This past February, I was the very first member of the BIONICLE® collecting community to receive the popular White Metal KRANA-KAL . In April, I was the first to receive the even more popular Sterling Silver KRANA-KAL . In July, I was the first to receive KRANA-KAL that you’ve never even seen before.

Okay, the first thing you’ll probably notice is that these six KRANA-KAL are light-grey, a color that has never been released officially so far (the second is that I haven’t been able to obtain the CA or ZA forms yet). What you can’t see is that they’re plastic. Yes, plastic. Hard, non-flexible plastic, just like the KANOHI and KANOHI NUVA. Of course, that’s just the tip of the iceberg.

You see, along with the light-grey KRANA-KAL, I also received these vac-metalized KRANA-KAL, which shine much more brilliantly than either the WMKK or SSKK. Again, I’m missing two, but this time it’s the BO and ZA forms. Considering how cheaply these could be produced compared to even the WMKK, I’m a bit shocked that a VMKK XA wasn’t offered as a much more obtainable “silver” token for kids to collect, much like the chrome HAU from the PowerPack of 2001 served as a mass-marketed alternative for the 14k solid gold HAU. Truthfully, while the SSKK is nice because it’s made from a precious metal, the VMKK is a much more presentable piece than the WMKK, especially since it doesn’t have those ugly blunted tips. It’s also more playworthy than the SSKK, which many would feel is far to valuable to risk damaging. I’d absolutely love to have another six VMKK XA to throw in my BOHROK-KAL for display. Unfortunately, the only place I’ve ever seen them is in the grab-box from the Toy Fair BIONICLE® Van, so I don’t know how many have been produced.

Flipping them around to look at the back, you can see exactly what purpose the light-grey versions serve. The mounting stud on the VMKK is clearly the same color as the light-grey version, so the LGKK are the blanks that were turned into the VMKK.

And finally, I’ve included a Black & White comparison photo. The top row, from left to right, shows KOHRAK VA XA, the LGKK, LEHVAK VA XA, and NUVHOK VA XA, while the bottom row, from left to right, shows KOHRAK-KAL XA, the SSKK, the VMKK, the WMKK, and PAHRAK-KAL XA.