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The Power of Sterling Silver
 Thursday, April 17th, 2003 at 9:17am by Rich, BZPower AdministratorThe Power of Sterling Silver has arrived. I have received a Sterling Silver Krana-Kal (SSKK) from an employee of The LEGO Company, and what follows is a complete photographic essay on the mother of all Krana-Kal.
Before I get into the pictures and description of the actual Krana, I want to explain the background of this mask. The concept for this Krana-Kal and the White Metal Krana-Kal was not thought of until the Bohrok-Kal were already in production. LEGO recognized that collectibility is a fundamental part of the Bionicle line, and in fact it is a part of almost every successful toy line that I have seen. According to the gentlemen I spoke to during Toy Fair, approximately 100 Sterling Silver Krana-Kal and 5,000 White Metal Krana-Kal have been produced. The 3 Sterling Silver Krana-Kal that have been sent out thus far not counted toward the 72 in Kal sets. They are a supplement to the 72. We know about the following SSKK: As far as we know, only the 72 in Kal sets include the laminated card. That actually makes sense because if you did not get the SSKK in a set, you didn't actually "find" the Krana, and therefore a card stating "Congratulations on finding a Sterling Silver..." doesn't make all that much sense. There are still 72 Sterling Silver Krana-Kal in Bohrok-Kal packages � none have been discovered/revealed. On the other hand, 7 White Metal KK have been revealed and they do include the certificates, so therefore there are up to 4,993 White Metal Krana-Kal on shelves.
The SSKK is not exactly all that different from the White Metal Krana-Kal. It looks sharper, more brilliant, and has other features that make it distinctive. However, if you have not seen both together as I have, you cold easily mistake one for the other.
The eyes also look nastier. You can see little marks of metal bulging from the main part of the mask into the eyeholes. The only major change in the design of the mask is located at the bottom of the Krana-Kal. In the White Metal, a small half circle is etched out of the bottom. The Sterling Silver Krana-Kal is still intact without the etched bottom. Below you can see the SSKK, a Dark Gray Xa, and a WMKK for comparison purposes.
So, what does this Krana-Kal do for your Bohrok-Kal? Well, I'm not entirely sure. We've yet to find the Silver Krana-Kal card that is supposed to explain what the power of the mask is. For now, it is a safe bet that the Sterling Silver Krana-Kal has the same power as the White Metal Krana-Kal, much like the Solid Gold Hau has the same power as a plastic gold Hau.
Okay, so my new Krana-Kal looks cool and you want one for yourself. How can you get it? If you live in the United States, you have to start shaking. No, don�t start to tremor -- start shaking Kal cans. The SSKK and WMKK are inserted into back velvet bags that are quite large and, for the most part, can be seen externally through the sides and/or the bottom of a Kal can. If you shake a can hard enough you may be able to see the velvet bag. However, when dealing with the CDs it is more than possible that the CD can obstruct your view of the velvet bag, and therefore the only sure way to know if the Power of Silver is in a Kal set is to buy it and open it. I wish every BZPower member luck in finding the Power of Silver, and if you should be so lucky, be sure to send in an image to [email protected]. We will include your Metal Krana in our Silver Krana-Kal scorecard!
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The SSKK is intimidating to look at. Not only because it is so rare and so storied, but because it just looks good. It radiates the Power of Silver, and looking at the Krana, it is quite clear why TLC decided to make this item the main prize for the first half of 2003.
The most distinctive feature stares you right in the face. Sprawled across the top of the Krana on the rear is the word �Sterling.� Obviously this was an attempt to differentiate between this mask and a White Metal.
