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Description
Meet Bomonga, the Toa Hagah of Earth.
Bomonga is a member of an elite team of Toa who used to work for the Brotherhood of Makuta. Once they learned of the Brotherhood's dark ambitions, however, they stole the Mask of Light and escaped, but not before they were turned into puny half-beasts by the wicked Vortixx Roodaka. They spent a long time in this state, always fighting against the Brotherhood from the shadows, even helping the Toa Hordika in their own quest after the Great Cataclysm. More recently, allied with the Toa Nuva, they found Roodaka and "persuaded" her to turn them back. Since then, they have been some of the strongest champions of the light.
Bomonga wears the Great Mask of Growth and wields a Seismic Spear. He enjoys his powers and his strength, which is the primary reason he resented his transformation into a Rahaga. Even so, he has always been the most bestial of the Hagah, so he adjusted more easily to his diminished form than any of the others. He even learned to have fun with it. He is very glad to have his old powers back though.

Bomonga has been through a few significant design changes throughout his development. It all started back in 2005 when LEGO released the Toa Hagah in set form, but only two of them: Norik and Iruini. Obviously the other four also exist, but LEGO has never canonized their design with sets or pictures (except for one side profile shot of Pouks in the comics, but we'll ignore that for now). Something about the Toa Hagah spoke to me, so in 2007, I undertook a project to design them myself. My overarching vision for this project was to make each of them unique, but also to unify them by matching Lego's Hagah template.
I believe I started designing Bomonga third, out of the four. I knew right away that I wanted to do something a little different with him. I've always loved the bulky, hunched aesthetic of Onua. I thought it was a great look for a Toa of Earth, and I wanted to use that look in Bomonga.
Right around the time I started him, LEGO had just released the Summer 2007 sets -- all of which I bought -- and one set in particular got my creative juices flowing. That set was Maxilos and Spinax. See, Maxilos was the first time in history that both the Toa Metru feet AND the Lehvak-Kal hand shield (which makes for a pretty good chest piece, in my opinion) had been recolored into Dark Pearl Gray (commonly called gunmetal). I was stoked. This opened up crazy possibilities. I was stumped slightly by the lack of thigh armor, though... until I turned to Toa Hewkii Inika.
Hewkii's thigh armor is a little different from the Metru armor, but I think it looks dang good on Bomonga, so I was happy to go along with it. The real brainstorm I got, though, was when I looked at his face. All those little ridges on the front look exactly like tiny mountains when you turn it faceup. Plus, it's big, bulky, and goes really well with the hunched, muscular look I wanted to convey with Bomonga. I tried two on his shoulders, and immediately fell in love with them.
The eye color was a challenge; I definitely prefer all of them to have their own unique eyes. I was inspired heavily by the Bohrok for this. Kualus OBVIOUSLY got light blue, Iruini already had orange, Gaaki got red, Pouks looked great with green, and Norik already had lime, which left dark blue for Bomonga. I didn't like that look at all, so I finally just switched Norik's eyes with Bomonga's, which I think works much better.
As far as the mask goes, the Vezon/Ignika fusion masks that form Maxilos's shoulders were the only viable choice, so I just used one of them for him.
...until three years ago, when 00dude00 entered the scene...
You see, 00dude00 uses CAD to create custom 3D-printed Bionicle masks, and he had just released a pack of ALL FOUR Hagah masks available for purchase online. Well, long story short, I eventually acquired a set for myself. I like Bomonga's new mask for several reasons: one, because it's large enough to scale correctly with his massive shoulders; two, because it has a slope to it that goes well with the hunched aesthetic; and three, because the design invokes an image of a tree to reflect his mask power. It doesn't quite match the texture of the shoulders, but that's okay. It definitely looks better than the giant crest his old mask had.

Along with the new mask, I've made a few other recent design changes that I really feel he needed.
First, originally his main color was Dark Bluish Gray instead of black. I did this most out of stubbornness (being a purist). The double-ended ball joints that form the Toa Hagahs' upper arms and thighs (part #47296 on Bricklink) were never released in black. In 2008 the piece was introduced into a few sets, but the design of the piece had been changed to Part #61053. I hated that. I vowed that I would never allow such a piece into my Hagah build because it would ruin the design unity. What eventually changed my mind was when I looked at the brightness of the other Hagah and admitted to myself that the dark pearl gray didn't provide enough contrast with the dark gray to stand out as an armor color. I took a deep breath and made the switch to black, and he looks much better. Black he will stay.
Second, I want to talk about the weapon. Gunmetal was a very rare color at the time I was starting this project, so I didn't have many pieces to choose from for his spearhead. I finally came up with the idea to give him a shorter spear with Nynrah ghosts at both ends, and called it a quarterstaff. It's a good thing I waited for a while before coming back to this project, because LEGO has since released the PERFECT piece for his spearhead! I love that Chima blade! It feels hefty enough for a brute like Bomonga, and the jagged profile ties in beautifully with the mountain theme on his shoulders.
Third, the shield. Obviously the shield piece has never been made in gunmetal because it was only in two sets. I devised a workaround a long time ago by using an Oohnorak carapace piece, and made up a bit of backstory that his shield was destroyed, and that he crafted a new one after he killed an Oohnorak that was tracking them. I've never been quite happy with that look, though. I just recently finished repainting a gold shield gunmetal for him, and I'm glad that I finally have that done.
Fourth, a very recent change. The only piece that the Inika masks fit comfortably on is the blank green head piece that goes behind them. Up until a few months ago, I had left these unpainted. There are a few pros and cons to each option; if unpainted, the lime matches beautifully with his eye color and unifies the palette a little more, but then it's pretty obvious that he has a couple of giant heads sitting on his shoulders. If painted, there is a little bit of color mismatch due to those two pieces being right next to each other. Believe me, I got it as close as I could. I think I like him a little better this way, though, because the color of the holes matches the mask and shield. I wanted to avoid painting pieces as much as possible, but I'm happy with the way this turned out.
Now for the nitpicks! These are little optimizations I wish I could make but can't, due to circumstances beyond my control. Firstly, I sadly had to snip a couple of teeth off of the chest armor to make it fit around his neck properly. It tears me up to have to deliberately damage LEGO pieces, but I think it was worth it. Second, the colors of his Rhotuka don't quite match the normal template, but I honestly don't mind this much. The black/silver swirl looks pretty cool, and the dark gray one is ONE OF THE RAREST PIECES IN BIONICLE, so I display it with pride!

That's the end of my very lengthy description of Bomonga! I hope you enjoyed him! Thanks!

Description
Meet Bomonga, the Toa Hagah of Earth.
Bomonga is a member of an elite team of Toa who used to work for the Brotherhood of Makuta. Once they learned of the Brotherhood's dark ambitions, however, they stole the Mask of Light and escaped, but not before they were turned into puny half-beasts by the wicked Vortixx Roodaka. They spent a long time in this state, always fighting against the Brotherhood from the shadows, even helping the Toa Hordika in their own quest after the Great Cataclysm. More recently, allied with the Toa Nuva, they found Roodaka and "persuaded" her to turn them back. Since then, they have been some of the strongest champions of the light.
Bomonga wears the Great Mask of Growth and wields a Seismic Spear. He enjoys his powers and his strength, which is the primary reason he resented his transformation into a Rahaga. Even so, he has always been the most bestial of the Hagah, so he adjusted more easily to his diminished form than any of the others. He even learned to have fun with it. He is very glad to have his old powers back though.

Bomonga has been through a few significant design changes throughout his development. It all started back in 2005 when LEGO released the Toa Hagah in set form, but only two of them: Norik and Iruini. Obviously the other four also exist, but LEGO has never canonized their design with sets or pictures (except for one side profile shot of Pouks in the comics, but we'll ignore that for now). Something about the Toa Hagah spoke to me, so in 2007, I undertook a project to design them myself. My overarching vision for this project was to make each of them unique, but also to unify them by matching Lego's Hagah template.
I believe I started designing Bomonga third, out of the four. I knew right away that I wanted to do something a little different with him. I've always loved the bulky, hunched aesthetic of Onua. I thought it was a great look for a Toa of Earth, and I wanted to use that look in Bomonga.
Right around the time I started him, LEGO had just released the Summer 2007 sets -- all of which I bought -- and one set in particular got my creative juices flowing. That set was Maxilos and Spinax. See, Maxilos was the first time in history that both the Toa Metru feet AND the Lehvak-Kal hand shield (which makes for a pretty good chest piece, in my opinion) had been recolored into Dark Pearl Gray (commonly called gunmetal). I was stoked. This opened up crazy possibilities. I was stumped slightly by the lack of thigh armor, though... until I turned to Toa Hewkii Inika.
Hewkii's thigh armor is a little different from the Metru armor, but I think it looks dang good on Bomonga, so I was happy to go along with it. The real brainstorm I got, though, was when I looked at his face. All those little ridges on the front look exactly like tiny mountains when you turn it faceup. Plus, it's big, bulky, and goes really well with the hunched, muscular look I wanted to convey with Bomonga. I tried two on his shoulders, and immediately fell in love with them.
The eye color was a challenge; I definitely prefer all of them to have their own unique eyes. I was inspired heavily by the Bohrok for this. Kualus OBVIOUSLY got light blue, Iruini already had orange, Gaaki got red, Pouks looked great with green, and Norik already had lime, which left dark blue for Bomonga. I didn't like that look at all, so I finally just switched Norik's eyes with Bomonga's, which I think works much better.
As far as the mask goes, the Vezon/Ignika fusion masks that form Maxilos's shoulders were the only viable choice, so I just used one of them for him.
...until three years ago, when 00dude00 entered the scene...
You see, 00dude00 uses CAD to create custom 3D-printed Bionicle masks, and he had just released a pack of ALL FOUR Hagah masks available for purchase online. Well, long story short, I eventually acquired a set for myself. I like Bomonga's new mask for several reasons: one, because it's large enough to scale correctly with his massive shoulders; two, because it has a slope to it that goes well with the hunched aesthetic; and three, because the design invokes an image of a tree to reflect his mask power. It doesn't quite match the texture of the shoulders, but that's okay. It definitely looks better than the giant crest his old mask had.

Along with the new mask, I've made a few other recent design changes that I really feel he needed.
First, originally his main color was Dark Bluish Gray instead of black. I did this most out of stubbornness (being a purist). The double-ended ball joints that form the Toa Hagahs' upper arms and thighs (part #47296 on Bricklink) were never released in black. In 2008 the piece was introduced into a few sets, but the design of the piece had been changed to Part #61053. I hated that. I vowed that I would never allow such a piece into my Hagah build because it would ruin the design unity. What eventually changed my mind was when I looked at the brightness of the other Hagah and admitted to myself that the dark pearl gray didn't provide enough contrast with the dark gray to stand out as an armor color. I took a deep breath and made the switch to black, and he looks much better. Black he will stay.
Second, I want to talk about the weapon. Gunmetal was a very rare color at the time I was starting this project, so I didn't have many pieces to choose from for his spearhead. I finally came up with the idea to give him a shorter spear with Nynrah ghosts at both ends, and called it a quarterstaff. It's a good thing I waited for a while before coming back to this project, because LEGO has since released the PERFECT piece for his spearhead! I love that Chima blade! It feels hefty enough for a brute like Bomonga, and the jagged profile ties in beautifully with the mountain theme on his shoulders.
Third, the shield. Obviously the shield piece has never been made in gunmetal because it was only in two sets. I devised a workaround a long time ago by using an Oohnorak carapace piece, and made up a bit of backstory that his shield was destroyed, and that he crafted a new one after he killed an Oohnorak that was tracking them. I've never been quite happy with that look, though. I just recently finished repainting a gold shield gunmetal for him, and I'm glad that I finally have that done.
Fourth, a very recent change. The only piece that the Inika masks fit comfortably on is the blank green head piece that goes behind them. Up until a few months ago, I had left these unpainted. There are a few pros and cons to each option; if unpainted, the lime matches beautifully with his eye color and unifies the palette a little more, but then it's pretty obvious that he has a couple of giant heads sitting on his shoulders. If painted, there is a little bit of color mismatch due to those two pieces being right next to each other. Believe me, I got it as close as I could. I think I like him a little better this way, though, because the color of the holes matches the mask and shield. I wanted to avoid painting pieces as much as possible, but I'm happy with the way this turned out.
Now for the nitpicks! These are little optimizations I wish I could make but can't, due to circumstances beyond my control. Firstly, I sadly had to snip a couple of teeth off of the chest armor to make it fit around his neck properly. It tears me up to have to deliberately damage LEGO pieces, but I think it was worth it. Second, the colors of his Rhotuka don't quite match the normal template, but I honestly don't mind this much. The black/silver swirl looks pretty cool, and the dark gray one is ONE OF THE RAREST PIECES IN BIONICLE, so I display it with pride!

That's the end of my very lengthy description of Bomonga! I hope you enjoyed him! Thanks!