[REVIEW]: 70781 Protector of Earth

[VBBN]

Set name: Protector of Earth

Set number: 70783

Pieces: 63

Price: $9.99, €

Release date: 2015

Packaging and Contents

Box Front

Either Lego hasn't gotten used to the "battle in a box" idea, or some of these characters are really bad at aiming. We can see the protector of Earth firing his gatling gun into the sunset, while the Skull Spider sneaks past his gaze. And his giant spinning spiked weapon.

Box Back

We get a glimpse at the features of the set as we flip the box around. Keep in mind that this is the European packaging, so other packaging variants may differ in the way of warnings and set information.

Instructions

I'll tell you what, I wouldn't want to live in the buildings on the right, the structure holding them up is spontaneously cracking and falling off.

Standard fare. I will post all of the comics from the insides after all of the reviews are done.

New/Interesting Parts

Gatling Gun

One of the more interesting parts that has made it's way into the Protectors is this new gatling gun. Unlike the Toa who feature gearboxes, these lovely little weapons offer a very awesome new choice of "bionicle launcher" that we have come to expect. The gun is made up of two parts, a dark gray barrel, and a yellow firing pin. Once put together, they do not come apart, at least not without a lot of needless work. The connection is very comparable to the Mata heads with eyestalks. As for the firing power of this new collectible, if anyone is familiar with the minifigure blasters first introduced in Star Wars this year (also seen in wave two of Hero Factory 2014), the force behind the stud is quite similar.

New Pieces

What a beautiful pile of parts. We still have the standard head, eyestalk, and spider leg that are in most of the new sets, however as opposed to the piston add on we get the Bruizer/Pyrox armor in silver, as well as the dark purple bones and mace-halve.

Masks

We get the protector mask in black mixed with dark purple. What a fantastic mix. Although, of all the masks, it seems like this one has the least trans-plastic to it, the black took over in the molding process. Results could vary though, I don't know if this molding process leaves all of the mixes looking the same of if there are variations.

Building process

Torso

Like the Protector of Fire, the Protector of Earth gets a special torso build, i this case it mounts the gatling gun to his chest. From the back, you can see the general build of the torso and how the gear turns to fire the barrel.

Action Frame

I find it interesting that the PoE actually includes more dark purple limbs that Onua. Why onua didn't come with 4 in the first place remains to be a mystery. Anyway, the frame of the PoE is quite nice, he gets the shortest bone length to give him proper "elbows and knees" I know there has been some debate about which bones should be used where to give these guys proper proportion, but come on. Could it really be any more varied than 2006?

Armoring

As some have noted, he uses a lot of dark colors. Personally I don't see it as a problem, as the dark purple really does brighten up in person, and the gray and solid purple colors of the gatling gun break up the chest a lot. These guys dwell in the dark, I don't mind it if they look like they haven't seen the light in some time.

Weapon

Eh. I love the dark purple spiked halve, but the weapon is quite dry to me. It's not really a drill, nor a weapon, nor a shield, it's just... "hey lets make this thing spin" and given the position of the actual gear, spinning it isn't the most practical task. I would rather they have just don two halves with a chain, or maybe recolored the Power Miners drill in trans dark purple instead.

Don't get me wrong, it's not horrible to look at, it's just not what I was expecting.

Finished Set

Skull Spider

The fourth set to have the spring yellowish green skull spider.

Front

This guy looks great from the front. Solid proportions, and the gatling gun really catches the eye set against the darker body. Of course, for budgeting purposes, his studs in the launcher are a solid purple instead of trans dark purple. It's a shame that this is the only one without trans studs, but given the other recolors in the set, it's understandable.

Profile

Thankfully, the gatling gun doesn't stick too far out past his jaw.

Back

Another look at the pieces that give him his shoulders and gear functionality.

Pose 1

I find myself thinking that every time he fired that gun, he gets thrown backward from the force. The knife is an odd weapon, I would have expected that on the Protector of Jungle more so than Earth.

Pose 2

I think another problem I have with his spinning-spike-ball weapon, is that I have no clue how it's supposed to be posed. Again, a two-handed drill weapon or something would have been a totally cool and fitting tool for him.

Skull Mask

I've always disliked these spikes being used as "knives." I thought it was the most ridiculous thing on bruizer, but it actually works really well with the smaller protector size.

Conclusion

I really like the Protector of Earth. I love black and trans dark purple, and his overall design is extremely unique with the gatling gun chest. He has plenty of articulation thanks to his bone structure, and the set functionality doesn't get in the way of this. While I do wish his weapons had been a different story, they are nice for what they are and are easy to change later on if you feel the need. I would highly recommend this one, and in fact he ties with the Protector of Stone as my favorite.

[TheOneVeyronian]

Thanks for the review VBBN! This has probably got to be my favourite of all the Protectors and definitely one where I'm going to have to buy two copies. The trans-dark purple looks lovely. I've never been a big fan of the "rockwork" shell add-on, but I'm glad to see it in a colour that can be more easily integrated into constraction MOC's. The only bits I don't really like are the hand held weapons (I maintain that a gatling gun chest is pure awesomeness ), but I can see myself getting two copies of this Protector and making an oversized mace weapon for the Protector with two trans-dark purple mace halves. Then giving Onua the gift of more trans-dark purple bones as he desperately needs some in his arms.

All in all, I'm really liking this set. Roll on January!

[Kalmahiczek]

Thanks for the great review!

Protector of Earth is my favourite small set from Bionicle 2015. ;)

[Aanchir]

Either Lego hasn't gotten used to the "battle in a box" idea, or some of these characters are really bad at aiming. We can see the protector of Earth firing his gatling gun into the sunset, while the Skull Spider sneaks past his gaze. And his giant spinning spiked weapon.

Actually, if you look at the right side of the package, you can see that there's another Skull Spider leaping at him from that direction, so his aim is spot-on. It's just blurred out so buyers don't get the idea that the set includes more than one Skull Spider. The same goes for the Protector of Fire, Protector of Ice, and Protector of Jungle — all shooting at blurred-out Skull Spiders while in-focus Skull Spiders lunge at them from another direction.

As some have noted, he uses a lot of dark colors. Personally I don't see it as a problem, as the dark purple really does brighten up in person, and the gray and solid purple colors of the gatling gun break up the chest a lot. These guys dwell in the dark, I don't mind it if they look like they haven't seen the light in some time.

Him being a tunnel-dweller is exactly why his colors being so dark bothers me. Unless you have him lit brightly, the Tr. Bright Bluish Violet tends to look almost black, blending in with his black parts and making the set look like one big blob of black. And I can't think of any reason a tunnel dweller should need to be lit brightly or set against a brightly-colored backdrop to look his best. Some more silver metallic parts, perhaps on his torso, could really have helped the set, I think.

Eh. I love the dark purple spiked halve, but the weapon is quite dry to me. It's not really a drill, nor a weapon, nor a shield, it's just... "hey lets make this thing spin" and given the position of the actual gear, spinning it isn't the most practical task. I would rather they have just don two halves with a chain, or maybe recolored the Power Miners drill in trans dark purple instead.

I think it works just fine as a stylized drill or cutting head, particularly of the sort seen on many types of roadheader.

Anyway, I really like this set for its creativity, though I feel like in terms of color scheme it doesn't entirely live up to its potential.

[Kalhiki]

Now this guy. This guy's really quite cool. I must say, probably my favorite out of all the Protectors. Love the colors and the creative use of the Gatling gun.

Don't really like the knives, though. I'll probably just stick 'em in the empty axle holes on the Hordika necks for storage.

[Leewan]

So... interesting build, check. Great parts selection (those trans-purple bones ), check. Cool looking figure, check. Yup, I agree with the others, he's my favorite Protector, and by far. Thanks for the review, VBBN !

[Aethersprite]

My favourite Protector! I agree that the mace weapon is a little odd, but nothing a little modding can't fix. Thanks for the review!

[Rayskull]

its too dark, I was initially all for this set, but the others offer a nice variety of color and better transitions on the mask. The POW suffers the same lack of variety in its mask. I like the build of course! Odd that we get those types of bones in Purple (I wish I could get that bone in trans red -green or light blue.

[TheDesuComplex]

I think that the purple studs would look better if there was actual purple elsewhere on the set. My planned mods involve giving him more purple and dark grey to break up the black.

[bacem]

as usual, nice review VBBN!

among all the small sets, this is actually the only one that caught my interest. because gattling chest. and his color is actually looks good to me.

he's gonna be the only protector i buy,i guess...

and it seems you forgot to put up the "combiner" here....

[ZORK64]

Thanks for another review, VBBN.

I think the Protector of Earth is my favourite Protector. His colours are nice, and I like the overall build of this guy, although his weapons do look somewhat clunky.

[Shakar]

Noooo! That freaking rock add-on again! And they wasted a recolour for it at that! Now that I got that out of the way, I have to say I am split on this guy. The mask is amazing and I'm nothing short of grateful for TRANSPURPLETRANSPURPLETRANSPURPLE, but he's definitely too dark for me (some more silver accents would've looked fantastic), the weapons look pretty lame (both the star "quick, we must add something that spins or the kids won't buy it" drill and that knife they could've easily done without), and the chest gun is just too odd for my tastes.

That said, I really like the mask, the body design (probably better than PoF's, since there's space for back armour) and of course trans Tamaru purple. I'll probably get him anyway, if not for the set definitely for the parts.

Edited December 12, 2014 by Shakar

[Logan McOwen]

Fantastic little set.

[bjj8383]

The gun-in-chest thing seems a little silly...

[XBomber1980]

Very nice. I like his mace like tool.

[Crabster]

He looks like litle Onua in protector form.

[TheDesuComplex]

He looks like litle Onua in protector form.

The Protectors are meant to have a similar look to the Masters and be their compainions, after all. He has a similar general silhouette, but I think that he is certainly different enough.

[PenroseSteppes]

I've found a good use for the purple mace weapon is to make it look like a throwing weight. If you modify the handle so that it doesn't spin, and have the Protector lug it around at his side, it gives the the impression it's a deadly spiked weight, just waiting to be thrown at an enemy. It also works good because he's an Earth guy, and gives the impression he wields considerable strength.

[xboxtravis7992]

Actually an Earth GAL... She ain't no soft girl isn't she?