KR Review #15: Bi-Harr

New amazing prototypes have arrived from PoliganToys, so I have to finish the reviews of the previous ones this week. Let’s kick things off with the first reptilian leader - Bi-Harr^TM!

While this 13^th action figure is not necessarily one of my favourite so far, I have to admit that I love his striking look.

Details

Name: Bi-Harr

Real name: Anfis

Subtitle: double-headed general

Classification: archosauromorph reptile

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Rexodon^TM

Rank: general.

Background

Bi-Harr's first appearance is in the third KR comic issue Clash of the leaders. Born as an abomination, over the years the dual-headed creature Anfis became a blessing for the reptilian species. Thanks to his two minds working together, Anfis was cleverer than any other living thing. Taking the name Bi-Harr, he raised an army and challenged the free mammalian people for rule over Tahron. Being gifted with twice the brain power of his rivals, his tactical advantage was doubled. Although he defeated several leaders of the Therioms^TM, these heroes succeeded in trapping his mental faculties beyond the multiversal walls. Centuries later, a weakened Bi-Harr attempts to form an alliance with Deptilion^TM, by promising (treacherously) to let him rule in exchange for getting back his powers from their extra-dimensional lock-up.

Articulation

Standard, with one additional neck.

Description

Left head: similar to a Pachycephalosaurus, characterised by wrinkled dark-blueish skin, a large bony dome atop its skull, a pair of large amber eyes with vertical black pupils, a muzzle ending in a pointed reddish beak (with a closed mouth), and a fairly long, thick neck. The dome's rear side is edged with yellowish bony bulges, which extend towards each eye forming a sort of bumpy eyebrow, while a number of short yellowish bony spikes project upwards from the snout (the most central of these spikes is covered in skin)

Right head: vaguely similar to an Apatosaurus (or a similar sauropod), characterised by scaly reddish skin, a large brown cranial crest, two short ossicones covered in skin, a pair of large light-blue eyes with vertical red pupils, several sharp white teeth lining the wide open mouth, and a thick neck (slightly longer than its counterpart's)

Body: the left arm and leg show a wrinkled dark-blueish skin with several yellowish bony bumps, while the right arm and leg show a scaly reddish skin with large brown ridges which run down the sides; he displays claw hands and feet (where visible). The real surprise about Bi-Harr's body is under the removable armour... I could never imagine that PoliganToys would come out with something like this: an astonishing convoluted structure which is actually his elongated tubular body running from one head to the other! So, we discover that Bi-Harr is actually a sort of four-armed amphisbaena (i.e., a snake-like creature with a head at each end), who uses two of his arms as legs, in order to acquire a bipedal posture. This tremendously intricate body structure is sculpted extremely well; a cool detail is the visible overlap of the two body types, where the wrinkled and the scaly skins melt into each other

Wearables: a silver armour (which bears two collars and two shoulder protectors on the top, and an asymmetric skull-symbol on the front), yellowish leather fingerless-glove and sandal-boot on the left limbs, brass bracelet, armband and boot (all decorated with arabesque patterns) on the right limbs, a studded brass belt and an asymmetric loincloth. The collars are embossed with two different designs: a round pattern on the left and a diamond-shaped pattern on the right; these patterns are also replicated on the two shoulder protectors, which, like the collars, are made of two different metals, probably copper on the left side and brass on the right side. The asymmetric skull-symbol is located right under the gap between the two collars, but its lower jaw stretches down to the bottom edge of the armour; each half of the skull resembles the correspondent head and is made of a metallic material, again copper on the left side and brass on the right side. The two halves of the asymmetric loincloth are also made of different materials: tawny fur on the left and scale armour (consisting of several overlapping copper plates laced together) on the right. The brass belt (which is also decorated with round studs on the left side and diamond studs on the right side) has a buckle which is a symmetric variant of the armour skull-symbol, whose elongated lower jaw covers the dividing line between the two sides of the loincloth. The upper part of this skull-buckle is red (while the lower jaw is goldish) and recalls the Rexodon symbol. The brass armband around the right biceps (where the ridge presents a trough) is removable and can be put on the other arm.

Bi-Harr's stylised armour; the shape at the centre of the chest piece represents the asymmetric skull-symbol with the elongated lower jaw.

Weapons and accessories

No, I haven't forgotten about the action feature section. Problem is that Bi-Harr has no action feature whatsoever. It's understandable, it's a matter of cost-saving due to his entirely new sculpt, but I can't hide a bit of disappointment.

Bi-Harr only comes with a silver halberd, which is one of the four components of the Key (the one with the blade curved outward) and the third halberd we get after Deptilion's and Tir-Hing's ones.

Comic

Together with the action figure we get the third comic issue Clash of the leaders. In the story we meet Bi-Harr, the leader of the Rexodons, for the first time. He has secretly observed the efforts of his former enemy Deptilion for long and wants to take advantage of his potential to seek revenge on the Therioms. After rescuing Deptilion from the labyrinth-cave in the Bay of Sortok, Bi-Harr arranges a meeting with his old rival and pretends to be interested in an alliance against the Therioms. Bi-Harr proposes the Destructomorphs attack Theriom City with the help of a few Rexodon members and Deptilion agrees in spite of warnings from Demo-Rha. The merged army attacks as planned, but this time the heroic defenders are well prepared. Suddenly, Bi-Harr appears in the battlefield and reveals that he and the remaining members of his faction have taken advantage of Deptilion's absence to destroy Dekropolis, the Destructomorph's headquarters. The Therioms are now forced to witness a battle between the Destructomorphs and the Rexodons. At some point, it is revealed that the real Deptilion has been replaced by an advanced Destructomorph Trooper, who is powerful enough to kill all the present opponents. Masq-Lor can't allow this senseless massacre and uses all his resources to destroy the robot. This causes an explosion that leaves a huge crater in the ground, separating the three factions. Being unable to continue the battle, the evil parties retreat, while the Therioms give aid to a now unconscious Masq-Lor.

Overall, my feelings about Bi-Harr are similar to the ones I have for Nemhisto. The figure is great, with a terrific look and an awesome sculpt, especially underneath the armour. On the other hand, I kind of feel the lack of some cool action features or accessories. But after all, Bi-Harr is a central character in the KR universe and I think that his figure is cool enough as it is.
About the comic, the story is pretty interesting for several reasons. First of all, we finally see one of the reptilian factions, which we have read about in the previous issues. Then, we discover that the mysterious powers locked behind the multiversal walls are actually Bi-Harr's mental abilities, although there's no mention about how the Therioms managed to move those powers from his brains to the extra-dimensions. Last but not least, it seems like Deptilion survived another disaster at the end of the preceding story, but eventually his duplicate's identity is exposed and we are left with no clue about his real whereabouts. For sure, a very positive aspect of this comic is that it features a lot of new characters, and that's what we like!

KR Review #14: Colotros

Since the KR line began to pick up steam, I've started going through the more obscure characters, to see who might get made. I recently ran across Colotros^TM, but didn’t have high hopes that this six-armed monster would ever get made.

Now that his action figure prototype (the 12^th I've received) is in-hand, I can definitely say that I’m glad PoliganToys proved me wrong!

Details

Name: Colotros
Subtitle: encrusted warrior
Classification: cnidarian
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Affiliation: Destructomorph (indirectly)
Rank: guardian of the cave in the Bay of Sortok.

Background

Colotros only appears in the second KR comic issue Hunt for the energy stone, where he is presented as the monstrous keeper of a supernatural stone. After the temporary defeat of the reptilian forces, Tir-Hing and Elykta hid the powerful energy stone deep inside the labyrinth-cave in the Bay of Sortok, to prevent their enemies from retrieving it. As a precautionary measure, they assigned the six-armed oceanic creature Colotros to remain there and guard the prodigious relic. Over the years, the quest for the stone and the wish to tap into its powers for both good and evil has begun to spread around Tahron. Now, Deptilion, the survived leader of the Destructomorphs, confronts the Therioms once again, in order to access the energy source. For Deptilion's own advantage, Colotros is forced to stride into battle, swinging his sharp harpoons to fight against the Therioms.

Articulation
Standard, with four additional fully articulated arms, two of which have ball jointed wrists.

Description

Head: similar to a statue made of a red porous rock (presumably coral), with antler-shaped stony branches as hair and beard, eyes emitting a faint yellow glow, half-open mouth through which four sharp whitish canines are visible

Body: made of a red porous fractured rock, three pairs of arms, claw hands and feet. The two top arms are equipped with barbed spear-like whitish structures instead of hands

Wearables: a dark-green armour with orange details and a convex grooved blue symbol, which resembles a brain coral, at the centre, two dark-green bracelets, two dark-green calf protectors, a dark-green belt and an orange gorgonian-like loincloth.

Colotros' stylised armour; the circle at the centre of the harness represents the "brain coral" symbol.

Action feature

The only real action feature is the presence of a structure on the back that works similarly to Ah-Rak's carapace - instead of arachnid legs, Colotros has two pairs of fully articulated muscled rocky arms. This part that includes the four arms can be removed, together with the armour, to transform Colotros in an alternative two-armed stony warrior, cool!

Also, in the comics Colotros' "harpoons" are extendable and can rapidly stretch out from the two arms towards his opponents; unfortunately, this feature hasn't been reproduced in the figure. Instead, we get two pairs of snap-on interchangeable harpoons in two versions: retracted and extended.

Weapons and accessories

In addition to the snap-on interchangeable parts, Colotros comes with a surprising pair of hands, which can replace the harpoons; in this way we can make a six-handed version of the figure, even if this never appears in the comics.

Colotros' weapon is a bladed copper boomerang. This is very nicely designed, with an interesting "S"-shape instead of the classical "V"-shape for this kind of weapon; also, to me it looks like the blades are toothed in such a way that they slightly resemble a pair of sea pens, but I'm not totally sure about this detail.

Moreover, we get Colotros' sidekick. At some point in the story, Colotros looses one hand due to a bad catch of his own returning boomerang; the amputated hand suddenly comes to life, generates three more stony fingers and transforms into a sort of spidery creature. This horrible beast eventually falls upside down and, in order to turn over, grows further, giving a hint that it's going to become a new Colotros. Fortunately, the Therioms succeed in destroying it before that happens. The accessory is the tentacled form, which has four small yellow glowing eyes, eight tendril legs, and one disturbingly lipped mouth. It really makes a great addition to the figure.

Finally, Colotros also comes with the energy stone and its crystal-like stand that appear in the comic book. The stone looks like a two-piece black meteorite with hints of light coming from its inside; the inner core of the stone is actually made of yellow-orange glow-in-the-dark plastic. Why two pieces? ***SPOILER WARNING (to read, select the following text)*** Because at the end of the story the stone is shattered in two on the ground.

Comic

Together with the action figure we get the second comic issue Hunt for the energy stone. In Mor-Rak's review I forgot to mention that the same comic book also comes with our young primivod friend. In the story we learn that Deptilion miraculously survived the destruction of the Quartz Tower and retained possession of the fourth halberd. Under his leadership, the Destructomorphs kidnap Tir-Hing, who knows about the location of the energy stone. This is a powerful relic that Deptilion needs to find, in order to regain his strength. While Masq-Lor and the Therioms set out to free their leader, Deptilion tricks Tir-Hing into telling the secret place. The Therioms succeed in finding where Tir-Hing is held and in saving him, but Deptilion is already on his way to obtaining the stone. Now both parties race to the stone's hiding place - the labyrinth-cave in the Bay of Sortok. There, Masq-Lor and his fellows encounter and fight Colotros, a rocky monster with multiple arms, before they finally find the stone. However, Deptilion is there too and he holds Mor-Rak as a hostage. Masq-Lor attempts to negotiate with his enemy and Deptilion pretends to free Mor-Rak in exchange for the stone. In the very last moment Deptilion orders his minions to kill all the Therioms, but Masq-Lor causes the stone drop and a clash ensues between the two opponents. In the meantime, a giant seaweed emerges from the ground impregnated with energy fluid within seconds. While the Therioms manage to escape, the giant seaweed destroys the cave and takes Deptilion with it.

Overall, I’m very happy with Colotros' figure, he’s damned close to perfection. He's also related to a pretty intriguing element (the energy stone) of the KR mythos and the line wouldn’t be complete without him. I can't say the same about the comic; the story is very stereotype, almost a repetition of the first issue (Deptilion wants something and kidnaps someone to get it), but somehow it has a certain flair. One interesting detail is the contrast between Colotros' background story and his role in the comic: in the former, Colotros is kind of hired by the Therioms to protect the stone and then turned against them by Deptilion, while in the latter he simply looks like being casually in the cave and annoyed by the intrusion of unexpected visitors.

KR Review #13: Mor-Rak

I’m going to make this review shorter than usual. Just a compact article to shed a bit of light on what is probably the smallest-scale character in the KR universe - Mor-Rak^TM!

Mor-Rak is the 11^th action figure prototype I've received from PoliganToys.

Details

Name: Mor-Rak

Subtitle: young apprentice warrior

Classification: primivod mammal

Sex: male

Relationships: Tir-Hing's nephew and Masq-Lor's cousin

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: trainee.

Background

Mor-Rak appears briefly in the first KR comic issue The hidden halberd and more extensively in the second issue Hunt for the energy stone, where he's presented as the humorous son of Gax-Uhr^TM and Sih-Len^TM, and a young member of the Theriom elite. Mor-Rak stands out for his great resourcefulness, curiosity and acrobatic skills. After the rise of the Destructomorphs, evil outweighed the forces of good and Mor-Rak was recruited by his uncle Tir-Hing as a trainee, in order to fight for the Therioms and to serve them throughout Tahron’s future. Although he is not allowed to participate in an open conflict yet, he acquired incredible abilities from the Antikythron^TM, a device infused with mysterious power, that can harness energy from nature. By using these powers, Mor-Rak can loyally assist and watch over his fellows, often turning the tide in battle, or can move through time, allowing the Therioms to prevent historical dangers.

Articulation

Standard, except that elbows and knees are swivel/hinged, calves and tail are ball jointed, and there are no bicep, abdomen and thigh joints.

Description

Head: predominantly monkey-like (similar to a macaque, even if he's a primivod, a fictional anthropomorphic marsupial), characterised by a round shape, short brown/black fur, slightly prominent face with reddish skin and long white hair bundles at the cheeks, big green eyes and subtle smile. The face is very well sculpted and definitely fits the young age and the cuteness of the character. It's important to specify that the fur... is real! No, I don't mean that it comes from some real animals, but that it's made of short synthetic hairs instead of being sculpted (like in Tir-Hing's case, for example), a detail that adds further cuteness. I'm not sure it's only my impression, but I guess a particular painting technique has been used to give the feeling that the big bright eyes move as they are viewed from different angles

Body: smaller than the adult characters (only 12 cm, almost 5"), slim, brown (with black blotches) to white "real" fur, grey-green skin at the hands and the bare feet, very short tail. The fur on the torso is brown with black blotches on the back and white on the front, while the fur on the limbs (which, in my opinion, is slightly longer than on the rest of the body) is brown with black blotches on the outer parts and white on the inner parts. The short tail, which is a new entry in the Theriom characters and is also made of "real" fur, is ball-jointed; however, due to the short length of the tail, this joint is totally useless

Wearables: a light-green armour with brown details, two light-green bracelets, two light-green calf protectors, a light-green belt and a brown fabric loincloth with a small purse on the front.

Mor-Rak's stylised armour.

Action feature

In the comics Mor-Rak, thanks to his father's teachings, is a very skilled acrobat. This feature is transferred to the figure by delivering two alternative feet in a grasping pose, which can replace the ones used to make Mor-Rak stand. The hands don't need to be replaced, since they are already in the grasping position. This prehensility feature allows Mor-Rak to clasp a hand/foothold and swing to another one. Not much as an action feature, but still something.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the alternative feet, Mor-Rak comes with three accessories. The first is his rope that can be used either as a whip or a lasso. The rope is fastened to a brown handle at one end, while the other end bears a small hook; this is designed for catching hold of the middle of the rope itself, in order to turn the whip into a lasso by forming a noose. In such lasso configuration the hook works like a running knot, tightening the noose as the rope is pulled. The rope can also be inserted in a loop on the side of Mor-Rak's belt.

Then there is a stand, which looks a bit like a dry tree with three branches and is used by Mor-Rak for his acrobatics.

Finally, we have the antikythron, an instrument whose origin is unknown. Mor-Rak utilises the antikythron to combine himself with the forces of nature and become a powerful warrior. It is believed that this instrument was engineered in very ancient times, but how Mor-Rak has obtained it and how he has learnt using it is a mystery. The antikythron looks like a short silver staff characterised by an interesting technological design and has a baldric that can be worn by Mor-Rak for easy carry. The part near the handle displays six large coloured buttons plus a few smaller black switches and sliders all the way around. The top part is fictionally composed of five pieces that can open (in an upside-down umbrella fashion) to reveal the machinery inside; unfortunately, such a feature hasn't been reproduced in the toy accessory and instead we get three interchangeable snap-on top pieces, which are the closed, the open inactive and the open energised version respectively. The open inactive form shows the five sides spread out and a central axis, on which three short horizontal coaxial red arms hold one vertical coloured crystal each (in the comics, depending on the orientation of these components, the instrument generates a different power); all these pieces, i.e., the whole top part, each coaxial arm and each crystal, spin vertically and individually via swivels with a flick of your fingers. The energised version carries a well designed glow-in-the-dark energy vortex at its centre and also spins.

Overall, I have mixed feelings about Mor-Rak. I love the character's enterprising personality and the idea that he can turn from a young boy to a supernatural giant thanks to an enigmatic device. On the other hand, I think very little of that character's concept has been put in the action figure. I'm not impressed by the acrobatic rendering and I'm even less impressed by the antikythron. I'd rather have seen its five sides snapping together by a peg and falling open after unlocking that peg, even if I understand that this would have required a bigger engineering effort. Also, with such a smaller scale figure, I would expect a larger counterpart to be included in the package - in the comics Mor-Rak transforms into a giant warrior who is made either of lava or ice or sand... I'd be very happy to get at least one of those!

KR Review #12: Destructomorph Troopers

Deptilion finally gets his army builder set this month... I have been so impressed by Xonedar few days ago, that I almost forgot about this!

This is the second multi-pack (a 2-pack, to be precise) prototype I've received from PoliganToys, so let’s take a look at Desptilion’s Destructomorph Troopers^TM!

Details

Name: Destructomorph Troopers
Subtitle: robotic troopers
Classification: robots
Home: Tahron
Affiliation: Destructomorph (originally a Rexodon^TM project)
Rank: drones.

Background

The Destructomorph Troopers are a frequent presence in the KR universe and appear since the first issue The hidden halberd. During his offensives against the Therioms, Deptilion often utilises these robotic drones to carry out his evil plans. Based on a project that Deptilion stole from his long-time rival Loghar^TM, the Troopers have been reprogrammed to serve the Destructomorphs and equipped with several innovations, such as a built in 3D scan/projection system to impersonate their opponents and a counter-gravity field generator to increase their mobility. They also carry a variety of weapons, including laser pistols and back-mounted blasters. Often on the front lines of conflict, the Destructomorph Troopers challenge their antagonists in inexhaustible fighting.

Articulation

Standard, except that waist and wrists are ball jointed.

Description

Since the two figures are identical and have matching sets of accessories, from this point forward I'm going to describe a single Trooper and the description will apply to both of them.

Head: black metallic reptile skull, showing a few mechanical and electrical components, the eyes emit a red glow. The head structure resembles an Ankylosaurus' skull and its look is definitely evil; the shape is wide and low, and the front part of the jaws ends in a beak. It also wears a horned yellow helmet, whose extremely simple design, combining barbarian and robotic features, is very nice looking to me. Two additional horns project backwards and down from the back of the head, right below the helmet's silver horns

Body: black metallic arms and legs, showing lots of machinery/circuitry patterns; despite the description may sound similar to the one I used for Xonedar, this case is actually very different: while Xonedar's limbs are cyborg/android-like, i.e., robotic but still with a human shape, the Destructomorph Trooper's ones look more like an electro-hydraulic endoskeleton, with tubes, wires, pistons and hinges. Such features are also present under the armour, but with a surprise - once I'd uncovered it for the first time, the torso looked kind of familiar to me and it took not long to understand why... it is structured like a DJ controller, no kidding! I'm a DJ in my spare time, so I know what I'm seeing: the pecs look like two jog dials, the abdomen bears sliders, buttons and knobs, and at the centre of the chest there's a rectangular lenticular sticker, which gives an illusion of two sound waves coursing across that panel. Nice Easter egg!

Wearables: a red armour with yellow details, two red cuffs, two red shin protectors, a red belt and a yellow crotch piece; the last two elements show lots of cyber details. Once again, I feel there is too much red in the Destructomorph characters... I really hope this issue will be addressed with the upcoming colour-scheme changes.

Destructomorph Trooper's stylised helmet with 3D scanner deployed.

Action feature

In the comics, the Destructomorph Troopers have the ability to perform 3D scans of their opponents via stereoscopic cameras that come out of their helmets; afterwards, thanks to several holographic projectors embedded in their body, they can take on the appearances of the people they have scanned. So, each Trooper can be equipped with a nicely detailed 3D scanner, which snaps on the rear part of the helmet. Regarding the projectors, I guess their replication in an action figure was much more challenging, but anyway we get a sheet of small three-dimensional glow-in-the-dark stickers, which are a smart idea to add the illusion of light spots embedded in the figure. It is possible to see the outline of the 3D-GITD stickers pretty clearly up close, but they work well at a distance and, in case, they can be removed without leaving any glue residues.

Additionally, the front piece of the armour can be replaced by an alternative chest piece. The latter is identical to the former, except that has two large holes (one on the right side of the breast and one on the left side of the abdomen), through which the mech-tech framework underneath is visible, plus a couple of minor battle damages. I find this damaged armour very well designed, it really gives the feeling that the Trooper has been hit by a major blast. On the other hand, I'm a bit disappointed not to find also a damaged head, which I would definitely expect after such a shock. The armour back piece is not replaceable, but is equipped with two black guns mounted on two adjustable armatures, so that they can be set in either a vertical rest position or a horizontal (just over the Trooper's shoulders) attack position.

Finally, thanks to the presence of a few ad hoc ball&socket connection points, some of the Trooper's body parts, i.e., head, torso and hands, can be easily disconnected. I'll get more into the details in the accessories section.

Destructomorph Trooper's stylised armour.

Weapons and accessories
Each Trooper comes with a great deal of accessories. Apart from the already mentioned 3D scanner for the helmet, holo-projectors stickers and alternative chest piece, we also get two blasting effects for the back mounted guns. This is interesting, because it seems that PoliganToys is testing a new approach in respect of shooters; so far we have seen either spring-loaded mechanisms or totally passive guns, but this time we get a nicely sculpted pair of plug-in explosion effects instead, which I really like. Furthermore, there is a laser pistol, whose design is very similar to the back mounted guns, except that the colour is yellow and not black. The pistol can be inserted in a holster attached to the back of the belt; I find that position pretty uncomfortable for the Trooper, because of both limiting the waist rotation and making it difficult to reach out for the pistol when it's needed, so I can't understand why the holster wasn't placed at one side of the belt instead.
Earlier I have mentioned a few particular ball&socket connection points. These include the wrists, which allow the hands to be replaced; we get a set of four hands: one for holding the pistol, one in a fist pose and (another great surprise!) two with a circular saw coming out partially from the side of each palm. The alternate hands pop in and out of the arms easily, but are nice and solid. The lower body, from the waist down, can also be replaced with an alternative piece, which looks a bit like a rocket engine. This is a reference to a comic strip in which the Destructomorph Troopers are shown to disconnect their legs and fly away by using a counter-gravity field generator. The flying configuration works fine as it is, but in case we want to add a bit of a floating feel to the posing, we also get a translucent stand, which plugs solidly into the bottom of the "rocket" piece via a ball&socket joint.
Last but not least, there are two sets of alternative repainted heads and weapons, one for each Trooper, which is the only case of non-matching accessories. Since the Destructomorph Troopers can get the resemblance to anybody, PoliganToys has decided to add Masq-Lor's and Sei-Lha's repainted unhelmeted heads, which are similar to the originals on the right side, but show slightly livid skin (with hints of mech-tech components on the cheek), a black eye (with red pupil) and reddish hair on the left side, almost to suggest that the holo-projectors are not working properly in that spot. It's up to you to decide whether these heads should snap on the Troopers' (it doesn't make much sense, since the rest of their body is robotic) or on Masq-Lor's and Sei-Lha's bodies. I chose the second option, so I can pretend that those two heroes are actually Destructomorph Troopers in disguise. The set is completed with yellow and silver versions of Masq-Lor's normal sword and Sei-Lha's rotating shield.

Overall, this 2-pack makes for a great addition to the Destructomorph faction. Since I’m a big fan of army building, if this set ever goes on the market, I think I’ll buy two more, to make a nice little army. The only disappointment is about the missing damaged heads, which I would have liked much better than the two fake heads.

KR Review #11: Xonedar

It’s been a few days since I’ve reviewed a KR figure. The Destructomorph^TM Troopers should be the next up for review, but I’m not much in the mood for reptilian robots at this moment and I’ll be taking a look at Xonedar^TM instead!

Xonedar is the 10^th action figure prototype I've received from PoliganToys.

Details

Name: Xonedar

Subtitle: hyper-technological engineer

Classification: partially human

Sex: male

Relationships: Sei-Lha's father

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: lieutenant commander; expert in intelligence, mechanical & materials engineering and surgery.

Background

Also Xonedar's first appearance takes place in The hidden halberd, where he's presented as a Theriom member of great renown, who was seriously injured during a terrible accident while working on a shipbuilding project in the past. He was healed by his fellow soldier and loyal friend Koptros^TM, who transformed and grafted his body with cybernetic parts by encasing each of his cells into a microscopic technological structure invented by Xonedar himself at an earlier time. By adjusting the properties of these techno-elements in his body, Xonedar gained the ability to shape himself to almost unlimited forms. He was then upgraded for battle with several built-in weapons, so that he could serve the Therioms in their fight against evil once again. Confronted by his foes, Xonedar uses his unstoppable robotic strength in heroic combat and his amazing bionic eye to spy on the evil enemy.

Articulation

Standard, except that waist, wrists and calves are ball jointed and there is no abdomen crunch.

Description

Head: he constantly wears a dark-blue cyber helmet with silver details, which only allows us to see the mouth surrounded by black skin; the rest of the face is covered by a single large dark bionic eye

Body: black metallic arms and legs, showing lots of machinery/circuitry patterns; the legs look particularly reinforced in the thigh and knee areas. Under the armour he displays a clear transparent torso accented with steel edging, inside which a complex combination of bluish-grey gears, valves, wires and organs (e.g., heart, lungs and guts) is visible; this is quite a surprise, because I don't remember if what's under the hood has ever been shown in the comics. At the centre of his chest there is a lenticular sticker, whose design animates (this reminds me a bit of the Shazam logo when it “listens” to a song) and colour shifts from red to green as it is viewed from different angles; there will be more about this later

Wearables: a silver armour with dark-blue details (the two colours alternate clockwise), two silver gauntlets, two silver boots (displaying details similar to wheels and continuous tracks), a silver belt (displaying small tools, i.e., a penknife, a pair of pliers, a pair of tweezers, a hammer, a screwdriver and a wrench, all the way around) and a dark-blue crotch piece. Everything looks a bit bulkier than what we have seen in most of the other figures so far.

Xonedar's stylised helmet; the dark oval at the centre represents the bionic eye.

Action feature

Fasten your safety belt, because this is going to be one of the craziest journeys into the action feature section we have taken so far. Let's start with the head... such a small part and so many features! The eye is rotating, which means there are three interchangeable eyepieces placed on a horizontal drum that turns via an earphone-shaped dial on the right side of the helmet. The first eye is dark-purple colour and is supposed to be Xonedar's default far-seeing eye (which in the comics is a combination of a high-resolution camera and a radar, and looks completely black), the second eye is a dark-orange&black high-energy detector (which resembles the trefoil symbol used to warn about ionising radiation), while the third section of the drum is actually a socket. The latter shows a few cool cyber details and bears a hole at its centre, which is used to connect further plug-in eye pieces, namely a night/thermal vision goggle with a big green lens and a silver&blue zooming (for real!) directed-energy cannon. Both pieces can be easily removed thanks to their protruding parts, but of course they prevent the drum from turning when connected. One more thing about the eye - the top-rear part of the helmet is a transparent window; when the drum displays the dark-purple eye, the light will first pass through this window and then through the hole in the cyber-socket positioned at 120° to the displayed eye, making the latter glow. Actually this works best with a strong light (I used the flash of my smartphone) in a relative dark environment, but in general the effect is quite perceptible, although it's not even close to the light beam that he uses to blind opponents in the comics.
That was just about Xonedar's head, but what about the rest of his body? Earlier I mentioned a lenticular sticker at the centre of Xonedar's chest, which is also visible when the armour is worn and gives him a kind of Iron Man look. Fictionally speaking, this chest-piece is a sort of reactor which powers Xonedar's vital functions, while in real life it simply spins via a dial on his back, causing its design to change and its colour to gradually fade from red to green to red and so on. The two parts, chest-piece and back-dial, are linked by a couple of gears inside Xonedar's torso, making the rotation effect somewhat gimmicky.

Last but not least, all the ball&socket connection points are particularly robust and allow several of Xonedar's body parts, i.e., head, torso, hands and shins, to be easily disconnected. Why? Well, he's a sort of cyborg and by reading his background story we learn that following an unspecified (but probably very bad) accident, every single cell of his body has been encased in a techno-element, giving him the ability to take different robotic forms. I wish such an ability could be mirrored by the figure, but of course it can't be. However, some of Xonedar's "powers" seen in the comics are well reproduced, such as his extensible neck, limbs and torso, and his transforming hand. I'll get more into the details in the accessories section.

Xonedar's stylised armour; the circle at the centre of the chest plate represents the power reactor.

Weapons and accessories
Xonedar comes with a large number of snap-on accessories. First of all, the extensions for his neck, torso, wrists and calves; these show a silver colour and many more cyber details than in the comics, which I really like, and in my opinion their length is just right, not too short, not too long. Since neck, wrists and shins are fictionally not only unlimitedly extensible but also flexible, each extension has one articulation point, expanding Xonedar's poses in a way that I couldn't have imagined. The torso extension is not articulated and is thicker than the others, but is also equipped with a small sliding door that reveals a hollow space within; this is a nice replica of the "bomb crusher" tool he will show in one of the next comic issues. Besides the extensions, there are also three silver&blue snap-on tools that can replace his left hand: a large 2-jaw articulated claw, a blaster with a spring-loaded missile, and a chainsaw. These tools are very nicely sculpted, also with many cyber details; funny thing is that we can attach them to any socket connection points we want and not only to the left wrist (though that's where we see them in the comics), with plenty of crazy combinations.
Additionally there are four other accessories: a microphone, a mouth shield, a long range listening device and a double rifle. Both the microphone and the mouth shield snap (one at a time) into the helmet, giving Xonedar an extra-cool look. The listening device slightly resembles a radar antenna, but is actually a parabolic microphone that plugs into the left side of the helmet, opposite to the earphone-dial. Finally, the dark-blue rifle has two side-by-side barrels and also works as an arm guard. This piece looks great and can connect to a sort of holster on the back (preventing, in this case, the dial-spinning feature) or split into two single rifles. The two bullets (which almost look like missiles) are also separate pieces and can detach from the weapon, but there is no spring-loaded mechanism in this case.

Overall, this action figure is badass! And not only because of the great deal of accessories, but also because it is an excellent replication of one of the the most formidable characters in the entire KR universe. Not even one small disappointment? Well, yes, the earphone-dial on the helmet. I wish a different solution for rolling the bionic eye could be found, so that the helmet would look as symmetric as is shown in the comics (update: there will be an identical, but fixed, earphone on the opposite side). By the way, now that we know that several variants are going to be released, I really hope Xonedar will get his own... in the comics he's seen merging with other characters or even transforming into a motorbike! Please, PoliganToys, give me those!

KR Q&A round 1

Some time ago The PoliganMan from PoliganToys^TM agreed to answer a few questions about how the Key Raiders^TM line has been developing so far.

After all, this is the whole point of this blog: PoliganToys provide me with the prototypes, I examine them, I post my comments, we discuss about any criticism and they will use the outcomes of such discussions to improve the figures before going on the market.

So, check out this 1^st round of questions and answers below.

Let's start with Masq-Lor^TM. My biggest disappointment about this figure was the lack of some accessories that, in my opinion, are quite essential to display the personality of the character. I'm talking about the bow seen at the beginning of The hidden halberd, the formal outfit that he wears when training as a politician and, most of all, a head with the inactive helmet, i.e., with no tiger-visor. Will we ever see these items?

We are planning to release variants of many characters in the line and Apprentice Minister Masq-Lor, wearing his formal clothing, will be one of those. I can also tell you that there will be several Masq-Lor's variants, so we have plenty of occasions to include the head with helmet/without mask as an extra accessory. On the other hand, we have no plan of including the bow at the moment; as you pointed out in your review, Masq-Lor loses his bow during a fight at the beginning of the story, so its inclusion with any of his figures is not considered a priority. Perhaps, we will expand on Masq-Lor's archery skills in the future.

I'm pleased to know that there will be variants, that's something I was hoping for. Does this also apply to Demo-Rha^TM and Sei-Lha^TM, who in the comics have many different looks?

Yes, Demo-Rha and Sei-Lha will definitely have their own variants, but I can't say more at the moment.

I guess there will also be one or more variants of Deptilion^TM. The permanently attached snakes were the only detail I didn't really like in the standard Deptilion, will his variants include fully removable snakes on his arm and leg?

We are working on Deptilion's variants and planning to include fully removable snakes. However, I don't think there will be any changes in this sense on the basic figure, so he will be released with partially glued snakes.

So far Elykta^TM has been the only figure equipped with a real fabric accessory, which is her spreading-out cape. Are there any plans to replace the fabric piece with a rigid plastic component?

We are evaluating different options and trying to move towards a solution that will look both nice and consistent with the other figures. But I can't exclude that the fabric solution will be kept in the final product, if this proves to be the best option.

Let's talk about Ah-Rak^TM. I personally think that his clip-on spider-web is an OK but not optimal solution. Is there any chance that he will eventually get a retractable mechanism?

Unfortunately that's very unlikely. The inclusion of such mechanism would make the price increase considerably and we don't want that. I honestly think that the plug-in solution is good enough and, unlike a mechanism of any kinds, doesn't affect the amazing aesthetics of the figure.

Talking about aesthetics, Ah-Rak gives me the chance to point out the colours issue. There is definitely too much red when Deptilion and Ah-Rak are displayed next to each other. Also, Sei-Lha's blue vest clashes with the camouflage design on her sleeves and trousers. Will these issues be amended?

We never meant the colours to be definitive at this stage. On one hand we are keen to design the characters as they were first drawn by the original artist, on the other hand we feel free to improve some details, such as colours, where is needed. So, yes, there might be some changes in the colours of the action figures, which means that in some cases the colours of the final products may not match the ones of the prototypes. Such changes will probably only apply to armours and helmets and shouldn't affect any other parts of the figures. Any updates will be communicated within the new year and, if necessary, you will have to amend the reviews that are affected by such changes.

No problem about that. Another element that might be inconsistent within the line is the presence of spring-loaded mechanisms. We have seen spring-loaded action features in Tir-Hing^TM (waist) and Sei-Lha (missile launchers) figures, but the same principle has not been applied to the Theriom^TM Troopers' weapons. Which direction is PoliganToys taking in this context?

It is true that the Theriom Troopers' weapons had initially been intended to have spring-loaded mechanisms, but we eventually decided to abandon this idea, because too expensive and too difficult to engineer due to the peculiar design of those devices. Our plan is to include spring-loaded action features only where this inclusion doesn't cause a final price rise, blends in with the figure in a smooth way and doesn't look too childish... after all, this is a toy collection oriented to adults.

Time to talk about Nemhisto^TM... I feel I might have been a little bit too harsh in my review about this figure. My disappointment was due to the fact that, not being a primary character, he should be accompanied by either a cool action feature or some accessories, to balance his lack of indispensability. What do you think?

Yes, you have been harsh indeed :-D It isn't true that he is not indispensable, he has a prominent role in The hidden halberd and the spotlight will be on him again in future issues. We haven't added any weapons because he is never shown to actively fight in the comics, but we filled that void with the inclusion of the chest/shoulder armour, which is a totally original accessory. We think Nemhisto is good enough and there won't be any changes in the final release.

Thank you very much for your time and for clearing up some of my doubts. Looking forward to reviewing the next prototypes of this amazing toy line!

KR Review #10: The Deity

November is already here, but I haven't finished to wrap up October’s KR prototypes haul yet. Last on my list is the ninth action figure prototype I've received from PoliganToys - The Deity^TM!

Details

Name: The Deity

Real name: Kai-Xi

Subtitle: mystic arbiter

Classification: seemingly human

Sex: female

Home: unknown

Affiliation: neutral

Rank: divinity.

Background
The Deity is a frequent presence in the KR universe and appears since the first issue The hidden halberd. Once a member of the Therioms, Kai-Xi raised to a powerful divine form after her own demise and chose to be tasked with maintaining neutrality throughout Tahron. Although she can no longer take part to the war, the constant struggle over the Key often calls her to preserve the balance between good and evil forces.
PoliganToys conceived this figure as a neutral character, but in the comics it’s safe to say she tends to favour the Therioms in the outcomes. In my opinion there’s no ambiguity there, because The Deity's task is to maintain balance between the different factions and the Therioms are the only ones who never try to disrupt such equilibrium. So, it's understandable that she's often on their side.

Articulation

Standard down to the waist, excluding hinged abdomen; since she has a new dress/robe piece, her articulation has been changed a bit with a hinged thigh/crotch piece.

Description
Head: Asian features, cream white skin, black hair (combed into a twist and held together with a gold pin), hazel eyes
Body: 100% new sculpt; she has definitely got some sexy curves, even though she’s pretty much covered from neck to toe. Her arms are covered by long and wide sleeves and her hands show a cream white skin
Wearables: a nicely decorated red Han dynasty traditional Quju dress with gold details. The dress does a great job of blending in with the sleeves, under which we can glimpse two dark-green bracelets. A long light-green sash and a dark-green belt are used to close and fit the robe around the waist. The bottom of the dress is also nicely sculpted and doesn't come flush to the ground, giving her the illusion of floating.

Action feature
The Deity doesn't have any particular action feature, apart from the fact that she comes with a clear stand. This has a ball joint on the end, which expands her floating poses in a great way.

Weapons and accessories
The Deity also comes with a light-green wooden staff topped with a fire pattern that resembles the Chinese character 凤 (phoenix). Why is she carrying a Chinese ideogram related to a mythical bird? And why does she have a name that sounds Chinese? Apparently we are not supposed to know the answers to these questions now.

Overall, despite The Deity is an extremely simple figure in the KR line, she's so important in the story that I couldn't imagine not to have her in my collection. Also, thanks to the beautiful sculpt and awesome decorations, this is definitely one of those cases in which aesthetics counts much more than fancy features or accessories.