A lot has happened in the world of Key Raiders during the first months of this year. Most notably, we have seen a few multi-packs, one of which (for me totally unexpected) includes the prototypes of an amazing vehicle and a giant robot. Now the reviews are getting back to simple figures.
PoliganToys sent out their 30th action figure prototype, so we are going to hit the ground running with the second-to-last Rexodon to enter the line - Kon-RauanTM!
Details
Name: Kon-Rauan
Subtitle: amphibious warrior
Classification: amphibian
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Affiliation: Rexodon
Rank: warrant officer.
Background
Kon-Rauan's only appearance is in the sixth KR comic issue Reptiles reunited, where he is presented as an extremely brutal creature, armed with strong legs that allow him to quickly reach enemies in battle. Once a member of a lacustrine ethnic group, Kon-Rauan was among the Rexodon army last recruits. Later, after Bi-Harr's death, he acted as a double agent within the Spektrosaurs and, although he is loyal to his faction, he was tempted to serve Lor-Drek temporarily. More openly fiendish than most of his Rexodon fellows, Kon-Rauan often aims at infecting his foes with his venomous skin and flogging them with his cleft sticky tongue.
Articulation
Standard, except that the wrists are ball jointed and the right hand is especially engineered with a hinge to hold an arrow.
Description
Head: similar to a frog, characterised by a wide shape, green skin with few white stripes and large protruding purple eyes
Body: green wrinkled skin with white salamander-like stripes, webbed hands and large webbed feet; each finger (three per hand) bears a pad (or disc) located on its tip, while each toe (four per foot) displays a claw
Wearables: a short, sleeveless red tunic, a golden shoulder/chest armour with red details, two red gloves, two red calf protectors, a red leather belt and a golden loincloth. The armour sports a quiver, which contains several arrows (not removable), on its back and a strange symbol on its front. The symbol looks like a sort of upside down crown, but it may represent a webbed three-toed foot with pads; the shape of the loincloth is an elongated, narrower variation of the same symbol. The right arm carries a studded silver armband, while each of the gloves and of the shin guards has three spikes sticking out of the side (these spikes are connected by a membrane, making the whole structure resemble the chest plate symbol).
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| Kon-Rauan's stylised shoulder/chest armour. |
Action feature
In the comics Kon-Rauan shows several abilities. First and foremost, thanks to his remarkably long and strong legs, he's an exceptional jumper. In fact, Kon-Rauan has new legs, which help render his stouter frame and are, from hips to ankles, 2 cm (almost 1'') longer than the standard figure's legs. This means that the figure is notably tall at full height, for example when posing in a jump action scene. However, he can be displayed in a crouching position, both to bring him to a more standard height and to give him a characteristic "froggy" posture.
Additionally, Kon-Rauan can shoot out and retract his sticky tongue at great speed, in order to, for example, take weapons away from his opponents. So, the figure comes with an alternative head, which displays squinted eyes, the open mouth armed with large teeth and the long, cleft pinkish tongue out. In this way the two interchangeable heads, one with tongue out and one with tongue in, make it possible to recreate the tongue extending/retracting action.
Last but not least, Kon-Rauan's skin has many glands, which often exude a toxic substance. This wasn't an easy feature to recreate, but the guys at PoliganToys found an excellent way to do it. The figure's gloved hands can be replaced with an alternative pair of bare hands, which have, besides studded silver bracers, a plume of greenish smoke spreading from the tip of each finger. A really nice touch!
Weapons and accessories
In addition to the swappable head and hands, Kon-Rauan comes with his nicely designed golden bow and fire wooden arrow. The arrow, which can be held by the special right hand, was originally meant to have a toxic point instead of fiery, by using the same greenish effect seen on the alternative hands. But apparently the colourist of the comic issue that features Kon-Rauan misinterpreted the plume as a flame and painted it red. At the end the mistake turned into a cool idea that has also been kept in the action figure and that's why we receive a burning arrow.
Also, we get a fun accessory, which is a clip-on insect, most likely a dragonfly, that can be attached to the extended tongue. The effect is really amusing!
Comic
Together with the action figure we get the sixth comic issue Reptiles reunited. Loghar, whose spirit possesses Herrion's body, summons some new warriors for his army and orders Kon-Rauan to contact Lor-Drek, the leader of the Spektrosaurs, in order to propose an alliance. The soldier must also act as his spy within the Spektrosaur faction. Lor-Drek doesn't want to subordinate himself below Loghar, but Kon-Rauan advises him to follow his orders for the moment and to rebel later. Meanwhile, Tir-Hing is upset because he feels his warrior skills are fading. He even struggles to defeat a training robot and has to be saved by his Troopers. When he is visited by a trustworthy looking guy, who claims that his village is under attack, Tir-Hing decides to lead a rescue operation. The Therioms try to save the villagers, only to find themselves attacked and knocked out by the Spektrosaurs - they fell into a trap. Now the Therioms, imprisoned in the Spektrosaur's headquarters, have to watch Loghar and Lor-Drek combining their powers to conquer Tahron. In reality, Lor-Drek's intention is to make Masq-Lor resentful enough to kill Loghar. Masq-Lor and a bunch of Theriom soldiers go to rescue their comrades. Once arrived at their destination, Masq-Lor manages to break into the base and cause enough confusion among the bad guys to free all the hostages. Their escape is interrupted by Lor-Drek, who attacks Tir-Hing, and Loghar, who, while confronting Masq-Lor, reveals that he's in reality a droid (like Deptilion previously) and not his twin brother Herrion. Tir-Hing manages to beat Lor-Drek, then he rushes to help Mask-Lor and decides the battle almost alone. The Rexodons are definitively defeated and Tahron is saved once more. Now the Spektrosaurs are the new menace.
Overall, Kon-Rauan is a great figure and a solid addition to the KR line. The newly sculpted legs give him a unique look that is only matched by his awesome interchangeable parts. I was "worried" that his non-reptilian appearance would make him stand out too much amongst his fellows, but at the end I’m happier to add him to the shelf than I thought I’d be.
The comic tells a nice story that teaches us something about the past relationships between the two reptilian factions. Also, the main focus in this issue is on character development. Tir-Hing is getting old, but he still can't forget when he was fighting for equity personally. Masq-Lor is once again a brave and smart warrior with a concern for justice and peace. Kon-Rauan acts both as a spy from Loghar and a rebel against him. Lor-Drek also gets some depths - at the beginning he's full of self-doubt, then, thanks to his wish to see her adoptive daughter Fai-Rha again, he proves himself a ruthless villain.
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