Review: 8566 Onua Nuva

[LuxorV]

Set name: Onua Nuva

Set Number: 8566

Price: $ 8, £ 4.99, € 8.50

Pieces: 41 (+2)

Year of release: 2002

Links: Peeron, Bricklink and Brickset

The Can

Around the surface

(Pictures courtesy of Siegfried, since I do not have my old cans anymore)

The second season of the BIONICLE Toa sub-line still used the cylindrical can typical of the first years. The ‘front’ shows an action shot of Onua Nuva travelling through an underground cave on his Quake Breakers/All-Terrain Tracks.

To me, this box art shows how cool a hunchbacked, short-sighted and reflective hero like Onua can be when thrown into the action.

Somewhere on the ‘side’, our Toa hero is shown in a more static pose, holding his weapons to allow us have a better look at them.

I think the best part of this shot (and we’ll get back to it later) is the mask/face expression, with the bright yellow eyes piercing through the dark. You should imagine to meet him in a dark cavern, to get this feeling at the strongest.

The ‘back’ features a list of warnings and some of the usual LEGO text, along with a barcode.

It is quite fanny that this is the first time I pay close attention to this part of the box and actually read these phrases!

The top sports a gear like shape both (exterior and interior) to match the bio-mechanical concept of this line. It also features a total of 8 axle holes, 2 on the inner prominent portion together with a pin hole, and 6 on the outer perimeter.

The outer holes were studied to hold the 6 Kanohi Masks. It could have been a more important feature for me if I owned all the masks in all the 6 colours, but I think it’s quite ingenious nonetheless.

The purpose of the inner holes, on the other hand, is still a mystery to me.

Contents

Inside

As usual for canned BIONICLE sets, the pieces are separated in bags. In the pic above, you can see the contents of the can. Black, Onua signature colour, dominates but we have also a number of parts in Light Grey, Dark Grey and Flat Silver.

Looking at equal sized BIONICLE and Hero Factory later sets, I think it’s quite impressive to see the number of parts included into this one. I believe this is because most of the parts were removed when the socket and ball system was integrated into more fully shaped torso and hips parts.

New pieces

The vast assortment of new pieces from this and the other Toa Nuva sets include the Mask Pakari Nuva, the Bionicle Ball Joint 4 x 4 x 2 90° Arm/Leg piece, the Bionicle Toa Nuva Leg Section, the Bionicle Chest Armor, Toa Nuva, the Bionicle Shoulder Armor, and the Bionicle Weapon Quake Breaker/All-Terrain Track (exclusive to this set in Flat Silver).

It was a great and pleasant surprise when I discovered the Toa Nuva were sporting armour. I thought it gave them a better look than the original Toa Mata, meaning they were more evolved, and making them more robotic in my views, with all that Flat Silver and/or Pearl Light Grey on them.

My favourite part is the mask, though. The ridges on the forehead give it a concentrated expression, and the shape of the mouth speaks of an old wise baffled by the craze of the world around him, but still willing to try and help guide it.

Instructions

Cover and back

I appreciate the fact that all the masks are shown on the back cover in all colours, but I would have preferred to have them in just one colour (say the colour of the Toa in the box) at a bigger scale.

Random page

Maybe it is related to the old colours, or maybe it’s the appeal of the old days, but I appreciate how the Dark Grey and Black are clearly distinguishable, in spite of what happens with more recent instruction booklets.

The Toa Nuva sets can be combined in trios to form bigger beings. Onua Nuva combines with Pohatu Nuva and Tahu Nuva.

I never tried to build this ‘fusion form’, but I can say (and some will strongly disagree, I’m sure) I do not like it much, mainly because of the gap in the torso section. The shell in the groin area, on its turn, looks a bit silly to me, but hey, they had to use those parts somewhere, I suppose.

The instructions are standard fare for a BIONICLE first years’ type of set.

Each set includes a small additional booklet with a short comic and some advertising of the other sets in the line. Here we can see a shot of the comic, with the Toa being transported to the chamber where they will be turned into Toa Nuva:

Building

Start

The build starts off with the torso and limbs.

The build really his straight-forward, as expected for this kind of sets, with a slightly higher level of interest and difficulty introduced by the action feature mechanism (the gears in the shoulders’ area).

Adding limbs

As you can see, there is no connection for the head yet!

Armoring

Once we put the armour on, it becomes clear that the head must be inserted onto the connector protruding from the chest plate.

I find this build very effective in giving Onua an unique look and make it even more immersed in his role of cave dweller.

Finished set

Front

Again, look at how well the head position works for this very special Toa Nuva.

Side

Note his Quasimodo-like neck. I think I do not need to explain further how much I like this feature.

Posed and action feature

Turning the gear on Onua Nuva’s back, both his arms rotate.

I think this is mean to represent his movements when using the Quake Breakers to dig through earth and stone. The overall effect is quite effective.

Bonus images

What can I do for you?

Rumbling towards the enemy

Onua Nuva is not an impressive-looking Toa, but it is the strongest of the group (the Pakari is the Mask of Strength), and he can really look cool when moving around on his All-Terrain Tracks.

Final comments

Overall, Onua Nuva is a great figure. Sure, he's not the coolest set from the Toa Nuva sub-line, but he really has an unique aspect when compared to most of the other Toa Nuva. My main complaint at the time was he lacked the awesome claws he sported in his previous incarnation, but the new weapons are up for some pretty nice uses, too.

Colours scheme - 10/10 (In perfect tradition with the 6-of-the-rainbow Toa colours; the Light and Dark Grey touches help defining his look.)

Parts - 8/10 (A good number of new and re-coloured parts; the selection was also pretty good for the time.)

Design - 10/10 (Very unique and really spells ‘I live underground’!)

Articulation - 8/10 (Like all the first BIONICLE sets, he is limited with his legs, but he has a greater mobility range for the arms than most other Toa Nuva.)

Quality - 10/10 (All the parts are good quality, and, even if I did not used him much in all these years, not a single joint ever broke.)

Overall: 46/50 Excellent

Questions, comments, and pic requests welcome!

[Still Raindrop]

Thanks for the good review!

I was always a bit disappointed with Onua Nuva--he seemed a downgrade from the original in nearly every way. I don't like the mask as much as I liked the original Pakari, and the "quake breakers" seemed ridiculous to me. The claws of his previous incarnation had many uses for tunneling underground, but these aren't (at least, I don't think that chainsaws are used for tunneling).

[LuxorV]

Thanks for the good review!

I was always a bit disappointed with Onua Nuva--he seemed a downgrade from the original in nearly every way. I don't like the mask as much as I liked the original Pakari, and the "quake breakers" seemed ridiculous to me. The claws of his previous incarnation had many uses for tunneling underground, but these aren't (at least, I don't think that chainsaws are used for tunneling).

Thank you for the comments, Mariko.

I, too, prefer the old Pakari, as it has cleaner lines and that's why I love my small Fikou, btw

As for the Quake Brakers, they indeed look less suitable for tunneling than the classic big claws; but on the CD included in the Nuhvok-Kal can there is a nice animation of Onua Nuva using them to dig a circular tunnel. He holds them in both hands while pointing them towards the floor and makes a rotatory movement with his body (quite cartoon-ish, like Taz from Warner Bros.). That seems to be his (or one of his) way to dig tunnel with the Nuva weapons.

[prateek]

Nostalgia overload! I loved the Toa Nuva, and this guy's no exception. I just love the weapons, and the hunched head is a nice touch