KR Review #58: Sphenorat

Time to get the weekend started off right. This time I'm reviewing the figure of a character that I feel is one of the more menacing Spektrosaur members - Sphenorat^TM!

With his face hidden by shadows, aside from three freaky glowing eyes, this 45^th action figure prototype from PoliganToys really looks surrounded by a halo of mystery.

Details

Name: Sphenorat

Subtitle: dark-magical ghost

Classification: spirit of a lepidosauromorph reptile

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Spektrosaur

Rank: sorcerer.

Background

Sphenorat's first appearance is in the sixth KR comic issue Reptiles reunited. In life, Sphenorat served as a wizard-priest to Bi-Harr alongside his fellow sorcerer Loghar. The fierce competition between the two warlocks led to Sphenorat's death, after which he raised to a bursting spectral form through a black magic spell. When Lor-Drek left the reptilian army to form his own faction, he promised Sphenorat great power in return for mystic secrets and help in overthrowing both Bi-Harr and the Therioms. The wraith-like wizard agreed to betray the reptilian general and joined forces with Lor-Drek. Using his mastery of witchcraft and his ghostly enhanced abilities, Sphenorat strikes terror into his enemies.

Articulation

Standard down to the waist; due to his robe piece, there is no leg articulation.

Description

Head: covered with a large loose ragged headdress seemingly made of a coarse, rough dark-brown fabric. This cowl also covers the neck and face, only allowing three yellow eyes (the third eye is on the forehead) to be seen on a dark background. On the top, the hood bears three red lines forming an array of crescent-shaped markings, while on the back it tapers to a comb of tips that slightly resembles a spiny crest

Body: cloaked from neck to toe. His arms are covered by long, wide torn dark-brown sleeves, while his hands show a sickly clawed, skeletal appearance, blue-green skin and black nails

Wearables: a long, loose torn dark-brown sackcloth, a large red pendant (resembling the triple-crescent symbol on the hood) on a chain around the neck and a long, thick light-brown cord (with a red tassel at either end) used to fit the garment around the waist. The robe does a great job of blending in with the cowl and especially the sleeves, under which we can glimpse two red bracelets. He also wears a tattered dark-red (I would call this colour "burgundy") cape, which has a high standing collar and is fixed to the front by a light-brown string. This mantle fades to translucent towards the jagged bottom and is removable.

Action feature

In the comics, Sphenorat, being a spectre, has several ghostly powers, such as appearing and disappearing at will and passing through solid obstacles thanks to his impalpable consistence. Of course those abilities couldn't be recreated in the figure, but at least his hands can glow in the dark, giving him a bit of a spectral feel. Additionally, there is an alternative head that is also GITD. This head is similar to the regular one, except that the face is completely exposed and the cowl is removable. The face looks amazing - I think it is supposed to resemble a tuatara, but it's flattened in order to acquire a more humanoid appearance. It has a blue-green GITD skin, three yellow eyes with vertical slit-shaped red pupils and a slightly open mouth that displays a number of sharp white teeth. By removing the hood, two small pointy ears and a large wound (perhaps the cause of his death?) in his wrinkled, bumpy scalp are revealed.

To render his ghost-like nature farther, Sphenorat also comes with a clear stand, so he can be displayed in a floating pose. The stand works great and, similarly to The Deity, has a ball joint on the end.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the alternative head and the stand, Sphenorat comes with two accessories. First is his mystical sceptre, which has an impressive design. It is a wooden staff topped with a horned reptile eye. The eyeball has a similar appearance to Sphenorat's eyes and is made of a translucent amber plastic with a tinge of red here and there. The whitish horns feature some great detail work and glow in the dark.

The second accessory is a spell book. I’m not sure whether this book actually shows up anywhere in the comics, but I love its design. It's pretty detailed with a small metal plate on the front cover and some neat sculpted symbols (including the triple crescent seen on the hood and pendant) running along the front and back.

Overall, Sphenorat is surely a pretty good figure. I had some reservations before I received it, but they melted when I saw him in person. I can see that the guys at PoliganToys gave him a lot of love and attention. The two heads and the accessories are beautiful, and everything, from sculpt to paintwork, almost perfectly duplicates the add-ons that came with Koptros. In short, I couldn't have a better opinion about this figure.

KR Review #57: Reptile Masq-Lor

While during the final months of this year we'll see mostly unique characters who have not had a chance to get a figure yet, there are still a few variants waiting for being part of the KR collection, whose overall expanse is becoming more and more impressive.

Even though the new iteration of Masq-Lor that I'm going to review is a bit of a departure from what we have seen in the past, I am glad I finally got this prototype. Behold Reptile Masq-Lor^TM!

Similarly to the Steel Monster versions of Deptilion and Loghar, this 44^th action figure prototype from PoliganToys is obviously a different take on a high-profile character. Personally, I think Masq-Lor's reptile form is really, really cool.

Details

Name: Reptile Masq-Lor

Real name: Desion

Subtitle: dragon-toothed warrior

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

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: leading warrior.

Background (with spoilers)

Masq-Lor's only appearance in his reptile form takes place in one of those KR comic issues that haven't been printed yet but I had the chance to preview. This story shows the hero's ability to tap into the power of the Spektrosaur amulet, which was donated to him by Lor-Drek right before being killed during the Cereutian invasion. Masq-Lor is tasked with journeying into the past of Tahron, in order to prevent a revived Deptilion from ruling for centuries by constructing a fortress where the multiversal walls are destined to be built. After learning Deptilion's real demonic identity, at first Masq-Lor fights his foe by appearing heroic as usual, but then transforms into a reptilian warrior and leads the Therioms into victory. Thanks to this new power, Masq-Lor is able to defeat the threat of a different history.

Articulation

Standard, plus a hinged lower jaw, a pair of ball hinged wings and a tail that features two swivels at about one-third and two-thirds of its length.

Description

Head: slightly similar to Lor-Drek's dragon/Spinosaurus head, characterised by a long and narrow snout, dark-green skin, large sharp teeth along the edges of the jaws and a faintly forked tongue sculpted on the inside of the mouth. The figure wears Masq-Lor's trademark helmet, which in this case displays some unusual details in the covering, such as a metal cranial crest and a pair of metal pointy ears (each ending in a rather long, curved dark horn), and in the visor, such as a scaly texture, an ochre (i.e., light brownish-yellow) colour and a pair of intimidating large solid red eyes

Body: dark-green scaly skin, claw hands. On the back of his newly sculpted torso, similarly to Lor-Drek, he bears an ochre neural spine sail, a pair of large bat-like wings (without tears and holes), and a long, thick tail emerging from under the loincloth and ending with a dark-green zigzagged point. The wings and the tail are painted in dark-green on the underside and ochre on the upper side.

Wearables: a big gold necklace with a very detailed medallion carrying the Spektrosaur symbol, i.e., a greenish flame, on the back of the distinctive Theriom symbol, two golden bracelets, two golden boots, a golden belt and a brown scaly loincloth. The wrist guards and the belt are great updates of the respective pieces seen with Lor-Drek and are shaped to resemble reptile heads, while the boots are reused from Combat Masq-Lor.

Action feature

Although being probably the coolest (or at least the most peculiar) Masq-Lor's variant would be satisfactory enough, we get a little add-on. Like with other versions of the Theriom leading warrior, a pair of brownish claws can snap into each bracelet, to simulate the retractile claws seen in the comics. The only difference is that in this case the pairs of claws are more similar to the pincers seen with Alterok.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the grasping claws, RM comes with an exact replica of his regular release's enhanced sword, characterised by the threefold silver&gold blade and the bronze hilt. Additionally, there is a brick block that matches the design of the fortress seen in the comic issue and is intended to hold the sword vertically thanks to a small slot.

Also, the team at PoliganToys has decided to give the figure an additional head and a pair of reptile arm attachments that are meant to be used with regular Masq-Lor (or perhaps with his Apprentice Minister variant) to simulate a mid-transformation stage. The alternative head shows the helmet with the reptile visor activated plus some hints of the metal ears and crest, as well as the human mouth at the beginning of its mutation into a prognathous and toothed snout. The reptile attachments snap on Masq-Lor’s forearms and look enough like RM's bracers and clawed hands, but they are definitely too big and their entire underside is necessarily left open with no additional detailing.

Overall, I think this is a great figure and, aside from the too big reptile arm attachments, I really dig it. The sword holder is also fine and works as it should, but it is not at all exciting on its own. I look to be getting several surprises throughout the final part of this year and if they are all as solid as this one, we'll be in good shape. This figure opens a lot of doors and it makes me think that the rumour that an official Key Raiders release will be announced in a couple of weeks has some merit to it.

KR Review #56: Koptros

Yes, I’m missing review deadlines. And I can see the effect - traffic is down. It’s not that terrible, but still...

To compensate for my slightly long absence, here is the review of a long-awaited prototype - Koptros^TM!

Koptros has been one of my most anticipated figures in the line. The novelty of being a retired member of the Theriom faction always made him look interesting to me.

There is a lot to like on the sculpt of this 43^rd action figure prototype from PoliganToys. He has a few new pieces that all look sharp. Getting the figure right, anyway, was all about the head and the defining action feature that comes with it. The guys at PoliganToys needed to make it right. And they did!

Details

Name: Koptros

Subtitle: knowledgeable auxiliary

Classification: human

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: formerly marshal of the Theriom air force; expert in astronomy, communication engineering and espionage.

Background

Koptros appears in the exciting KR comic double-issue The Cereutian menace, where he plays a crucial role in discovering Denortos' evil plan. The descendant of an ancient engineer, who masterminded the construction of the multiversal walls, and a former member of the Theriom air force, Koptros left King Li-Khon's army after a battle injury and found peace in a remote astronomical observatory on the Gumazir^TM plateau. Although he is dedicated to a solitary and contemplative life in his hermitage, when he is called to protect justice, Koptros is still available to assist his one-time fellows with the help of all the skills and technology at his command. In particular, using his talent for disguise and telecommunication, he can act as a double agent in the reptilian armies.

Articulation

Standard, except that the wrists are ball jointed.

Description

Head: Native American features, dark brown skin with a reddish tinge, long box-braided black hair partly arranged in a ponytail, brown eyes

Body: dark brown skin with a reddish tinge. The exposed parts of his torso, arms and legs are covered in coloured tribal tattoos, which even glow in the dark to some extent. Also, his chest and back are mildly hairy

Wearables: a silver harness with red details, two silver fingerless gauntlets with a few studs around the wrists, two silver boots fastened with criss-crossed leather laces, a silver belt with some bullets all the way around and red trunks. The harness features a number of tubes along the straps and an electronic panel on the front. The gauntlets, the boots and the belt show an overlapping-plate structure with a hint of technology. He also carries a silver backpack, which, together with the harness, kind of resembles Sei-Lha's battling gear.

Koptros' stylised harness.

Action feature

Koptros is equipped with a hyper-technological backpack, which probably has a similar origin to Sei-Lha's one. Fictionally, this backpack can produce a number of tools, some of which are included as accessories with the figure. These silver&red tools, which can plug into two sockets on the top and the side of the backpack, include a rod-shaped antenna for radio communications, a rotating radar dish for land surveying, a corded gun-shaped loudspeaker for sounds and voices simulation, and a corded gun-shaped 3D scanner.

In the comics, the backpack also has the ability to produce a disguise, especially a mask, after performing a 3D scan of an enemy by the apt handheld device. So, the figure comes with six interchangeable faces that can be stored inside the backpack. To change Koptros' face, it's necessary to remove the hairpiece, rotate the head by 180°, connect the new face to the exposed socket and reattach the hairpiece. There are six faces, two of which show Koptros' regular visage with additional details: a sort of virtual reality visor and a headset (with a visible earpiece and a mouth shield-like microphone) respectively. Three other faces have been added, I suppose, for fun and resemble Masq-Lor, Deptilion and Mor-Rak respectively (Masq-Lor's face is the only one that may work well with Koptros' body and hair). But the most important face is the one that resembles Sphenorat^TM, the Spektrosaur three-eyed wizard, because this is the disguise that Koptros uses in the Downfall episode. The camouflage can be completed with an additional brown cowl that replaces the hairpiece, two alternative emaciated reptilian hands and a slightly pliable poncho-like brown robe (as a result, the arms are covered by a pair of loose sleeves only on the front side and are stuck in a preset position). It's pretty amazing to get a forthcoming figure lookalike even before the regular prototype is ready! But I'm not going to describe this guise in detail, since the real Sphenorat will be reviewed soon.

Weapons and accessories

Aside from the backpack tools, alternative faces and camouflage outfit, Koptros comes with his manifold laser pistol. This metallic red gun has three interchangeable terminal parts: a single-barreled piece (with three silver blades projecting from it), a double-barreled piece (each barrel is placed at one end of a curved horizontal silver blade, slightly making the pistol resemble a crossbow) and a triple-barreled piece (one of the three barrels, which are positioned at the apexes of a triangular pattern, is actually a spring-loaded missile launcher). Additionally, the double-barreled component can be reversed, to show a horned reptile eye, and then connected to a wooden shaft, in order to mock Sphenorat's sceptre. Now, that's a nice touch!

Overall, although this is a great addition to the KR line, Koptros is a middle-shelf figure. Don't get me wrong, I’m delighted that Koptros is finally upgrading my shelf, there’s really a lot to like about him, but he just doesn't deserve the front spot. His look is unique enough that he will still pop. He received a great head sculpt with a cool feature and I think the PoliganToys designers couldn't do better than this. My only complaint is about the poncho solution for the additional robe. I'm afraid it doesn't really match Sphenorat's cloak from the comics and, more worrying, from the upcoming action figure. Maybe a fabric robe (perhaps reversible, to get even more display options) would have served as a better strategy to really enjoy it.