Withered Mata Nui revamp (Diminished Mata Nui 3.0)

[RedPandalorian]

Hello, fellows who are not yet banned, it is I, za RedPandalorian, who yet again presents a MOC! This time around, I am revamping my Diminished Mata Nui MOC (also, that name does not work. Imagine deformed Kopaka. Or decomposed Lewa. Or malnourished Matoran. Oh wait, that one was Makuta…) So, I took some inspo from master @Ghid io and renamed the thing Withered Mata Nui. Much better.

My main problem with 2.0 (I never posted it here) was that it was tooooooooo tall and the colors were kinda all over the place. Sure, the disproportionate look was nice, just sacrificed too much.

First, a comparison:

And then Mata Nui all by himself:

I was a little inspired by General Grievous, so I made the green organ sack thingy inside the torso. One good thing about Hordika torsos (they don’t get enough love) is that they have a hole in the chest. That, and they are slim and shoulderless.

I also added tubes to the torso and spine for cool detail.

As you can see, I fixed all the problems I saw with the older MOC. I:

●Fixed the colors. I made sure the base body was black, with gunmetal and silver armor over it. I also kept the neon green parts exclusive to the head and organ sack thing, making a good accent.

●Fixed the height. I made him scale FAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAR better with Ignika builds. Unfortunately, because of this, the mask is oversized. A funny thing is that the bigger-looking head makes him somewhat cuter than the last version.

●Fixed the aesthetic. Instead of doing the whole funky long thing, I focused on the logic behind the build. Originally, for his story (will not spoil because it is tightly intertwined with my selfMOC’s story), he is supposed to be weakened after reforming Spherus Magna. When he takes a humanoid form, this is what he does. I made sure to make him thin, but proportionate and minimally armored. This is more practical if one needs to use only the essentials in a body.

●Fixed the textures. Instead of using every gunmetal part I could find, I pay attention to the textures. I made sure the black underbody was very Bionicle Technic, like the frame of a canister set. Meanwhile, the armor is smooth and biomorphic, looking like some sort of bug’s exoskeleton with vents and grooves to make it Bionicle. This severely limited what I could use for armor, so I used only the Toa Ignika armor and the G2 ribcage, since they looked more smooth, streamlined, natural, but still with the necessary Bionicle greebles to make them fit.

Anyways, that is the post! Tell me what you think about the MOC!

Bombastic criticisms about the MOC are welcome.

[Ghid]

@RedPandalorian

Imagine deformed Kopaka.

Minecraft Ghid comes with accurate spinal deformity

Knowing some more about the intent behind the moc makes it easier to critique. The elbows are certainly interesting, as he is now permanently stuck in a t-rex pose unless his forearms swing out for a confused gesture. Thankfully, he now has mobile shoulders, meaning he can shrug at the same time.

I guess my biggest complaint is, outside of the Ignika on his face and the aggressive cankles, this doesn’t really look anything like Mata Nui. The original set had a striking silhouette with its massive shoulder blades, unique shield, and weird lifted diaper thing in the middle of his stomach. Here, he just has the cankles.

[RedPandalorian]

@Ghid

Knowing some more about the intent behind the moc makes it easier to critique.

Confused because you didn’t really evaluate this point

@Ghid

The elbows are certainly interesting, as he is now permanently stuck in a t-rex pose unless his forearms swing out for a confused gesture.

Ya know, the weird thing is that e v e r y o n e in this community HATES when anything uses Slizer arms like this, even though I personally like it. And the T-rex thing does not bother me very much.

@Ghid

Thankfully, he now has mobile shoulders, meaning he can shrug at the same time.

Ok, come on… You really don’t like this one, do you?

@Ghid

I guess my biggest complaint is, outside of the Ignika on his face and the aggressive cankles, this doesn’t really look anything like Mata Nui.

First up, I am aware of the Ignika. Secondly, I like the “cankles”. Thirdly, He looks like a skinny Toa Ignika with a color swap. Close enough to Mata Nui. Unless you would be happier with the Toa Ignika set, but in black and white.

@Ghid

The original set had a striking silhouette with its massive shoulder blades, unique shield, and weird lifted diaper thing in the middle of his stomach. Here, he just has the cankles.

Again, he takes more from the Toa Ignika than from Mata Nui. And the “cankles” are nice.

[Fluffy]

@RedPandalorian, this is an awesome MOC! He’s so cute and looks like Mata Nui. Great worrrrkkkkkk!!!

[Ghid]

@RedPandalorian

Confused because you didn’t really evaluate this point

It’s not a point to evaluate, it’s more context that this is a humanoid form he chose to inhabit crafted with available energy, meaning it’s a conscious decision on his part and is therefore what he chose to look like with the resources at hand.

Therefore, my critique of him not looking like Mata Nui.

@RedPandalorian

He looks like a skinny Toa Ignika with a color swap.

I didn’t realize that was the intent since you said nothing about it. But then it also begs the question why that was the source of inspiration.

@RedPandalorian

Ok, come on… You really don’t like this one, do you?

@RedPandalorian

e v e r y o n e in this community HATES when anything uses Slizer arms like this

Not every opinion I have can be unpopular. Sometimes I gotta go with the crowd

[RedPandalorian]

@Ghid

It’s not a point to evaluate, it’s more context that this is a humanoid form he chose to inhabit crafted with available energy, meaning it’s a conscious decision on his part and is therefore what he chose to look like with the resources at hand.

Therefore, my critique of him not looking like Mata Nui.

Thanks for evaluating the point that you didn’t see that you should evaluate.

@Ghid

I didn’t realize that was the intent since you said nothing about it. But then it also begs the question why that was the source of inspiration.

Oh yeah… well, at least all who reads this topic will know now. As for the source of inspo, you might notice he has a gunmetal Ignika. Now, gunmetal is like an in-between of silver (very, very, very weak, dying) and black (dead oof). This means that Mata Nui here has spent a whole lot of his energy on

@RedPandalorian

reforming Spherus Magna

Now, with so little energy left, one cannot just make something big, chonky, and thicc thick. So my design philosophy is “make it thin like skelly to use less”. Also, I’m o b s e s s e d with skeletons. I put them wherever I can. That, and I like Toa Ignika better than Toa Mata Nui.

@Ghid

Not every opinion I have can be unpopular. Sometimes I gotta go with the crowd

Fair.

[Zhyndea]

I for one like the usage of the Slizer arms.

I do feel that the lower legs are too sizable compared to the upper legs. If you bulk them up a bit, it’d probably look better, but, as it stands, it’s too sharp a transition between them.

I like the tubes, though, and the Skull Warrior armor looks good (although it would probably look better were it closer to the torso).

[RedPandalorian]

@Zhyndea

I for one like the usage of the Slizer arms.

Fist bump. Team Slizer!

@Zhyndea

I do feel that the lower legs are too sizable compared to the upper legs. If you bulk them up a bit, it’d probably look better, but, as it stands, it’s too sharp a transition between them.

I see it now. I think I might do one of two things: Add a knee pad to aid in the transition (like a lot of Gundams do) or possibly thicken the thighs (I likely won’t do that for the skeleton aesthetic).

@Zhyndea

I like the tubes, though, and the Skull Warrior armor looks good

Thanks!

@Zhyndea

(although it would probably look better were it closer to the torso).

After reading your reply, I think I have a new idea for attaching the ribcage…

[Au-Plau-Se]

This is a really cool MOC of Withered Mata Nui

[ChubChub86]

I still kinda prefer slender Mata Nui. I get the scale problems and that theres no reason regarding the story why he would be so t a l l, but I still find that atheistic more interesting.

[RedPandalorian]

Hello, guys! Here are some updates! (No. 3.5)

I have added that transition point that @Zhyndea requested via kneepads. I also fixed the floating ribcage syndrome, improving the side view vastly.

The three leg options I cooked up. (WHICH IS BETTER IDK BETWEEN THE SLIZER FOOT OR VISORAK FOOT?):

Front view (nearly identical)

Side view (BIG IMPROVEMENT)

You better not leave me hanging…

@Au-Plau-Se

Thanks!

@ChubChub86

I do like the slenderness, too, but it just cannot be excused, unfortunately. But I like do the newer one better. The colors are just so clean!

[Zhyndea]

I like the Thornax launcher one the best, but I also see that it could lead to connection issues with the rest of the leg. The other two look fine, but the gap between them and the rest of the leg in the side view is a little too noticeable. Of those two, the Slizer foot version minimizes that better than the Vizorak foot, and I like more how it looks from the front.

[RedPandalorian]

@Zhyndea

I like the Thornax launcher one the best, but I also see that it could lead to connection issues with the rest of the leg.

I’ve used Thornax launchers for knee pads before, and they bend enough to not cause any issues. However, it is a bit thin for my taste and a tad tall.

@Zhyndea

The other two look fine, but the gap between them and the rest of the leg in the side view is a little too noticeable. Of those two, the Slizer foot version minimizes that better than the Vizorak foot, and I like more how it looks from the front.

I like the Slizer foot, too, but it might clip with the Mahri armor. I could try flipping it the other way to see what happens…

From the side view, the thornax launcher kneepad looks like a TAFBS shell. I might keep it just for that…

[Au-Plau-Se]

@RedPandalorian

Hello, guys! Here are some updates! (No. 3.5)

I have added that transition point that @Zhyndea requested via kneepads. I also fixed the floating ribcage syndrome, improving the side view vastly.

The three leg options I cooked up. (WHICH IS BETTER IDK BETWEEN THE SLIZER FOOT OR VISORAK FOOT?):

Front view (nearly identical)

Side view (BIG IMPROVEMENT)

You better not leave me hanging…

The 3.5 Update of the MOC is looking really amazing.

[RedPandalorian]

Thanks! I agree; the update helps with the aesthetics.