This Nidhiki was made by Swamp Leader, and is designed after the character’s appearance in BIONICLE 2: Legends of Metru Nui.

Nidhiki lost some functionality in the process, mostly just the disc launcher and the snap-shut claws. However, he gained more articulation in the legs and a highly detailed brick-built head that perfectly captures his mutated face. I’m amazed by how well the head fits in with the body, and it makes a huge difference in recreating his movie form so perfectly than just a Vahki head. For the most part, it looks like it can be played with too.

As far as criticism goes, this is a rendered MOC, and it appears that there may have been just a bit of cheating on colors and construction. The colors are not really a big deal, but I can’t seem to understand how exactly the lower legs are attached. The Takanuva staffs are plugged into those angled pieces, and then a pin is threaded through to hold the rahkshi carapace in. I can’t tell if that pin is a legitimate connection, it might be a particular 3 stud long variant that slides all the way in, which I am not familiar with. From there, an axle just seems to thread through a pin hole attached under the carapace holder, in which case, it doesn’t look like it would stay attacked very well. It might have just enough strength and tension to hold Nidhiki up, but it appears the carapaces and lower legs may might simply slide off if the MOC were lifted and shaken just a bit. If I’m wrong here, I really want to know what’s going on so that I can learn from it.

If You want to see more of Swamp Leader’s work, you can find them here on flickr. Although they clearly have a talent for BIONICLE creations, you won’t find much more of it on their photostream. They mostly design castles and fantasy settings like Lord Of The Rings and King Kong. These beautiful creations are intended as much for play as they are for display.