Prisoners of the Pit Collab

Earlier this month, MOC channels became flooded by a rush of new MOCs featuring all the Bionicle sets from 2007 as part of the Prisoners of the Pit Collaboration. A lot of talented Bionicle builders recreated the Barraki, Toa Mahri, and other Matoran and Titans from the era, with some of the builds staying true to the original set and some of them taking the subject into a very different direction. Plenty of these Builders are also BioniLUG members, so read on to check out their contributions to the collab!

Kalmah by Aiden.Builds

Kalmah

Kalmah skipped over squid-like and went straight to eldritch horror. The tentacles on him are quite impressive, as is the hexagon shaped face / mouth. The use of the original mask on the legs is great, especially for that color transition.

Pridak by Ryan Z

Pridak

Pridak never quite looked like a shark to me originally, but the head on this MOC is much more accurate. The rest of the model is perhaps less shark like, but it has some good flow to it. The best part; the use of the Bohrok shield to represent ‘red paint’ dripping down the side of his arm. That is ridiculously good parts usage there!

Hahli by Dviddy

HAHLI MAHRI: TOA OF WATER

Hahli was my personal favorite set from 2007, even with the fragile lime pieces. This MOC boosts her up even further, with some great shaping and nice mix of lime and dark blue. Her wings are the true highlight here. Of course, the coral base is also well done.

Kongu by BallomNomNom

Kongu

I always thought Kongu ended up as kind of a joke set, but this Toa Mahri is beefed out and well armed with blasters everywhere. The brighter lime serves as a nice jump suit, and he’s really to blow his way out of any situation.

Matoro by Buttloaf_Builds

Matoro

Matoro gets his Ignika here, and although he still has his hunch, he’s much improved over the original set, having a fancy new blaster and even a prototype piece as his claw. The sand blue elements are a nice highlight.

Gadunka by Cody Avery

Gadunka, Modified Angler

Gadunka was a weird set that was basically a head with limbs. This MOC makes him into more of a angler fish with limbs, and it works. I like the very technical look of the arms and legs, making him appear to be more of an upgrade than a mutation. But the fish parts in the various glow in the dark blue pieces still look good, and the inclusion of the angler light is the best.

Maxilos and Spinax by Gamma-Raay

Maxilos and Spinax

This Maxilos looks a bit more filled out than the original set, and the stark red and gunmetal colors work together. He’s still intimidating, but not nearly as much as Spinax, who has some great organic shaping to him and makes good use of the zip line pieces along his back. Great pose too. These two are not ones you want to encounter underwater.

Squid Ammo by Kevin H

Squid Ammo

I’m sure a lot of us barely count the squid ammo as a legit set, but this detailed specimen really pulls through with the various details and hungry face. This is one squid you wouldn’t want to see shot towards you.

BioniLUG January 2023 MOCs

BioniLUG members have started the year out strong with some fancy Bionicle MOCs. (Although some seem to be late holiday rush builds.) Read on to see some of the creations from out talented members.

Hy-Bogg by The Underscored Double

Hy-Bogg

This model shows off some of the fancy shapes you can make using Gen 1 parts, and has a lot of good part usages. The rounded head is well done, and the Visorak shells as shoulder armor is inspired.

Drill Squid by Will Hafner

Drill Squid

This harkens back to the Aquasharks theme with the color scheme. The pieces all come together to make a smooth look for this squid, and the Maxironi for the arms looks great.

The Golden by BallomNomNom

The Golden

The Gold Being was a late addition to the Bionicle Gen 1 story, and we never really got to see a set of it. This guy uses a LOT of gold to fill out his form, with nice ridges along the torso that work nicely.

MK3 Simonds Class Enforcer Droid by Gamma-Raay

MK3 Simonds class enforcer droid

There are a lot of cool shapes in this model, from the triangular head to the pistons in the legs and torso to the cool use of the Star Wars blaster piece as the forearms. And then, of course, there’s some really dramatic lighting that really sets the scene for this dangerous droid.

Baraagi Nui by Kevin H.

Baraagi Nui

This guy has a lot of great repeated textures to him, from the ribbed muscles on the leg to the ridges and spikes on the head to the tires on the tail. This all comes together in an intimidating critter.

R3DH34D by Duncan Lindbo

R3DH34D

This is another guy who uses some old school parts, and yet still has a fancy robotic aesthetic that we don’t usually see. The blue slope as the “chin” of the torso is pretty nice, and the Hero symbols on the legs offer neat greeble.

Throne Room by Margits_Mocs

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Built for Iron Forge, there is a lot of fancy designs in here, from the rug mosaic on the floor to the fancy leaf mosaic on the wall to the sunny backdrop seen in the window. And then there are more subtle designs like the brick wall and fancy chair.

Mosaic by SetYouUpBricks

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I like a good mosaic, and this Survey Corps insignia is super clean.

Infantile Golem by KatBuilds

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This fancy critter was made to feature the Chima Speedor Shell on the head, but the pose with the armored arms and lanky legs is what really makes him cool.