REVIEW: 71305 Lewa Uniter of Jungle

[VBBN]

Set name: Lewa Uniter of Jungle

Set number: 71305

Pieces:79

Price: $15.00 | £xx.xx | €xx.xx

Release date: 2016

As we come to the end of the winter 2016 review, we tackle the second to last Toa, Lewa, Uniter of Air Jungle. Is this fast-talking Toa worth your money? Read on to find out.

Box

Front

The front of the box has the usual CGi of Lewa, set information, and the wave's current header.

Back

The back has the set's features, a mini comic, and of course the "Actual Size" diagram as to give consumers an idea of how large the set will be. I wonder if they will start doing this on bags of chips to show how much air is in the bag?

New and Interesting parts

New bits

For new parts, we have the sword in silver mixed with bright green, the shorter eyestalk piece, and the new crystal add-ons. I have seen some confusion and will clarify that yes, these add-ons are different than the ones on pohatu, these are mixed with trans bright green, and Pohatu's are trans neon green, though with the silver mixed in they look slightly darker. The difference between the these ones and Pohatu's isn't super noticeable, but there is a difference.

Turntable Torso

Like the other Toa, Lewa has the turntable torso. With the use of a gear, the waist can be spun similar to the Rahkshi, and even without a gear the hip piece can rotate with a good amount of friction.

Recolors

We get the Vorox armor in silver, and... yellow axles? Of all the ways to shoehorn yellow into Lewa's color scheme, this is one of the most bizarre choices I've seen,

Torso Shell

We get the torso shell in silver with some green and black printing (with just a slight hint of yellow).

Mask

We also get the new Miru. I didn't really like his 2015 mask at all, and I do like the look of this one better personally.

Torso

Shins

While some of the sets have custom shoulder, Lewa takes it a step further and has these custom shins. I mean, they don't look awful, though the bit on the kneecap is a bit of an odd look.

Shoulders

And, like Kopaka and Pohatu, Lewa has his own unique shoulder build. It's very similar to his shin build, and I can't for the life of me figure out how having the lower arm bone turned like this is supposed to benefit his articulation- but as the instructions say, I do.

Frame

As we add some more pieces to the torso to mount the shoulders, the limbs go on. I actually really like the look of the custom shoulders, but they are attached very close to his head and at a slight angle, which can make posability a little tricky and awkward. Again, the lower arm bones are turned like this on the both the instructions and official images, but it means his only elbow articulation is inward.

Finished Set

Front

Color wise, lewa isn't bad, but he isn't entirely exciting either. Gone is the yellow of 2015, instead replaced by a few small glimpses of yellow axles and the little bit on the torso. This time around, lewa has a much stronger presence of silver, and in fact I would say silver is the dominant color here with bright green and trans bright green serving as the accent. Whether or not you are a fan of this scheme, it is fairly well distributed, and the silver chestplate looks less out of place than on Gali.

Profile

Note the odd protruding knees- which my least favorite aspect of the custom shins.

Back

Armoring is about the same as most figures, though since the armor is mostly all turned to the side there is some armor to be seen here.

A real Toa-hero

Lewa's weapons are a pair of sword things mounted to a pin so that they can spin.

Lewa, mystery-king of know-nothingness

Lewa doesn't look too bad proportion wise, though due to his shoulder placement the arms could be slightly longer. The arms can be tricky to pose in some instances, but I find that the custom shins don't interfere with articulation much.

It's going to be this kind of day

The weapons are alright and a bit easier to manage than the big cumbersome axes in 2015, but I don't really feel like the spinning ability has much of a point.

Air>Jungle

United

When combined with Uxar, lewa gains a pair of wings and a helmet. The only unsightly thing here is that the beast fins around his hips don't have a whole lot of places to go. The wings look trans neon green due to my lighting, but they are in fact trans bright green and match Lewa well.

Profile

Like Ikir, Uxar doesn't form a huge backpack so he integrates well from a profile view.

Back

Also like Ikir, Uxar's flapping wings function can still be used when united. THe lever for this function, however, is the Vorox armor and the spike, which completely covers the gear to turn the waist, so it is difficult to turn the waist unless the wings are pulled back.

Size Comp

Overall

Lewa isn't a bad figure. The custom limbs provide some interest to the build, the color scheme is well distributed, and the textures are decent with the obvious exception of the torso shell, though even that doesn't look entirely bad here. His weapons are simple but I've always like smaller, simpler sword-type weapons for Lewa and it's a nice change from the ridiculous axes. I like his new Miru, and in general the set does feel like Lewa, and I don't find myself wishing for as many changes with him as the other Toa. It's not to say he is flawless, but I do think he is one of the better Toa of the wave, and has grown to be my second favorite after Onua.

[_shaddow_]

Last year, Lewa was my favourite Toa, even with all the problems he had, and without a doubt my favourite mask also. This new Lewa looks okay though I'm sad that the Keetorange didn't make it to this year's version, since it made the silver pop in a very good way. The mask is okay without being as great as the last one in my opinion, and the arms are just too small, whichever way you look at it. Also, I don't understand the placement of the forearm bone, since the elbow won't bend unless you turn the shell to the rear of the arm, which seems pointless to me since you could simply attach the shell with the open part of the balljoint from the bone facing forward instead of to the side.

Thanks for the review anyway, but may I ask you if you could get a picture from the side with the arm lifted at it maximum to the front ? I do feel like this is missing from the pictures since the shoulder articulation is a weird one and a visual documentation would be quite helpful.

Edited December 20, 2015 by _shaddow_

[Aanchir]

The yellow axles appear in a number of Technic sets (and Wall-E). They seem to mostly be a new option for odd-numbered axles besides just grey. I think they look good on Lewa, but he'd look even better if he had MORE yellow, like Uxar does. As it is, his color scheme isn't nearly as eye-popping as, say, Gali's.

The new mask is a great evolution of Lewa's previous mask, and it actually looks even more Miru-like (I think it's the longer eyeholes, personally). Really does a good job expressing his personality, and the crystal texture suits it nicely.

Lewa's arm and leg construction is incredibly creative, despite both being based primarily on existing parts. It also works really well, giving him maybe the most unified, streamlined appearance of any of the new Toa. His arms are a bit short, though, which could maybe be improved by swapping the lower arm beams with 6M ones. Realistically, I'd prefer if the torso itself were a module or two shorter, but that's not something that can really be changed without sacrificing the waist function. I'd also change the orientation of the lower arm bones, regardless of what the instructions say — they would work much better rotated 90 degrees at the elbow.

Lewa's combination with Uxar is maybe the best of the Toa–Creature combinations. It looks just as elegant and unified as Lewa looks on his own, plus adds some more of that lovely yellow to spice things up.

Thanks for the review!

[Kalhiki]

Lewa looks to be one of the better Toa this wave, but he has a common problem that many other 2016 Toa share: the arms. They're too short. Maybe if they would be lowered, like, a module they'd be better. I'll definitely be rearranging some things when I get him.

Otherwise, he looks pretty great. And his Unity Mode looks pretty sweet as well.

[Volthoom]

Well Lewa, Uxar, and Umarak will probably be the first three sets I'll buy.

[YellowCorvette]

Thanks for reviewing Lewa! Lewa looks to one of the better set this wave and definetly been one of my favorite Toa in this wave. Lewa still has flaws like the short arms, but Lewa still looks great in both Unity mode and as a standalone s well.

[Aethersprite]

Thanks for the review. I don't get the love for Lewa, unfortunately. There's just too much silver on him; I wish he'd kept some Keetorange. That said, the trans-green crystal piece looks great, and so does the sword. Pass for me!

[Dorek]

Definitely too much silver, and those weapons are pitiful, but everything else about Lewa is great. Definitely in my top 3.

[Infernum]

Thanks for the review!

Lewa is definitely my favorite of the new Toa. I actually really like both the custom shoulders and shins, but I'm biased since I've always been a fan of those vorox armors. I also really like the heavy use of silver, and the mask, while not my favorite, looks decent on the model. The combination also looks very impressive with the wings!

Do the wings set off his balance?

[Tarvaxx]

Definitely too much silver, and those weapons are pitiful, but everything else about Lewa is great. Definitely in my top 3.

They're not pitiful. They're supposed to be tonfas...

[Dr_Chronos]

The silver doesn't look as bad as I originally thought so that's a good thing. I would have preferred a bit more Yellow or Lime, as his colorscheme is rather dull compared to his Master form.

The arms are still disapointing. Putting the Vorox armor on the side is a great idea but I don't think it was executed well here. The lack of elbow articulation is easily fixed but the official version is baffling to say least.

I'm not sure how to feel about the emphasis on Air rather than Jungle.

Lewa and Uxar were buys from me already, despite his flaws Lewa is still one of the best Toa of this wave.

Edited December 21, 2015 by Dr_Chronos

[DOTM Shockwave]

Out of all of the 2016 Toa, Lewa is my favorite, and will be the only one I'll buy (subject to possible change). The lack of yellow doesn't bother me at all, if anything I like how Lewa looks without yellow (the fact I replaced the yellow shells on 2015 Lewa with silver ones should say something lol).

[Logan McOwen]

The only downsides I can probably pick out with Lewa are his knobbly knees and stubby arms. Otherwise, I'd argue that he's perfect. A day one buy for me.

[Umbra-Manis]

Nice review!

I'll definitely be picking up Lewa after Onua.

[santaends]

Thanks for sharing, so much custom.. forearms.. shoulders.. will be picking up this one and the Jungle creature for sure. I like the picture with the clean forearm shot.

[TheDesuComplex]

I have to say that I don't like Lewa as much as others do. Yeah, he looks pretty good, but he suffers from the weird shoulders, odd weapons, and lack of Flame Yellowish Orange in my eyes. I am also wondering if his yellow axles are hearkening in all odd-length axles being yellow in the future in the same way that red axles where phased in slowly...

[Tarvaxx]

I have to say that I don't like Lewa as much as others do. Yeah, he looks pretty good, but he suffers from the weird shoulders, odd weapons, and lack of Flame Yellowish Orange in my eyes. I am also wondering if his yellow axles are hearkening in all odd-length axles being yellow in the future in the same way that red axles where phased in slowly...

His weapons aren't oddddd. They're Tonfaaaaaas. Why are so many people culturally ignorant? <.<

[MakutaDreadscythe]

His weapons aren't oddddd. They're Tonfaaaaaas. Why are so many people culturally ignorant? <.<

It's not that we're culturally ignorant for the most part, just that even then as tonfa they look somewhat different. I personally prefer twin katanas but hey, to each their own.

And for the record I hate his shoulders, not the upper arms but the hordika neck orientation. The sacrifices to articulation for sake of being different really bothers me.

[Darking]

His weapons aren't oddddd. They're Tonfaaaaaas. Why are so many people culturally ignorant? <.<

Wow. I don't wanna get off-topic here, but insulting people because we don't know the exact name of a foreign weapon some of us haven't ever seen seems pretty pedantic and rude to me.

About Lewa... meh. I can't really bring myself to like this year's sets. 2015 felt so fresh and iconic, whereas 2016 seems too bland. No accent colours, 3M bright green shells again, weird weapon choice...

I really dislike the way his shoulder are oriented too, as the Hordika neck forces the arms up. I'm surely gonna pass on this one, maybe I'll order his masks and some of those trans. green bohrok eyes from LEGO Brick & Pieces.

[Dr_Chronos]

On the tonfas. I'm not really a fan of them. I'm fine (but not ecstatic) about the tonfa weapon itself, but I don't like it here in terms of both looks and playability. The way he holds them often looks awkward and I already dread constantly posing the rotating blade. I'm probably going to change them for another weapon.

[VBBN]

Do the wings set off his balance?

Not a whole lot no, all of the toa have two friction extenders in each leg so it's really just a matter of getting the feet right, but the stability management is a trait of all the sets in general. if anything Pohatu's is the worst because so much of Ketar is just sitting there dead center on his back.

His weapons aren't oddddd. They're Tonfaaaaaas. Why are so many people culturally ignorant? <.<

The handle of a Tonfa is almost always set about 1/4 of the way down the total length of the weapon. Not only are Lewas far, far too long to be practical, the handle is set almost centered. In this application, the length of the blade that sits under his forearm is too long as is, so turning the weapon, as you would do with a Tonfa, serves absolutely no purpose.

[Fulcrumfan91]

I've mentioned this already, but I'll say it again: Lewa has so much potential...but his lack of colours are a deal breaker for me. Ever since I got Master Lewa with those gorgeous keetorange accents, I've been more or less expecting him to have one of the most eye-catching colour schemes. Ironically, Gali got the colour upgrade, which has completed the Toa swap between these two. Only difference I find is that Uniter Lewa's design is inferior to Master Gali's design, until he is placed together with Uxar. It's a shame, at least for me, but this Lewa does not feel like an air creature, nor does he feel like anything that might live in a Jungle. It's just that silver which bothers me so much....the rest of him is so well done though. The chest design is perfect. For me, the most disappointing Toa of the wave.

[DuckBricks]

Just realized that there's almost as much silver on Lewa as there is gold on Tahu... It for some reason isn't as obvious and obtrusive as Tahu's gold though.... I wonder why this is the case?

[Onepu the Protector]

Because silver is a neutral color, while gold isn't.

[Lyichir]

Just realized that there's almost as much silver on Lewa as there is gold on Tahu... It for some reason isn't as obvious and obtrusive as Tahu's gold though.... I wonder why this is the case?

In addition to Onepu the Protector's point, Lewa also has about twice as many parts in his primary color (Bright Green) as Tahu has in his (Bright Red), and the colors are better organized on Lewa (with green parts spread throughout the figure instead of concentrated in only two places). Lewa's textures are also more consistent (instead of having quite so many different textures in the same color vying for dominance), and his overall build is more streamlined.