Official Rare & Promotional Collectibles Topic

[tourmalinex]

Both the eBay "eduardojj" seller and brick-link "BionicleUniverse" seller have the same back ground for the masks.

[ToaDume]

9 hours ago, tourmalinex said:

Both the eBay "eduardojj" seller and brick-link "BionicleUniverse" seller have the same back ground for the masks.

So what do you think that means? I'm pretty sure Eduardojj is not Bionicle Universe. So, either they bought this from them back in the day and are using old photos to list it, or they stole photos from bricklink (possibly after messaging bionicle universe for more photos), or it's a coincidence they have the same background. In my opinion it seems a bit more suspicious to me for it to match the background of a well known seller in the bionicle community, but then again I am a very skeptical person. Hopefully it is legit though.

[tourmalinex]

I do not believe that it is legit, the eBay seller told my acquaintance who wanted to buy the mask that a person from Lego company gave them the mask.

 

Edited June 25, 2023 by tourmalinex

[Letagi]

52 minutes ago, tourmalinex said:

I do not believe that it is legit, the eBay seller told my acquaintance who wanted to buy the mask that a person from Lego company gave them the mask.

Where is your friend getting the number 8 from? The first post in this topic? As noted in that section, that is only an approximation of the number that were in the collection from Binkmeister. Others have popped up in various places over the years. Quite a few former Lego employees seem to have them so I wouldn't be surprised if there are several dozen of this mask out there.

[tourmalinex]

1 hour ago, Letagi said:

Where is your friend getting the number 8 from? The first post in this topic? As noted in that section, that is only an approximation of the number that were in the collection from Binkmeister. Others have popped up in various places over the years. Quite a few former Lego employees seem to have them so I wouldn't be surprised if there are several dozen of this mask out there.

I believe they wanted to known if it was one of the 8 Binkmeister mask?

[ToaDume]

Yeah, doesn't feel legit to me either. Hopefully whoever wins doesn't break the bank on this mask, and if they do, hopefully it isn't a scam

[Darknut]

11 hours ago, ToaDume said:

So what do you think that means? I'm pretty sure Eduardojj is not Bionicle Universe. So, either they bought this from them back in the day and are using old photos to list it, or they stole photos from bricklink (possibly after messaging bionicle universe for more photos), or it's a coincidence they have the same background. In my opinion it seems a bit more suspicious to me for it to match the background of a well known seller in the bionicle community, but then again I am a very skeptical person. Hopefully it is legit though.

I doubt they're the same background. Both look like they're sitting on pretty standard black poster board paper. I have a sheet that I use to take pictures of stuff with that looks pretty similar to both of those backgrounds being used, and the one from Bricklink even has the bent edge of the paper in it. Also, Eduardoji is selling from the US while Bionicle Universe is in the Netherlands. They're most likely different pieces, and like Letagi said it's highly likely a bunch of them were also out there at Lego or with employees.

Also, Eduardoji's story isn't that far out there. Binkmeister did work for Lego at least at one point as a webmaster (not sure he ever handed any of the masks out himself at the same convention he gave them to Black Six), and it's possible the seller is misremembering Black Six from a convention as a Lego employee.

Anyone else intrigued about the toothbrush stuff though? Bionicle Universe claims that they were used as test pieces for the toothbrushes, and Eduardoji apparently collects toothbrushes per his Ebay profile. Just a weird coincidence.

Edited June 23, 2023 by Darknut

[Toa Matia]

2 minutes ago, Darknut said:

Anyone else intrigued about the toothbrush stuff though? Bionicle Universe claims that they were used as test pieces for the toothbrushes, and Eduardoji apparently collects toothbrushes per his Ebay profile. Just a weird coincidence.

Yeah I didn’t know that, but somebody on discord showed this pic 🤯

[Darknut]

1 hour ago, Toa Matia said:

Yeah I didn’t know that, but somebody on discord showed this pic 🤯

Oh neat, thanks for sharing this! Kind of wild to think we almost got pearl gold before dark gold.

[The Archivist]

IS IT FAKE THO

It's a ****** of a cover story. The mask has the same plastic molding as the official picture in this thread and the BL/BU picture. He lists several pictures that are more detail than I'd include if I were doing a fake. He also doesn't really try that hard. Knowing that you'd need to set up a good fake, know the questions to answer, and know how to provide reassurance would require a lot of insider knowledge. Can you imagine one of us making a fake and going "I have an ebay account from 2001, lets just answer "I got it from a guy lol" when people ask if its a fake? We'd TRY harder, ya know? Because we know we'd need to. Supporting the idea that it's fake: people don't often sell those, and now there's two in a few months? Odd. Plus vague answers from the guy and the similar backgrounds to the one being sold by BU. Plus the guy selling it has no idea what he's talking about. 

ARE THEY THE SAME PERSON?

I can confirm BU definitely ships from the Netherlands. Seen multiple tracking numbers/customs stamps for stuff I've ordered. Eduardo is a character from Foster's home for Imaginary friends (Eduardo) who is Hispanic (the purple guy in the profile picture). JJ is most popular as a name among Hispanics. He speaks good English but it's clearly his second language. BU speaks near-perfect English. Admittedly Foster's did air in the Netherlands but wasn't nearly as popular as it was in North America. 

I admit the background is a great find - looks quite suspicious - but, like, that can be written off, right?

I PM'ed BU and he said he doesn't reveal his sources. Although he is a quite well established seller. Meanwhile EJJ does reveal his sources (allegedly). BU is notorious for holding onto masks for a long time, and overpricing them, like the red strakk. I mean, he's had it listed for a year or two and still raised the price last week. He's in no hurry to sell it. Why would he put up an auction for a mask? Unless he's trying to offload a fake version of a mask that he ALSO has a real version of by selling it on an off-brand account so it doesn't ruin his reputation? That's a (heck) of a theory, though. The Ebay account's been active since 2001 with perfect reputation. 

Anyway I don't think they're the same guy. 

 

Edited June 23, 2023 by The Archivist

[Letagi]

14 hours ago, The Archivist said:

I PM'ed BU and he said he doesn't reveal his sources. Although he is a quite well established seller. Meanwhile EJJ does reveal his sources (allegedly). BU is notorious for holding onto masks for a long time, and overpricing them, like the red strakk. I mean, he's had it listed for a year or two and still raised the price last week. He's in no hurry to sell it. Why would he put up an auction for a mask? Unless he's trying to offload a fake version of a mask that he ALSO has a real version of by selling it on an off-brand account so it doesn't ruin his reputation? That's a (heck) of a theory, though. The Ebay account's been active since 2001 with perfect reputation. 

Anyway I don't think they're the same guy. 

BU is also notorious for selling "SSKKs" and "ZMKKs" which, in my opinion, are the fakest fakes I've ever seen. If one of the masks is fake, it would be his.

I have it on good authority from someone who has had quite a bit of contact with the eBay seller that it is real.

[Roger C-T]

Actually got a Bricklink alert for once. Is this the same White Huna showing on the price guide as selling in April, or a different one?

Edited June 27, 2023 by Roger C-T

[Letagi]

5 minutes ago, Roger C-T said:

Actually got a Bricklink alert for once. Is this the same White Huna showing on the price guide as selling in April, or a different one?

The last one was sold by a guy in Poland. Doesn't mean it's not the same one though...

 

Edit: It's been taken down and is not listed as sold. Maybe someone made an offer?

Edited June 27, 2023 by Letagi

[The Archivist]

1 hour ago, Roger C-T said:

Actually got a Bricklink alert for once. Is this the same White Huna showing on the price guide as selling in April, or a different one?

I'm no expert but I think BL alerts have to be sent by the seller, not the site itself. Like they have to list the white huna then click the "send notifications for this item" button for you to get an email. Which is why so many people claim "BL notifications are broken"

[tourmalinex]

My friend bought a white haun and if you rub the surfs of the mask like with your fingernail the plastic starts to peal off. I am going to get some pictures for you guys.

[Roger C-T]

Alright, who saw that BL SSKK, what was it? =D

[Letagi]

3 minutes ago, Roger C-T said:

Alright, who saw that BL SSKK, what was it? =D

I missed it, but if it was real I sure like the direction these prices are trending...

[chuckschwa]

I know right? I saw it 7 minutes after I got the notification and it was already gone. $99 Canadian bucks ain't bad

[tourmalinex]

I did not known if was real or not.I try not do be fooled easily anymore.

[Roger C-T]

"It is only the mask and we have to hold onto it because we are not sure if it is sskk or Wmkk. We were suppose to get it today from a collector but the package did not make it to us. As soon as we get it, we will try to see which one it is. It should it have been listed today it is a mistake."

Response from the seller. Another false alarm.

[tourmalinex]

Do not all the (SSKK) say sterling on the back and the other ones (WMKK) are hard plastic metal coated?

38 minutes ago, chuckschwa said:

I know right? I saw it 7 minutes after I got the notification and it was already gone. $99 Canadian bucks ain't bad

 

13 minutes ago, Roger C-T said:

"It is only the mask and we have to hold onto it because we are not sure if it is sskk or Wmkk. We were suppose to get it today from a collector but the package did not make it to us. As soon as we get it, we will try to see which one it is. It should it have been listed today it is a mistake."

Response from the seller. Another false alarm.

 

Edited June 30, 2023 by tourmalinex

[Aiden]

14 minutes ago, tourmalinex said:

Do not all the (SSKK) say sterling on the back and the other ones (WMKK) are hard plastic metal coated?

 

 

Can’t comment on the SSKK but the WMKK is not coated, it is fully metal. You are thinking of the VMKK, which is hard plastic coated with a chrome-colored metal.

[Letagi]

14 hours ago, tourmalinex said:

Do not all the (SSKK) say sterling on the back and the other ones (WMKK) are hard plastic metal coated?

WMKK are solid like Tohunga said, but you're correct that SSKK are all stamped Sterling on the back. If it tests as silver but isn't stamped it's a fake.

[tourmalinex]

7 hours ago, Letagi said:

WMKK are solid like Tohunga said, but you're correct that SSKK are all stamped Sterling on the back. If it tests as silver but isn't stamped it's a fake.

I saw WMKK as VMKK

My black disc that was given to me as a gift was bought before hand as a black disk of time. Have any of you heard about something like that?

Edited June 30, 2023 by tourmalinex

[toa trisabelle]

On 6/22/2023 at 1:43 PM, Darknut said:

I doubt they're the same background. Both look like they're sitting on pretty standard black poster board paper. I have a sheet that I use to take pictures of stuff with that looks pretty similar to both of those backgrounds being used, and the one from Bricklink even has the bent edge of the paper in it. Also, Eduardoji is selling from the US while Bionicle Universe is in the Netherlands. They're most likely different pieces, and like Letagi said it's highly likely a bunch of them were also out there at Lego or with employees.

Also, Eduardoji's story isn't that far out there. Binkmeister did work for Lego at least at one point as a webmaster (not sure he ever handed any of the masks out himself at the same convention he gave them to Black Six), and it's possible the seller is misremembering Black Six from a convention as a Lego employee.

Anyone else intrigued about the toothbrush stuff though? Bionicle Universe claims that they were used as test pieces for the toothbrushes, and Eduardoji apparently collects toothbrushes per his Ebay profile. Just a weird coincidence.

Eduardo is legit. I've been talking to him for over a year now, since Korea_Nui got three of the prototype Avohkii's off him for 200 bucks. Eduardo was a Colgate employee who designed many of the bionicle toothbrushes, and had several nonproduction pieces stored away, which is where the Avohkii's came from. the ones in the Binkmeister bag likely were from the same batch but just went to different people who were involved in product design, one of which was Eduardo. he's a legit seller, is the point, I recently received my prototype Avohkii from him and it looks entirely real, matches the others I've seen online. he even had design sketches of some of the unreleased 2003 brushes. Really cool stuff, but he likely has very little left, and after Bionicle Universe listed his for 30x more than he paid Eduardo for it, i don't think he's going to be eager to sell what he has left.

[SprinkleOtter]

On 6/30/2023 at 6:39 PM, tourmalinex said:

I saw WMKK as VMKK

My black disc that was given to me as a gift was bought before hand as a black disk of time. Have any of you heard about something like that?

There are indeed some unprinted Kanoka disks out there. I don't think there is a way to tell if they're from the McToran or Throwbots.

As for the disk of time part- that's probably just how the seller chose to list this disk. Assuming it was through Bricklink, it's not easy listing unreleased parts, haha.

[tourmalinex]

 

On 7/1/2023 at 8:13 PM, toa trisabelle said:

Eduardo is legit. I've been talking to him for over a year now, since Korea_Nui got three of the prototype Avohkii's off him for 200 bucks. Eduardo was a Colgate employee who designed many of the bionicle toothbrushes, and had several nonproduction pieces stored away, which is where the Avohkii's came from. the ones in the Binkmeister bag likely were from the same batch but just went to different people who were involved in product design, one of which was Eduardo. he's a legit seller, is the point, I recently received my prototype Avohkii from him and it looks entirely real, matches the others I've seen online. he even had design sketches of some of the unreleased 2003 brushes. Really cool stuff, but he likely has very little left, and after Bionicle Universe listed his for 30x more than he paid Eduardo for it, i don't think he's going to be eager to sell what he has left.

Well now I known that they are a real seller to watch.

Edited July 9, 2023 by tourmalinex

[tourmalinex]

On 7/2/2023 at 6:28 AM, SprinkleOtter said:

There are indeed some unprinted Kanoka disks out there. I don't think there is a way to tell if they're from the McToran or Throwbots.

As for the disk of time part- that's probably just how the seller chose to list this disk. Assuming it was through Bricklink, it's not easy listing unreleased parts, haha.

Thank's for the info.

[Skybird]

Recently bought the Prototype Axalara, I'll make a post once it's in my hands, but it's from the New York International Toy Fair from early Feb 2008

 

The wave 2 parts are all powder printed and sprayed from what I've heard, which makes sense, as they did that for a lot of protos like these for events or reference. It was a trade event not open to the public

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brickjournal/sets/72157603926050073/

Edited July 11, 2023 by Skybird

[Aiden]

52 minutes ago, Skybird said:

Recently bought the Prototype Axalara, I'll make a post once it's in my hands, but it's from the New York International Toy Fair from early Feb 2008

 

The wave 2 parts are all powder printed and sprayed from what I've heard, which makes sense, as they did that for a lot of protos like these for events or reference. It was a trade event not open to the public

 

https://www.flickr.com/photos/brickjournal/sets/72157603926050073/

So you’re the lucky guy! That’s such an awesome addition to your collection. Do you have plans on displaying it yet?

Edited July 11, 2023 by Aiden

[Skybird]

I do have plans so long as everything comes together!

[InconspicuousShark]

On 7/1/2023 at 11:13 PM, toa trisabelle said:

Eduardo is legit. I've been talking to him for over a year now, since Korea_Nui got three of the prototype Avohkii's off him for 200 bucks. Eduardo was a Colgate employee who designed many of the bionicle toothbrushes, and had several nonproduction pieces stored away, which is where the Avohkii's came from. the ones in the Binkmeister bag likely were from the same batch but just went to different people who were involved in product design, one of which was Eduardo. he's a legit seller, is the point, I recently received my prototype Avohkii from him and it looks entirely real, matches the others I've seen online. he even had design sketches of some of the unreleased 2003 brushes. Really cool stuff, but he likely has very little left, and after Bionicle Universe listed his for 30x more than he paid Eduardo for it, i don't think he's going to be eager to sell what he has left.

Glad you got verification and I hope to get my hands on one of those masks one day... I know you were looking for Kraata but I doubt you'd be willing to trade your Pearl Avohkii for them

On 6/23/2023 at 10:25 AM, Letagi said:

BU is also notorious for selling "SSKKs" and "ZMKKs" which, in my opinion, are the fakest fakes I've ever seen. If one of the masks is fake, it would be his.

I have it on good authority from someone who has had quite a bit of contact with the eBay seller that it is real.

I'm a bit out of the loop on these, what are they and why are they fake?

[doodleloot]

Is there any info on pricing for the Inside Tour exclusive transparent blue Mask of Water from 2015? I don't see any sold items on Bricklink and don't think there is a consensus on what would be considered a fair price for one, since I'm guessing it sells fairly rarely. I know that Duckbricks spent around 2.5k on his, but I don't know if that's representative of what the mask is actually worth.

[Darknut]

4 hours ago, doodleloot said:

Is there any info on pricing for the Inside Tour exclusive transparent blue Mask of Water from 2015? I don't see any sold items on Bricklink and don't think there is a consensus on what would be considered a fair price for one, since I'm guessing it sells fairly rarely. I know that Duckbricks spent around 2.5k on his, but I don't know if that's representative of what the mask is actually worth.

I can't remember exactly what it was, but I traded about 1.0-1.25k worth of stuff for mine back in like 2021. I also know a few did sell from that range to up to 1.5k back then pretty regularly. Most recent one sold for 1.6k on Bricklink from the looks of it, which I don't feel like is a completely insane price for it to sell for when you account for a few years of tough inflation. I would say the ones that are listed at the moment are way overpriced though, even if they're the staff versions out of 50.

It's wild that they seem to often sell for more than some of the other oddities listed in this topic, I guess they're just more well known to the public as being something that's out there to collect.

Edited July 15, 2023 by Darknut

[Aiden]

5 hours ago, doodleloot said:

Is there any info on pricing for the Inside Tour exclusive transparent blue Mask of Water from 2015? I don't see any sold items on Bricklink and don't think there is a consensus on what would be considered a fair price for one, since I'm guessing it sells fairly rarely. I know that Duckbricks spent around 2.5k on his, but I don't know if that's representative of what the mask is actually worth.

Some recently sold on eBay for around $900 each without the packaging

[Toa Matia]

11 hours ago, doodleloot said:

Is there any info on pricing for the Inside Tour exclusive transparent blue Mask of Water from 2015? I don't see any sold items on Bricklink and don't think there is a consensus on what would be considered a fair price for one, since I'm guessing it sells fairly rarely. I know that Duckbricks spent around 2.5k on his, but I don't know if that's representative of what the mask is actually worth.

I have a Toa Mata Nui with box and instructions all in good condition coming in the mail that I would trade for a trans-dark blue G2 Mask of Water if you or anyone else wants to do that trade 👀 

[Illuminatus]

I've got some bad news for Krana collectors.

If your collection was internationally sourced, you probably have way more color variations than you think. Also, if you don't have a very potent UV light you simply can't reliably know which Krana is which exact color. So invest in one right now. Here's some essential reading on the subject that helped me pick out a proper one.

It appears that a good deal of the Krana colors have varying degrees of luminescence (batch-to-batch inconsistencies) while others still have very clear-cut differences in both luminescence and daylight color (imo different formulas/factories).

So for example, if you consider the yellow Krana variations as something worth going after, you should know there are at least three variations of it; not two. The first variation (the one that people would likely call "light yellow") is the least luminescent one and has a very sharp, sicklier look to it under daylight. The other two variations (the ones people would call "dark yellow") look softer and more vibrant under daylight but only one of them produces a strong orange luminescence, while the other looks brownish under a blacklight. So you can't really go by collecting just "light" and "dark" because a) the light ones are the ones that don't glow, and b) only some of the dark ones do glow.

The blue Krana have two very clear-cut versions that are easily discernable under broad daylight: one is pale while the other is a deep, vibrant blue. They produce a grayish or deep blue hue under a blacklight, respectively.

The pearl very light gray Krana are either white or violet under a blacklight, no in-between from what I've seen, although they look identical under daylight.

Some other Krana like the tan on or pearl dark gray ones seem to show a wide spectrum of luminescence while otherwise appearing the same.

The purple Krana are without a doubt the ones with the most striking difference under a blacklight and no apparent in-between. But for the most part you can't tell which version is which under daylight so I'd advise reinspecting your collection if you've been looking at them without any equipment.

[Letagi]

8 hours ago, Illuminatus said:

I've got some bad news for Krana collectors.

If your collection was internationally sourced, you probably have way more color variations than you think. Also, if you don't have a very potent UV light you simply can't reliably know which Krana is which exact color. So invest in one right now. Here's some essential reading on the subject that helped me pick out a proper one.

It appears that a good deal of the Krana colors have varying degrees of luminescence (batch-to-batch inconsistencies) while others still have very clear-cut differences in both luminescence and daylight color (imo different formulas/factories).

So for example, if you consider the yellow Krana variations as something worth going after, you should know there are at least three variations of it; not two. The first variation (the one that people would likely call "light yellow") is the least luminescent one and has a very sharp, sicklier look to it under daylight. The other two variations (the ones people would call "dark yellow") look softer and more vibrant under daylight but only one of them produces a strong orange luminescence, while the other looks brownish under a blacklight. So you can't really go by collecting just "light" and "dark" because a) the light ones are the ones that don't glow, and b) only some of the dark ones do glow.

The blue Krana have two very clear-cut versions that are easily discernable under broad daylight: one is pale while the other is a deep, vibrant blue. They produce a grayish or deep blue hue under a blacklight, respectively.

The pearl very light gray Krana are either white or violet under a blacklight, no in-between from what I've seen, although they look identical under daylight.

Some other Krana like the tan on or pearl dark gray ones seem to show a wide spectrum of luminescence while otherwise appearing the same.

The purple Krana are without a doubt the ones with the most striking difference under a blacklight and no apparent in-between. But for the most part you can't tell which version is which under daylight so I'd advise reinspecting your collection if you've been looking at them without any equipment.

My take on this is if you need a UV light to determine the variation, then the variations are not worth worrying about. But to each their own!

[TERIDAX941]

1 hour ago, Letagi said:

My take on this is if you need a UV light to determine the variation, then the variations are not worth worrying about. But to each their own!

I originally had decided to make sure I had both versions of the purple ones, but if this is the case and there's variation across all of them, I'll just quit where I am, and officially say that my krana collection is complete!

 

[Illuminatus]

10 hours ago, Letagi said:

My take on this is if you need a UV light to determine the variation, then the variations are not worth worrying about. But to each their own!

That's a perfectly fair and healthy take! But do keep in mind a UV light also helps you figure out which two colors are the same, not just which ones are different. Some look nearly identical under daylight but are miles apart under a UV (purple), while others are glaringly different under daylight (blue, yellow) yet are underwhelmingly similar under a UV.

So the UV isn't really a tool for the ultra nitpicky so much as it's simply an extra pair of eyes to tell you what you have (because it might just tell you your light and dark Krana Cas are both light Krana Cas unlike you previously thought going off daylight alone).

8 hours ago, TERIDAX941 said:

I originally had decided to make sure I had both versions of the purple ones, but if this is the case and there's variation across all of them, I'll just quit where I am, and officially say that my krana collection is complete!

 

I'll personally be calling it quits at having a uniform set of Krana for each type that I've seen to yield variations.

Although I'm also very much seeing the appeal of just purple = purple (as LEGO intended).

Edited July 23, 2023 by Illuminatus