Review:8941 Rockoh T3
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$39.99
£29.99
$59.99
Reviews
Berrybrick
Country: America the Beautiful Gender: Male
Joined: February 2010 
№ of Reviews: 46 
№ of Featured reviews: 1
Building Experience: Enough is enough
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I love finding sets on clearance. I'm a little secluded and often use LEGO.com for my purchases and the stores I do go to never have anything good on clearance, that I don't already have. I got this for my Birthday in 2010, when it should have been gone already, plus the Takanuva star, Vastus, Kiina for my collection.
Instructions/Box
The box was a decent size and I liked the artwork's colors and how they seemed to blend with the Rockoh.
There are three instruction books and they are a bit difficult to follow, partly being TECHNIC, partly having bad colorings. There are images of every BIONICLE set of the year on the back, which I really appreciate.
Parts
390 parts for $40 is a very good deal, especially when those are TECHNIC and BIONICLE parts, which are generally large and many times specialized (though there are few of those here).
I am not a TECHNIC builder, so I could not tell you how many of them are rare or whatever, but there are a lot that seem unique in color and most are exclusive to my collection.
Figure
Pohatu is included, and this is his fourth and final version. Just his evolution below:
 |  |  |  |
| Mata | Nuva | Phantoka Nuva | Pilot |
There is no need to compare him to his older versions, since it is sort of unnecessary, but it is totally fair to compare him to the Phantoka Nuva.
He does not look as good as his Phantoka version. I like the broad shoulders the Phantoka uses wheras this one feels like he has too little armor, which does not fit a toa of stone. The coloring is odd too, and I don't like the silver. I would like the orange if it was not on Pohatu, because I do not care for color schemes to change. The mask is okay, it sort of looks like a vahi, but I don't like the fins. That aside though, the resemblance to his Mata form makes it one of the better of the Phantoka/Mistaka toa's, probably only beaten by Kopaka's (who was my favorite hero figure from that line and I regret not getting).
This is not worth it for the figure. I'd recommend the normal Phantoka version to this one if you are looking for him to complete your 2008 team. It is still good for what he is here, even if he is too bony and I am glad to have Pohatu since he was one of my favorite toa.
The Build
I'm not a TECHNIC builder so I found the build very unique. There was not much for me to learn, since I don't build TECHNIC outside of the other two BIONICLE vehicles I collected and the rare titan MOC, but I found it enjoyable, if not a little frustrating at times. The experience was really good for me, and as long as you can follow the instructions, the final model will hold together well and is very stable.
The Completed Model
The model is pretty good. I don't like the gimmicky idea of all toa breathing under water or flying, which was my biggest problem with this year of the story (and the former), but the models were mostly nice I thought. I have not had any parts break, and there were several spare rubberbands.
The model holds together well, sometimes too well as it can be difficult to get a loose sphere out, and looks nice.
There are only two playfeatures, other than swooshing. There is a blaster in the front which is concealed and shoots well with about six or seven spheres, which are easy to get lost. All you have to do is pull the lever near the handle, which makes the Rockoh feel sort of like a TECHNIC gun, and it shoots. It works much better than the Midak skyblasters on a vehicle, in my opinion.
The other feature isn't so good. The wings in the front can fold up. Though it works well and they quickly snap into place with a turn, they don't look very good at all folded up.
There are also a bunch of BIONICLE blades and weapons from over the years all over the place. Kopaka's wings, Bohrok shields, Gali/Tahu's (ugly) wings, Hewkii's sword, Mahri-toran swords, Kopaka's bayonet, Matau's wings/swords, and lastly, that I can remember, one of Potahu's nuva claws which I am convinced is an Easter Egg since it is hidden away and only there to keep a rod I believe is insignificant standing up.
Though Potahu does not look how he should, a powerful Toa of Stone, his vehicle does look how I suppose one would look for a driver as such: small and powerful (not that I think it makes much sense for a Toa of Stone to fly).
Summary
4½ / 5 
4 / 5 5 / 5 3 / 5 5 / 5Overall: I really did enjoy this set, and still do. I was a little late to BIONICLE, though I had a few sets from 2008 I only really started in 2009 and I missed so many great eras. Though I would not call Adventures the best of them with it's odd gimmicks, I really did like the Phantoka models even if the colors were off a little. I really do like this set and would recommend it to any BIONICLE fan who was still willing to give the theme a go at this time when it had lost momentum. Just writing this review makes me feel nostalgic, and if I can gather the money after Arkham and a few other necesarry purchases (for me) next year, I think I will have to track down those Kopaka and Takanuva figures I never got, and maybe the others I need to complete my Phantoka/Mistaka toa for good measure.
4½ / 5
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