Wither's Modified Masks

So, I have just become active again in the BIONICLE community, and wanted to share some of my work. I’m not much of a MOCist, so instead I paint masks. constructive criticism and feedback are appreciated, as well as questions and ideas for future projects, since I’m not all that good with coming up with inspiration. I will try to keep this thread up to date.

Toa Mata Redesigns

For the Toa Mata I wanted to add little details that worked with their different elements and how I envisioned the masks. With all the masks I added a bit of silver along different edges to make the masks look a bit weathered.

Tahu
I used drybrushing to add a slight bit of black along the back edges of Tahu’s mask to make it look charred.

Onua and Pohatu
With Onua and Pohatu, I added scratches towards the center of their masks as all their time with rocks would have probably chipped away at their armor.

Gali, Lewa, and Kopaka
These three weren’t too different from their originals, with Lewa, I added black strips behind the “cheek” parts of the mask similar to how Eljay’s Miru looks. With Kopaka, I drilled holes where the telescope things are and filled them with hot glue so that they looked more crystal-like, but I really dont like how the colors turned out.

Toa Nuva and other Masks/Helmets

Vahi
I always thought that the rusted Vahi looked stupid, rust isn’t orange. So I went ahead and painted mine to make it look more realistic to how I think it should look, I do also plan on adding a crack along the bottom left cheek of the mask.

Nuva Masks
Much less detail was added to these, as these were done much earlier. Additionally, these masks were painted primarily using acrylic paints, along with everything after these, while the ones before were painted with enamel paints.

Other Masks
The rest of these are just other masks I made for fun because I was bored or because I thought it might look cool. Oh yeah, and theres a symmetrical 08 Kaukau in there as well as a Miru-Kakama Meld, maybe the mask of leaping? idk



Krana
I always thought the Krana looked really bland so I added some highlights on these

Misc Parts
Among these are the 2008 heads, the hero factory wave 2 head, and the short ccbs armor piece. I painted the heads because I really hated how they looked when they were just one flat color, and the armor was a test to see how drybrushing would work on ccbs armor, since its so smooth.

The Screw-Ups
I think its good to acknowledge when you make a mistake, that way you can learn from it. In this case, there are two big examples.
With the Calix, thats why you dont paint rubber masks, the paint flakes and it looks horrible. With the pakari, I wanted to do a Fourth of July mask but I didnt properly secure my blue tape, as a result, the white spray paint got screwed up and had a lot of air bubbles trapped in it.

And finally…

Ideas Wanted!

There are a bunch of masks and helmets that I think have a lot of potential but havent gotten painted yet because I dont have any good ideas, so please, let me know if you have any.

Thanks to @MrCod for getting me inspired again to paint masks, I got a lot of inspiration from his masks.

37 Likes

Wait, krana are rubber…

???

In all honesty, these are pretty great, can’t wait to see where you go with them next.

These all look great! I think my favorites are the Miru with the spikes on it and the Miru with the scope.

These are very interesting. I like how they look like they’ve been worn and used as opposed to being so shiny.

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Kopaka’s Mata mask looks awesome, and so dos his Nuva one. The Miru with horns is really cool, and the Miru/Akaku blend looks really cool (how did you do that?).

@Matanui606 Well, the krana often times don’t come out well, and the paint on them is very easy to rub off. But unlike the inika masks, the krana are very small, and dont bend as much, making it less likely that the paint will crack.

@BBricks Thanks, with the Horned Miru, I tried to make it look like the predator’s mask, and with the Miru/Akaku blend:

  1. cut the scope off the akaku
  2. (optional) drill holes in the scope where the lenses would be and filled them in with lego gems or hot glue, make sure to cover it when painting it it will look really bad
  3. sand down the edges so it fit along the miru
  4. hot-glue the scope to the miru the way I wanted it
  5. Use some clay/putty to bridge the gap and make it look like they were part of the same mask.
  6. sand down the putty and use an exact-o knife to add tiny details
  7. paint it

I would recommend checking out Vaal’s Forge and Foundry, as he has some really useful tutorials on his site in regards to making custom masks and weapons.

Edited for Double Post - Waj

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The Mata and Nuva masks look amazing! I can imagine that would be how they would look like in a CGI render for a movie like TLR with the more realistic, scratched and battered-up look

These look great!

Just wondering how you added the scratches and metal wear on the Black Onua Mata mask.

@Rockho Yeah, that was my main inspiration for those, especially the 09’ heads. The movie’s plot may have been horrendous, but the models and textures were amazing.

@ThatchMac So, I mainly use drybrushing to add texture to my masks. Drybrushing, if you don’t know, is when you put paint on your brush, and then wipe most of it off using a paper towel. I would recommend testing it out on some ccbs armor or some extra mask scraps first, just so you can get a good feel for it.
For Onua’s mask, I began with a layer of silver, and then added two layers of black in two different shades. Finally, I used silver and a small, coarse, brush to drybrush the scratches on.

Edited for Double Post - Waj. @Witherslayer Please read our rules on double posting by clicking the link, thanks!

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Alright thanks! I’ve tried dry brushing before and it didn’t look as good as yours, but having a course brush to scrape the black paint away as well as adding more silver is a great idea.

All of these are fantastic but the Mata and Nuva masks stick out in particular. The whole worn and aged apprearance they have was well executed and really embodies the nature and tone of BIONICLE’s earlier years.

##Progress Report
I finished up the Miru/Akaku meld and also painted two more Miru’s, I love how many possibilities that the forehead area opens up. Might start on 01’ Turaga and Matoran masks
next, maybe rahi?

Miru

Mirukaku (idk what to call it)
Im so so happy with how this turned out, this is exactly what I was going for. I think I finally found a mask that I can base a self-moc around.


I hope Eljay is proud.

7 Likes

I like the flame accents.

They look cool, but the paint of a few looks a little clumpy and unsmooth, gali’s is really
Cool. I like the scratches and marks to show battle and use.

##Matatu
Made a Made a Matatu in the same style as the Mirukaku.

I’m also thinking of selling these or doing commissions for masks or armor, would anyone even buy them?

6 Likes

Maybe. Right now I’m short on money, but I might.

Jyn Erso and Death Trooper
I was commissioned by a friend to paint his Death Trooper and Jyn Erso constraction figures. I’d say they turned out pretty well.

I also started working on a Noble Matatu with a visor on the left, since I thought that would be more accurate seeing as how the Great Matatu had a visor on the left.

Finally, I’m going to be taking commisions. If you want one, email me at Witherslayer1101@gmail.com, and we can discuss details.

3 Likes

Are these commissions available for shipping or are they just for looking at online?

I’m going to be shipping them

Ah, okay.