Best titans/large beast?

[vexorian]

Edit: Large beasts, I meant beasts.

Well, I have reached a point in which I have no idea what to buy next. So let us have a discussion about what titan or big rahi are really worth having. Note that we can include combiners, HF stuff and even Ben 10 and Star Wars combiners. Anything "Large Action Figure" qualifies.

From the few titans I own:

Exo-toa: This thing exudes coolness in its technological look and actual play features. I think it is the last of its kind because after it things focused into poseability instead of technic stuff (for better or worse). Of course, it is almost impossible to make it stand...

Axxon AND Brutaka: These guys look amazing when posing together. They contrast each other in a way that it is very hard to describe. Also, they are the first titans to use piston legs and their design overall lacks holes and they both look great from any perspective. Gold and silver madness. However, since the titan design is not all about pistons, you can feel the lack of a stronger hip design, specially with Brutaka. Also the arm shoulder connections are rather weak.

Keetongu: This one shines because of how different it looks from other Bionicle stuff, plus the color scheme is quite rare as well. THE Shield! That's cool. Unfortunately this guy is in the middle road between Exo-toa and Axxon and the lack of a stronger design (specially pistons) or the replacement strong-but-unposeable pieces from exo-toa/ makuta make it very hard to pose.

Tuma: Tons of time of evolution afterwards, I think this set is important because it makes a great titan template as it sure shows how the designers reached some sort of perfection. Piston legs, double hip and shoulder connection. He is very poseable AND his poses are strong. But the exterior itself could have been better. Nice wings though. I wish I would have bought two of him. I was just getting out of my dark age when I made the decision to buy him for Christmas last layer.

Kardas: Laaaaaarge. Unfortunately , not a lot of fun in regards to posing (although the legs are very strong, there is a trade-off for sure. The tail is also very hard to manage). The color scheme is a little whacky but I fixed it by replacing the silver pieces with gold pieces. I LOVE THE WING DESIGN. The guy is perfect for show as just the size, the teeth and the wings would impress anyone :).

I think those are the most notable titans I have personally met and seen.

Edited October 24, 2010 by vexorian

[Aanchir]

Muaka and Kane-Ra (2001): Not the most attractive, but they're really fun to play with (even more so than the sets I had from the Competition/Cyber Slam theme). Rather than using a stock action feature, the complex action features of these sets are never duplicated in any set. As you squeeze the body, the neck stretches forward, the mouth opens, and when the neck reaches its maximum length the jaw snaps shut. It remains closed as you release pressure, pulling back whatever it might have caught in its mouth. Battle between the two involves using the mouths to grab and remove the masks-- and by extension, the axles that hold the legs on, meaning that after two successful thrusts the opponents' legs fall off. A bit violent as far as BIONICLE is concerned, but still pure genius.

Roodaka (2005): You have to admit that a design most amateur MOCists choose to copy for any female character has to be at least decent (or at least, beyond anything that such MOCists are willing to come up with themselves). While she can't be posed in too many interesting ways due to those awkward high heels, of all characters she has perhaps the most design consideration for how she looks from any and every angle. Color scheme is organized strategically to simulate the look of a rather scanty outfit, black "skin", and silver hair. Even if it wasn't the sort of thing that could really succeed in the preteen/early-teen action figure market, and even if it's not the sexiest build possible, an AFOL can certainly appreciate the effort that went into making a feminine-looking design.

Takanuva (2008): Another titan set that's awesome for purely aesthetic reasons. While it scarcely even tries to look like a larger version of the original set, it's without a doubt better than Toa Mata Nui who tried and failed in several ways. The build isn't remotely as interesting as that of Toa Mata Nui, but the eventual design is simpler and thus easier to appreciate. And again, design is considered from every angle, unlike many sets that have rather underwhelming appearances from back or side view. His mask design is a wonderful re-imagining of the original, and inexplicably is a perfect-- even ideal-- fit for a 2001-2003 Matoran head. Good luck making use of that, though.

Ben 10 combo models: Admittedly, a good builder could probably do much better, and needn't base their purchases on these suggestions. But on that note, if it weren't for these official combo models on the LEGO website, I myself wouldn't have considered a decent larger combo model even remotely possible.

Pit War Tortoise and Zyglak: After the decidedly underwhelming Piraka combo models, these two amazing combo models made from the parts of the Barraki sets were totally unexpected. Decent color schemes, imaginative structures, and unique overall appearance left Piraka combo models in the dust, along with even some of the Kaita models of years past. These demonstrated that even sets with vastly different builds, specific color schemes involving unique color blends, and many specialized parts could be combined into a quality model. It's a pity they were some of the last combo models to appear, but at least they made it clear that combo models were something worth remembering.

[Aethersprite]

Pit War Tortoise and Zyglak: After the decidedly underwhelming Piraka combo models, these two amazing combo models made from the parts of the Barraki sets were totally unexpected. Decent color schemes, imaginative structures, and unique overall appearance left Piraka combo models in the dust, along with even some of the Kaita models of years past. These demonstrated that even sets with vastly different builds, specific color schemes involving unique color blends, and many specialized parts could be combined into a quality model. It's a pity they were some of the last combo models to appear, but at least they made it clear that combo models were something worth remembering.

I totally agree. Those 2 are by far one of the best combo models in terms of the aesthetic look.

I don't have time to elaborate a lot, by my favourite titans are Twilight Takanuva, Kardas, and Axxon & Brutaka.

[The Alchemyst]

Takanuva 08 for sheer amount of those ball joints and great pieces. Also well articulated and looks pretty nice.

Loved the look of Brutaka as well. The colors just worked so well.

Props to Nocturn for having lime and glowy pieces.

[Refia]

Muaka & Kane-Ra were the first Bionicle sets I owned, and definately deserve a spot on my list. Though very technical in their build, and not very posable, these two managed to be clearly beasts made out of mostly non specific, normal technic parts. Something later beasts, such as Gadunka, could not do anymore.

Cahdok & Gahdok, the Bahrag twins. Nope, they're not the most posable of titans, but boy were these two fun to build and they are just dripping with great design and appealing looks. The colour schemes work, the design, holy, the design! Dinosaur-ish sets, what's not to love?

Axonn and Brutaka. As far as humanoid titans go, these two are perfect. Perfect colour schemes, perfect proportions when put together (Axonn short and bulky, Brutaka tall and lean). Made before the days of double joints at the hips and shoulders, they were very posable, and had some great new parts. Brutaka's blade and kanohi are still some of the best Bionicle ever came out with, IMHO, and his gold and blue colour scheme just works. Awesome set, and Axonn is no less good.

Takanuva 2008. The set that introduced the double hip-joints and shoulder-joints to Bionicle. A very enjoyable build, too. Better yet, he looks so streamlined! Everything about this set screams "Finished!". From his nicely filled shoulders, thanks to those Takadox heads, to the Mistika shield serving perfectly as torso armor, this set was great. Points of criticism would probably be his colour scheme. If he had been white and gold, he would have ruled even more. And the holes in his shins. Then again, if you look at how they tried to fix it with Toa Mata Nui, a set I also own, I'd rather stick with the holes. While Takanuva 2008 did not have as many custom builds as Toa Mata Nui and relied of one-piece parts for his torso, for example, he's still vastly superior to his 2009 successor. And the new Avohkii is also a strong point of this set. While every Phantoka and Mistika Toa Nuva failed majorly at being the characters they were supposed to be, Takanuva avoided this problem perfectly by simply having a Kanohi where you didn't have to squeeze yourself in fifty angles and study it under a microscope to see the similarities to the original. Why couldn't LEGO have done this for the rest of the Toa Nuva, I wonder?

Oh, and that Power Lance. Nothing short of great. Enough said.

Edited October 26, 2010 by Refia

[Aanchir]

Takanuva 2008. The set that introduced the double hip-joints and shoulder-joints to Bionicle. A very enjoyable build, too. Better yet, he looks so streamlined! Everything about this set screams "Finished!". From his nicely filled shoulders, thanks to those Takadox heads, to the Mistika shield serving perfectly as torso armor, this set was great. Points of criticism would probably be his colour scheme. If he had been white and gold, he would have ruled even more. And the holes in his shins. Then again, if you look at how they tried to fix it with Toa Mata Nui, a set I also own, I'd rather stick with the holes. While Takanuva 2008 did not have as many custom builds as Toa Mata Nui and relied of one-piece parts for his torso, for example, he's still vastly superior to his 2009 successor. And the new Avohkii is also a strong point of this set. While every Phantoka and Mistika Toa Nuva failed majorly at being the characters they were supposed to be, Takanuva avoided this problem perfectly by simply having a Kanohi where you didn't have to squeeze yourself in fifty angles and study it under a microscope to see the similarities to the original. Why couldn't LEGO have done this for the rest of the Toa Nuva, I wonder?

Oh, and that Power Lance. Nothing short of great. Enough said.

IMO the masks for Pohatu and Lewa from the vehicle sets were also pretty clearly new versions of the Kakama Nuva and Miru Nuva. Wasn't too much a fan of Lewa's, though, as for some reason despite its clearer resemblance to the old mask it didn't really express such a "Lewa-ish" personality as the Phantoka version. Also, for reasons unknown they eliminated the top spike/fin from the Phantoka version-- if they had kept it, he'd have had five fins, just as the 2002 version had five spikes.

There were also some similarities with the Phantoka masks, but they were subtler. And you really had to grasp at straws to depict any similarity between the Mistika masks and their 2002 predecessors (besides Tahu's mask's forehead and silhouette, which despite similarities evoked a completely different personality than the old Hau Nuva).

Sorry about the rant. It was good to review an old discussion point, and really brings back memories from my BZPower days. Thankfully, favorable ones.

I also agree that while Takanuva wasn't as creative as Toa Mata Nui (i.e. using a pre-existing torso construction rather than a custom pin-and-beam torso), he was a lot more aesthetically appealing in terms of color scheme, stylistic consistency, and physique.

[zero1312]

Probably just my opinion, but:

Sidorak(2005): Okay the loose joints are a small damper, but his looks make it obsolete. Also the rotor spinner and the extending blade are two of the better working gimmicks.

And of course:

Makuta(2003): The original villian from BIONICLE, complete with a GREAT looks and a nice gimmick.

[MuffinStuff]

Well, of course get maxilos and spinax, (Mainly for maxilos) and if you dont want the set, its a pretty good parts pack

[bidiminished]

How about Witch Doctor? This best CCBS titan by far, and he will possibly be the best CCBS titan ever unless LEGO decides to make another fully-fledged titan.

Takanuva (2008) may have been the first humanoid titan to have no loose limb issues, but I think he is too bland to rival sets like Brutaka or even Sidorak. This is because of the cheap chest design which has poor shaping and leaves his shoulders bare and thin, a poor hand design, and the dead-straight Slizer pieces which make his legs look very bland and boring.

Despite Sidorak's flaws, I think he has one of the most distinctive bionicle looks mainly due to his shoulders, and his colour scheme is more interesting than Roodaka's.

Edited November 10, 2015 by bidiminished

[Bbrink1996]

I really like Nidhiki, Krekka and the Nivawk. These 3 are my only titans unless Muaka and Kane-Ra count as titans. I also still want the Tahtorak but i'm not sure if it's classified as a titan.

EDIT: And of course 2003 Makuta as well. Can't forget him.

And only just realised this thread is almost 5 years old.

Edited November 10, 2015 by Bbrink1996

[VBBN]

Well, of course get maxilos and spinax, (Mainly for maxilos) and if you dont want the set, its a pretty good parts pack

Why exactly did you feel a need to bump a 5 year old thread that is quite irrelevant now as your first post?

[YellowCorvette]

Wow, I never realized that this topic is already been 5 years old! But however, here's the Titan sets that I think is the best:

1. Maxilos and Spinax (2007): Great color scheme, a lot of useful pieces, and the articulation is also excellent as well.

2. Witch Doctor (2011): The set is well-designed, the parts are useful and overall a great Titan set.

3. Hydraxon (2007): Good color scheme, good parts selection, good build and overall another cool set.

4. Makuta (2003): Aside for the flaws in this set, this set represent the big baddie of Bionicle well and I like it.

[Frozen Assasin]

Hydraxon, must have. One of the 2001 rahi, doesn't matter which one. Roodaka/Keetongu...one of the vehicles from 2008/09. Oh. Master Builder Set.