Nickon's Bionicle 2016 Toa Megareview (plus Umarak and other things)

My Patreon / nickanderson
Next up, I'll review the Metroid Prime trilogy collection! (and something about my mocs and revamps on the side)

[@ironclaw3000user]

Oh my Mata Nui, the raptor meme might have been right, What if Hero Factory parts were the prototype for new Bionicle toys.

[@honestmistake8167]

its a kind of personal pet peeve that people call them hero factory parts, even thought they are most widely called ccbs. even though yes, they did first appear in hero factory, ccbs parts were meant for every constraction line going forward, like they're bricks, but for action figures. But, if you call them hero factory parts, im not stopping you. call them whatever you like.

[@ironclaw3000user]

@@honestmistake8167 no. It's CCBS, You don't need to worry about this 4 year old comment. Especially when the PhilosOrator was mentioned. 🦖

[@honestmistake8167]

@@ironclaw3000user ok

[@shamanaseem7165]

Uh if I'm not mistaken they actually were

[@msc5070]

you can tell when a piece is developed because it will have the year on it. at first i thought that this was the release date, but then i saw 2004 on my visorak and hordika parts, which of course debuted in 2005. hope this cleared some stuff up.

[@waqarsiddiqui8343]

Exactly, same thing with the 2016 torso. It says 2015 on it but was released in 2016

[@Sax_Banana]

when onua is united with terak he REALLY reminds me of rienhardt from overwatch especially with the whole hammer thing

[@2468h-s9e]

Onua skin confirmed?

[@Sax_Banana]

+Palogre maybe at least a black gold and purple skin

[@deleted5626]

I can imagine Onua yelling "Hammer down!" Haha!

[@MenacingThreat]

Love it. You have the most informative Bionicle reviews I've seen on KZbin. Quality stuff man, keep it up!

[@gir12301]

I really enjoy this review. I like seeing somebody who will notice the bad, but also notices the good. I just feel like there are too many extremes in the Bionicle community towards these sets, most being "doom and gloom". I think these sets are a good improvement to what was already good last year, and you point out the goods and bads, while still seeing light in these sets. I'm glad to see someone enjoy these sets as toys, while still saying what needs to be said.

[@thatamericannarrator8247]

I went back to watch this while doing some house cleaning. Glad to say that I love it even more now, since I'm older. Thanks for always putting out such great content, Nick.

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

Thank you, dood.

[@honestmistake8167]

I was looking at concept art for Umarak The Hunter the other day, and I saw one that looked like your style. And lo and behold, it was! It looked really good, and, even if it is old, I still would like to say good work. You really showed how powerful Umarak is.

[@DrMadd]

It's great to see this series show up in my feed. Probably my favourite toy reviews on this site.

[@thatamericannarrator8247]

You're definitely my favorite Bionicle reviewer. Great job, Nick! You really made me love these sets even more than I already did.

[@thefantasyzone7682]

Great review, as always.I've been waiting all year for this one.I actually agree with most of your opinions on these guys. For instance, I thought it'd be cool if all of them made their new armor themselves, maybe while searching for the creatures, like some sort of Jedi vision quest or something. Kopaka's new less organized look makes it seem to me like he mess up really bad and lost confidence in himself and went all knight templar on everbody.Like Leonardo in the 2003 TMNT series. Gali's seems more aggressive, like she can't use all of here fanciful ornate weapons and has to cobble together parts to even make it functional, which is why I love the new weapon with its makeshift propeller slapped on. Lewa looks like he rebuilt himself for speed and nothing else, which left him with weird proportions and stunted arms.And, while I know the blades probably weren't meant to really spin as much as just switch between blades, I can't help but imagine him spinning them over his head before a battle. Onua's armor is really loaded.He looks like a tank.In this new armor, he's all brawn with a huge new drill hammer and big feet and shoulder pads.I know it sounds silly, but when I look at the shoulder pads I always think of Onua literally taking the bones from skull basher and wearing them like armor. Pohatu almost looks like a hunter himself, but a good one.His desert scavenger armor gives the appearance that he's perfectly willing to strike out on his own, that he thinks he doesn't need anyone else and that he could get along just fine without the other Toa.(at least it's better than just being afraid of scorpions) Tahu, oh boy, Tahu.This guy has a huge ego problem and he definitely looks like he went overboard with the extravagant gold armor and flaming wings.I just think Tahu would be a lot bigger headed at first than he's portrayed in the show. I'm definitely getting a boogeyman kind of vibe from Umarak.But, if you're still planning on getting a second Uxar for him, if I may make a suggestion: why not give a few brown and black parts and make him some sort of shadow creature.Umarak seems to like hanging around in the jungle, if Uxar is the essence of jungle energy, then Umarak's creature would be a dark twisted version of that.That's what I'm planning on doing so I don't just have two Uxars hanging around for no reason. P.S. Sorry for the super long comment, but you're just so darn inspiring!

[@purpleboye_]

I like to call the shin/thigh problem Maxilos syndrome.

[@awesomejoel2733]

+Anaru LST Fancy seeing you here! I didn't even notice how many other TTV members were on here till I scrolled around

[@dragonfang481]

I have a fond memory of winning onua and his creature in one of my last years as a cubscout during a popcorn sale and I remember fondly building him

[@theBlazethecatfanboy]

how much do I like these guys? I have bought every set... twice... once to have the set's, and the second to make MOC's, having the Toa transform into their creatures

[@shamanaseem7165]

rip 300$

[@unuseableb]

I really appreciate your detailed look into these g2 sets and their functionality. Ive been on the sidelines of the bionicle community and kind of brushed off everything after 2008-ish anyway but now getting back into bionicle I really appreciate the designers effort on these g2 sets. Especially the gear functions. Another highlight is the masks that look new and cool but also nostalgic for older fans/designers

[@zapkido2830]

I always look forward to these reviews. You do a great job of highlighting all the character portayed by the details in these figures!

[@pepsiman9593]

If you can could you do a showcase on your own bionicle mocs.

[@mitchellbeeson1563]

Pepsi Man l don’t like you

[@CindyV0rtexy]

They better be blue and silver

[@PK-Radio]

Pepsi and coke are the same

[@thedriftyisaac6008]

Man the editing you probably did oh my god so much work props to you!

[@xaayer]

The way you posed Kopaka really makes me sad that I'd passed on him D:

[@DaveGrean]

... It's a 4 year old figure. 2 years when you posted this comment. Toa released literally 20 years go for 20-30 dollars, so I can't imagine these guys being pricy?

[@SuperSecretBricks]

It's 2023, and I've finally come out of my Bionicle Dark Ages, which started in 2003, so I only had the 6 Toa Mata and Tahu Nuva (+ a Bohrok, and the Exo Toa. Also, gotta add, I've been out of my "system" LEGO Dark Ages since ~2018). Now that I'm back into Bonkles, I've been extremely curious about the G2s. While the 2015 sets have me convinced, I've been extremely cautious about the 2016 Toas: the main drawback for me was the shoulder gearbox and I won't be convinced on that waist gimmick until I've tried it, so I've been conflicted: which one do I get? Trusty Tahu? I especially like him in his united form, those wings just appeal to the Gundam admirer in me. So United Lewa would also be a good candidate but I don't know, his non united form just doesn't do it for me, at least not until I can hold it in my hands. Then I watched your video. When you started talking about Umarak, I was thinking: hey, he looks quite cool, and I definitely need a villain for my Toas (I've been far too often guilty of getting only good guys, and then getting bored because there was no antagonist :/). And then, I saw you combining Umarak with Uxar. Oh my word. I have no idea if that makes any canon sense, I just want this, this is perfect! Thank you so much for making those Mega Reviews. Even years after, they're still great inspiration ❤

[@pastaman64]

Not gonna' lie, your vocabulary and articulation is absolutely fantastic.

[@toalutoriangaming]

Nickon, let me just say you're my favorite reviewer on youtube, you don't just look at something and say "kopaka has bad colors" you actually theorize and think about things like their character and lives, try to put your self in the designer's shoes. It's really inspiring how deeply you look into things weather it be bionicle or video games, and these crazy long reviews are just so much better than short 5 minute reviews of say Jangbricks where he just states facts and not his opinion, its not hating on Jang or anything. now that I'm done fan-girling, I want to thank you for spending your time making hour long videos about toys.

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

+Classy Chu Thank you. Of course, there'll be another one in a few months, and I'll cover 2017 too. I do still want to take some time to review games, though. That's how I started, and I don't want to neglect that side of my channel.

[@ric3poversace477]

29:37 The orange looks like coral a bit. Oh, you said that (edit)

[@o.8.p149]

Man do I want these sets

[@anthonyle9788]

I listen to your reviews while making MOCs, thanks for making great content.

[@metalsmile2000]

It took me 4 years to realize Gali Uniter has black pins in the back.

[@CindyV0rtexy]

Beautiful. I've been watching this for 5 hours straight

[@xerok23]

These reviews are pretty great, and pretty informative for me, as the local store doesn't have the sets, and I haven't quite had the funds to purchase them yet. Your use of Metroid Prime music also serves the reviews very well; the tracks you use like Tallon Overworld and Sanctuary Fortress fit the Bionicle themes (at least Bionicle's environment) very well. I'd also say the sound mixing is about perfect, as well as your pacing. You mentioned the length of the video early on and I had hardly realized I was watching such a long video. I grew up with Bionicle, so I also think it's great to see so much thought put into reviewing so many different aspects about the sets. Your video game reviews have also been pretty great.

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

+xerok23 Thanks. I try.

[@toalutoriangaming]

Seeing your video in my feed excites me so much.

[@makutaremoris3488]

I am really enjoying the new torso piece.

[@MojCacaSeTusira]

I know i'm commenting extremely late but bionicle is on my mind lately and that mad max idea you mentioned is something I came up with couple of years ago and I gotta say it looks awsome.

[@ric3poversace477]

20:50 a shield is supposed to cover the wielder. Totally dig 2015’s better. It makes even more sense than the good looking classic circle shield. The 2016 shield could block a little if he got in on a battlefield with zamors flying, but not really. Sure, he could just use his staff in the situation, but then why have a shield?

[@untapped8776]

I am beyond excited for the MOC/revamp video!

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

+ASleuOfThings It's probably just gonna be a mostly unnarrated montage that goes on for a couple of minutes.

[@untapped8776]

Nevertheless, I'm still looking forward to seeing them a little more closely than we have!

[@Kpba32]

here's a fun fact umarak is loosely based on an old English folklore known as...um.. I can't remember his name but he was a deer man that hunted people who wander into his neck of the.woods

[@toakamar8369]

The Jersey Devil?

[@Kpba32]

+Cameron Desroches I'm pretty sure he was never a hunter, I think his name was earn or something like that

[@toakamar8369]

+kieran Animations oh that's interesting. Umarak just reminds me of that particular creature.

[@UnfaithfulServant97]

Herne the Hunter.

[@Kpba32]

Catalyzer935 thank you for reminding me

[@barley2469]

Thanks for getting me back into the bionicle spirit, I went and bought Lewa today.

[@UnfaithfulServant97]

How is he? I personally like him.

[@barley2469]

He's great :)

[@frostdino938]

I appreciate the Berserk music playing on tbe background

[@brickboy189]

man, I love these sets.

[@honestmistake8167]

Hey Nick, Umarak the hunter does have that folklore feel to him, probably because his inspiration was from an english folklore that was called "Herne The Hunter" or something like that.

[@2468h-s9e]

The new torso piece is almost perfect, the only bad thing I can find is the fact that it's such a big piece and not that easy to reuse.

[@2468h-s9e]

Also, Pohatu united with Ketar is definitely my favorite. He just looks great.

[@GibberishDraw]

The only added orange I think could have benefited Gali would be the sword at least it would of differentiated Kopaka and Gali’s blades :/ oh well

[@PulsarBurst124]

That Metroid Prime 2 Echoes world themes though

[@The-last-1]

As time goes on I like the 2016 toa less and less, as appose to the 2015 toa I love more as time goes on. But at the same time I feel bad calling them bad because there was obvious effort that went into these

[@Aj-xt4cw]

Umurak reminds me of krampus and when Lewas creature is in him make me think he's got his kill and wearing it

[@rocky.sroger8855]

I like to think umarak's chestplate talks to him

[@headcrabking9054]

Love the inclusion of the rama music!

[@dainatalvirk6853]

Once I finish my re-imagined toa mata builds that use almost exclusively ccbs and the 2015 masks in a hero factory 2.0 size scale I think I'm going to build the toa nuva in that same style using the masks of these toa

[@12171010011010]

Gali with the fidget spinner.

[@c0ppersc0rpi0n3]

Love your reviews! Also love the Metroid Prime soundtrack you use. I usuallymake it a game to guess the song lol

[@SCRX_0]

Trex Lewa is cursed af

[@toryforgue943]

16:07 love the berserk forces ost

[@thexplodenator3007]

Melums arms are supposed to swing outward on Kopaka. Also I kinda do wish Onua had the broad chest plate. It would mean Gali could have a blue torso and Lewa had a green torso. Also I definately think Tahu should have a red chest piece

[@johnseidle655]

Just ordered Kopaka (my favorite) and Tahu gonna get 2015 Lewa and 2016 Gali next

[@barley2469]

IVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS!

[@matoromahri8140]

Nice Knights Kingdom King Mathias armor pieces 2:40

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

They slide and fit over the Piraka shins beautifully.

[@IVThesimple3436]

Nick: they aren’t hero factory parts Also Nick: B O R H O K E Y E S (I don’t disagree about the “hero factory parts” not really belonging to hero factory parts, the point is to show that they aren’t exclusively borhok eyes)

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

Well, dang.

[@Veolynn13]

34:50 same. It's the fucking shoulders that do it for me.

[@LeoxandarMagnus]

I couldn't have said it better myself.

[@SpIcethea]

Nice review. Really good!

[@Reeves251]

I don’t know what’s going on but I’ve watched this video so many times at least 15 I’m going insane please help me I don’t even like Bionicle that much but for some reason this video is so mesmerizing to me I’ve watched it so many times

[@zira9827]

I like the new chest piece

[@brycebitetti1402]

Man, I am so upset that Bionicle got cancelled RIGHT before they introduced a female torso piece with Jyn Erso.

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

Oh, yeah.

[@Space_Potat]

What is that female torso piece?✨👀

[@MonkeyWithNoBomb]

2:33 could it be...? Nickon's Self-MOC? or is it just something cool he made? probably the latter.

[@thedriftyisaac6008]

The pistons on the ribs makes it seem like they can hunch forward or back to me

[@starlord3853]

Umarak is actually based on Herne the hunter for a somewhat fact

[@Veolynn13]

30:50 I assumed it was a grindy bit to disarm enemies when they cross blades.

[@DieselofAlrest]

I'm gonna be getting the summer sets on June 1st. (Hopefully)

[@pobccc2683]

G2’s story sucked, no doubt about it, that’s one of the many reasons why it failed. Even so, watching this video 5 years later reminds just how hopeful things were looking back then in regards to the set design. What you said about the “growing pains of Bionicle’s evolution” makes me sad knowing now that LEGO has all but abandoned constraction. And now we are both figuratively, and literally, left to pick up the pieces…

[@jackfrost4686]

Great review

[@sidequest2230]

you gotta start climbing before you can reach the top. hell it was probably this way for transformers when it started doing reboots. i mean, i got my gripes with some of the gen 2 bionicle stuff... but i don't hate it. i just feel it needs to improve in areas. But in a lot of other aspects, it's already doing a good job. like the sets themselves for example

[@maxieprimo2758]

I don't think the silver bits on the masks looks like hair, but more of a non elemental charged mask. Kinda like the Toa Mata before putting on their masks. This is even more apparent when you look at the new golden masks having yhe silver replaced by the elemental color of the toa.

[@PlasticToa]

this version of lewa reminds me a lot of gresh, mostly due to the jawline on the mask and the tonfas. maybe he would benefit from some long inika build style monkey arms?

[@andrewverrett568]

Im gonna buy pohatus creature just to use its tail to put on 2015 pohatu to make him have a scorpion tail. Trust me its gonna look awesome

[@Gaming_Nerd1993]

so Gali is your Bionicle waifu in many cases.

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

...say what?

[@Gaming_Nerd1993]

To me it seemed like you have / had a few might call juvenile crush on a fictional character in this case Gali. It came off that way when you started to talk about that particular character.

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

Gaming Nerd1993 I've talked about all of the Toa at length, though. think a lot about character design.

[@djbeb881]

i liked 2015 better

[@pastaman64]

I'm not 100% sure why, but the dark blue elements on Kopaka's otherwise mostly white body gives him a nordic, almost Sami like feel (which is I guess is rather odd, seeing as Sami people don't really wear anything with that color scheme (at least as far as I know)).

[@ashazzani1640]

I actually like the 2015 sets and hero factory (even though I never had any hero factory)

[@notiddypunkgf2246]

I think the stone and earth Visorak had bright green Bohrok eyes.

[@notiddypunkgf2246]

Wait, no, it was Vohtorahk, the fire Visorak.

[@xenon8927]

btw you can fix lewa super easy by moving the crystal armor to the hips

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

Have you seen my revamp, by any chance?

[@xenon8927]

@@NickonPlanetRipple no, sorry

[@DieselofAlrest]

I don't know if I should be excited for next year's sets, or if I should be worried.

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

+Diesel 20212 I'm in the same boat.

[@DieselofAlrest]

+NickonAquaMagna I'm hoping LEGO switches things around for next year's waves. I'm hoping that for 2017's winter wave (if there is one) will have villains or Rahi-like creatures, and the summer wave introduces a few new heroes, maybe even Takanuva.

[@Countcomfortable]

Tahu uniter of fire?More like Uniter of Gold

[@toakamar8369]

First off outstanding review! You're very articulate and detailed when you talk about these figures. In my opinion I absolutely love these sets! For some really good reason there's so much character in these sets and I love it. They have this anime kind of feel and I think it's awsome. Kopaka is my personal favorite out of these sets. He shows a lot of character to me. He reminds me of a someone who appears to not care but loves too much for his own good. Someone who will always trive to protect others. I love his sword and it's also my personal favorite weapon. It has this royal guard or king like feel to it. These figure are great for stop motion because of the hip gear function and also the creatures. The only problem I have with G2 as a whole is the villains. Not just as sets but the way they are portrayed. I feel like they're incomplete. For every toa there should be a villain character that matches them. Like with the skull villains there wasn't a specific rival for Gali. That's the one concept that's bugging me right now. G1 did a great job of this making sure there was a villain for every toa. Overall I'm enjoying G2 despite that problem. Great job and I'm looking forward to seeing your video on the modifications you made.

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

+Cameron Desroches Yeah, for some reason, Lego just doesn't put as much love into most of their recent villain sets (Umarak is the exception) as they used to. I guess kids don't buy villain sets as much because they're more interested in the hero characters?

[@toakamar8369]

+NickonAquaMagna If that's really the case than that's stupid to me. I always thought the hero or villain becomes more in depth as a character if they have a rival or enemy similar to them. I really hope the can fix this problem.

[@thatamericannarrator8247]

Well, once the summer wave comes out, every Toa will have had a rival / villain at some point in the line. That's one of the reasons why I love the upcoming sets.

[@toakamar8369]

+That American Narrator True and the sets look amazing. But what I mean is there should be six "beasts" and then have Umarak the destroyer as the "final boss" not just lava, quake, storm. I'm not some G1 elitist so I'm not arguing with you or telling you that you're wrong. Like for example every toa till right around the glatorian/bara magna arc had a rival matching their element. The Toa nuva in 03 had a rahkshi that rivaled them individually. The inika had piraka so on and so forth.

[@thatamericannarrator8247]

Yeah, I actually agree with you. The lack of villains has been one of the few weaknesses of G2, in my opinion.

[@Tinwibss0342]

The prices on Amazon today . . . dear god

[@tonileidinger9001]

check ebay..i got kopaka and melum new for 66€...better thannthe 120€ on Amazon

[@peopleperson2951]

Great and informative review! Btw, what music did you use in Kopaka's segment? I love it!

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

"Forces 2" from Berserk.

[@peopleperson2951]

Thank you!

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

No prob, I love the song too.

[@peopleperson2951]

I think it sort of fits with Kopaka.

[@peopleperson2951]

Hey, maybe you could review/re-review the Sonic games after SA2 as a run up/hype-train to Sonic Forces, if you have time that is.

[@piplupbroSUBSCRIBE]

thanks so much! :)

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

+piplup bro ....what for? I didn't do anything.

[@piplupbroSUBSCRIBE]

I thanked u for doing the review

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

piplup bro Oh, um... all right. Your welcome. It's just awkward that people are treating this video like it's a big deal. It's not.

[@piplupbroSUBSCRIBE]

fareanof

[@Eugene-pq3gg]

I really don't know what to think about these pieces. In a way they broke CCBS. The added texture was appreciated. Although they might have gone a bit too far. I'm not even going to start with the Bionicle fanbase and what happened there. I'm not trying to offend anyone, just noting how chaotic it is as an entity, even now.

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

Looking at them now, I do still appreciate the consistency of 2016's pieces. The add-ons, the creature elements, the weapons, the masks, they all had the same crystals and pistons, and it's amazing what a measly four or five new molds can do to create cohesion in a group of new figures.

[@Eugene-pq3gg]

@@NickonPlanetRipple They are consistent with each other and go a long way to add some life to a few of the figures. Not to mention the fact that because of them so many possibilities to incorporate technic elements in the builds open up. And I love the elemental feel of the crystal pieces. Seeing some element lords incorporate them would've been cool and wouldn't clash much with the older CCBS elements those would probably be designed with (as they are supposed to be organic). The only piece that I think could've been handled slightly better is the chest piece. Looking at it makes me think it's just a tiny bit too much, and that they could've gotten a similar level of texture with less pistons. Yet there are cases like Ekimu, where it works beautifully, not allowing as much of the interior build to be seen as a flatter piece would, therefore maintaining the colour scheme and avoiding the possibility of the figure looking empty, since the add-ons on him are a little smoother.

[@johnschou2172]

Which toa group do you think is better? The 2015 wave, or this one?

[@GreyTheGamer06]

I like brown Bionicle figures....

[@ltranc]

You placed Onua's upper arm armor upside-down.

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

+ltranc Whoops.

[@gabetrextechnofighter7956]

+NickonAquaMagna I had that problem too

[@bioskrall9742]

I had this interesting thought upon looking at these Uniter sets and their masks: Could these masks make for decent replacements for the Phantoka and Mistika Toa masks? Perhaps feel a little more fitted as adapted versions of the Nuva Kanohi?

[@NickonPlanetRipple]

I mean..... maybe? If you painted them.

[@silverrings6426]

How long does it take for you to make videos like this.

[@tomvhresvelg9286]

Quite funny that Gunpla lasted longer than Bionicle 4 times...

[@thomasalvarenga2839]

I guess kids are starting to associate brown with poop which is why brown Lego characters don't sell well.

[@digitalking2589]

Flashback to the phantoka anyone?

[@thexplodenator3007]

The piston chestplate was designed in 2015 says so on the molding. So they probably DID do it as a response to whiners who want pistons

[@ShroudSavage]

is that music from the berserk ost? Cool!

[@Metadoodles94]

mmm this changed my view of this line a little bit. but im still not very interested in the Toas, i want the creatures tho, even if they cant combine with the 2015 guys, i thhink they would great pets. but since the protectors from last year never showed up in stores in my country (no even oficial lego stores) im afraid i wont see those little guys here either... (i have almost all the 2015 toas, only onua is left)

[@gonkdroid5851]

Really didn’t like the 2016 figures. The 2015 figures just look more unique between eachother. I just love the CCBS look

[@mrpoool1015]

I think umarak represents a Wendigo

[@leon-didi0759]

I just created a moc in the hopes I can swap him out for my friend’s Kopaka

[@leon-didi0759]

@ATA GÜNENÇ oh god that was ages ago, no his parents are extremely thick

[@leon-didi0759]

@ATA GÜNENÇ I had no in my sentence bruh

[@georgebarrett2132]

I'm liking these more and more great leap with all of the action additions but dude, is just it me or did they end up looking kinda meaner, a bit evil? Yyyyeah, I admit it, I did actually like their original charm, perfectly embodied in the Black guy and the, ha, reverse-torso Brown guy too not to fret we'll find that missing link

[@IamEscBoy]

does he know how many muscles we have? especially on our torsos.

[@richardmiquel6779]

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