A couple of years back, an AFOL whom I “met” at a online collector’s clearance gave me this Red Prototype Wizard / Witch Hat, I was thrilled and happy as it was something that I always wanted but couldn’t bring myself to buy it as the price is exorbitant.
How did the red prototype came about? Sources says the red prototypes are a batch of test mould runs before the actual production runs.
Why is it red and not any other colour? Sources says red is used so that during the stress test, the results, i.e the white stress marks are more clearly visible.
How did the prototypes land in the hands of collectors? There are several versions of the “stories” of how prototypes got into the hands of the collectors. Some say it was mistanken push out to BAM (Build A Minifig) bins in the LEGOLAND stores. Some say it was leaked from the factory. Some say it was given to them.
Are there many prototypes floating around in the market? Yes. The most famous one would be the Darth Vader’s helmet which made quite a headline and some mad craze in 2008. Although, I hardly see new prototypes being sold online in the recent years.
Of course as a proud owner of a uber rare gift and given that I am mad crazy about creating Mages / Wizard / Witches. This is how I honour the gesture of goodwill, by creating a red wizard to head my evil wizard clan.
Hope you have enjoyed it. Thank you for reading.