The TTV Podcast - 129 - Nuremberg Toy Fair Coverage

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: The following podcast has been brought to you by Audible.com. Sign up now using the URL audibletrial.com forward slash TTV to get a free audiobook of your choosing. We recommend Brick by Brick, How Lego Rewrote the Rules of Innovation and Conquered the Global Toy Industry. You may recognize this as one of the sources we use in our show, Bionicle Autopsy. Remember, that's audibletrial.com forward slash TTV. Enjoy the show. 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, SYNC! [00:00:36] Kahi: Hello, everybody, and welcome to episode 129 of the TTV Podcast. [00:00:43] Speaker 3: Guys, it's the day of days, the day of reckoning stuff. [00:00:46] Kahi: Is it the night of nights? [00:00:48] Speaker 3: The night of nights? The Mardi Gras of Mardi Gras! [00:00:52] Kahi: Ah, that was like a bootleg opening. That was a bit forced. [00:01:14] Poitou: 129 was 119. [00:01:15] Speaker 5: You were really trying to force it this time. [00:01:17] EXX Trooper: Yeah, like, even trying anymore. [00:01:20] Speaker 7: You know, Mardi Gras is actually in about three weeks. [00:01:24] Kahi: We gotta do something special for the actual event. [00:01:27] Speaker 7: What, for Mardi Gras itself? [00:01:28] Poitou: Mardi Gras, we need to have Festivus. What? [00:01:33] Speaker 7: We need to what? Maybe we'll have a 15,000 subscribers. Yeah, we can be Festivus with the rest of us. [00:01:39] Kahi: So anyway, on this episode of the TTV Podcast, we are going to be discussing the summer 2015 Bionicle set pictures from Nuremberg Toy Fair. Before we get into that, let's discuss the cast for today. I'm Messina. [00:01:53] Speaker 7: I'm Broderan. I'm LJ. [00:01:57] Kahi: I'm Kahi. [00:01:59] Shikuma Nuva: I'm Shikuma Nuva. [00:02:00] EXX Trooper: I'm EXX Trooper. [00:02:03] Poitou: And I'm Poitou. [00:02:04] Speaker ?: Woo! [00:02:05] Kahi: Yes. And once again, welcome to TTV 129. Without further ado, let's get into it. So, the Nuremberg Toy Fair, at the time of this recording, started two days ago, but we actually got pictures on the 27th of January. We got a singular picture. And we were left to wait with bated breath until more pictures were uploaded the morning of the 29th. And we've gotten good looks at all five of the Bionicle Summer 2015 Skull Villains from multiple different angles. And we've learned a lot about them. And I feel that now that we can actually talk about the finalized pictures without speculation on stupid stuff like rendering errors, you know, we should. Quick word to the wise. In this Nuremberg Toy Fair coverage, we are only going to be talking about Bionicle and the rumored Star Wars Constraction sets. Discussion of all other Lego themes is going to be at the New York Toy Fair in a couple weeks. For a couple reasons. Namely, we don't have pictures of every set from every theme. And two, that actually leaves us something to talk about when New York rolls around. So, without further ado, let's roll. Let's everybody think of the Skull Villains. [00:03:16] Speaker 1: They are incredibly disappointing. That's the elephant in the room. We're all disappointed. They are. I think that seems to be the general consensus of everything I've seen so far. Most of the reactions are still several people that appear to, you know, enjoy the sets. I don't think they're awful or anything. I think they're very overall okay sets. Two are great. The rest are sort of forgettable. Overall, though, the entire wave seems like a big, big downgrade from the last wave we just got. It's actually kind of disappointing because of that. [00:03:51] EXX Trooper: I think it's just not so much about the sets being bad. It's just that we expected so much with the already wave that we got just being so good. Right. [00:04:02] Speaker 1: See, they opened up so strong. I said this outside of Call. I would go down on record saying that the winter wave of 2015, these might just be the best Bionicle sets we've ever gotten, in my opinion. [00:04:15] Kahi: They probably will be the best sets we will get as well from this new line. [00:04:19] Speaker 1: Yeah, I agree. I think it's only downhill from here because I think they opened up super, super strong. I don't think there's a lot they could have done to make these sets more perfect. Obviously, there are some things, but I think that right now they are really, really good. Because of that, I think it kind of makes it a little hard on them to be able to make better sets than those. And unfortunately, these guys kind of suffer in the wake of those sets because those sets were so good. These are not nearly as good. [00:04:49] Poitou: They're also going quite experimental with the skeletal build here. Yeah, that is a good point. [00:04:57] Speaker 1: These are very experimental sets. [00:05:00] Kahi: Even the best one, Skull Basher, doesn't really compare to the winter wave. Although, I was talking to Vin last night and he kind of mentioned, well, are these sets really worse than the worst protectors? Like, objectively, whatever, subjectively, whatever your two least favorite protectors are, are these sets worse than them? [00:05:21] Shikuma Nuva: Yes. Yes. [00:05:22] Kahi: Those are the questions. I would say so, actually. For me, no. I would say so. Because my least favorite ones are the protector of water and ice. And I do not think that they are better than these Skull villains. [00:05:34] EXX Trooper: Ice wants the best one. [00:05:35] Speaker 1: I do, simply because water and ice, they have very unique weapons that I still think are really cool. They're not as cool as the other protectors. But I also feel the protectors in general just have a great aesthetic going for them in such a small package that, as soul sets, they are actually really, really unique and cool looking. And I don't think that they're unarmored. I feel like they're pretty well armored. Even the protector of water, while only having turbines, still feels, you know, battle ready. Yeah, balanced enough to be something worth purchasing. And they're all cheaper. These sets, five bucks more, and they don't really offer anything we've never had before. They're all very, very generic sets, in my opinion. And as a lot of people were posting in the comments, they almost seem like leftover Hero Factory sets. [00:06:25] EXX Trooper: Yeah, especially with the color scheme. I think that's actually my biggest gripe about them, is that their color schemes are just so boring. I don't really know what it is with LEGO just using so much silver and dark metal. Like, just one of the things with the Toas was that they just had all these nice, vibrant-looking colors. And then we just did this. [00:06:47] Kahi: That was only a matter of time. The bright colors was only limited. So if you're in gunmetal, I was going to make its return. Before Bionicles run us over, Metro Colors will be back. I will say... [00:06:58] Poitou: It's cheaper, that's why. [00:07:00] Speaker 1: It seems like you have the Bionicle team, right? They used to be the Hero Factory team, now they're the Bionicle team. It's like LEGO is like, okay, guys, here's a giant tub of parts. I want you to make sets out of these. And they're like, uh, our budget's a giant tub of parts. All right, guys, um, let's see here. Put this together. Okay, that's, that's, those are some good sets. Uh, what else do we have to make villains? Oh, we got like 10 parts left, guys. Uh, just slap something together. These sets just feel like the, the leftover pieces that they had after creating the Toa. And I, I think that also contributes to the fact that their color schemes are just so weird. It's like, they just had no parts left. Too many colors. They're, they're like the mocks that kids make out of like, like beginner kids. Beginner mockist make. Beginner kids. [00:07:47] Shikuma Nuva: Okay, to be fair, these are all better than I could ever achieve. Because I suck at mocking. [00:07:54] Speaker 1: Beginner kid mockist. [00:07:55] EXX Trooper: The one thing about the color scheme, though, is that the skull slicer one has that one orange piece. That one orange. [00:08:04] Kahi: I hate it so much. I, I hate it. I hate it. I hate it. [00:08:08] EXX Trooper: I don't do orange pieces. I don't know. [00:08:14] Speaker 5: No, I am, I'm with you 100%. I don't know what it is about that orange piece, but it just breaks the color, color scheme too much. [00:08:24] Speaker 1: It doesn't make any sense, because it seems like they tried so hard to look at the color schemes of the Toa and give them good contrasting colors that go together. It doesn't even matter. It's, it seems like, you know, they pulled out a color wheel and actually was like, okay, what goes with this? Good. We're going to stick with that. And it's like, they got to the villain wave and they were just like, uh, what's colors? Dart board. Yeah, exactly. [00:08:47] Kahi: I don't, I don't mind the metallic colors. I do not mind the metallic colors complemented with transparent shades to correlate with the Toa, but I do mind the inclusion of other colors to break it up more so than that. Like the transparent red. And the solid purple on a trans purple set. I don't like that. [00:09:08] EXX Trooper: Like Poto speak. [00:09:11] Kahi: Yeah, go ahead. [00:09:12] Poitou: I was going to say, the transparent red seems to be, uh, conflicting with all the other transparent colors that they've got there. I don't know. You're right. [00:09:21] Kahi: They have it paired up right next to against the transparent light blue. [00:09:24] Poitou: Yeah. Yep. [00:09:25] Kahi: It's a disgrace. They almost look like Chima. [00:09:28] Poitou: It's kind of funky looking. [00:09:30] Kahi: It's a disgrace to the construction race. On the other hand. Wow. [00:09:36] EXX Trooper: Wow. On the other hand. Okay. There is good stuff. [00:09:38] Speaker 5: What were you saying, Axel? [00:09:42] EXX Trooper: I don't know if Poto wanted to go for it. Well, um, on the other hand, all of these sets are actually really good parts pack. And the, uh, especially with the mask that has, like, the translucent sort of back end of it. [00:09:57] Speaker 1: The masks are cool. The new bone pieces are cool. The new armor pieces are undecided so far. I haven't really been able to see how those will be used effectively in mocks. Aside from that, though, aside from that, though, there's, I don't know, I'm not sure if they really offer anything super, super unique for that $15 price tag. [00:10:15] Kahi: It's the gearbox. [00:10:17] Speaker ?: Gearbox. [00:10:18] Kahi: The inclusion of functions are what justifies the $15 price tag. If it would, I like to look at these sets as $10 sets. [00:10:25] Speaker 1: No, I understand that. I was just saying that in terms of them actually being a parts pack. I don't know if they're actually that great of a value. [00:10:32] Speaker 7: Hmm. [00:10:32] Speaker ?: Um. [00:10:34] Speaker 1: Because while the gearbox is great, I, I don't know, these guys are $15 sets. If I were to get them specifically just for parts, I'm not sure if they'd actually be worth it or if I could just be better off going on Bricklink and getting these parts separately. Or getting a Toa, yes. Like, the skull. I mean, if you really like transparent pieces, maybe. [00:10:53] Kahi: Stull Slicer is arguably the best value for your money because he has three of the new weapon piece, six of the new bone pieces, six of the recolored bone pieces. The new chest plate, the new armor add-on. [00:11:07] EXX Trooper: You don't get any of the cool new masks, though. [00:11:09] Shikuma Nuva: That's the thing. [00:11:10] Kahi: The new mask. [00:11:11] EXX Trooper: Oh, wait. Yeah, that's the thing. Yeah. [00:11:13] Shikuma Nuva: The masks are just a fight. Like, I think the new ones that we get in this wave are cool, but then we're, you know, it's, they're doubled up. [00:11:22] Kahi: Yeah. [00:11:22] Poitou: What about the legs that Skull Scorpio has? Those look cool. [00:11:26] Kahi: Those aren't new, but yeah, they look cool. I enjoy them. [00:11:30] EXX Trooper: They, they are cool. [00:11:31] Speaker 1: They're the ones. Um, but yeah, they are. [00:11:34] EXX Trooper: Those are the ones on Witch Doctor, but in white. [00:11:38] Speaker 1: No. No, they're not. The Witch Doctor ones weren't bone, well, I guess they're meant to be bone aesthetic, but they're not, they weren't, like, um, separated joints. [00:11:46] EXX Trooper: Oh, I know I've seen those before, but I don't know where. [00:11:49] Speaker 1: They were on, uh, the Queen Beast, and I think they're on some other Hero Factory. Sir Fangar from Chima. Okay, yeah, that's right. Yeah, yeah. [00:11:58] Kahi: I'm going to throw up a picture on the screen of Skull Scorpio. And this was a revelation I had last night. I know some people were calling it before, but I assumed that the legs were on one singular ball joint hooked up to the torso. They are not. These legs are worse than Loss's legs, as they are completely fixed in place with not a single ball joint of articulation anywhere. [00:12:23] Speaker 1: Yikes. [00:12:25] EXX Trooper: Yikes. It just looks horrible all around that set. I just, like, they, they really put function over aesthetic. [00:12:31] Speaker 1: They did, and that is such a shame, because once again, that was something that they got right the first time. They did it so perfectly in the first wave, they were able to give us poseability and function. That's what people have always been fighting over. That's what the big debate about was, um, whether 01 was better than 06 onward, because people either liked function or they liked poseability. They gave us the best of both worlds. They did so great. [00:12:55] Speaker 3: And now we're back again. [00:12:56] Speaker 1: And then, yeah, and now it's like we back-treaded back to just having only function or only poseability. Why can't we combine both? Why do they have to give us this giant convoluted function and then limit us as far as playing with this set goes? [00:13:09] Shikuma Nuva: It's like we're going through the first generation of Bionicle at a super-accelerated rate. [00:13:15] Speaker 5: Oh! What were you saying, Kahi? [00:13:18] Poitou: Oh, boy. [00:13:19] Speaker 5: No, I was saying it is worth noting, too, that we had a lot of speculation in the, uh, in the last episode about what the Skullscopio had in terms of function. And it is not springs in the back. It is actually two bone pieces. [00:13:33] Poitou: Mm-hmm. [00:13:34] Speaker 5: Uh. Call it, by the way. I can see the thing. Okay, yeah, fair enough. Yeah, I was, I think the Elders even wanted to call that. Well, I just, I just assume, I said it looked like springs. There's a rubber band in the back. [00:13:46] Kahi: Yeah, it did kind of look like springs to your head. [00:13:48] Speaker 1: No, I agree with you. When you pointed it out, I thought it looked like it, too. [00:13:51] Speaker 5: It did look like, it did very look like springs, yeah. Uh, but, I'm, I guess, like, now looking closer at it, I agree with you guys. Beforehand, I was like, no, I think Skullscopio's tail looks pretty cool. But seeing it in person, it looks pretty, uh, I don't know, like, haphazardly put together. It does kind of look like what Mario was saying. It's like a kid's mock. I don't know how it's even staying upright, to be honest. [00:14:15] Kahi: Never underestimate the power of friction on those joints. It looks like those two bones are just in. They can hold up stuff pretty easily. I guess so. [00:14:22] Poitou: If you don't have any ball joints, then that explains what it's up. [00:14:26] Shikuma Nuva: I'm wondering about the balance. It looks like the tail should be way too heavy. [00:14:29] Speaker 7: Yeah, okay. That's something we have to keep in mind. Right, it looks too top-heavy. If you look at this picture, it's being held up. Uh, Skullscorpio is on one of those mask pillars. So, Kahi, you may have something there. It may have a... [00:14:44] Kahi: Oh, wow, you're right! [00:14:46] Speaker 7: So, he probably can't even hold his own weight, then. [00:14:48] Speaker 1: That is amazing. I didn't even notice that! No! Yeah, actually, because that might be why they had to get rid of any posability in the legs, because they just couldn't find a way to keep the legs posable and also able to stand. [00:15:01] Speaker ?: Mm-hmm. [00:15:03] Speaker 7: It's funny, too, because there's a really simple fix to that. If you look at the back legs, if they used just a more angular piece, like a sharper angle, those legs would have been fine. They would have landed right below the tail and would have been able to support it. No problem. Or just give him two more legs. Not even that. It's just a simple solution. You don't even need to add any more pieces. But then it looks even more stupid. [00:15:29] Kahi: Nah, man. [00:15:30] Speaker 7: Come on, there's no way this set. There is a lot you need to do to this set to make it look less stupid. That's one of the least offensive things you could do to it. [00:15:38] EXX Trooper: Man, we're tearing this set apart. Yeah, it's sort of like the... Like, some guy actually decided this. [00:15:44] Poitou: Does anybody remember the Harry Potter Aragorn set? Some set designers. It was like a spider set that can Harry Potter set. I remember that set. [00:15:52] Speaker 5: Which one? There's two. [00:15:53] Poitou: Yeah. That, the first one, it was like, it was the Chamber of Secrets one. But that one had, it had pieces similar to this. And it also had like, shoot, what are those things called? They're not ball joints, but they allow for posability. The little clippers. [00:16:11] Speaker 5: The click joints? [00:16:12] Poitou: Yeah, the click joints. It had those. And that held up amazingly. [00:16:15] Speaker 5: Oh, like the Knight's Kingdom. Well, so... Wait, Knight's Kingdom or different? Knight's Kingdom. Like, Knight's Kingdom. Not Knight's Kingdom. [00:16:24] Speaker 1: It's not Knight's... It's like a miniature version of the Knight's Kingdom. Yeah, it's the miniature version. [00:16:28] Poitou: It's the older one. [00:16:29] Speaker 1: Oh, like on the Exotella? Oh, okay, like... I'm trying to think of an example you guys might know, because you guys don't really collect system sets. [00:16:38] EXX Trooper: No, we don't. No. [00:16:41] Speaker 5: No, I do. I know what you're talking about, so... [00:16:43] Poitou: They're the little clippers joints that you can put a rod in. I'm trying to think of a good... Like an axe. [00:16:47] Speaker 5: Yeah, I know exactly what you're talking about, photo. Like... Oh, oh, oh! Yeah, that was a thing! Alpha Team sets, you know, where you have the cockpit... Alpha Team also, um... [00:16:55] Speaker 1: Yeah. The Titan Mata Nui set. And its fingers. [00:16:58] Poitou: Oh! Oh! Oh, yeah, that was a thing. Oh! Yeah, yeah, that. Oh, yeah. [00:17:03] Kahi: Rock-a-break-ounce bow. Yeah, but... No! Even... [00:17:07] Poitou: Even incorporating... Even incorporating that, the set would have held up much better. If they did it back then, they can do it now. [00:17:17] Speaker 7: I guess. Yeah, that is true. You see, since we're... No, I agree. I think that would work. There's a lot of possibility problems. [00:17:24] EXX Trooper: Yes, LJ. Proceed. [00:17:27] Speaker 7: Oh, thank you. Since we're on the subject of Skull Scorpio, I have to concede a couple of things. First of all, yeah, he just has weird, weird lime-green borac eyes on his tail instead of a new piece. It was totally the angle. Meso was right. It's two for two. Something I have to point out toward the beginning of his head. He has unused axle holes right up against his neck because for some reason they attached those armor pieces on with Hordika heads. And I have no idea why when they could have just stuck on two balls and just stuck the armor on that way. [00:18:09] Kahi: I don't think they attach via Hordika necks. Look at it! On the front view picture, the Hordika neck is what attaches his arms. [00:18:17] Speaker 7: Oh, you're right. [00:18:18] Kahi: It's not what attaches the armor. The armor probably is attached via ball joint. [00:18:22] Speaker 7: Okay, this is a weird angle. [00:18:24] Kahi: Yeah, his arms are... It is a very weird angle. The side view, I couldn't tell either. [00:18:28] Speaker 1: The armor appears to be attached from the actual ball joints of the torso part. Yeah, that's probably actually... Oh, yeah, you're right. [00:18:40] Kahi: Yeah. See, I like the creative design decisions with him on everything up until the tail. [00:18:48] Speaker 1: Yeah, no, I actually... See, I don't have a problem with this set up until it gets to the tail as well. I think everything else is okay. I can get past the legs not being able to move if the tail was okay, but... The tail's not okay. [00:19:01] Speaker 7: I think... I kind of have to wait and see what the function is because the tail does not bug me as much as it bugs you guys. What bugs me the most about this is actually his claws. Those things are awful, too. I suppose. [00:19:13] Kahi: I suppose they're pretty weird. [00:19:16] Speaker 1: Fair enough. Those claws are pretty bad. Yeah, but... [00:19:19] Kahi: I would like it if the color... [00:19:21] EXX Trooper: It seems to be all of these sets are just so budget-heavy. Like, they're just so much based on a set, on a budget. [00:19:27] Speaker 1: I will say, I don't feel like the trans-orange is as bad on this set as it is some of the others. [00:19:36] Shikuma Nuva: So, random thought. Maybe this is why when we started this whole Bionicle 2015... Yeah, 2015 thing, that LEGO decided to have, hey, let's have a build-a-villain contest because right now, our villains suck. Owie. [00:19:53] Speaker 5: We need good ideas. I mean, that's true. None of these villains... None of these villains really have, like... To my knowledge, yeah. They're very generic. Or, like... Or not storyline STEM kids, but they're not, like, actual characters. They're... Back in, like, you know, just say any of the ever years of Bionicle. Past when you get the, you know, Borak and all that stuff out of the way. Yo, yo, Borak! The Piraka, the Baraki, the Makuta in 2008, the Glatorian in 2009. Like, a lot of these villains end up having faces and stuff. They end up being characters in the story. And these generally seem like moms. Honestly... Which, I mean, I guess there'd be good bosses. They're not boss... Well, yeah. [00:20:36] Shikuma Nuva: It doesn't bother me as much as I would think it would. Which is odd, because I would've rather that the Protectors had individual names. [00:20:44] Kahi: Yeah. These guys, I've said it from word go, these guys are just zombies. They're nothing more, nothing less. Even Skull Grinder, he is just gonna be a glorified mook. He is not an actual villain. Get mook. Our villain... Our villain is Makuta. We will see him one day. [00:21:01] EXX Trooper: It's really sad, though, because... Dang it, Makuta. I was really... [00:21:05] Speaker 5: That sounded so religiously safe. Our one true villain is Makuta, and we will see him one day when he descends from the classics. [00:21:15] Kahi: I also counted on the subject of budget. There are eight new pieces in this way of counting the mask of creation, at least from what is currently evident to us. [00:21:25] EXX Trooper: Can we talk about Saturday than the Skull Scorpio now? Skull War! Yeah, let's tear into another one. It's just gonna be about Scorpio, but I think... [00:21:32] Speaker 1: That's fine. [00:21:33] Poitou: Skull Warrior, let's go over there for a second. [00:21:36] Speaker 1: Hold up. Last final thoughts, closing thoughts, and Scorpio before moving on. [00:21:40] EXX Trooper: Okay. [00:21:42] Kahi: He's my second... He's my second least favorite, but I have faith in him, and I have been a... [00:21:48] Speaker ?: You can do it! [00:21:48] Kahi: I've been a defen... I've been a defen... I've been a strong defender of him for a little while, because I think the... I know it's not a good argument for why a set is good or bad when you have to say just rip off a huge chunk of him, but you can just rip off his tail and the set is fine. [00:22:08] Shikuma Nuva: That's the next protector of TerraBad. [00:22:10] Speaker 7: All right. LJ, final thoughts. I think the set has a lot of potential. I don't think the solution is tearing the tail off completely, but I think with a little reworking, it could actually work a lot better than it already is, and I'm gonna say what Envy would say here, Gold Star, you tried. [00:22:25] Poitou: Okay. [00:22:26] Speaker 7: Poetsu, final thoughts? [00:22:28] Poitou: Um, I'm pretty much with Meso here. Just rip off the tail, redesign it a little bit, and, you know, use some things that you've already learned, Lego. [00:22:38] Kahi: I can make that tail better with four pieces. Kahi, final thoughts? [00:22:46] Speaker 5: Um, I did not like the set as much as I did when I saw the prelim render or delete the render that we saw the other day. Uh, ever seeing the set in person, my, like, my willingness to get it has really gone down quite a lot. In fact, I'd probably say I agree with Meso right now. It's my least favorite of his weight. [00:23:03] Kahi: It's not my least favorite, though. It's my second. Oh! My least favorite is Skull Slicer. [00:23:08] Speaker 5: Okay, fine. All right, sure. [00:23:09] Speaker 1: Takuma, final thoughts? [00:23:11] Speaker 5: I really like Meso. Maybe I don't agree with Meso, then. [00:23:14] EXX Trooper: You can get it in the other one, which is a lot better. And actually, I'm assuming you, you, you've pretty much heard it. I hate it in every single way. It's horrible. I don't think that if you remove the tail, it's a good set. It's just, there's no, it's... No. Moving on. [00:23:28] Speaker 1: All right. And for me, it's my third favorite. [00:23:32] EXX Trooper: Interesting. Interesting, indeed. Mm, I am intrigued. Mm-hmm. Yes, yes. [00:23:37] Speaker 1: All right, I guess we can move on to Slicer or Warrior. Which one? [00:23:40] EXX Trooper: We can just be really, really... Now, I think we should just, really just tear Slicer apart now that we're on that. [00:23:46] Kahi: Let's rip the bandage off. Yeah, the Slicer's really fast. [00:23:49] EXX Trooper: I mean, we'll just say... All right, fine. Yeah, there's not really a lot of redeeming qualities for that one. [00:23:54] Kahi: So, Skull Slicer's very bootleg, I must say. I'll get something out of the way right off the bat. My hate for him is, like, over-exaggerated for comedic effect. He is my least favorite, but I do not think he is beyond redeeming qualities. Because he's the best parts pack and value set out of all the bunch if you want a lot of the new pieces. But there are a couple design quirks with him that I cannot get over and that I cannot forgive. [00:24:23] Poitou: Gearbox? [00:24:25] Speaker 1: You want to know what bothers me the most about him out of everything? The mask. Not the mask. Oh, no, what? What bothers me the most about him, they went out of their way to give these guys these nice new bone pieces, bone limbs, so they resemble bones. The thing is, Skull Slicer's limbs are designed in a way that gives him, like, that lateral bicep movement or whatever. So his limbs are turned to the side. His bones aren't even anatomically correct. They're turned sideways. [00:25:00] Poitou: This is my article. Nothing's atomically correct. [00:25:03] Speaker 3: They're not even right. [00:25:07] Poitou: That just might be poor construction on the people's part that's there. That is very unfortunate. [00:25:11] Speaker 1: No, it's not. Potu, look at how it has to bend its arms. The only way for it to bend its arms means, like, the... [00:25:17] Poitou: Oh, now I... Oh, that is horrible. I did not notice that, though. Wow. [00:25:24] Kahi: It's ridiculous. [00:25:26] Shikuma Nuva: Well, I mean, he's holding his arm out to the side. Awkward. So... [00:25:33] Kahi: Well, yeah, but it's... [00:25:35] Shikuma Nuva: I'm not saying... I'll give you a picture. [00:25:38] Kahi: Yeah. [00:25:39] Shikuma Nuva: Takuma, look at your arm. [00:25:39] Kahi: The way his arms are oriented because he does not have... [00:25:42] Shikuma Nuva: Takuma, what of his four arms are you looking at? Takuma, do you have... I have seven. [00:25:48] Speaker 1: All four of his arms are anatomically incorrect. [00:25:52] Kahi: His... His bottom right arm is the closest to how it should be. His legs... [00:25:59] Shikuma Nuva: I'm looking at his upper left arm. I hold... I'm holding my arm out the way he is, and I'm... [00:26:04] Kahi: Well, yes. That has posed for some of his limbs, but that's not the correct way to pose him because that's not articulate... Yeah, that's not some articulation. [00:26:13] Speaker 1: Okay, he's not posed correctly. That's the thing. So, the way he's posed, the people who posed him did, in fact, pose him with the proper anatomy of his arms in mind. So, technically, he's posed correctly as far as that goes, but how he's actually supposed to be posed with his arms bending, that's the slot in between his bones. For his arms, it should be in the middle of his arm, not facing the side. If he were posed properly with his arms bending properly, that middle section of his bones, where there's nothing, where it's just empty space, it's going to be on the side. That's not how it should... Yeah, that's not how it's supposed to be. [00:26:51] Poitou: In real life world. [00:26:53] Kahi: And that's the only way you can pose him to achieve maximum articulation because he has Pohatu arms. [00:27:00] Speaker 1: That's the way you're supposed to pose him. Exactly. He's posed with, like, Pohatu's building. [00:27:05] Kahi: Yeah. Well... If you want to be able to bend his arms fully, you have to have it that way. Or, like, protector legs or something, how some of them have with his lower legs, where they use the abnormal building style. [00:27:18] Speaker 7: I guess it's time to start the anti-lateral bicep movement... movement. Yeah. [00:27:25] Poitou: I like it. I use it in some of my mobs. [00:27:28] Speaker 7: Well, you're the enemy. I just gotta... You're scum. You're bilateral scum. [00:27:33] EXX Trooper: No, my mobs are great, man. [00:27:36] Speaker 7: Okay, right, right, here we go. He's knocking on that ball thing again. [00:27:40] Speaker 3: I don't know. [00:27:43] Kahi: My biggest beef with this dude is because he introduces the new bone piece to simulate bones, right? So you don't have... The whole purpose of that, I thought, was to not have arms that didn't have armor and had exposed ball joints, but rather have arms that actually looked like they were supposed to be unarmored. And yet, with this dude, four out of six of his limbs have no armor on them and he has open ball joints. So it completely defeats the purpose. Yeah. 100%. [00:28:14] Speaker 7: Go ahead, Potu. [00:28:16] Poitou: Oh. [00:28:16] Kahi: Yeah, go ahead. [00:28:17] Poitou: They were probably just trying to save a little money because making a new mold and a new color, especially transparent, that doesn't save [00:28:26] Speaker 1: the set from being bad. [00:28:28] Speaker 7: Yeah. You see, okay, two things I really quickly want to cover. First of all, a lot of people very often like to give reason to why a certain set is the way it is. Giving a reason to why a set is the way it is is absolutely fine. I'm sure there's a reason for everything. However, unfortunately, whether or not it has a reason for being the way it is doesn't fix the fact that it is the way it is. A set's going to be bad no matter what story connotation it's given because it is bad. The other thing is, Meso, you bring up a very good point. This is something I'm actually having a conversation with Anker on Erobricks about in regards to Skull Slicer in comparison to Skull Warrior. He likes the fact that Skull Slicer is so spindly, so skinny, and almost lean looking. And does not like the fact that Skull Warrior has patches of armor on some joints. I think that Skull Slicer could have been saved if he had been given ragtag patches of armor. Because we have to remember, these guys allegedly are still skeletons, but they're zombie skeletons. They should have something a little more to resemble decay. [00:29:48] Kahi: Unfortunately, Skull Slicer does have one patch of armor. [00:29:54] EXX Trooper: He already does, [00:29:57] Kahi: and it's in the same place as Skull Warrior too. So the argument is 50% irrelevant. The only thing that would have been needed to do it is one more piece of armor. And that would have made him exactly like Skull Warrior. [00:30:12] Speaker 7: I mean, I guess, but I think my argument still stands because he has two extra limbs. [00:30:19] Kahi: I'm with you. I would have preferred it the way you're describing it, but it's like it's not that big of a deal. It's already 50% done anyway. They've wanted to go that route. They just gave up halfway through. [00:30:31] Speaker 7: I mean, I'm not even saying make it like Skull Warrior exact. Don't even give him any more of the new armor pieces, which, by the way, that's an entirely different discussion. Just give him just some more armor clip-ons, like from Jungle Protector. [00:30:46] Kahi: That'd be cool, yeah. I don't know. I'm not a fan of him. That's how I'm going to end this. [00:30:54] Shikuma Nuva: If anything, I think he looks better than the Scorpio just because he looks a little more cohesive instead of, you know, having some sort of tail that's [00:31:03] Kahi: old japan. Nah, man. [00:31:05] Poitou: That is fairly cohesive. Just that weird patch of red armor there. [00:31:10] Kahi: I can see right through his red and gunmetal armor. There's a hole right through it. And then the huge silver gears. [00:31:17] Speaker 1: That's not cohesive. This set is so close to being passable, but there's just so many things about it that just are unforgivable to me. That bone thing, first of all, biggest thing. the fact that he's reused the skull spider mask instead of having a new mask is also unforgivable to me because we've had this mask literally spammed in like half the sets we got. [00:31:38] EXX Trooper: No, in every set. Every set. [00:31:40] Speaker 1: Not every set because they're not in this color. [00:31:43] EXX Trooper: Oh, right. In the same color but the same mold. [00:31:46] Speaker 1: Yeah, same mold. But, yeah, every set includes this mold. If this was a different color, that would be okay. But it's not. We've already had this mask in this color, so there's no reason to include it. It's just so lazy, so sloppy. I don't want this. Part of the reason I like collecting sets is so I can collect the masks that come with them. This offers me nothing. I've already got this mask. I've got ten of these masks. I've got four. [00:32:11] Kahi: It should have been gunmetal. [00:32:13] EXX Trooper: What color would he have to have to make it worth it, Bar? [00:32:19] Speaker 1: It doesn't matter as long as it wasn't this color. [00:32:23] Shikuma Nuva: No matter what color it was, I don't think it was. Well, I mean, translucent lime green? [00:32:27] Kahi: There's trans green on the set. It could have been that. There's gunmetal on the set. It could have been that. [00:32:34] Speaker 1: I don't care as long as the color and the entire color scheme matched. So, if they needed to change the entire color just to fit like a new color for the mask, I would have been okay with that. Or just give them a different mask. But with the fact that they've included the skull spider mask that we've gotten several times now, it just really decreases the value of this set in my eyes. Also, it annoys the crap out of me that they almost had a decent color scheme with this. They almost had something consistent and then they just threw that trans orange there, that single trans orange piece there. [00:33:07] EXX Trooper: Get out of here! [00:33:08] Speaker 1: Two trans orange pieces. [00:33:11] Speaker 7: Four! Yeah, the chain too! Four trans orange pieces. There's the armor piece, the chain, and then two trans neon green, sorry, orange skull spider legs on the end of that chain. Oh, the eyes. Okay, well, [00:33:24] Speaker 1: I'm still considering that part of the chain. [00:33:26] Speaker 7: Oh, okay. Well, fine. [00:33:28] Speaker 1: But either way, these parts don't fit at all. Like, I can understand the weapon. The weapon, I don't care if that's a different color than the actual figure. I don't mind that weapons aren't meant to be a part of the figure itself. They're weapons. Yeah. But the armor, also being trans orange, makes no sense. Why is that there? It's the only piece of armor he has that is trans orange. Why? I get color. The eye color is also forgivable. I don't care if he's got trans orange eyes. That's fine. Why armor, though? I haven't had that [00:33:57] EXX Trooper: before, actually. I'm actually really happy about that. [00:34:00] Speaker 1: Yeah, that is a new piece. [00:34:00] EXX Trooper: Yeah, it's orange. That can make them have evil eyes and stuff. That's great. I love that. Great. Hold it real quick. [00:34:08] Poitou: What about on the box? Did the box have that orange piece, too? [00:34:13] Speaker 7: Yeah. Yes, it does. [00:34:14] Poitou: Dang, so it isn't just a missing piece problem. No. [00:34:18] EXX Trooper: No, he literally has it. I can really clearly see it right there. Sticking out. [00:34:23] Poitou: I was hoping, just a tad bit of hope there. It has been crushed. Valiant. [00:34:29] Speaker 1: I will say, I kind of thought of a better way of describing the bone issue, because I think my wording was maybe a bit confusing. So, to clarify, if anyone pulls up like a diagram of a forearm and they look at the bone structure, there's two different bones that make up your forearm, the ulna and the radius. For an actual arm, the ulna and the radius are next to each other. They're two different bones that are next to each other with a space in between. The way this set has it though, it's flipped to where the ulna and the radius are on top of each other rather than next to each other. So, that space in between the ulna and the radius is on the side, unviewable from like a front perspective. Yeah, it's rotated. So, that, just to clear up any confusion there. [00:35:16] Kahi: Makes sense to me. [00:35:18] Speaker 1: But yeah, it's just, I find it funny that they went out of their way to try and design these bone pieces to resemble bones, and they don't even have it flipped the right way. [00:35:27] Kahi: Yeah, it's pretty lame. Skull Warriors got it that way too. [00:35:32] Speaker 1: Well, yeah, it's not a slicer problem or specific to him. Several other sets have this issue as well, but it's just funny. All right, slice. [00:35:40] Poitou: Slicer has been sliced. [00:35:43] Speaker 1: Yeah, yeah, [00:35:44] Poitou: final thoughts real quick. Final thoughts. We did not go over. What? The gearbox. [00:35:49] Kahi: It's stupid. You guys are all on [00:35:53] EXX Trooper: about the gearbox. I don't mind it. I don't mind it. With arms and stuff. I don't mind it. [00:35:58] Kahi: I appreciate the effort. I don't like that obnoxious, larger silver gear which sticks out like a sore thumb. [00:36:06] Speaker 7: Okay, hold on. Yeah, I think [00:36:08] Shikuma Nuva: aesthetically it's ugly, [00:36:11] Speaker 7: but I don't like [00:36:12] Shikuma Nuva: the idea of it. [00:36:12] Speaker 7: Before we have to lob you into the misinformation pit, that's light gray. [00:36:17] Kahi: Oh, yeah, light gray. No, [00:36:20] Speaker 7: you always get on my case about trans neon lime green. I'm getting on your case about light gray. That looks so light gray. [00:36:28] Kahi: Look, it was bad enough with Pohatu to where he had those bushings on his shoulders and nothing up there to cover them. Now this guy's got a huge gear in that color too. It breaks the color scheme even more because it's so big you can see it from a front view. [00:36:45] Poitou: But that prediction we made on the other episode or saw with that 3D rendering looks like it came true. [00:36:55] Speaker 1: Yeah. Yeah. I will say I don't mind the giant gears. I kind of feel like it gives him an older appearance for some reason. Fair enough. [00:37:04] Shikuma Nuva: Mechanical. It looks like he's been stripped down. Yeah, exactly. And I think [00:37:08] Speaker 1: that works in his favor. [00:37:09] Shikuma Nuva: And I appreciate the fact that both arms [00:37:13] Speaker 1: appear to be functioned by the gear so that's cool. But final thoughts LJ [00:37:20] Speaker 7: we'll start with you this time. I like the new color the Applejack kind of color scheme here. I like the trans neon green. I do like the attempt at the spindly boniness and I also like the uniqueness of the forearms. However, it really falls short as far as the random orange the bland mask and I don't like the printing on his chest. It looks really weird. [00:37:42] Speaker 1: It's not trans neon green. [00:37:44] Speaker 7: Gosh, okay, fine, Applejack green. I'm sorry. However, I will say I'm going to pick this guy up not just to review him but for that nice liwa mask in the bottom right-hand corner. I'm done. [00:37:54] Poitou: Of course. [00:37:55] Speaker 7: Of course. All right, Potu? [00:37:58] Poitou: Parts, parts everywhere. That's all I got to say. This guy doesn't look very good but parts. [00:38:06] Kahi: He's good value. Takuma? Takuma? [00:38:11] Shikuma Nuva: I'm almost ashamed to say that I'm going to get it anyway. Collecting? Because I want to do a collector. [00:38:21] EXX Trooper: Yes, collector. [00:38:23] Speaker 1: I'm getting it as well. All right. [00:38:26] Kahi: Uh, Meso. It sucks and fails, et cetera. One out of ten. Oh wait. Cool parts. Two out of ten. Ex-trooper. Everyone mentions [00:38:37] EXX Trooper: that it's a good parts pack but it really depends on what parts you want. You get most of the weapons that are the other ones and I already have that mask and you only get one of that armor piece. I don't think this set has any redeeming factors. Even the print on the chest is not that good. And the one piece that actually looks good is transparent and that ruins it. So, zero out of ten. [00:39:07] Speaker 3: All right. Copy. [00:39:11] Speaker 5: I think that it is an interesting set that I probably will not get. The only redeeming value for it would be in the mask. Hey! [00:39:20] Speaker 7: Your face is plastic! [00:39:23] Speaker 5: We'll not, we'll probably not be getting this set unfortunately. But I don't think it's Slicer is rip in peace. [00:39:32] Speaker 1: All right. Me? Yeah, don't like the set at all. Honestly, probably two out of ten. There's not a lot of redeeming factors about it. Miru's cool. We'll get the set anyway because collector. But other than that, yeah, it's really not worth much of my time. I wouldn't imagine it's worth a lot of people's time. Yeah. Sorry, Slicer. Going along with [00:39:53] Kahi: the regular $15 set scheme, let's move along to Skull Warrior because he shares a lot of issues. [00:40:02] EXX Trooper: I'm just going to put this out right away. Right away, he has the same problem with the bone pieces. He has the same problems with the bones and there's also this problem with possibility and function because the way he holds his bow, his gearbox function is sort of made irrelevant. [00:40:24] Shikuma Nuva: That's the case. He has the other weapon. [00:40:29] Speaker 1: Yeah, exactly. He has the other staff, so that gives him a reason for the gearbox. [00:40:33] EXX Trooper: his main thing here going on is his bow and that's sort of... Well, [00:40:39] Speaker 1: it's not necessarily the main thing, it's just the thing that they're displaying in the box art. It really gets up to whoever buys it. It can be whoever's main thing. [00:40:50] Shikuma Nuva: This is one of the reasons I actually like this set is because it actually... Something about having both weapons makes it feel even more like sort of your basic foot soldier one because you're going to have your range type, you're going to have your melee type, so this kind of lets you play out both aspects. It almost actually makes me want to get several of these. [00:41:10] Speaker 1: I agree. It feels like there's more to him simply because he's got more outlets as far as battle goes. He's got different things covered and I think that kind of adds to him as a character as well. Agreed. So I like that aspect of him more so than Slicer who just has the same swords. But this guy, he's got different things and different ways of posing him because you can either pose him with the bow which is great or you can pose him with the staff. I also think [00:41:37] Kahi: he pulls off the skeletal look the best out of all the villains. Yes. Probably. It's a bold claim to make but I think he does. [00:41:45] Speaker 1: I would agree with you. I think he does as well. He's not like unarmored like Slicer but he does still have the skeletal look which is really good so I can agree with that. His legs look [00:41:55] EXX Trooper: uncomfortable. It looks like he has really really long nails. It looks a bit to me. [00:42:01] Speaker 5: Yeah. Sorry. Not a fan. It's a bit of a different mask to me and I think it's just the lighting but for a second half what is it a different mask? No. It's the same as a skull grinder. [00:42:13] Shikuma Nuva: Isn't it? [00:42:14] Poitou: Yeah. [00:42:15] Speaker 1: The one thing I do like about him that I think actually helps the whole skeletal corpse appearance is that his legs are actually I hope it's not a build error but his legs are actually asymmetrical. [00:42:27] Kahi: Yeah. [00:42:28] Speaker 1: They are they're flipped the other way so on his left leg he's got armor on the thigh but no armor on the shin opposite for the other leg. Yup. And I think that's actually cool because it does add to his kind of rotting away no armor appearance. Yeah. Decomposing and I think that's actually some really cool aesthetic. He's the only one I think he's the only one that has aspects of it like that. [00:42:53] EXX Trooper: Same on the top. A lot of hero factory on Chima had that but this guy actually pulls it off. [00:42:59] Kahi: There's a [00:43:00] Speaker 1: reason for this guy to have it. [00:43:01] Kahi: Chima had it because they were ice zombies. [00:43:03] EXX Trooper: I know but it didn't look good but it looks good here because there's a lot of asymmetrical things going on with the bow and stuff like that. It actually makes sense. [00:43:13] Speaker 7: You see Skull Warrior is the crux of my argument as to why what is done with him should have been done with Skull Slicer. If they had pulled this look off on Skull Slicer I think we would have been given an infinitely better set. [00:43:27] EXX Trooper: also [00:43:28] Kahi: everyone is [00:43:30] EXX Trooper: on about how Slicer is a good parts pack. I think this is probably the best parts pack out of both waves because this is the only set or actually excluding the one big one but the only really in that price range where you get both Gearbox New Mask and you get and you get the Kordak blaster thing. The thing you get from [00:43:53] Kahi: Fairpoint. [00:43:54] EXX Trooper: And you [00:43:55] Kahi: get two of the new armor pieces. [00:43:58] EXX Trooper: You get the new transparent one as well. And you get the one random orange armor piece. Yeah, so rare. [00:44:08] Speaker 1: Those toes anger me to no end. [00:44:11] Poitou: Yeah, me too. [00:44:12] Shikuma Nuva: If you look at that one picture you don't see their head better be like some sort of really big important legit storied reason for all these random orange parts. That's the only thing that will kind of take away this thing. Still ugly but I'll be able to accept it. [00:44:30] Speaker 5: If there's [00:44:35] Speaker 1: like something coursing through them or something that's bringing them to life and that's what the orange is meant to represent. A hero one? Well, [00:44:41] EXX Trooper: it is the color of their eyes. [00:44:42] Speaker 1: Maybe I can get over it if that's the case. If there's actually a story reason for this I might be able to get over it. As of now not knowing it I can't stand these random red like these trans orange parts and I think they really break up the characters because this guy I think he actually has a really really good build and I think overall he's a great set. I like the asymmetricality of him and I think he's the only one able to really make the skeletal look work but those parts really break up his color scheme and if he just had a more consistent color scheme I think he would be one of [00:45:16] EXX Trooper: you also get even just [00:45:18] Poitou: replacing those claw feet with another color of them would have worked. [00:45:23] EXX Trooper: Exactly. He also has the best mask in my opinion. It looks like a steampunk skeleton. It's so cool. I love it. that one mask only thing. Only thing. [00:45:36] Poitou: I like the mask. Hey that bow looks nice. I like the [00:45:39] EXX Trooper: other new mask. Except for Akeemu. [00:45:42] Poitou: Yeah let's not [00:45:43] EXX Trooper: forget Akeemu over there. [00:45:45] Speaker 5: I kind of want to talk about Akeemu. [00:45:47] Speaker 1: We'll get to him in a bit. But the bow does look cool but its design kind of reminds me a lot of the protector's bow so it doesn't seem too unique to me but I do like it as well. Final boss round? Let's do it. Yep final thoughts. We're going to start with you Kahi go. [00:46:04] Speaker 5: I think I mean you know same thing everyone else is saying. It's a it's one of the better sets of this round. I think it has a lot of stuff to offer. I probably will actually get this one. So yeah. [00:46:15] EXX Trooper: All right. X. Best mask and transparent shooter thingy 11 out of 10 would buy. [00:46:25] Speaker 7: All right Elder. I think this set is definitely my third favorite of the entire wave. I like the fact that it comes with all the new parts. There's a new bones weapon all the hoopla. The only thing I don't like about it are the neon orange parts and the white stud pieces on the blaster. Other than that I really like this set. I'm actually really interested to see what the chest armor is because I just noticed it's silver instead of gunmetal which kind of outweighs the gunmetal armor parts. but I am looking forward to this set so I'm definitely going to get it and enjoy it. Also Kopaka mask so that's nice. You don't have white studs? [00:47:05] Speaker ?: No. [00:47:06] Speaker 7: They're there on the tip of his blaster. [00:47:08] EXX Trooper: Oh yeah but like it's not really rare. [00:47:10] Speaker 7: But anyway. No no it's not. Takuma? [00:47:14] EXX Trooper: Is it? [00:47:15] Speaker 7: Probably it's I [00:47:16] Shikuma Nuva: mean. [00:47:16] EXX Trooper: Takuma! [00:47:17] Shikuma Nuva: Ikimu is the only. Shush. The only individual model that I like more than this one from this wave is Ikimu. This one I actually really like. It's not perfect by any stretch of the imagination. But I like it. [00:47:33] Speaker 1: Alright fair enough. Potu? [00:47:36] Poitou: I can definitely see the Toa having to go up against a horde of these guys charging in a line or a bunch of archers just shooting arrows at them. [00:47:47] EXX Trooper: That is so cool. Buying 20. [00:47:50] Kahi: That is a pretty cool vision. Yeah. That is pretty cool. That's how to [00:47:54] EXX Trooper: have spoken. All along. [00:47:57] Kahi: Alright Mesa? Pretty neat. If it wasn't for Ikimu it would be my second favorite set but Ikimu saves the grinder set from being dragged down into the abyss of mediocrity. So. Warriors in the middle. He's number three. [00:48:11] Speaker 5: You know like there's a possibility that some of the set designers listen to this. [00:48:19] EXX Trooper: They're crying [00:48:19] Speaker 5: so much. [00:48:21] Speaker 1: Brutal honesty. I'm absolutely sure some of the set designers listen to this. [00:48:25] Kahi: I like all these sets from a subjective point of view because skulls I'm going to buy all of them anyway. They're horrible. But objectively they're not all that good. [00:48:36] Speaker 1: They're not all that good. Alright. Me my opinions don't really make a lot of sense to me because we've gone over the set he definitely is one of the better ones one of the stronger ones one of the more well sound ones. I like Scorpio a bit more Scorpio a bit more. Don't know why. I have absolutely no reason to. I kind of just like the aesthetics a bit more. Fair enough. Taylor Swift song. [00:48:57] Speaker ?: No. [00:48:57] Speaker 1: Yeah basically it's kind of like a Scorpio is like a guilty pleasure. I don't like that set but at the same time I like that set. Scorpio too. I'm with you. He's fun. You know. But yes I like Scorpio but so this is my second least favorite. I like him and then Slicer so. [00:49:10] EXX Trooper: I'm just going to say though that I would want to be sent Slicer and Scorpio free in the mail and take face to them and put them on the internet. Wink wink. [00:49:21] Kahi: Just put that out there. You should say you hate him. Just wow. Alright so the [00:49:24] Speaker 1: next two sets I think we're all going to. We'll go fast. Yeah let's try do a lightning round opinion. Basher. [00:49:31] Kahi: Let's go. He can bash stuff has an irregular gear box function. Got random purple. [00:49:37] Poitou: Dude why do those horns have hollow parts? [00:49:40] Shikuma Nuva: I don't know. [00:49:42] EXX Trooper: Those are the ones that you see on witchy doctory. Yeah. [00:49:47] Kahi: See at first I didn't like the horns and the prelims because I thought they were oriented like Pyrox but I really like how they're oriented here facing forward. However upon closer inspection they look really really bad. the way they're attached. They don't flow. [00:50:05] Speaker 3: I love the horns but the way they're attached is so awful. Okay. It's like horns [00:50:12] Speaker 5: more like he has like dreads that got frozen in the rain and are now [00:50:16] Speaker 7: sticking upwards. Nope. Nope. That's not it. You see I was talking with one of our moderators about this and he pointed this out to me and all I could do was laugh in hysterics at the implications of that attachment. It's wonderful in the worst way. [00:50:32] Poitou: Oh dear. [00:50:33] Speaker 7: You got a share? That's connected to the head. Now the only axle hole in that headpiece is the eye stalk. You hit those horns that mask flies. I love it because it's awful and I shouldn't. It's pretty cool. It's pretty cool. Yeah I like that. [00:51:01] Kahi: That's the only creative use of that function I've seen as of yet. [00:51:05] Speaker 3: You were going to knock his mask off so many times though. I can barely pose the protectors. [00:51:13] Kahi: But I'm just saying all the other sets that have that function there's nothing to hit. I was talking with MT about this one time and he was like why bother having this function? You're just going to smack the back of their heads. What kind of function is this? Why are they promoting this? You can't get the masks off. But now you can. Unfortunately you'll do it yourself many a time. I'm sure. [00:51:36] Speaker 1: Man you so much just tap those horns that mask is going to fall off. Grindr has the [00:51:40] Kahi: same thing because he has horns attached there as well. [00:51:43] Speaker 1: Grindr isn't as bad though because this guy's horns are huge so like just trying to move his arms are going to hit the horn. [00:51:49] Kahi: Yeah. A few comments I must say about this dude. Okay go ahead. He's got an irregular function as Aljay and many others have pointed out he doesn't have a gearbox. He has kind of like Dragon Bolt where you press or pull something on the back and his arms bash forward instead of up and down. That's the theory anyway. Yeah they kind of like swing side by [00:52:10] Shikuma Nuva: side sort of. I wonder why he has axes for weapons. I don't know. More of a bludgeoning weapon would be better for him. No but he bashes with his horns. [00:52:19] Poitou: Yeah he's [00:52:23] Speaker 1: definitely minotaur inspired. But yeah you raise a great point Takuma it seems like he would be better suited like a club or something rather than axes. [00:52:30] EXX Trooper: And he also has transparent purple pieces so he has a void shield then. Herpador. [00:52:38] Kahi: By the way on the list of things I've been right about thus far I'm four for four his upper arms are trans purple on that [00:52:44] Speaker 1: same size. You say four for four but you're noticeably ignoring the fact that you were saying that half the stuff is white. [00:52:52] Kahi: That's marked down on the stuff I'm wrong about section. So far I've got four for I guess six would be proper. The white color and the immovable legs on Scorpio I thought they were attached to be a ball joint. I'm wrong about those. But no I like him he's cool. I just I don't like the trans purple horns I think they ruin the scheme a little bit but are [00:53:16] Speaker 5: they trans purple they don't look trans purple to me. [00:53:19] Kahi: They ruin the trans purple color scheme the horns are solid purple. That's what I would say. Sorry I said [00:53:23] Speaker 5: the trans purple [00:53:24] Shikuma Nuva: two spikes on the arm are solid purple too. [00:53:28] Speaker ?: Yeah. [00:53:29] Speaker 1: What do you guys think? I don't I definitely don't mind the the purple and then the trans purple I think they go together [00:53:35] EXX Trooper: fine but I [00:53:39] Speaker 1: will say that the trans once again the trans orange really breaks up the color scheme with that said this guy does an okay job of covering it up to where it's only sort of slightly highlighted in areas that you're really not going to be focusing on too much so I don't think the orange really ruins the color scheme as much as it does for the other ones and I don't think orange is that awful next to purple. They don't go together don't get me wrong. I don't think it looks good. Yeah I don't think it looks good but it's not as glaringly annoying as it is for slicer and warrior. I think it [00:54:14] Kahi: looks good. Yeah. I like it better on this dude than I do on Skull Grinder as far as trans red and he is all trans red. [00:54:22] Speaker 1: I don't agree with you there but it's fine. Now something about this guy that I really really like. The reason I'm going to buy the set. That chest printing. Yeah I was going to mention I don't know what it is about it so good but that chest printing looks fantastic. I love love love that design. [00:54:40] Kahi: I like it because it looks symmetrical. It doesn't look like a bunch of squiggles. [00:54:43] Speaker 1: Yeah. [00:54:43] EXX Trooper: It doesn't turn the set down which is a lot of what those prints do like it looks like it has a lot of uses and it's versatile enough. [00:54:52] Speaker 1: Mm-hmm. [00:54:52] EXX Trooper: Yeah. [00:54:53] Speaker 1: So I really really like this set. Don't really understand why he doesn't have bludgeoning weapons but my only really only my only complaints weapons weird the way the horns are attached trans pieces don't look that bad so really those are the only complaints I have for this set. I actually think he's really good. I think he looks and he he does it I think he does a great job of looking bulky but also skeletal at the same time. [00:55:14] Kahi: Yep. [00:55:15] Speaker 1: Very very Skyrim esque here. [00:55:18] Kahi: He is top tier. He's my favorite from the wave. 12.92 out of 10. [00:55:25] Speaker 1: Before we go in the final thoughts anyone have anything to say? [00:55:29] EXX Trooper: I really wish that purple transparent piece thing that he uses on his chest like under his chest is a solid color because that part looks so good on these sets and it's just not a solid color which makes me cry. God damn it. So you're not a fan of trans pieces are you? I think it's overly done and it doesn't really look that good most of the time unless it's bones. I'm sorry but that's just it looks cheap. I'm with you. Fair enough. It looks like it's made in China. [00:55:58] Kahi: I've been overusing transparent pieces quite a lot recently. I don't know why. Ever since the Chima Ultra builds they've been on a transparent kick. [00:56:06] EXX Trooper: Yeah I know a lot of people do enjoy it. They're just like oh more transparent parts. Yeah but like at this point [00:56:12] Kahi: I have so many of them I need more bones that are transparent. I don't need more armor shell. [00:56:18] EXX Trooper: Does everything need to be transparent? Do we need to be that see through? Like what? I don't I don't I was very [00:56:26] Speaker 5: like I remember initially when I went to Comic Con I really liked the transparent purple pieces because I didn't have a lot of those. Oh me too because those are bones. [00:56:34] Speaker 1: I will say I will say that I don't I don't really like transparent pieces either however I am a huge fan of trans purple. Right. So I'm okay with this part being trans purple because I love trans purple. But yeah Final thoughts? Oh go ahead. [00:56:51] Shikuma Nuva: Can I ask a stupid technical question that ultimately means nothing? Please. Sure. Are these pieces okay technically is this transparent purple or translucent purple? [00:57:05] Speaker 1: Technically it's translucent see through. This no it's this looks this looks translucent. Yeah this looks translucent. [00:57:13] Speaker 5: It lets light through so you can see through it but it's not really transparent you can't see through it. You can't use them like [00:57:17] Speaker 1: I would say the bones are more transparent they're just a dark color but this looks pretty cloudy the way this piece is designed so I don't know it looks more translucent. [00:57:27] Shikuma Nuva: That might be just because of the shape. [00:57:29] Speaker 1: But yeah it might just be because of the shape. I can't really give you an honest answer until I have a set in my hands. From the way it looks it looks translucent but it's most likely transparent. This guy [00:57:47] EXX Trooper: is 100% symmetrical. [00:57:51] Kahi: I know I love it so much. [00:57:52] EXX Trooper: We do not yeah that is not something law and also one thing that we need to take into account with all these sets is you get a really cool mask with them and that might actually be the buying point for some of them. [00:58:06] Kahi: Oh yeah [00:58:07] Shikuma Nuva: the mask on this guy reminds me of the Rocketeer's helmet. [00:58:12] Kahi: Okay let's No I have not. Final thoughts. [00:58:17] Speaker 5: I get exactly what you're talking about and you're right it doesn't be a Rocketeer's helmet. [00:58:20] Kahi: But yeah it was 12.9 out of 10 Var you go. [00:58:27] Speaker 1: Looks neat. Favorite set. 10 out 10. [00:58:30] Kahi: Okay Elda you go. [00:58:33] Speaker 7: Second favorite. I love all the colors. the symmetry is beautiful chess piece is great. I was the first one to think up that he had that function. Dang it credit me. [00:58:43] Speaker 1: Okay. [00:58:43] Speaker 7: Yay. You were not the [00:58:45] Speaker 1: first one. I was [00:58:45] Speaker 7: totally [00:58:46] Speaker 5: first. I like it a lot. Horns kind of ruined the design for me but I will probably buy it because like I'm a huge fan of transferable. Poeter. [00:58:58] Poitou: I like that he's the bulky guy but like he probably used to be bulky and now he's a skeleton and it still looks amazing. [00:59:07] Speaker 1: Cool. Takuma. [00:59:09] Shikuma Nuva: Cool mask props for the minotaur inspiration. Other than that, meh. [00:59:15] EXX Trooper: And X, is your way to go? I still hate dark and normal silver together Lego. I don't understand what you're doing. Other than that, he's symmetrical so he's better than the scorpion and slicer so three out of ten. [00:59:34] Speaker 7: Technically the scorpion is symmetrical too. [00:59:36] Shikuma Nuva: I was going to say, what? [00:59:38] Kahi: Okay. So now unfortunately we're right up against when we need to stop and we haven't even gotten to the final set and the biggest set. So let's do lightning round. First up, skull grinder. Any observation? [00:59:52] Speaker 5: Can we just go straight to final opinions then? No, [00:59:55] EXX Trooper: we need to do an X-Rap cell on just this because we can just I mean, it's so glorious. I guess we'll [01:00:02] Kahi: do it one by one. That's how we're going to do this. My thoughts on skull grinder are as follows. Cool set. Back when everyone thought he was supposed to be a $20 set, I was a little skeptical until we did the whole price crunching thing. Wait a minute, minute, minute, minute, minute, [01:00:16] Speaker ?: minute, minute, minute, [01:00:16] EXX Trooper: is this are we referring to just grinder or grinder? Yes, just grinder. The price of [01:00:23] Kahi: the set is $25. I'm trying to talk about the confines of the set itself. The set is basically a $15 set that's being portrayed as the main villain. He's not Titan level. So that explains a lot of his design decisions like having the same legs as Basher just lengthened a little bit. I don't like his gappy torso. I don't like how high the gearbox sits with nothing to cover those exposed ball joints like Liwa. I don't like those circular things to beef up his shoulders because they're aesthetically inconsistent with the rest of his shoulders. Don't like those spindly legs. I don't like how the armor is oriented as opposed to Basher. Don't like his weapon all that much. But everything else is really cool. 9.1 out of 10. [01:01:15] Speaker 7: We gotta let Kahi go. Let's record that real quick. [01:01:18] Kahi: Yep. Kahi what do you think? [01:01:20] Speaker 5: I think he might be with everyone just because he doesn't have any trans orange pieces that break that mold. I like the way he looks. I like that new mask. The horns I feel are much better. They don't break up the design such as the Minotaur. This is the one set that I'm definitely getting of him and the key move. Thanks for your thoughts Kahi. We'll see you. Yep. Got a beautiful lawyer so goodbye. See you later. Oh hey by way Ikimu probably one of my favorite things coming out of this wave so I can't do that. Spoiler. Yeah there we go. [01:01:57] EXX Trooper: Spoiler. X any thoughts? This I think this guy looks amazing. Just absolutely everything you just heard Meso say just if you just turn that the other way that's pretty much what I think about this guy. I think that actually the trans orange actually works there just because he's sort of like this glowy big hulky villainous guy and there's enough dark shades of him that actually the silver and dark silver or good matter whatever you could call it act I still don't 100% on that train but it works it's definitely the best looking villain that we've seen so far and I also really like the horns and stuff like the one thing that I don't really like about him is is that he's still very generic this reminds me just a lot of just Fire Lord and that other guy from Hero Factory like it doesn't I feel like like he's just [01:02:53] Kahi: I can't get over how simple and uninteresting [01:02:55] EXX Trooper: that's but like with the other villains it's it's sort of forgiving because like they're mooks and stuff and this guy's supposed to be like a glorified mook and there's not really that much to him but he's still a big hulking cool looking guy to look at I think that he has the best color scheme out of all the villains [01:03:16] Kahi: good observation I I guess I can't really argue with stuff like that the color scheme [01:03:22] Speaker 7: all right LJ first of all as I often say when we play games get mooked second of all I like this guy he looks great uh here as something we noted earlier he has a lower part count than galley and liwa but a higher part count than pohatu so envision that in your head that was another thing I was wrong about wait what [01:03:47] Kahi: that was another thing I was wrong about full full full disclosure I underestimated his piece count by a few pieces so I knew [01:03:55] Speaker 3: I knew you [01:03:56] Kahi: not by much he's still in the $15 range and he's still less than two of the Toa but to his credit he is higher than pohatu so he does have that going for him I knew you were full of crap so anyway [01:04:09] Speaker 1: everyone watching var was right anyway let's go [01:04:11] Kahi: I still outweigh on the positive to negative scale I'm 4-3 I ended up coming out okay [01:04:18] Speaker 7: var is right about things very often so skull grinder is actually really fantastic except for the gappiness I also am not a fan of his legs however I'm glad that we have a lot of new armor pieces he has four which is most out of all these sets we're getting for the wave basher [01:04:34] Kahi: nope [01:04:35] Speaker 7: I agree with pretty much everyone else's sentiments he's very generic the thing that actually bugs me there are two things that bugged me the most about this set and that are his feet and his staff now the staff the head of it's actually what I would have wanted basher basher is that it to have two of because that's basically a glorified bladed club what bugs me is the tip the end of his staff they could have just used the standard connector piece but they used a toa matta neck which is really weird and gappy and I don't understand why [01:05:12] Kahi: yeah because they used the piece you're thinking of just up there in the upper part of the staff in like gray and then they used that one down below [01:05:22] Speaker 7: now his feet bugged me not because of the type of feet I love those feet why they bugged me is because it's actually for the reason that the silver feet on the toa that we now have bugged me his feet are black but there's no other black on him in such a majority such a volume [01:05:43] Speaker 1: the only black on him is his horns or building parts I still think he looks awesome [01:05:49] Speaker 7: don't listen to LJ yeah I still think he looks great he does have a lot of flaws but he is definitely one of the best looking villains this wave I think just a little bit below Skullbasher honestly alright so he's cool favorite alright Takuma probably the [01:06:12] Shikuma Nuva: best I mean yeah probably the best color scheme going on here save for maybe Akimu the trans orange actually works here I really like the printed chest piece just throwing that out there cool mask it's cool yeah definitely one of the better looking set I don't really have a whole lot to say about him because definitely one of the better looking sets I don't feel that particularly drawn toward him I don't know he's cool number rating systems are inherently flawed so I don't use them [01:06:43] Speaker 1: fair enough fair enough Var what do [01:06:48] Kahi: you think [01:06:48] Speaker 1: he's really cool definitely I think the most solid solid built out of all of them therefore I think he's objectively speaking the best of them all however personally not a fan of the trans orange and gray color scheme it looks fine looks great actually it's the only one that's consistent so that's fine it's just I think trans purple is cooler because of that basher is cooler than him with that said this is a great set second favorite love the weapon that chinted printed chest piece looks amazing I absolutely what [01:07:25] Speaker 3: the printed chest piece looks absolutely [01:07:30] Speaker 1: amazing I really really like it it looks cool and rib cagey so that's awesome [01:07:36] EXX Trooper: is that a word [01:07:36] Speaker 1: are you a word yeah Kimu Kimu looks awesome cool set protector sized awesome color scheme I like the like the weapon cool best legs ever I absolutely hate his mask [01:07:51] EXX Trooper: don't rush don't rush [01:07:53] Speaker 1: no we're rushing we're rushing because we're already eight minutes out of time anyway I hate his mask it looks green ugly worst mask out of all the protectors replacing it with a mask of creation as soon as I get it other than that ten out of ten [01:08:07] Kahi: I'm gonna throw that mask in the trash where it lighted on fire oh my gosh [01:08:12] EXX Trooper: mask of creation looks pretty [01:08:14] Poitou: why wasn't it light blue [01:08:15] Kahi: the legs are the best legs ever made shut up the hammer looks a little stubby [01:08:23] EXX Trooper: the hammer can shoot the hammer can shoot [01:08:24] Kahi: it's pretty pretty nifty set pretty nifty oh there you go [01:08:31] Speaker 7: akimu's great I'm eager for those shoulder pads that we never got in the states I'm a little bit perplexed as to the gearbox because it looks like it's worse than lee was as far as head articulation go color scheme's amazing that shield looks intriguing those legs I mean he could definitely be a set with legs the hammer intrigues me the red pins bug me my favorite set mask of creation I'm looking so forward to it also brick belt stand that we hope is in there [01:08:58] Speaker 1: I will say that the legs look much better on akimu [01:09:02] Speaker 7: which is funny because they're no different [01:09:04] Speaker 1: but only because I know they are but only because the trans helps disperse the uh the ugly color placement a bit better yeah helps disperse the ugly exactly that's a great way of putting disperse the ugly [01:09:16] Poitou: disperse the ugly [01:09:17] Speaker 1: but I'm most likely going to change it as soon as I get the set anyway beautiful potu thoughts [01:09:23] Poitou: I like akimu quite a bit all the gold is making me very happy the gearbox I think it probably does have a bit more movement than liwa I don't I'm not sure why the sawboid thing is there but the hammer should have just been a two handed hammer and I hope that thing shoots I hope that the [01:09:46] Speaker 1: it doesn't because it doesn't have the yellow piece in the center that actually has the function I can't tell but what if it's also recolored doubt it but fair enough [01:09:56] Poitou: yeah that would be cool if it's shot and if it doesn't then modifications hoe yep [01:10:03] Speaker 1: alright Takuma [01:10:05] Shikuma Nuva: I don't see what your guys problem with the mask is [01:10:09] Speaker 1: it's like ugly and green [01:10:11] Kahi: it's like the the light blue trans light blue mixes with the gold yeah [01:10:15] Speaker 1: turns into like a [01:10:16] Shikuma Nuva: actually have it in my hands but I don't think it looks that bad [01:10:18] Speaker 1: turns into like a puke color not a fan of it but it's really subjective so [01:10:23] Shikuma Nuva: just one thing I do want to touch on it's my problem with just about all the sets winter and summer so far that I do not like is how far back the arms and shoulders sit on each set just gets to me my arms are not that far back behind my head because [01:10:43] Kahi: it's the price we must pay for function [01:10:45] Shikuma Nuva: other than that I like the overall color scheme the shield I'm not so sure about because I don't mind the buzzsaw blade thing like the gold piece on it I don't mind it being gold but the design I don't know it just seems to kind of throw things off for me the design of that gold piece on his shield am I the only one getting that [01:11:06] Speaker 1: it's kind of frilly but [01:11:08] Shikuma Nuva: it looks like a doiling [01:11:09] Speaker 1: I don't know [01:11:10] Shikuma Nuva: it does exactly otherwise the hammer I'm all for asymmetry in sets but I don't like the fact that the hammer looks different on each end of the the head the fact that there's actually studs on one end which I mean I don't care either way if it shoots or not because I mean even if it does shoot nothing's lost I think it would be better if it didn't [01:11:37] Speaker 7: that [01:11:37] Shikuma Nuva: pretty much sums them up for me [01:11:40] Speaker 1: fair enough I will say that as far as the shield goes I think it would have looked better with a more tribal design not the doily no not the doily also [01:11:50] Speaker 7: if I may real quickly he actually does have a yellow piece you can't see it in any of these images but the box art does show it [01:11:59] Speaker 1: okay cool so they do shoot awesome sweet it [01:12:04] Shikuma Nuva: looks like he just turned the back end of the hammer which is kind of weird if you ask but whatever I can't shoot it [01:12:12] Speaker 1: my thoughts looks cool definitely best protector legs look better on him because they disperse the ugly with that color scheme still gonna change it when I get him [01:12:22] Kahi: to what [01:12:24] Speaker 1: I love the shoulder armor I love the shield I do agree the pattern could have been a bit different but it doesn't really bug me that much hammer's cool I do agree that it's weird that each side is asymmetrical not a big fan of that but I guess they did that so that you could in fact shoot the hammer so we'll see hit the mask shoot the hammer [01:12:42] Shikuma Nuva: just sounds weird when you say it out loud [01:12:44] Speaker 1: that's about it I think everyone's gone no yeah go [01:12:49] EXX Trooper: what about me what about me the thing [01:12:53] Speaker 1: no one cares about you [01:12:54] EXX Trooper: yeah well the thing about this set is that it's really special is that we can't really rate the other guy with not having this guy as well because when you buy this set you get both of them and I actually really love those sets because that feels that you get a lot more with your sets Karzani was like one of my favorite barnacle sets because you just get so much with it and it just feels more as a whole having two equally opposing sides and the reason Lego doesn't do this very much though is because then you pretty much split sets into two or the opposite of splitting and then like that can do stuff to sales but in this instance you have something that's very sought after I mean you get the mask banker himself which actually helps the set because people want this guy and he looks amazing in every sense of the word we get so much great with this set I'm buying it he's amazing I love it don't have any complaints his feet are perfect don't listen to bar and you also get the cool mask as well his feet yeah the legs not the feet the legs everything the knees suck but anyway but yeah he's great I like how the hammer is I think that's very clever that he shoots with it I don't have a problem with it being asymmetrical 11 out of 10 [01:14:11] Kahi: what's the rating okay let's end yeah thank you all for listening to our Nuremberg sorry out of rush but [01:14:17] Poitou: a lot of sets a lot of sets [01:14:19] Kahi: this is a note to us in the future that we are not able to summarize things we are natural speakers [01:14:28] Speaker 3: we [01:14:30] Kahi: yeah we we tried so hard and got so far but in the end it's still an hour and 15 minutes and we [01:14:41] Shikuma Nuva: only had five sets oh man can you imagine if they did a thing with Lincoln we didn't [01:14:48] Speaker 1: even talk about this Star Wars set yeah that's [01:14:50] Shikuma Nuva: that's [01:14:53] Poitou: New York [01:14:53] Shikuma Nuva: I don't care about anything except for maybe General Grievous next [01:14:58] Kahi: yeah thank you all thank you all for listening just say I'm not still already thank you all for listening to our coverage of the new number toy fair 15 if you want to hear more about other Lego themes stay tuned for the New York toy fair sometime in make cool and expensive coverage of all Lego themes over there and we will be talking about the Star Wars that if they are there and more by uncle if they're there but they won't be there because only five cents I'm missing thank you I'm Vardaran [01:15:20] Speaker 7: I'm Vardaran I'm Vardaran I'm Vardaran I'm LJ you're ruining it oh no [01:15:29] Speaker 1: LJ if you weren't fired before you're fired now anyways [01:15:34] Kahi: give me for now you can't fire me I'm Vardaran [01:15:37] Speaker 7: remember [01:15:37] Kahi: Kahi was here but now he's not as a rip in peace [01:15:40] Shikuma Nuva: rip in peace Kahi I'm Takuma Nuva I am EXX [01:15:45] Poitou: I am Potu [01:15:49] Kahi: and we will see you all next time for the next exciting episode of the TTV podcast I quit again goodbye [01:16:01] Speaker 1: everybody we lost two staff members today Takuma quit and LJ got fired remember to [01:16:06] EXX Trooper: show this video to your cat and dog [01:16:08] Speaker 3: never show this video to your cat what does that even mean maybe your cat likes TTV but hasn't been [01:16:18] EXX Trooper: introduced to it I don't know [01:16:20] Shikuma Nuva: goodbye can you imagine if we started getting sponsored by like kibbles and bits or something [01:16:38] Speaker ?: Thank you. Thank you.