#8983 - Vorox
Dec 27, 2008 23:53:43 GMT -5
Post by Madaraki on Dec 27, 2008 23:53:43 GMT -5
And as mentioned in last night's review of Tuma, here's the review for the fourth Glatorian I've managed to get ahold of; Vorox.
First off, it should be interesting to note that amid all the comments stating that this line is the best thing we've had since the original Mata and Nuva, once again the stone guy is shelfwarming. I found over three dozen Vorox canisters, and not a single hint of Skrall, Gresh, Tarix, Skrall, or Malum anywhere in TRU.
Popping yet another canister open, the first thing one notices is that after years of yellow and orange (the brown and/or tan figure to align with the stone element was Onewa) we've finally gone back to a much more stone-ish color scheme. The return of the "classic" color scheme was quite satisfying.
AMMO/LAUNCHERS make their usual appearance here, and unfortunately they're already hooking into either side of Vorox's hand without any sort of unique fixture.
Other new parts making returns this time around are the HEAD and HAND pieces that have made their debut in the Glatorian line. This time around, the hands are tan and match most of the body in color.
The HELMET of Vorox is rather unique as compared to the others, and indeed the mandibles on either side of it and the spines coming out the back sides almost make it seem more like a full head attachment similar to the Hordika.
Note however, that I said "Make it seem". The Helmet doesn't quite go down completely over Vorox's head, and that grinning little mouth of his can be seen peeking out from underneath. It sort of gives one the impression that he found the skull of some dead beast in the desert and thought "Ooh, armor!" Okay, so maybe that's not the actual case, but the flavor behind it is nice.
Making a recolor appearance this time, are several parts. We've got Skrall's thigh/chest armor being used on Vorox's thighs, and upper arms. Again bringing the old stone colors to play, it's a two-tone mix of tan and brown as opposed to a straight tan. Granted, I wish this sort of blending had occured over more pieces of the figure, but I'll take what I can get. Also, the old Piraka claws are used in this set, and given a full-on tan color (Again, I wish we'd gotten the two-tone mix here).
BIONICLIX. I think we know about this piece more than enough by now, but it's worth noting that Vorox has gotten the Skrall treatment here. The dial again uses a metru chestpiece (tan) and hooks onto Vorox's heel.
Construction wise, Vorox is a lot like other sets based on Bara Magna. He's meant to be hunched over and sinister looking. Standing him up is similar to the results you get when you straighten Strakk and Tuma.
The guy looks like an idiot. He's got the lengthened neck gimmick of Strakk and Tuma.
Much better.
Additionally, Vorox has a fairly even mix of perks and flaws. Despite the obvious lack of chest armor as has already been shown, that Inika torsopiece is reversed and used as his chest, so he actually has some structure to him instead of looking hollow like a lot of other recent sets to use the parts.
So what's filling in his back, you ask?
There we go. He's got a tan Mata foot latched onto that area that connects to a tri-segmented scorpion tail. Between the mandible-laden helmet, the clawed feet, and now the tail, he's really working on that "desert scorpion" imagery. All the same however, the tail can be annoying to pose, as the right-angle Av-Matoran legpiece means you have to keep flipping it around to get it to go between curled and striking. Additionally, it barely reaches over his shoulder. MOC plans for these sets now have the top item listed as "make Vorox's tail longer".
Tying back to his rather bland launcher assortment is his other weapon. Strakk got a really awesome looking axe. Skrall combined launcher and sword into a rather unique weapon, and Malum got massive flaming digger claws of doom. Vorox meanwhile, got a long-bladed swordpiece in one end of the hand, and a +5 gunmetal-grey peg in the other. Really, it's about the least imaginative of any weapon this line has seen yet.
Also of mild complaint; what's with the +3 length blue pins? He's got one holding in each piece of armor, and thus the guy's got blue nubbies sticking out of his arms and thighs. I'm not sure why, but it really seems like it would've been easier if they'd just used the +2 length black pins instead. At least they'd be flush with each end of things and match the arm pieces.
Size wise, he's about the same height as Skrall when hunched over (increased hunching due to need for tail to be able to strike out).
And he's even shorter than volume 2 of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
At Bioniclix, he's about average with anyone else. As explained in the Skrall review here, you either have to have very bad aim, or you need to set these figures up very far apart to even accomplish anything with them.
And wrapping it up now:
Pros:
Cons:
Overall rating: 6/10. Slightly above average. While he does seem destined to be the eternal shelfwarmer of the Glatorian line, Vorox really isn't too bad. The first canister set to actually have a tail, he's also the first brown/tan stone figure we've had since 2004. Would I advise buying him first? No. As I've said, he's shelfwarmer material. At the same time however, he's not shelfwarmer material that you'll regret buying.
And this has een a Blueblanket Productions review, with Malum, Strakk, Skrall, Vorox and Tuma down, that leaves Gresh, Tarix, and Fero & Skirmix to go.
First off, it should be interesting to note that amid all the comments stating that this line is the best thing we've had since the original Mata and Nuva, once again the stone guy is shelfwarming. I found over three dozen Vorox canisters, and not a single hint of Skrall, Gresh, Tarix, Skrall, or Malum anywhere in TRU.
Popping yet another canister open, the first thing one notices is that after years of yellow and orange (the brown and/or tan figure to align with the stone element was Onewa) we've finally gone back to a much more stone-ish color scheme. The return of the "classic" color scheme was quite satisfying.
AMMO/LAUNCHERS make their usual appearance here, and unfortunately they're already hooking into either side of Vorox's hand without any sort of unique fixture.
Other new parts making returns this time around are the HEAD and HAND pieces that have made their debut in the Glatorian line. This time around, the hands are tan and match most of the body in color.
The HELMET of Vorox is rather unique as compared to the others, and indeed the mandibles on either side of it and the spines coming out the back sides almost make it seem more like a full head attachment similar to the Hordika.
Note however, that I said "Make it seem". The Helmet doesn't quite go down completely over Vorox's head, and that grinning little mouth of his can be seen peeking out from underneath. It sort of gives one the impression that he found the skull of some dead beast in the desert and thought "Ooh, armor!" Okay, so maybe that's not the actual case, but the flavor behind it is nice.
Making a recolor appearance this time, are several parts. We've got Skrall's thigh/chest armor being used on Vorox's thighs, and upper arms. Again bringing the old stone colors to play, it's a two-tone mix of tan and brown as opposed to a straight tan. Granted, I wish this sort of blending had occured over more pieces of the figure, but I'll take what I can get. Also, the old Piraka claws are used in this set, and given a full-on tan color (Again, I wish we'd gotten the two-tone mix here).
BIONICLIX. I think we know about this piece more than enough by now, but it's worth noting that Vorox has gotten the Skrall treatment here. The dial again uses a metru chestpiece (tan) and hooks onto Vorox's heel.
Construction wise, Vorox is a lot like other sets based on Bara Magna. He's meant to be hunched over and sinister looking. Standing him up is similar to the results you get when you straighten Strakk and Tuma.
The guy looks like an idiot. He's got the lengthened neck gimmick of Strakk and Tuma.
Much better.
Additionally, Vorox has a fairly even mix of perks and flaws. Despite the obvious lack of chest armor as has already been shown, that Inika torsopiece is reversed and used as his chest, so he actually has some structure to him instead of looking hollow like a lot of other recent sets to use the parts.
So what's filling in his back, you ask?
There we go. He's got a tan Mata foot latched onto that area that connects to a tri-segmented scorpion tail. Between the mandible-laden helmet, the clawed feet, and now the tail, he's really working on that "desert scorpion" imagery. All the same however, the tail can be annoying to pose, as the right-angle Av-Matoran legpiece means you have to keep flipping it around to get it to go between curled and striking. Additionally, it barely reaches over his shoulder. MOC plans for these sets now have the top item listed as "make Vorox's tail longer".
Tying back to his rather bland launcher assortment is his other weapon. Strakk got a really awesome looking axe. Skrall combined launcher and sword into a rather unique weapon, and Malum got massive flaming digger claws of doom. Vorox meanwhile, got a long-bladed swordpiece in one end of the hand, and a +5 gunmetal-grey peg in the other. Really, it's about the least imaginative of any weapon this line has seen yet.
Also of mild complaint; what's with the +3 length blue pins? He's got one holding in each piece of armor, and thus the guy's got blue nubbies sticking out of his arms and thighs. I'm not sure why, but it really seems like it would've been easier if they'd just used the +2 length black pins instead. At least they'd be flush with each end of things and match the arm pieces.
Size wise, he's about the same height as Skrall when hunched over (increased hunching due to need for tail to be able to strike out).
And he's even shorter than volume 2 of Tengen Toppa Gurren Lagann.
At Bioniclix, he's about average with anyone else. As explained in the Skrall review here, you either have to have very bad aim, or you need to set these figures up very far apart to even accomplish anything with them.
And wrapping it up now:
Pros:
- Color Scheme
- Helmet design
- Structure flavor and build
Cons:
- Total lack of creativity on the weapons.
- Excessive use of blue pins.
- Needed more brown.
Overall rating: 6/10. Slightly above average. While he does seem destined to be the eternal shelfwarmer of the Glatorian line, Vorox really isn't too bad. The first canister set to actually have a tail, he's also the first brown/tan stone figure we've had since 2004. Would I advise buying him first? No. As I've said, he's shelfwarmer material. At the same time however, he's not shelfwarmer material that you'll regret buying.
And this has een a Blueblanket Productions review, with Malum, Strakk, Skrall, Vorox and Tuma down, that leaves Gresh, Tarix, and Fero & Skirmix to go.
