Phantom is the only one that we know was sent in, though.
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Right - we donât know if the other two were. That doesnât mean they werenât.
Situation like the rahi contest where at least 2 known models werenât let in. They werenât sent nor canonized. Two, the tunnel stalker and rock lion, were canonized but not sent in physically. As such, no book mentions, and rock lion creator never posted pics.
Phantomâs description fits with the canon one, and it takes a lot from Caseyâs submission essay
Also, greg clearly describes how the creator of phantom attempted to send in the model but something went wrong, and that photos couldnât be published for legal reasons, and were eventually destroyed.
Had caseyâs model been one of the other 2 that werenât canonized, I donât think he would have to have sent the model in.
Here is the ABSOLUTE PROOF: The yari, a rahi non canon, but it still won the contest. Letter from greg didnât mention sending in the model, yet casey had to send his rahi winning model in. Caseyâs salamander won rahi contest, and he got a signed rahi book. The Yariâs winning submission letter only mentioned a free set, not a book nor a prompt to send the models in.
There we have it, Caseyâs model is 100% phantom.
The thirty-five first place prices of the Dark Hunter contest was to be included in the book:
Yes the Yari and salamander letters are different, I believe the reason for this is rather simple - The Yari letter is annnouncing that it was one of the fifthy winners. The salamander one doesnât do this at all - it only prompts to send the MOC in. Itâs a second letter sent afterwards.
We donât know the story of the other two Dark Hunters. Donât assume we do just because we havenât heard of them.
I donât see how the essay matches what is described in the encyclopedia, itâs quite substantially different.
Edit: Oh, I thought the second paper was on the Dark Hunter. I see itâs differentâŚ
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Has casey shown two letters in regard to the salamander?
Also, youâre forgetting how the phantom model had issues sending in the package, which Casey clearly describes happening with his.
Additionally, a number of the things in the essay can be compared to facts that greg has given about phantom over the year. We already know a lot of stuff was changed, so it makes sense only a few elements were kept the same.
Actually, considering that both the Yari and Furnace Salamander letter says theyâre one of the 50 first place winners, as described in the magazine page:
It might be worth considering that the Yari is fake?
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I was away for a couple hours, so Iâm just now catching up.
Thatâs awesome that it was found! However, as people already mentioned about him not being named in the essay or that it doesnât line up with Phantomâs encyclopedia entry, itâs hard to tell if this is actually Phantom and not the other two unknown Dark Hunter entries that won.
Whether this is Phantom or not, Iâm quite interested in this line:
This is delving more into head canon, but its nice seeing more kanoka powers, which are also potential masks powers. I imagine the mask of slicing would slice through anything (or anyone). Seeing as itâs a power that harms and is used by a Dark Hunter, the mask would probably be immoral and perhaps worn by the Brotherhood of Makuta.
This is a bit of a tangent from the main topic, but I just thought it was a neat idea.
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No, there is another just like the yari. The âmatas tamerâ
same situation, the guy won, but had no proof of receiving a book and it wasnât in the magazine or Rahi book either.
The creator of the yari actually posted a comment on reddit many years ago, saying that he thought the model couldnât be sent in as he was a teenager. Casey was also around that age when his model won, yet he was instructed to send it in.
edit: the fact that youâre suggesting that a previous winning but non canon entry is fake just to support the claim that a model with a description and backstory perfectly matching phantom is honestly kind of ludicrous, sorry
Second edit: itâs clear that greg made some cuts, he cut a few from the DH book and a bunch from the rahi book.
Okay, thatâs odd then. If itâs the same as with the Mantas Tamer, then yeah itâs not fake.
Itâs ludicrous to assume Greg did any of the cutting. In all likelyhood, it was Scholastic.
Still, this doesnât mean we know what happened to the other two, and I donât think itâs safe to assume.
Tunnel Stalker was canonized because Pekel asked Greg to.
Official Greg Discussion | Page 245 We also donât know the specifics about Phantom either. From the sounds of this quote from the era, it was cut like Silence, Devestator and Vengeance, and the picture lost.
Again,
essay matches up with a couple of the canon facts about phantom, some of which being specific
Model had mailing issues
Greg describes phantom as having had mail trouble and it was too late to photograph, similar to rock lion.
Edit: Not trying to be rude with anything I say, but I donât want to continue arguing if my yearsâs worth of old contest model research is not able to convince anyone of anything. Phantom is canon to me, heâs canon to many others. If BS01 decides not to consider the extremely low chance of all 35 models being shipped, 3 of them getting lost/having issues, and said 3 having essays describing extremely similar things, I donât know what I could do. After all, BS01 = canon, but canon =/= BS01
Personally, whether this is Phantom or the other two (idk if they are named or not) doesnât make much of a difference to me. I just want some closure at this point. Iâve waited more years for this to get solved than the years that I was alive when I won this contest 
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This conversation seems to have developed, and hereâs the way I see it:
Three winners were lost. However, there is only one canon Dark Hunter whose official image was lost (right?). Also, we only have one former winner stepping forward to claim their prize.
So, letâs just match those two up. Even if we cannot be 100% sure that this model is the exact one that was matched to Phantom, we can just get Greg to say that this is Phantom, and thatâs that. Phantom gets an appearance, Casey gets his model canonized, and there are no more mysteries.
Until someone else steps forward claiming to be a winner, but that seems unlikely.
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And that much I am happy with! Hell, even if Greg was like âSorry I genuinely donât remember because itâs been so long.â I wouldnât be too hurt. Iâm just happy to have been lucky enough to win.
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Yes, that is my own mentality.
In the absence of any definite information on them, Iâd far sooner the model go to Phantom than one be left formless and the other left lore-less. As I joked earlier, I wouldnât even mind if this were secretly a hoaxâanything to get resolution on this poor character.
However, it stands to reason that Greg would frequently step in and beef up the information. No doubt he added the sympathetic element to Phantom because there were already so many other mindless beefcakes. No doubt he altered some of the powers to balance it out a bit. Gregâs fingerprints are clear throughout the Rahi and Dark Hunter books, and it comes as no surprise that it would sometimes reach this level.
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No, actually, itâs because the essays are non-canon. They are just the basis for the canon descriptions that Greg wrote.
If it gets added to BS01, it would need to be in a semi-canon context.
Thereâs actually plenty of things that add up, in my mind - protodermis, enhanced strength, âdramatically improved eyesightâ (since Bob Thompson probably didnât want radar tech in Bionicle if he was reluctant about even the word teleportation, lol)
If Greg confirms this as canon, as we are all hoping, this wouldnât even matter; once Greg confirms it, it is canon.
Unless Greg takes the time to come back and decanonize it for being a hoax, but that doesnât seem likely.
Yeah, fair enough. This is definitely still a nice bit of trivia for BS01 though. If the essays could be found for the other Dark Hunters, those would also make for nice bits of trivia.
The big one for me is the âlimited glidingâ
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The thing is we have one other confirmed essay for one of the entries: Primal (though called âNuokaâ by the creator), and itâs very similar.
Primalâs DH guide entry:
Primal was a warrior from a savage tribe whose land was overrun by the Visorak. He led a small band of survivors in successful battle against the spiders long enough to come to my attentions. I recruited all of the warriors in the band, the betrayed the position of the rest to the Visorak. I hate loose ends.
From the start, Primal was difficult. He refused any biomechanical implants, accepting only a small paralysis device implanted under his skin. Like Gatherer, he collected trophies from his hunts. But after a short time, he started refusing to take missions that did hold the promise of a good trophy. In addition, his fierce sense of justice occasionally led him to hunt one of our clients rather than the assigned target. For now, I tolerate him because he is extremely effective. But should I tire of his eccentricities, his existence will come to an abrupt end.
The essay (available through BS01):
Nuoka is one of the remaining warriors from a race which had its island overrun by the Visorak. His tribe held out against the invaders long enough to come to the attention of the Shadowed One, who recruited all of the warriors he could before betraying the position of the survivors to the Visorak and allowing them to be wiped out.
After turning to the side of the Dark Hunters, Nuoka refused most of the biomechanical tampering with his body which so many Dark Hunters go through to make them more powerful. The only change he accepted was the implanting of a small weapon underneath his body which can be maneuvered like an extra limb, and which fires bursts of paralzying energy. Despite this, he still does the majority of his hunting with the large bladed spear he has carried for decades and considers the implanted weapon a last resort.
Nuoka is a primitive hunter and, though he has been turned to an evil cause, still retains his own fierce sense of justice. His species, being a race of warriors, also has the custom of keeping a trophy from each major hunt. Much to the Shadowed Oneâs annoyance, this means that Nuoka often refuses to hunt quarry who have nothing which would look good mounted on his wall. Between his odd customs, fierce nature, and strong devotion, the Shadowed One often wonders whether it would be prudent to dispose of Nuoka before he causes more trouble than heâs worth.
The two are practically identical, which proves what Greg said before, that he doesnât change much about the entriesâ essays, so again, seeing as Caseyâs essay is very different from Phantomâs description, this could actually be one of the 2 unknown DH entries, which is just as exciting.
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Is it possible that Greg didnât have the essay to go off of when writing phantomâs encyclopedia entry? Or perhaps had to write something from what he remembered?
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While this is a good point, itâs worth keeping in mind that Primalâs description contradicts established canon a lot less than Caseyâs does, so I can see more changes being warranted there. The fact that Caseyâs description also doesnât really explain the origin of the character may have invited some more elaboration, too. 
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Just as a side-note; Radar did exist via the Krana.
I do see the arguments for it being Phantom, but I still think thereâs reasonable doubt. Asking Greg wouldnât hurt, if only we could.
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