2018. New year, new tricks. 2017 was the most quiet year of this blog so far. This is somewhat unfortunate, but not completely. My projects are bigger, which means that I still build a lot (modular building again right now). I also study, I really do! One and half years through my five-year Architect Degree. It's interesting and inspiring.
There were no posts during December, for several reasons. There were tests, big MOC projects, and I was couple of weeks away from home, unable to build anything. This MOC was built last month, but not posted back then, as it was a present. Christmas present, or a Naming Day present, as we're old Bionicle fans (if you can call "we like MNOG and Bohroks and critize the rest of it" a fan) and have this present-circle thing. This year I received Mikhail Bulgakov's book The Master and Margarita, a book I was interested in but unable to find it in the local library. I delivered Plain Ride's excellent 2014 album Skeleton Kites and this bust of the receiver's Klaanon character Guardian.
That last version of Guardian is from mid 2012, five and half years ago. That feels quite long. It uses Vezok's head/spine piece. The character, I think, is based on MOC using it, with a telescope eye, so it's quite accurate; but Vezok's face isn't very happy, and even though Guardian isn't always that happy neither, I wanted to make a glorious bust of a heroic skakdi; you don't see those very often. So this ended up being pretty much 100% SYSTEM, with I think two TECHNIC pieces and no Bionicle bits. I was thinking of the head I built for Discworld troll sergeant Detritus couple a years ago: Similar to my human characters in scale, but with heavier jaw and bigger mouth. There is a handsome row of teeth, Guardian being a skakdi, and "stubble" from Vezok's head mold is represented as six studs. I used headlight brick as the natural eye at first, but brightly orange 1x1 round plate looked more natural. Also, the lack of actual nose has always confused me when drawing skakdi characters, but here I think I captured that area nicely with dark blue oddly-shaped roofing slope.
The torso features some light grey armoring, dark blue shoulders and brown battle suspenders, which are important part of the character. I even slapped in a heartlight, thing from Bionicle movies I haven't included on most of my Klaanon characters for a reason I do not know. The spine uses some dark blue flags with two pegs on ends; it again reminds a bit of Vezok's spine but looks original, and is achieved without horrible large rubbery thing. The rigid hose inside the spine is anchored to the simple black base.
-Eero.
