It's hard to keep up an honest business out in the Spherus Magnian deserts... Sometimes one has to scavenge and steal to make ends meet.
About this creation
Name: Bennus Gender: Male Race/Species: Matoran/Agori Hybrid Occupation: Travelling Merchant Title(s): none Prevailing Element: Stone Alignment: Neutral Affiliation: Himself Tool(s): Old Desert Walker, Mask of X-Ray Vision (powerless), Sombrero Status: Alive MOC Status: Vehicle is Disassembled, Bennus is Assembled
Contest:The 2012 Bio-Cup Round: Two Opponent:Darren Y Opponent's Entry: As yet unposted Theme: #2, Junk Ride
Though Mata-Nui restored Spherus Magna, many parts of the planet remained as barren wastes - the great forest would not spread to them for many hundreds of years. The cities of Atero, Vulcanus, Tajun and Drachen's Hope are still surrounded by baking sands.
Bennus carries on a traditional business from long before the reformation - he is a trader, though one of the few traders on Spherus Magna to use a motorised vehicle instead of a cart pulled by a beast or rahi. He learned trading from his father, and his father before him, and his father before him.
His Walker was built out of scavenged machinery and Baterra pieces by a matoran called Onukhet, which was then sold to his great grandfather. Since then it has seen almost constant use through the generations, and many replacement parts - such as a lantern to replace a blasted out headlamp and the addition of a wind-turbine to provide extra energy.
Its pace is slow, as it scuttles forward on its front legs across the wastes. Bennus carries no weapons - he wouldn't know the first thing about using one - and is happy to hire Glatorians or other mercenaries to guard his caravan should he ever need it.
While he trades things between the settlements, he is also a scavenger. Many artefacts from the Destiny War remain studded across the sands, and even some Great Being tech remains. Amongst grains, fruits, ropes and rigging are the bleached bones of rahi and pieces of metal to be sold to the highest bidder.
"One man's junk is another man's treasure - everything has value to someone, somewhere. Buy surplus cheap, and sell it dear, and perhaps you will survive among the sands..."
Traders are unmistakeable among the ranks of other beings in the cities - they are stained with dust, wiry and bleached by the sun, and with a hungry look in their eyes.
That is, if they still posess both of them.
---Credits---
I got this wrong on Senkhrast: Chronos Omega did not invent this head design. Banjax did! I extended it, though, yet again. The great thing about the design is that light carries though really well, and the eyes are rounder - better for matoran. You can also have differently coloured eyes, and far more stuff attached to the head, too. Sombreros! :D
I was originally trying to play closer to the Mad Max theme, by making a great big car, but it just wasn't for me. I'm not really much of a car person - so I went for something wierd and wonderful instead. I've long wanted to use the tent piece in a MOC. The rider for that car ended up turning into very large, toa-titan-ish sized build, so expect him in future. :)
Since I changed my mind about the build so late on, I had to build constantly to meet the last deadline. I didn't rush. I just abandoned Skyrim. :C
I had originally planned for Gringat to be the rider, but decided a more Mad-Maxian looking guy was probably better.
The design is built with cliff-climbing in mind. The front legs can dig into almost vertical cliffs, and the net at the back (the second one can be secured over the top when needed) stops all his stuff from falling out.
The front half of the strider contains a mechanism using the springs at the front and a liftarm conected to them. If you push one leg forward, the other one is pushed backward, and the radar dish moves a bit left and right as well - unfortunately the springs are so strong that it tends to just have both legs in the backward position. :/
Anyway, I wish good luck to Darren - and all the other competitors! The contest so far has been marvellous fun. It's good to finally have the time to get involved in this, even if that's only for a few months.
Well done with the Bara Magna scavenger theme into him. The details on everything is well done, especially the symmetry yet different colors on certain areas. I really love the little shade cloth and the goods on the back, really nice and necessary :D I really like this moc. the character, although awkward in my opinion, uses some great designs and really gives out a look like he's a tired scavenger in a desert. Anyways, you always do amazing, and good luck in the Bio-Cup ! ;)
Absolutely fantastic. Love how you really put in the attention to detail. That net to catch things when climbing up walls was great and i loved the barrels and the fruit. Even if he had entered he would have had a tough time beating this!
Yay credit,thanks and wow this build was everything I was hoping it would be its to bad Darren dropped out though but the part I like in particular is the cloth elements you added to it awesome work.
This is amazing. The vehicle reminds me much of the vehicles found on Bara Magna- Which are always very unique, and very much fits the environment they are used in. You always somehow find very fitting music to your MOCs! NPU too. Well done!
Your whimsy knows no bounds! Every quirky little thing, from the one eye to the sombrero to the windmill, adds a fun and interesting feel to the whole MOC. Good luck!
Quoting Ambush Predator
Really? An mp3 on autoplay?
The moc is good, but I could do without the song.
Almost all of my MOCs have an autoplaying theme. It has to be autoplay to avoid the "Video Player is Too Small" error that stops the embed from functioning. If you don't like it, you can still pause it and view the page in silence.
Quoting Vorred 03
It's also nice to see those front legs of the vehicle, look like one of those carriers in the Bionicle movie!
That's exactly what I was thinking during the build! Thanks.
Quoting Saunax Toa of Steam
Great entry! the asymmetry of the rider really gives a cobbled-together feel, as does the vehicle itself. the idea of the net holding the cargo in is good as well. Although, tenum is still my favourite entry of yours. :)
Great entry! the asymmetry of the rider really gives a cobbled-together feel, as does the vehicle itself. the idea of the net holding the cargo in is good as well. Although, tenum is still my favourite entry of yours. :)
Fantastic! Entry or not, I could never compete against a moc this brilliant. Love the junky clutterness it totally gives a rusty sorta look. Love that trader and his wide brim hat. And that windmill is a nice touch. I'll be cheering for you and let's hope you can win this thing! Best of luck! ^.^
Whoa, you perfectly made it look like a trader on Bara Magna (or the Spherus Magna deserts)! The whole bunch of brown pieces integrated into it, the nets and of course the stuff he carries looks wonderful! It's also nice to see those front legs of the vehicle, look like one of those carriers in the Bionicle movie! The rider is also great, it matches that he has a hat when the sun is burning again :). Good luck in the contest!
Wow, very cool! You nailed the theme here, with a prettyjunky yet pretty nice design. I also like the fact the rider is pretty junky as well. Great entry.
Amazing! I love how you give so much thought into each of your builds! It just adds so much to the MOC to know the story and how it works! I love the vehicle and all the merchandice! Good luck! :)
The music, it makes me think of the canyonlands and ghost town in Majora's Mask... sigh. Bennus, he is rustic beyond rustic, like he could fall apart at any time. I love it.
Truly amazing, Fitting for a junk vehicle. I personally was expecting a motorcycle or a bipedal walker, but leave it to you to come up with something intuitive and original.
Awesome!!!! The vehicle is epic! The matoran's torso is is a bit too small, in my opinion... But you are a better mocist so, yeah... Great job Gringat! Good luck, I doubt you need it though... XD
I... I don't know what to say... It's... Marvelous... The vehicle has an unique style, proper of a real junk wanderer... I love it... And Bennus has also a great desing... The only thing I can 'complain' is that the Matoran is a bit out of proportions, but since Mata Matoran are too... Oh God... You can't lose...
