I'm trying to catch up on my KR reviews... Easter holidays are starting soon, so it’s time to get a move on. In this post, I’m going to take a quick look at the last figure from March - TraarkTM!
I have waited on this dude for a long time, but now that this 28th action figure prototype from PoliganToys is finally in my hands, I have to say that he was mostly worth the wait.
Details
Name: Traark
Subtitle: fang-throwing warrior
Classification: sauropterygian reptile
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Affiliation: Rexodon
Rank: major.
Background
Traark makes his only short appearance in the fifth KR comic issue The factory of doom, where he is presented as a one-time sea warrior. Traark was dedicated to his service in the depths of the ocean around Tahron, but eventually made his home on land, in Rokang Tar, to join the rise of the reptilian forces against the Therioms. For his disloyalty, Traark was confronted by his former master, but Bi-Harr forced the newly enlisted soldier to behead him. Both thunderous tail strikes and lethal bites are within his power, but he also has the ability to throw sharp teeth at his enemies. When the Therioms send their emissaries to the Rexodons' headquarters, this marine warlord fights hard to expel the occupying forces.
Articulation
Standard, plus a hinged lower jaw and two swivels on the tail.
Description
Head: similar to a marine reptile, perhaps a mix of a plesiosaur and a nothosaur, characterised by black skin with few yellow stripes, a small cranial crest and blue eyes. The sculpt of the jaws is fantastic, with large bladed teeth visible along the edges and very cool details sculpted on the inside of the mouth, such as the tongue and multiple rows of replacement teeth. It looks pretty much perfect to me
Body: black wrinkled skin with yellow stripes, webbed claw hands and feet. His biceps and thighs are equipped with flattened appendages that look a bit like flippers. On the back, a large dorsal fin projects from a slit in the armour. Also, a long, thick tail emerges from the bottom edge of the armour and extends downwards; this tail ends with a vertical, falciform fin, in which the upper lobe is noticeably larger than the lower lobe, and seems like a completely new piece, despite being a partial reuse of Li-Meh-Zor's appendage
Wearables: a silver armour with purple details, two silver bracelets, two silver boots (which have a palmate structure, to match the webbed feet), a silver belt and a scaly purple loincloth.
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| Traark's stylised armour. |
Action feature
Like with other large-tailed characters, such as Li-Meh-Zor and Li-Gah-Tor, Traark's main feature is his frightening tail. The back armour, to which the tail is connected, is a separate piece that clips onto his back. The tail presents two articulation points - two swivels at about one-third and two-thirds of its length, which allow for plenty of poses.
Additionally, thanks to the articulated lower jaw, this evil creature's menacing mouth can swing open and snap shut to inflict lethal bites to his foes. But wait, there's more! In the comics Traark has the bizarre ability to shoot a hail of sharp teeth out of his mouth. So, the figure comes with a surprising cluster of eight "flying" fangs. Each tooth has a cool shark-like triangular, saw-edged shape and is held up by a slender clear curl of "air"; these air streams converge toward a pin that plugs into the open mouth tightly. The effect suggests that those teeth thrown by Traark are immediately replaced by a new set that has grown inside his mouth... quite spectacular!
Weapons and accessories
Besides the throwing fangs attachment, Traark comes with his badass purple arm cannon. The level of detail in this weapon is amazing. The upper part of the cannon fits around Traark's right forearm (there is an included handle for him to grip, so that it doesn’t slide around) and ends with what looks like a laser sighting device. Below that, there are a large six-barreled rotary gun and an additional side launcher that fires a spring-loaded missile via a small trigger. The guys at PoliganToys haven't even ignored the weapon's need for external power; in fact, the side launcher also works as the cover for the gun's chamber (not sure I'm using the right terminology) and can be removed to expose an electric drive motor, which actually turns, by means of our fingers of course, together with the barrel cluster. A source of ammunition hasn't been forgotten either; so, when the cover is removed, a band of ammo can be inserted into a feeder. The ammo belt is also a great piece, nicely sculpted and made of a pliable plastic that allows for tons of cool poses. When not in use, the arm cannon can be plugged into a hole on the armour, right next to the dorsal fin.
Overall, if I just wanted a marine reptile, perhaps this isn’t what I would expect. But Traark succeeds in being a great addition to the shelf, both for his striking appearance and his accessories. I don’t particularly like the decision to make the base of the tail and the dorsal fin one-piece with the armour, but the awesome design of the caudal fin makes up for it altogether.
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