Welcome to what I hope will be a series of posts of interest to you: It Came From The Attic! Imatron suggested Attic Archeology: The RedQuark Chronicles, which I also like a lot, but you can see which one won out. First up is the Sand Tarakava.

Much of my BIONICLE collection currently resides in an attic above my garage. Unfortunately, it is not the absolute best environment for collectibles, and my ability to collect BIONICLE memorabilia quickly outstripped my ability to properly organize and shelve it — to the point where I cannot move around the space without picking up boxes and boxes of stuff and moving them out of my way. Thus, even things I think I remember where they are are difficult to find.

Such was the case with the Sand Tarakava. After a decade or more of little to no interest in this prototype set, inquiries started up again in earnest after the pandemic set in upon us. And so it was that I set about trying to find the set in order to answer some questions last year. I made several aborted attempts to retrieve it, only to discover it was not where I thought it was.

Only recently, after clearing out some space in my garage to use as a staging area, and along with the arrival of a favorably warm and dry Saturday, was I able to make a systematic search. And lo and behold, the Sand Tarakava was right where I thought it should be. I had been very close to it on several previous searches, but only on this occasion did I have a clear line-of-sight and enough good light to catch a glimpse of the bright yellow prototype Ruru — ironically, the mask of night vision — peeking up over the edge of a non-descript, brown cardboard box.

The Sand Tarakava is a prototype from which the two Tarakava eventually released in set 8549 were derived. There are several differences between the prototype and the released sets.

I have on several occasions discussed the differences between prototype masks and commercially-available masks. (More about that in a later post in this series.) These are distinctions that are very difficult to photograph and sometimes even difficult to see with the naked eye. That is not the case with the Sand Tarakava’s mask.

First of all, the prototype mask is a solid bright yellow. This is a color not seen in the original set of masks, nor in the fourteen “misprint” masks. But the dead give-away is the large “Z-07” part number sticking out of the mask’s right cheek, as seen in the image above on the right. This “branding”, along with the bright color and reduced stature compared to its production siblings, makes me think of the Sand Tarakava as the “sports model” of the Tarakava family.

Also in the image above is a production mask and head (on the left) and the Sand Tarakava’s mask mount (on the right). The Sand Tarakava’s mask mount (head) is also a prototype. If you look closely at the image, you may be able to see that the prototype head does not included the part identification markings that are found on the inside of the production head.

There has been some interest in the Sand Tarakava’s mouth. In the image above, I have removed the Ruru and the head (which actually form the Tarakava’s “nose”) to reveal the mouth. The image is a little washed out, but you should be able to tell that the Onua claw is a dark grey piece, rather than black (like the axle inverted-T-piece above it) or light grey (like the pieces to which it is connected).

Note also that this construction is fixed in place. The lower-jaw that is the claw hangs loosely, but the larger module to which it is connected does not move at all. This is very different from the production model which is connected to a spring mechanism which snaps up when the nose is struck. The Tarakava come in a pair because you are supposed to box with one against the other. The first Tarakava whose nose and mouth are knocked from the down position to the up position is the loser.

Unlike the two previous prototype parts, the Sand Tarakava’s tread is not obviously a prototype, despite not being the same as the treads in the released Tarakavas set. Given the size and number of the treads though (30 treads, each about 5mm wide and 5mm tall), I believe that this is a production Duplo tread (as others have suggested).

I was tempted to do a complete tear-down of the Sand Tarakava, but I ran out of time. Perhaps another day. For those of you trying to scam collectors, or collectors trying to avoid being scammed, or honest people who just want to get as close as possible to the Sand Tarakava’s original build, here are another couple of images to help tide you over.

Until next time, when we see what else there is that It Came From The Attic!