I used to do some MOCing when I was younger, I had the time, and the ball joint sockets were stronger but then I stopped, mainly due to that last reason. However, when I discovered Bricklink last summer, I started ordering parts to replace broken pieces on some sets (again, mainly sockets) and inevitably, those orders also included some pieces that I thought were interesting or always wanted to have anyways. By the time I’d replaced all the cracked sockets and completed all my previously incomplete sets, I had a bunch of extra pieces that I didn’t know what to do with, until I started looking up bionicle MOCs online and decided to try my hand at it again.
I wanted to start off with something small, not too challenging, but I did want to create a character that I could put a story behind. Since I own all the Glatorian sets and know the Bara Magna storyline fairly well, I decided my first attempt would be a Glatorian of some kind. I didn’t want to just run with the basic Inika build, though, and so for “inspiration” I looked to the one Glatorian that doesn’t use it: Kiina. What I found interesting is that, even though Glatorian gender isn’t tied to their element the way it is with Toa and Matoran, Kiina was the only female glatorian set out of twelve. So I made a female glatorian. And then another one, for a different tribe, and then a third… Basically, I now have seven, one for each tribe, including the Iron Tribe.
Since I’m still pretty new to the whole MOCing thing though, I’d like some suggestions, feedback, etc… on how to improve them.
1: Mistral (Iron Tribe). The first one I made, with a very simple build. The “triples” turned out to be very useful pieces for building torsos. Although the Iron Tribe colors are supposed to be dark blue and gray, from what I’ve heard, I used keetorange as her “disguise” color (like Telluris), with a mix of gunmetal grey and silver for the armor. In the old Iron tribe, she was one of the best blacksmiths, as well as an inventor, so her gear is pretty high-tech by Bara Magna standards.
2: Nafyuri (Ice Tribe). Credit for this character goes to Tayanacon on DeviantArt. I made Nafyuri off of this drawing: http://tayanacon.deviantart.com/art/Glatorian-OC-Nafyuri-157201526.
For Nafyuri, I went all out as far as modifying pieces is concerned. Several of the pieces (shin guards, shield, Vorox armor, and shoulder armor) are spray-painted white, since they’re not available in white anywhere, and her helmet is actually a custom 3d-printed design I had made by Shapeways. I’d probably have been able to echo the look of the character better on a larger scale, but I wanted to make her look like a canister set as much as possible, with all the pros and cons that come with it. That’s also why I used red pins. Nafyuri is also the one on which I discovered just how useful the rubber tubes can be.
3: Ezlis (Sand Tribe/Vorox). Nafyuri and Ezlis are the only ones that don’t have waist articulation, but Ezlis does have a tail, so no shortage of posability. Her build is pretty simple as well, with a triple and some connectors making up her torso and only a Vorox armor piece to add some volume. Still pretty gappy from some angles. I am particularly fond of the shoulder pads though.
http://scorpion-strike.deviantart.com/art/Ezlis-1-492430043
http://scorpion-strike.deviantart.com/art/Ezlis-2-492430041
http://scorpion-strike.deviantart.com/art/Ezlis-3-492430036
http://scorpion-strike.deviantart.com/art/Ezlis-4-492430031
4: Alanar (Rock Tribe/Skrall). Originally based off of another Tayanacon picture: http://www.deviantart.com/art/Glatorian-Anatomy-Fem-Skrall-154560889.
Alanar is my own character though.
Since the Sisters of the Skrall don’t wear armor, I tried to avoid using any of the regular armor pieces on Alanar (I don’t consider the Metru chest piece to be armor). So far, I’ve gone through four versions of her build, and I’m not quite satisfied yet. Maybe I should try green instead of grey as a secondary color… Her right leg is withered due to an old injury, and the staff is both a tool and a makeshift weapon for her. Of course, as a Sister she doesn’t carry a thornax launcher either. Also, Lego pieces are not particularly well suited for making hair, but I think the chains worked quite well for it.
http://scorpion-strike.deviantart.com/art/Alanar-1-492430066
http://scorpion-strike.deviantart.com/art/Alanar-2-492430058
http://scorpion-strike.deviantart.com/art/Alanar-3-492430053
http://scorpion-strike.deviantart.com/art/Alanar-4-492430046
5: Tesara (Jungle Tribe). With Tesara, I tried to apply the monkey-like proportions, with long arms and short legs, of some jungle agori (Tarduk) onto a glatorian. During the core war, she was the leader of a specialized unit in the Jungle Tribe military known as Land Wielders (an idea I got from That_1_Cactus), who were more or less the Bionicle equivalent of ninjas, hence the amount of black I used. I built Tesara right after I got about 20 technic ball joints shipped in, which shows in the double joints in her shoulders. Her body looks a bit… disjointed though, and the two-fingered hands are way too large, so I’ll probably make a different version at some point. Since she’s usually in a crouched position, it’s not as noticable. Her helmet is just a stars Gresh helmet with some bits cut out; I probably should have used a smoother knife.
6: Helanya (Fire Tribe). The other Tayanacon character I made, based off of this picture: http://tayanacon.deviantart.com/art/Helanya-Full-Armor-186888223.
I’ve gone through about six different versions of Helanya, and I’m still not satisfied with the look, although this is the best version so far. Her helmet is custom-printed like Nafyuri’s, but in two pieces. The color isn’t an exact match, unfortunately, but it’s close enough. Since Bara Magna technology is rather primitive, I gave the mechanical legs a very clunky look.
7: Silistra (Water Tribe). I know, the dreaded “Nuva boobs”… I didn’t use them on any of the other MOCs since they would just look comical or downright stupid on a thinner glatorian, but since Silistra is quite… heavy, I think it was justified enough. Making a bulky character was very challenging though, without compromising the articulation. Her back is way too hollow right now, so I’ll definitely change that at some point, and maybe design a custom helmet for her too.
http://scorpion-strike.deviantart.com/art/Silistra-1-492429971
http://scorpion-strike.deviantart.com/art/Silistra-2-492429964
http://scorpion-strike.deviantart.com/art/Silistra-3-492429953
http://scorpion-strike.deviantart.com/art/Silistra-4-492429946
For all of these, I’ve thought up at least a basic back story as well, which I might post at some point. For now, though, I’d like some comments or suggestions on how to improve them, perhaps certain techniques or uses for some pieces that I’m not aware of.