Review:70781 by SPIRIT

BS01 Reviews

70781 Protector of Earth

Review: 70781 Protector of Earth

With the return of purple pieces to Bionicle, the elemental Earth sets really have to prove their mettle to show that it belongs. Does the Protector of Earth do this or is he just the lesser version of multiple coloured clones? Let's find out!

The Box

Now look at this. We've got shots of the Region of Earth, great contrast between black and purple, and they cleverly put the star drill front and centre. This, ladies and gentlemen, is a snazzy box.

The Bits

Would you look at all that translucent purple and black. Lego definitely has stepped up the colour scheme of the sets this year. It's a drastic difference to the early sets.

"What colour should we make the Ice guy?"

"White and grey."

"And the Earth guy?"

"Black and... different grey?"

There really hasn't been much purple in Bionicle at all, with the exception of Onepu and one of the Nui-Jaga, but I'm really glad they brought it back. It just looks so nice next to the black.

La pièce de la résistance! Now this piece isn't unique to this set, but it is unique in this colour. Perhaps you want two of them to make a purple crystalline geode for the Toa to defend from the Skull Spiders. It's just a very cool looking piece, and perhaps bigger than you might expect (size 2 plus rod for scale).

The Build

Not too bad, not too bad. The black armour covers up a lot of the purple, but you get a nice contrast nonetheless. In his right hand, he has the Star Drill that has its own mechanism so it can spin. And in the left hand... throwing knives??

That can't be right. Am I missing a piece?

No. That's what they're supposed to be. Throwing knives.

Literally all it is are two spike pieces stuck into either end of his fist. I can only imagine how this one went down.

"Uh oh, the boss is coming in and we still haven't finished this set."

"Quick, put some pieces in his hand! Anything!"

"Alright boys, what do you have for me today? What's the black one holding?"

"Throwing knives...?"

"Throwing kni--? Hold on, I'm getting a call. Yeah, whatever, the sets are good for production."

"I can't believe that worked."

Now, I'd have been completely fine if this set came with, say, 2 Star Drills. Then you'd also get to make your own geode thing. Throwing knives are not a weapon. Very disappointing.

Unlike the other Protectors, this one has his blaster in his chest, so I guess that's cool. It does seem kind of gimmicky, though, and a great way to get broken ribs (assuming ribs are canon in Gen 2).

And did I mention the shoulder armour? Because it's kind of dumb too. It just sticks out and while it does have a nice rocky/underground motif, it just looks like an afterthought more than anything.

The Brass Tacks

Did we like this set? No	What We Liked: Useful elements Wonderful colors *Livelier than a typical Earth character
	What We Didn't Like: Throwing knives seem lazy Armor not integrated very well *Blaster placement
	Other Comments:

This set was kind of a letdown. On paper, it seems great. Purple pieces, cool drill, elemental Earth character. Normally these are safe bets. Unfortunately, this set seems to suffer from a case of "okay, what haven't we done yet?" It's a shame too because this had a lot of potential, but they just missed the mark with the design.

2015 Set Reviews (1HY)
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Review #1	By Cholie	By SPIRIT	By Dorek	By SPIRIT	By Dorek	By SPIRIT	By KZN02	By SPIRIT	By Swert	By SPIRIT	By Swert	By SPIRIT	By Cholie
Review #2	By Swert	By Dorek	By Swert	By Dorek	By Swert	By Swert	By Cholie	By Dorek	By Dorek	By KZN02	By Dorek	By Dorek	By SPIRIT