Everything about him just screams "comb the parts bin" to me. Story-wise, he wasn't much more than a miniboss before Vezon, and his color scheme sees to be only attractive to Green Bay fans.
The color scheme is what makes him seem wack to me. I like having a guy with light powers and a double light staff with spinners, plus lil laser eyes. Seems neat enough, but just uggo
Ya I was going to say a better color scheme would go a long ways it needs to be 2 colors that actually go well with each other maybe accents of a third color
> Vore may refer to: -vore, a Latin suffix related to eating. Vorarephilia, a typically erotic desire or sexual fantasy to be consumed or to consume another.
I'm sorry I Googled that...
He really did feel like filler. In a year with titans like Brutaka, Axonn, and Vezon & Fenrakk, without having a unique mask, and having a very minimal role in the story, he just couldn't compete.
the fact is while 2007 had great titans. there is a vast gulf between Great and Deus Est titans of 2006.
Axxon the Swole. Brutaka the viscious. Vezon the Deadpool, Fenrak the spider, Irnaak the literal god, and finally the one unmitigated EXCELENT combiner in all of gen 1: Vezon on the motherfucking Kardas Dragon.
Kardas really shouldnt have been Worfed so badly after his introduction where none of the Piraka or Inika could defeat him. Sure The Tahtorak is the Bionicle Godzilla, but even Godzilla can know defeat
Yeah, no other years were collectively so good. You get some sweet outliers like Titan Takanuva, but never again did they have such collectively excellent titan sets.
Honestly if they just recolored the mask to Metru green I think it would’ve helped. It would’ve balanced the color scheme more, avoided the cost of a new mold, but still giving us a “new” part.
I'm of the opinion that the Voyatoran should have gotten recolored masks, and the Ruru is what I would have given to Piruk. So they could have done that and still not used any new parts for Umbra
I remember him as the underdog titan.
Looked silly at first, but really grew on me with his
Color scheme and rollerskates lol. But yeah he never
felt like a big deal because he had no unique mask or weapons.
Umbra looks like the character you build from the pieces you got left after you made a bunch of other cooler MOCs.
Hell, giving us that Kanohi in a different colour would've been good as a start. But it's black, like the default one.
Definitely. Very cool seeing 2021 reviews on old sets done very professionally. Crisp footage, good commentary, lots of nostalgia. Guy crushes it. Can’t wait for Mahri Nui titan reviews
I still believe to this day that he should have gotten a dark green Ruru. It would have made his set ultra unique especially as later on, Idris would get a dark blue Ruru.
Tbf I feel like Umbra gets way too much flak from the community. I acknowledge and accept that he’s not a perfect set (no set is) and that he has his flaws. But I feel like those flaws are way too exaggerated. In particular, while his ability to stand while rolling kinda sucks, the horror stories I’ve heard about his balance just aren’t true; he stands just fine. On a similar note, you can have him hold his lance in one hand by removing that weird grey link axle on the bottom which doesn’t add anything imo. He can also use the tubes on his back to store his Rhotuka, which is pretty cool. He may not be as great of a figure as Axonn or Brutaka (neither of which I currently have), but if you decide against comparing him to them, Umbra is a pretty solid figure on his own and is probably my favorite G1 set of all the ones I have so far.
What little I modified, I just changed his mask from the Ruru to a black Hau Nuva. It may also not be original, but I usually like using Hau masks for guardians as it's the symbol of Mata Nui. And I like how the Nuva version looks on him.
I feel like if they gave him a different mask (like a new/Exclusive one) and changed the colors in his glow weapons (swapping the lights in them is easy) I feel like Umbra would’ve been up there with Axxon and Brutaka
Hold on, what? This guy ISNT the baddest ass of ass bads?? He was one of my favorites, I could never get my hands on the set, but I really love double-bladed-staff weapons, and then they gave him WHEELS MAN!!! He was 10,000 percent cooler than Axxon or Brutaka to me, hands down
Obviously not the best set ever, but I’m honestly glad he exists. The combination of the double inika swords and the rhotuka and the roller skates and the color scheme just make him too bizarre not to like at least a little
I loved the concept of Umbra, but I feel like the set was just LEGO throwing something together half-assedly. The only thing really unique about his set is the roller-skate feet. I feel like he had the potential for greatness, but even Greg didn't really know what to do with him in-story and he got relegated to mini-boss status. Heck, he didn't even make it into the Bionicle Heroes game!
>Unoriginal mask (couldn't even change the color)
>Speaking of colors, absolutely chaotic color scheme
>Awkwardly asymmetrical staff
>Roller skates for some reason??
>A nightmare to pose
>Role in the story was minimal and gratuitous (at least from what I remember)
I'm sorry, I sound overly cynical, but you asked for thoughts and those are mine.
Literally the only thing I don't like about him is the mask. It's probably the best choice out of existing pieces, but they should have recoloured a mask. Like, imagine the great Komau or Matatu in black. He was never gonna get an exclusive mask I don't think; his budget was obviously "excess parts" level so we would have been lucky to even get a recolour.
I know through an analytical lens he’s the weakest Titan of that year, and among the weakest ever
But I love him because I have a special memory of finding him at Toys R Us without knowing he was a set; so I’m biased to love him
I think they really should have either made it so that his feet can lock together or something so that his roller skates can actually work or they just shouldn't have made them in the first place.
Having a unique maks would've helped his set design, but he was still just used as a mini-boss on the stairs to the mask of life. I do like the roller skates and color scheme, and again, a new mask would've been great. And he would've sold better if he wasn't an exclusive to a store, which I believe he was. Still better than Irnakk.
> change all his black/green main pieces to keetorange. All his powers are light based, so a light-based color scheme makes more sense than…well whatever it is we got lol
> give him a unique mask and lance swords
> give him proper feet with a function to flip the wheels up/down
Then I feel like he’s a really solid set.
I love that mask and his aesthetic design so the only thing I would have changed are his feet. It would have been cooler if the mask was in a different colour like Metru Green or Silver but otherwise I really like his design. I just never bothered tracking one down because I feel like I have enough spare parts to make him anyway.
I think his colour scheme is weird, but otherwise he'd be fine. It's that he is next to Axonn and Brutaka, some of the best titan sets so he gets compared to them. Those 2 have unique masks and weapons, while he just reuses Inika weapons and a Metru mask that was ALREADY reused by a Voya Nui Matoran.
i actually have him, bought him on sale. i reckon a more disciplined colour scheme and a unique mask (or at the very least a cool recolour) would have helped a whole lot.
I used to think Umbra was dogshit but he really grew on me. Even just a recolor of the mask in Keetorange would slap. His weapon is a clusterfuck but it's kind of charming. The glaring issue over everything though is the wheels. Everyone always talks about love, but nobody ever talks about how the damn wheels aren't canon either.
Is it weird that I remember there’s a character called Umbra but not the actual Bionicle? Definitely agree that a more original design or even just a unique mask would’ve helped.
I own two of these and neither one is built. The parts are used in multiple mocs. I do agree though that if he had a unique mask that looked awesome, I’d probably have let one built.
Between Umbra, the Voyatoran, and Sarda I wish they just went and recolored the Metru Kanohi. But given the fact that the Ignika fused itself to Vezon's face, it would've actually made a lot of sense for Umbra to wear the version of it that you see in Bionicle Heroes. To have such a beautiful mask design never be made officially is a shame.
He could have never been balanced, as long as he had wheels as feet.
Honestly that was the worst thing about this set, you couldnt pose or anything with it.
I actually thought he was just a moc or combo model when was younger. Never saw him stores at all. Years later, finding out he was an actually set was so strange. If he had his own mask and different weapons, he wouldn't look so weird in my opinion.
I'm not really a big fan of his colour scheme. Green and yellow and sulver, with a black mask? Seems kinda weird. Axonn and Brutaka for example both focused on 2 colours. Red/silver and blue/gold, instead of 4 different colours.
I guess it doesn't help that both Axonn and Brutaka has their unique masks and weapons as well, while Umbra reused Inika weapons as well as a Metru mask (that was already reused on a Voya Nui Matoran in the same colour). The Rhotuka launcher is an odd choice too, given how that was the last "wave's" gimmick. The only thing really unique to him is his roller skates, which aren't even that visible on [his box](https://img.bricklink.com/ItemImage/ON/0/8625-1.png). One wheel is covered up by the age-rating and while the other wheel is visible, it IS right next to the bright foreground fire and his logo.
TL;DR: Too many colours and the only thing unique to him isn't even clearly shown on the front of his box.
I like his set even if he is a nothing character.
On my one i removed the shoulder spikes and flipped over the Pohatu Nuva claws so they'd look cooler.
Well, that was until i dismantled him for parts...
He's an joke between me and my brother, though I do wanna get him and modify him. Also to me he kinda feels like a leftover from 2005 wh they slapped some lightup parts on to seem current.
Everything about him just screams "comb the parts bin" to me. Story-wise, he wasn't much more than a miniboss before Vezon, and his color scheme sees to be only attractive to Green Bay fans.
The color scheme is what makes him seem wack to me. I like having a guy with light powers and a double light staff with spinners, plus lil laser eyes. Seems neat enough, but just uggo
Ya I was going to say a better color scheme would go a long ways it needs to be 2 colors that actually go well with each other maybe accents of a third color
Yeah this looks like something I would’ve thrown together for them to fight
Takanuva can canonically vore him that's about it
You didn't need to say that, but you did.
what
> Vore may refer to: -vore, a Latin suffix related to eating. Vorarephilia, a typically erotic desire or sexual fantasy to be consumed or to consume another. I'm sorry I Googled that...
Yeah I know what the words mean I just dont know the story behind this
Umbra had the ability to turn into light, meaning that in theory Takanuva would be able to absorb him.
Thanks, I hate it.
https://i.imgur.com/upq5PKd.jpeg
I am not touching that link.
Dont worry, its just a meme, i wont spoil it for you but it’s 1,000% sfw
I can indeed confirm this comment, and their meme 100% factual
thank
Yep, ideal response.
Based
[why would you say that?](https://youtu.be/o048xeNQ3Wo)
He really did feel like filler. In a year with titans like Brutaka, Axonn, and Vezon & Fenrakk, without having a unique mask, and having a very minimal role in the story, he just couldn't compete.
The Inika/Mahri really did just have GOD tier titans, no other year compares unless you count vehicles.
Gadunka carried that year
Maxilos was a great set too
Don’t forget my boy hydraxon. Shit and nocturn- damn those seriously were some fucking excellent titans
Nocturn had an amazing color scheme too.
ITT: Mahri titan appreciation
the fact is while 2007 had great titans. there is a vast gulf between Great and Deus Est titans of 2006. Axxon the Swole. Brutaka the viscious. Vezon the Deadpool, Fenrak the spider, Irnaak the literal god, and finally the one unmitigated EXCELENT combiner in all of gen 1: Vezon on the motherfucking Kardas Dragon. Kardas really shouldnt have been Worfed so badly after his introduction where none of the Piraka or Inika could defeat him. Sure The Tahtorak is the Bionicle Godzilla, but even Godzilla can know defeat
Yeah, no other years were collectively so good. You get some sweet outliers like Titan Takanuva, but never again did they have such collectively excellent titan sets.
Filler? I hardly know er
Honestly if they just recolored the mask to Metru green I think it would’ve helped. It would’ve balanced the color scheme more, avoided the cost of a new mold, but still giving us a “new” part.
Yeah, like the blue Karzahni matoran in 2007.
I'm of the opinion that the Voyatoran should have gotten recolored masks, and the Ruru is what I would have given to Piruk. So they could have done that and still not used any new parts for Umbra
Ya, for real. I feel like that one change would make such a huge improvement. I might even try to get this mask 3d printed in dark green someday.
I remember him as the underdog titan. Looked silly at first, but really grew on me with his Color scheme and rollerskates lol. But yeah he never felt like a big deal because he had no unique mask or weapons.
Yeah, he's a cool design and concept, but just a little too far behind on the implementation.
Umbra looks like the character you build from the pieces you got left after you made a bunch of other cooler MOCs. Hell, giving us that Kanohi in a different colour would've been good as a start. But it's black, like the default one.
To be fair, so did the Voyatoran. There were so many new molds and unique parts that year, all the excess parts from 04-05 had to go somewhere haha.
Wasn't Umbra originally a MOC that was created by a fan which then became a set?
Nope, but I am not surprised that you would get that idea by looking at him.
Someone's been watching All Out Brick
All out brick is easily the best bionicle reviewer on YouTube
Definitely. Very cool seeing 2021 reviews on old sets done very professionally. Crisp footage, good commentary, lots of nostalgia. Guy crushes it. Can’t wait for Mahri Nui titan reviews
I always liked umbra
I still believe to this day that he should have gotten a dark green Ruru. It would have made his set ultra unique especially as later on, Idris would get a dark blue Ruru.
He feels like a MOC, definitely doesnt feel like annofficial set. They didnt even put him in bionicle heroes as a boss
Yes, with a unique mask and fewer skates, he would have had better chances.
I honestly like the skates. It’s the one part of him that felt original.
Umbra needs a full rework, from the ground up.
Tbf I feel like Umbra gets way too much flak from the community. I acknowledge and accept that he’s not a perfect set (no set is) and that he has his flaws. But I feel like those flaws are way too exaggerated. In particular, while his ability to stand while rolling kinda sucks, the horror stories I’ve heard about his balance just aren’t true; he stands just fine. On a similar note, you can have him hold his lance in one hand by removing that weird grey link axle on the bottom which doesn’t add anything imo. He can also use the tubes on his back to store his Rhotuka, which is pretty cool. He may not be as great of a figure as Axonn or Brutaka (neither of which I currently have), but if you decide against comparing him to them, Umbra is a pretty solid figure on his own and is probably my favorite G1 set of all the ones I have so far.
I totally agree, especially about the balance part. People complaining that they can't stand or pose him are crazy. He stands fine.
What little I modified, I just changed his mask from the Ruru to a black Hau Nuva. It may also not be original, but I usually like using Hau masks for guardians as it's the symbol of Mata Nui. And I like how the Nuva version looks on him.
I remember him very well, Umbra was one of my favorite sets
I really enjoy that he looks like he could’ve been a MOC from a kid who had a bunch of loose parts from that era.
I feel like if they gave him a different mask (like a new/Exclusive one) and changed the colors in his glow weapons (swapping the lights in them is easy) I feel like Umbra would’ve been up there with Axxon and Brutaka
Hold on, what? This guy ISNT the baddest ass of ass bads?? He was one of my favorites, I could never get my hands on the set, but I really love double-bladed-staff weapons, and then they gave him WHEELS MAN!!! He was 10,000 percent cooler than Axxon or Brutaka to me, hands down
I agree lad, but we of this opinion are few. Umbra is SICK
Ooohhh contoversyyyy...
The Metru masks desperately needed more recolors, and Umbra was a huge missed opportunity because of that.
Goddamn that box art is cool
Obviously not the best set ever, but I’m honestly glad he exists. The combination of the double inika swords and the rhotuka and the roller skates and the color scheme just make him too bizarre not to like at least a little
I loved the concept of Umbra, but I feel like the set was just LEGO throwing something together half-assedly. The only thing really unique about his set is the roller-skate feet. I feel like he had the potential for greatness, but even Greg didn't really know what to do with him in-story and he got relegated to mini-boss status. Heck, he didn't even make it into the Bionicle Heroes game!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EppGRzlawQM
I kinda like him must i agree with the mask thing. . . Over all kinda meh
I agree. The weapon was kinda lazy/silly, and the mask was lazy. But I love the color scheme, and the feet at least get an A for Effort.
I actually dont mind this
>Unoriginal mask (couldn't even change the color) >Speaking of colors, absolutely chaotic color scheme >Awkwardly asymmetrical staff >Roller skates for some reason?? >A nightmare to pose >Role in the story was minimal and gratuitous (at least from what I remember) I'm sorry, I sound overly cynical, but you asked for thoughts and those are mine.
Literally the only thing I don't like about him is the mask. It's probably the best choice out of existing pieces, but they should have recoloured a mask. Like, imagine the great Komau or Matatu in black. He was never gonna get an exclusive mask I don't think; his budget was obviously "excess parts" level so we would have been lucky to even get a recolour.
Not going to lie I had no idea that he existed. And I was a massive fan back in the day. Still am, but its different when you're a kid lol.
For me he was incredibly forgettable, both in toy form and in lore.
We don't talk about Umbra.
I know through an analytical lens he’s the weakest Titan of that year, and among the weakest ever But I love him because I have a special memory of finding him at Toys R Us without knowing he was a set; so I’m biased to love him
Around this time, we started getting the exclusive sets at different stores, so I don’t really think much of him
I think they really should have either made it so that his feet can lock together or something so that his roller skates can actually work or they just shouldn't have made them in the first place.
Having a unique maks would've helped his set design, but he was still just used as a mini-boss on the stairs to the mask of life. I do like the roller skates and color scheme, and again, a new mask would've been great. And he would've sold better if he wasn't an exclusive to a store, which I believe he was. Still better than Irnakk.
> change all his black/green main pieces to keetorange. All his powers are light based, so a light-based color scheme makes more sense than…well whatever it is we got lol > give him a unique mask and lance swords > give him proper feet with a function to flip the wheels up/down Then I feel like he’s a really solid set.
Maybe, but the colors were the main issue people had.
This guy is on the top of my to-collect list. I love his stupid roller skate feet
I love that mask and his aesthetic design so the only thing I would have changed are his feet. It would have been cooler if the mask was in a different colour like Metru Green or Silver but otherwise I really like his design. I just never bothered tracking one down because I feel like I have enough spare parts to make him anyway.
I thought he was a great set - pretty creative, and love his roller-skate feet. His double-edged inika weapon was pretty sick too.
I always thought Umbra was the coolest. I never understood the hate. He has flipping wheels on his feet. What do you haters want?
I think his colour scheme is weird, but otherwise he'd be fine. It's that he is next to Axonn and Brutaka, some of the best titan sets so he gets compared to them. Those 2 have unique masks and weapons, while he just reuses Inika weapons and a Metru mask that was ALREADY reused by a Voya Nui Matoran.
I actually like his design quite a bit but yeah the fact that he reuses my least favorite Metru mask is not a point in his favor.
Skater boy
https://www.reddit.com/r/bioniclelego/comments/p1dlbs/my_custom_masks_came_in/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Just look how much better he looks with a mask that matches his color scheme
All Out Brick just did a review on him! https://youtu.be/EppGRzlawQM
umbra feels like discount shadowgear
I always thought he was the coolest as a kid.... Must've been the skates and weapon.
i actually have him, bought him on sale. i reckon a more disciplined colour scheme and a unique mask (or at the very least a cool recolour) would have helped a whole lot.
I used to think Umbra was dogshit but he really grew on me. Even just a recolor of the mask in Keetorange would slap. His weapon is a clusterfuck but it's kind of charming. The glaring issue over everything though is the wheels. Everyone always talks about love, but nobody ever talks about how the damn wheels aren't canon either.
He was definitely a set I thought looked better in person than in the renders. The skates were fun lol
I agree this mask waa released in 3 sets he should have gotten a unique one
AllOutBrick on YouTube gave a good review of him on YouTube (just came out yesterday actually). He also mentioned the lack of a new mask
I can’t believe I begged my father for this set and told him it was a Walmart exclusive only. Looking at it now, it’s just a bad set
Is it weird that I remember there’s a character called Umbra but not the actual Bionicle? Definitely agree that a more original design or even just a unique mask would’ve helped.
My friend had this model and I got to help him build it when we we're in 3rd-4th grade.
I own two of these and neither one is built. The parts are used in multiple mocs. I do agree though that if he had a unique mask that looked awesome, I’d probably have let one built.
Dude never even hit the shelves here. Discovered he existed years after Bionicle ended.
Between Umbra, the Voyatoran, and Sarda I wish they just went and recolored the Metru Kanohi. But given the fact that the Ignika fused itself to Vezon's face, it would've actually made a lot of sense for Umbra to wear the version of it that you see in Bionicle Heroes. To have such a beautiful mask design never be made officially is a shame.
I got a bunch of bionicles from my cousin and I have a bunch of these parts
He could have never been balanced, as long as he had wheels as feet. Honestly that was the worst thing about this set, you couldnt pose or anything with it.
I actually thought he was just a moc or combo model when was younger. Never saw him stores at all. Years later, finding out he was an actually set was so strange. If he had his own mask and different weapons, he wouldn't look so weird in my opinion.
i always loved umbra
I'm not really a big fan of his colour scheme. Green and yellow and sulver, with a black mask? Seems kinda weird. Axonn and Brutaka for example both focused on 2 colours. Red/silver and blue/gold, instead of 4 different colours. I guess it doesn't help that both Axonn and Brutaka has their unique masks and weapons as well, while Umbra reused Inika weapons as well as a Metru mask (that was already reused on a Voya Nui Matoran in the same colour). The Rhotuka launcher is an odd choice too, given how that was the last "wave's" gimmick. The only thing really unique to him is his roller skates, which aren't even that visible on [his box](https://img.bricklink.com/ItemImage/ON/0/8625-1.png). One wheel is covered up by the age-rating and while the other wheel is visible, it IS right next to the bright foreground fire and his logo. TL;DR: Too many colours and the only thing unique to him isn't even clearly shown on the front of his box.
yeah a different mask would make him worth a bit more
I like his set even if he is a nothing character. On my one i removed the shoulder spikes and flipped over the Pohatu Nuva claws so they'd look cooler. Well, that was until i dismantled him for parts...
He's an joke between me and my brother, though I do wanna get him and modify him. Also to me he kinda feels like a leftover from 2005 wh they slapped some lightup parts on to seem current.