Yes, nothing in the canon forces it. However, I think it would be very sad if we end up with four Toa Hagah that would look out of place alongside other sets of 2005 and in particular their two toa brothers. That’s what I’m trying to avoid. I think the four remaining Toa Hagah should look like they were released alongside their two brothers back in 2005.
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They very well could. They weren’t used even though the sets had the opportunity to do so (they changed Norik and Iruini’s shins, so why not the arms?).
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That would be fine IMO. As long as the part allows vertical movement of the hand. So no “standard” ball joint at the end as that would not allow vertical movement of the hand.
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While it makes the group more cohesive, nothing in canon requires that the Piraka must have that function. I mean, we even get confirmation that the Skakdi species doesn’t require it with Nektann.
If you don’t like a moc that breaks the pattern, then don’t vote for it. But if the canon doesn’t force it, then it shouldn’t be a rule.
I’ll be happy as long as the rules mandate an intact metru torso build with hagah gear function.
Nektann… didn’t really have a choice. That’s like saying a Mata MOC (going back to Pohatu) doesn’t need gears because Tahu Mata used an Avtoran build. The final wave of BIONICLE made serious aesthetic and play function sacrifices in the interest of quickly releasing an inexpensive wave. It’s not a fair comparison to how the Piraka should look — leaving alone that Nektann wasn’t actually a Piraka.
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My point remains. While I agree that the last wave of Bionicle was not very aesthetic, I don’t think it was inconsistent with canon in any way.
Also I don’t see why joining a specific group would require that your body is built a very specific way. It’s not like the Piraka went around looking for Skakdi with a very specific wrist design.
I agree that the canon does not force it but any moc that does not follow it would be somewhat out of place compared to the two Hagah we know from the sets IMO. And that would be sad if such a moc is canonized as it would break the high cohesion of the toa teams of that era.
Clearly this is less about what rule is canon than it is about having the four remaining Toa Hagah be precisely in sync with their two sets conterparts from the 2005 era.
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No, but if a contest was to say “BUILD A PIRAKA” because for some reason Zaktan never got a set, it would make perfect sense to require that his MOC adhere to the design convention of the wave in which all the other Piraka were introduced.
This exactly.
Hard disagree. Zaktan even had an in-universe explanation to diverge from the standard Skakdi look if so desired, keeping him following the pattern exactly would be a purely aesthetic choice.
Anything that is a matter of aesthetics should be left for the vote. Anything that is a matter of canon should be left for the rules.
We have seen what happens when we trust people to vote respectfully. This is dangerous to the canon.
Then that sounds like you have an issue with the concept of a contest in general. I am personally fine with it, the whole point of a contest is to let the community decide what should be canon. And if something is especially egregious, Greg can veto it.
I see no point in holding a contest if the entries are going to be micromanaged to such an extreme extent.
Oh yes I clearly am against canon contests. I have made my point clear multiple times. Since I cannot stop TTV from running them I’m at least trying to keep the damage to the canon to a minimum by arguing for stricter rules.
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Mein Gott, my apologies for choosing the one Piraka who might’ve had aesthetic differences because of his Protodite infestation. Please, go for that weak point instead of just following the spirit of my example.
No, yeah, I’ll be totally honest, I’d rather see a contest that encouraged more creative freedom like literally any other Toa or better yet, Makuta Kojol.
But we’re all stuck on this hill and I intend to die on it.
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My point is that the Hagah have a somewhat similar excuse for build variation, to a less extreme extent. They all come from different teams. This could easily be a canon explanation for the variations between them, if you need one.
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Sure, I guess, but I was talking more to the aesthetic and more importantly the functional purity of the wave. I place canon above aesthetic in general, but there’s nothing in canon mandating that the aesthetic needs to change and meanwhile there is a functional reason for the aesthetic to remain the same.
Compare that to say, Helryx, who very obviously couldn’t be made with the Inika build common to 2007-8 when she was introduced to the story due to canon dictating her aesthetic; likewise, because she didn’t belong to the Mata’s actual team and wouldn’t have been a candidate for part of the 2001 wave, her 2001-like aesthetic could forgo the gear function and Mata gearbox.
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Similarly, there’s nothing in canon mandating that the aesthetic needs to be exactly the same. And as I’ve mentioned before, matters of aesthetic should go to the vote, not the rule.
Unless someone has some other reason why a matter of aesthetic should not go to vote besides “people might vote for a thing I don’t like”, then I see no reason to change my stance.
But there is a precedent in the actual set aesthetic of the wave. It’s not “canon” but it holds significant weight.
If the entire team of Toa Hagah had been released back in 2005, there is a very high probably that they would be extremely similar to each other considering the amount of cloning of that era. And so despite the fact that it would have been possible to justify differences in canon. I think deviating from that cloning of 2005 era sets, which is part of the canon aesthetic of that era in some way, would not be faithful to the spirit of the 2005 Toa Hagah.
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