Random set of the day: Pahrak
Posted by Huwbot,
Today's random set is 8560 Pahrak, released in 2002. It's one of 28 Bionicle sets produced that year. It contains 41 pieces, and its retail price was US$8/£4.99.
It's owned by 3424 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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22 comments on this article
“US$8/ £4,99”
Turns out they’ve been doing weird price stuff for years...
^(60248 and other 18UK/30US sets have left the chat)
@Mr__Thrawn said:
"“US$8/ £4,99”
Turns out they’ve been doing weird price stuff for years..."
Not really strange pricing, exchange rates have changed over time, in 2002, a 1 US Dollar was between 0.7 and 0.62 British Pound , so even in a single year it changed quite a bit.
In 2004 8 US Dollar would even be closer to 4 British Pound.
"Look at this Pahrak, every time I do it makes me laugh"
The only Bohrok I still don’t have.
I gotta say, I did enjoy the action feature on these guys. Squeeze the lever on the back and the head flies forward and injures your siblings. Good times.
@chuckschwa said:
""Look at this Pahrak, every time I do it makes me laugh""
Very era-appropriate joke! 2000s pop music made for mass consumption meets 2000s popular toy of mass swarms, consuming all in their path.
Pahrak was one of the last Bohrok I got, a simultaneous purchase in a 3-pack that included Nuhvok and Lehvak as well. They didn't draw me in as the Tahnok or Kohrak did, as their main feature in the storyline was during the siege of Ga-Koro, the climax of which occurred simultaneously with the Toa battle against the Bahrag queens underground. I was obviously more invested in that fight. The coolest moment in Ga-Koro, however, was when the Pahrak gained the power to fly when the Pahrak Va switched out the Krana for the kind that enables short-range flight. This shocked the already weary Matoran and Turaga which took refuge in the village. Just as it seemed the Pahrak would win the day, the Suva of Gali (a shrine of sorts) lit up with the creation of her Nuva symbol, and as the Bahrag became entombed in solid protodermis, the Pahrak Krana died and made the Pahrak shells inactive.
In the weeks that followed, Pahrak were reprogrammed by the Matoran of Ga-Koro to rebuild the village monuments and help seal away the remaining Krana in a pit forever.
I've always been disturbed that this one uses 8553's head as hands.
I have two copies of Pahrak... The Bohrok are pretty cheap on the secondary market. If you don't own any of the Bohrok, I would highly encourage you to buy at least one.
My first Bionicle set! This one is the reason I collected every single one of them.
Came to the comments expecting insane depths of Bionicle lore.
Was not disappointed.
@Zordboy said:
"I gotta say, I did enjoy the action feature on these guys. Squeeze the lever on the back and the head flies forward and injures your siblings. Good times."
And if you punch it in its eyes its brain flies out! What kid doesn't love that?
@cluening said:
"I've always been disturbed that this one uses 8553's head as hands."
Isn't that true of all the Bohrok and Bohrok Va though?
Still working his way down the Great Mountain of Doom, above the Great Fields of Doom, beneath the Great Blue Sky of Doom, in search of the Stuff of Great Mysteriousness located in the Caves of Inexplicable Doom.
I always loved the design of the Bohroks, being little gorons.
@cluening said:
"I've always been disturbed that this one uses 8553's head as hands."
I always perceived it was the other way around
@Lego_Lord_Mayorca did not mention the epic moment when Takua stood between the Pahraks and villagers (“Now you have to DEAL WITH ME” - capitalization as in the original), buying time for the Toa to defeat Bahrags.
I remember my friend had Pahrak, first. I used to compare Bionicle collections with my friends - not competitively, just because I liked seeing what they had that I didn't - and one guy in 2004 had Pahrak here while I had Tahnok. Occasionally, I remember, we would battle them together.
By then, though, we were entering our teenage years; and I'm pretty sure he was growing disinterested in Bionicle, while I most definitely was NOT. When I realised that - and also had got hold of a spare Tahnok from an ebay lot - I kinda negotiated a trade with him: the second Tahnok for his Pahrak. The advantage of the Bohrok being practically the same meant that he wasn't loosing out in the trade, while I was one Bohrok closer to having a full set.
That said, ever since then I've liked Pahrak a lot better than I've liked Tahnok... despite their literal only differences being colour and weapons. I guess it just has something to do with the sense of satisfaction of eventually owning a set, after only seeing it from afar for ages?
Also, honestly? The Bohrok became cooler in hindsight, to me. In 2002, they were just sort of 'eh, whatever' villains to me; it's only in hindsight that they started to seem a lot cooler than I gave them credit for.
The Bohrok were peak Bionicle for me. The Rahi were rather clunky in comparison, and the Rahkshi attack seemed weak compared to the Bohrok head lunge (which reminded me so much of the tiny mouth that comes out of the Xenomorph's mouth in the Alien movies. And after that, there appears to have been a shift where they stopped focusing on giving every character an attack, and even started giving the mask designs more stable connections that basically made them impossible to knock off. Normally I preferred the Fire group, but in this case, with all the contrasting eye/krana color schemes, Nuhvok looked best (followed by Kohrak).
Ah, the Bohrok. I will always say these guys were the perfect toy.
Well articulated, nice size, transforming feature, and a function that wasn't a hindrance to the figure (well, it omitted head articulation, but the head striking feature is a good payoff). Plus, it's also a building toy, the canister has a neat storage function (that's also canon relevant), and to top it all off, they just look cool.
Nothing compares to the Bohrok, and I stand by that statement.
I really liked the Bohrok's bold eye and krana colors that contrasted with their main color schemes.
didn't get into bionicle, but this is one of the few i have.
@Lego_Lord_Mayorca said:
"They didn't draw me in as the Tahnok or Kohrak did, as their main feature in the storyline was during the siege of Ga-Koro, the climax of which occurred simultaneously with the Toa battle against the Bahrag queens underground. I was obviously more invested in that fight. The coolest moment in Ga-Koro, however, was when the Pahrak gained the power to fly when the Pahrak Va switched out the Krana for the kind that enables short-range flight. This shocked the already weary Matoran and Turaga which took refuge in the village. Just as it seemed the Pahrak would win the day, the Suva of Gali (a shrine of sorts) lit up with the creation of her Nuva symbol, and as the Bahrag became entombed in solid protodermis, the Pahrak Krana died and made the Pahrak shells inactive.
In the weeks that followed, Pahrak were reprogrammed by the Matoran of Ga-Koro to rebuild the village monuments and help seal away the remaining Krana in a pit forever."
Riiight.
;-P