REVIEW: 70795 Mask Maker vs Skull Grinder

[VBBN]

Set name: Mask Maker vs Skull Grinder

Set number: 70795

Pieces: 171

Price: $29.99 | £24.99 | €29.99

Release date: 2015

Battle against evil for the mythical Mask of Creation!

Begin the ultimate battle between good and evil with LEGO® BIONICLE® Mask Maker vs. Skull Grinder! Join forces with Ekimu, the wise Mask Maker, to prevent Skull Grinder from taking the powerful Mask of Creation. Activate the battle arm functions and let combat commence! Evade the Mask Stealer Staff as the evil Lord of the Skulls tries to knock off Mask Maker’s special Protector Mask. Defend with the rotating saw shield and attack with the Hammer of Power’s rapid shooter. You must use all of theMask Maker’s magical skills to triumph over this evil foe!

• Skull Grinder features a Skull mask with mask pop-off trigger, shell with cool metallic-effect chest decoration, 2-arm battle function, Mask Stealer Staff with 3 axe blades, hook blade, silver-colored bones, translucent rib cage and posable joints
  
• Mask Maker features a special Protector Mask with mask pop-off trigger, cool metallic-effect chest decoration, battle arm function, Hammer of Power with rapid shooter, rotating saw shield, silver-colored bones and posable joints
  
• Also includes theMask of Creation
  
• Activate the battle arm functions
  
• Attack with Skull Grinder’s Mask Stealer Staff
  
• Fire the Hammer of Power’s rapid shooter
  
• Fight to protect the Mask of Creation
  
• Durable design for intense action battles
  
• Skull Grinder stands 8” (21cm) tall
  
• Mask Maker stands 5” (14cm) tall
  
• Combine with 70794 Skull Scorpio to create a powered-up Skull Grinder using building instructions available online at LEGO.com/BIONICLE/bi
  

This is the one everyone has been waiting for, Mask Maker vs Skull Grinder! Or Ekimu vs Skull Grinder... or Skimu vs Kulta... Harry Potter vs Voldemort? Well for redundancy sake, I will be referring to them as Ekimu and Kulta accordingly. Anyway, this of course has the coveted Mask of Creation- but you aren't paying $30 for just the mask, is the rest of this set equally as worthy? Read on to decide for yourself!

Packaging

Box Front

This set is the only Bionicle set this year that comes in an actual box as opposed to a hexagonal shaped package. Keep in mind that this is the European packaging, so what info is displayed may be different than other countries. The box displays the two fighting over the Mask of Creation, with a nice look at Okoto in the backdrop.

Box Back

The back shows a comic panel, combo model, and set features. Since it's a box, there are sides for all of the safety info, which means there is none of that clouding up the back.

New / Interesting Pieces

Bones and Weapons

The set includes the narrow torso bone in silver, which is a nice change from the usual black. We also have the new bone piece, modeled to look like a real bone. Also, you get both of the new molds of weapon for the villains, which are designed with "hooks" to pull masks off of opposing sets.

Trans Parts

We have the stud launcher in trans light blue (also found in Skull Warrior), the eyestalk in trans neon orange, and the brand new torso shell in trans neon orange as well.

Misc Parts

First, we have the breastplate with a print, very similar to the other skull villain's prints. I have pictured the golden Chima armor add on here- it's not new, and we have seen in in Queen Beast, but this is still relatively rare for Americans (or anywhere that Chima Constraction didn't end up in), so I have it pictured. (This section is new and interesting parts, anyway) Next there is a decorative golden piece, the stud launcher firing pin in light gray, and the new armor add on, which is fairly large.

Masks

Oh boy, this is a lovely sight to see. First, we have the protector mask, in gold mixed with trans light blue. Next, the absolutely stunning Mask of Creation. Don't you worry, there's plenty of photos of this bad boy coming up. Finally, we have Kulta's mask, which is the same as Warrior's. I adore this design, and to have it in a different color is certainly welcomed- as opposed to Scorpio/Basher who have the same mask in the same color.

Mask Stand

Building

We do get a stand for the MoCr, which is simple but, well, somewhat effective.

Rotation

...

What? Oh, right, I have to actually talk about the mask instead of just staring at it. It's fantastic. The detail is perfect- I've been wanting this mask ever since the first image of it appeared last year.

The "official" way?

As far as i can tell, this is how the mask is officially supposed to sit on the stand. problem is, it moves too much, the little Technic bit doesn't hold it up at all, it just slides right off of it.

Mask Maker (Ekimu)

Gearbox

Although Ekimu is Protector sized, he does feature a gearbox- with two friction gears? The hammer isn't heavy in any way, although I'd rather have more friction than not enough in this case, because it's easy enough to remove if it was too much.

Action Frame

He has a standard protector bone structure, nothing groundbreaking there.

Armoring

Gold really brings out the trans light blue. Those familiar with the size of the Protector of Fire will be familiar with how chunky this particular build is.

Shield

The first weapon you build is his buzz-shield. Like most Protector sized weapons, it is simple and does have a spinning feature.

Hammer

The hammer is a creative use of the stud launcher piece, and does actually look like a proper hammer. Maybe Ekimu and Onua can become home improvement workers? The gun can be fired by twisting the rear side of the hammer.

Front

Ekimu looks fantastic. His weapons, proportions, color scheme, in my opinion the best of the protector builds this year.

Profile View

He has a fairly bulky upper half thanks to the chest, gearbox and large shoulder pads.

Back View

There's only so much you can do with a gearbox to hide it, so not horrible all things considered.

The Legend

Thankfully, the shortest bone pieces were added to give him "elbows and knees" if that's what you want to call them- either way they add to the poseability in a positive way.

The Mask of Creation

You know what's about to happen.

Activate Ac-Activate

Oh yes. Also I'm really happy he can pull off this pose. Whether you interpret it as him placing the mask on his face or facepalming is another matter.

Victory

I'm having too much fun with this. I thought the mask would look too big on Ekimu, but it actually looks fantastic.

Hello There

I'm not really sure what else there is to say at this point- I could tell you to go buy this set right now and we haven't even gotten to the big bad himself yet.

Tahu with MoCr

Surprisingly, this doesn't look as good as I envisioned. I think Ekimu will stay the wearer of this for a while.

Skull Grinder (Kulta)

Gearbox

Kulta's gearbox uses these large turret pieces, which results in an interesting shape, though the function is just a simple double-arm swing.

Action Frame

For those who have read the other villain's reviews up to this point, you can already tell this guy is going to be the tallest of the Skull Villains.

Armored

He utilizes four of the new armor add-on to give some bulk, and the extra pieces to the gearbox help to fill out his torso.

Weapon

So here is his mask-grabbing-staff-of-doom; Okay you basically build a droid tri-fighter.

Front

Kulta is fantastic. His color scheme isn't as colorful as the other villains, because he uses the trans neon orange as a main color, but it still looks great. It is a bit jarring to see such thin limbs turn into bulky limbs and a torso, but it's a unique look and really is what the skull villains are supposed to be.

Profile View

This is not Kulta's greatest view. The chest armor sticks out quite a bit- you can lower his neck into it, but as a result his chin ends up behind his breastplate.

Back View

Bonus points for being the only villain of the wave to have an armor shell on his back.

Lift it High

The gear function works, but this is a really heavy weapon and has some weight issues, although the issues lie more in his arms not supporting the weight, not the gears.

Spooky Scary Skeletons Send Shivers Down Your Spine

Yes, he is the biggest set of the villains and is still quite barren in the armor department, but in this instance I think it works just fine.

The Dead will RISE

The staff can actually hold the MoCr, which is nice.

Come at me bro

The MoCr does in fact work even with the horns on the side of the head.

Size Comparison

Kulta is equally as tall as Tahu, making him the tallest of the villains and a nice matchup to the tallest of Toa.

Complete Set

The mask is attached in the "official" way here, but again I had to tilt it back to keep it on.

Overall

Last year, I told you to go buy Gali immediately after reading my review. I'm going to tell you to do that again. This set is awesome. The Mask of Creation is a strong selling point, but you also have Ekimu who is a really great protector build, with a great look, a simple but nice function, and a good set of weapons. Kulta is the largest of the villains, and has a cohesive color scheme, with a great mask and a very imposing staff. It's a battle in a box and, in my opinion, has the strongest protector-sized build of the year and one of the better villains of the wave. So, yeah, go buy this.

[TwistLaw]

I love you VVBN.

Also this set gave me an erection.

Edited July 13, 2015 by TwistLaw

[Silent Nomad]

I'm definitely planning to get this set. I wonder what Ekimu would look like with a blue eyestalk and black bones where they're shown in the Legend animation, as well as two more of the hammer back pieces for the front. Also, can Ekimu still hold his hammer up with only one supporting gear (If he can, I'm giving the extra gear to Kulta)? I'm planning to make those changes once I get the set, but I'd like to see what it looks like, and in the case of the question, if it works, beforehand.

[YellowCorvette]

Great review and a fantastic set ,i will definetly buy this set (If i have enough money to get it).

This the best Wave 2 Bionicle set that make me want it,and it's nice to have a set that have 1 good guy and 1 bad guy.

Anyway,great review!

[Im a brickmaster.]

Well some one had fun doing this review! Still not 100% sold on these next gen Bionicles, but I will say the set looks pretty sweet!

[Logan McOwen]

Superb set. No questions asked.

[Aanchir]

It's great to have Ekimu in a set! His shield was a great surprise when we first saw it at Toy Fair! It's very creative, using the decorative carriage wheel from the Disney Princess sets with the saw blade to create a weapon that feels both powerful and elegant. His hammer is also nicely designed. Besides the shield and his eye color, he's a perfect match for how he has appeared so far in the webisodes.

I'm a bit disappointed with how the shells on the Mask Maker's chest don't wrap around his chest plate as well as they did on Protector of Fire, but I suppose that's unavoidable due to him using a gearbox. He still looks plenty cohesive, especially with so much Tr. Light Blue and Warm Gold throughout his build. The mask stand is a nice feature to include, but I'm a bit puzzled by it since it's easy to create a simpler and more stable mask stand by swapping the top four pieces with one of these.

Skull Grinder looks great. His color scheme being so dominated by Tr. Flu. Reddish Orange really helps establish that he's the baddest of this year's baddies, but there's still enough neutral colors to ensure that he feels more like an evil skeleton character than a fire character. Like Skull Basher, his armor wraps around his shoulders and knees quite nicely. I'm surprised you didn't mention his horns among the new and interesting parts, since those are a new recolor of a new part for this year, previously used in Flame Yellowish Orange in a few Legends of Chima sets.

His weapons are nice (the hook blade's lack of weight probably helps make up for the massive weight of the mask stealer staff), but the huge gap between his neck and torso definitely bothers me. Bit disappointing to hear that the weight problems in his arms are more a matter of the ball joints than the gears/friction pins, since adding more gears or friction pins would have been easy thanks to his shoulder construction.

Build-wise, Ekimu is slightly bulkier and more complex than you'd expect a $10 set to be, while Kulta is slightly less bulky and complex than you'd expect a $20 set to be, so together I think they add up to a good value for a $30 set. I can, however, understand why some people are disappointed not to get a "titan-sized" villain this year, because all things considered Kulta is only around the same size as Tahu, and considerably less bulky.

As a whole, the set is awesome. There's great contrast between the two characters in terms of size, color scheme, and motifs, and the play value also seems better than most of the other skull villains since this is the only one to feature a built-in conflict. Generally I think the LEGO Group made the right call in making this the flagship set for this year. Great review!

Edited July 13, 2015 by Aanchir

[Exetrius]

Great review! I really love the pose with Ekimu holding the Mask of Creation in the air, in general most of the poses look quite epic and really make me want to buy this as soon as possible

Without a doubt my favorite Bionicle set in years

[One Very Agile Cat]

I feel like the vestigel shoulder balls from the torso are perfectly placed for filling in the gap in the chest somehow. Either way, great set.

[VBBN]

Glad everyone is loving this set as much as I do!

I'm definitely planning to get this set. I wonder what Ekimu would look like with a blue eyestalk and black bones where they're shown in the Legend animation, as well as two more of the hammer back pieces for the front. Also, can Ekimu still hold his hammer up with only one supporting gear (If he can, I'm giving the extra gear to Kulta)? I'm planning to make those changes once I get the set, but I'd like to see what it looks like, and in the case of the question, if it works, beforehand.

Yes the hammer is supported with only one of the friction gears, you can easily use the other gear for Grinder.

I'm surprised you didn't mention his horns among the new and interesting parts, since those are a new recolor of a new part for this year, previously used in Flame Yellowish Orange in a few Legends of Chima sets.

Missed that, I will reshoot the photo soon and add that in. Thanks

His weapons are nice (the hook blade's lack of weight probably helps make up for the massive weight of the mask stealer staff), but the huge gap between his neck and torso definitely bothers me. Bit disappointing to hear that the weight problems in his arms are more a matter of the ball joints than the gears/friction pins, since adding more gears or friction pins would have been easy thanks to his shoulder construction.

The weight of the weapon isn't really a big deal, I mean it does move the wrist around but it's not like a crippling problem by any stretch. If anything the weapon is so big that it's awkward for the size of his arms.

Great review! I really love the pose with Ekimu holding the Mask of Creation in the air, in general most of the poses look quite epic and really make me want to buy this as soon as possible

Thanks! Posing is my favorite part of doing these reviews and why I love Action Figure sets so much

[TheDesuComplex]

I'm definitely planning to get this set. I wonder what Ekimu would look like with a blue eyestalk and black bones where they're shown in the Legend animation, as well as two more of the hammer back pieces for the front. Also, can Ekimu still hold his hammer up with only one supporting gear (If he can, I'm giving the extra gear to Kulta)? I'm planning to make those changes once I get the set, but I'd like to see what it looks like, and in the case of the question, if it works, beforehand.

I've had my own version built for a long time based on the Legend animations, and I can say one thing for sure- that, as a set, the transparent bones look so much better. The thing about Trans-Light-Blue is that it is amazing at capturing the light. Using that color of bones with Gold really brings out a crystalline vibrancy that makes the set gorgeous. I am hoping that when they wake Ekimu up his model more closely matches the set, with differences that can be attributed to his long coma.

It's great to have Ekimu in a set! His shield was a great surprise when we first saw it at Toy Fair! It's very creative, using the decorative carriage wheel from the Disney Princess sets with the saw blade to create a weapon that feels both powerful and elegant. His hammer is also nicely designed. Besides the shield and his eye color, he's a perfect match for how he has appeared so far in the webisodes.

I'm a bit disappointed with how the shells on the Mask Maker's chest don't wrap around his chest plate as well as they did on Protector of Fire, but I suppose that's unavoidable due to him using a gearbox. He still looks plenty cohesive, especially with so much Tr. Light Blue and Warm Gold throughout his build. The mask stand is a nice feature to include, but I'm a bit puzzled by it since it's easy to create a simpler and more stable mask stand by swapping the top four pieces with one of these.

I agree on the shield! It's a surprising inclusion that I am not regretting at all, because it works for the reasons you said. On the chest armor, they could have easily attached it in a way to make it all fit with minimal parts use and compact enough to work. Once again, I did it on mine with two of these and two of these.

[One Very Agile Cat]

Only problem is the trans blue shell they mounted the chest piece on is too short to attach directly to the torso, and I don't think they make it in the size you used.

[TheDesuComplex]

Only problem is the trans blue shell they mounted the chest piece on is too short to attach directly to the torso, and I don't think they make it in the size you used.

They don't, sadly. I am using a spare 5L armor in Dark Azure, which works better than the plain blue I had in there as a stand-in.

[BBBeavarr]

Man this set is glorious. I'm so glad that they decided to go for the extra detail and put those runic markings on the MoCR. Grinder looks beautiful and so does Ekimu. I am also head over heels for that new skull mask...

I'm definitely going to be taking the second friction gear off of Ekimu and putting it on Grinder, though; he almost certainly needs it for that staff arm. Also that red color on Grinder's chestplate doesn't quite fit in with anything else, but I can overlook that when everything else is great. Fantastic set.

[Silent Nomad]

I've had my own version built for a long time based on the Legend animations, and I can say one thing for sure- that, as a set, the transparent bones look so much better. The thing about Trans-Light-Blue is that it is amazing at capturing the light. Using that color of bones with Gold really brings out a crystalline vibrancy that makes the set gorgeous. I am hoping that when they wake Ekimu up his model more closely matches the set, with differences that can be attributed to his long coma.

Do you have any input on how the hammer would look with the two pieces on the back duplicated for the front? I'm not that excited about the idea of a hammer being a shooter, and I'm curious about the look.

[TheDesuComplex]

Do you have any input on how the hammer would look with the two pieces on the back duplicated for the front? I'm not that excited about the idea of a hammer being a shooter, and I'm curious about the look.

Pretty much like it will when it is a shooter, just without studs on the front. It would look a bit more uniform probably. Sadly, I don't have a bunch of those pieces spare.

Since this is my third post in this thread, I guess I might as well give my opinions on the set!

Mask Maker- as I have said before, while I was not expecting him to use tons of trans-light-blue bones or that ornate shield, they are certainly welcome additions to the set as they complement him well. Not sure how animation accurate they are though, but considering the wonderful chin on Skull Grinder in the animations I am not sure if I will keep taking those to heart as much. As a set though I am glad that they were able to work in both a gear function and a stud shooter.

Skull Grinder- I certainly like him, but he feels the most plain out of all the Skull Villains, not only the most uniform and humanoid but also very gappy. My favorite part of him is using the hubs on the gearbox, as they give him an interesting bit of bulk. Otherwise he seems destined for an overhaul from me.

[VBBN]

Do you have any input on how the hammer would look with the two pieces on the back duplicated for the front? I'm not that excited about the idea of a hammer being a shooter, and I'm curious about the look.

Crappy mobile pic, but you get the idea of how it looks.

[lockdownTF]

are then any sets which have white versions of that bone joint piece?

[Lyichir]

are then any sets which have white versions of that bone joint piece?

No. We might see some at some point (for instance, if there's another System theme with Skeleton baddies), but currently Silver Metallic is the only color they come in.

[Silent Nomad]

Crappy mobile pic, but you get the idea of how it looks.

I do indeed, and I like it very much, except that I might simplify the handle somewhat, since it doesn't need to be complicated with the shooter function done away with. Now all that remains to be seen is how he looks with blue eyes instead of the green.

[Kalhiki]

Definitely the day one purchase set. Thanks for the review, VBBN!

Though I think I'm gonna swap Nilkuu's and Ekimu's eyes giving them more accurate eye colors to their animation models. And maybe lower Kulta's torso armor a module. Looks like he's being strangled by his chest.

[Lyichir]

Definitely the day one purchase set. Thanks for the review, VBBN!

Though I think I'm gonna swap Nilkuu's and Ekimu's eyes giving them more accurate eye colors to their animation models. And maybe lower Kulta's torso armor a module. Looks like he's being strangled by his chest.

At first I was a bit confused by what you meant until I realized that, after taking him apart and rebuilding him multiple times, I had accidentally done exactly that. It's weird that the instructions have you place his chest so high since the height it has it in the instructions could have been achieved with one part fewer, and lowering it by a module centers it nicely on his extra-long torso.