This render from 2009 depicts a prototype of the Toa Mata Nui set viewed from behind. This particular render saw semi-prominent use in silhouette during the early portion of 2009 to tease the summer wave of sets. I apologize for the lack of color, but all I could find was this still from a video.

The more I look at the build of this prototype, the more becomes clear to me. The addition of a sword to the character always felt odd when the Scarabax Shield was featured far more prominently in the promotional material. Here it’s readily apparent just why he was consistently depicted with two weapons in the story: the Thornax launcher was intended to be shoulder mounted.

It’s also worth noting that this prototype likely dates back to the other early renders of the winter Glatorian, who also used Zamor Launchers as stand-ins. This Mata Nui is something I’d like to try building at some point, but I fear the altered shoulder blades/shield halves would be a deterrent. Looking at them, they seem to mount on the arms differently, more like the armor the Barraki used, with size 2 axles used for holding them on.

The head looks like the old “hand” connector attached to the 2008 Ignika. Most interesting is the blade, which appears to be multiple pieces, but they seem to overlap in impossible ways. I’m curious if this was multiple pieces obscured by the angle or a mishmash of parts to emulate something new.