Toa Nidhiki (My entry for DuckBricks’ Fanon Contest)

Gathered friends, I present you my interpretation of the Toa Nidhiki.

Before I start discussing my idea for this MOC, let’s recap what we know about Toa Nidhiki. We know that he, along with Lhikan and Tuyet, was part of the Toa Mangai team, wore emerald green armor, wielded a scythe, used Kanohi Volitak, and was from the Tren Krom Peninsula known for its extremely hostile environment and dangerous Rahi.

Main photo:

I started designing my Nidhiki by choosing a color palette. As Lhikan and Tuyet use Metru colors, I opted for Metru Green. However, giving him only emerald green armor would make him too monochromatic. Therefore, I decided to add some black accents.

Running:

I started building from the torso. I know that most fans prefer Nidhiki in Toa Metru form, so I’ve chosen Metru torso as the base for the whole build. I used a gearbox identical to that used by my Toa Tuyet. This variant has the function of locking the mechanism and is easy to replace with other elements, if someone prefers a bare back than the view of the gears on the back.

Kicking:

I used my own design of the lower part of the torso, which allows for better articulation of the legs, while eliminating the unsightly narrowing at the waist, which has always been a huge disadvantage of the Toa Metru.

The most puzzling was with the design of the chest. I found the use of Bohrok Shields to be very lazy, but I assumed that since Toa Iruini was known to be the prototype of Toa Nidhiki, a lot of fans would expect to see the same piece of armor on MOC’s chest that Iruini and Nidhiki in his mutated form used. So I decided to use the Metru Green painted version of this piece.

Scythe:

However, the effect did not satisfy me and I decided that instead of a classic gearbox cover, I would build something a bit more detailed. I used robotic arms from the Exo Force series and a few other bits and pieces and attached an additional decorative tube running along the neck to this structure.

When designing the thighs, I assumed I won’t stick to the constraints imposed by Toa Lhikan’s small stature and constructed something much more detailed, trying to convey the futuristic atmosphere of the city of Metru Nui. The core of the thighs are elements from the Kongu Mahri set, which, combined with the element used, among others, in Nivawk, reflect the vibe of the titan sets from 2004.

In order for the structure to be stable, and at the same time, so that the black color does not dominate over the green, I gave up the idea for custom calves and only encased a bit the classic limb piece.

Similarly, I didn’t want to overdo it when designing the forearms. The arms themselves, on the other hand, have been designed to stay on the balljoint so that my Nidhiki has more freedom of movement. At the same time, I crowned them with black Inika shoulder armor pieces, attaching studs to them so that the shoulder armor match the style of the thighs.

Back:

When designing the scythe, I reached for an element that people rarely use in their MOCs - the Visorak blade. I attached it at a slight angle and extended it with a Bohrok Tooth at the back to make the transition between the blade and the handle smoother.

I finished the whole construction with a printed Kanohi Volitak painted in the same color as the Bohrok Shield on the chest.

Thanks to the right balance of dominant green and black accents, my Nidhiki looks like it was made especially for camouflage in the natural environment of the Tren Krom Peninsula, which thematically harmonizes with the Mask of Stealth he wears. He does not stand out too much from the rest of the Toa Mangai in either design or height, and at the same time surpasses them in terms of articulation.

If my MOC will win the first place, I’ll make an art showing this Nidhiki in action :wink:

360° spin:

Video showing how to build him step by step:
(Comming soon)

Better quality photos:
https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1efQowLBK6-Rt-m8J7ZfkRtI1TMCqUwRu?usp=sharing

Used mask’s free 3D model:

You can find the photos here too:
https://www.instagram.com/p/CpGH-eor3DM/

/Taohe Netrus

Edit 1:
Here’s a simple art showing my Nidhiki on a box art styled picture. Wanna see it in higher resolution? Check out Google Drive link :wink:

Edit 2:
Timelapse video is now available:

21 Likes

ah neat, this looks cool!

6 Likes

This whole model is pretty cool (and I greatly appreciate the lack of silver on Nidhiki himself), but my favourite part is easily the shoulders; that CCBS armour piece fits so well the with Inika armour, and with a fairly simple assembly to boot.

5 Likes

I love that shoulder assembly! It’s perfect!

3 Likes

neat scythe design

4 Likes

I’ve updated a Google Drive by adding a simple art, chceck the link to find it in higher resolution:

5 Likes

Building timelapse video:

4 Likes

Voting just started, good luck :wink:

3 Likes