“Quantum Superposition-- the ability to appear in multiple states at once, such as being both alive… and dead. May the Great Spirit have mercy on their souls, because that is a luxury you no longer have, survivor. Now run.”
As my take on the conceptual nightmare Greg Farshtey thought up, I present the undead soul of my favorite Bionicle character of all time-- Deathcharger Lhikan.
The Red Star Zombies idea, for those not in the know, is a scrapped storyline Greg Farshtey thought of involving the undead on the Red Star as a “space zombie” storyline. As such, I decided to zombify my favorite resident of the Red Star using motifs of my favorite zombie video game of all time–
Ever played Left 4 Dead 2?
You’ll recognize the reference I’m making in the name of this topic if you’ve ever played L4D2 competitively or even just with clever, experienced friends. War flashbacks to all those windows in Chapter 1 of Dead Center
Why the Charger in particular? Well…
Do you remember how Lhikan died?
Thus, I haunt my beloved hero with his cause of death for all eternity… by ‘infecting’ him with the Shadow Hand that ended him. That’s my take on the Red Star’s zombification process due to the revival failure –
The body treads the line between two states, the living form and the form of death. What killed Lhikan is now a part of him.
Why is his ‘clean’ side silver and blue?
This design was originally meant to cater a “What If?” scenario I had-- what if Lhikan was revived in time for the Battle of Karda Nui?
I give you Overdrive Lhikan, the Silver Flame Phantoka.
Think of it as a Gandalf the White moment.
Furthermore, a plain gray and silver body contrasts well with the ‘Shadow Half’, emphasizing that for the zombification.
This was an absolute joy to make. I love Lhikan so much, I gave him a scope to make him look… cool.
Onto the selling point-- the Charger Arm. Inspired by my favorite Marvel character, Venom(and kinda his son Carnage), I wanted to emulate both the Shadow element and the “zombie infection” using tendrils.
Potential Concerns(FAQ)
Buildable? Yes.
Custom pieces? No.
Paint? Absolutely.
Turaga tho? I never said this build was a Toa. He’s just Lhikan. Moreover, RSZ is non-canon; I don’t care.
Weight? Ok here’s the thing–
- It’s the Charger-- that hand is meant to dangle, and drag the whole body down; that’s why I applied waist articulation. You can center the weight of that arm this way.
- Don’t get me wrong-- I want him to be able to stand up. Realistically, he still can, just as well as the Charger itself does. Keep that arm in front, and hunch that back.
So let’s break that down for everyone’s enlightenment(thank you @WholesomeGadunka for the advice and help):
These torso’s support system for the CCBS spine has two main configurations for posing on your display. The usage of either will depend on your preference with regards to posing the overall figure, but either technique is possible, legal, and stable enough.
Configuration One adheres to my original intended design for the character – a brute who bends over by default due to the infection literally and figuratively dragging him down. With the giant arm symbolizing the burden he carries and the cause of his death that haunts him, he is deformed in nature. This configuration allows for a more flexible articulation of he CCBS spine, letting the figure twist and bend over like the Left 4 Dead 2 Charger.
Configuration Two is for the traditional builders out there who appreciate, or maybe even prefer, their figures having a capability of standing upright. This configuration also allows the torso to twist, but bend over only slightly.
Now some of you Eagle Eyes may be wondering if this entire support system stresses those Technic connectors near the neck as shown in these physically recreated samples. The answer is yes and no. The stress only applies to the physical recreation here, because it’s missing the vertical axle flows that keep them from bending like that. (See the hoses in the Studio Screenshot of the Torso). Those don’t negate the stress entirely, but they still counter the weight of the stress to a degree.
Cheers, gathered friends! See you all at the Fanon Contest!!