Sand Tarakava (Replica!) for sale!

[Munty]

Hi all, thanks for stopping by. This topic will be replacing my current fundraiser for now so if there's anything particular you're looking for feel free to ask in here (or check my shop from the link in my sig) Please don't post in the fundraiser anymore as it is soon to be locked!

 

As for this new topic I think the title is fairly self explanatory. All the details are below but I must apologise for lack of pictures right now. I'm still waiting on the boxes and instructions but I have had all of the parts for some time now so am happy to start with sales now.

 

 

 

The Sand Tarakava...

 

Yep, that's mine. And I have NINE EIGHT FIVE MORE FOR SALE! 

 

This piece has been painstakingly built following only original material from PurpleDave (the only known owner of a genuine Sand Tarakava) and will include all the pieces necessary to build one of your own. This includes several additional pieces not seen in the above picture as the prototype ST was just that, a prototype. Some parts of it just weren't built well at all so as well as including the parts to create a genuine reproduction, I'm also including the parts required to make a more stable and usable model, as you would expect from a final set design.

 

The eagle eyed may notice that the mask is not correct and there is of course a fairly obvious reason for this. The yellow Ruru was itself a prototype piece and therefore cannot be officially replicated. I attempted to repaint one of these masks but had difficulty acheiving the correct colour match and finish. Therefore I have decided that a compromise must be made to retain the overall quality of this set and have instead included a yellow Komau which I feel is a perfect fit for this set. I will also be including a spare ruru with each set sold to allow buyers to attempt their own repaint if they so wish.

 

Another thing eagle-eyed viewers may spot is that the black 'elbow' pins should be grey and the rubber bands are missing. This was done purely for posability to allow me to take a decent picture. Hopefully it's reminiscent of the boxart of old as that's what I was going for!

 

I'll be selling these items as unofficial collectors pieces, complete with boxes and instructions. They will be limited to a single run of 10 sets as I genuinely do not believe I will be able to acquire the necessary pieces to do this again. Even buying in bulk this is a very expensive set to produce and it includes some surprisingly rare parts! Each box will be numbered # of 10 and will be a unique addition to any collection.

 

I will be keeping no.1 of 10 myself and no. 2 of 10 is already spoken for upon writing this so there are just 8 opportunities left to get hold of one of these. I have no problem with people re-selling these items, once you purchase them you may do with them as you wish. The instructions will also include a complete inventory for those who wish to build their own which I will make available online once all remaining sets are sold.

 

Please sound off if you are interested in these items but please also note this is NOT a first come first served sale. I will be essentially auctioning off each set one at a time. First up is No.3 of 10 but although the set itself IS complete I do not yet have the box or instructions ready to ship. I would advise a further wait of 4-6 weeks before the set is ready to ship as intended but am happy to begin sales now in order to reserve the first few sets ahead of time.

 

Based on the unique quality of these items and the cost to me to produce them I will be starting at £70 for no.3 of 10. Please let me know if you are interested in this item and remember when they're gone they're gone! Any thoughts and feedback welcomed but please consider the cost of assembling these sets before telling me they're too expensive. Trust me when I tell you they're absolutely not!

 

I'm yet to decide on the format of the auctions as I've never used it as a selling method before but I would suggest anyone interested posts here with their best offer (first one will be £70) and then anyone else just makes their own offer. Increments of £1 or more and bids will continue until 24 hours passes without an increase. We'll see how this works for the first one, if it takes forever though I may decrease the time limit or increase the increments. Contrarily, if it goes for £70 with no other bids then I guess that's fine too! 

 

Any thoughts or questions let me know and again, I still have ALL my other stock for sale too. Might be branching out into Hero Factory soon so let me know if you're looking for anything! As always my shop is open too if you follow the link below! I'm also looking to buy all of the items shown below as well as about 80% of the wild kraata I'm missing so let me know if you can help with that. Am happy to buy or trade for the stuff I need. PLGKraahkan is high on my list right now as is the gold Kanoka! 

Edited January 15, 2015 by Munty

[Gonny]

I suppose I'll be the first and bid £70

[Munty]

Well it looks like this one is probably going to Gonny! Am surprised to see so few posts in here. I wasn't expecting to see a dozen competing bidders but I was at least expecting some comments. After all, I'm pretty sure this is unprecedented!

 

Good luck anyway Gonny, only 11 hours and no.3 is yours!

[UngluedBike]

Well it looks like this one is probably going to Gonny! Am surprised to see so few posts in here. I wasn't expecting to see a dozen competing bidders but I was at least expecting some comments. After all, I'm pretty sure this is unprecedented!

 

Good luck anyway Gonny, only 11 hours and no.3 is yours!

I was planning to make a comment, but after the fb message you sent me, I felt uneasy. I do hope I can get one of these, I just have 2 things I need to purchase before I can.

[Munty]

Well this one will officially be Gonny's in about 30 minutes so I think he's set to get a bargain! I'll list up no.4 tonight providing noone else bids before then. Still very surprised there aren't more commenters in here, especially Letagi after waiting so long for me to spill the beans!

[lewalordofthesky]

£80

[Flintsmith]

Do you have a link to the photos of the prototype you recreated?

 

What treads are those?  I only ask because they look like a Tool-o tread that I searched for forever.

Edited January 9, 2015 by Flintsmith

[jimmybob83]

Do you have a link to the photos of the prototype you recreated?

 

What treads are those?  I only ask because they look like a Tool-o tread that I searched for forever.

 

The prototype was acquired forever-and-a-half ago by the Mask of Destiny guy. (We can legally mention that site now, right? Since we couldn't for forever, that's probably why a hardcore BZPer wouldn't know of it...) You can find them as the first results in a Google image search. http://www.maskofdestiny.com/archiveimage.asp?i=1893 Also, some dude recreated one a while back with commentary here. http://www.tfw2005.com/boards/toyark/163090-bionicle-hero-factory-thread-1052.html And I used those insights to build my own not long ago: http://www.brickshelf.com/cgi-bin/gallery.cgi?i=6205197

[Letagi]

Heh, sorry I never responded about these. I was totally expecting some rare prototype or misprint or something.

 

These look very cool, and I'll give some serious thought to buying one. Would you by any chance be able to reserve #10 for me? Although I guess it'll be a while before you get to that one anyways.

 

Also, with regards to not getting much response, the B/S/T forum is pretty quiet these days so there are probably more people who would buy one but just don't frequent the forum. Have you put a link in your sig? I'm on a phone and sigs don't show up so I can't tell.

 

-Letagi

[Jobber]

I would be interested in buying on of these replicas, if you would've posted this a week sooner. Hopefully you'll have them still up for auction come the end of this month. 

Though, I feel like this is a 'MOC' of sorts, so I'll probably just store it someplace in my closet if I do manage to claim one. 

[Munty]

Morning all (for me anyway!) thanks for the comments. BST has definitely been quiet lately so it's nice to see some interest turning up now anyway! Flintsmith, Jimmybob is absolutely right with both of those links, though for some reason the pictures on the latter aren't working for me right now. I think my browser is having issues... I used the original PurpleDave pics and I'm pretty sure the final design was exactly the same as the guy in that second link (though I never thoroughly checked as there's no point!) I never used the latter for reference as it's not original, there's JUST barely enough visibility in those original photos to get it right so that's what I used. The track is a duplo part which is why it's hard to find, it's noted in the second link.

 

Didn't we have a topic about the rarest non-collectible Bionicle piece Letagi? Didn't the Sand Tarakava win it?  Of course this is unofficial so it's not the same but it's a literal carbon copy just with a different mask so it's still a really great piece to have (the only time my one has left my desk since I built it is to punch my wife and kids!) I can't really reserve number 10 as it's already been requested a few times. I could sell it as opposed to including it as an auction lot though so that's something I might consider for a reasonable price. Will auction the next two first anyway and see if they keep going for £70 or if some competition turns up as that will affect the value of no.10 too! Feel free to pm me with any specific queries about anything!

 

Chasm, these will almost certainly still be around by the end of the month, I'm not expecting to sell them all super fast anyway! Another point to consider is that they aren't ready to ship yet anyway so I won't be taking any money from anyone until they are (at least a few weeks I imagine) So if you're interested in one but won't have the money right away, I don't have any problem with you bidding anyway provided you know you'll have cash to pay when they're ready to ship. Even then I'm ok with holding it for you a little while. If you won't be able to pay when they're ready to ship though I think I'd at least need a small amount to act as a deposit while we wait to close the deal! As above, feel free to pm me with any specific questions!

 

Back to the actual sale now, the first listing actually ended BEFORE Lewalordofthesky posted his bid so no.3 is now sold to Gonny! That's 3 down and 7 to go so this next listing will be for no.4 of 10. Please consider I am discussing cash sales with several other potential buyers and reserve the right to take these sets out of circulation if a deal is struck elsewhere. As long as there is an auction in progress though that set will NOT be removed and the highest bidder will take it, regardless of other outside interest.

 

So, lewa posted an £80 bid earlier but that's not relevant since the auction had already ended. The good news for him though is that he may save £10 now as we're starting again for £70! I don't want to assume that Lewa will place a bid again so I'll leave it open to anyone who wants to start us off at £70. I'll pm him to let him know what's going on with it but anyone else who wants to jump in please feel free!

 

So this listing;

No.4 of 10

Looking for £70 opening offer. We'll stick with the 24 hour cooldown on this listing so the sale will be final 24 hours after the last bid increase. Thanks and good luck! T

 

 

Other new items for sale (because I can only have one BST htread ) 

Boxed Toa Mata Nui, some damage to back of box

Boxed Ulitmate Dume complete with limited edition mask

Cahdok + Gahdok

Muaka + Kane RaTakanuva (bike)

Takanuva (2008)

Manas Crabs

Full set of McToran though possibly missing some limbs! (def missing red arms)

Chrome Hau

Movie Edition Kraahkan (2 left)

Edited January 9, 2015 by Munty

[Mask Reclaimer]

I'll start the bidding at the opening offer.

[Munty]

Thanks Gecko, the bid is yours! Can't believe I didn't even realise you'd opened the bidding! Lucky for you it looks like noone else has noticed either so in 3 hours this one will have your name on it

[emily]

I'm glad I caught this topic before the auctions all ended - this is pretty neat an I would definitely love to grab a copy. I'll stay tuned for the next auction.

 

In the meantime, I've got a light gold Kraahkan (4 cheek vents) and US Copper Huna, if you're still looking for those as per your signature. I don't know what you value them at, but I'm always on the lookout for Tohunga/McToran, so maybe we could work out a trade?

[Munty]

Hi Pereki, I actually had a dream about a PLGKraahkan last night so I think this is a sign!!! I'll PM you about it and I can either buy it from you or deduct the value from a Sand Tarakava if you place a winning bid!

 

As for the listings, No.4 has once again gone for the starting price but rules are rules so XxGeck0xX is now officially the winner of this second auction! That means it's time to start up no.5 and I'm happy to stick with the same format for this one too. The listing will remain active until 24 hours after the last bid and whoever is winning at that point will take it. 

 

If you're interested in owning no.5 please start us off with the £70 opening bid and good luck!

Edited January 14, 2015 by Munty

[emily]

I'll start off the bidding. £70!

[Munty]

Thanks Pereki, 21 hours and no.5 is yours! Just about to pm you back so check your inbox when you see this. Anyone else out there watching this topic, we're almost half way through these sets now so don't wait too long if you're hoping to own one of these yourself! 

[emily]

The preview of the box art is looking great! Really glad I was able to secure a copy, thank you.

[Jobber]

I bid 71$.

[Munty]

Thanks Chasm, the auction for no.5 is now over and Pereki will be taking that one! There are still 5 more to go though so be sure to get the first bid in on the next one  

 

I'm thinking of pausing briefly before I list no.6 so I can show off some more images of what is actually for sale as I'm currently just waiting on boxes to come in and this weekend should see the majority of the work on the instructions getting done too. I'll post all of that up as soon as I can so everyone can see what it is I'm actually selling!

 

Also, thanks Pereki for your winning bid and comments. I'm loving the new artwork which has been done for me by ProfessorBrickkeeper and am hoping he'll be able to turn it into final boxart for me soon! Here's what he's made for it so far. I hope it helps get people excited for these sets (especially those who have secured one already!) Please feel free to comment on this thread while we wait for listing no.6 to begin and feel free to ask any questions. Thanks, Tim

 

[Mask Reclaimer]

That box art is gorgeous, I'm really excited now.

[TommyG]

Can you put the replica instructions up on the internet, or is it an exclusive thing?

[Munty]

Thanks Gecko he's doing a great job isn't he? It's not even finished yet so I'm excited too  

 

Tom, I'll share the inventory and instructions once all 10 sets are sold (and I've finished the instructions and inventory!) So yes, it will be public once all the sets I've made have found good homes. Be warned though, it's pretty tricky to put these sets together, buying in bulk was the only thing that made it affordable for me (hence I made 10!) I managed to do it in 5 orders but bear in mind I bought out most of the shops that had certain parts in the process Justgetting started on instructions now, is tough trying to replicate a vaguely authentic feel with just a camera and a computer though. Hopefully ProfessorBrickkeeper will be able to make them beautiful for us once I've done the boring bit

[Shadow Destroyer]

Wow, this is a very interesting auction. I'm tempted to buy one of these just so I can make an unboxing video on my youtube channel. 

 

Do you have any idea how big the boxes are going to be for these sets? I live in the United States, so it would be nice to know what I could expect for shipping costs before bidding on anything...

[Munty]

Hey SD thanks for the interest! I can actually go one better than dimensions as the boxes arrived today so I've been busy with a preliminary part checking! Still waiting on boxart and instructions right now as my guy has gone silent which is beyond frustrating!

For now here is what I have to show you, I'll try to get the auctions restarted at some point this week. Box dimensions are 205*130*55mm if memorynserves. Will check when I'm able to move!

 

Inventory update! : - 

 

BOXED Toa Mata Nui now in stock, will also sell without the box. Make me an offer if you're interested!

Takutanuva with Movie Edition Kraahkan, instructions, no box.

BOXED Ultimate Dume AND special edition mask! Includes all parts to build all three component sets along with all their instructions and 100% parts!

BOXED Vezon and Kardas with all instructions and parts!

 

Now selling lots of canister sets in their tubs. Full sets of the following;

Mata

Nuva

Bohrok

Bohrok Kal

Metru

Rahkshi

Piraka

 

Others available but possibly not as full sets. I have more than one full set of some of the above so let me know if you're interested. Questions here please, offers via pm

Edited January 20, 2015 by Munty

[Brappy Hour]

What's the price for US currency?

[Munty]

The starting price of £70 works out to about $105, though this doens't include shipping. Let me get a quick quote for US and EU shipping. That should be helpful for people interested on bidding for the last 5 sets!

 

Ok, I'm working out ROUGH postage here as I could be a little off. Current weight is <250g so not a lot but will increase slightly when instructions are added. Dimensions are as follows - 230x140x55mm (external max)

 

UK postage fully tracked and insured up to £500(!) - £7.15

 

EU postage fully tracked and insured up to £250 - £12.65 (E16.52) (Used Germany as destination and 300g estimated final weight)

 

US mainland postage fully tracked and insured up to £250 - £14.95 ($22.58) (300g estimated final weight)

 

All other destinations may vary. Above prices are estimates only and remain subject to change. Shipping will be paid in addition to the final auction value.

 

Edited January 21, 2015 by Munty

[Shadow Destroyer]

Ok, so we can expect around $130 for a rough estimate of total costs for shipping to the US then. Thanks for posting those numbers Munty!

 

Do you mind if I ask how the box art will be added onto the boxes? Only on the top? Or sides and back also?

Edited January 21, 2015 by Shadow Destroyer

[Munty]

You're most welcome

 

Of course I'll post more pics of the finished bo as soon as I can but I can certainly try my best to describe it now! Provided I'm able to produce everything as I envisage then the boxart on the front will be done in a similar vein to that of the original Tarakava an I'll get them printed onto adhesive paper (ie. big stickers!) to fill as much of the top box flap as possible. It's possible I'll need to get this done professionally to ensure the highest possible quality but I think it'll be worth it and I really want to make these nice pieces to own. The sides will be left blank, I don't want to try and replicate or fake a genuine Lego box, just pay homage to the style of the art! The back (or bottom) will have a smaller sticker with any relevent information like number of parts, Lego cited as the designer, me cited as builder, any legal jargon, date of production, number of set and so on. I haven't gone over exactly what will need to go on there but it will be whatever information I think is relevant in the final product. I considered marking each set with the name of the buyer but I don't think that makes sense as forum handle/real name, you already know who owns it and some people may sell them on soooo. I think I've scrapped that thought!

 

Put simply, I'll be trying to make it sexy on the top and functional on the bottom! I went for nice clean looking white cardboard for the boes so hopefully the areas that are left uncovered will still look pretty nice!

 

For the record. I received a new Toa Mata Nui today but he's missing a handful of bits so I'm considering selling JUST the mask. If anyone is interested please PM me an offer! I also have a bunch of other stuff, don't forget I stock everything else too. Not just Sand Tarakava

[Arzaki]

I would bid on this, but I don't think my dad would appreciate me spending $130 on a Lego set. Maybe if I can find enough money in my room somewhere, he'll let me bid on this.

Edited January 23, 2015 by Arzaki

[Vraiment]

Oh man, I want one of these so badly, but they are way too too expensive, is there no way to bring it down a little?

[Munty]

Sorry guys, these have already cost me a lot to produce and I still have to get artwork and instructions finished! Also don't forget there are only going to be 10 of them, really I should be charging more for them but I need to recoup some money  

 

You have to understand that this was not a primarily money driven venture. It started off with me trying to build my own ST and then I realsied I could probably offset the cost of that by purchasing enough parts for 2 or 3 of them and selling them to other peopl I knew wanted them. In the end I decided to go the whole hog and do ten of them. But once these are gone, it's highly unlikely I'll ever make more as the parts availability just isn't there for a second batch. This first lot took me 5-6 separate bricklink orders and I bought out a lot of the component parts completely from the stores I used meaning it will take more orders (and therefore cost more money) to do it again. The result of this would be that I would have to charge more, thus creating a product too expensive for not just guys like you but even some of the guys like myself who love unique stuff like this but have to limit spending at some point!

 

I had news yesterday that the instructions are coming along nicely but I'm yet to see them myself so I STILL can't restart the auctions yet as I want to show off a more finished product before I do. Perhaps that will leave enough time to save up for a bid though hey Arzaki?! Good luck

[Wamsutta]

If I were to bet £70 right now when would I have to send you the payment? Because I have a check coming in next Friday the 30th. Would you be willing to work something out with that?

[Munty]

Hi Wamsutta, thanks for your interest. The bidding is on hiatus right now anyway as I fight to get the instructions and boxart finished so you don't need to worry about paying for a little while! I've said to the other buyers that I don't expect payment until I'm about ready to send the items out and so I need to have instructions and such ready before then. So with that in mind I would have absolutely no problem with waiting until after the 30th as it's likely to still be earlier than I ask for payment anyway Keep watching the topic for now and I'll update it just as soon as I have more infor! Thanks again for the itnerest

 

Now an important request!

I've grown very tired of waiting (and hoping) for these instructions to be completed as sadly it's a skill I don't possess myself. With that in mind I'm now looking for someone who may be able to work with me on this. The main skill of course will be good shopping/editing skills but you also need EXCELLENT communication in order for this to work out. Ideally I'd like a UK shopper as it would make this much easier but provided you at least read and respond to emails once a day and are able to find time to catch up in realtime (like skype) when necessary then I have no problem with American help (like the war remember ) Whoever helps complete the boxart and instructions will be named on the rear of the box and instructions and some remuneration MAY be possible but this is already very expensive for me! I'll probably start another topic for this as well because it's been a full week since I expected this job to be finished and I still haven't seen a single processed page of instructions OR finished art. Let me know if you can help! T

[Zeb]

 

Hi Wamsutta, thanks for your interest. The bidding is on hiatus right now anyway as I fight to get the instructions and boxart finished so you don't need to worry about paying for a little while! I've said to the other buyers that I don't expect payment until I'm about ready to send the items out and so I need to have instructions and such ready before then. So with that in mind I would have absolutely no problem with waiting until after the 30th as it's likely to still be earlier than I ask for payment anyway   Keep watching the topic for now and I'll update it just as soon as I have more infor! Thanks again for the itnerest 

 

Now an important request!

I've grown very tired of waiting (and hoping) for these instructions to be completed as sadly it's a skill I don't possess myself. With that in mind I'm now looking for someone who may be able to work with me on this. The main skill of course will be good shopping/editing skills but you also need EXCELLENT communication in order for this to work out. Ideally I'd like a UK shopper as it would make this much easier but provided you at least read and respond to emails once a day and are able to find time to catch up in realtime (like skype) when necessary then I have no problem with American help (like the war remember  ) Whoever helps complete the boxart and instructions will be named on the rear of the box and instructions and some remuneration MAY be possible but this is already very expensive for me! I'll probably start another topic for this as well because it's been a full week since I expected this job to be finished and I still haven't seen a single processed page of instructions OR finished art. Let me know if you can help! T

I might be able to create a nice looking top cover. But as for instructions, how would you want those done? By computer graphics? By pictures? I'm not in the UK and I'm not able to use Skype, but I can answer emails fairly quickly. As for photo-shopping, what kind of work do you want? I can give you an example of my photoshopping capabilities if you like. (I won't say I'm an expert at it, but then, I don't know what level of expertise you're looking for.)

 

What do you think of this?

Edited January 25, 2015 by SuperGeniusCreator

[MartinCollects]

Quick Photoshop mashup, maybe something like this?

[Munty]

Hey guys, thanks for your posts and sharing your work! SGC, I really like the unique style you've gone with and you've inspired me to include something similar as part of the detail sticker on the back of the box now The box front and manual will be as close to genuine as posisble though so will be following down the path that martin has followed.

 

I downloaded GIMP yesterday (hope that's not filtered out!) I had a quick go at the cover and came up with a similar result. It looked ok but was too big (bigger than yours I think) so I'll be trying it again soon. I don't know if it's that photoshop can do things GIMP can't or just that you can do thing sI haven't learnt yet but I wasn't sure how to repair the name on my attempt so the middle of that white line is currently just missing! I'll have another go soon and see how I get on now I'm a bit more familiar with the software!

 

As for the instructions, I decided I can't afford to wait for someone else on this and boy am I glad I did because there is way too much work here for someone else to willingly do for me! The Sand Tarakava has roughly 80 stages of construction, each of which need the backgrounds removing before being added into a manual format. I'm doing this partly in GIMP and partly in paint (to finish up mostly) and it takes a while but it's going well. Yesterday I managed to learn the program and get 1 page finished. Today I cleaned up a bunch more backgrounds and finished another 3 pages so now I have the instructions for the track assembly finished! So still a long way to go but here is a little look at how the instructions will look when this is all finished!

 

 

Will be working on the rest of these all week long and hope to have it done by net weekend at the latest so provided I'm able to get the boxart finished for me by then as well (it's currently in the works again!) then I'll restart the bidding for no.6 at some point in the next 6 days! 

[Zeb]

Quick Photoshop mashup, maybe something like this?

Argh I need to step up my game... I need to make something that looks even better than the official Tarakava box art... LOL JK.

 

The instructions are looking good, Munty!

Edited January 25, 2015 by SuperGeniusCreator

[Gonny]

Amazing job on those instructions so far. They look great.

[Mask Reclaimer]

The instructions look great, really cant wait until these are finished.