Review: Official Set 8595 - Takua & Pewku

This week we’re taking a look at set 8595, Takua & Pewku. This is the very first (and I think only) time we’re able to get our hands on Takua the Chronicler. Takua comes with his trusty Ussal Crab Pewku, which looks quite different from the other Ussal Crabs we’ve seen up to this point, but I’m open-minded to this new design style.

This set contains a grand total of 221 and is marketed for ages 8 and up.

Packaging

The design style mirrors the same format that we saw in the Jaller & Gukko set. There’s a dark blue background behind a larger image of the featured set. In the background are images of both the mask of light and the mask of shadows, which sit behind a glowing silhouette of the island of Mata Nui. The back of the box shows several different images, the main focus being the different functions that can be performed with this set. It shows off Pewku’s legs going up and down as well as Takua’s master kohlii ability of chipping the puck in the air. There is also an image of a combination model that can be made using three of the titan sets released in 2003.

Contents of this set include 2 numbered bags along with the instructions. I think this is the very first Bionicle set that we’ve gotten so far that has no advertisement material on the inside.

The Build

The build took me just over 21 minutes to complete and felt like one of the more complex builds offered by Bionicle. The instructions do a poor job of highlighting the orientation of the model which almost caused me to mess up a few times. The result is really nice and unique, with a clean color scheme that includes a lot of reddish brown and dark orange parts.

Just like the Jaller & Gukko set, two Matoran can fit on Pewku’s back. As you surely know though, we only have one Matoran included with this set so you’ll have to purchase one of the other Matoran released in 2003 or the Jaller & Gukko set in order to have two Matoran to use.

The mechanism that was crafted by the designers is simply beautiful. Pushing Pewku back and forth causes the six legs to move up and down as if the crab were running forward. The movement looks incredible and almost transports me to feeling like a 5-year-old kid again. Unfortunately, the mechanism is prone to breaking under moderate play intensity, so it isn’t quite perfect but it’s darn close.

Another issue I have with this set is actually with Takua. They switched his color scheme around to make his feet blue instead of yellow, and it has me a bit baffled. He’s one of the major characters from Bionicle and the yellow feet underneath the red body and light blue mask made him stand out so much. My guess is that they wanted his legs to be different than Jaller’s, but I have no idea how correct that may be.

Review

Overall, this set really impressed me. It dared to be different from the first step to the last, and it gave us a simply stellar play mechanism. We also are able to build Takua for the first time albeit in a different color scheme that the 2001-2002 storyline. It can look a little bit bare without Matoran place on Pewku’s back, but once they’re seated on there it fills in quite nicely.

If you want this set nowadays, be prepared to pay the price. In used condition this set currently sells for around $50, and brand-new it sits around the $150 mark. There’s honestly no reason to go with a sealed copy of this set, it’s simply way too expensive to justify the purchase price unless you’re building a sealed collection.

This was a really pleasant set to build, and genuinely feels like both the Matoran and the Titan model are great additions to the Bionicle theme. I won’t be surprised if I go right back to pushing Pewku around my desk as soon as this is finished.

SCORE: 8.4/10

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