Close to half a year ago I started working on this project, and this is a day I’ve been eagerly awaiting for quite a while. Behold the DRAGON OF FIRE . Using a final total of 231 pieces, this is the second MOC that used the MURASAKI tail , without which the result would have been a lot less fun due to a complete lack of tail articulation. The neck has a small amount of posability, but during the early stages of construction it became obvious that a fully posable neck would be unable to support the weight of the head, and I don’t believe in making MOCs that require ‘hand support’.

For inspiration, I had the world that John Wick and AEG gave to us seven years ago with the creation of the LEGENDS OF THE FIVE RINGS card game, as can be seen in the playing card scan above.

For motivation, I had the desire to prove to everyone that use of the new ‘overly-specialized’ pieces in the BIONICLE™ line is only limited by the boundaries of your imagination. With the exception of the worm-gear at the base of the neck and two 8-tooth gears at the base of the tail*, every single piece in this MOC can be found in at least one BIONICLE™ set, though not necessarily in the same colors as I used.

Here you can see one of the coolest aspects of this design. The lower jaw is articulated, and when opened, there is a piece that can be flipped down from inside the upper jaw and used to attach TAHU’s sword to simulate the Dragon’s fiery breath.

Finally, those of you who actually collect the BIONICLE™ line have probably been wondering why the back ridge is so bright in all of the previous images. MoD reader Thecankankanohi pointed out that certain pieces will glow under blacklight. I went out and got one, and when used on the Dragon of Fire the result is quite spectacular, even when fully illuminated by three 50w bulbs.

* UPDATE: With the release of the Masterbuilder set, those last two shapes can now be found in at least one BIONICLE™ set as well.