The Toa Hagah of Makuta Teridax (Canon Contest #3: Honor Guard)

[RMan_McAwesome]

Putting forth all four remaining Hagah in one topic:

(Either one of these can be used for the entry thumbnail if they’re to be counted as a group.)

Here are some individual action-y shots:

Some of the rules I imposed for these builds - they are “purist metru builds” as it were. Mainly that means no shoulder ball articulation which is a popular modification to many metru builds. Also, I refrained from using custom parts, and every piece in all 4 sets, to the best of my knowledge, only uses colors Lego actually produced them in. While I would have loved to have two sets use gunmetal, Lego never produced the metru greave piece in that color, so I went with something that anyone could make a real, unmodified physical model of. That’s very important to me when I make stud.io mocs, and I’ll touch on that in my consent section later.

Back, side, and full team poses

I figured having the whole team together would give a good sense of build unity

And here are all the size confirmation and breakdown shots

For the side comparison, the only potential contenders for the height restrictions are Pouks and Gaaki. The shin pieces for Pouks, the Vahki shins, are to my knowledge the same height as the metru shin pieces, so his build comes to be at the same height as Whenua, baring any mask discrepancies. Secondly, Gaaki is quite tall with where her torso pegs in as well as her inika shins. She’s at the same height as Iruni by my little measurement, however if TTV thinks she shouldn’t be AS tall as him, I’ll gladly adjust her head location or torso height.

And here is the link to the project’s .io file. It also includes the size comparison for further analasys.

Now, consent.

I give consent for my mask to be altered in the final group art if the artist chooses: YES

I will say, though, I’ve grown a bit fond of the masks I picked for them all, particularly for Gaaki and Pouks. However, given the torpid state of mask color availability, this is really the only time that I break from an otherwise purist build method. Feel free to use either the masks I’ve chosen or your own design.

I give consent for my metallic color choice to be altered in the final group art if the artist chooses: NO

Like I mentioned before, the ability to build a set IRL with non-custom pieces (masks excluded) matters a lot to me with these contests. With the exception of an entry or two, this was something that was non-negotiable with the old rahi, dark hunter etc contests back in the day. As much as I would love to have gunmetal, pearl blue or other cool metallic colors for armor, I be putting my foot down for this…assuming any of my Hagah even win XD

I give consent for my spear tip to be altered in the final group art if the artist chooses: YES

[Kanohi_Cantri]

But why isn’t Kualus the one speaking to the Rahi?

Joking aside, these conform well to the team build ideal. And while Gaaki’s weapon may seem too much like a hammer, rather than a spear, the others’ remain with a form of piercing menace. I like your use of the Rocka helmet for shoulder armor on Bomonga, it makes him look tough without adding bulk. Overall nicely done.

[RMan_McAwesome]

Thank you very much for your critique! And you know, I had honestly thought about Kualas and the bird only after I made the render…and I was not particularly in the mood to go back, re-pose everything and then wait ten hours for my little laptop to render them out again XD

And honestly Gaaki’s spear tip is probably the biggest reason I may amend my consent for the spear drawing. I wanted to use all of the original gold color for her but I wanted something sorta…watery? Wavy?

[Kanohi_Cantri]

I know how you feel about the spear idea. I made a post about it, which then got closed, and reopened the idea on the discussion topics. I tried to make the argument that artists should be allowed to “fix” the winning spear designs to fit a spear like aesthetic. This way, the MOC or art creator would have their design implemented, just slightly tweaked to conform to a standard for piercing weapons. I never wanted the idea of being able to completely alter the shaping of it, just in its dynamical feel. Maybe I’ll make a sketch of how I could envision your design in a spear like manner, because I do think that your desire to create a waving, flowing design should be allowed to live.

[Willess12]

Bomonga:
All right, I’mma be brutally honest here: I don’t like the spear. The Gahlo-Kal shield has its inside one way, and the Jumper foot the other way, means it’s going to look incomplete from any angle. And since you didn’t give consent to change it, that’s a big detriment to this Moc. Aside from that, a few minor nitpicks: the arms are a bit gappy, and I wish he had another color besides black.

Pouks:
Eh… I think I would prefer the spears to at least have a point, rather than just a blunt end. The shoulder armor also kinda sticks out a bit. And I think the torso armor might be a bit too big. Other than that, it’s fine.

Gaaki:
Not a fan of the really long arms (I know this has been on other entries, but it just occured to me to point it out). It kinda goes against the best feature of the Mettur build, that being the proportions. Again, wish the spear had a point. I do like that it’s gold, though.

Kualus:
Maybe it’s just the render, but white and silver look way too similar, it makes his color scheme so dull it’s worse than Solek.. Also, why is he left-handed in the main shot and then Righty everywhere else? I ask, because I kinda want a lefty Hagah now.

Overall: They’re okay, I’ve got some complaints with all of them though. Some moreso than others. I will say, if you’re allowed, I would encourage allowing changing the spear tips, as those are my biggest critique for most of them.

[Tarkur]

Cool mocs, good luck