Sand Tarakava (Replica!) for sale!

[Munty]

If my time-telling skills don't fail me, this auction is now over and gpjedge is the winner for £95! Congratulations and I'll be pm'ing you now for a shipping address! I'm going to wait a little while before I list no.10 but be warned the listing will be STARTING at £100! I'm back on the instructions today (finally!) after a very busy week so am hoping to get them done in the next few days. Once they're sorted I'm STILL waiting on this guy to ship out the Komau but he's finally invoiced me so hopefully that won't take too much longer! 

 

In other news, I've just been through a bunch of secondary items I have for sale and would LOVE to get them passed on soon if possible as they're taking up space that could be filled with Lego right now! I uploaded the pics to my photobucket HERE Some of these items are already spoken for (namely most of the MAFs) but the vehicles are all up for grabs unless I decide to hold onto the Warthog and Mongoose on account of them being very cool Let me know if anyone is interested in any of these, otherwise they'll be going up on ebay soon!

 

Here's a pic of the vehicles I have, follow the link above for other bits n bobs!

 

I'll update this topic with the next ST auction in the next day or so at the latest so keep watching this space! T

[Arzaki]

Aren't those Halo Megablocks sets?

[Munty]

Yup, the BST forum isn't stricrly limited to selling JUST Lego related items, so long as you have SOME Lego for sale which obviously I do

I'm finally expanding into Hero Factory after a few months spent considering it. That means I'll soon have a few of those sets turning up in store, for better or for worse! My first order has a Witch Doctor, Black phantom and Von Nebula if anyone here is looking for a HF villain fix I'm getting a bunch of the smaller sets too and will continue expanding the variety of sets I stock as I go (provided it's profitable venture) I still have tons of Bionicle in stock as well. Obviously...

As far as the Sand Tarakava goes, I'm working on getting the last few bits done before I list up no.10 for sale so don't expect to see it for a little while longer just yet! I may even do an 'unboxing' to accompany the final listing so people can for the first time see exactly what they're getting! In the meantime, let me know if there's anything else anyone is looking for

(Also thanks to the winning bidders for all the payments received so far, will get then shippe dout asap! If you haven't paid yet please be sure to do it asap!)
 

UPDATE

Hi guys, it's finally time for an update to this topic! It took a whole lot of chasing down but I finally managed to get the last few parts I was waiting for and the instructions are now finished and looking great! With that in mind it's now time to start shipping out the previously sold STs and I'll be messaging all the winning bidders about that today. All I need is a finalised list of the items that have been purchased and a confirmed shipping address and these will be going into the post by the end of the week!

More news is that ToaTupac has failed to pay for his item and promptly disappeared. Clearly this should serve as a warning to other sellers if he stays around the forums but it also means I'm going to be reselling the ST he won as I don't need to keep two for myself! I won't start the auction for it right away as everyone has probably forgotten all about these items by now so we'll see if we can't relight the fire again before selling the last two! If you have an interest in owning either of the remaining items (no. 7 and 10 I believe) let me know and I'll get the bidding underway once there have been a few bites!

I'll also be putting up a few final images of what these items look like soon so it's no longer a blind auction! It may even be that previous buyers will receive their items before no.10 is listed up so maybe someone would be kind enough to post up an unboxing for us!

In the meantime, watch this space for the last two auctions and expect private messages any moment now if you're one of the winning bidders I'll be shipping to this week! As soon as I have all the info I need I'll post all these out together so the wait is finally almost over! Thanks to everyone for their interest in this monumental project. It has been my Everest!!!
 

UPDATE

Good news everyone!

I'm recently back from the post office and I only have two more ST to ship out now! No.1 is mine of course but no.s 2, 3, 4, 8 and 9 all shipped today so those lucky five should be receiving them soon! Wamsutta and Vraiment I'll be sending yours out just as soon as I can, Vrai you'll be getting an email shortly. Wam I think I was just waiting for a final confirmation on shipping for yours so check your pms and emails to see if you have a message from me! Hopefully one of these 5 buyers will be able to post up some pics, a review or even an unboxing vid soon but for now I still have some other bits to catch up on before I put up the last two auctions so keep watching and please feel free to interrupt my monologue!

Edit: Triple post merged.
-Wind-

Edited March 10, 2015 by Munty

[Wamsutta]

Do you have any idea what your next big project will be?

[Munty]

I think it'll be a while before I embark on anything quite this ambitious again but I guess I need to do something pretty spectacular to pay for my Solid Gold Hau There are a few things I've considered briefly but I think the Sand Tarakava is really the most epic set out there. It's never had instructions out there or a reliable parts list or anything to help collectors make their own. Now it has that (or it will do once the last two are sold and I release the manual PDF online!) and also a nice new collectible for those of us who have to have everything. Obviously the ST boxes I've done will never be official but I'd like to think of them as being in the same sort of category as Flintsmith's customs. Unofficial yet cool and desirable. The trans purple kaukau for example COULD be an official mask and now I think I've done a good enough job that the Sand Tarakava COULD be a real set!

 

The x of 10 formula seems to work quite well too. The biggest drag (apart from unreliable bricklink sellers...) has been the amount of time I had to invest in the instructions. They came out looking fantastic so it was worth it but I certainly haven't 'broken even' when you take into account the dozens of hours it took to put those together. Perhaps the next project could be something cheaper to produce with a higher number of releases. That way it would be attractive (and affordable) to more collectors as opposed to such a high value set as the ST while also making the time investment more worthwhile. 

 

So there are two things I have in mind right now, not sure I'll go ahead with either of them though and I'll need to build up a little investment pot before I do either of them too so it's something to think about. This time though, I'll do the instructions first as they're hard, but cost nothing but time! It would've been much easier to do the ST ones a page a day over the course of a month or two rather than all of it in a few weeks as a matter of urgency. I got over-excited with the prospect of the STs which resulted in me buying all the parts almost 2 months before I was able to start recouping money and probably had a negative impact on collector interest as I couldn't show a finished product until now!

 

Anyway, we'll see what's next in time I guess! All 7 of the sold sets have now been mailed out so I'm just sitting on two more which will be listed up in the next few days. Still waiting to hear from other potential buyers out there, I'd rather not end up keeping three of these to myself

[GU5T4V0R4NG3]

Next project: Kanohi Dragon PLEASE 

[Munty]

Nice and simple then hey Gustav?! It's certainly an impressive set but would be a real challenge with only one official photograph that I'm aware of! Of course if I could get in touch with the creator then maybe but I have no idea who that is and I've had trouble contacting other creators in the past too so I won't hold my breath. Will certainly keep it in mind anyway

[TommyG]

Someone tried to recreate it but took some noticeable liberties:

 

http://tahunuva2.blog.cz/1501/kanohi-dragon-building-instructions

 

May I suggest the Fikou-Nui or Miserix?

 

Also, since it's another unreleased prototype set (what others are there?), the Matoran Sphere vehicle seen in the BIONICLE 2 bonus features?

Edited March 13, 2015 by TomRoid

[Wamsutta]

I concur on Miserix. I suggest Alternate Teridax, Tobduk, or Tahtorak.

 

Tobduk instructions: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=465699

 

Tahtorak instructions: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=407397

 

Alternate Teridax Gallery: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=396867

 

NOTE - jimmybob83 has completed a perfect replica of Alternate Teridax, Tahtorak, and Tobduk.

 

I would, once again, be VERY WILLING to purchase another one of your projects if these were the products. I'd also LOVE Kanohi Dragon or the Matoran Sphere Transport. Please do these! Please take my money too, haha!

Edited March 13, 2015 by Wamsutta

[Munty]

I saw those kanohi dragon 'instructions' as it happens but only on my tablet so I didn't take any time to compare them to the original. I'd probably go the same way as I did with the ST and come up with my own design based entirely on the official pics to be honest. Keep it as legitimate a representation as possible. I just have a feeling that the whole core of the kanohi dragon along with much of it's rear will be impossible to accurately model from that sole image!

 

Fikou Nui was that big long legged thing from the cancelled computer game right? Man that thing was wierd looking, probably not too well known either is it? Might be too simple a set to be worth investing a great deal of time in but I'll certainly keep it in mind Miserix always confused me as it's always suggested that the Brotherhood of Makuta wear matching armour. Yet his set representation makes him look like a Chinese dragon. Why??? It seems like a pretty cool set though and I'd love to try to match the design some day so who knows! It suffers a similar lack of imagery as the Kanohi Dragon but I think it seems doable other than the lower body which may be a bit tough!

 

Can someone find me some pictures of the matoran sphere vehicle???

 

Not sure I've ever come across Tobduk before. Seems to be a pretty nice build apart from the ugly Inika mask I have an 'accurate' Tahtorak too but there's no way of knowing how the head is built from the only 2 genuine photos available. The way it's done in those instructions can be seen to be wrong as the back of the jaw protrudes out the back of the head too much when compared to the top down pic of the original on red material... So it's probably not possible to have an entirely accurate build and therefore some liberties would be taken in any event but I'd certainly be interested to see jimmybob's head solution (unless he followed the instructions in which case it's wrong )

 

I thought Krakua may be an interesting set as it's fairly simple but not something that you'd be able to put together out of spare parts (even with as many spare parts as I have my Krakua still isn't finished!) That said though, I imagine all of the component parts would be relatively cheap and readily available so it could be possible to keep the price relatively low on that. The same goes for the Tahtorak which is one I'd love to do but it has a serious lack of stability/posability. I guess I could do what I did with the ST and provide the parts for a few unofficial alterations to improve on that but would obviously rather not have to do that!

 

Alternate Teridax... Now THAT is a very attractive proposition... Shame about the knights kingdom waste but it's a very sexy MOC! Is that link leading to multiple photographs of the original set? There are lots of angles shown so would be very easy to recreate for the most part. It should be noted however that I absolutely despise the convoluted storyline that was manufactured purely to sell Mazeka and Vultraz sets... Absolutely pointless...

 

Anyway! thanks for the suggestions which I will be keeping in mind! The next one certainly won't be happening soon but there's no reason I can't start tinkering in the evening so keep any more suggestions coming please! 

 

While I'm here, I reckon I might as well open up the unpaid Sand Tarakava no.7/10 for auction. I know there aren't so many people watching right now but I'll just start it now and let it go! I'm going to ask £80 for the opening bid and increments of £2 minimum if there is more than one interested party! So knock yourselves out, no. 7 is up for grabs now!

 

It should also be noted that all the paid auctions were shipped several days ago so hopefully they should start arriving soon! If any of the recipients feel like posting up photos, reviews or ideally an unboxing I'd really love to have it up here! I don't really feel like I can do it myself but YOU can do it for me

[Wamsutta]

The image gallery for Alternate Teridax is available on his BS01 page under "External Links."  http://biosector01.com/wiki/index.php/Alternate_Teridax

 

 

Some other suggestions:

 

Certavus Instructions: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=375136

 

Kyry Gallery and Instructions: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=478481

 

Ancient Gallery and Instructions: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=478640&n=0

 

Piraka Fusion Instructions: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=220923

 

 

I'd personally love to see Ancient come to life. Again, please note that jimmybob83 has made replicas of each of these as well.

Edited March 14, 2015 by Wamsutta

[Munty]

Thanks wam, Ancient is a nice set for sure, thePiraka fusion is awful though. Seriously my least favourite canonised MOC ever, it's so bad :S

 

The other two are interesting but not sure what they are honestly and I'd like to stick to well known repressntations or I'll end up putting a lot of time into something that doesn't sell

[TommyG]

I imagine there are worse canonized MOCs:

So, did you do something different from Hot Shot/jimmybob83 when it came to replication of the Sand Tarakava?

http://imgur.com/a/Wt19e

 

This is the video that contains the Matoran Sphere Vehicle. It suffers the same "few image" problem but it'd certainly be unique enough an idea to go with.

 

Not very pleased to hear there's a big inaccuracy when ordering parts to build that Tahtorak.   I already knew the hand piece in the Rahkshi head was supposed to be white instead of black, though. Don't know if it's fully legit, but there are more Tahtorak images here as linked by BS01: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=397575 There's also another Justin Lamb image here: http://www.maskofdestiny.com/archive.asp?i=1199

 

Incidentally, I've actually been compiling instructions for contest and media models in Volitak_Boxor's database: http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/15332-comprehensive-bionicle-alternate-model-database/ And while not saying this should force you to make the really hard ones in any way, I'd find it a bit boring to go with models you can just find legitimate/accurate to a certain degree instructions for on the internet anyway (Piraka Fusion, Krakua, etc.).

[Saint-14]

If they already have instructions then that doesn't really count as a replica, though, right? I mean, it would really only be putting the parts together, and using another person's idea...

[Wamsutta]

Kyry and Certavus are an Agori from Vulcanus and an Iconox Glatorian, respectively.

 

Okay, so to break down all of the possibilities:

 

1) Kyry seems too esoteric for Munty.

 

2) Certavus follows the same fate.

 

3) Piraka Fusion is too odd an MOC for Munty.

 

4) Kanohi Dragon is plagued with only one picture and could be too difficult for Munty.

 

5) Matoran Sphere Vehicle suffers the same issue as the Kanohi Dragon.

 

6) Miserix has slight better odds, but also only has a few pictures.

 

7) Fikou-Nui may be too simple for Munty.

 

8) Tobduk also may be too simple and esoteric.

 

9) Tahtorak may have some inconsistencies, but is definitely in the running.

 

10) Ancient also seems to be a solid pick.

 

11) Alternate Teridax may be a strange and unnecessary character, but as an MOC it's great!

 

I'd love to see a lot of these come to life, but I think #7-11 are realistic. The Tahtorak, Ancient, and Alternate Teridax seem to be the most likely candidates, as of now.

 

WHAT ABOUT A BATERRA REPLICA?! Something like this: http://fc01.deviantart.net/fs71/i/2012/082/9/1/baterra_by_forcelegacy-d4to5bf.png

Edited March 14, 2015 by Wamsutta

[Munty]

So, did you do something different from Hot Shot/jimmybob83 when it came to replication of the Sand Tarakava?

http://imgur.com/a/Wt19e

 

This is the video that contains the Matoran Sphere Vehicle. It suffers the same "few image" problem but it'd certainly be unique enough an idea to go with.

[VID CLIPPED]

 

Not very pleased to hear there's a big inaccuracy when ordering parts to build that Tahtorak.   I already knew the hand piece in the Rahkshi head was supposed to be white instead of black, though. Don't know if it's fully legit, but there are more Tahtorak images here as linked by BS01: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?f=397575 There's also another Justin Lamb image here: http://www.maskofdestiny.com/archive.asp?i=1199

 

Incidentally, I've actually been compiling instructions for contest and media models in Volitak_Boxor's database: http://www.bzpower.com/board/topic/15332-comprehensive-bionicle-alternate-model-database/ And while not saying this should force you to make the really hard ones in any way, I'd find it a bit boring to go with models you can just find legitimate/accurate to a certain degree instructions for on the internet anyway (Piraka Fusion, Krakua, etc.).

 

Looking at those pics I DO see at least one thing I did differently to jimmybob though I certainly wasn't aware of it before now! Was it jimmybob who posted up the other build with all those pics on a different website as I found them right when I was starting to think about the build. In fact once I'd come up with my own design I was happy with I even used his unofficial pics to see how consistent they were with each other. I believe in at least one case I saw something on his model that was different to mine and after closer inspection of the original images I decided he was in fact correct and so changed the design accordingly! No idea what the error was but pretty sure that happened at least once! Anyway, the link you provided contains some pics I hadn't seen before and the thin liftarm in the head is different in my replica. He used a 90 degree 3x3 liftarm whereas I only used a straight 3x1. Would have to check the original shots again to see if it't possible to determine which is correct but I was certainly confident with my final design by the end! For the record, I'll be uploading the instructions I made once the last two sets are sold so anyone will be able to build one. Includes numbered inventory an' all

 

There is definitely an inconsistency in the Tahtorak head, it's simply very hard to tell what the correct method is. My current method works and from the 2 images I'd been working from there are no visible inaccuracies but it's not perfect and I highly doubt it's correct. The extra image you linked actually shows that the inside of my mouth is wrong so will have to reattempt it at some point! I even have a red y-joint in the mouth but frankly it looks MUCH better than that white one so I won't change that

 

I'm certainly more interested in doing something else uncommon like the Sand Tarakava but even things like Krakua who you can build yourself could benefit from proper instructions and a nice box. I don't know if they'd be worth doing though really as I'd be investing a lot of time and money but would have to sell it cheaply so would be lucky to break even on cost (thus essentially wasting my time which is non-refundable!) 

 

EDIT : completely forgot to comment on the sphere vehicle!!! Is it only visible towards the end there? About 9 mins in? Sorry to say there's just nowhere near enough to go on there, I can't tell anything about the set at all. I made out what the feet are made of and that there were lots of pipes but I couldn't even begin trying to build one of these without either more images or higher resolution screen caps... Think it might be off the list

 

If they already have instructions then that doesn't really count as a replica, though, right? I mean, it would really only be putting the parts together, and using another person's idea...

 

I guess that's kind of down to personal opinion but I don't think it's factually correct. A replica is something that has been made to look like something else but strictly is NOT the other thing. The original prototype ST were the actaul things and my sets are replicas because they are essentially copies of that original. They are no more official than anyone else's ST though so really jimmybob's ST is just as much a replica as mine because it's NOT an official ST but it could easily be passed off as one (more than mine in fact as he painted a yellow ruru I believe!) In the same vein , someone who bricklinked the parts to build an official set would technically also being creating a replica as those parts could all theoretically be from OTHER sets and therefore it wouldn't actually be the genuine article. I got most of my promotional polybag sets by building from spares so my good guys and bad guys and klaak and the like are all technically replicas too

 

Whether or not these sets have instructions is in no way related to them being replicas in my opinion. I could find instructions for a replica Spitfire or 50.cal MG but I can't think of anyone I know who would have the resources to build one themselves. If I got all the parts for them first though and packed it in a nice box suddenly you turned some instructions into a 'kit' and suddenly everyone can have one! Furthermore, in the case of the Sand Tarakava, this isn't even really a replica anymore. It's actually become it's own thing. This is a limited set of ten items with unique boxes and instructions that noone else will ever have. Sure, it's not as rare as the actual ST prototype but it has it's own value and rarity attached to it now (like a Flintsmith mask) So in the future, people might not just be asking 'where can I buy a Sand Tarakava?' They may be asking 'where can I buy a Sand tarakava or a replica?' Both are unique in their own way. The same would be true for any other sets I make up as it would stop being messy instructions on a web page and become something entirely different

 

Kyry and Certavus are an Agori from Vulcanus and an Iconox Glatorian, respectively.

 

Okay, so to break down all of the possibilities:

 

1) Kyry seems too esoteric for Munty.

 

2) Certavus follows the same fate.

 

3) Piraka Fusion is too odd an MOC for Munty.

 

4) Kanohi Dragon is plagued with only one picture and could be too difficult for Munty.

 

5) Matoran Sphere Vehicle suffers the same issue as the Kanohi Dragon.

 

6) Miserix has slight better odds, but also only has a few pictures.

 

7) Fikou-Nui may be too simple for Munty.

 

8) Tobduk also may be too simple and esoteric.

 

9) Tahtorak may have some inconsistencies, but is definitely in the running.

 

10) Ancient also seems to be a solid pick.

 

11) Alternate Teridax may be a strange and unnecessary character, but as an MOC it's great!

 

I'd love to see a lot of these come to life, but I think #7-11 are realistic. The Tahtorak, Ancient, and Alternate Teridax seem to be the most likely candidates, as of now.

 

WHAT ABOUT A BATERRA REPLICA?!

 

Indeed, they all have their issues don't they! Those three may be the simplest choices but that certainly doesn't make them the best choices so we'll see I guess Right now I'm working very hard to get all of my stock sorted and inventoried and am finally making some progress so I'll continue with that and normal selling for now at any rate. And of course I won't be starting anything else until these last two STs sell which doesn't seem to be happening right now! No takers for number 7? Poor little guy will be stuck in his box forever! And I'm not going to sell number 10 until he's sold either sooo I don't mind keeping both. They'll be worth more when the artist is dead you know. Wait, that won't help me will it... Ah whatevs, it'll all work out in the end

 

EDIT : The otehr Tahtorak images are NOT legitimate. They were most likely built following the online instructions as the rear jaw is wrong (see the black connector at the bottom back of the head? Wrong!) Also it's been built with the more recent dark bluish grey limbs for the most part. They really show up in a few places where they've been used directly alongside standard dark grey pieces for some reason!!!

 

FURTHER EDIT : I see eactly how the front of the head is built now! Will try rebuilding my own tomorrow and see if I can figure out how to make the back work like it does in the original! How exciting, thanks so much for the additional Justin Lamb pic!!!

Edited March 14, 2015 by Munty

[TommyG]

 

 

 

FURTHER EDIT : I see eactly how the front of the head is built now! Will try rebuilding my own tomorrow and see if I can figure out how to make the back work like it does in the original! How exciting, thanks so much for the additional Justin Lamb pic!!!

 

Glad to hear it 

 

Hot Shot was the one behind the ST replica seen on the TFW2005 forums (http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/toyark/163090-bionicle-hero-factory-thread-1052.html), a.k.a. this picture: http://i.imgur.com/dUQu6Pz.jpg

Gallery: http://imgur.com/a/Wt19e

Jimmybob83 used those insights to build his own replica here: http://www.brickshelf.com/gallery/jimmybob83/Collection-New/img_0691.jpg

This was mentioned earlier in the topic, but I'd just thought I'd clear things up.

 

Baterra I imagine would be too small for Munty's liking, but I'd find it an interesting endeavor if you had a few painted parts.

[Munty]

Ah I see, not sure whose pic it was with the different head then. It seems Hot Shot's pics are no longer working for some reason so I can't check either...

[TommyG]

I linked his Imgur gallery in my last reply, where it says "Gallery:".

[Munty]

Hmm, looking again at the original pics, it seems possible I used the incorrect piece in his head... If that isn't just the king of all bummers

[Wamsutta]

Can you link us to a page on Bricklink so we can buy a couple pieces?

[GU5T4V0R4NG3]

I think the point of you buying the pieces and making instructions is to make some profit.

My opinion on the aforementioned sets would be:

 

1. Should you do Kyry and Certavus, it would be better to sell them together. Baterra also applies  , though I don't like painted pieces.

2. I'd love to see Miserix   and the Kanohi Dragon, the later has unofficial images which could be useful for building one yourself.

3. The Piraka Fusion is a terrible MOC haha , and Alternate Teridax may be liked by some. Still I wouldn't buy them.

4. I don't see the point on the Matoran Sphere Vehicle, and Fikou Nui is also meh...

 

Tahtorak, Ancient, Tobduk and Krakua have too accurate instructions (and easy to find pieces) for Bionicle fans not to build them themselves, the most profitable one I see in there would be the Tahtorak. For me it's like asking you to sell combiners like Lohrak, that's not the point.

But you're right, priority now is to sell ST no.7, which is now live isn't it? Good luck everyone!

[Munty]

Wam, I think it's possible that I used two of these instead of two of these... It's hard to tell from the original pic but it would explain why I had problems with the jaw hanging slack while that doesn't seem to be an issue with the replicas OR in the original photos... Obviously if that's the case I'm chuffing gutted... Not so much that I haven't provided those parts but more so that the instructions are wrong See what you think when you have your set built, the jaw DOES hold itself but it also has a tendency to droop when you... um... play with it too much

 

Gus, first off thanks for your email earlier, it's really appreciated! Secondly there does of course have to be some profit to be had in order to make it worth the time I'm putting into the more complicated things like the instructions but as I've said before, making money was not why I decided to make 10 STs in the first place. Originally I was just going to make one for myself, then I figured maybe I could make two and sell one to help recoup costs then I figured if two why not ten! It then grew to something far beyond my original imagining and the boxes and instructions have far surpassed anything I ever invisioned but also cost significantly more (both in time and price!) If I do it again I'll be a lot wiser and my process will be significantly different. I wasn't ever looking to get rich from this project and in reality I've ended up making a relatively meagre amount, probably far less than anyone thinks! I'm fine with that though and would happily do it again if it gives just a few other collectors the same enjoyment it's brought me. I'll just be more organised next time!!!

 

Also yes, no.7 IS live but currently going very unloved. Please pass the word around if anyone is looking for one as there were plenty still looking for one before I halted the auctions but now they seem to have vanished

[TommyG]

Does the proper Tahtorak head construction (assuming I'm correct in my assumption that you found it earlier) require any different pieces than those listed in the incorrect instructions?

[Munty]

You know I never tried to build it in the end! Will get around to it at some point I'm sure I think it's highly unlikely it will use the same parts but I imagine they'll be quite common bits so hopefully you'll have spares!?

[Wamsutta]

I can't believe no one has bid on these beauties! I advertised on multiple BIONICLE YouTube videos. Everyone, Munty did us a HUGE favor by creating these impossible-to-get sets. The least we can do is advertise for him wherever we can.

Edited March 27, 2015 by Wamsutta

[Gonny]

I just got my Sand Tarakava in the mail earlier this week on Tuesday, March 24. It actually would have been delivered on March 21, but since I was out of town at the time, I was able to pick it up from the post office when I got back. It was sent on March 10, so that means it took less than two weeks to get from the UK, pass through customs and get to my doorstep in the US for those of you who haven't gotten yours yet or have yet to buy one.

 

The box itself with the Sand Tarakava cover art is placed in brown paper to protect it in it's travel overseas. I put some black boxes over the names and addresses. Yes, I know there are a lot of black boxes, but that's because the post office wrote my name all over it. It was shipped using Royal Mail with a tracking number that could be used on their website and, when it got through customs in the US, could be tracked on the USPS website. I personally find the cover art beautiful and authentic to the original Tarakava while still being new and different. I was happy to find the sticker had no visible sign of wear as a result of the protective brown paper. The back of the box gives a little information about the project and its creation.

 

If you're like me, you may try to open the box from the side. Had I opened the box as intended, I would have seen that it conveniently opens from the front. You can see that the contents are well packaged with bubble wrap. When you first open the box you see the certificate of authenticity signed by the creator himself, a picture showing the difference between the original Sand Tarakava prototype and Munty's replica, and the instructions. Under that we have the bag full of contents.

 

After building the set entirely, I was left with a couple of extra rubber bands, a dark gray ruru to allow you to attempt to paint yellow like the original prototype, and the necessary pieces to build actual prototype design instead of the replica design.

 

And finally, I took a few pictures of the final product:

Angle

Side

Back

 

Overall, I was really happy to be able to get this set from Munty. I know going through Purple Dave's old pictures and trying to reconstruct the original model was a difficult task and, by ordering the rare pieces off Bricklink, Munty really saved me a lot of trouble. I think the cover art is really cool as I said above and the instructions have a likeness to official instructions and attention to detail that makes them like no other fan made instructions I've ever seen. My only problem with them is that they may have turned out clearer if they'd been printed on a different kind of paper (like photo paper) and possibly laminated. Despite this, it's still a great set and I'd recommend it to anyone considering going for one of the remaining Sand Tarakava. Keep in mind, even if you wait for the inventory to be posted online and try to buy the parts off Bricklink yourself, shipping costs from multiple sellers could very well make the sets more expensive than if you take advantage of this opportunity.

[Flick_The_Brick]

Hello, everyone, I hope I'm not too late for the bidding.

 

If I'm not mistaken, the No. 7 is still up for grabs. I therefore place the starting bid of £80.

[Wamsutta]

Nice, Flick_The_Brick!! Not many people have seen this one, so you may win it! I'm just curious, but how did you end up hearing of this topic?

[Flick_The_Brick]

Well, I follow this topic ever since the ninth Tarakava was taken (mid-february maybe?) and I was waiting for the tenth one ever since. Truth be told, I haven't checked this topic in a while, so I consider myself lucky that nobody bid on No. 7, yet.

How I got to hear about it? Well, as you can see, I'm not a hardcore BZPower member (even though I am a member since 2012... Ha, ha.) but I am a Bionicle fan nontheless. I was looking for a rare set for my collection and a Sand Tarakava came to mind. Since obtaining one of the official ones is close to impossible, I decided to build one myself. I did a quick Google search for high-res pics of the set (there aren't many, by the way) and I stumbled on this topic on BZPower completely by accident. I guess you could call it fate.

 

I hope this answers your question, my friend.

[Wamsutta]

That definitely answered my question, Flick_The_Brick.

 

I did the same thing, except I was searching the BZPower forums and jumped for joy when I saw this topic. I saved up so much money to be able to purchase this Sand Tarakava. I am very new to this website as a member, but I've known of the site since 2006, and loved BIONICLEs since 2001. The B/S/T forum has gotten much cooler with Munty's arrival. I really hope all of these sell because it will give him an even greater incentive to continue this historic and immortalitizing work of art.

 

The same thing is apparent in the General Art forum where jimmybob83 and Maphrox: Toa of Polygons are making beautiful custom-made kanohi. Each of these users have a blatantly obvious love for this community and BIONICLE. I hope that we can show them through our monetary, critical, and verbal support that we want them to continue these projects.

[Munty]

Hey guys, seems I missed some action in my absense!!! Flick_the_brick, thanks for your interest! Unless I'm very much mistaken you stand uncontested and therefore now own no.7 Please send me a pm with your shipping adress and we can work out shipping. Let me know if there's anything else you're looking for too, be happy to help you out if I can

 

Gonny, those are excellent pics and a brilliant review thanks so much! I really appreciate the feedback and hearing other people are enjoying these sets makes it all worthwhile! Thanks to Wamsutta for your kind comments too, have you had a chance to enjoy your ST yet? The instructions aren't of ideal quality and honestly I'd have loved to improve the clarity of all the printing work for this project. Unfortunately it just wasn't cost effective. Every single side of A4 that I had printed cost 20p IIRC and that adds up pretty quick for these big manuals The next best price I got was 50p a side and quality wasn't good enough to warrant it sadly

 

Guess it's only number 10 left to sell now but I'll have to have a think about what to do with that one! Anyone watching let me know if you're interested to give me an idea

[Letagi]

If you can hold onto number 10 until sometime during the summer I'd be very interested. I just don't have the money on hand, and won't until I find summer employment.

 

-Letagi

[Uhmbra]

Munty, would it be possible for you to post the instructions for this set here?

[Munty]

Munty, would it be possible for you to post the instructions for this set here?

 

Absolutely, I'll be releasing the instructions (including inventory) just as soon as I sell the last one! I know it might seem a little tight to keep them to myself till then but I need to be sure I've sold all 9 before I show people how to make their own! Even though they'll never have the snazzy box

I can hold onto it for a while Letagi as right now there seems to be minimal interest so let me know what's going on and I'll certainly keep you in mind as an interested party. It does seem only fitting for one of these to go to you

[Wamsutta]

I'm going to be putting up a review for this product soon. Sorry it has taken so long.

[Biofreak1022]

Hey Munty. I was wondering if you are still in possession of the #10 ST. If you are please let me know. I would like to make an offer but don't want to unless I know for sure I have a chance.

[Munty]

Hey Biofreak, thanks for the message. I certainly do still have no.10 and would welcome offers on it! Please private message me as I'm not checking the forums too often right now but get email notifications of pm's so can get right back to them (as long as I'm awake!) Thanks, T

[Biofreak1022]

REALLY THATS AWESOME. How many more do you have just out of curiosity?

[Munty]

This is the very last one I'm selling! Eight have sold already and I'm keeping no.1 so this is the very last chance to get one. If anyone was watching this topic and 'waiting for the next one', this is pretty much IT

 

I've checked the set and it's all ready to go apart from the instructions (like the last one I did!) so I'll get those put together later and then pack it up ready to go. For now though I'm going to officially open up bidding on number 10! The rules will be the same as before, 24 hours with no bids means the last placed offer takes it. Opening bid is £100 so start it off at your leisure! You never know, you may be unopposed and get it cheap. Of course, this is the very last one sooo...

 

Go for it peoples, LAST CHANCE!