[REVIEW]: 70784 Lewa: Master of Jungle

[VBBN]

Set name: Lewa: Master of Jungle

Set number: 70784

Pieces: 85

Price: $14.99, €

Release date: 2015

I've never been a fan of jungles. Forests sure, living in Michigan those are practically home to me, but something about jungles just brings about instant dislike for me. I found Lewa's change to being a master of jungle a strange one- unless he starts shooting vines out of his hands and crapping out poison ivy, he will still be the master of air to me. Either way, let's see how this new incarnation of lewa stacks up.

Packaging and Contents

Box Front

The front of the box showcases Lewa sliding down a rather large vine. I'd have liked to see a more classic representation of lewa swingin by a vine, but oh well. We also have the skull spider leaping into the scene, and the mask podium just slapped on. Take note that this is the European packaging, so some information may be different on the box.

Box Back

I'll tell you what, as strange as Lewa Nuva looked with his katana's propped under his armpits, I really have no idea what this new Lewa is supposed to be doing in his "flight" mode. I'm kind of getting a wingsuit vibe, but wingsuits don't really leave you with effective combat actions with your arms...

Instructions

I have to say, I'm really looking forward to seeing more of Okoto, structurally it's much more interesting than Mata Nui.

News and Interesting parts

Head, Eyestalk, Add-ons

The new head in silver, eyestalk in trans neon green, the new spider leg, and the piston add-on in silver. Taking a step away from the set for a second, I think by this point you'll have noticed that I keep using this same photo in all of the reviews (and an alternate one for the trans ice blu eyestalk), you really get this same fare in just about every set.

Shells

First up, we have the basic torso shell and a 4-length in the newer bright green which is close to classic mata green, but there is a difference. You might also know this color as "green lantern" green as the Green lantern set uses this same color. Also, we have the 4-length shell in keetorange. As someone who loves keetorange, I was very pleased to see this color return instead of just using the standard yellow.

Armor, Fin, Weapon

Next we have the printed chestpiece, which is also a new color for the chestpiece, silver. Although the printing makes that a rather moot point. We also have the "kaiju fins" in silver, and the weapon that both Lewa and Gali share in dark pearl gray.

Gearbox

The new gearbox is simply an arrangement of beams with spots to hold the large 4-tooth gears. It's generic design leaves a lot of possibilities for future MOCing.

Technic Bits

I really need a better term than "technic bits." Hm. We have that very awesome pin piece that is relatively new and still rare to get (this set comes with 4 of them) Also we have a new 1x1 pin spacer. You'll be pleased to know that there is a spare one in the set, and also a spare with the Protector of Jungle, so if you get the duo you'll have two of the spacers spare.

Masks

Alright, let's get this out of the way- I don't like the new Miru. Everyone will have their own opinion of it and I of course invite you to share your thoughts on it in the comments, but I do not like it. It's not that it doesn't look like the old Miru. there are some similarities to it, I guess, but I just think this is one ugly mask. Considering the 2001 and 2003 Miru were my favorite mask of each respective year, that's an extreme disappointment.

Building Process

Gearbox

Lewa's gearbox has an interesting build, mainly in the way that you construct the mounts for the kaiju fins. Also it's to note that he uses 4 of the eight tooth gears to give friction to his arms.

Action Frame

Lewa's build attempts to give him a more tribal look, and gives him really tall shoulders. I like the idea behind it, but unfortunately it restricts his head movement upward.

Seriously, his head will not look upwards, at all. It's actually difficult to knock off his mask because there is nowhere for the trigger to push down, it just hits the top of the gearbox. If I were a kid playing with these, I'd pick Lewa. he's guaranteed to win.

Armoring

Lewa has really long limbs, and he uses pretty short armor plates. You could say it's for aerodynamics, but once you see his "adrenaline mode," well, he's not gonna by flying much.

Finished Build

Skull Scorpion

Both Jungle sets come with a dark blue Skull Spider. Unlike the Stone sets, they do not have scorpion tails.

Front

Alright, so he doesn't look horribly lanky. The piston add-ons, while very strange looking right there, do help to fill him out. I tried flipping his thigh armor to the front and it made a world of difference. And i really like hos the silver fins look around his shoulders, even if they add to the already annoying head articulation.

Profile

One drawback is that Lewa has those connector bricks stuck under his arms for his adrenaline mode. The shoulder construction does look good from this angle as well.

Back

The silver fin wiggles around which is a minor quibble. Also from here you can see how the 4 technic pins create the shoulder armoring.

Pose

I think, when the designers made this weapon piece, that Gali was first in mind and then they tried slapping it onto Lewa afterwards. He holds the axes very closed to the blade, and the fact that the handles are another set of swords throws you off.

Golden Mask and Adrenaline Mode

Here you can see the golden Miru mounted. I didn't mention it before, but I find it ironic that the character with the most cluttered neck/head articulation also gets the largest mask.

And there you have it, his adrenaline mode. I understand some of you may see wing-suit aesthetic in his, but this is the lamest adrenaline mode of all of the Toa in my opinion. Now, if there had been a way for the silver fins to flip around and attach the wings to give him gliding wings, I'd have enjoyed this more, but the wings under the arms like that makes it really hard to pose him in any sort of flight mode- not even considering that his head won't look upward.

Skull Mask

Maybe I've been too hard on him. What's a positive point? I love the silver swords, they instantly brought back memories of the katanas. Oh, and I've come to the conclusion that shiny dark blue plastic will literally go with every color.

Power-Up Mode

Before I say anything, I'd like to point out one error I noticed in this photo- I forgot to put the little lime green piraka spines from the Protector onto his feet. Not a big loss, but that is one detail he also gains. Anyway, the power up mode for lewa involves the little spines, and giving lewa the two handed weapon, which looks quite in scale with the larger Toa. Again I think it would have been nice to see the swords attach to his back somehow in this mode.

Master and Protector

Keetorange and bright green. Gotta say, I don't miss lime from Breez one bit.

Overall

I'm going to come off as pessimistic in this one. He's my least favorite Toa. He's still a good figure, with a great color scheme and the shoulder build is really unique. But a lame adrenaline mode, strange weapons, the head articulation, and of course my dislike of the mask have lead me to put him at the bottom of the list. All of the new Toa are great so being at the bottom isn't necessarily a terrible thing, and I think my pictures will be the deciding factor more than my words, but there he is.

And that wraps up my reviews of the six Toa. TIme to finish up the Protectors!

[ZORK64]

Great review!

I agree with you on Lewa's mask, it looks very boring compared to his older Mirus, and I'm sad that it neither reflects the unique shape of his original mask, or the more warrior-like feel of the Nuva variant.

I'm okay with his weapons, but I would still upgrade them once I'll get him (though in the end, I plan to mix up all six Toa anyway to recreate my original Toa I came up with so long ago...).

[Takanuinuva]

I'll be honest and say I don't like his weapons one bit. I would have preferred they reused the blades from the Fire Chima Ultrabuilds. Those work way better for axes. I'll be switching his weapons for those out pronto.

Also I don't really care for the shoulder spikes. They look ok from the front. But from any other angle they just look off. I came up with a better design that utilizes the unused torso balljoints and the wing/blade/tooth piece introduced in the Savage Planet line as Furno's wings/Raw Jaw's tusks.

[Aanchir]

Good photos and review. I strongly disagree with your conclusion, though, I think Lewa is amazing. He has an eye-popping color scheme, an extremely original physique, and very cool weapons.

I actually really like his adrenalin mode. You can't really pose him like he is posed in the mini-comic on account of the eyestalk colliding with the gearbox, but he looks fantastic in this sort of "Peter Pan" pose. I think that really suits him, and evidently some other people felt similarly given how similar it is to some of the CGI character art used to promote BIONICLE: The Game. His inability to really swordfight while gliding hardly strikes me as a disadvantage, as he can easily just slash foes with his outstretched swords as he flies past them (OK, impractical on some levels, but it would certainly look impressive) or simply land before striking at more guarded foes. All in all, this might not be the most impressive adrenalin mode, but I like it a whole lot better than the 2002 Lewa Nuva's pitiful excuse for a secondary weapon function.

I also really like his mask design. I think it looks great for an adventurous and playful character like Lewa, with its confident smirk. It lacks the nose/beak of the original, but when taking comparison photos of the mask I realized just how much of a disadvantage the shape of the classic Miru was — from many angles, you couldn't even see the eyes through the corresponding eye holes. So a face that fits more snugly on the face makes a lot of sense. The new Miru also reminds me of many different portrayals of the Miru Nuva, which also had smaller eyes and a more dome-shaped forehead than the original. And its angular jawline reminds me of both the movie portrayal of the Miru Nuva and the design of the original Miru. It's less square from front view, but it still has those same sharp corners.

His battle-axe design is awesome. It echoes his classic axe without feeling like a complete repeat. I really have no idea what you mean when you say it looks like it was designed for Gali and then given to Lewa? Feels to me like it was designed with both of them in mind — for Gali, it has the flipper-like lower edge, whereas for Lewa it has the feather-like leading edge. Also, Lewa uses it for a single-bladed design like his classic 2001 weapon, whereas Gali uses it for a double-bladed axe like her 2002 weapons. It seems to me like the sort of part the designers knew they would be using for two different characters when they started designing it.

I notice that in many of these pictures you have his shoulder armor over top of his chest armor. I actually like it a bit better off to the sides like in your adrenalin mode photo, but I guess you can have it either way depending on your personal preference. The way you have it in adrenalin mode allows more movement for the head, I think. Speaking of the head movement, even as limited as it is I can't help but feel like you can put it into some extremely expressive and "Lewa-ish" poses, since to turn his head to the left or right it kind of has to be cocked to one side. When my Lewa review goes up on New Elementary it will include some photos that show what I mean — in the meantime, your photo of the "powered up" form shows a subtle example of this kind of angle.

Choosing a least favorite of the new Toa is harder and harder as I see more reviews showcasing just how awesome they are! Tahu might still be my least favorite, since his upper legs feel uncharacteristically bony, his lower legs could use some modding to add shells to the back, and I feel like he could possibly afford to be slightly shorter. Still, I think they're all excellent designs!

Edited November 22, 2014 by Aanchir

[Kalhiki]

Visually, he looks great. Love the colors and proportions. The raised shoulders are also not so much of an issue with those silver fins. I'll have to actually have him in-hand to decide how bad the pose-ability is, but judging by your word, it's not looking good.

As for the Miru... Not sure. It's growing on me, and I think I may like it? I guess it's just that I don't mind it, but I don't love it or hate it one way or the other.

[dviddy]

I felt the same way when I first saw the design for Lewa's mask back in August. But having it in hand, I very strongly disagree. I don't think it resembles the original Miru much either, and I agree that's a shame. But I like the way the new one is featured- Lewa has this super trickstery grin and the combination of the new eye shape strikes me as a very spritely design, even with the more mechanical overlapping panels look. I think it's one of the new masks with the most character. It's yards better than the new Onua mask, in my opinion, which I think is the worst of the new designs by far.

I like the axes. I don't have him in hand, but when I was playing with him and looking at him at NYCC, I felt good things about his design. I can't say he's one of my favorites, but like you said, these are all great and it's hard to find the one that is less great than the others. I think in the end it may be Pohatu, for me, even though the original kakama is my favorite mask (and is tattooed on my shoulder!) The new kakama just misses the mark for me and the rest of the design, as neat as it actually looks, strikes me as more boring than the other five.

[One Very Agile Cat]

Great review. Lewa's probably one I'm going to mod most. I really don't ike the super long forearms and short biceps, and since I care nothing for his secondary mode, I'll be ditching that. I feel like the axe heads would be more effective as sword hilts, with the yellow axle connectors on top to then connect the swords to, making two large blades. Maybe even work in a way for them to become wings like his Nuva form? I dunno, I'm deffinitely excited to see what I can make. And while I like keetorange, I'm probably going to swap out it and most of the silver for lime green. Just too much silver for me. (unlike Gali, where her blues and silvers worked together, Lewa's silver, orange and green contrasts too much I think)

I like the Miru. It doesn't resemble the old ones at all, but it's still a cool design. The plated face makes it look like a helmet with a retractable face mask, and the rounded shape and vents make it look aerodynamic.

[KopakaFan116]

What? No mata green?!!!?!?? This set had me going! Very disappointed. Lego can be very lazy sometimes...

[Ventum]

Ah, Lewa, the one set I thought was the worst myself. However, looking at it now, I must say, it isn't the worst. I think Lewa brings something new to the table, while still keeping the general old feel he had. The axes aren't the best, but they still get he point across, and I quite like the new color scheme. Sure it may not be mata green, but I think this green works out just fine. The mask, used to be my least favorite, but looking at it now, it's not that bad. Personally, I find the Akaku to be my least favorite, dunno, I just don't like it.

As for the construction itself, it seems to work out alright. Not a fan of the way they did his "wings" and flying this time around though, it seems incredibly lazy. Also, the Powered Up mode seems alright. He goes well with his Protector, and that's a great thing too. Overall, Lewa isn't my favorite, but he isn't my least favorite. If I had to have a least favorite, it would be Pohatu, but that's merely because he's the least impressive and ground breaking, nothing more.

the original kakama is my favorite mask (and is tattooed on my shoulder!)

I must say, I am highly jealous of that tatoo. I concur. The Original Kakama is my favorite mask as well, and I own all 10 colors of it :3

[TheDesuComplex]

I do quite like this Lewa. His adrenaline mode is a nice refinement on the 'glider' he had as a Nuva by giving him actual wings and I do quite like it. He isn't perfect (as evident with that neck articulation), but he's still great.

I must say, I am highly jealous of that tatoo. I concur. The Original Kakama is my favorite mask as well, and I own all 10 colors of it :3

Make that a third! The Great Kakama was an amazing mask.

[Rayskull]

His shoulder armor is the best! especially when powered up!

[Aanchir]

What? No mata green?!!!?!?? This set had me going! Very disappointed. Lego can be very lazy sometimes...

In what what absurdist fantasy world is using Bright Green instead of Mata Green (Dark Green) "lazy"? First of all, what color a set uses has nothing to do with how much effort the designers put in, so calling it "lazy" just means YOU were too lazy to come up with a word that actually means what you wanted it to mean. I'm assuming "cheap" might have been closer to what you meant.

But even if you meant "lazy" to mean "cheap/thrifty", that wouldn't make the slightest bit of sense, because the green parts in Lewa have never been released in EITHER Bright Green or Mata Green before, so it costs no less to release them in Bright Green than to release them in Mata Green! If the designers REALLY wanted to be cheap or thrifty, they would have used Metru Green (Earth Green), because both the 8x5 torso shell AND the 4M shell already exist in that color.

Chances are, the designers used Bright Green for one main reason: they genuinely thought it would be the best color for the set. And I think they were right. It's WAY more vibrant than Mata Green or Metru Green (Earth Green) would have been.

[KopakaFan116]

In what what absurdist fantasy world is using Bright Green instead of Mata Green (Dark Green) "lazy"? First of all, what color a set uses has nothing to do with how much effort the designers put in, so calling it "lazy" just means YOU were too lazy to come up with a word that actually means what you wanted it to mean. I'm assuming "cheap" might have been closer to what you meant.

But even if you meant "lazy" to mean "cheap/thrifty", that wouldn't make the slightest bit of sense, because the green parts in Lewa have never been released in EITHER Bright Green or Mata Green before, so it costs no less to release them in Bright Green than to release them in Mata Green! If the designers REALLY wanted to be cheap or thrifty, they would have used Metru Green (Earth Green), because both the 8x5 torso shell AND the 4M shell already exist in that color.

Chances are, the designers used Bright Green for one main reason: they genuinely thought it would be the best color for the set. And I think they were right. It's WAY more vibrant than Mata Green or Metru Green (Earth Green) would have been.

Well, I agree to disagree. Now, lazy might not have been the best word, but the mata green color has not been used as much in recent sets. That is most likely why they didn't use it in this set. So it's disappointing for me, to say the least. I will say, I love how streamlined the mask looks now though!

P. S. There is less compatibility by the designers using this color, because it is not the same tone of green. If I wanted to make a Lewa revamp/MOC, the mask color would not fit in well with the MOC. I see your point though, in that it is a newer, brighter color, so It's alright in the end.

[VBBN]

Isn't mata green (the old "dark green") not even used by the company anymore? I thought it was replaced by bright green.

Oh wait maybe system still uses it

[Clone 01354 Productions]

I quite like the Miru. Sure, it looks the least like the old one as the other Toa's, but I think that it really looks great with the ridges and vents. I will say, though, that if they made his smile a bit bigger, than I would love it a whole lot more.

It is a shame, though, that the armor looks so tiny on his legs and arms. Overall, though, he's still my favorite!

[TheOneVeyronian]

Isn't mata green (the old "dark green") not even used by the company anymore? I thought it was replaced by bright green.

Oh wait maybe system still uses it

System still uses "Dark Green" (LEGO)/"Green" (BL) by the bucketload. As far as I'm aware, it's the most common of all the green colours. Bright Green is much less common in System.

But I'm fairly happy that Lewa uses Bright Green - it makes the Green Lantern parts suddenly a bit more useful. Though having said that, they introduced shells in Dark Orange for Pohatu (Red. Brown could have sufficed) and Dark Azure for Gali (Medium Azure or regular Blue could have worked), so I'm really not sure why they didn't pick the classic Green for Lewa, thinking about it. Both types of shell that appear in Bright Green here are new in that colour, so cost-wise, it probably wouldn't have made a difference to cast Mata Green shells.

But I'm not complaining either way. Now I have a new roster of Bright Green parts to add to to make the two Green Lanterns I bought a few years ago a bit less useless in terms of parts. And, of course, new Keetorange shells are a bonus (I knew I bought 2 8M shells from 70134 in that colour for a reason!)

But the set as a whole: it's meh. Not good, but not bad either. It's one I'll need to have in hand before I can make a final opinion on it, but for now, I rate the parts more highly than the set as a whole.

[Infernum]

Personally, I think he's a great set! I love the shoulder construction!

Also, Kaiju fins?

[Aanchir]

Isn't mata green (the old "dark green") not even used by the company anymore? I thought it was replaced by bright green.

Oh wait maybe system still uses it

Bright Green was definitely not a replacement for Mata Green (Dark Green). Bright Green been around for over two decades, making it about a decade older than Metru Green (Earth Green). And it's coexisted with Mata Green that entire time. It simply was never used in constraction sets until 2012. There was actually a considerable spike in its use in 2012, even in System, with a number of people mistaking it for a new color.

[arc]

I'm not a huge fan of the new lewa to be honest, the build and weapons are ok, but I don't like that new miru at all. It looks like the old miru that got old and wrinkly and is wearing big green earmuffs. Which is unfortunate to me because the old miru is one of my favorite masks.

If I can afford to get all 6 toa soon, I might pick him up for completions sake, but otherwise I'll pass for now.

[Kalhiki]

Already gave my thoughts, but the more I look at Lewa, the more I like him. I like the big upper half he has and thinner limbs, almost giving him a monkey-like appearance. The proportions on him are really appealing to me.

Also, for some reason the technic bits sticking out from the backs of his forearms remind me of Lewa Mata's weirdly long fingers. Maybe it's the light grey pins?

[Shakar]

Voted Outstanding, but I'm biased because Lewa is Lewa. I love his overall look, but the set does have some flaws here and there, so on its own it is probably Above Average. To me, his main flaws are the excessive amount of silver, namely on his feet and hands and the horrid, boring 2.0 torso. I had originally developed these two points, but then I realized the post was getting too long and OT (it became more about the new sets in general than Lewa himself), so I posted the draft in "The CCBS "Improvement" Thread" if anyone's interested.

I don't mind the yellow, it's a combination I actually like- I still want to change it due to a number of reasons, but I can't count it as a real flaw. I think the Adrenaline mode is pretty good (very bird-like), but it comes at the cost of an awkward arm design and, in virtue of the "they need something to fight with while their main weapons are being used as vehicles" mentality (which is generally admirable, mind you), some equally awkward sword-handles.

Those things aside, he's a nearly perfect figure:

The colour layering and organization are flawless (aside from the obligatory "LOOK THIS IS A FUNCTION!" yellow bits) unlike some other Toa (looking at you, Kopaka, Gali and Onua). In HF, the dark bley bones would sometimes annoy me, but I think they're ok in BIONICLE as I find they're somehow reminiscent of the exposed muscling the characters showed in the movies.

The 4M shells, long arms and narrow shoulders are excellent choices for Lewa: he looks like a lanky and agile humanoid with monkey and avian like elements in him (which is exactly how I envision him as). I wasn't sure of the shoulder armour at first, but then I realized it looks similar (and might be a deliberate homage) to his Phantoka form's shoulder baldes and now I really like it.

As I said, I don't like the blade-handles very much, but I'm ecstatic to see Lewa with axes again. I was a bit puzzled to see him with not one but two axes, but now I can't wait to put Lewa in all the crazy awesome poses twin weapons lend themselves to.

I love the new Miru. I admit it's the most changed one along the Kaukau, but as I said many times I can tell which mask- or rather, which character- is supposed to represent right away. The smile is very much still there and the overall mask fits Lewa's personality very nicely. I really like the added elements, like the texturing and the "ear muffs".

In what what absurdist fantasy world is using Bright Green instead of Mata Green (Dark Green) "lazy"? First of all, what color a set uses has nothing to do with how much effort the designers put in, so calling it "lazy" just means YOU were too lazy to come up with a word that actually means what you wanted it to mean. I'm assuming "cheap" might have been closer to what you meant.

But even if you meant "lazy" to mean "cheap/thrifty", that wouldn't make the slightest bit of sense, because the green parts in Lewa have never been released in EITHER Bright Green or Mata Green before, so it costs no less to release them in Bright Green than to release them in Mata Green! If the designers REALLY wanted to be cheap or thrifty, they would have used Metru Green (Earth Green), because both the 8x5 torso shell AND the 4M shell already exist in that color.

Chances are, the designers used Bright Green for one main reason: they genuinely thought it would be the best color for the set. And I think they were right. It's WAY more vibrant than Mata Green or Metru Green (Earth Green) would have been.

That, and Bright Green has already been used in CCBS in 2012 (Green Lantern and Joker), while Mata Green has never been used aside from Nex's parts in 2011 (which barely qualify as CCBS elements and have never been reused since). Between CCBS and G1 parts, I rather have Okoto!Lewa's parts be compatible with more CCBS. Really, picking up Bright Green was the best choice they could make. I hope it sticks around, though I'd like to see Earth Green making a return as well (it'd fit the Jungle theme really well!). Edited November 24, 2014 by Shakar

[DalekSram]

Technically, Jungle isn't really an element power, unless we're talking Pokemon. In which case it would be grass. LOL

I'd prefer Air then like the original era you would have the 4 common elemental powers: Fire, Earth, Water and Air.

[Aanchir]

Technically, Jungle isn't really an element power, unless we're talking Pokemon. In which case it would be grass. LOL

I'd prefer Air then like the original era you would have the 4 common elemental powers: Fire, Earth, Water and Air.

It's true, I do somewhat miss him being a Toa of Air for that reason. At the same time, I can see why they changed it, and to a certain extent it seems like just a nominal change. After all, the Protector of Jungle's weapon is still called the "Air Elemental Flame Bow", and Lewa's mask power is described as "communes with plants and the wind". So it's not really replacing the air element, but rather expanding it to include the Chinese classical element of wood (which also includes both plants and the wind).

[DalekSram]

I've had a look at the new Bionicle website. On the characters page it says that Lewa is adventurous, sarcastic and his foolhardy manners get him into trouble. To me he sounds more like Toa Matau from the Metru Nui era.

[Aanchir]

I've had a look at the new Bionicle website. On the characters page it says that Lewa is adventurous, sarcastic and his foolhardy manners get him into trouble. To me he sounds more like Toa Matau from the Metru Nui era.

Sounds much more like Lewa than Matau. If I were to describe Matau, I wouldn't use any of those words except for "sarcastic". Otherwise, his key traits are being vain, flirty, and a thrill-seeker. Whereas Lewa's key traits have ALWAYS been his adventurous spirit and recklessness. He got into more trouble by rushing into dangerous situations than any of the other Toa. Usually trouble involving getting brainwashed.