Back when we reviewed 70788 Kopaka Master of Ice and 70782 Protector of Ice we didn't have the instructions for the Power-Up model combining parts of the two sets. Now that we do, I thought I'd take a quick look at the model and see how it stacks up. Is it worth powering up Kopaka or is it better to leave the Protector armed and dangerous? Read on to find out!

Building
Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

You can download the instructions right here, or you could just look at the pictures above. There's really not much to it - you basically take the weapons from the Protector and put them on Kopaka, as well as swapping out the white Mask of Ice for the gold one. There is a little build of rebuilding, as Kopaka's spear gets disassembled to add the spinning saw blade from the Protector. Still, this will take you about two minutes at most if you're paying attention.

Set Design
Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.

Above you can see the parts left over after making the combiner. The mask and the Technic axles and connectors make sense, but the shield pieces are kind of surprising. If anything, they could have just been used as Kopaka's skis.

Here we have the Powered-Up Kopaka and the de-powered Protector of Ice. The Protector looks pretty intact, just without his weapons. I like the nice, simple look. Kopaka certainly looks ready to take on the skull spiders with the gatling launcher and beefed up spear. I'm not sure if the sawblade is supposed to be a sawblade or a shield - if it's the former I feel like it would be pretty hard to use. Overall I don't have any issues with it except for the lack of the shield/skis. I'm not sure I would call it better than the original though.

Playability
The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with?

Having both Kopaka and the Protector gives you tons of roleplaying options. Now that the Protector is unarmed, the skull spiders think they have an easy target. But wait! Powered-Up Kopaka is here to save the day! Those skull spiders don't stand a chance.

Since this is LEGO and you can combine the parts however you'd like, I decided that Powered-Up Kopaka needed his skis back. It's certainly an improvement and gives Kopaka more options for taking on his foes.

Final Thoughts
Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

Pros What's to like? Mixes up the look of Kopaka Double the sets, double the playability Protector still looks complete Cons What's not to like? Shield/ski parts not used

Should you get Kopaka and the Protector of Ice? Absolutely, they are bot fantastic sets! Should you build the Powered-Up Kopaka? It only takes a couple minutes and can easily be reverted, so you might as well give it a shot and see how you like it. Personally, I prefer the non-Power-Up version, but I like that LEGO gave us the option!

Thanks to LEGO for sending us these sets and the Power-Up mode instructions (although now everyone has those!). If you have any questions or feedback, just head over to the Talkback and post them there. We do still have more 2015 Bionicle reviews incoming, so look out for them right here on BZPower!

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