Ive been working on my 6 foot tall BIONICLE MOC, and overhauled it just in time for the celebrations.

It’s still got a bit of work planned, though it’s now much closer to the final design I had in mind when I first started working on it. The most notable difference is the revised torso, which now rests on a multi axis hinge supported by pistons for more versatile posing and articulation. The motor in the torso now also powers the animated features in the arms as well, bringing it down form 5 motors to 3. I’d eventually like to get everything running off a single motor, though I’m still tinkering with ideas on how to bypass that tricky hip joint that needs to be reinforced to support the weight of everything sitting on top of it.

I’ve revised all the joints with larger, better meshing gears so they don’t lock up and pop when trying to pose the limbs. The original joints did not pop when I first built them, however, the sockets tighten up after a while and caused this issue with smaller gears. I’ve also added another joint to the upper arms, allowing them to rotate toward and away from the body for much more realistic posing. Before, the lower arm’s range of motion was determined entirely by the shoulders. The spinning planet mechanism has also been revised, getting rid of some not-quite-legal building techniques, replacing it with a more reliable movement system, and adding some minor detail upgrades.

I still hope to improve upon the design, reinforcing the lower torso and overhauling the head to resemble something more like a traditional BIONICLE character. The head is also sized to fit a wearable mask, I just need to figure out a design I can make that matches the story I have for this character with the parts I have on hand.

I also have yet to give the character a name, simply going by “Uberonicle” until I think of something for his in-universe name. Right now the idea is that he’s a giant space robot like Mata Nui, but on a much, MUCH larger scale, containing a mini artificial solar system for the toa and matoran to live on. His own duties involve protecting other populated solar systems as well as their own from cataclysm, and correcting planetary orbits that would otherwise put worlds in danger, much like how Mata Nui’s purpose was to fuse the two parts of his world back together.

I’d like the thank the BIONICLE community, my fellow staff members and affiliates at MaskOfDestiny, and the North Carolina LEGO User Group (NCLUG) for helping to inspire and get the creation to this point.