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Set Review: 70784 Lewa Master of Jungle
 Monday, November 24th, 2014 at 11:49am by Andrew, BZPower News Manager[Source: Sisen] We're getting closer to wrapping up our 2015 Bionicle reviews. Today it's time to look at 70784 Lewa Master of Jungle, as reviewed by BZPower Forum Assistant Sisen. Will this adventurous Toa swing through the trees and into your collection? Or will he get caught up in the tangle of plants and vines? Keep reading to find out! Presentation
We've seen the Protector of Jungle and some of the other Toa already, but we finally get to witness the brash and sarcastic jungle-fury tree-speaking fly-soaring spider-stomping Lewa Master of Jungle. On the packaging Lewa is either flying or falling towards a skull spider, but in a different location from the protector. The scenery here features some pillars riddled with mystical carving and multiple skull spiders. First and foremost the huge callout on the box is the golden mask featured in the set. The back of the box showcases Lewa in flight mode, a scale version of the gold mask, some other functionality, and some mathematical sequences that showcase the powered up model. Part of the comic featured in the instruction booklet is also on the box. Building
Building the set is not a very complex task. It is essentially your run of the mill build, but with some neat twists and turns. Plus, it is Lewa! You put some of the silver claw pieces on him in an unconventional manner. With a whopping eighty-five pieces, it is the next to last Toa with the lowest piece count (Pohatu as the lowest). Overall the color scheme and build give you that jungle feel that also resonates with the protector. The best part about the build is the fact each Toa stands differently and has their own unique persona. Set Design
The set design is pretty cool. The masks are very unique and different. You have the same Metru blue skull spider mask as the protector set, but you also obtain the bright green and gold jungle mask. Personally, in my opinion, Lewa looks the furthest from his original form. Granted all the Toa do look different, you can see some of it shining through in their respective masks. Lewa's mask design is stupendous and I'm in love with the plated look for the facial area, which adds to the overall biomechanical aesthetic. That's just me though.
As far as pieces go you get one of the torso armor bits in bright green as well as the medium sized armor. There's also some of that Keetongu orange featured as armor too. You get four of each medium sized pieces and it gives a nice color balance to the set.
One minor thing I failed to mention in the video was that you get three of the silver claw pieces. These were original featured in the Invasion from Below line in black, but have been redone in silver. There's also the chest piece with the jungle pattern(?) printed on it. Not quite sure what it is supposed to signify, but it does look cool. There's also the new head and silver armor add-ons. These pieces have had a lot of coverage, so there is not much point in wasting any more time typing about them.
This is the piece that makes Lewa who he is. It's subsequently also the piece that is probably my next to least favorite thing about the set. The design is super cool and fitting for the theme. It snaps onto Lewa's arm and gets him into flight mode. There are even turbines on it to give that flying look! However, we've also seen this piece in Gali Master of Water in silver. It's a recolor, but it's also his main weapon form. While other sets like Tahu and Kopaka do share the same sword pieces, it would have been nifty to have something else for Lewa. It might also be due to the fact his 'axe' pieces are an entirely different color from his swords.
All in all, there are some things to nitpick about Lewa. However, the majority of the set fits. You have that character that goes soaring through the jungle slicing through foliage.
The most awkward part of the set design is the actual head placement. Lewa's head sits almost neck and neck to his gearbox. The gears can actually hit the mask and grind against it. The silver armor on his shoulders coming down over his chest look super cool, but they also impose a huge limit on his cranium maneuverability. I don't know about you, but if I was sky-soaring through the jungle, being able to turn your head would be fairly crucial. That's the last gripe for set design and overall. Otherwise, Lewa looks cool, he's hip, he's fly. Playability
Playability is a fun thing for Lewa, since you can make him do some hidden jungle flying Toa poses. Plus, he also has his Protector to power him up. Lewa obtains the bow which looks pretty cool in his hands. It is a more proportional weapon for Lewa to hold, as the weapon did appear too large for the protector. The only other item Lewa gains from the protector is the vines on his feet. Some of the other Toa gain additional armor, but Lewa does need to stay light so he can glide-fly and not gravity-fall. By himself there is a lot of playability, but introducing the protector opens up a world of possibilities for the Toa.
Oh no skull spider! Ka thunk. Everything is going good flying through the jungle, and wham you've got a skull spider on your face. This... doesn't look good.
WARNING!! NEW CHALLENGER APPROACHING!!!
Lewa 1.0 Appears! Lewa MoJ bets he can take on this short-stature foe on one leg with a hand behind his back. It would appear Lewa MoJ was correct... What a fine piece of weaponry for a reward, and a new headpiece. Final Thoughts
Either way you look at it, Lewa is a cool new set to see. Even if his form factor varies from the original, that is to be expected with an entire revamp. It would have been nice if some things had been done differently, but overall Lewa is (not full of hot air and) still the Master of Jungle. Be sure to join me in thanking Sisen in the Talkback for putting together this review. Thanks of course to LEGO as well for sending us this set. We only have a couple reviews to go, so keep checking back on BZPower so you don't miss them!
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