Rare Kanohi research topic

You made a really important point. Fake, bleached, dyed etc. masks were always a part of the whole collectibes community. How to spot them? Well the best way is to be well-versed in what is available or possible for a mask and what do these things look like when they are indeed real.
That is partially what this topic (and the other ones linked) are for.
When you know your stuff, you can almost always tell if a piece is genuine, provided you have quality pictures of the product.

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Some more prototypes just surfaced thanks to an anonymous source:

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The opaque Kaukau is interesting. That almost seems like a prototype-prototype, as opposed to the “test runs” of the other finalized masks in weird colours.

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This is pretty huge! There looks to be an overlap between the prototype forms and “all 12 color era”. Prototypes of some of the other color/shape combinations are here.
And perhaps most importantly of all, this is the first Voodoo Heads prototype EVER that I am aware of!!! :ok_hand:

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Someone pointed out that the Voodoo Head looks to be attached with a “voodoo ball”- not only does this explain the part’s name, but since the Voodoo Heads had a play feature for knocking off the heads, it seems likely that the part’s infamously poor clutch power was actually intentional so that it could be separated in play. I guess they didn’t have time to remold it properly after switching from Voodoo Heads to Bionicle.

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Very nice point, I agree it seems likely!
Hopefully someone like Faber will release more Voodoo heads materials, so that we can reverse engineer how the function was supposed to work exactly.

EDIT: Hmm, a serious question - is that a prototype violet (110) Mahiki we see there? It seems too vibrant to be blue (23)… It is not in the parts sheet, but that’s ok, because that sheet only documents parts produced in final mold, not the 3d printed prototype molds. All of the parts on this picture are prototype parts, not final ones, so that checks out.

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This is epic! I wish I’d find some someday…

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Hmm… after so many recent revelations, maybe we should revisit the “peach” Ruru?

I was trying to figure out which color could best fit it and the closest thing might be nougat (18).
It is still possible it is bleached somehow, but the evenness of the colorattion is astounding. The indentation might actually play into the authenticity of the mask because we can see that the color goes all the way into the depth of the plastic.

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It would have to be; I’m pretty sure it’s the only similar colour that existed at the time.

Looking at that topic, the owner seems to have dismissed the possibility that it’s a misprint because it doesn’t match a Lego colour, but I’m pretty sure the wrong colour was used for the comparison.

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Seems that way. The strongest argument against it being authentic is that this Ruru has the final mold, but is not present in the parts spreadsheet in this color, or any similar to it. Of course it is always possible that the spreadsheet itself had some parts missing, or Aanchir made a mistake and omitted some of the items while transcribing it. Neither of these possibilities is testable unfortunatelly.

If someone found another example of this mask, that would greatly improve the likelihood of it being genuine.
When it comes to bleaching/dyeing, I have zero experience with it, so what I mentioned about the indentations and color penetration is just my assumption. Maybe bleach is able to go all the way through the plastic (even though I find it very uniklely). And maybe, the indentations were already there before the bleaching process took place, in which case they would not serve as any evidence.
There are quite many angles to this and without new information, I’m afraid we can’t draw any conclusions.
If the owner of the mask @JJAG3 could make more color comparisons, ideally with the nougat (18) color pieces, that might at least narrow down the possibilities.

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There’s more where that came from:



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That is huge! This is the most we have ever got of voodoo heads! Thanks you :+1:
Was the slizer/toa hand piece suppose to sit in that axel hole? Because that seems not possible from the picture.

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The sheet doesn’t have absolutely everything. Nuparu’s Pakari isn’t on there last I remember, for instance.

I would also propose color 125 (Light Orange). I’m not 100% sure how it looks next to the 18 Nougat though. Comparison by R Wysong:
Imgur

The damage/imperfection in the forehead vent makes me think it’s not polycarbonate(?) though.

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Interesting. Why is the color 125 not on brickset? And did it exist in 2000-2001?

Why so?

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Because its use in sets was only identified a couple years ago, Brickset added their colors before then, and generally only ones that there were pictures. The only ones added since have been ones necessary due to new sets from the Customer Service database containing them. So, basically, because Brickset doesn’t have a complete list. I’d recommend Ryan Howerter’s list, who’s research Brickset’s colors largely build off of.

Yes, it was used in sets between 1999 and 2003, and was retired in 2005. Though its use is rather limited, mainly it’s been used for the heads of Spud and Primo Mickey / Minnie:
bild bild

Do masks usually get damage like that, is what I’m wondering, I guess.

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Thank you for the recommendation!

I see.

I can imagine it happening, on these boards alone I have seen some bizzare stuff when it comes to mask damage.

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I may have just found an image of the theorized Red Huna:

image
Brickshelf Gallery - Strange or interesting findings.

I have absolutely no idea where this person got this picture from, and it could easily be fake; I only came across it by chance while looking for a different rare mask, which I will discuss below. Note that the folder linked above also has an image of a Dark Blue Matatu.

[EDIT: I just checked BS01, and they also have an image of it:
image

link:
File:ProtoRed Huna.jpg - BIONICLEsector01 (biosector01.com)]


The reason I was looking for rare masks on Brickshelf is because, while looking at an old Rahi Contest entry, another folder on the creator’s page caught my eye for a couple of reasons; the second reason was one of the masks visible in the thumbnail:

Brickshelf Gallery - 911 Dedication

2004_0911dedication01022.gif

2004_0911dedication01012.gif

It reminded me of the video that Faber posted relatively recently, showing a Matoran with a Dark Red Huna:

The Miru in the Brickshelf pictures looks painted to me, but I can’t say for sure; I’ve looked for other angles of it (which is where I came across the Red Huna), but I can’t find anything else, so I figured I’d share it here for other people to check out. The most suspicious thing to me is the white spot under the left eye in both photos; is it just glare, or the real colour of the mask underneath? The mask also seems weirdly shiny.

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I think it is painted, as the white spot is visible from two different angles in the exact same location. Were it a reflection, it would have moved between the two photos, as they were taken from slightly different angles.

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Huh, so I guess that BS01 picture might have been legit after all… I have been doubting it for years because of the lighting and convenient carpet choice, but the brickshelf picture seems legit. You can even tell it is the retail shape, not the prototype shape of the mask, which is what we would expect for this specimen. The picture is from 2004, which I would say lends it extra credibility.

The dark red Miru is almost certainly a bootleg - the color is way off from the rest of Vakama’s body and it even seems slightly transparent?? The shininess is the killing factor - the two forehead depressions on Miru are always matte finish in contrast to the rest of the mask, which is glossy. However on this picture they are just as glossy as the entire mask.

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It certainly looks more legit than the examples below.

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