KR Review #47: Aktahnor

I'm gonna come clean right now – Aktahnor^TM isn't my favourite KR character. I have a thing for reptilian guys, so I wasn’t looking forward to this figure as much as some of the others.

But I knew that if this 37^th action figure prototype from PoliganToys had turned out to be well executed, then I could change my mind. Well, I am happy to say that he is pretty close to perfection and I really believe he is one of the best Spektrosaur fellows we've gotten yet.

Details

Name: Aktahnor

Subtitle: aquatic warrior

Classification: osteichthyan

Sex: hermaphrodite (but he appears as male)

Home: Semhadar^TM

Affiliation: Spektrosaur

Rank: commander.

Background

Aktahnor makes his only appearance in the seventh KR comic issue The siege of Erlokat, where he is presented as a one-time midshipman of the Semhadrian navy. Like all the inhabitants of the island city-state of Semhadar, Aktahnor is best known for having the ability to breathe both deep underwater and on the surface world. He was expelled by his own people from the island after his disastrous attempt to lead a battle against a rival marine tribe that almost culminated in the destruction of the Semhadrian fleet. He then chose to answer the evil call to arms of Lor-Drek, after the reptilian army had divided into two factions. Thanks to his allegiance with the Spektrosaurs, Aktahnor now ranks as a commander, a position that he would unlikely reach while serving in the armies of Semhadar.

Articulation

Standard, with the addition of a tail, which is composed of 12 ball jointed pieces and can work as an auxiliary limb.

Description

Head: similar to a seahorse, characterised by blue-green skin, a long snout, two large fins located on either side and resembling ears, and large spherical pink eyes with small dark pupils. He also sports three orange spines (on his nose, between his eyes and on his head) and a number of yellowish barbels (two on either side of the mouth, two extending from the nostrils and four very short located on the chin). The round mouth is equipped with a number of small whitish teeth surrounding a cavity, similarly to a lamprey

Body: his blue-green skin is stretched over a series of bony plates with spiny appendages, which are arranged in rings throughout his body, giving a general segmented, armoured appearance. He also displays webbed hands and feet with black claws, a jagged dorsal fin projecting from a slit in the armour and a spectacular curled prehensile tail emerging from under the loincloth (he has no caudal fin though). Two interesting surprises about Aktahnor's body are found under the removable armour. First, the torso is the standard scaly one seen on many reptilian figures, but features two shinier lines running down each side, from the armpits to the waist; this is probably a reference to the lateral line sensory organ usually present in aquatic vertebrates, which enables Aktahnor to sense minute vibrations and electric fields produced by nearby enemies shrouded in mist. Second, he carries an extra neck piece that fits right on top of the body (it is glued on, but it might be possible to pry it off if one had will to do so) and shows a bony operculum on each side, behind which I guess the gills are hidden

Wearables: a yellow armour with light-green details, two yellow gloves (which leave the claws and palms exposed, showing a nicely detailed scaly skin texture), two yellow calf protectors (with instep guards), a yellow belt and a ray fin-shaped light-green loincloth. The armour, the gloves and the shin guards are equipped with spiky ray fin-shaped ornaments, which cover the shoulders and protrude from the forearms and the calves respectively. Additionally, the armour displays a triangular light-blue aquamarine gemstone at the centre.

Aktahnor's stylised armour.

Action feature

In the comics Aktahnor has the ability to spray tiny water droplets out of his mouth, to create a thick mist that shrouds his enemies and restricts their visibility. So, the figure comes with a translucent milky-white spraying effect that plugs into the end of his tubular snout. This attachment is actually the fourth repaint of the same effect we've already seen with Nibeon (in blue), Steel-Monster Deptilion (in green) and Blomok (in orange), and, to be honest, I'm starting feeling a bit tired about it.

Weapons and accessories

Besides the mist attachment, Aktahnor comes with his peculiar trident-speargun. The gun looks like a placoderm fossil, consisting of many greenish interconnected armoured plates. The part that once covered the fish's thorax fits around Aktahnor's right forearm (there is an included handle for him to grip, so that it doesn’t slide around); the head/mouth portion works as a barrel and holds the shaft of the extremely well designed golden trident (with converging barbed prongs and a starfish motif at the base of the central prong), which is a separate piece and can detach from the weapon, but there is no spring-loaded mechanism unfortunately. Additionally, the speargun can be stowed by connecting it to Aktahnor's dorsal fin via a slit at the base of the weapon.

Overall, although Aktahnor isn’t a favourite, I really do find him to be one of the nicest figure in the Spektrosaur lineup so far. When he arrived with his sculpt, his colours and his weapon, something got me. Everything just went together to make this a great "front of the shelf" addition for me... and I wasn't expecting that!

KR Review #46: Blomok

What’s exciting about the KR line is how well done some of its figures are. And Blomok^TM is no exception.

This 36^th action figure prototype from PoliganToys has got a unique look and is going to really stand out on my shelf.

Details

Name: Blomok

Subtitle: fire-breathing warrior

Classification: lepidosauromorph reptile

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Spektrosaur

Rank: brigadier.

Background

Blomok only appears briefly in the seventh KR comic issue The siege of Erlokat. A lizardy warrior from the extreme desert in the dry valleys of Harir, Blomok was among Bi-Harr's first recruits when the evil general formed his reptilian army. He fought alongside Bi-Harr for several centuries during the war against the Therioms, slaying many mammalian adversaries in hand to hand combat. Eventually, Blomok eagerly joined the Spektrosaurs, after Lor-Drek had expressed the intention to enlist him in an attempt to boost his forces against his former fellow soldiers. Using his fire-breathing power, Blomok has become a daunting enemy of all the other factions involved in the conflict for conquering the Key.

Articulation

Standard, plus one articulation point on the tail (a swivel about mid-length).

Description

Head: similar to a thorny dragon, characterised by light-bluish skin with a few horned reddish scales at the top, including two particularly large spines above the orange eyes. The mouth is open and shows some nicely sculpted details, such as the tongue and numerous sharp teeth on the inner sides of the jawbones. Something really cool about this figure is that the head features a false face on the back; this is realised with a full (except for two spiny "eyes") copper covering that gives the illusion of a dragonish/devilish face. I don't know whether the purpose of this double sided head is to present the false face to potential attackers from behind or to flip it around and make it appear as if Blomok has worn a mask for battle, but I like it!

Body: light-bluish scaly skin, claw hands and feet. His arms, legs and tail are entirely covered with an intimidating array of sharp, conical reddish spikes

Wearables: a silver armour with orange details, two silver gauntlets, two silver boots, a silver belt and a scale armour (i.e., consisting of several overlapping copper plates laced together) loincloth. One spike on each shoulder and thigh is equipped with a copper covering that is tied to the limb and bears a few battle marks and scratches; the metal covering on the right leg is also accompanied by a sort of holster for his weapon. Additionally, beneath both gauntlets and boots he sports a layer of chain mail, while the loincloth portion on the back extends downwards to cover almost half of the tail, but without inhibiting its one-joint articulation (most of the tail is permanently attached to the pelvis piece).

Blomok's stylised armour.

Action feature

In the comics, Blomok is capable of breathing a large stream of fire at his opponents. So, the figure comes with not one, but three different translucent orange plug-in flaming effects for his mouth. Two of them are repaints of other attachments we've already seen with previous figures, namely Nibeon and Traark. The former resembles a plume of fire, while I'm not really sure what the latter is supposed to be, because it was originally made of "flying" teeth... perhaps sparks? The third effect, the nicest looking in my opinion, is completely new and takes the form of three rather large fireballs.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the flaming effects, Blomok includes one accessory, which is his copper pickaxe. This has a quite long handle and a curved bar attached perpendicularly at the top; the "head" has a sharp point at one end and a large chisel edge at the other, making the whole thing looking like a deadly combination of a kama and an adze.

Comic

Together with the action figure we get the seventh comic issue The siege of Erlokat. The Spektrosaurs attack Erlokat^TM, the stronghold of the Independent Warriors. In spite of its inhabitants' resistance, the reptilian forces take control of the fort. With this siege, Lor-Drek wants to get the attention of his estranged adopted daughter, whose desertion caused extreme suffering to him. However, Fai-Rha is not present in the citadel. An independent warrior named Ramalik manages to escape and to reach Theriom City, where he informs Tir-Hing about the Spektrosaurs attacking Erlokat and Lor-Drek holding its people as his prisoners. Masq-Lor and other Theriom soldiers form a rescue squad to make sure that Fai-Rha is safe and to free the fort. There, Lor-Drek and many Spektrosaur troopers await them. In addition, the evil leader deploys several of his best recruits into the surrounding environment. The Therioms succeed in entering the fortification, but Lor-Drek's army proves to be too strong even for them, who must regrettably abort the mission. During their retreat, Masq-Lor loses his helmet, but Fai-Rha, on her way back to Erlokat, finds it. Finally, the two siblings reunite and try to regain control of the citadel. While Fai-Rha saves the hostages, Lor-Drek attempts to capture her, but Masq-Lor overcomes him in the very last moment, forcing him to fly away.

Overall, I love Blomok! Here we have a figure with a great sculpt and some sharp paint applications that absolutely puts it in a class all of its own. I would like a little more articulation at the tail and some more original accessories, but I still like the level the guys at PoliganToys stopped at.

I'm very happy about the comic too, it definitely ends up as a great addition for my KR collection. At last Lor-Drek gets the attention that he deserves. He's not just Bi-Harr's one-time buddy, but a hugely cruel leader and a suffering adoptive parent.

KR Review #45: Ultra Deptilion

Since I reviewed Ultra Masq-Lor, I've strongly hoped to get this version of Deptilion fairly soon and PoliganToys didn't disappoint my expectations, producing its prototype very quickly.

So, let’s take a closer look at this 35^th action figure prototype from PoliganToys - Ultra Deptilion^TM!

Details
Name: Ultra Deptilion

Real name: ***SPOILER WARNING (to read, select the following text)*** Ir-Ash

Subtitle: monstrous enemy

Classification: uncertain

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Destructomorph

Rank: chief marshal.

Background

Like in the case of Ultra Masq-Lor, Deptilion's only appearance with his Ultra equipment takes place in a KR comic issue that hasn't been printed yet, but I had the chance to preview. After being rescued by Bi-Harr following his nearly deadly defeat in the Bay of Sortok and foreseeing a betrayal by the Rexodon leader, Deptilion magically escaped in the extra dimension of Cereutis^TM. There, his crumbling skeleton was upgraded by technological parts via a nano-metal coating. Now back on Tahron, a regenerated Deptilion leads his all new group of Cereutian aliens against the Therioms and, after decimating most of Tir-Hing's army, succeeds in conquering the Key. However, his plans of supreme power are interrupted when he is confronted by his old enemy Masq-Lor in an arena between the multiversal walls. Although both are enhanced by the power of the Key transferred into the prodigious Trinergon^TM weapon, only one will be victorious in this climatic duel.

Articulation
Standard.

Description

Head: like with Ultra Masq-Lor, this figure's head takes a turn in terms of look from other variations of Deptilion. It still displays dried-out livid skin and two whitish tusks that look like a handlebar moustache, but, unlike previous versions, a silver skull (rather than bony) with some cyber details is visible in the spots where the flesh is worn-out, especially on the left side of the face. Additionally, the empty eye sockets look a bit wider and their usual red glow is due to two pieces of translucent plastic glued on instead of the application of fluorescent paint, while the orange teeth seem to protrude even more from his diabolical mouth, giving a general creepier appearance. He also wears a broad-brimmed black hat (something between a sorcerer's, a cow-boy's and a gangster's hat), through which his two whitish horns emerge. The hat can be removed thanks to two slits in the brims (which allow the horns to slip through), revealing that the top portion of the head is cut open. The exposed inside of the skull shows the same silver cyber make-up seen on the face and a multitude of dark-green snakes, which are fictionally the same that come out from Deptilion's eyes, mouth and neck in the regular release, and are now just crowded together in his seemingly empty cranium

Body: his arms, legs and torso show livid skin, but in some spots, especially on the left side of the body, the flesh is worn-out and, like with the face, his silver cyber-skeleton loaded with wires and tubes becomes exposed. He also exhibits, apart from claw hands and feet, his two signature dark-green snakes wrapped around the right calf and the left forearm. This time, however, the snakes are smaller than usual and are not separate pieces; instead, they are sculpted and painted on his boot and gauntlet respectively and only have their pliable neck and head portions detached from Deptilion's body towards his knee and elbow

Wearables: a black harness with vac-metal copper details, two black gauntlets, two black boots, a black belt and a porous-texture black loincloth. The two-piece snap-on harness is identical to Ultra Masq-Lor's one, but features a different shiny reddish Key-inspired symbol on the front; the gauntlets, the boots and the belt have various orange techno-embellishments here and there, such as on the knuckles and around the wrists, on the instep and knee guards over the boots, and on the buckle of the belt (the latter looks like a long-toothed robotic skull). The right arm is protected by a two-piece clip-on armour, which is cast in translucent red plastic and decorated with a few solid orange circuitry patterns. On the back of the harness, UD carries a technological backpack, which is identical to Masq-Lor's one. The right side of the pack has a holster to store Deptilion's trinergon weapon, which looks like a metallic-orange rifle with two translucent blue blades at the end of two opposite sides of the barrel; the blades, like the harness symbol, resemble two of the four components of the Key. The weapon has a cord that runs to the backpack where it is permanently attached.

Ultra Deptilion's stylised harness.

Action feature

Well, there's actually no need to get into the details of the action feature, since everything works exactly like with Ultra Masq-Lor. The only addition is that I can finally try the infrared battling gimmick, which, I've to say, works great!

Weapons and accessories

Also in this case, if you're not a fan of the bulky battery-operated gear, there is a great set of accessory to display this Deptilion variant differently. The set includes an alternative armour, a shoulder guard and several weapons.

Despite being completely black, the demon-faced armour looks stunning, also thanks to a ton of very detailed sculpted cyber-ornaments. The shoulder guard seems mainly made of leather and is decorated with a number of whitish spikes that resemble Deptilion's horns and tusks, and a shiny blue Destructomorph symbol at the centre. It also has a black cape attached to the back; the two sides of the cape's upper portion slide through the shoulder guard and tie at the neck with a big knot.

Masq-Lor must be jealous, because UD's weapons are a lot! First, there is a sabre, which is an all-translucent red version of the weapon that came with Deptilion's regular release; the hilt resembles the Destructomorph symbol and the slightly curved blade can be inserted in a loop on the back of the shoulder guard. Then, he has a leg holster designed to accommodate for a pistol and a loose fitting belt where he can hang a large submachine gun with a round drum magazine. All these are separate black pieces that can be repositioned to our liking; the leg-strap also works as a bandolier and has visible power bullets ready for reloads. Finally, there are two silver bladed knives that can be stored into two loops on the front of the armour at the level of the abdomen.

Additionally, like with Masq-Lor, we get the nice-to-have loose translucent blue energy double-blade, which is supposed to be thrown by the trinergon.

Ultra Deptilion's stylised alternative armour and shoulder guard; the oval at the centre of the shoulder guard represents the Destructomorph symbol.

Overall, the sculpting and attention to detail of this figure are amazing. But it's the IR fighting gimmick that makes both Deptilion's and Masq-Lor's Ultra variants awesome. It is so well-realised that it would negate any potential design flaws. For the moment, the Ultra figures are just an interesting footnote in the KR line’s progression and, finally, an interactive toy... we only need a comic book with their story!

KR Review #44: Spektrosaur Troopers

My second review about the newest faction in the KR line deals with another great army builder set that I was sure would come soon - the Spektrosaur Troopers^TM!

This eighth multi-pack (a 2-pack, to be precise) prototype from PoliganToys gives me the chance to start assembling Lor-Drek's army, while waiting for the main characters.

Details

Name: Spektrosaur Troopers

Subtitle: creeping troopers

Classification: lepidosauromorph reptiles

Sex: male and female

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Spektrosaur

Rank: corporals.

Background

The Spektrosaur Troopers first appear in the sixth KR comic issue Reptiles reunited. These lizard-like warriors were originally selected to serve Bi-Harr as foot soldiers in his newly formed reptilian army. When centuries later Lor-Drek decided to live Bi-Harr's military force and to take up the fight for claiming Tahron on his own, several battalions of troopers chose to align with him. With their agility and thrashing tails, these corporals are now devoted members of the Spektrosaur faction and fight loyally in the armies of Lor-Drek against the heroic Therioms.

Articulation

Standard, except that wrists, calves and tails are ball jointed, and there is a hinged tongue in each open-mouthed head. The female figure lacks the hinged abdomen.

Description

Heads: both figures' heads have a similar appearance to a common iguana, characterised by scaly yellowish skin and purple eyes. While the male character has his mouth closed, the female one displays her mouth wide open, showing sharp teeth on the inner sides of the jawbones and a fairly long forked tongue that is actually articulated (it can move left and right on a little disk set at the back of the mouth), which is a very nice touch. Each of the two troopers wears a red helmet with purple details and has an extra dewlap piece that fits right on top of the body, around the neck (it is glued on)

Bodies: both figures show yellowish skin, but the body structures are very different. The male trooper is essentially Li-Gah-Tor in construction, with his scaly texture (except for the smooth abdomen, which is also painted in a more greenish colour) and large ridges that run down the sides of the limbs. The female trooper is very distinctive in appearance and has a lot of new parts that make up a more slender frame; she also displays a wrinkled skin, rather than scaly, and a more orange paint on the abdomen. I really like this new reptilian sculpt and I hope to see it again in future female figures. Each trooper has a row of extended brown spines, which support a sail, along their back; we have already seen something similar with Lor-Drek, but this spine sail is much larger and is a completely separate piece that snaps into a socket on the back. This structure helps to protect the troopers from attackers in battle, but I also like to imagine it as a means to regulate their body temperature... aren't they lizards after all? Also, each figure has a long, thin yellowish tail, which is a separate piece emerging from under the loincloth and is painted in a different colour on the underside (greenish for the male character, orange for the female one)

Wearables: each trooper wears a purple shoulder/chest armour with a diagonal scaly red strap (the size and shape of the armour are adapted to the type of torso and the female version is not removable), purple bracelets, purple calf protectors, a purple leather belt and a red fabric loincloth resembling a forked tongue. The armour displays the Spektrosaur symbol, i.e., a greenish flame, on the left side, while the strap gives the illusion of fastening on the base of the spine sail. Additionally, both are equipped with scaly green spaulders and wicker thigh pads.

Spektrosaur Trooper's stylised helmet.

Action feature

The two figures in this multi-pack are actually representative of the two main kinds of Spektrosaur Troopers seen in the comics, which I'm going to call the gecko type and the basilisk type. The former has the ability to climb any kind of surfaces with extreme ease, while the latter is capable of running across water for significant distances. The difference between the two types lies in their hands and feet: the gecko kind has large finger and toe pads, which in this multi-pack are displayed by the male figure, while the basilisk kind has webbed claw hands and feet, which are carried by the female figure here. One of the coolest details is that the webbed hands/feet are cast in clear plastic, so the painted hand/foot is opaque, but the webbed portions are translucent. The great thing is that these figures' wrists and calves are ball jointed, so it is totally possible to mix and match their hands and feet, allowing for plenty of display options. By the way, the heads are also swappable and look great (and in no way disproportionate) on both figures.

Furthermore, their whip-like tails, which can be used to deliver painful strikes, are made of bendable plastic and make this pair even more intimidating. In the comics, when grabbed by the tail, a trooper can allow it to break, so he/she can escape (while the tail has a life of its own for a while) and eventually regenerate a new one. In fact, each figure's tail is detachable (a little flap on the loincloth was also created to cover the exposed hollow) and can be connected to a sort of handle, which is armoured with few spike-like projections that resemble the neural spines, in order to become a whip.

Spektrosaur Trooper's stylised armour; the circle at the side of the chest piece represents the Spektrosaur symbol.

Weapons and accessories

Aside from the two whip-tail handles, the Spektrosaur Troopers come with two weapons accessories, two additional pieces of armour and two alternative heads.

The weapons are my favourite pieces of the bunch, the guys at PoliganToys did a great job designing these. Each weapon is an atlatl (or spear-thrower), which consists of a reddish wooden shaft and a white bony spear. The shaft resembles a snake coiled around a stick, whose head at the end of its bent up neck supports and propels the butt of the spear. I love the curvy, forked tongue-like spear coming out of the snake mouth. Conveying the atlatl mechanics with words is quite complicated, but you can get a clear idea by looking at this awesome visual description. Anyway, that's how the troopers use the weapon in the comics, while in reality the spear, though it's a separate piece, is not designed to be "fired", unfortunately. But, if it's any consolation, it glows in the dark.

The extra armour pieces are sturdy belts designed for displaying these guys as members of Bi-Harr's army. These belts are much larger than the standard non-removable ones and have a purple crocodile skin look. Each one is also decorated with silver studs and a red reptile-eye symbol at the centre. These two pieces have a really neat design and look great on both figures; my only complaint is that there’s no way to remove the Spektrosaur symbols on the chest plates, so it looks like the two troopers, when they wear the belts, belong to two factions at the same time, which doesn't make much sense.

As a good army builder, this 2-pack also comes with two alternative heads. While the faces are identical to the regular ones, the most noticeable difference that make these heads unique is the fact that they are unhelmeted. The open-mouthed one shows a flatter gecko-like head, while the closed-mouthed one has a high basilisk-like crest on its head.

Overall, the last troopers of the KR line finally got their due. I’m really happy with this 2-pack, both the figures look great on the shelf and are definitively cool characters to add. I love army builders in general, especially when they offer mix and match possibilities and I am so very pleased that this set does. If this toy line really goes to market, PoliganToys will have to do a higher production run on this one, because I guess a lot of fans will want multiple sets for building up their lizardy army.

KR Review #43: Ultra Masq-Lor

It might be a very obscure figure from the KR line, but the variant of Masq-Lor I'm going to review can certainly make itself very distinct by means of lights and sounds.

Not only this 34^th action figure prototype from PoliganToys has been sent to me before any appearances in the comics (the only precedent is CoBoN's robot mode), but also, for the first time ever, its action feature requires a battery.

So, let’s take a closer look at Ultra Masq-Lor^TM!

Details

Name: Ultra Masq-Lor

Real name: Desion

Subtitle: undefeatable sabre-toothed warrior

Classification: human-primivod hybrid (but he looks completely human)

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: leading warrior.

Background

Masq-Lor's only appearance with his Ultra gear takes place in a KR comic issue that hasn't been printed yet (and has no title either) but I had the chance to preview... I'll try not to spoil it too much. In the middle of a new attack to Theriom City and after decimating most of Tir-Hing's army, a revived Deptilion succeeds in conquering the Key, paving the way to his dominion over Tahron. Finding themselves at the edge of a downfall, the Therioms desperately invoke the Deity, who is responsible for maintaining balance between conflicting forces, to seek mediation. Eventually, Masq-Lor and Deptilion meet in an arena between the multiversal walls. Though both are enhanced by the power of the Key transferred into the prodigious Trinergon^TM weapon, only one will be victorious.

Articulation

Standard.

Description

Head: this figure's head actually has some departures from the original design for Masq-Lor's helmeted head. It still shows the sabre-toothed visor activated, metal cat ears, fierce feline eyes and light brown skin around the mouth, but also displays a silver bar covering the "nose" at the centre of the visor and a much squarer lower jaw

Body: the arms and the torso show light brown skin with black-tawny ocelot stripes (no colour change feature), while the legs are covered with light-blue trousers that have some cyber details and a pocket on the left side

Wearables: a black harness with vac-metal silver details, two black gauntlets, two black boots, a black belt and a golden armoured loincloth. The two-piece snap-on harness looks quite bulky and features a brand new shiny silver Key-inspired symbol on the front; the gauntlets, the boots and the belt have a very different design compared to previous Masq-Lor's releases and bear various silver techno-embellishments (towards the fingers of the gauntlets, around the soles of the boots, and on the buckle and the sides of the belt), which give the figure a bit of a space feel. The right arm is protected by a two-piece clip-on armour, which is black and decorated with a few silver mechanical components. On the back of the harness, UM carries a technological backpack, which has a ton of small sculpted details, including a sort of meter. The right side of the pack has a holster to store a peculiar weapon, the trinergon, which looks a bit like a silver rifle with two translucent yellow blades at the end of two opposite sides of the barrel; the blades, like the harness symbol, resemble two of the four components of the Key. The weapon has a cord that runs to the backpack where it is permanently attached.

Ultra Masq-Lor's stylised harness.

Action feature

At some point in the comic issue that hasn't been printed yet, Masq-Lor and Deptilion start hurling glowing blades at one another inside a kind of arena. The aim of this "dodgeball" battle is to hit the opponent with a double-bladed energy disc, which is produced by the backpack and thrown using the trinergon, in order to reduce his energy supply. The two warriors fight either by flinging those blades directly at each other or by bouncing them off the walls or ceiling of the arena, and they can avoid attacks either by jumping out of the way or use their own trinergon as a shield to absorb the energy of the oncoming blade. All this is brought to life thanks to the very first electronic gadget seen in the KR line. The equipment requires an AA battery that must be put in the backpack, which afterwards fits onto the figure together with the harness. I think the arm covering had originally been intended for concealing the cable that carries the power to the weapon, but this solution was eventually discarded because too impractical; I honestly don't mind the cord being out and the arm pieces still look like shielding Masq-Lor from the energy of the trinergon when it's in his hand. By pressing on a trigger-button at the top of the backpack, several things happen. The translucent blades light up, first in a pulsating mode, then continuously, and an energising/throwing sound is activated. The blades stay illuminated for a few seconds, then the light goes off. That's it for now, but when a similar Deptilion figure is released, there will be more going on - by switching on the light&sound feature, an infrared beam is also sent from one backpack to a sensitive target on the other figure's backpack, like with a remote control (the IR transmitter and receiver are located over the figure's shoulders and there is also a guide spot that helps aim). If the IR signal connects with the targeted figure, a vibrating mechanism inside the backpack is triggered and makes the figure fall.

Weapons and accessories

The guys at PoliganToys probably thought that the bulky battery-operated gear wouldn't be everybody's cup of tea. That's why they included a small set of accessories to display this Masq-Lor variant in a more traditional way. The set includes an alternative armour, a shoulder guard, and his signature sword and claws. While the armour is quite simple and painted in black with vac-metal gold details, the shoulder guard has a more complex design to it. It seems mainly made of leather, but has a dark fur shoulder pad on the right side and a silver pauldron on the left side, and fastens at the neck by two big silver chains that hold a shiny golden Theriom symbol at the centre. It also has a large leather scabbard attached to the back, into which the sword's blade can be inserted.

Speaking of the sword, this is an all-gold repaint of the enhanced sword that came with Masq-Lor's regular release and, despite its monochromaticity, looks pretty cool to me. Finally, a pair of long brownish retractile claws can be attached to each gauntlet, similarly to Masq-Lor's regular version.

Additionally, we get a loose translucent yellow energy double-blade, which is supposed to be thrown by the trinergon thing. Not that useful in my opinion, but I don't disgust it.

Ultra Masq-Lor's stylised alternative armour and shoulder guard; the oval at the centre of the shoulder guard represents the Theriom symbol.

Overall, even if the electronic feature is not my bag. there is actually a lot to love here. The figure looks great in both versions, either with the trinergon gear or the more traditional outfit. The new face sculpt and the personality that comes with it work perfectly as a bridge between the two styles. This figure will definitely be the most fun to play with when I also get its Deptilion counterpart, because that will give the electronic feature the best chance to express its potential. So, stay tuned for more stuff later.

KR Review #42: Torp-Tor

This first May figure has never been on my short list of prototypes I’d like to review. I don't know, I simply never found him interesting enough. But now that Torp-Tor^TM has showed up, I’m definitely glad to be proven wrong.

Torp-Tor is the 33^rd action figure prototype I received from PoliganToys and the last member of the Rexodons, which is now the only complete faction among the four Key Raiders groups.

Details

Name: Torp-Tor

Subtitle: air-combat warrior

Classification: archosauromorph reptile

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Rexodon

Rank: flying officer.

Background

Torp-Tor's only appearance is in the sixth KR comic issue Reptiles reunited. Once the evil leader of a dynasty of gliding reptiles who lived on the western cliffs, Torp-Tor engaged with his people in a long war against the Therioms for conquering Tahron. After a series of defeats, he was convinced by Bi-Harr to put aside his desire for supremacy and join the Rexodon army, in order to work together. Both a tough warrior and a skilled engineer, he often leaves his technical duties to fight in the airspace above the battlefield. Torp-Tor's massive wings and powerful jet engines give him the ability to move through the air at an incredible speed, which he uses to reach his mammalian enemies and then attack with his destructive weaponry.

Articulation

Standard, with the addition of a ball jointed extra neck piece, a hinged upper jaw, a ball jointed tail (which features two articulation points, two swivels at about one-third and two-thirds of its length) and two hinged wings.

Description

Head: similar to a pterosaur, perhaps a mix of a Pteranodon and a Pterodactylus, characterised by yellowish skin, a narrow, backward-projecting cranial crest, and blue eyes. The jaws form a long, slender beak with a full complement of large sharp teeth visible along the edges. Thanks to the articulated upper jaw, Torp-Tor's mouth can open and show the tongue sculpted on the inside; to be honest, I'm not a fan of hinged upper jaws, they look kind of awkward to me. This, after Zourr and Staurok, is the third time we've got something like that and I hope it's also the last one. I understand that there may be engineering reasons behind the decision of which jaw should be articulated, but I just think hinged lower jaws look much better. Both his head and neck extension are on ball joints, which not only give him a slightly longer neck, but also make it possible for him to look in all directions

Body: yellowish scaly skin with purple blotches, claw hands, feet with large black talons. His biceps and thighs are equipped with small, sturdy skin appendages that look a bit like wings and might work as stabilisers. On the back, a pair of large wings projects through the sides of the armour; these wings are formed by membranes of yellowish skin with purple blotches and are sustained by two long brown bones (each with a protruding claw in the middle). Also, he has a long, thick yellowish tail that ends with a diamond-shaped purple vane; this tail is a partial reuse of Li-Gah-Tor's appendage and is a separate piece that snaps into a socket under his loincloth

Wearables: a dark-blue armour with light-blue details (including a cool pterosaur motif on the chest plate), two dark-blue bracelets, two dark-blue calf protectors, a dark-blue belt and a light-blue metal loincloth.

Torp-Tor's stylised armour.

Action feature

In the comics Torp-Tor is a jet-powered air soldier, who can perform different tasks in combat, such as air-to-air fights and airstrikes. Apparently, his wings are just leathery structures suited to a gliding style of flight rather than active. For that reason Torp-Tor wears a rocket pack (equipped with two massive turbojet engines) on his back. Two joystick-looking devices can be held in his hands and fictionally used to control the jet pack, to which they are connected by means of two cables. The wings (which are somewhat flexible and, in case, removable) are articulated on hinges at the sides of the jet pack and can move back and forth, allowing the figure to simulate a kind of wing-flapping action.

Torp-Tor is armed with an impressive assortment of weapons. A metal mount is implanted in the centre of the surface of each wing and connected by a (sculpted) wire to the jet pack; each mount bears a pivoting triple-barreled gun on the upper side of the wing and a detachable rocket-assisted bomb on the underside. Also, by pressing a fin on the bottom part of his jet pack, a spring-loaded mechanism opens a hinged cover on the top part, revealing a double-missile launcher; in fact, one of the two missiles is a trigger that, when pressed, fires the second missile. I think this is the first time a KR figure features two back-to-back spring-loaded mechanisms, which is pretty cool.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the already mentioned bombs and missile, Torp-Tor comes with a small selection of accessories. First up is a triangular shield cast with the Rexodon symbol, i.e., a reptile skull. The shield is completely painted in light-blue, except for the skull's eye sockets that are red, and is designed to fit over Torp-Tor's left bracer, since his hands are busy holding the joysticks to control the jet pack.

Additionally, we get two propulsion-blast effects, for either the jet engines or the rocket-assisted bombs, and a flight stand. The latter is mostly made of clear plastic, but has an excellently sculpted and painted base with a stone-and-steel appearance and lots of incomprehensible symbols on it; it clips around Torp-Tor's waist and allows for various flight poses, also thanks to its single point of articulation and the figure's extended range of head movement (he can look forward when displayed horizontally).

Overall, even with a balance issue due to his heavy wings/jet pack/weaponry, Torp-Tor is an amazing figure, mainly thanks to his design, which made a real impression on me, and great use of additional points of articulation (except for the upper jaw). I really think he may be the best KR figure of the month, and not just because it’s a great translation of one of the most complex designs to this toy line so far.