MOC: Brenda

This MOC is a good example of a creation that evolved throughout the progress. In the end it turned out to be Brenda, artistic sort of gal from steampunked Victorian times. I had had a pair of brown thighs sailing around the Bionicle table for few months, and I was planning to make another steampunk girl like Qwena at some point, but it would have deemed some Bricklink orders and I didn't get bothered. Then, after four days of entrance examinations for architecture department in Aalto University in Helsinki (or well, Espoo, but it's same city in the matter of perspective of a man who has lived all his life in North Carelia), I went to a shop, burned 17€ from gift card I got as a graduation gift (if that is a correct word - It's the finishing of Finnish upper secondary school, including a hat that looks like sailor's cap) and bought CHI Laval. It was the first constraction set I've bought for three years. I don't buy lots of sets (excluding Collectable Minifigs) expect when they are on clearance and constraction sets rarely are in Finland. Don't know why.

On the train way back I sketched some concept art (on the left). The exams were art-based, drawing, planning and building, so I had quite a good arsenal of drawing stuff with me, so it is even partly colored with some promarkers (I used them on Porco Rosso -themed diorama in the exams). The idea was to use the new (juniorized? But then again, are big plated juniorized? It's a cool piece!) Chima armor on female figure with brown trousers and the new armor add-on pieces on knees.

When I arrived back home I started to build the thing. Lots of people seem to complain that the new armor has too few (well, one) connection points, but I thought one ball socket was fine. The old thighs looked too big though, so I replaced them with design similar (but not identical) to one on Karmenna and Toa Ruki. The new armors worked well on the knees, and I also used those cool printed shells. The boots are somehow similar to Floresta's.

The arms are quite simple, and the design fortunately uses no throughout hole ball joints (I'm going low on them, but I'm getting 200 more later this summer). The head is quite similar to Qwena's with a bit different eyes in sake of individualism (yeah really). Those are a big pair of eyelashes. The hair is quite surprisingly colored trans-neon orange. It is not supposed to be on fire; it's just dyed very brightly orange. There are several reasons to it. Firstly, those pieces, claws and the new-ish flame, were shaped quite nicely for a hair, and I hadn't seen them used like that before. Secondly, they were another pieces from CHI Laval, so there is a sort of a motif there... And thirdly, those pieces were lying on the table, and that is probably the most important reason.

There is also a accessory belt with all kinds of cool stuff, bags and tools and optical tools and a globe. Then there is the hat, which was really the turning point on the progress. I wanted to build sort of a cap or beret, and it looked very artistic. So, the consequences were logical: I built a painting and a stand for it, plus a brush and a palette, likely inspired by the exams I had. The stand is quite simple - it was brown at first but I didn't have enough brown tiles - but I'm very pleased with the painting, especially the raven on it. Plus everyone likes SYSTEM accessories and scenery on Bionicle MOCs, right?

Photographing this MOC was Hell. Literally. It was not about the MOC, no! You know, the Finnish summer. Warm days, no sunsets (in the north) and the air is full of gorram mosquitoes. To be honest, I spend two thirds of the photographing time thinning out the mosquito population. I had a hoodie on for protection, but my forehead wrists were full of swellings. Somebody could say that buying a light tent could be an idea, but damn... Not this day!

-Pate-keetongu

Ps. There's lot of more photos on Brickshelf.