, since both are warriors of Great Beings.
I like the dynamic of Umbra being a colorful creation, named after darkest part of shadow. Marendar in turn is more monochrome and is named after Agori word for Salvation, concept usually associated with brightness.
Inspiration from Baterra/Bohrok
Baterra MOC was made by @TLROsborne, link to original post
Marendar’s beast form looks a lot like Baterra. They share four eyes, claws and semi quadruple movement style.
Marendar’s Assault form follows the bug-like aesthetic set by Bohrok/Bahrag.
Also, Marendar uses a few of the same pieces as Bohrok swarms. Such as eyes and Bohrok head pieces
Size comparison
*I assume in universe Marendar is a lot smaller than the Bohrok queens.
Neat details about the build
I had a lot of fun designing the torso. I am glad how blaster attaches nicely there.
Head articulation, the head does not hit the swords, there is a half mm gap, and it can turn 360.
Middle piece attachment to the back, there is a click sound as well.
The boosters do not hit the tubes on the sides of the legs.
The central tube is hold in place using a regular small red (or black) axle. It started as a place holder but during past 2 years I have had zero problems with it.
The Moc uses a Hordika torso in construction, I am proud that I could use this rarely used piece in a moc. This is my serious first Serious moc so there has been a lot of learning.
The pieces used in transformation are fully modular. Which is nice.
I tried to use a signature/recognisable piece from every year of Bionicle. Idea was to pay tribute to every wave but unfortunately, I could not use any signature pieces of Karda Nui era (2008) and Stars. The black handles used in swords were used in Karda Nui sets first, so they count but are not Special enough to be called “signature”.
Bionicle Stars did not have any good pieces for me to use. the mahri sword was used by Nekktann but I hardly call that signature/recognisable.
Also, the tube from Ussalnui is hardly instantly recognisable. But Bohrok Kal toa hand released in the same year could be. Shame I had to drop Rakshi legs from design.
I also toyed with the idea that Marendar armor resembles Toa Nuva armor.
Toa Nuva are superior to regular toa which is referenced by Nuva armor. Marendar is also superior to Toa and Toa Nuva which is reflected by his stronger armor.
I am not confident about this detail, so it is more like “behind the scenes” stuff therefore I place it here.
Cons
As we have seen in these competitions, many negative details are not shown in pictures but are apparent when people build the moc or see it in a video. So
In name of fairness, I will list and show few of the cons I have noticed with the design, and I sadly could not remove even after a lot of effort.
G1 pieces*
Originally, I wanted Marendar to have pieces which have appeared in Bionicle sets, only.
Sadly, no Bionicle G1 set uses trans-light blue lightsaber pieces, trans-light blue studs and a light grey wheel (blaster piece where studs attach)
Bionicle do use the pieces itself but they are trans-red colored or black.
It is fine I hope, since these light blue pieces were widely available during the Era of Bionicle. And are cheap and widely available even this day.
So G1 pieces* mean: “pieces that were used in Bionicle or widely available in 2010, no pieces introduced after 2010.”
Black bars used in legs
Black 4L bars used in the locking mechanism work fine but it seems older black bars are thinner than newer ones or mine had a manufacturing error. This surprised me when I build the second leg and the black bar I used did not have as much friction as the first one.
So, they work well but there can be surprises and a need to switch a bar.
Blaster storage
I wanted the Blaster to be removable without removing swords first. Unfortunately, I could not invent a blaster that could do so without sacrificing its main function.
Blaster is solidly attached to the half pins on the back but if Axle/pin connectors do not use a solid 4L black lightsabre bar inside them, then the blaster could fold open (lower connector would fold, not the blaster under a silver inika cover.)
After I switched the black bar all my problems went away. I trust it will work for you all just fine, but I decided to mention it here just in case.
Also, Blaster does not spin, which infuriates me immensely. I truly wanted it to spin.
It also does not shoot the studs. The shooter used in today’s LEGO sets was not invented in 2010 and it would not have fitted under Inika shoulder armor in any case.
Articulation
Articulation is fine and what you see in the pictures are actual poses you can get.
But pieces are old so there is understandably less friction in them. It can stand easily in both forms but leaning forward is hard since joints in the hips cannot keep the torso still in a lot of cases
This apparent in beast mode which naturally wants to lean forward. It can assume a nice roaring position but almost any “advance, lean forwards” poses need one of the claws as support.
And the claws could be a snudge longer in my opinion when it assumes all four positions. But if they were then they would be too long for lance and would fit the back storage even less.
Speaking of the Lance, it has three attachment points for hands which is good. Attachment points in swords work marvellously.
Unfortunately, the attachment point in the middle is not as strong.
one could flip a flat xx piece in the knuckles and add a 2L axle to make it sturdy if one wants. I could not find a smooth way to do so without sacrificing other functions or looks so I did not include it to final version.
Using less used pieces can ease these problems, somewhat.
I did not use friction pieces since they were released after 2010. And if my moc cannot stand without them then I would not dare to showcase it here.
Price
I tried to use as common pieces as possible so the price would be as low as possible.
According to bricklink the MOC pieces cost (wanted list, autoselect stores, anywhere/European union,) = 60.25 €, 586 Pieces, ~0.10 euros per piece, optimal
Price Comparison
Artakha WCH (without mask)= 531.75 €, 686 pieces
Hydraxon= 57.31 €, 165 pieces
Brutaka= 145.11 €, 193 pieces
Axonn= 41.8 €, 196 pieces
Voporak= 128.86 €, 646 pieces
Roodaka= 52.42 €, 233 pieces
Umbra= 34.67 €, 179 pieces
Lariska Gerou100 = 25.1 €, 225 Pieces
Overall, I would say I succeeded. Titan sets with fewer pieces cost about the same or way, way more.
60 Euros are 63 Dollars as of writing this.
In the end my goal was to build a fun moc that I and many others would enjoy building and own. I like lore references and functions, so I built what I wanted to see.
Thank you for your time.
I was curious that what makes it look “more robotic” than other mocs. I think they all look quite cool and robotic since they are based on bionicle. 
