I was looking through the BIONICLE™ listings on eBay when I noticed a BLACK & WHITE MINI-CD up for auction. I had only recently discovered the FULL-COLOR MINI-CDs, due to the fact that my TAHU arrived with the black & white version shown above. I sacrificed the protective wrapper on my color CD to give you the clear scan of the color version.

So, the MINI-CD comes in black & white or in color. What of it? Well, conventional wisdom was that so-called “First Edition” TOA are those in canisters with the MINI-CD logo on the wrapper. Now it seems that a “Firster Edition” TOA not only has a MINI-CD, but a black & white one at that. The problem is, how can you tell if the MINI-CD is black & white or color without opening the canister? (Opening the canister is anathema to some collectors!)

I don’t have the answer, but I do have some additional information. The word is that only the European TOA included the B&W MINI-CD. I am receiving reports though from all over the US of B&W MINI-CDs in US-packed canisters. Although my TAHU’s CD is B&W, I purchased him through LEGO® Shop At Home, and his canister is distinctly different from those you see on US store shelves (see below). Through a happy accident I acquired a second TAHU with a MINI-CD, and this time it was packed in the US. I can’t bring myself to open it though, so I can’t verify that the MINI-CD inside is color.

European TAHU US TAHU

US LEWA with MINI-CD US LEWA, no MINI-CD
Detail of above Detail of above

Here are the Item numbers from several TOA canisters. The European TAHU, European LEWA, and European KOPAKA have all been confirmed as having B&W MINI-CDs. The other canisters are unopened or do not contain CDs. Many thanks go to my friend James in the UK for providing most of the European Item numbers, Purple Dave for many of the US Item numbers, and Neo-Genesis for a TAHU number. I have one guess (“xxx ?”) to fill in for GALI.

And speaking of GALI, jessebok wrote in about a Swiss GALI with Item Number 4170411 above the barcode instead of below.

Update: MOD reader KILLOHURTZ writes in that he has a different BLACK & WHITE MINI-CD from a TOA purchased from a Wal-Mart in Ohio. Like the FULL-COLOR MINI-CD, it was manufactured in Austria. (The European B&W MINI-CD was made in Switzerland). Here are the product numbers:

Adam wrote in with a picture of a fourth CD, this one in color but more golden than blue. I can’t make out the product number though.

If you have TOA canisters with Item numbers which differ from those listed above, or if you have MINI-CDs with different numbers, or if you have any information about the MINI-CDs which I have not touched upon here, then I would greatly appreciate it if you would send that information to me so I can post it here.