This is something I wanted to do since 2008. I still remember watching a youtube video featuring Spiriah’s instructions with the Neodammerung from Matrix 3 playing. And I remember being so captivated by his appearance but also disappointed. Since I missed my chance of buying all the sets to make him I kept thinking of ways to keep his main appearance while improving the combiner using only parts included in the original 4 sets. And as more BIONICLE parts kept being added to Stud.io, the dream became a reality.
Here’s a list of the features/upgrades:
- Inverted the av-Matoran legs and the double socket joints so that his elbows are now properly articulated and can also swivel.
- Preserved the wide hips while reinforcing them with extra joints to better support all the weight.
- Completely redesigned claw so that now it features fully articulated fingers while still resembling the original combiner’s claw.
- The wings are no longer attached to the back of the arms. Instead, they have their own articulation and are connected to an av-matoran body, which is now part of Spiriah and no longer a non-canon shadow matoran.
- The cannon now features blades that make it similar to Revenge of the Fallen Megatron’s cannon.
- Longer and more articulated tail.
The final result is a Makuta Spiriah that is better articulated, more stable, better armed, while keeping his iconic Spiriah look.
And as a bonus, you can still make the shadow matoran out of spare parts!