He just doesn't feel right without all the spikes and claws from his Inika form. I think I've seen a version made that included some orange, one of Nuparu's original colors as a Matoran, and it looked a lot better.

I really like those shield pieces. Though I'm not sure how much protection it would offer with that big gap down the middle.

I've got this one. Loved the missile shooter.

@Brickbuilder0937 said:
"I really like those shield pieces. Though I'm not sure how much protection it would offer with that big gap down the middle."

It’s probably a hitting shield more than a defensive shield.

Anyone else kind of bummed that the first version of Nuparu was the only one with orange parts?

If you’re interested in the design process of this set, or just of Lego sets in general, the original designer uploaded a whole video going over it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pCvTJVc_1WU

Super interesting stuff, perhaps most fascinating to me being that the “shield” was actually intended as a bladed weapon with a energy blasting core made from two mirrored halves, but due to budget restrictions the halves were made identical and inadvertently more shield-like. It *is* the “Aqua Blaster Blade” mentioned in early story material, which ended up accidentally reinterpreted as a completely separate, physically unseen tool that Nuparu just also owned :P

My boy, my man, my favorite version of the engineer!

Nuparu was once a Matoran of Earth, working as an engineer in Metru Nui. He was the chief creator of the Vahki, the robot enforcement squad that served as the cities police. Seeing how the Vahki were used to create totalitarian rule, Nuparu swore to invent something that would actually protect people some day.

Much later, after the Great Cataclysm, Nuparu was one of the many Matoran who evacuated to the island paradise of Mata Nui. For 1,000 years he toiled as a 2nd class engineer in the mines of Onu-Koro. When the Bohrok War broke, a squad of the giant robot bugs flooded the underground city. The miners attempted to retreat, but three failed to evacuate and were trapped. Onepu, Taipu, and Nuparu found themselves sealed in a dry chamber along several Bohrok corpses. Nuparu dissembled the bugs and transformed them into giant mech suits he dubbed "Boxors" to dig their way out. These Boxors turned the tides of the war, helping liberate Le-Koro.

Some time later the Matoran returned to their ancestral home of Metru Nui. Once there, the Turaga learned the Great Spirit Mata Nui was dying, and sent the Toa Nuva to the far off land of Voya Nui to retrieve the Mask of Life and revive him. When the Toa failed to return, Jaller, Captain of the Guard, assembled a small rescue team to go after them, including Nuparu.

These six Matoran headed south and found themselves trapped inside the hellish realm of Karzahni. The warlord of the same name tried to strip them of their identities. He stole Nuparu's orange Mask of Strength and replaced it with a black Mask of Flight. Eventually they manged to get their hands on a set of Toa Canisters, and used them to flee the realm.

As they washed ashore on Voya Nui, these canisters were struck by lightning from the Red Star. These energies transformed the six into Toa heroes, who dubbed themselves the Inika. They soon learned that Voya Nui had been taken over by a gang of thugs known as the Piraka. They had taken the Toa Nuva prisoner, and brainwashed most of the Matoran. The Inika used weapons designed by the surviving Matoran to free the others form their mind control and free the Nuva. Kongu, Toa of Air, was particularly jealous that Nuparu was the one to get a Mask of Flight, which he once notably used to engage the hive-mind-swarm body of Zaktan in midair fight, dragging him into the sea.

Eventually both Toa and Piraka found the Staircase of 777 steps that led to the Chamber of Life. After many trials and traps, the Toa managed to free the Kanohi Ignika from its guardian, only for the mask to take flight and dive into the sea. The Toa tried to follow it using the mysterious Cord, only for the Mask of Life to strike them with its powers, transforming them into the water breathing Toa Mahri.

Nuparu did little of note as a Mahri, but assisted his brothers in trying to get the Mask of Life back from the underwater Barraki Warlords. Eventually the Toa managed to recover the Mask. Matoro took it to the bottom of the Pit to the place it should be used, while Nuparu and the other four fended off the Barraki's hordes of underwater beasts.

But they were too late. The Great Spirit, Mata Nui, died. Unwilling to accept defeat, Matoro pressed on. He traveled to the very bottom of The Pit, and in the hidden land of Karda Nui gave his own life to revive the Great Spirit. His final wish gave the other five Mahri the ability to breathe air again, and teleported them back home to Metru Nui.

The remaining five Mahri would have a series of smaller quests in the weeks to come. They briefly fought the Toa Haga before helping them find a way into the mysterious Core Processor. While on a mission to investigate trouble on the Skakdi's home island, they witnessed a strange ritual where many beings, including the Piraka they had fought before, were fused together into a powerful Golden Skinned Being. This GSB took over the minds of the Mahri. The last we saw of Nuparu, he and his brothers were still enslaved by this titan, who brought them to his new fortress on Spherus Magna after the battle at Journey's End.

When the Mask of Life transformed Nuparu into a Mahri, it gave him a new mask and new tools. He wore the Kanohi Volitak, the Mask of Stealth. This mask hides its user and while it doesn't make them completely invisible like the Huna does, it also hides their shadow and dampens the sounds they make. His main tool was was a Razor-Edged Protosteel Shield. In addition to a massive blocking range, this shield could easily slice through obstacles or be folded for storage. While not pictured in the set he also wielded an Aqua Blaster Blade that could unleash shockwaves on his opponents. After meeting the people of Mahri Nui he obtained a Cordak "Desolation" Blaster. This gatling gun could fire explosive torpedoes and were key in destroying The Cord. As a Toa of Earth he could control dirt and soil, which was slightly useless in the open sea. Since the end of the '07 story he is amphibious. Nuparu's defining trait was his superior intellect and love of machines. While this could be a boon in creating new inventions for his team, it also gave him a tendency to admire enemy machines (such as the Piraka's Nektann) so much he'd forget to actually fight them.

@TotalMaddness said:
" It *is* the “Aqua Blaster Blade” mentioned in early story material, which ended up accidentally reinterpreted as a completely separate, physically unseen tool that Nuparu just also owned :P"

I always found it a bit funny they held a canon contest to design an actual version of the Aqua Blaster Blade, only to wind up with something so clunky and unwielding I can't really picture him even using it https://biosector01.com/wiki/File:Set_Aqua_Blaster_Blade.png

We're reaching Cloud Strife levels of oversized with that thing.

@SearchlightRG said:
"Anyone else kind of bummed that the first version of Nuparu was the only one with orange parts?"

I'm disappointed that he looks more like a Toa of Ice than one of Earth.