Review: 8988 Glatorian Legends Gelu

[WriteMakesRight]

Set Number: 8988

Set Name: Glatorian Legends Gelu

Price: $12.99

Place of Purchase: Toys'R'Us, Central New Jersey, USA

Build Time: >5 Minutes

Comprehension of Bionicle Storyline: Limited to None

Howdy!

Long-time reader, first time reviewer.

Stopped by Toys'R'Us today while on my lunch break looking (in vain) for the new Sports Car (8402), but found all of the new Glatorian Legends instead.

Having bought the previous two Bionicle sets in the Arctic sub-theme (Metus & Strakk; purchased in the middle of blizzard) I decided to pick up this guy as well.

Packaging:

The box art for this guy is sharp and striking: icicles border the main figure, posed in a dynamic and exciting fashion. The back of the packaging depicts the other sets available.

Instruction Booklet:

Again, pretty standard stuff here: image of the set flanked by a kind reminder from TLG that eating pointy plastic bits is detrimental to your health. The starburst in the background is really eye-catching though, it draws the builder's attention right to the figure. Really slick design work on TLG's part.

Random Instruction Page:

Straightforward build, nothing revolutionary or extraordinary. The pages themselves do have a nice arctic blue tint to them, as well as a small depiction of a Glatorian arena along the lower border.

We get a glimpse of what's to come later this summer towards the end of the instruction booklet: Max Max-cum-Ben Hur gladiatorial contraptions. They look to be extraordinarily detailed and horrifically expensive.

The Parts:

The stock body parts are cast in a nice royal blue; the bulky shins are new to me, but may have been used on other sets in the Glatorian Legends line. The razor-edged snowflake-death-weapons were seen earlier this year with Metus, while the mask and giant-ice-spear weapons are brand new. Open-faced and streamlined, the mask is cast in dual plastics, white fading to translucent blue; the angled, icy flow of the piece suggesting great speed on the part of the wearer. The ice spear pieces are also cast in dual plastics, this time silver building to blue. The handles are made of a harder plastic then the blades, which are rather soft and pliable (due to the looming specter of juvenile ocular trauma).

The Build:

Piece call-outs on every page aid in the crippling simplicity of the build. Another friendly reminder from TLG reminds children NOT to fire the latest plastic projectile ball-weapons at the faces of their friends, pets, or loved ones.

The Finished Set:

As expectantly simplistic as the construction of this set was, the sheer bad-$%^ery of the completed product is nearly impossible to deny. Looking imposing and suitably frozen, Gelu radiates with an aura of arctic fury (aided admirably by the translucent blue flanking of his weapon, snowflake shoulder armor and mask). The mechanized appearance is less overt than with most Bionicle sets, the new hand molds helping the figure seem more techno-organic then merely technological (even with the stalwart presence of that bizarre gear-crotch).

Posing is, as is to be expected, excellent, with thirteen points of articulation allowing Gelu to reign down righteous vengeance on behalf of his people. Or break dance. Whichever your preference may be.

Comparison Shots:

Gelu stands here, surrounded by his comrades-in-arms Strakk and Metus. While Strakk is slightly taller, Gelu feels more solid, with better proportions. (Of course, Strakk also has a immense frozen ax of glacial destruction, and icicle-spike shoulder pads, which makes him well worth the purchase on his own.)

To me, Gelu, Strakk and Metus comprise the native pantheon of gods on Ice Planet 2002. While the tiny alien miners toil away with their translucent orange chainsaws, harvesting vast amounts of... well... ice, I guess; the three ancient deities wait for opportune time to strike, constructing blizzards of unimaginable fury to strike down upon these destructive interlopers.

Random Shots:

Mask, Front:

The new translucent (color-coordinated) heads are much more expressive then the pseudo-creepy Predator-esque modules from older Bionicle sets.

Mask, Profile:

Edged Weapon Posed Against Alma-Mater Yearbook:

Final Score:

Price: 7/10 $12.99US is fairly expensive, but the figure you get is sturdy, flexible and dynamic, worth the money, if you can swing it.

Parts: 5/10 While the mask is simply incredible, there are no real OMGMUSTHAVE pieces in this set. Though does one buy a Bionicle set for part diversity?

Build: 7/10 Piece call outs on every page, a piece count under 60 and large, easily distinguishable parts do not a difficult build make. However, it's basically an action figure with 'some assembly required'; and when was the last time you could swap Spider-man's limbs with Batman's?

Overall: 9/10 The design screams fast, powerful and cold; which is exactly what you would want in an set meant to depict a mechanized gladiator lifeform from the frozen north. I had no qualms purchasing it, and can't wait to test his mettle against the scientific hordes of Ice Planet 2002.

Hope you enjoyed the review! Thanks for reading!

-writemakesright

Edited October 17, 2009 by 3D Brickthing

[Bfahome]

So, for some reason I cannot add any more images to the review. (Space exceeded.)

If someone could please help me out with this, I'll gladly continue my review.

You should upload the images to a hosting site like Brickshelf and put the urls in tags. I'm not sure how the attachment system works, but I don't think it's made for a large number of files.

But I love the bits I'm seeing. <3

[KimT]

You should upload the images to a hosting site like Brickshelf and put the urls in tags. I'm not sure how the attachment system works, but I don't think it's made for a large number of files.

But I love the bits I'm seeing. <3

Since attachments take up space on the server we've decided to limit the amount of space useable by members.

As mentioned upload your pics to for example brickshelf.com and 'deeplink' them.

Click the link in my signature to get to the tutorial index on 'How to...'.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts

[WriteMakesRight]

Thanks for your help!

[Nightmare]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts and pictures with us Gelu looks really a great set. Man, I better start saving 'cuz I want all fo them!

[KimT]

Thanks for reviewing this.

I've added a poll and made it part of the Review Index.

[Lordofdragonss]

Woah! his mask/helmet is awesome, and I really like his weapons... They looks like wings!

Great review and really nice pictures(aspecialy mask one!)

[Bundalings]

the bulky shins are new to me, but may have been used on other sets in the Glatorian Legends line.

Those actually first came out with the Vahki, way back in 2004 (lol, way back ), and have been used pretty regularly ever since.

Great review. I really enjoyed reading it. Great pics too. Gelu looks like he might be more worth the purchase than I first thought....

Make sure to do more reviews if you get more Bionicle sets, k? =P

~Bunda

Edited June 12, 2009 by Bundalings

[Bfahome]

Hey, can you get a pic of Gelu with Metus' helmet on and vice versa? I want to know what they'd look like.

[calebexo01]

awesome set. im definatly buying this. thanks!

[Clonie]

I had no idea Gelu was this awesome.

All the Legends are now win.

[Algernon]

This guy's actually pretty cool. He looks like a Gundam.

[Icesaber]

Wow, didn't know they were out yet. I really like Gelu's mask, the blades are a bit short but whatever! I like him! I would use your profile shot (with permission!) for my avatar but you're using it ;) !

Also nice pics.