Review:70789 Onua - Master of Earth/Berrybrick

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How would you rate 70789 Onua - Master of Earth?
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2 votes have been cast since the poll was created on 02:09, 18 June 2015.
poll-id 90146D907F546F0F2872212F86858495

A new version of Onua is on the shelves, with the rest of the original Toa, after a hiatus of five years. BIONICLE looks different than many of us remember it, and is no exception, sporting a bulky dwarven build, a warhammer, and a colorscheme which now features purple and gold. How does the newly dubbed Master of Earth stack up with a makeover and a new price to match?

Instructions/Box[edit | edit source]

I like the trapezoidal box designs used for most of these sets, it gives them a cool look. They aren't the canisters many people associate with BIONICLE, but I was honestly never the biggest fan of those. They took up too much space and, especially in later years, weren't sufficient for storing sets. Most of the masks on the box art look strange, certainly not as good as in real life, Onua's included. His environment is also a bit better lit than one would expect for a subterranean environment, and though that is to be expected, it looks unnatural and draws attention to Onua's mess of colors. I do, however, appreciate the tribal ruins in the background. The bags fit inside of the carton no problem and take up enough room. The box does, however, feel a bit thin and could possibly be damaged easily.

The instructions are, thankfully, rather unremarkable. They are easy enough to follow if you are used to LEGO instruction manuals and pay close enough attention. There is also a tiny sticker sheet included with two stickers to make up Onua's chest design, but more on that later.

Parts[edit | edit source]

I'm pretty new to the Creature and Character Building System which was introduced with Hero Factory 2.0 and has been a staple of constraction since then. As such, there are plenty of parts that are new to me, but I do suspect that a fair amount of them are just as exciting for more seasoned collectors. There are four size 4 purple shells, for starters, plus a silver modified shell, silver stump foot, two transparent purple bones, and a large black chest. There are also the usual parts which have been appearing in the other Toa sets, namely the new gearbox, the head and a green eyestalk, four piston shells, four of the claws used for Onua's hammer and shoulderpads (which are currently exclusive), a spring yellowish green Skull Spider, and, of course, the "Mask of Earth" in both black and gold. Onua also has basic CCBS pieces and seems to include more TECHNIC parts than the other Toa, mostly used for making his shoulders wide and strong.

At 107 pieces, Onua has the best price per parts ratio among the other Toa, though that's not always the best indicator of whether a set is "worth it," especially when it comes to constraction.

The Build[edit | edit source]

I built my first CCBS set about a year ago, and then five others before Onua. Aside from one of them, they all use the same basic humanoid build which gets predictable really quickly. Onua breaks the formula slightly with his gearbox, which is different from the other Toa, because it is so much wider and connects to a different balljoint piece than the other ones do. The way that his shoulderpads are connected is also the first time that I remember seeing this technique, not that it is really breathtaking, but it's something.

Though Onua's build stands out amongst the other Toa, it isn't too much different.

Figure[edit | edit source]

There was a bit of controversy when the first grainy images of Onua were revealed and people realized how he had been proportioned. Apparently Onua had always been the thin guy whose super strength only came from his mask. I can sort of see it in the Mata version, though all of them look thin there, and definitely in the Mistika version (though those weren't renowned for being faithful to previous iterations of the characters), but the Nuva version, which had more pieces to work variation than the Mata, seems pretty stocky to me. I've always thought of Onua that way.

This larger girth really makes Onua stand out amongst the other Toa. He's not taller than any of them, except for maybe Pohatu, if you raise his neck a little, but the humongously broad chest and ridiculously thin waist set him apart, and, since BIONICLE really did have too many clone sets (and some silly in-universe rule that all Toa are the same height), this is welcome by me.

What is not, however, is the colorscheme. Black is classic. Purple is great. Silver is a staple. Gold is okay. However, all together, I don't like the look. A lot of people seem to, but not me. Gold and silver can go well together, but not with the placement and/or distribution here. I think it does look messy and wreaks of gimmickry. It doesn't help that, for whatever reason, only Onua's thighs are transparent purple, while his upper arm is gray. It doesn't make sense or look good. If the upper arm were purple and the gold replaced with silver, Onua would look really great, I think. The purple looks good and his tribal paint sticker is lovely. I prefer the fantastical Polynesian inspired environment and lore from BIONICLE's first years, so I'm glad that the reboot is taking a return to that.

There are about three play functions that I can think of. There is the mask popping mechanism, which is a welcome callback (and the connection allows for heads which don't look like the the lovechild of a waffle ironand a breadbox), but the trigger seems ineffectual for play. It seems impossible to use one of the other Toa's weapons to knock the mask off that way, which, maybe it wasn't intended to, but I've sort of been under the impression it is supposed to work that way. The gearbox is much nicer, and Onua actually has the best one among the Toa, since the way the friction is created keeps the arms in place no matter what (gaps in some of the gears might cause it to be a looser hold with the others). The friction is rather strong at first, but loosens up, or you can cheat like me and replace the Y-joint with a weaker one from years past. The shoulderpads prevent Onua from rotating his arms all the way around, but it is still easier to use his function than some other Toa (like Gali and Kopaka). Converting the hammer into another weapon, shovel claws in this case, is a nice consideration. It's a bit distracting that the claws are the same shape as the shoulderpad, but it isn't a big detractor.

Summary[edit | edit source]

OnuaClean.JPG

Building Experience: Not particularly special, but slightly better than the other Toa, thanks to his special gearbox.

Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star gray.svg 4 / 5

Parts: They look pretty useful to me, especially the purple ones. There is a good variety of new and useful parts.

Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star half.svg 4½ / 5

Playability: The skull spider, though maybe not a match for Onua, does add a bit of a battle in a box and can turn him into a villain for another character. The play functions are nice additions. Even if they aren't perfectly executed, pretty much none of them were present in recent constraction sets.

Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star half.svg 4½ / 5

Figure: Onua really stands out among the other Toa and though all of them are unique, he is the most unique of the unique. He only loses a point for his poor color scheme.

Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star gray.svg 4 / 5

Value for Money: This one is a little hard to rate. He is $20. The last time Toa were on the market, they were $13, and that seemed like too much back then. Still though, this is a much beefier and more unique figure. But then again, I would expect something more Titan-like at this pricepoint. Though Onua does have special aspects, he does still feel a lot like a regular set. Maybe it's a bit harsh, but viewer discretion is advised:

Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star half.svg Star gray.svg 3½ / 5

Overall: Pretty much, if it wasn't for the color scheme, this version of Onua would be perfect. There are plenty of little flaws, of course, but they are easier to look past. He is still one of my favorites, if not my favorite (after some modding). I recommend the set, especially if you either don't mind the colors, or are willing to buy extra purple bones and silver piston add-ons loose. I did, and I think that he looks much better that way.

Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star yellow.svg Star gray.svg 4 / 5

Comments[edit | edit source]

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BerrybrickLegendary Brickipedian

108 months ago
Score 0++
I also have Gali, Pohatu, and Kopaka is anyone is interested in a review of one of those sets. I'll be looking to get Tahu and Lewa eventually, too, but that could be a few weeks (or months).
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Brikkyy13Outstanding Brickipedian

108 months ago
Score -1++
*cough* :P
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BerrybrickLegendary Brickipedian

108 months ago
Score 0++
Excuse you? I don't get it. :P
Berrybrick +
02:10:00, 18 June 2015 +
70789_Onua_-_Master_of_Earth +