First and most obvious of all, the addition of dark blue to the color scheme. The silver and trans-light blue did look good on their own, but I just felt something (likely contrast) was missing. All the changes upped his piece count from 194 to 270, so hopefully those bricklink orders aren’t too expensive
Added some heel supports on the backs of the feet. This was done to counteract the weight of the wings on the physical model so he won’t fall over as often. In-universe I’d say it’s a gripping claw (kind of like a bird’s foot) that allows Irusians to perch on things.
The connection point for this bohrok eye used to be an axle pin, but now it’s a normal axle so it won’t move around on the physical model when I pick him up.
The shoulder connection was probably the weakest point originally; although the inverted slopes looked good, they popped off constantly whenever I moved the arms. I replaced them with a more robust technic connection to avoid this.
Rukah’s lower arms and hands have been completely redesigned with the intention of allowing jointed fingers instead of the one-piece hf hand element. I daresay I succeeded very well on that front and hopefully it isn’t too unstable in real life. It also lets the swords be taken off as one section without having a separate pommel axle, so that’s neat as well
Oh this is so fire!
I love the dark blue, it adds so much to the colour scheme. All the modifications build-vise are very nice as well. Especially the hands, they add so much expressiveness
Thank you so much! I also like that the dark blue works really well as a contrast to the lighter silver and translucent blue
Lol I think this came about largely by accident since I had to redesign the forearms to accommodate the new hands. If you look at the older version, you’ll see he had silver 4 length shells on the CCBS arm bones.
ugh i have to update your secret santa build now ugh
(jk tho i really like the contrast between the three main colors, it really does add a new layer of depth to the build)
Oxide is the muscle of Marridium’s Cadre of Eight. A former Steltian brawler who wished to be invincible in the arena; the ultimate champion. And so he appealed to Dr. Marridium. While his twisted experiments succeeded in granting Oxide near-invulnerability, it came at the cost of the gladiator’s visage, giving his armor a rusted appearance and causing his body to resemble a Kane-Ra bull.
Carries a Rhotuka launcher for whenever he can’t get close enough to finish off an enemy. His spinners cause their targets to rust and corrode if hit.
Although he is not the intellectual sort (unlike his colleague Zarrant), Oxide is very learned in the ways of fighting and tactics, to the extent where he can often predict an opponent’s moves. You don’t rise to become a successful gladiator with just strength and speed.
Is loyal to Marridium mostly because he lets him fight people, and wields a massive warhammer in combat.
Despite his massive strength and size, he is hopeless at stealth. His rusted armor constantly creaks and groans whenever he moves, though at this point he’s grown used to it.
Ivoro is a greedy Turaga of Gravity who became obsessed with the lost power he formerly wielded as a Toa. Never the most sane in the first place, he sought out the amoral doctor and submitted himself to Marridium’s “treatments”, hoping to regain his old abilities. Instead, Ivoro gained incredible mental powers, including vast telekinesis, telepathy, limited precognition, and suggestion, but most dangerously, partial mind control. Like Oxide, his new capabilities ravaged his appearance, rendering Ivoro’s body as hunched and twisted as his soul.
Along with Asphyxia, Ivoro is one of the viler members of the Cadre of Eight (not that anyone there is really a saint).
Often uses his illusion abilities to masquerade as a kindly, doddering old Turaga to fool foes. He also frequently uses his mind powers in concert with his suggestion ability to force others to do what he wants, not unlike his master. He takes a sadistic sort of pleasure upon revealing his true twisted self.
Still retains some vestiges of his formerly formidable Gravity powers, and his mask power is Stealth.
The only ones safe(ish) from his contempt are fellow Gravity Matoran, Toa, and Turaga. Ivoro feels they are rare enough as it is, and besides, they’re his brethren.
Has an extreme hatred of Makuta, due to the fact that the Brotherhood was responsible for murdering the rest of his brothers and sisters on his former team of Toa Hagah. He will gladly repay the favor in kind, if he has the opportunity.
Zarrant is an Irusian researcher whose intense thirst for knowledge led him to approach Marridium in hopes of getting him to share some of what he had found. The scientist agreed, but not without some… payment in return. Zarrant emerged alive, retaining his high intellect and gaining some of Marridium’s secrets, but was left with a binding loyalty to the doctor as well as a monstrous birdlike complexion.
The exact nature of his (and many others in the Cadre) forced loyalty to Marridium isn’t the blind praise of a sycophant, but rather that he can’t help but follow his commands. Doesn’t matter if he doesn’t want to, he’ll still do it.
The mad doctor often pairs him up with Miasma or Malaise just to screw with him, as he is aware the dark duo have a not-insignificant resemblance to the Vacant of Irusian legend.
His original Irusian power was limited weather control, which has been taken up to eleven by Marridium’s tampering. Zarrant also possesses Telepathy as a mask power, which is not of equal strength or range of Ivoro’s mental abilities.
Has the ability to launch bonelike feathers from his wings as a projectile attack.
I really like Zarrant. I never would’ve thought to pair a krana with a beak since most masks look weird with built-on additions, but I guess not having a defined mouth position helps the beak look a lot more natural. Also, his ribcage is cool and I just noticed the Vahki heads built into his arms.
Asphyxia is a vengeful Toa of Water who only sought Marridium for his power. The mad doctor was only too happy to oblige, using her to further his experiments on how Kanohi worked (she wore a Kaukau). As a result, she largely lost access to her Elemental Powers, but was granted the vacuum-like ability to steal others’ breath and either choke them to death, or use it herself. This latter trait would be instrumental in allowing her to survive on land when, after she had returned from murdering the Makuta that had been terrorizing her village, Marridium activated her new power in full, forcing her to become a water-breather and mutating her into a terrifying sharklike being. In anger, Asphyxia tried to suffocate him, only to find Marridium curiously had no breath to take. Surprisingly, he didn’t kill her for this, but merely offered a place at his side, which she accepted, becoming one of his most ruthless and malevolent hunters.
Sentrinox is a former colleague and “best friend” of Dr. Marridium. Long before the scientist had acquired his dark abilities, he was part of a clandestine organization dedicated to researching the origin of the Matoran Universe, but particularly the various beings and strange powers within it. It was during this rapacious pursuit of knowledge that Marridium stumbled upon something he wasn’t meant to find - and was gradually consumed by it, all lingering traces of sentiment and conscience obliterated by his new obsession. As the pair ran experiments that slowly became less and less ethical, Sentrinox noticed that the other members of their little group had mysteriously dwindled and disappeared one by one, until only he and Marridium were left. Before long, he knew something was up, and at last confronted his old friend. Where Sentrinox had questions, Marridium had answers - surprisingly, the twisted scientist revealed the whole, complete truth behind his shadowy experiments as well as what he had discovered. Why? Let’s be honest - it’s not like he was going to let his old lab partner live. While Sentrinox was busy pondering the insane implications of all this, a mysterious fire broke out. The flames seemed to burn hotter and fiercer than normal, but despite that and all that Marridium had told him, Sentrinox desperately searched for his friend, unaware that it would be in vain as Marridium had already left after starting the fire, locking the doors and faking his own death in the process. Unable to escape the doomed facility, Sentrinox perished in the inferno and was left for dead. The end.
Or was it?
Never one to waste resources, Marridium returned to the laboratory seeking only one thing: his old colleague’s body. With nothing else to recover, he took the charred remains and one of his most wicked experiments began. Carefully, he salvaged what was left of Sentrinox’s organs and machinery and combined it with additional robotic components, before infusing it with his dark energies, creating a grisly biomechanical monstrosity. Neither living nor dead, Sentrinox now inhabited a state between the two, an unliving, misshapen creature with fierce allegiance towards Dr. Marridium. He now possesses tremendous strength despite the mismatched rotting organs and ragged mechanical parts which compose his form, as well as uncanny flexibility and the off-putting ability to reattach parts of himself if they are hacked off. Very little of his original personality remains, replaced by that of a sadistic, monstrous enforcer who will stop at nothing to belittle/terrorize his enemies. Currently, Sentrinox is Marridium’s second-in-command among the Cadre, doling out discipline whenever needed, making him the largest target for hatred among their enemies besides his master.
He typically walks with a heavy and uneven lumbering gait, but can move with blinding speed if need be. The sounds of derelict hydraulics combined with a strained, distressingly organic creaking mark his steps.
(Nota knows what I refer to)
