Random set of the day: Rahkshi
Posted by Huwbot,Today's random set is 7138 Rahkshi, released in 2010. It's one of 6 Bionicle sets produced that year. It contains 18 pieces, and its retail price was US$7.99/£6.99.
It's owned by 2020 Brickset members. If you want to add it to your collection you might find it for sale at BrickLink or eBay.
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I've got two of these. Best of the Stars wave, in my opinion.
Oh, BIONICLE Stars... Even as a kid, I could tell most of these sets were disappointing. But I'm still grateful it happened, because it allowed us to get an ending to the BIONICLE story (which is more than we got for G2).
Why oh why did they ever think attaching the head to the spine like a Piraka was ever a good idea?
Oh. Huh. 2020 Brickset users.
I'm one of those guys. :-)
(I know that this wave was hated, and I can see why in retrospect, but I loved these as a kid. Too bad that the point where I was old enough to really "get into" Bionicle is when it fell flat...)
@Chouju_X_SPAM_ said:
"I've got two of these. Best of the Stars wave, in my opinion. "
I think I ended up with four of them. They’re good army builders.
I still have all the original Rahkshi except Panrahk. I miss og bionicle, hope a better likeness to them comes out soon
This was the only Stars set I didn't manage to get my hands on, which is odd 'cause it was the villain I was most interested in and, as others said, the best army builder.
I always wondered how it scaled with the original Rahkshi. It obviously has to be smaller since the Rahkshi are quite larger than the Av-Matoran build but I always wondered just how extreme the difference was.
Kinda odd that out of 42 different variations, only 7 of the Rahkshi got into sets, and I think only 2 others into the comics. Would've been nice to see some of the more extreme and odd colors get some rep, if for nothing more than new parts.
I remember getting Skrall as a random birthday present, but really wanted Tahu as well. Looking back on the wave though, those two were the only good ones.
Too this day actually Skrall is my only Bionicle set, even though my younger brother got a few of the reboot and Hero Factory.
Wow, 7138 Rahkshi has been owned by 2020 Brickset members ('2020', what a coincident number, this year is 2020). Happy to be one of those people. In fact, I bought all different six sets released that year in order to collect the Golden Armor for Tahu. It should be an excitement for me, however I was really disappointed and sad at that time.
I could remember I logged on the lego website only to find that the Bionicle story ended suddenly. The hasty ending was so incredible that at the moment I could retell what was written there:
"The last chapter is not narrated. We will honor Mata Nui, and all those who fought for him, in our memories. But the time has come to move on. His destiny is fulfilled, and for many of us, it has yet to be written. My friends, it is time to go."
Yes, since then, my childhood has also gone...
I managed to get all 6 of the Bionicle Stars Wave, and Rahkshi might be one of my favorites. I really like the keetorange recolors and the head/spine piece is really nice in my opinion.
@GSR_MataNui said:
"I always wondered how it scaled with the original Rahkshi. It obviously has to be smaller since the Rahkshi are quite larger than the Av-Matoran build but I always wondered just how extreme the difference was.
Kinda odd that out of 42 different variations, only 7 of the Rahkshi got into sets, and I think only 2 others into the comics. Would've been nice to see some of the more extreme and odd colors get some rep, if for nothing more than new parts. "
If I remember rightly (my Bionicle stuff has been in storage a long time now) its about 3/4s the size. You have 75% of a Rahkshi with this guy
I would also have loved to see all the Rahkshi pop us as sets. Or at least give us enough colours that we can mix and match like I did with the original six
I still have the Stars sets on display, while not having a great build, it felt like a celebration of the theme and a good ending.
So far this is the only BIONICLE Stars set I have, but it won't be the last.
I do a lot of BIONICLE edits in Photoshop, and of the seven sets, this one is weirdly the best for colour switching? There's nothing scientific about it, I just find it easier changing the yellow on this than changing the red/blue/green etc on the first six sets. There are 42 types of Rahkshi but only 7 made as sets, so fans gotta fill in the rest ;)
@Brickalili said:
" @GSR_MataNui said:
Kinda odd that out of 42 different variations, only 7 of the Rahkshi got into sets, and I think only 2 others into the comics. Would've been nice to see some of the more extreme and odd colors get some rep, if for nothing more than new parts. "
If I remember rightly (my Bionicle stuff has been in storage a long time now) its about 3/4s the size. You have 75% of a Rahkshi with this guy
I would also have loved to see all the Rahkshi pop us as sets. Or at least give us enough colours that we can mix and match like I did with the original six"
It was probably a case of Lego’s design team creating six sets to begin with, and then Greg Farshtey going hog wild with all the in story variants.
People complain about the Stars a lot, and while their builds are definitely lackluster for BIONICLE Gen 1's final wave... I have to admit, I'm really glad we got the Stars. It ended the decade-long theme with a loving tribute to some of its most iconic characters. Especially considering that LEGO's alternative option would've been ending the theme without any new sets in 2010, making 2009's Glatorian Legends (a decent wave of sets, but would've been an anticlimactic ending) the final sets.
This particular set, Rahkshi (AKA Rahkshi of Heat Vision, AKA Zirahk, AKA Samuel L. Jackson of Arsonists Anonymous), always stood out to me as the best of the Stars. The yellow Rahkshi had always been a popular character in the fandom since 2004 despite never seeing an official set release, and now we finally got it. And while the Av-Matoran/Agori build isn't the best, I'm always impressed by how well the set designers were able to work around its limitations in order to recreate the Rahkshi's iconic appearance. One quick glance at this set, and you can believe it's part of the same group as the classic 2003 Rahkshi sets.
I was very disappointed in this set when it came out. It was tiny compared to the other Rahkshi, and I hated the combined head/armor/spines. Besides the fact that they were a lot less useful for MOCs, the rubber they're made of isn't going to stand up as well over time as hard plastic. The only two elements this even shares with the original Rahkshi are Guurahk's weapon and the TNO socket joint.
I dropped out of collecting before half of these characters were even introduced, so Gresh, Skrall, and Piraka only really interested me as part of the final wave of sets, and for the gold parts. I vastly preferred the original Toa parts, so Tahu was also a bit of a disappointment as well. I was never really thrilled with the original Takanuva due to the use of Toa Nuva limbs, so of the Stars wave, that was probably my favorite set.
I'm in the minority who actually really liked the Stars. Fun little dudes of iconic characters.
@SearchlightRG said:
"It was probably a case of Lego’s design team creating six sets to begin with, and then Greg Farshtey going hog wild with all the in story variants."
Wouldn't it have been because of all the different kraata they did? Like the collectible Kanohi and collectible Krana, you got small collectible tubs of kraata and I think they came in way more colours than just the ones used for the actual six Rahkshi sets. So there had to be an in story reason for why there were so many since the story always had to include what Lego were doing with the sets in some way (for example the tubs you could buy the kraata in were, in universe, devices being used to imprison those kraata), leading us to there being 42 different flavours of Rahkshi
This is one of the two Stars I own, and I got it begrudgingly. I was definitely disappointed at the time about BIONICLE's last line of sets being so wimpy, but I knew with the line ending, LEGO couldn't invest the same level of detail or attention to it. I'm glad we got a final line at all, especially one that included (in Zirahk, the yellow Rahkshi's case) brand-new characters that weren't just inferior remakes of previous characters. Tahu, Gresh, and Takanuva were done dirty in my book!
For the amount of new molds included in all the Stars, I am upset a new staff piece wasn't designed for this Rahkshi. All the Rahkshi back in 2003 had unique staffs corresponding to their powers. Zirahk here just borrows Guurahk's Staff of Disintegration and we're all supposed to be cool with that. Alas!
That said, let people who only remember BIONICLE 2010 through the Stars sets not be led into thinking the ending of the BIONICLE story was equally lackluster. It was not! In true mythological fashion, the central entity to the entire BIONICLE story (the character who's "biological chronicle" is being related), Mata Nui, finally faces off against the empowered and evil entity that is Makuta. In this final battle, Toa, Glatorian, Matoran, and Agori alike must face armies of their foes past and present. Finally, it is Mata Nui who sacrifices himself to lead his peoples to a glorious new paradise.
I love the stars wave because it introduced me to Bionicle and Lego as a whole. 5-year-old me loved these sets, and I thought they were the coolest things ever. I vividly remember going to target to pick this guy up. These sets weren't the greatest, but I still have fond memories of them. Shame about the parts quality though, all of mine are broken :/
@Brickalili said:
" @SearchlightRG said:
"It was probably a case of Lego’s design team creating six sets to begin with, and then Greg Farshtey going hog wild with all the in story variants."
Wouldn't it have been because of all the different kraata they did? Like the collectible Kanohi and collectible Krana, you got small collectible tubs of kraata and I think they came in way more colours than just the ones used for the actual six Rahkshi sets. So there had to be an in story reason for why there were so many since the story always had to include what Lego were doing with the sets in some way (for example the tubs you could buy the kraata in were, in universe, devices being used to imprison those kraata), leading us to there being 42 different flavours of Rahkshi"
That's exactly what happened