[Lego] So, I just got these three sealed Bionicle canisters...

Wait, don't I already own a copy of Kalmah and Pridak? Yes, I already own a copy of these two.

In some rare cases I purchase multiple copies of a set I already own. The reasons for which do differ from time to time, but aside from that, the story of how I got my first copy of Kalmah, Pridak and Ehlek is an interesting one. It isn't one of those "I bought the sets when they were sold back then" nor was it that "I bought them on the aftermarket when I got older". It was gifted by a LEGO® employee when I was a teen in 2007.

While I would love to go in-depth about what happened during that event, for privacy sake I won't delve into it much. What I can tell is that I was given the opportunity to present a custom packaging design for the company, which I did take, and in return I received those three Barraki sets together with a handwritten card.


The three models that I made back in 2007, which were used for the packaging design. Somehow I managed to dig up
these old images from the depths of my external harddrives...

Growing up with Bionicle sets in my early teenhood, I was accustomed to build MOCs frequently with Bionicle parts, and thus most of the things I've built in the mid 2000s were models such as in the image above. Nothing spectacular, as I was limited by the pieces I had on hand. The models are fairly basic but they did the job.

That said, it should be obvious that the model on the left takes direct inspiration from Samus Aran from Metroid since at the time I was playing said character in Smash Bros a lot. It was during a time where videogames were already a part of my daily life, which has become a thing since my time in Japan before the millennium.

It's interesting that the specific Barraki sets I received do have something in common with the particular models I've used for the packaging design, which could imply the decision of what sets to give was based upon what I used:

• The red model on the left is more or less similar to Kalmah in terms of color.
• The green model in the middle is similar to Ehlek. Gee, I wonder where I got that electricity motif from.
• But ironically the black model on the right is nothing close to Pridak, as it should've been Mantax if we're going strictly by color palettes. By all accounts, it doesn't make sense. Although Pridak is among my three favorite Barraki sets, so they definitely did something right there.

Anyway, about that handwritten card...

The handwritten card. It says: "Cool packaging design. Continue the work, and you may become a LEGO art director.
Best regards ___" (name has been blurred for obvious reasons)

It's funny when you think about it: I want to become a LEGO® Product Designer but the card was about packaging design and becoming a LEGO® Art Director. Eh well. I do really want to greet the person in question when I get there though. I believe that would be quite a fun experience and something to look forward to in the future.

Okay, so with that story pretty much explained... why did I get these three canisters again? If you're somewhat familiar with some of the collecting I do in terms of Bionicle sets, I tend to collect medium to large Bionicle sets. Sometimes these are combiner models; which is a fancy term of building an alternate model with the parts available from a handful of sets. LEGO® has designed a lot of them. If you know your Bonkles, then you also know the combiner model that is built from Kalmah, Pridak and Takadox.

Behold, it's Ridley without wings! Wait no... that's not right. It's the Zyglak, one of the cooler combiner models in Bionicle's run. It really does look like Ridley from Metroid. Hmm.

Because it's built out of three small canister sets, the available parts to build anything is limited. All things considered though, the model is a really good aesthetic design that hasn't been done often in Bionicle. That said, despite that I've built this thing from sealed canister sets, I do have to mention that this thing is frail and it can barely hold itself up.

Usually combiner models made out of large Bionicle sets (example) or standalone medium/large Bionicle sets (example) come with special friction joints and/or retractable pistons to give the build a sturdy design so that the limbs can hold the extensive weight of the model. But because this combiner is built out of three small Bionicle sets, none of the individual sets contain any of the specialized pieces that could help this poor guy out.

It'll probably be even worse to those who build this model from used pieces, as Bionicle sets between 2007 and 2010 have that infamous issue of cracked joint pieces, which usually means the balljoints are barely held together in the model at all. That is also why I got the three Barraki sets sealed, by the way - to make sure that the model is as sturdy as possible. Apparently that wasn't enough... (and these sealed canisters were way too expensive for my liking, yikes)

By the way, I wonder how this combiner model got through the design department. It contains a lot of dubious building techniques, the likes of that usually is not recommended or greenlit for release of LEGO® sets. There's even one assembly in this model that bends a specific piece by connecting it in a place where there should be no space for it to fit inside. Wait. That's illegal.

Several Bionicle/CCBS sets in comparison to the Zyglak combiner model. The lineup includes some fairly standardized builds to prove the Zyglak's immense maximum height. Standardized builds include Mazeka's infamous "Av Matoran build" and Lesovikk's "Inika build", which are common building styles (and as a result: common size/height/mass) found in a lot of Bionicle sets post-2006. Can you spot the minifigure?

Anyway, the main contributor to why this model can barely hold itself up is because it is too big, especially when you compare it to other Bionicle and other CCBS sets. It's almost as tall as Mata Nui himself, dammit.

The Zyglak might not be the best toy to play with, but definitely one of the cooler official Bionicle models I'll have on my shelf. Speaking of shelf, I'm starting to run out of space, so I probably would have to pack some models to prevent the shelf from becoming too crowded.

I should get a second copy of Takadox one day, just for the sake of a black light blogpost...

That's it for today - I'll see you guys again next post!