KR Review #37: Staurok

The Rexodons can finally count themselves as an almost complete faction thanks to the addition of a long-awaited member - Staurok^TM!

So far the Rexodons have been some of the most fortunate recipients of PolyganToys' creativity in the KR line and their (mostly) reptilian designs have been beautifully rendered. Let’s see if this 29^th action figure prototype keeps the trend going.

Details

Name: Staurok

Subtitle: multi-horned warrior

Classification: archosauromorph reptile

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Rexodon

Rank: lieutenant.

Background

Staurok makes his only short appearance in the fifth KR comic issue The factory of doom. Before Bi-Harr created his reptilian faction and challenged the mammalian forces, Staurok was the tribal chief of a ceratopsian clan, which often conducted raids and loots in neighbouring villages. After Bi-Harr's army had consecutively killed two Theriom kings, the reptilian leader enlisted Staurok to track down pockets of resistance around Tahron. With his dreaded crown of horns, Staurok is still one of the most menacing Rexodon soldiers and is ready to challenge the Therioms over and over again.

Articulation

Standard, with the addition of a ball jointed extra neck piece and a hinged upper jaw.

Description

Head: similar to a ceratopsian dinosaur, most likely a mix of a Triceratops and a Styracosaurus, characterised by bumpy blueish skin with few orange blotches, and yellow eyes. He bears several large horns, whose colour fades from orange to white to black: a single horn protruding from his snout (above the nostrils), a pair of horns above the eyes and three long horns extending from each side of his large bony neck frill. The underside of his throat displays a small beard-like black structure, which might be a reference to a reptile often known by the common name "bearded dragon"

Body: blueish (a blue neither light nor dark) scaly skin with orange blotches, claw hands and feet; his shoulders, forearms and calves are adorned with several bony bulges covered in skin, which, where needed, project through openings in his worn items

Wearables: a dark-blue armour with yellow details, two dark-blue bracelets (with elbow guards and knuckle protectors), two dark-blue boots (without claw protectors and with two yellow fur rings at the top of each boot), a dark-blue belt and a tattered yellow fabric loincloth. The chest plate looks like made of two broken pieces that have been joined by a poorly executed diagonal weld and shows a strange electronic device at its centre. The back armour is adorned with a number of spikes that kind of resemble his horns, while the belt carries an array of pockets on the back. He also wears golden pairs of shoulder and thigh pads.

Staurok's stylised armour.

Action feature

In the comics Staurok has the ability to deal nasty multi-horned assaults to enemies and obstacles. The action figure presents an interesting double ball-jointed neck, meaning that both his head and neck extension are on ball joints. This definitively adds to the feel that Staurok is hunched over and also gives him an extended range. Surprisingly, the complex shapes of the two pieces don't hinder the movements at all - he can look in all directions, in particular he can bend his head forward in order to crush his opponents.

Additionally, thanks to the articulated upper jaw, Staurok's mouth can open and chomp down to inflict deadly bites to his foes.

Weapons and accessories

Staurok includes two accessories. First is his yellow multi-purpose weapon; this has two perpendicular handles, so it can be held either vertically or horizontally and displayed as a silver-tipped spear, a silver-bladed axe (by turning it upside down) or an energy whip (by connecting a clear light-blue plastic attachment to the end near the axe blade). Due to the fact that the handle is placed in the middle of the long shaft, when grasped horizontally the weapon can only be held effectively below the forearm, if you know what I mean; however, the spear piece can also be detached, so that the energy whip can be held more comfortably, like a gun. The weapon has a neat technological design and I wonder if the device on the chest armour works as a sort of remote control for it. I only wish the whip had been made of pliable plastic instead of rigid, but the wave-like shape it is cast in helps to add to the effect of a vicious lash anyway.

The second accessory is a nice addition to the figure - a silver rack that fits firmly onto the two supraorbital horns and carries two yellow pivoting cannons.

Overall, among all the Rexodons that I have looked at recently, Staurok got a decent figure, but he just doesn't strike me enough. I like him better than Li-Gah-Tor, but not as much as Traark. The head sculpt is fairly menacing (I was afraid he would end up coming out a little goofy) and the usual bulk is covered by an interestingly designed armour. I think what I’m not happy about is his odd colour scheme, although it really comes alive on this figure. Still, he’s a welcome addition to my shelves.