@Wolk has put together a much more complete and unified essay based on the same data that I used that I think pulls together the details in a more satisfying way. Check it out here: The Original Role of the Ruru & Matatu.pdf - Google Drive
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This may have already been said somewhere, but⌠what are the odds that this late decision was somehow related to these same two masks being mistakenly released in the Toa colours?
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I have some insight as to the âproduct versionsâ of the Toa Mata which may or may not be useful towards figuring out what the six additional Tohunga sets wouldâve been.
A while ago I assembled a comprehensive list of every version of the Toa Mata ever released, for collection purposes:
The 7-digit item number is the one located right above or below the barcode. For every âtypeâ there is also a unique 7-digit item number denoting that specific release of the rotating sleeve.
Two things are particularly curious here:
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The six International and six American releases with CDs occupy twelve consecutive item numbers; this isnât the case for any of the other releases.
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There was an additional release for Pohatu, Onua and Gali only that lacked Portuguese copy on the packaging. These were produced towards the end of 2001 (but not in 2002 like many of the other releases) in Europe and then distributed in North America.
All of these have been verified with photos of current and sold listings in the 100s if not 1000s.
I also have the six non-McDonaldâs Tohunga sealed and will inspect them to verify their item numbers.
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Great work! I wonder why the first three were reprintedâŚ
The 02 releases of the Tohunga intrigue me. There are Australian McDonaldâs one which⌠are self-explanitory. But where and how the regular international ones were releases is still beyond me, and I am amazed at how under-the-radar theyâve been on online forums. Thereâs also further IDs that I have no idea what theyâre for :v
We do now have access to the third draft of the story bible:
And with the addition of that, the recent prototype footage Faber released, and some further photos of documents released by Duckbricks:
I am now of the belief that:
- the six additional Tohunga sets were going to depict characters of Kotu, Kopeke, Kapura, Tamaru, Hafu, and Taipu - though early drafts used different names.
- across the twelve Tohunga sets, all 12 masks would be used.
- all 12 were going to be released through McDonaldâs, and that was always the plan for their release.
- all 12 Matoran would have looked very different from how we know them; based on the video, they may even have had 3 colors each, and Turaga-like staffs like in the games.
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I just checked my non-McDonaldâs Tohunga sets and the item numbers on the lower right corners are as follows:
- Huki 4170462
- Onepu 4170463
- Maku 4170464
- Jala 4170465
- Kongu 4170466
- Matoro 4170467
Not sure how that lines up with what youâve posted earlier.
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Yeah, thatâs what I have as Packaging Item Numbers in the âInternationalâ (seocnd) column.
IIRC, I never quite figured out which numbers are for the product version and which ones are for the packaging, since theyâre both written on the packaging. (The âSheet Item Numbersâ are the instruction sheets, in case that one is unclear.)
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