This is another moc I’d designed a couple years ago, but until recently I had zero idea what to do with him. I remember from the design process that I had a bunch of these dark tan sockets left over from Avak and I thought they’d look really good paired with white. He’s definitely fun to look at, but I never did anything with him and he eventually went into storage. For one reason or another, I pulled him back out again a few weeks ago and have finally come up with a character for him.
Gender: Male
Species: Toa of Earth and Ice
Kanohi: TBD
Pieces: 71
Not much is known about Zutara’s history, primarily because he does not remember much himself. What he does know is that he was born to a family of Onu-Matoran traders from Metru Nui, and one of their business ventures required them to travel very far away. This particular venture forced them to scale a mountain until a freak accident occurred, separating Zutara from his loved ones. Try as they might, Zutara’s family was unable to locate him, and he was abandoned to the mercy of the elements.
It seems that the Great Spirit smiled upon Zutara, as he was eventually discovered alive by Ko-Matoran climbers and given medical attention as quickly as possible. How long he was stranded up there is anyone’s guess, as the doctors’ estimates vary wildly from as little as a few weeks to as much as a few years. In any case, he was up there for so long that he had begun developing traits that are normally Ko-Matoran signatures, namely an extreme resistance to cold, yet did not lose any of his Onu-Matoran traits, such as his superior vision in low light. All the doctors can agree on is that this is nothing short of a miracle.
The miracle did not end there, as eventually destiny decided that Zutara was to be transformed into a Toa. He was just as surprised as anyone else to discover that not only did he have total control over earth, as was expected for a former Onu-Matoran, but he also had total control over ice as well. Believing this was the reason for his survival, he declared himself to be the Toa of Permafrost and swore to the Ko-Matoran that he would fight for their lives just as they fought for his.
Trivia
Zutara’s mask is TBD simply because I never decided what I want Hydraxon’s mask to do.
Zutara’s name comes from the portmanteau ship name for Zuko and Katara from Avatar: The Last Airbender. This is mainly because, my opinion on that ship aside, I just think it’s a fun word that works as a fantasy name.
Zutara’s family will eventually find him and ask him to come home. Though touched, he will have to decline, for his duty is to the Matoran now.
This MOC is very unique, combining a Metru and Ignika build. The result is a surprisingly unique MOC that doesn’t feel too out of the realm of Bionicle sets but has too much ingenuity to be one. The color scheme is most eye-striking, with a trio of colors I’ve never seen together before. Some might say the forearm design is a bit wonky, but I don’t mind it. I like the addition of fins at the collar. They would feel more at home with a Toa of Air, but they look too cool to remove and frame the Kanohi, so I wouldn’t. I can’t help but notice the use of the ‘08 style of Mata foot. It is inferior to the ‘01 one.
It absolutely is a bit wonky, but I was quite proud of how I managed to get the Rahkshi head as forearm armor (inspired by BionicleChicken’s Chiara) that I can live with the wonky proportions.
This guy looks awesome, definitely the most interesting metru build (does this count as a metru build?) I’ve ever seen.
The only thing that bothers me is the mata feet. They look kinda plain compared to the rest of build, which probably wouldn’t be as noticeable if it wasn’t for them being one of the few black accents on the build.
Dark tan and white is certainly an interesting color palette. Not sure if I can really get behind it… reminds me of winter camouflage from War Thunder tanks. The black also muddies up the colors a bit.
The shaping is quite nice, however. Definitely not usual proportions, but it looks like he’s got some heavy bracers on his arms or something like that. Teeth on his shins pair decently with the wings on his shoulders.
I don’t know why, but I’m quite taken with the sword design; I’m amazed at how just adding just those few parts made it feel so different from a plain Kopaka sword.
I also like how you kept his color scheme to specific locations: dark tan armored in white for the upper limbs, black and white for the lower limbs, and black for the hands/feet. It definitely makes Zutara feel very cohesive.
No, wait, don’t revive that debate–
Gathered friends, listen again to our Legend of the Canon Contests. In the time before time, the Greg Spirit descended from LEGO, bringing we, the ones called the TTV Boards Users, the Canon Contests.
But our happiness was not to last, for the dark half of the BIONICLE community was jealous of these honors and betrayed us, bringing unending arguments about Metru Builds and Hagah Armor Colors. This community was free to unleash their arguments… and unleash them, they did…
Fair enough, but again, those are just what I had at the time. And I really don’t know what I’d change them to.
First of all, I’m a girl. Second of all, I never liked that ship either. You have to admit that Zutara just works as a name much better than Kataang tho.
I think the idea was that the black on his limbs are meant to be gloves and snow shoes that he’s wearing.
According to the officially sanctioned TTV Canon Contest rules…
yeah probably idk
Zutara’s got the really old shin spike design that’s been around forever, swhich kind of messes up the flow of the leg. The color scheme is interesting, but the black is almost a distraction here, really being the odd color out and not present enough in a given area to be color blocked. The forearms are also awkward, with their strange shaping and extended pin which doesn’t actually seem to stabilize the rahkshi head that much.
The backstory is definitely very different, changing the elemental abilities to be genetically adapted traits rather than inherit powers which leads Zutara to acquire two elemental abilities instead of the usual one. Kind of a strange fanon deviation, but it’s certainly unique.
I do concede that the arms are weird–I felt that way even when I first designed them–but I must correct you on the pin’s necessity. It’s a 3L pin with an axle hole on one side, and the Rahkshi head would just flop around if it were only connected via the brown axle. It might not be pretty, but this is the best way I could think of to get the job done.
Cool idea. And the build is well put together, too, very much displays the idea.
If you want an idea for the mask, I headcanon the shape being the Mask of Erasure- allowing the user to erase certain memories for a time, or permanently under particular conditions. It could be some sort of poetic reflection of his memory issues, as well.
