Review: 8573 Nuhvok-Kal

[LuxorV]

Set name: Nuhvok-Kal

Set Number: 8573

Price: $ 8, £ 4.99, € 8.50

Pieces: 41

Year of release: 2003

Links: Peeron, Bricklink and Brickset

The Can

Front

These medium sized (being the Bohrok-Va small size) villain is housed in a the standard Toa-sized can, with a somewhat oval shaped base.

Personally I quite like this innovative look (actually already in use from 2002 for the Bohrok sub-line), as it is much more organic looking than the plain cylindrical Toa cans. But it is harder to store.

Nuhvok-Kal's box art is very nice, with the bright background on which the dark villain shines in his metallic carapace. It's bright, clean, and very attractive to the eye.

Contents

Inside

As you can see, there is quite a variety of parts, mostly Pearl Light Grey and black ones. The bright Transparent Yellow and White parts stand out pretty well, as well as the Copper Krana mask. The Green rubber band is visible in the lower right hand corner (we’ll get back to it later).

I really like how these –Kal sets have a more standardised appearance when compared to the old Bohrok ones. The distinctive colour pattern of every swarm is limited to the limbs and central body, while the shiny carapace reminds of the Toa Nuva armours.

This set came with a special mini-CD in a separate bag inside the can. It included animations and info on the Toa Nuva and Bohrok-Kal sub-lines.

Recoloured parts

The Bionicle Ball Joint 4 x 4 x 2 90° Arm/Leg piece comes in Black for the first and only time in this set. This set is the only one with a Copper Krana mask; the piece had been used in previous Bohrok sets in 2002. The Foot piece was introduced in Pearl Light Grey for the Bohrok-Kal sub-line in 2003, as well as the Axle Connector/Hand piece.

Again, I really like how many parts occur in Pearl Light Grey, a colour which stands nicely in most creations, and always adds to the bio-mechanical feel typical of this line. The fact that the mask comes in a metallic colour is also a good point in this set, unlike the majority of the other –Kal sets, which still feature the non-metallic masks of the previous years.

New pieces

New pieces include the 5 x 5 Shield with Saw Blade Studded, later used in a number of other Bionicle sets, as well as in the Vikings’ 7015 Fenris Wolf set, and of course the distinctive Bohrok Windscreen 4 x 5 x 7 with Black Scales and Nuhvok-Kal Logo (I consider it new here instead of re-coloured because it’s a huge change with respect to the previous series).

The opaque windscreen with the personalised Nuhvok-Kal Logo on it works better then the old half-transparent ones in the Bohrok series, as I think it makes Nuhvok-Kal look more solid, and it hides the dark mask from the enemy’s view until he ‘bites’.

Instructions

Cover front and back - The instructions are standard fare for a BIONICLE canned type of set. As for the Toa Nuva, the back cover shows all the masks in all the available colours from this sub-line. Moreover, every set of 8 masks is accompanied by an image of the –Kal in whose can they can be found.

Random page - The colours can be easily tell apart and the print detail is very good.

The fact that the background is designed to evoke the inside of the swarms’ nest is very nice, too.

The can also contains a small promotional booklet with some comics and a list of the other sets in this sub-line.

The draw is nice, and the ‘into the Bohrok nest’ theme evokes a feel somewhat similar to that of a Xenomorph nest in the Alien saga (we’ll get back to the similarities with these fictional species later on).

Additional model – Like the Toa Nuva, the Bohrok-Kal can unite in trios to form bigger beings. Nuhvok-Kal fuses with Tahnok-Kal and Pahrak-Kal.

Having just this one Bohrok-Kal set, I could never build the combination model. The use of Nuhvok-Kal’s shields for the right hand, though, seems to suggest the idea of a chain-saw hand to me.

Building

Start

We start by building his main body, with the action feature mechanism and the blocking rubber band.

The mechanism works smoothly and is built so that it does not compromise the overall look or simplicity of build.

Once we complete the main body and the limbs we have a thick disk surrounded by scattered limbs.

I really like how the eyes and teeth are clearly visible under the front carapace.

Finished set

Front

I really appreciate the look of these things. The concept is very similar to that of a Xenomorph from the Alien series (to the point that he has its own parasite to attach to the enemy/host face). The only main difference is the presence of the eyes just below the smooth carapace. If it wasn’t for those two shiny bright Transparent Yellow parts, he would look blind and we could think he ‘sees’ through some sort of electromagnetic radiation different from light.

Posed

Here you see Nuhvok-Kal in his attack pose. He has a unique look, which reminds me of a bird extending its neck and wings to scare the enemy off.

(Note – In this shot the rubber band was removed to allow the model to stand in the attack position on its own. Normally, the head would be brought back automatically when the finger is lifted from the trigger).

Bonus images

Open your heart for me

The mask is hosted into a craddle-like part in the middle of the head portion and under the carapace.

It is still a mystery to me if the Bohrok have to open their brains to shoot the mask and infect other beings or if they have an ‘in story’ mode to implant it, maybe through their mouth?

Do you know Metroid?

Much like the protagonist of the Metroid series, Bohrok, and –Kal are no exception, can ‘morph’ into balls when resting (and possibly travelling (Droideka anyone?)). This is achieved by turning the arms and legs inwards, with the shields covering the feet and completing the sphere from the sides.

This is one of my favourite features from this set, and I really like to keep my Nuhvok-Kal curled into a ball on my shelf, with the bright eyes surveying the surroundings, ready to open up and attack at the first sign of enemies approaching.

Final comments

Overall, Nuhvok-Kal is a fantastic figure, and probably my favourite villain in the all BIONICLE line. He's not the biggest there is, but he's part of an elite squad of warriors, and as such he features unique armour and new or re-coloured pieces, which are also excellent for MOCs (not only BIONICLE related, too). His design is very interesting, the colour scheme is excellent, and I regret not getting some of his brothers at the time.

Colours scheme - 10/10 (No complaints whatsoever. The shiny armour and the distinctive colour of the main body work really well together. The only possible better choice is that of Tahnok-Kal set.)

Parts - 8/10 (The number of new parts is very limited, but the re-coloured ones make up for it.)

Design - 10/10 (Fantastic looking, both in normal/open and in closed modes.)

Articulation - 10/10 (He has a surprisingly wide motion angle for the limbs, due to their connection behind and below the main body. It makes for some serious play and very cool and inventive poses.)

Quality - 10/10 (All the parts are of very good quality. Even though I own this set since 2003, I have built and un-built it many times, and I have used the parts for a number of MOCs, all the joints are still intact and strong.)

Overall: 48/50 Excellent

Questions, comments, and pic requests welcome!

[Front]

You just added three really great reviews to the Action Figures section, thank you.

I only built my first set of this type (8563 Tahnok from 2002) 1/2 a year ago, and have to say that the idea and execution of these "turn-into-a-ball" sets are brilliant.

This black one from 2003 has a cooler print on the face shield. I would pick up this set should I ever come across it.

[Aanchir]

Beautiful review. I might as well comment that the Krana-Kal is color 189 Reddish Gold. Took me many months to identify the official name of that color. Nowadays it's available on LDD in LEGO Universe mode, and appears on the LXF component of my BIONICLE color chart.

Not sure about the silver, but as far as I can tell it's just 131 Silver.

The Bohrok-Kal were cool sets, even though they weren't very creative (being simple recolors of the 2002 sets with different weapons). As far as new parts were concerned, the only ones were the six shield pieces, giving them the fewest new parts of any canister set series ever (not counting the BIONICLE Stars, which were closer to previous years' small sets in terms of complexity and price). Perhaps the reason for this is that LEGO knew they'd be breaking the bank with the Rahkshi later in the year, which had 29 new parts counting the canister lid and canister. Together with the Bohrok-Kal and large sets, the Rahkshi's parts resulted in a total of 46 new parts for 2003-- only one part fewer than the totals for 2002 or 2004.

Sorry to ramble. Nice to see reviews of BIONICLE sets from years past. Perhaps someday I'll review some from my own collection someday.

[LuxorV]

Thanks for the comments and the up-dates, guys.

I quite liked the first years of the series, but never became a true Bionicle expert, so it sure is useful to have someone fill the gaps in my knowledge

[prateek]

Wow. The Bohroks were some of the best sets ever. The play features were amazing. The only thing that detracts from this is that it's no different in structure from the regular Bohroks.