Mazeka First look, Preview (picture less)
Aug 13, 2008 12:16:33 GMT -5
Post by Imatron on Aug 13, 2008 12:16:33 GMT -5
Mazeka, Fist look.
This special edition set is definitely a good buy whether your a collector, MoCer, or just like to play with your sets.
Mazeka is one of the more interesting special edition sets, and has quite a bit to boast, though perhaps a smidge overpriced. Just looking at the box pretty much shows you all there is to look at, and will probably (if you have the money to spend) convince you to buy the set on the spot.
In the box you will find a good assortment of parts, In particular I liked the balance of beams (what I use to refer to as the main construction piece for the technic sets), a good though perhaps thin supply of "slats" (the apparent MoCer term for the flattest techic parts), five friction pistons (no technic balls are included with these however), eight revamped short double sockets in a darker gray, and eight black vahki hips, amongst a good variety of other parts.
Parts Of Interest
Techic Turntable, I could be mistaken but I believe this large technic turntable has only now been introduced into the BIONICLE® line. I have very little experience with this part myself but I'm sure any MoCer will be happy to have a few of these on hand, too bad we only get one.
Free Swivel Mini Wheels, Well, two small wheels. They're used simply as a stopper but I have a couple MoCs in mind that could use them, perhaps as skates for one of my toa.
Plus Peg Mini Bar, Similar to another more common part, but with the plus peg and peg hole aligned on the same side. Very few of these have been released in BIONICLE sets and I would like to see more.
Construction,
Not particularly challenging to build, Mazeka is still an interesting set to put together. The first bag is dedicated to storing Mazeka's pilot (But looking at the set Vultraz, named for it's pilot, maybe Mazeka is the pilot and NOT the vehicle's name?). The pilot is no more interesting than other av-matoran and could have used something to make him seem less like a thrown in pilot. His straightforward construction can probably be built without the instruction manual, save a couple slight mistakes of the blue peg's positions and maybe not realizing his torso's front is actually the back.
Bag two holds the components to build the upper portion of the turret, down to where it connects at the turntable during the final steps, wile the second bag constructs the legs of the turret and finalizes the set by bolting the two sections together at the turntable. Most of the construction is sturdy but the tri zamor holder, from where the "steering" is attached is wobbly and could have used a more clever construction to bolt it and the steering on tight.
Mechanisms.
Tri Zamor clip, held in place mostly by one of those triple plus peg spacers and the smaller slats, this clever zamor clip is one of the eye catching designs on Mazeka. It does seem to jam when the zamor get caught on the ribs of the angled clips, not originally intended for the angle, but nothing a slight shake or even the rattle of a fired round cant fix. Atop the tri clip, on the ends you can load ammo from, a simple construction of two common parts hold the ammo from falling out, but give enough leeway that you can pop rounds back in without taking it apart. (This is also used on Rockoh T3 and keeps the ammo in place when "flying" upside down (: ). It would have been nice if we had these two extra parts included on the toa Inika sets years ago.
Zamor launcher, while not particularly clever, coupled with the expanded clip capable of holding ten or eleven rounds, and being built into a stable frame, this old part is given new life by being built into this deluxe cannon. The mechanism is pretty much the same as before but built with an extension and a stable grip which creates the feel of a cool new launcher. It is a little tricky to grab though since it has two two decorative "scalpels" in the way.
Tilting midsection, the center is designed so the turret can tilt upwards at an ani-air position, but still tilt down-wards to hit opponents not too close to him. I speculated at first glance that the turret might condense at the midsection and extend accordion style upwards, but a closer look at the box will tell you otherwise. The turret is indeed locked at it's height but the crossbar design serves to let it tilt as much s it can, supported by one of the five pistons to lock it in it's desired angle. On another note, the five pistons use an interesting construction that keeps the end of the shaft locked into place and prevents it from sliding out any more than a millimeter. Two spacers on the shaft also lock the turret from pointing straight up, but it's not like we dont get a good angle of fire anyway. The lock also prevents it from over extending the bars past a point that would make it otherwise topple over or scrape against it's own legs. The wheels I mentioned earlier work as stoppers to prevent it from tilting too far forward.
Play/articulation
You will find the articulation in the legs themselves to be rather annoying, you can pose them and move them effectively but they aren't intended to play with so much as they are there support the weight of the turret from falling over, which it seems to do very well. The legs are locked in their position so that they can only bend along their predetermined path, and cannot move side to side from this locked in position and otherwise compromise the stability of the cannon. The turret swivels along it's turntable with ease, while you can push up and down on the back end/trigger of the turret to aim it up and down, while it's own weight and leg support keep you from lifting it off the ground while aiming, which is very convenient. The legs need a bit of space to function optimally, a flat surface roughly two inika canisters wide, tough you can adjust the legs as needed for smaller spaces, the stability and ease of aiming starts to shrink. It's also a good, large piece to display but it wont require as much work as some of the other large sets to squeeze into a shelf or on a table. The protruding red pegs may be a little ugly but they seem to blend in well with it's mechanical look. You should also consider a stable surface that doesn't shake, since it will rattle from the midsection (but probably not fall over) which may be annoying and draw unwanted attention
Overall
A great set to display, play, and MoC with, I highly recommend Mazeka, and even suggest him to be well worth the $30.00 USD. His only drawback is really the hassle finding him in a local Walmart where he is is a store exclusive...but you can always order him from LEGO.com (Just as Xanxost predicted and reported) for the extra cost of shipping (and getting a concaved box -_-), and maybe even find him at a local LEGO® store otherwise. If your on a budget, two canister sets are roughly $26.00 USD, and for the price of two cannister sets compared to the parts, price, and features of this set, I would defiantly steer you toward Mazeka
This special edition set is definitely a good buy whether your a collector, MoCer, or just like to play with your sets.
Mazeka is one of the more interesting special edition sets, and has quite a bit to boast, though perhaps a smidge overpriced. Just looking at the box pretty much shows you all there is to look at, and will probably (if you have the money to spend) convince you to buy the set on the spot.
In the box you will find a good assortment of parts, In particular I liked the balance of beams (what I use to refer to as the main construction piece for the technic sets), a good though perhaps thin supply of "slats" (the apparent MoCer term for the flattest techic parts), five friction pistons (no technic balls are included with these however), eight revamped short double sockets in a darker gray, and eight black vahki hips, amongst a good variety of other parts.
Parts Of Interest
Techic Turntable, I could be mistaken but I believe this large technic turntable has only now been introduced into the BIONICLE® line. I have very little experience with this part myself but I'm sure any MoCer will be happy to have a few of these on hand, too bad we only get one.
Free Swivel Mini Wheels, Well, two small wheels. They're used simply as a stopper but I have a couple MoCs in mind that could use them, perhaps as skates for one of my toa.
Plus Peg Mini Bar, Similar to another more common part, but with the plus peg and peg hole aligned on the same side. Very few of these have been released in BIONICLE sets and I would like to see more.
Construction,
Not particularly challenging to build, Mazeka is still an interesting set to put together. The first bag is dedicated to storing Mazeka's pilot (But looking at the set Vultraz, named for it's pilot, maybe Mazeka is the pilot and NOT the vehicle's name?). The pilot is no more interesting than other av-matoran and could have used something to make him seem less like a thrown in pilot. His straightforward construction can probably be built without the instruction manual, save a couple slight mistakes of the blue peg's positions and maybe not realizing his torso's front is actually the back.
Bag two holds the components to build the upper portion of the turret, down to where it connects at the turntable during the final steps, wile the second bag constructs the legs of the turret and finalizes the set by bolting the two sections together at the turntable. Most of the construction is sturdy but the tri zamor holder, from where the "steering" is attached is wobbly and could have used a more clever construction to bolt it and the steering on tight.
Mechanisms.
Tri Zamor clip, held in place mostly by one of those triple plus peg spacers and the smaller slats, this clever zamor clip is one of the eye catching designs on Mazeka. It does seem to jam when the zamor get caught on the ribs of the angled clips, not originally intended for the angle, but nothing a slight shake or even the rattle of a fired round cant fix. Atop the tri clip, on the ends you can load ammo from, a simple construction of two common parts hold the ammo from falling out, but give enough leeway that you can pop rounds back in without taking it apart. (This is also used on Rockoh T3 and keeps the ammo in place when "flying" upside down (: ). It would have been nice if we had these two extra parts included on the toa Inika sets years ago.
Zamor launcher, while not particularly clever, coupled with the expanded clip capable of holding ten or eleven rounds, and being built into a stable frame, this old part is given new life by being built into this deluxe cannon. The mechanism is pretty much the same as before but built with an extension and a stable grip which creates the feel of a cool new launcher. It is a little tricky to grab though since it has two two decorative "scalpels" in the way.
Tilting midsection, the center is designed so the turret can tilt upwards at an ani-air position, but still tilt down-wards to hit opponents not too close to him. I speculated at first glance that the turret might condense at the midsection and extend accordion style upwards, but a closer look at the box will tell you otherwise. The turret is indeed locked at it's height but the crossbar design serves to let it tilt as much s it can, supported by one of the five pistons to lock it in it's desired angle. On another note, the five pistons use an interesting construction that keeps the end of the shaft locked into place and prevents it from sliding out any more than a millimeter. Two spacers on the shaft also lock the turret from pointing straight up, but it's not like we dont get a good angle of fire anyway. The lock also prevents it from over extending the bars past a point that would make it otherwise topple over or scrape against it's own legs. The wheels I mentioned earlier work as stoppers to prevent it from tilting too far forward.
Play/articulation
You will find the articulation in the legs themselves to be rather annoying, you can pose them and move them effectively but they aren't intended to play with so much as they are there support the weight of the turret from falling over, which it seems to do very well. The legs are locked in their position so that they can only bend along their predetermined path, and cannot move side to side from this locked in position and otherwise compromise the stability of the cannon. The turret swivels along it's turntable with ease, while you can push up and down on the back end/trigger of the turret to aim it up and down, while it's own weight and leg support keep you from lifting it off the ground while aiming, which is very convenient. The legs need a bit of space to function optimally, a flat surface roughly two inika canisters wide, tough you can adjust the legs as needed for smaller spaces, the stability and ease of aiming starts to shrink. It's also a good, large piece to display but it wont require as much work as some of the other large sets to squeeze into a shelf or on a table. The protruding red pegs may be a little ugly but they seem to blend in well with it's mechanical look. You should also consider a stable surface that doesn't shake, since it will rattle from the midsection (but probably not fall over) which may be annoying and draw unwanted attention
Overall
A great set to display, play, and MoC with, I highly recommend Mazeka, and even suggest him to be well worth the $30.00 USD. His only drawback is really the hassle finding him in a local Walmart where he is is a store exclusive...but you can always order him from LEGO.com (Just as Xanxost predicted and reported) for the extra cost of shipping (and getting a concaved box -_-), and maybe even find him at a local LEGO® store otherwise. If your on a budget, two canister sets are roughly $26.00 USD, and for the price of two cannister sets compared to the parts, price, and features of this set, I would defiantly steer you toward Mazeka
