HAIL DENMARK!

Tahu? Gesundheit.

FLAME ON!

What a classic

He's carrying a torch for 3104 'Ashley' / 'Caroline'

Tahu is a Maori word. In English it means partner, but I wouldn't want to be living with him!...

I'm glad I got all the Stars line. Not only was it Bionicle's last hurrah (or so we thought at the time), but I have all the gold armor pieces to really deck this guy out. Unrelated, I like the fact that the gold armor piece included with this guy was the mask, so you could replicate Tahu's final form before he got dunked in protodermis.

Both an unconventional Minifigure and Set of the Day today...

Ah, the poster boy for the ignoble end BIONICLE sets had in 2010. As a fan from the beginning, I found it somewhat off-putting and trite to make the last line of canister sets small, crude imitations of earlier BIONICLE sets. Why would I buy Tahu here when I already had his 2001 edition and this was exactly what the 2010 version was supposed to represent "in-story". The only unique "Stars" were the Piraka (or rather, Skaki named Nektann) and the Rahkshi (a yellow one, albeit sans Kraata).

Looking back, I've learned that diminishing returns on set sales and increasing costs of molds made BIONICLE somewhat untenable, so in their haste, LEGO figured something was better than nothing to end the line, and these miniature sets were released. So it feels sad that this is what BIONICLE ends on, but make no mistake. That doesn't make it any less of an epic story, which in my opinion received a fitting conclusion via the comics and "Journey's End" blog. Tahu's role with donning the Golden Armor put an end to the Rahkshi once and for all and also helped to stagger Makuta long enough for Mata Nui to defeat him.

With the destruction of Makuta, Mata Nui bequeathed a new paradise to his people and his newfound friends, one that he hoped they would learn to enjoy together and of their own free will, not bound to the fate of a distant and powerful entity. I'm glad Tahu and the rest of the Toa, Turaga, Matoran, Glatorian, and Agori were there for that. Even without "Stars" Tahu, I was there, too.

@Lego_Lord_Mayorca:
I'd still _really_ love to see minifigs with prints based on at least the six Toa Mata someday. I don't even care if there are no new molded parts used. I just want to be able to slip them into club layouts.

Whilst the 'Stars' line had some charme for offering that Bionicle retrospective/'Best-of' approach at the (original) end of the line, the final result was somewhat lackluster.

If I would not have the original, I might have considered picking this set up though, I guess...

The yellow Rahkshii was also tempting, but after finding out he wasn't 'real' yellow (Keetorange was nowhere to be seen during the Mata Nui story arch) I lost interest there as well.

@Rabrickzel:
The common term is "dark ages", referencing the period between the fall of the Roman Empire and the start of the Renaissance. The term is alternately taken to mean a contrast to the "enlightened" eras both before and after, or to refer to the significant reduction of surviving written records from that era, again, compared to those immediately before and after. AFOLs seem to use it to signify that they eventually came to their senses and picked up the hobby again. I can't really speak to that aspect, since I never had a dark ages. I had more of a purgatory, where I was not allowed to buy sets with my own money (which didn't stop me, but did put a serious damper on my spending), and I certainly wasn't receiving any product as gifts.

@Maxbricks14 said:
"Tahu is a Maori word. In English it means partner, but I wouldn't want to be living with him!..."

you wouldnt? but its tahu!

also, hail denmark! praise be to lego! they dont want our money, they want our allegiance! hail denmark!

Been a while since we've had a Bonk... and this is like, the main one. I'll try to keep things short.

Early on in the creation of the Matoran Universe, the Great Beings feared what could happen to their creation. They needed a failsafe incase the Great Spirit Robot's guiding AI, Mata Nui, ever went offline, to reawaken him. Their solution was the Toa Mata, or Spirit Heroes, six powerful elemental warriors. Among these Toa was their leader. Tahu, Toa of Fire.

Their parts were sent to the legendary forger Artakha who pieced them together, and then they were sent to the warrior Hydraxon for training. Eventually the Toa Mata were sent to Karda Nui, the Core of the Universe, and placed inside a strange chamber known as the Codrex, the power source of the MU. Only Tahu and Kopaka were informed of their true purpose. They were to be placed in stasis inside of six Toa Canisters. If Mata Nui ever fell these Canisters would launch them to the source of the problem, they'd fix it, then return to the Codrex to turn it back on. Just one problem, the time in these Canisters would slowly eat away at the Toa's minds, wiping most of their memories. Eventually Tahu convinced his siblings to enter stasis, and they slept for 100,000 years.

Eventually Mata Nui would be cast into a coma by Makuta Teridax, leader of the Brotherhood of Makuta. This caused the Toa Mata to launch, but an issue caused their canisters to land in in the sea, where they would remain adrift for another 1,000 years. In this time a group of Matoran would migrate to a tropical island they named Mata Nui in the Great Spirit's honor. These Matoran had been given prophecies of the Toa's coming, and began to mythologize them. According to Matoran legend* Tahu is the eldest of the Toa. A being of pure flame, born from the magma and lava of the world in it's fledgling years before a single stone had cooled, he burns with the primordial heat of the stars. He and his siblings since went to be one with the stars, where they will one day descend from the heavens to save the world from darkness.

Eventually the Toa Canisters would wash adrift on Mata Nui's shores, where Tahu would reassemble himself. The Toa lacked their memories but received guidance form the Turaga elders of the island. They each were sent on a quest to recover six masks of power to help defeat Makuta.

Fresh after awakening Tahu was hotheaded and brash. He would often rush into situations without thinking and used aggression to demand the other Toa follow his lead. He frequently clashed with Kopaka, Toa of Ice, who didn't want to be part of a team, let alone follow his lead. Gali, Toa of Water, also had a strained relationship with him. On one notable mission she scolded him for nearly starting a forest fire.

Eventually the Toa recovered their Masks of Power and temporarily drove back the Makuta. Soon after, the insectoid Bohrok swarm awoke and the Toa went on a quest to find their nest and stop their queens. During this time Lewa, Toa of Air fell victim to the mindcontroling Krana, and was temporarily a slave of the swarm. From then onward Tahu had a distrust of his brother, fearing he may turn on them at any moment. After defeating the Bohrok Queens the Toa were tranformed into more powerful Toa Nuva.

These Toa Nuva were soon attacked by the Bohrok Kal, elites who wanted to free the queens and reawaken the swarm. During one chase Tahu had to be held back and saved from danger by the villager Jaller. Jaller reprimanded Tahu that he was no good to the villagers if he was dead, and that he needed to stop and assess a situation before jumping in blindly.

Eventually Tahu would call upon the Legendary Mask of Time to slow the Bohrok Kal down long enough for the other Toa to find a way to defeat them and save the island once more.

Some time later the villager Takua discovered the mysterious Mask of Light, an artifact that would lead the way to the legendary Seventh Toa. Makuta feared this Toa's power, and so sent his own sons, the Rahkshi, to stop Takua. During their hunt for the Mask of Light the Rah

Some time later the villager Takua discovered the mysterious Mask of Light, an artifact that would lead the way to the legendary Seventh Toa. Makuta feared this Toa's power, and so sent his own sons, the Rahkshi, to stop Takua. During their hunt for the Mask of Light the Rahkshi destroyed Tahu's home village of Ta-Koro. During the fray Tahu was poisoned by one of the Rahkshi and slowly driven to madness, and eventually turned on his siblings. Kopaka was able to stop Tahu's rampage, and Gali healed him.

Eventually Takua discovered that he himself was the Seventh Toa, and became Takanuva, Toa of Light. With his newfound powers Takanuva managed to defeat Makuta and open up his lair, freeing the way for the Matoran to return to their ancestral home of Metru Nui.

In Metru Nui Tahu's team learned a terrible truth. Mata Nui wasn't merely sleeping, he was dying. The Toa Nuva traveled to the far off island of Voya Nui to recover the Legendary Mask of Life and save him, but were defeated and captured by a gang of thugs known as the Piraka. Eventually the Toa Nuva were rescued by a new team of Toa, led by none other than Jaller. While Jaller's team recovered the Mask of Life the Toa Nuva traveled to other parts of the Matoran Universe to prepare it for Mata Nui's awakening.

Eventually the Toa Nuva were equipped with special Adaptive Armor that could help them survive any environment and were sent to Karda Nui. By this point Tahu had learned to trust in his siblings judgement, to let go of control and follow their input. Still a leader, but one who was finally in tune with the team and less self centered. In Karda Nui they split into two teams to find the six keystones that could unlock the Codrex. Tahu's team headed down to the swamps bellow. There Tahu frequently butted heads with the ghostly Makuta Krika. Krika had been cursed by the swamps mutagenic waters to constantly feed on sources of heat, and the aloof specter treated Tahu as little more than a buffet.

Eventually the Toa succeeded in activating the Codrex. This caused destructive energy storms to form in Karda Nui, incinerating everything inside, and they climbed aboard powerful vehicles to escape the swarm. On the way out Tahu's Toa Code was strained. The Code said that Toa could never kill, nor allow a being to die if they could prevent it. Tahu wanted to save the members of the Brotherhood of Makuta who had been fighting them in the swamp, but realized it would be suicide to go back for them. In his own words "they lit this inferno, let them burn in it."

But the Toa's victory was short lived. They had been tricked! Maktua had managed to remove Mata Nui's soul from the Great Spirit Robot, so when they woke Mata Nui they woke his body, with Makuta's mind. Makuta trapped Mata Nui in the Mask of Life and fired him into the stars, and the Matoran Universe was thrust into a Reign of Shadows.

During the Reign of Shadow's Tahu became a freedom fighter, teaming up with unlikely allies to protect people form Makuta's dictatorship. Meanwhile Mata Nui landed on the planet of Bara Magna where he eventually got a new giant robot body. When Makuta sensed Mata Nui's restored form he traveled to Bara Magna to confront him, leading to the Journey's End.

While Mata Nui and Makuta dueled in the clouds, Makuta's legions of Rahkshi swarmed Bara Manga to kill its people. Tahu trailed the army and joined the forces of Bara Magna to protect it. Early on in the fight Tahu was visited by the Mask of Life, who had one last failsafe to provide him with.

The Golden Armor was six piece set that could enhance any Toa, allowing them to instantly destroy any solidified Antidermis essence of Makuta and absorb their powers. The only problem was that Tahu would have to be reverted to his original form to use it, loosing his Nuva Powers and Adaptive Armor. Tahu was reverted, but before he could put the Golden Armor on Makuta sensed his plot .Makuta fired a bolt of energy at the armor, scattering the six pieces across the battlefield. Tahu teamed up with Takanuva and Bara Magna native Gresh to

Tahu teamed up with Takanuva and Bara Magna native Gresh to recollect the pieces.

Near the end of their chase Makuta raised his giant foot, planning to crush both his own forces and the enemy to dust to end the fray.

The final piece of Golden Armor landed in the hands of Nektann. He had long been a feared warlord in his homeland, but since Makuta's takeover had risen to the head of his army and a feared dictator. During their duel, Tahu nearly violated his Toa Code again. He used his heat powers to melt Nektann's armor around him, but he was careful in which pieces he melted and for how long. In an instant he managed to melt and fuse Nektann to ground, while leaving the warlord alive inside his warped shell.

Tahu donned the Golden Armor, becoming the most powerful Toa in history** and unleashed a powerful burst of energy., incinerating all the Rahkshi in an instant. Makuta sensed the death of his thousands of children, and stopped mid step. This gave Mata Nui enough time to push him away from the fight. There Makuta was struck in the back of the head by a fragment of one of Bara Magna's moons (long story) which lit his gaseous Antidermis essence aflame and destroyed the dark lord. Mata Nui succumbed to his own wounds and strain soon after.

When Mata Nui's voice had finally faded from the Mask of Life Tahu spoke to the crowd. He wanted them to honor Mata Nui's final will, to build a better world for all of them, and to move on. In the coming weeks Tahu would become a major leader in the merging of the Matoran Universe and Spherous Magna's societies. After the Makuta's many wars and genocides there were only around 40 Toa left, and they looked to him for guidance.

While it's not canon, it's worth mentioning that Gen 2 was originally going to continue Gen 1's story. A few ideas were tossed around, but trying to combine all the concepts with the final product this is the best middle ground I can come up with: Tahu and his team would dive into a pit known as the Well of Time. They would end up traveling across space and time to other realities, where they would live up to Matoran myth and become one with the stars, descending from the heavens to liberate worlds plagued in darkness.

Tahu famously wore the Kanohi Hau, the Mask of Shielding, which often symbolized the Great Spirit himself. This mask allowed him to block any attack, so long as he could see it coming. As a Toa Nuva he could share his shield with his allies. He carried a sword carved like a flame that he could light ablaze at will. With his Golden Armor he also wielded a shield... which is a little redundant with the Mask of Shielding but whatever. Thanks to the Golden Armor Tahu now has access to all 42 Rahkshi powers and can use these powers even without the armor.

*Okay this is technically not canon, it was info from the story bible that never made it into the final product, but it's too cool not to mention.
**Well debatably. As far as I know the Golden Armor has more power as a default then the Nui Stone, but the Nui Stone can absorb power from other Toa and alternate universe Nui Stones, so Prime Tuyet probably has way more raw power than Tahu but not nearly as many abilities.

@Maxbricks14 said:
"Tahu is a Maori word. In English it means partner, but I wouldn't want to be living with him!..."

It can also mean "burn" which was probably what they were going for

@Billbuilds said:
" @GSR_matanui
are you copy and pasting the descriptions from somewhere? you got tahu's lore up really fast"

I started at around 10:05 and finished around 10:55

@PurpleDave said:
" @Lego_Lord_Mayorca:
I'd still _really_ love to see minifigs with prints based on at least the six Toa Mata someday. I don't even care if there are no new molded parts used. I just want to be able to slip them into club layouts."

That would be nice. Since we have three different Kanohi for the 2x2 curved slope piece, maybe such an idea isn't so far-fetched. Maybe for the 25th anniversary of BIONICLE in 2026!

@MCLegoboy said:
"HAIL DENMARK!"

HAIL DENMARK

@xboxtravis7992 said:
" @MCLegoboy said:
"HAIL DENMARK!"

HAIL DENMARK"

HAIL DENMARK

Why were the renders on these Stars sets so appallingly bad lmao

Me, seeing we got the figurehead for most of Bionicle pop up: “Oh boy, I imagine this is going to be a hell of a recap for GSR to post.”

Also me, seeing the three comments it took: “Yeah that tracks XD”

Wow, that guy certainly is on fire!

"And it burns, burns, burns,
that thing of fire, that thing of fire"

HAIL JOHNNY CASH

for those of you who are confused by the hail denmark, its a reference to a bionicle fan series that heavily features this set

it is called reviving bionicle if anyone is interested

Hail Denmark!

The Stars deserve all the criticism they get, but I do like this Tahu, despite some weird choices: his mask is too narrow to fit properly on the earlier style of head, the silver pommel looks very out of place and has no equivalent in the original set, and his eyes are lime green when orange was available and would have been a closer match.

As a kid, though, I started with Bionicle in 2007 but got really into the Mata- and Metru-era Bionicle lore from books, so it was pretty exciting for me to be able to get a "classic" Tahu.

wish.com tahu

Why y’all calling for hail to fall on Denmark? It would dent the LEGO House, and look less studly. This is a fire guy right? So maybe call for — know what? Nevermind.

Even at the time I thought this set was pathetic. I thought getting a remake of the classic Hau was cool (especially since I didn't have an original golden Hau at the time so figured this could make a good proxy), but it's not the same mold, got stretched, and doesn't fit on the old Voodoo heads, so it's kinda a moot point. As a send-off set, it wasn't flattering for the character as the forced posture of this particular AvToran/Agori style makes him look stiff and hunched over instead of brave and overall failed to capture the magic of the original set it was supposed to be a remake of.

Looking at prototype promo photos, it looks like they originally were going to experiment with marbling black into the ball cups on his arms and legs to emulate the joints on the original figure and make the color blocking more proper, but I assume they deemed that the results of injecting both colors were unreliable for the desired effect.

Hail Denmark.

@WizardOfOss said:
"It might be because this was released in my dark ages, but I still don't get the appeal of Bionicle. But even as a kid, I don't think I would have cared. It's just so not like regular Lego at all..."

The main appeal for a lot of people was the lore. They had this epic mystery about elemental cyborgs that was slowly drip fed to the audience over the years, carring themes of companionship, loyalty, and the importance of both technological advancement *and* nature. In the end it was revealed the entire series was a metaphor for the human body (specifically cancer) and how we often don't treat our "pieces" with the respect they deserve and neglect our health.

Not many people are going to get LEGO Star Wars's bulky gray vehicles unless they've watched the films, or not many people are going to get the boxiness of LEGO Minecraft without playing the game. For a BIONCLE fan it's easy to go "oh woah that's the guy that can surf on lava" or "he's the one who stood up to a giant robot lizard man twice his size" and think he's neat. Technic is already a step removed from LEGO System, BIONICLE's original system is just a step removed from that, and CCBS is just a step removed from that, so for a lot of AFOL's who's goal is to "build something" they don't get it. It's more for people who want to "own something" from a franchise they love. (And also stop motion animators.)

Not to say all BIONICLE builds are low detail or low in building complexity. I'd strongly recommend 8556 Boxor or 8923 Hydraxon to anyone who's never tried a BIONICLE set before. The former holds true to its technic roots, while the latter highlights just how creative you can get with it's "specialized" pieces while also integrating LEGO's standard fare for a high detail robot.

@Billbuilds said:
" @Maxbricks14 said:
"Tahu is a Maori word. In English it means partner, but I wouldn't want to be living with him!..."

you wouldnt? but its tahu!"

Depending on where in the Bionicle timeline we’re talking, Tahu might not be the best housemate. Stars Tahu here is probably cool, as at this point he’d gotten a grip on his temper. 2001-2003 Tahu might have started hurling fire at you for not promptly taking your turn at unloading the dishwasher.

@SearchlightRG yeah Tahu in the early years is best described with words I can't say on Brickset. He learned a lot as the franchise went, especially after the beat-down the Piraka gave in 2006.

@GSR_MataNui said:
" @WizardOfOss said:
"It might be because this was released in my dark ages, but I still don't get the appeal of Bionicle. But even as a kid, I don't think I would have cared. It's just so not like regular Lego at all..."

The main appeal for a lot of people was the lore. They had this epic mystery about elemental cyborgs that was slowly drip fed to the audience over the years, carring themes of companionship, loyalty, and the importance of both technological advancement *and* nature. In the end it was revealed the entire series was a metaphor for the human body (specifically cancer) and how we often don't treat our "pieces" with the respect they deserve and neglect our health.

Not many people are going to get LEGO Star Wars's bulky gray vehicles unless they've watched the films, or not many people are going to get the boxiness of LEGO Minecraft without playing the game. For a BIONCLE fan it's easy to go "oh woah that's the guy that can surf on lava" or "he's the one who stood up to a giant robot lizard man twice his size" and think he's neat. Technic is already a step removed from LEGO System, BIONICLE's original system is just a step removed from that, and CCBS is just a step removed from that, so for a lot of AFOL's who's goal is to "build something" they don't get it. It's more for people who want to "own something" from a franchise they love. (And also stop motion animators.)

Not to say all BIONICLE builds are low detail or low in building complexity. I'd strongly recommend 8556 Boxor or 8923 Hydraxon to anyone who's never tried a BIONICLE set before. The former holds true to its technic roots, while the latter highlights just how creative you can get with it's "specialized" pieces while also integrating LEGO's standard fare for a high detail robot. "

Obviously LEGO learned how to apply that elsewhere, like Exo-Force, Monkey Kid, Legends of Chima, Nexo Knights, and especially Ninjago. But none of them have really captured the mystery and depth Bionicle managed to. Bionicle often felt shackled by it's own LEGO roots, and was held back by the company's lack of experience with that kind of story telling. Compare Bionicle to how Hasbro has handled Transformers, and LEGO is obviously lagging in recognizing the treasure chest of an IP they own with Bionicle (but maybe that is for the best as well, we've never had to suffer Michael Bay's Bionicle!)

If I was in charge of Bionicle and could tell the story again without being shackled by selling toys, I think I would give it a Triple-A open world video game (think something with the scope of Skyrim set on Mata-Nui or Metru-Nui) and then an animated series similar in tone to The Clone Wars, maybe with a visual style akin to Legends of Vox Machina; and a high profile place on a streaming service like Netflix (yes I know a Bionicle Netflix show HAS already happened but come on, Journey to One was a let down in almost all regards). Then comic books like G1 originally had, but a slower pace to explore the world. Yes I would love to see LEGO make Bionicle toys, but the world itself deserves to be explored more than it was.

@xboxtravis7992 said:
"Obviously LEGO learned how to apply that elsewhere, like Exo-Force, Monkey Kid, Legends of Chima, Nexo Knights, and especially Ninjago. But none of them have really captured the mystery and depth Bionicle managed to. Bionicle often felt shackled by it's own LEGO roots, and was held back by the company's lack of experience with that kind of story telling. Compare Bionicle to how Hasbro has handled Transformers, and LEGO is obviously lagging in recognizing the treasure chest of an IP they own with Bionicle (but maybe that is for the best as well, we've never had to suffer Michael Bay's Bionicle!)

If I was in charge of Bionicle and could tell the story again without being shackled by selling toys, I think I would give it a Triple-A open world video game (think something with the scope of Skyrim set on Mata-Nui or Metru-Nui) and then an animated series similar in tone to The Clone Wars, maybe with a visual style akin to Legends of Vox Machina; and a high profile place on a streaming service like Netflix (yes I know a Bionicle Netflix show HAS already happened but come on, Journey to One was a let down in almost all regards). Then comic books like G1 originally had, but a slower pace to explore the world. Yes I would love to see LEGO make Bionicle toys, but the world itself deserves to be explored more than it was. "

LEGO should hire this guy, like yesterday. I usually don't do video games, but I'd play that.