For my entries, my main goal was set accuracy. These guys are designed to be comparable to official sets, thus providing a nostalgia factor and a respect for the design precedents set by Norik and Iruini.
To achieve this, I made no modifications to the base Metru build (except one very minor one which grants friction for the gear arms) and used only single-piece armour attachments. I used painted parts in places to compensate for the limited supply of certain metallic parts, however I made a conscious effort to limit their usage. I’ve also provided suggestions for how to build approximations of these guys without painting.
And to clarify as some people were mistaken: these are all physical MOC photos. No LDD renders, just good camera quality 
Gear Arm Friction
Before I get into the individual entries, I thought I’d share a simple build modification I made to the Hagah, namely a method for improving the friction of the mechanical right arm. This works on all of my designs, as well as Iruini. Unfortunately it’s not possible for Norik.
More Info
The assembly shown above provides friction using the 3L pin/axle piece, which is directly connected to the turning axle at the back. Because it’s freely connected to the Metru chest cover, and the armour in the case of all but Pouks, there is a sufficient amount of resistance to allow the Toa’s gear arm to hold its own weight.
If anyone who hasn’t yet entered would like to use this modification for their MOCs, please credit me.
Gaaki
Images & Info
- Moving from top to bottom; Gaaki’s mask began as an arbitrary choice, though the Rode’s power of uncovering mental or visual deception has some thematic parallels to her Mask of Clairvoyance. It also suits her character well.
- I decided to give each Hagah a unique eye colour. Gaaki’s colour was decided primarily as a result of the colours I chose for the others, but I think light blue works very well.
- I went with silver armour for Gaaki partly because the alternatives weren’t ideal. Gold causes her to look like a Ce-Toa, while gunmetal would have made her look like my headcanon appearance for Tuyet.
- Gaaki uses painted Metru shoulders. I intentionally designed the team so that each pair of identically coloured Toa has one of each shoulder type (Lego did the same thing with the Piraka’s feet). This is the only painted part on Gaaki besides the dark blue Rhotuka, so she can be decently approximated by just using Nuva shoulders.
- Her chest design is something I thought was pretty unique, and so far only two other people have come up with it. The friction system I mentioned above also works for her - there is a miniscule amount of armour wobbling when you articulate the gear arm, but besides that it works seamlessly.
- I chose the staff of light as her spear because of its blade edge’s resemblance to the Rode’s horn.
Bomonga
Images & Info
- Bomonga was originally going to be a more squat, Vahki-thighed Toa, however I do like the slim look for him. It sets him apart from other Toa of Earth.
- I don’t remember exactly what motivated me to choose the Komau, but I’m very happy with how it turned out. Originally he was going to wear a Rode, given its resemblance to RSG’s Mask of Growth. For some reason I don’t recall, I ended up giving the Rode to Gaaki.
- I gave Bomonga red eyes, a colour which really complements his gold armour well.
- I chose gold mainly because black and gold seemed much more unique and striking than black and gunmetal. I’m happy with the result.
- Nuva shoulders was, again, because I wanted one armour type for each metallic colour pair.
- The double socket piece used for the upper arms and legs never came in black, so I decided to paint the upper arms black and use the newer socket piece for the legs. You can make do without painting by using grey sockets instead, or the newer black sockets.
- The chest armour is also painted, though can be easily swapped out for Iruini’s chest piece without deviating much from the silhouette. While Norik and Iruini set a precedent for borrowing parts from characters of different elements, I decided this was the best Bohrok piece for Bomonga.
- An important note here is that Bomonga holding his spear upside down is just a stylistic thing for his cover image. In all likelihood, he’d hold it upright in combat.
- There’s something about the Lerahk staff that makes me think ‘Seismic Spear’, so I chose that. This is also painted gold, but obviously it can be found in silver if you prefer not to paint.
- The black Rhotuka is also painted, but there is an official melded black and silver one you can use instead.
- For Bomonga, Kualus and Pouks, I gave them grey accents instead of black to better complement their colour schemes. I consider these colours to be creative liberties rather than canonical elements, so I welcome artists to change them if they clash with the accent colours of the other winners.
Kualus
Images & Info
- I gave Kualus an Arthron because of its resemblance to RSG’s Mask of Rahi Control. The intention with this inclusion is for it to be turned into a non-aquatic version in the group art portion - that said, the tubing does complement the chest armour.
- I found the dark blue eyes worked pretty well despite them being a little too dark in most light.
- Kualus uses painted Metru shoulders, which can be replaced with gunmetal Nuva shoulders to make him more reproducible.
- Again, I found that the best Bohrok armour for him was that of his native element. This is painted as well, but can be replaced with a Lehvak-Kal shield.
- While building, nothing worked quite as well as the Kurahk staff. I painted this gunmetal, which isn’t essential for getting a good-looking MOC.
- Kualus and Pouks’ shields are painted gunmetal, with painted gunmetal Rhotuka to match.
- For both Kualus and Pouks, I used painted Metru thigh armour to be consistent with the others. However to avoid painting, you can replace these with Inika thigh armour.
Pouks
Images & Info
- Like Gaaki, Pouks is quite easily reproducible without painting. Only the spear, shield, gunmetal Rhotuka and thigh armour are painted - simply replacing the thighs with Inika armour can still give you a pretty nice-looking Pouks.
- I chose the Hau because it worked well with the smooth Nuva shoulders. The ‘silver’ Hau is quite rare now, but if you manage to get one, it’s a very close match for old gunmetal.
- I settled on dark green eyes very early. I think they work well with both the brown and the gunmetal.
- The Kalmah foot (which isn’t painted) works really well in terms of coverage and overall appearance. Because of the space underneath the foot, it’s still possible to implement my friction mod into Pouks; though the friction is about half of what it is on the others.
- The spear was originally chosen because of its loose similarity to the Mask of Emulation. At one point Pouks also had a Zatth, which complemented both the mask and the spear. In the end, I settled on the Hau but kept the spear.
Consent & Final Notes
- I give consent to all changes (spear, mask and metallic colour) to all four Hagah in the group art portion.
- For Kualus, I would strongly recommend changing his mask to a standard non-aquatic Arthron.
- Additionally, insofar as it is permitted by the rules, artists are welcome to modify other elements, particularly those I see as creative liberties. These include the black/grey accent colours on the hands and feet, and the lack of black parts on the other Hagah’s bodies (see the black torso parts of Norik and Iruini).
My Rationale
My justification for these leniencies is to increase the chances that artists are able to correct situations where two Toa share the same mask or spear, or where the colour distribution of the team does not look uniform or aesthetically pleasing. I would much prefer if changes were only made in the interest of avoiding these situations, rather than for the artists’ own personal preferences - however I will not stipulate this officially. Instead I will trust the artists and the voters to not go overboard with it.
Acknowledgements
- A special thanks to the guys at RSG for giving feedback on the designs.
- Thanks also to Vahkiti for providing the backgrounds. You can find those here.
