REVIEW: 71312 Ekimu the Mask Maker

[VBBN]

Set name: Ekimu the Mask Maker

Set number: 71312

Pieces:94

Price: $14.99 | £9.99 | €14.99

Release date: 2016

Ekimu is back, and he's back more transparent than ever. How does this Toa-sized version of our mask maker stand up? Let's find out.

These sets were graciously provided by LEGO to review- All thoughts in this review are my own opinions and not those of LEGO.

Front

If you've purchased a Bionicle set in the past two years, you won't find anything surprising here. I'm quite a fan of Ekimu's pose here, I don't quite know the significance of Umarak's mask here yet but Ekimu stepping on it really steps up the tone a bit.

Back

The back highlights the set's features, and also a small comic which just shows Umarak facing off with Ekimu.

Interesting parts

Firstly, we have a brand new armor piece in a crystal shape. It's a pretty heft piece, and has a really nice shape, though it doesn't really wrap around bones all too well, so it leaves something to be desired- we will look at this in the other reviews, since currently Ekimu only uses this piece in his weapon. Also, we get the highly-greebled chest plate from the Toa in a trans light blue. While i wasn't a huge fan of this piece before, I really like how it looks in this color.

Masks

First up, we have the Mask of Creation in trans light blue. While i know some people would have preferred this in gold mixed with trans light blue, I think this looks pretty cool. (Plus, who knows, maybe the mixed one is coming next year!) We also get Umarak the Hunter's mask in dark pearl gray mixed with trans neon orange.

New mask, old body

The recolored mask looks quite nice on the smaller, Protector-sized Ekimu.

Umarak's makeover

The recolored Umarak mask doesn't look too great here (Though you could swap out the trans bright green for orange)

Other option

Without needing any part swapping, this mask does work with someone else- a certain villain Ekimu previously was packaged with and fought- Kulta!

Torso

Ekimu uses the turntable torso, similar to the Toa previously in the year, but also uses a gearbox instead of a uniting feature.

Frame

Notice that Ekimu has asymmetrical arms, similar to Onua, to add some stability to his hammer-wielding arm. Unfortunately, the shoulders are the real problematic part here, not the elbow, but I'll get to this later.

Armor

As we can see, Ekimu is primarily trans light blue. I like the placement of the shells near his upper chest, it evokes the similar shape of the Protector-sized version.

More armor

We add on some more armor, including the smooth Chima add-ons and the previously seen piston pieces.I've seen some complaints about the gold disbursement, but personally I like the layout.

Hammer

The hammer is an interesting build. Unlike Ekimu's previous hammer or Onua's, there is no function here, just a solid hammer. It's an interesting use of the crystal piece, and an interesting structure behind it.

Front

The shield is mounted to the armor shell in his arm, a nice change from it normally just being held!

Side

Thanks to the upper chest armor and the gearbox, Ekimu is a bit more filled out than his Toa comrades.

Back

You can see here what i mentioned earlier- if you swing his arm upward, it does sometimes hit the front chest armor, and as a result the shoulder gets stuck.

The Mask Maker

Ekimu looks great. I was quite a fan of his Protector-sized form, and it's nice to have a proper Toa-sized variant this time around. A hammer and shield works quite well as weapons, and as "upgrades" to his previous form.

Spoils of war

For some reason, this incarnation of Ekimu seems like a really battle-hardened warrior. A warrior who has had enough of Makuta's nonsense and is ready to kick megablocks and take names. And I absolutely love it. One change I might suggest here is for the saw blade to have been recolored into a pearl dark gray, so match the hammer. As it is, I assume the ice blue is meant to evoke that "crystal" theme,e but I think a little gunmetal somewhere there could tie it to the hammer better.

Objection

Of course, the spinning waist gimmick works here just as well as ever when you place the hammer in both of his hands. Maybe it's just my copies, but I noticed my turntables on Ekimu, lava Beast, and Umarak were a bit looser. Not to the point of where the bodies turn wildly, but they don't have the squeaking issues that some of my first wave figures have.

With the golden MoCr

While the ice blue MoCr looks good on the protector-sized Ekimu, vice versa looks a bit odd due to the solid trans light blue body.

With Umarak the Hunter

Ekimu still has to look up to his horned adversary, but I quite like the difference in size here.

"My, you've grown a bit"

"Now you can pick on someone your own size."

Old and new

One thing that I enjoy about Ekimu and Umarak's second forms this year is you can really see some similarities from their previous forms- this is something I think many Hero Factory figures dropped the ball on.

Overall

In terms of Toa-sized heroes this year, Ekimu takes the cake as my favorite. He ditches the flat build of the Uniters, and opts for a better overall looking build, with nice features and a great color scheme. THere are a few things not to like here though- he comes with a relatively low amount of new and interesting parts, only feature one recolor and one new piece. Additionally, if you enjoyed some of the custom limbs and other such constructs of the Uniters, that feature is lost here- And of course, it may have been cool to unite the creatures with Ekimu, but such an ability is not possible here without rebuilding. Overall, a figure I like quite a bit, and one I'd highly recommend.

[VBBN]

This review is now complete and ready to go!

[Dorek]

He's definitely generic, but only insomuch as that he doesn't have any new parts or ideas. The overall look is phenomenal. Trans-blue MoCr is way better than a blend.

[TwistLaw]

This guy looks great, no doubt.

I agree he's the best looking Toa of the year, but for me he ties with Onua. By the way, this is the first time we see the piston add on attached through pins in an official set, isn't it?

And the Umarak mask is just delicious.

[Fulcrumfan91]

He's probably the best all around set of the wave. Decent functions, great look, decent colours, decent build. Not as interesting as other though...kind of a safe bet.

[Logan McOwen]

At first, I really wasn't going to bother with Ekimu. I didn't like all the trans blue, and I thought the mask would look silly fully translucent. And then I saw video reviews, and both of those complaints went straight out of the window.

This iteration Ekimu not only carries a lot the aesthetics of his original form over to a larger format, but he also really has 2015's much more elegant aesthetic going, which I really appreciate. I'm not even that mad about the torso shell this time around, as the pistons kinda sink away to be overridden by glowing blue goodness. The combination of two gear mechanisms is ingenious, and is something I really hope we see again in future. My only complaints would be towards the lack of a stud shooter in the hammer (I really miss that) and the overt amount of friction given to his shoulder motion - It's just too much!

Overall, a solid, aesthetically pleasing set. 9/10.

[Lyichir]

Ekimu elicited the biggest "meh" from me at Toy Fair, but while he doesn't bring a lot new to the table, he turned out to be an exceptionally solid figure. The few new parts and recolors he does have look fantastic, and the dual gear functions definitely help to make up for the loss of both of his weapon functions from last year.

[Kalhiki]

I gotta say, Ekimu has continued to impress me the more I look at him. He'll definitely be my next purchase.

I'm surprised at how well a dominantly trans color scheme worked out. Especially for the mask. Really evokes a "coursing with energy" appearance.

Thanks for all the reviews, VBBN! It's always nice reading your thoughts on the sets.

[Leewan]

Thanks for the review, Veebs.

I hadn't noticed before reading your review that Ekimu uses 5M bones for his lower legs, I was pretty sure he would come with the newly introduced 6M bones. Beside that, he's a good set, with an interesting build.

[Mutant Orc]

I also started off not thinking much of this set, but the masks it contains have grown on me and are tempting (even if black would have been somewhat nicer in Umarak's mask).

I've noticed a new problem here though that seems weird, and that's his legs. In comparison to the size and bulk of his upper body they look far too short, the lower leg especially, but the thighs as viewed from the front look scrawny as well...

Maybe I'm being too picky with this wave, there seems to be something I'm finding amiss on all of them..!

Thanks for all these reviews!

[TheDesuComplex]

I like this figure for continuing on the 'do it, but do it better with a gearbox' motto from his earlier incarnation. He isn't the flashiest and most stylized (which is probably a testament to how common transparent parts have become), but he does his job well and manages to exemplify the function in one solid figure. Plus, I like that they gave him a hammer without a studshooter in it and just focus on making a solid little weapon. I was a bit iffy on the shield, but am now sold on it after seeing the upcoming 'Ekimu's Falcon' freebie that uses the attachment to perch.

[YellowCorvette]

Thanks for the review, but unlike the others I didn't really like this set. Aside for the new parts and the color scheme, this set looks pretty boring for me.

[Jetrax99]

Those friction extenders are going on his knees to make his upper and lower legs equal in length once I get my hands on him.

[Exetrius]

When I saw prelims, I thought the trans would look horrible, but now... oh my, I'm awed! Fantastic review, I really appreciate all the comparisons as well!

[Nick Wolfe]

Honestly, Ekimu is the only set from this wave I'm even considering getting. The beasts all look awful and while Ekimu isn't perfect (his design could use some modding in the arms and thighs) his color scheme is gorgeous! And the mask looks great in trans light blue. The whole thing has a sort of angelic look that reminds me of Artakha from G1.

[ToaDraco]

He's a fantastic set and all the trans blue just glows. He may not have much in the way of new things but he takes everything that has come before and perfects it, which seems fitting.

[bobasdad]

This set is beautiful (definitely my favorite of the summer wave).

[Pate-keetongu]

I like it! The trans-blue mask looks actually quite nice, and the chest printing is excellent. Piston add-on as a back armor is nice surprise.

I don't think I'll buy this for 17€ but might pick it up from clearance or used... The mask and chest pieces look good.

Nice review too, well done that man.