Review: Official Set - 2002 Bohrok

We’re on to 2002. The first set, or should I say sets, that we’ll be taking a look at from 2002 are the Bohrok. The Bohrok came to fruition literally hours after the Toa defeated the Makuta in the 2001 storyline. The Toa rose back up to the island hours later only to find that the island was being ravaged by swarms of the Bohrok.

Each set contains 40 pieces and has a recommended building age of 7+.

Packaging

The Bohrok come packaged in plastic containers that remind be of the Toa canisters, only that the edges are stretched out a bit making a different overall shape. The top colors match those of the Toa Mata canisters from 2001 as well. The front of each variation shows the specific Bohrok included in its corresponding environment, with more of its kind in the shadowed background. The back graphics show a picture of a Bohrok, along with several images depicting the Krana and how they can be used while playing.

Inside is nothing more than a bundle of pieces, the instructions, and a small comic telling a bit of background on the Bohrok.

The Build

In total the 6 Bohrok took me 23 minutes to complete. It’s worth pointing out thought that after the second Bohrok I was able to complete the rest of them without the aid of instructions. By the time I got to the final two Bohrok I was flying through them at a pace of around 2 minutes each. Normally I don’t like identical builds but these were small and fun to complete.

The main play function the Bohrok bring to the table is the head strike that is the result of a lever piece and a rubber band. The strike is more powerful than I expected, and it absolutely would knock off masks with ease. The rubber band included with the Bohrok is also a tier above the ones we saw in 2001. The black rubber bands from 2001 broke rather easily while these ones are thicker and more pliable.

Inside of the Bohrok head is a Krana, which gives them their orders and purpose. While the 2001 line used infected masks to control Rahi and removing them brought them back to a peaceful state, the Bohrok do not have such weaknesses. Even without the Krana they still are very hostile, although with a miracle taming, they could be controlled.

The Bohrok are also able to roll into a ball which not only makes them easier to store away, but it adds a really nice element and helps to flesh out the lore of the Bohrok.

Combination Model

The combination option for the 6 Bohrok is the Bohrok Kaita. This is simply the mergence of 3 Bohrok into 1, just like the Toa Kaita. At first I thought this was going to be a boring build that was merely a rip-off of the Toa Kaita, but aside from the legs I was pleased with the build. Obviously the Bohrok contain different pieces than the Toa, but the build was still fresh, and they did a great job of mixing it up between the two different Bohrok Kaita.

As far as play functions go there’s nothing new here but they definitely give off the impression that the Bohrok Kaita are much more armored and stronger than a base Bohrok. The main difference between the two included models is the height. One is a noticeable amount taller, and the arms also look quite different between the two as well. These definitely are not in my favorite group of combination models, but they were a pleasant surprise.

Review

Overall I’m a big fan of the Bohrok. They shake things up in terms of the lore offered here, and expand the threats to a smaller one that works in large numbers to overpower Toa. And while the sets are essentially identical, I actually don’t mind it since they are smaller and therefore much faster builds.

Luckily when it comes to price, the Bohrok are quite affordable. Used they cost around $10 each, and brand new they cost around $30-40 each. Used is the obvious way to go here, as you can snag several used Bohrok for the price of one new one.

2002 is off to a promising start.

SCORE: 8.0/10

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