TDC's Revamps and Mods

[TheDesuComplex]

Bionicle 2015 is just as awesome as I have hoped, and it is thanks to CCBS: a true godsend to me. I love to change around little bits on sets and refine them down from their stock form into something more fitting of my tastes. I have been asked to share my mods before, so I will here with periodic updates. I hope to inspire and encourage you to go beyond the stock.

Just some quick things I would like to mention:

• I don't have a dedicated picture-taking setup, so please forgive me for the ghetto background. I am not trying to advertise BBTS, I just happen to have a few boxes from them.
  
• Please feel free to suggest ideas to me: I love experimentation!
  
• My 'old' Bionicle parts are in a sealed box. I will be using exclusively CCBS parts in my builds with some Technic.
  

The first mod I will share with you is what I have done with the Protector of Fire. He is the first CCBS-based Bionicle set I have cracked open.

Here's a rundown of my mods:

• On the legs: trans-orange 5m shells, red 3m bones.
  
• On the arms: red 5m bones with stop, black 3m bones, and black hands.
  
• Melee weapons: Simple Fireswords instead of those weird Fire Tonfa things.
  
• Blaster: Unsure about that, but switched it to Technic instead of a ball mount.
  

The original set was already very good, so my mods are relatively few.

Next up: the Protector of Ice!

[Clone 01354 Productions]

This MOD looks great, but the different color of red bones makes the model look a bit strange.

[DuckBricks]

Thanks for giving him elbows... that was really bothering me every time I looked at it. It is good to see a pic of him with elbows, will have to do that to mine at home. May I make a suggestion for the PoI? Perhaps you could use the trans-blue short bone element from Jaw Beast vs Stormer for elbows, it looks really good on mine as the trans-blue matches.

[TheDesuComplex]

Don't worry, I have implemented that already.

Set 70782: Protector of Ice

My mods of this set include:

• Chest: White 5m Shell directly on the torso, no back armor (except to mount the shield)
  
• Arms: White Hands, Azure 5m Bones, and Trans-Light-Blue 3m Bones
  
• Legs: Azure 5m Bones, White 5m Shells, Black Small Feet
  
• Blaster: slightly simpler construction without the ice piece
  
• Saw-Shield: new mount that allows it to be easily removed, mounted on the back, and held
  

The inclusion of Azure is my favorite thing about these mods. It works wonderfully with the Trans-Light-Blue and White.

Originally I was going to make his blaster into a huge arm-mounted gun, but that doesn't fit that well with him.

Next up: 70781!

[TheDesuComplex]

Did I say 70781? I meant this one!

Set 70780: Protector of Water

Since I used Trans-Light-Blue extensively on the PoI, I decided to use some Trans-Blue on PoW (which also matches the mask).

I also made sure to move the propellers from the arms (which looked awful) and put them on a technic backpack.

It's a shame that Gali is the only source of 5m Dark Azure shells. I've substituted in one in Regular Blue, which matches with the technic bits as well.

As always, feel free to leave feedback and suggestions!

Next up: 70779!

[Rayskull]

Did I say 70781? I meant this one!

Set 70780: Protector of Water

Since I used Trans-Light-Blue extensively on the PoI, I decided to use some Trans-Blue on PoW (which also matches the mask).

I also made sure to move the propellers from the arms (which looked awful) and put them on a technic backpack.

It's a shame that Gali is the only source of 5m Dark Azure shells. I've substituted in one in Regular Blue, which matches with the technic bits as well.

As always, feel free to leave feedback and suggestions!

Next up: 70779!

Nice way to mount the props, while keeping it official looking.

[TheDesuComplex]

Guess who's back?

Back again?

70779: The Protector of Stone

Changes I have made include:

• A more chaingun-esque weapon (instead of what I have dubbed the 'Pepper Sprayer')
  
• A more streamlined chest design featured on most of my Protectors
  
• Swapped the trans bones for dark bley ones (out of personal preference)
  

The picture below features PoS wielding some boomerangs that I have already scrapped. They didn't really work too well.

70781: The Protector of Earth

Changes I have made include:

• Bigger feet and stockier legs featuring the rock armor
  
• Beefier, more regal shoulder pads featuring a fur texture
  
• A more staff-esque weapon with the head of a mace
  

I really was looking to make PoE into a more beefy and chunky character, and I found his set a bit thin and lanky.

My mods on the Protector of Jungle are still a WIP right now, sorry!

Next time I will be posting some exceptions: A CCBS translation of 8989, and my total overhaul of 70790!

Be there, or B²!

[Rayskull]

You added so much character to POE.

[TheDesuComplex]

You added so much character to POE.

Thank you! By the way, your Protector mods and revamps are very awesome. Looking forward to your PoJ revamp to see how you integrated the gearbox, and I am planning on taking some ideas from your amazingly show-accurate mods to PoF.

[Bigger Fish]

POE reminds me of my style of drawing. (Exaggerated proportions, bulky legs and arms.)

[Rayskull]

@Desu, Hey thanks, I'm hoping a few parts will be here soon.

Would you believe I was never really a fan of Bionicle, I mean I bought a few, hero factory sets, but I didn't like any of the heads :P

I love the smaller size, I credit the Dudes at Lego for thinking outside the box even at the protector size. Inspired me to also to find more ways to build. Go Lego Bionicle!

So is POE your favorite? The shoulders are perfect BTW.

I just realized POE has black hands I think I need him now :)

Edited January 5, 2015 by Rayskull

[TheDesuComplex]

POE reminds me of my style of drawing. (Exaggerated proportions, bulky legs and arms.)

@Desu, Hey thanks, I'm hoping a few parts will be here soon.

Would you believe I was never really a fan of Bionicle, I mean I bought a few, hero factory sets, but I didn't like any of the heads :P

I love the smaller size, I credit the Dudes at Lego for thinking outside the box even at the protector size. Inspired me to also to find more ways to build. Go Lego Bionicle!

So is POE your favorite? The shoulders are perfect BTW.

I just realized POE has black hands I think I need him now :)

It's awesome to see a new fan of Bionicle who was introduced via Hero Factory. I hope that you are enjoying the ride so far!

On PoE, I am not sure. I think my favorite has to be the PoF because of his chest build, but PoE is my favorite Protector mod so far.

Are black hands particularly rare? I have a ton of them. I kind of want to get some of the grey hands from the Parisian Restaurant to go on him.

Edited January 5, 2015 by TheDesuComplex

[Leewan]

PoE is too big to my taste. But the other ones are cool, my favorite is the PoI, the med. azure looks great here. Now you should make a group shot. ;)

[TheDesuComplex]

Now you should make a group shot. ;)

Ask and you shall receive!

I'll also take this opportunity to show a few WIPs:

The Protector of Jungle

I really wanted to make a more bow-like weapon, so I am using these pieces to frame it.

I am struggling to find a stable way to mount said bow on his back.

The Bright Green shells are borrowed from my copy of Lewa; I am waiting on a second copy to complete PoJ.

The Protector of Fire

I have taken some of Rayskull's ideas for a more animation-esque PoF, but I'm keeping my fireswords.

The Mask Maker, Ekimu

This is my WIP of the Mask Maker himself. He's waiting on quite a few parts but the base is there.

These parts include: 'Bionicle' Armor (from 70789), Gearbox (from 70784), 'Royal' Armor (from 70207).

I am working on integrating the gearbox into him to drive his hammer and it's going very well.

[arc]

These are looking pretty nice, the protector of stone is my favorite. I can't help but picture him like the tf 2 heavy, laughing maniacally while gunning down several skull spiders.

So are there going to be mods on the toa and LoSS? Or just the protectors?

[Rayskull]

Ekimu, looking forward to seeing how he turns out.

[TheDesuComplex]

These are looking pretty nice, the protector of stone is my favorite. I can't help but picture him like the tf 2 heavy, laughing maniacally while gunning down several skull spiders.

So are there going to be mods on the toa and LoSS? Or just the protectors?

Yes, I just started out with the Protectors because they are small little things. I will also later on be posting some Hero Factory mods once I finish showing my Bionicle mods.

Ekimu, looking forward to seeing how he turns out.

It will certainly be a while because he requires parts from many different sets. I am planning on putting the gold Skull Spider on him for now.

[TheDesuComplex]

Here's my revamp of the Lord of Skull Spiders!

Here's a higher-res version, and a picture of the simple core of the build.

This was born out of a Scarox revamp- I wanted to make an actual spider out of him, and I was screwing around with parts when I came upon the idea that two torsos would give you eight spots to put the legs and plenty of connection points to bulk him up. I have gotten some feedback on this that says I should give him longer legs, but I think that he is good as-is on the legs front. I'm pretty proud of this.

[MakutaOfWar]

Oh Lord! That LoSS' face, it is that of which only a Makuta could love. Poor guy. XD Anyways nice revamps, the Protectors look like great sets this year. I prefer them over the Av-Maroran and Agori though for the complexity, which I think justifies the price difference between them. XD Almost more so reminiscent of the 2003-6 small sized sets. Again great revamps!

[TheDesuComplex]

Here's a revamp that came out of excess parts: 8989 Mata Nui!

I scrapped the Flame Orange parts from Lewa and while I was staring at them in my bin I thought to make this.

I really liked this set, and it was a shame to see his joints crumble to bits. Now I have remade him using CCBS!

On his sword you can see a technique that I have fallen in love with- using the pin with stud to attach weapons to pin holes in a way that they are easily removable, and in a way that is easy and works well with the color of most weapons, silver. On this revamp this allows for easy storage of his sword.

When I start posting the Toa, I will link higher-res versions of the images.

[arc]

Really liking that mata nui, my only suggestion would be maybe a 4 shell instead of a 3 on the torso. But that's a minor thing.

And nice work on the sword by the way.

[Logan McOwen]

That Mata Nui is wonderful!

[Mutant Orc]

Amazing Mata Nui!

Edited January 10, 2015 by Mutant Orc

[TheDesuComplex]

Really liking that mata nui, my only suggestion would be maybe a 4 shell instead of a 3 on the torso. But that's a minor thing.

And nice work on the sword by the way.

That Mata Nui is wonderful!

Amazing Mata Nui!

Thanks for the comments! For what was essentially a tablescrap, he went together well.

Here's my mods on 70787: Tahu, Master of FIRE. There's not much again, but what refinements he has do help.

The red y-joint is another technique, like the pin w/ stud, that works really well. It helps to fill out the empty balljoint on his chest. A bit boxy, but it is out of the way and looks good.

Edited January 13, 2015 by TheDesuComplex

[Iben]

Amazing work ! I absolutely love the Protector of Ice, it's really amazing. Just love the combination of the white and the teal. Well done ! :)

-Iben