Post by Brickthing on Jan 17, 2009 14:46:32 GMT -5
Even though this set was only distributed to US Citizens who have signed up for BrickMaster, many have ended up on the Internet, ready to be bought. I myself have gotten my Klakk this way, but is it worth the cost and trouble to get this exclusive little set? Read on to find out!
Initial Impressions: When you’re walking through the aisles of a shop, it’s the snappy colors and presentation of the LEGO set’s packaging that grabs your attention and tells you to buy it. Does this set do it well?
Because the Klakk is an exclusive BrickMaster set, there isn’t much needing to be done for the packaging, because no matter how you obtain it, you’re not going to see it until you’ve already bought it. However, the Klakk’s poly-bag is still quite impressive.
First of all, it is the biggest poly-bag packaging for BIONICLE that I have seen so far, and as pictured below, it’s about one canister tall and one and a half canisters long. Quite a size for a promotional set!
On the front of the bag, there is a large BIONICLE logo, and a larger than life Klakk. Down in the left-hand corner, there is the standard age recommendation, product number and piece count. I find it quite interesting how the Klakk has such a high product number of 20005, whereas other promotional sets are just of 10000. Also of note is the fancy BrickMaster logo that you can show off to your friends, and a tiny little LEGO logo.
The back of the poly-bag is split into two sections – one advertising the 6 Av-Matoran from earlier this year and warning about keeping the bag away from small children, the other showing another cool picture of the Klakk as well as the standard production details and barcode.
That’s about all there is to the packaging, so let’s open it up and have a look what’s inside!
Contents of the Set: You didn’t buy the set for the pretty box; you want what’s inside! That includes the pieces, instructions and other neat tidbits that could be included. Of course, is the amount and quality of the contents worth the price?
Once I carefully opened the poly-bag, I poured out the contents onto the table. Instantly, I was quite dismayed at the amount that came out, but also quite impressed. For the size of the packaging, I had expected quite a bit more pieces, and not even the largest pieces of the Klakk seemed big enough to justify the bag. On the flip side, for the complexity of the set from what I had seen from pictures, there were quite a lot of parts.
One thing that astonished me more was the size of the instructions. They are very small, being only around two thirds the size of Mistika instructions. This only put the size of the poly-bag out of comparison even further.
Above is a picture of all the pieces, which isn’t actually that bad. The Klakk features some very useful parts for MOCing, such as 4 silver Makuta claws, 2 Black/Silver Makuta wings and 2 Silver rocket boosters. For only 38 pieces, that’s pretty good. There is also a nice helping of friction pins and axles to add to your TECHNIC supply.
I did find it rather disappointing though that there are no recolored pieces in the Klakk, and that you can build the Klakk using only pieces from this year.
Building the Set: The next step to do after opening the box and sorting out the pieces is building the set. What is the building experience like? Is it challenging and creative, or easy and dull?
If you’re looking for a lengthy and difficult build, the Klakk is not for you. The entire build is over in 9 steps, although that is considerably more than the Av-Matoran. The building process is simple; you start with the torso, then the arms and legs, then the wings and finally the head. Overall, the experience is probably half as interesting than building a Toa Mistika, although the way the wings were constructed was simple yet entertaining.
The Klakk is probably best for a quite build when you have nothing to do, as it only takes up all of two minutes. Once you’ve finished building it, you’re left with one spare Black friction pin, which is always nice.
The Finished Product: Now that the building is done, you’re left with a LEGO model of some interesting form. It is fun to play with and display or not?
In terms of displaying, the Klakk isn’t too much to look at, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the underside of the Klakk has no armor to cover the cavity in the Inika torso, and due to the placement of the rocket boosters, you can’t see the Klakk’s eyes from a side. And sadly, due to the fact that the Klakk’s legs are pointed claws, the poses for displaying the Klakk are limited to quadruped stances.
Underside View
Side View
However, what the Klakk lacks in display possibilities, it makes up in play value. Despite only having 5 ball joint connections, the wings give the Klakk 6 extra articulation points, making a total of 11 points of articulation.
The arrangement of the wings allows for better wing articulation than the Makuta Phantoka, Makuta Mutran and Makuta Gorast, and is only superseded by the wings of Makuta Icarax. And surprisingly, the lack of knee or elbow articulation means that it is very easy to put the Klakk into a stable 4 legged position.
I think the thing that really sells the set though, is the storyline role that the Klakk has been provided with. This Rahi’s ability to use devastating Sonic attacks that even Makuta cringe away from AND heal Shadow Matoran makes the Klakk a lot of fun to play with along with other 2008 sets.
“Vican? Why won’t you listen and take this Rahi?”
“Take that Mutran! I am free from your control!”
“No! Not the Shadow Leeches!”
Conclusion: So now you know how the set acts out from the time you take it home to the time you’ve finished playing with it, but when it comes down to it, all you really want to know from a set review is “is the set worth it?”
The Good:
• Comes with many useful MOCing pieces
• Employs a very good wing design
• It’s exclusive, therefore good bragging rights
• Depending on the price you buy it for, it could be a very good bargain
• The storyline role of this Rahi is very cool and important
The Bad:
• Only 38 pieces
• There is no armor underneath the Klakk
• Limited to 4 legged poses
• It’s exclusive, therefore hard to find
• Depending on the price you buy it for, it could be very costly to obtain
Although the Klakk isn’t that great for displaying, it makes up for this with great play value and the exclusiveness of the set. It’s probably not worth spending more than you would pay for a Mistika to get it, but if you find it at a cheaper price, it is definitely a set worth getting, and it will be a great addition to your collection.
Thanks for reading this review, and feel free to ask questions or request more pictures of the Klakk!
Initial Impressions: When you’re walking through the aisles of a shop, it’s the snappy colors and presentation of the LEGO set’s packaging that grabs your attention and tells you to buy it. Does this set do it well?
Because the Klakk is an exclusive BrickMaster set, there isn’t much needing to be done for the packaging, because no matter how you obtain it, you’re not going to see it until you’ve already bought it. However, the Klakk’s poly-bag is still quite impressive.
First of all, it is the biggest poly-bag packaging for BIONICLE that I have seen so far, and as pictured below, it’s about one canister tall and one and a half canisters long. Quite a size for a promotional set!
On the front of the bag, there is a large BIONICLE logo, and a larger than life Klakk. Down in the left-hand corner, there is the standard age recommendation, product number and piece count. I find it quite interesting how the Klakk has such a high product number of 20005, whereas other promotional sets are just of 10000. Also of note is the fancy BrickMaster logo that you can show off to your friends, and a tiny little LEGO logo.
The back of the poly-bag is split into two sections – one advertising the 6 Av-Matoran from earlier this year and warning about keeping the bag away from small children, the other showing another cool picture of the Klakk as well as the standard production details and barcode.
That’s about all there is to the packaging, so let’s open it up and have a look what’s inside!
Contents of the Set: You didn’t buy the set for the pretty box; you want what’s inside! That includes the pieces, instructions and other neat tidbits that could be included. Of course, is the amount and quality of the contents worth the price?
Once I carefully opened the poly-bag, I poured out the contents onto the table. Instantly, I was quite dismayed at the amount that came out, but also quite impressed. For the size of the packaging, I had expected quite a bit more pieces, and not even the largest pieces of the Klakk seemed big enough to justify the bag. On the flip side, for the complexity of the set from what I had seen from pictures, there were quite a lot of parts.
One thing that astonished me more was the size of the instructions. They are very small, being only around two thirds the size of Mistika instructions. This only put the size of the poly-bag out of comparison even further.
Above is a picture of all the pieces, which isn’t actually that bad. The Klakk features some very useful parts for MOCing, such as 4 silver Makuta claws, 2 Black/Silver Makuta wings and 2 Silver rocket boosters. For only 38 pieces, that’s pretty good. There is also a nice helping of friction pins and axles to add to your TECHNIC supply.
I did find it rather disappointing though that there are no recolored pieces in the Klakk, and that you can build the Klakk using only pieces from this year.
Building the Set: The next step to do after opening the box and sorting out the pieces is building the set. What is the building experience like? Is it challenging and creative, or easy and dull?
If you’re looking for a lengthy and difficult build, the Klakk is not for you. The entire build is over in 9 steps, although that is considerably more than the Av-Matoran. The building process is simple; you start with the torso, then the arms and legs, then the wings and finally the head. Overall, the experience is probably half as interesting than building a Toa Mistika, although the way the wings were constructed was simple yet entertaining.
The Klakk is probably best for a quite build when you have nothing to do, as it only takes up all of two minutes. Once you’ve finished building it, you’re left with one spare Black friction pin, which is always nice.
The Finished Product: Now that the building is done, you’re left with a LEGO model of some interesting form. It is fun to play with and display or not?
In terms of displaying, the Klakk isn’t too much to look at, for a couple of reasons. Firstly, the underside of the Klakk has no armor to cover the cavity in the Inika torso, and due to the placement of the rocket boosters, you can’t see the Klakk’s eyes from a side. And sadly, due to the fact that the Klakk’s legs are pointed claws, the poses for displaying the Klakk are limited to quadruped stances.
Underside View
Side View
However, what the Klakk lacks in display possibilities, it makes up in play value. Despite only having 5 ball joint connections, the wings give the Klakk 6 extra articulation points, making a total of 11 points of articulation.
The arrangement of the wings allows for better wing articulation than the Makuta Phantoka, Makuta Mutran and Makuta Gorast, and is only superseded by the wings of Makuta Icarax. And surprisingly, the lack of knee or elbow articulation means that it is very easy to put the Klakk into a stable 4 legged position.
I think the thing that really sells the set though, is the storyline role that the Klakk has been provided with. This Rahi’s ability to use devastating Sonic attacks that even Makuta cringe away from AND heal Shadow Matoran makes the Klakk a lot of fun to play with along with other 2008 sets.
“Vican? Why won’t you listen and take this Rahi?”
“Take that Mutran! I am free from your control!”
“No! Not the Shadow Leeches!”
Conclusion: So now you know how the set acts out from the time you take it home to the time you’ve finished playing with it, but when it comes down to it, all you really want to know from a set review is “is the set worth it?”
The Good:
• Comes with many useful MOCing pieces
• Employs a very good wing design
• It’s exclusive, therefore good bragging rights
• Depending on the price you buy it for, it could be a very good bargain
• The storyline role of this Rahi is very cool and important
The Bad:
• Only 38 pieces
• There is no armor underneath the Klakk
• Limited to 4 legged poses
• It’s exclusive, therefore hard to find
• Depending on the price you buy it for, it could be very costly to obtain
Although the Klakk isn’t that great for displaying, it makes up for this with great play value and the exclusiveness of the set. It’s probably not worth spending more than you would pay for a Mistika to get it, but if you find it at a cheaper price, it is definitely a set worth getting, and it will be a great addition to your collection.
Thanks for reading this review, and feel free to ask questions or request more pictures of the Klakk!
Thanks for the review! 
