Six rookie Toa, newly transformed. Informally part of the Toa Magna Initiative, the group was destined to defeat the Great Being Velika.
These guys are the primary Toa Team I’ve been working on and the main protagonists of my personal story. I wanted to emulate the early “teeth-clenched teamwork” vibe that the Mata and Metru had, so that was a big focus. Individual members and photos are as follows.
Raeys, Toa of Fire
Raeys originally drifted across the Matoran Universe, though he eventually ended up in Metru Nui during the Great Cataclysm. During the Dark Ages, he served as a member of the Ta-Koro Guard.
Raeys’ primary Toa Tool is his Flame Sword, though he struggles to effectively control his elemental powers. He was gifted a standard claymore and shield by the Vandern’s mentor.
Jaiiko, Toa of Ice
The Deputy, he hails from the Tren Krom Peninsula. Cynical, cold, and aggressive; Jaiiko often fights with his team, particularly Raeys- but he remains steadfastly loyal.
Jaiiko’s Toa Tools are a pair of Ice Picks, transformed alongside him. However, he more commonly uses the Frost Greatsword, a weapon formerly belonging to the Toa of his village.
While he is less proficient in combat than Raeys, Jaiiko possesses the best elemental control out of the Vandern, and frequently uses his powers and Calix to overwhelm an opponent.
Saetta, Toa of Lightning
Saetta serves as the Vandern’s navigator, though she also keeps the group from falling apart too much. Adventurous and stubborn, she wants nothing more than to explore the new world.
Saetta wields the Weather Staff, a simple polearm. She also possesses the Shock Fins, which can be combined with her staff to create a halberd; though they are more frequently used to supplement her Faxon in the air or water.
Saetta has experienced much grief in her life, but always tries to maintain a positive outlook. please do not yell at me for nuva boobs, I know already.
Arohni, Toa of Stone
The team’s strategist, who frequently questions his own worth. Having lived for decades on Voya Nui, Arohni is no stranger to combat; in fact, he’d rather return to a simple life instead.
His Toa Tool is the Rock Warhammer, though he also possesses a simple shield mounted to his arm. Arohni wears a Kanohi Rode, but faces difficulties using it, as he has tied it to his own self-loathing.
Arohni is a calm person, but frequently bottles up his own emotions; these negative feelings only bubble up when he is sufficiently stressed, and contribute to his overall dislike of combat.
Delgan, Toa of Earth
A religious Toa, Delgan firmly believes that the Vandern were chosen by Mata Nui for a greater purpose. Boisterous, friendly, and easy to talk to, it is not hard to feel safe around him.
Delgan wields a pair of Drill Gauntlets, though he does not use them for combat very often, as he fears losing control and harming an opponent. As such, he focuses on improving his elemental control or mastering his Kiril.
Delgan does not have a strict role within the Vandern, but is commonly seen as the “Team Dad”. His friendly nature has made him well liked among the team, including those who are not keen on bonding, such as Arohni or Jaiiko.
The team’s scout; Kavero is arrogant and impetuous. He’s held onto a single minded goal all throughout his life: to fly. Now transformed into a Toa, his goal would be met… if he could use his element or Kanohi.
Kavero uses a pair of Aero Cutlasses as his Toa Tools, which could be used to channel his elemental powers or glide along updrafts. With no control over the Air or his Miru, Kavero heavily relies upon his Toa Tools, but he has also built himself a Wingpack to sidestep his problems.
Really love these guys, plus I’m always a sucker for a good original Toa team. Their personalities seem like they’d make for a really great team dynamic, and they all look pretty cohesive. While not usually a big fan of Toa of Fire, I really love Raeys’s design. That torso is sick, and that mask just fits so well. From his weapons to his stance, everything about him just screams “Toa Hero,” and I think that’s fantastic!
Funny enough, it seems like most folks like Delgan the best. He originally started off as an Inika tablescrap, so it’s interesting to know that he’s typically the fan-favorite.
Super glad to hear this! Raeys was the first one built, and takes some inspiration from Kamen Rider suits, so it’s nice to know that “heroic” aspect gets across.
That’s very high praise, thank you very much! I actually revamped the Mahri a while ago, so I might post those later on.
These make a really convincing whole, and on their own they’re all pretty good. Although:
I hate to be that guy, but I don’t like Delgan so much, largely due to the color scheme. The leg pieces on his front also seem kind of unfinished and tacked on, but obviously aesthetics are largely subjective.
As for the rest, I think Arohni is my favorite by a slim margin over Raeys. The torso armor on the latter is excellent, but I’m quite taken with the use of the Hordika chestplate as shoulder armor on the former. The tan and Metru brown also work extremely well together, in my eyes.
Kavero is solid, although horizontal ankle-jets have been a pet peeve of mine ever since Gali Mistika first released. I recommend attaching them to the back of the legs a la Onua Mistika if possible, though that might be difficult with the greaves on the front. I very much like the colors on Saetta as a matter of course, although the nuv–oh, wait–
unnecessary persecution ensues
No, actually, I was gonna say that her chest armor is just not particularly interesting compared to the rest, so you might consider spicing it up with more detail. It doesn’t particularly bother me, but the choice of chest actually makes her stand out less among the rest.
Also, Jaiiko looks awesome. That is all on him. The weapons are really fantastic for all of them, though Saetta’s staff is somewhat boring.
Super fair points! This is probably one of the better critisms I’ve received, so I’ll probably do an more in-depth response
Unfortunate about the color scheme, though I get it. I wanted to riff on Nuparu’s og scheme, and there’s already some more orange parts I’ve added in to try and improve the spread. The leg armor is 100% just due to the fact that I didn’t have any of the other KK armor in black, so that’s something I’m already looking into. I will say that I’ve gotten attached to the spikes, so I might go in a different direction.
With Arohni, I’m glad to hear you like him! He was the last one to be properly completed I think, so it’s nice to know he’s also getting some love.
The horizontal jets don’t bother me too much, as when I pose him, they end up looking right thanks to the foot posing. I’ll see if I can’t get a stand to take some aerial shots of him and Saetta. I think I tried out the Onua design, and I felt like it didn’t show up as well from the front. Maybe the Av-Matoran jetpacks could work better?
It is a little unfortunate to hear that Saetta is overall regarded as “boring” to you, but I get it. I don’t think I managed to get very good photos of her, which definitely contributes to that feeling. Imo, the staff looks better in action shots, or when the fins are actually attached to her feet or back. On the nuvaboobs, to be perfectly honest, it was originally planned to be a nuva chestplate, but I felt I needed it more for a Chiara build, so there it went. Saetta was also partially inspired by some anime characters, like One Piece’s Nami, so I guess I just justified it in my brain. I’ll take this in consideration and see if there’s not anything I can switch up; maybe using one of the dual-moulded Inika shoulders? Might be too much part spam though. Oh well. Good food for thought!
