KR Review #69: Kinod

Another week has come and gone, and with it we have another KR review. With the rush to fill out the prototype roster before the year ends, PoliganToys chose to plug October's last slot with Kinod^TM!

I have some mixed feelings about this 53^rd action figure prototype. The character looks great on paper, but, in my opinion, is a little lacking in practice.

Details

Name: Kinod

Subtitle: thorny warrior

Classification: mutant holopodian^TM*

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Affiliation: Destructomorph

Rank: holopodian mutant commander.
*Holopodians are fictional large-sized echinoderms with some characteristics that are shared with crustaceans.

Background

Kinod's only appearance is in the 11^th KR comic issue Herrion's ordeal. Originally belonging to a spawn laid by a holopodian, an endangered species of giant echinoderms, Kinod and his fellows were created by Demo-Rha after submerging the unhatched eggs into an enchanted pool found in Dekropolis' understructure. The mystic water mutated the brood's genome, transforming the holopodian offspring into a ferocious army. During Demo-Rha's attempt to overtake Tahron alongside Alterok, many of these mutant soldiers were also fused with fearsome spike-studded and multi-pronged weapons for battling against the Therioms. Banished from Dekropolis after the defeat of most of Kinod's army, the surviving holopodian mutants are now outcasts who wander along the borders of Tahron.

Articulation

Standard, except that the left wrist is ball jointed.

Description

Head: his star-shaped, bumpy blue head has five "arms", which radiate from a central disc and are connected by a membrane. The top and the two bottom arms bear three curved sharp whitish horns pointing forwards, while the two remaining arms exhibit two evil pinkish eyes. The central disc carries the mouth, which is made up of five whitish jaws with a small tongue-like black structure within. The back of the head is protected by a dome-shaped black shell, which seems composed of bony plates and is covered with long, thick sharp glossy-black spines

Body: pinkish skin (which bears a number of projections in the form of porous warts), star-shaped claw feet. His right arm sports a claw hand, while the left arm ends with a steel hydraulic device that shows some great details, such as wires, pistons and tubes. His limbs and back are equipped with five separate black shell clip-on pieces, which have the same bony, spiny appearance of the head piece

Wearables: a light-blue armour with dark-blue details, two light-blue bracelets with star-shaped studs (the left one is concealed by the hydraulic attachment), two light-blue boots (each with a spiky top), a spiky light-blue belt and a dark-blue gorgonian-like loincloth (reused from Colotros).

Kinod's stylised armour.

Action feature

In the comics, when Kinod is in danger, he folds over and turns into a spiny globular form, to roll into battle and drive back attackers. The figure did not retain this bending down feature, but, instead, its back, arms and legs are covered with spiny shell pieces that can pop/clip out and connect to an included extra piece. The sea urchin form is then completed simply by placing the detached figure's head on top, to seal the remaining hole. I couldn’t quite get the head to fully submerge, so there is a part of the spiky ball popping out a little bit, but this is probably due to the fact that the head piece doesn't actually attach to it, but just rests on top, which is a bit disappointing. Other than that, I have to say the effect works pretty well.

Kinod is also equipped with a five-pronged silver weapon that extends and contracts from his left arm. The feature requires two interchangeable pieces to accomplish: the retracted and extended versions of the weapon. Both pieces plug into the hydraulic component and are very well designed; the shrunk form looks like an elaborate spear tip, while the lengthened-broadened (and even spinning) form slightly reminds me of an egg-beater... of course more badass!

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the extra spiny fragment and the two arm attachments, Kinod comes with a cool assortment of accessories. First of all, his signature flail, which comprises a metallic dark-blue haft connected by a long real metal chain to a spherical silver-spiked dark-blue striking end, looks great.

In addition, the guys at PoliganToys tossed a few alternative pieces in the package, so that Kinod can match his fellows' styling. I never thought I would consider displaying that, but now that I have the chance, I am giving it a serious thought. The set includes a head, a back armour, a plain left hand and a number of weapons. First of all, it's necessary to remove all the spiky shell pieces, since Kinod's soldiers have a more "naked" look, except for their heads. In fact, the alternative head consists of a spherical bivalve black shell covered with spines and partially open, whose serrated opening allows a pair of evil green glowing eyes to peek out. The alternative back armour is also a black shell, but instead of being covered with spikes, it displays four strips that run down its length and bear comb-like bands of seemingly vibrating translucent light-blue hairs. The comb rows originate from an eye-like dark-blue decoration situated at the top part of the shell, while a pair of long pliable pinkish tentacles (each fringed with little filaments and ending in a bony tooth-like structure) emerges from the sides of the shell and projects forwards over the shoulders. Since the hydraulic arm attachment is a separate piece too, this can be removed to display the figure with two regular hands. As a further option, there is a selection of dark-blue&silver plug-in weapons for the left arm, which includes a rigid whip, an elaborate bow-shaped sword blade, a shield (which looks a little like the rotating arrangement of blades of a fan to me) and a spiked striking ball. The last accessory is interesting, because it may be replaced by Kinod's flail (whose haft can also plug into the arm) in order to simulate an extending/retracting feature of the same weapon. Of course, one can mix and match all these parts in various ways to create more original characters.

Comic

Together with the action figure we get the 11th comic issue Herrion's ordeal. At Theriom City, Herrion is slowly becoming accustomed with his new life. The Therioms are informed of a group of holopodians (i.e., giant marine creatures) attacking a coastal village. The heroes travel to the site, to save the villagers from the dangerous situation, and manage to force the holopodians back to the shore where their mother, the queen holopodian, has laid a large number of eggs. Herrion, who took part to the mission, is upset because of his very limited role in the operation, due to the fact that the helmet he received from Elykta, unlike his sibling's ones, didn't activate. During the night, Herrion feels urged by a mysterious force to wear again the helmet, which turns him into a monster. Under Demo-Rha's control, Alterok (this is how the monster calls himself) walks to the strand with the holopodian spawn. The two steal several of the queen's eggs and when the mother attacks, Demo-Rha traps her. The eggs are then magically dispersed over Tahron and the witch orders Alterok, after erasing his memory, to change back to Herrion. The day after at Theriom City, a crashing sound is suddenly heard from outside. The troopers investigate and they find a holopodian's egg on the residence grounds. The egg hatches and a baby holopodian appears, growing to full size in a matter of seconds. The creature attacks the people present, but Masq-Lor and Fai-Rha tackle and restrain it. Meanwhile, other soldiers report that several holopodians have invaded many parts of the territory. The Therioms plan a new mission, but when Herrion rushes to wear his helmet, he turns into Alterok again and hides inside the residence. At Dekropolis, Demo-Rha gains great pleasure as baby holopodians grow to full size and cause panic all across Tahron, while the Therioms reach as many locations as possible and confine the creatures. The witch journeys to Theriom City and upon arrival is welcomed by Alterok. Together, they seize the remaining Therioms inside the premises and overwhelm Tir-Hing outright. Masq-Lor and his entourage return to Theriom City just in time for Demo-Rha to seal the perimeter with a wall of fire. Clued by an armour ornament lost by the enchantress, Masq-Lor and Fai-Rha decide to reach Dekropolis, where they hope to find an explanation for what is happening. There, they confront an army of mutated holopodians and defeat them quickly. Masq-Lor has the idea of attaining the help of the queen, now freed from Demo-Rha's restraint, to extinguish the fire at Theriom City. He sends Fai-Rha back to the residence, where all the holopodians unite and thrust their collective jet of water against the fire, freeing the citadel. The Therioms regain control and attack Demo-Rha and Alterok, but the two manage to escape riding a giant bird and fly to Dekropolis. There, Demo-Rha commands Alterok to confront Masq-Lor and the two battle inside the fortress. When Alterok falls off the edge of a precipice, Masq-Lor grabs his hand and saves his life, causing a huge conflict of feelings inside him. This helps Herrion to separate himself from the evil entity within and turn back to his good human form. Demo-Rha disappears and Masq-Lor fights back the demon with enormous difficulties. Suddenly, the queen holopodian surprises the demon and kills him by destroying the ground beneath him. Herrion recovers and realises that the evil essence left by Deptilion is not part of his personality any more and he cannot be a threat again. Together with his brother, he watches the holopodians walking towards the sea, to return to their home.

Overall, I feel like Kinod is a good figure, but for some reasons I’m just not very excited about him. I think one factor is definitely all the hindering going on. His spiny armour can definitely make for a challenge while posing. Even without it, his head only seems to be able to look down comfortably, but other than that there’s no added bonus. I’m also a bit disappointed this wasn’t a two-pack with the holopodian mutant as a separate figure. Some of the best figures in this line are army builders. While that would make the pack more expensive, I also think the commander&soldier pair would go a long way in adding to its value.

About the comic, a bit rivalry between the good and the bad guys, some new characters, some morals - there we have another episode. It may not be too original, but it's a very gripping story, both entertaining and well drawn. And I love characters that have multiple personalities!