And the G2 Marathon continues! This week, Fire begins!
And for those interested in entering in the marathon, you have one week left for Water
Inspired by the Toa, who have since left for the stars, the Protectors decided to find their own creatures to pair with. After getting some modifications from Ekimu, each found a critter blessed by one of the Element Creatures. And with the rising darkness from Skull Caster and other new foes, this partnership could not come at a better time.
Narmoto & Inkilm
Uniter Narmoto:
Designerâs Notes: During G2âs run, it was a toss up as to which Protector I hated more, the Protector of Fire or Ice. I really disliked their arms, so it was a mental debate of doing such a disservice to my favorite primary element of Ice versus fireâŠjust being awful and having one of the most confusing weapons. So naturally for my Uniter versions, I started with Fire first.
The Protectors are mostly the same, visually speaking, with Korgot and Narmoto being the most obvious exceptions. And I knew whatever I built for Narmoto would work as a good template for everyone else and Korgot might require further experimentation. So underneath, his build is the same as Kivodaâs. Just instead of having a notable bobbling problem, he has arms that can touch elbows behind his back. Though due to the Vorox armor piece, this is really only affects the right arm.
I think the webisode design influence is a lot more evident in Narmoto here than KivodaâŠand youâll find that will largely only be true for Narmoto as I didnât want to deviate too much from armor placements on the others. And weapon wise, decided to make his really weird flame swords into more of a tonfa. Which is my best guess for what the original was trying to do but still not sure. Oh. And I wasnât going to make the Fire Blaster functional at first, that way I would have it rotated lower on the shoulder to aim down more. But eh, why not? Not as though the original had much aiming power either.
And if youâre wondering what I think of this version of Narmoto, heâs my favorite of the bunch.
Inkilm:
Guardian of the Fire Region, Inkilm is considered an unusual choice to be blessed as most in the region would consider them to be a dangerous pest. Though unlike many of his kin, Inkilm wants to aid others in this dangerous land. And for protecting Ikir from what it thought was oncoming debris by deflecting a Shadow Trap into a river of lava, he was blessed.
Belonging to the elephant scorpions, these creatures have a more well-armored tail that they use as a deflecting helmet to protect them from erupting materials. Their tailâs springy launching function, though originally for attacking prey, also worked well for catapulting that debris off themselves. And in this compressed state, it has the additional benefit of making them look like larger and more frightening creature. Though should they need it, it is a quick snap up and down to sting foes. However, unlike his kinâs weakened venom, Inkilmâs is a burning flame and much akin to an incendiary round.
Spring-loaded:
Function Demo:
Donât worry, itâs not that loud in-person. I have no idea why itâs so loud in video.
Designerâs Notes:
âŠSo. In the process of trying to figure out what creature to do for Fire, I built the other remaining four and several extras. I had no idea what I wanted to do going in other than no flying birds and no dragons for fire. Oh and no crabs. No crabs for any of the elements or crustaceans if it can be helped. I love them but I have too many.
Back when they were proper mounts, I thought a CCBS Kikanalo could be fun. The rhino kangaroo hybrid at the smaller scale though? Too tall and too Protector-like. So that went out the window. Then my mind turned to the Rahi Master Builder set, since most of those were red, orange, and also in Ta-Wahi. I was debating between whether Fire or Stone would get the ostrich, but the function I was building for the ostrich turned into a fishâŠYouâll see how that happened eventually. But none of the other creatures were really sticking out.
I didnât want to a do a firefly because the pun was too obviousâŠAnd I also already have a firefly-esque build this year (that you will also see eventually). But then remembered my 2015 Region of Fire creature the Helli-deer and thought it would be really funny to do that on the small scaleâŠand that got split into two other creature MOCs, one of which now belongs as part of the Jungle rep.
Alright, back to the Kikanolo. What if I just focus on the rhino part? Oh, what about a hippo? A laval hippo sounds coolâŠAnd we made a rhino beetleâŠWell, it is red, but I didnât think it made for a good partner.
Which brings us right up until last night, where I gave up and decided to do a scorpion. I was already messing around with a potential scorpion function, but I didnât want to do too many (or any really) creature repeats of the sets proper. But I just need something and with nothing left, went back to the scorpion idea.
In the end, Iâm pretty happy with it. Though when I get around to photographing that rhino beetle, youâll have to let me know which one you think would have been a better partner.
United:
And thatâs it! As always, comments and criticism are welcomed.
