KR|Origin Review #10: Elkymor

The KR|Origin line keeps expanding by adding another new dual-action figure prototype (the eighth of the series) in the mix - Elkymor^TM!

A few words of explanation are necessary at this point. Both Elkymor’s and Myneran's origins come from the earliest days of Key Raiders. There were some drawings that accompanied the original idea, including a couple of sketches for what would later be Masq-Lor. Those Masq-Lor's preliminary designs featured many familiar themes, such as his signature helmet, the barbarian look of his first appearance and the more formal outfit of his Apprentice Minister variant, but they also featured a full-body suit of armour.

I'm very happy that PoliganToys’ upper management decided that Myneran and Elkymor had to be separate marketable parts of the KR universe, instead of being prototypical variants of Masq-Lor. Being distinct characters and having their own back story, these figures are ten times cooler!

Details

Name: Elkymor

Subtitle: deer-horned warrior

Classification: human

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Era: 520 years before Masq-Lor's time (now renamed Foundation)

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: service warrior.

Background

First appearance: KR|Origin #1 - An arduous venture

Brief bio: already a skillful hunter and fisher at a very young age, Elkymor learnt a different ability from each member of his tribe, and became a master of many combat techniques and weapons. When the word about his talent spread from the southern territories to the rest of Tahron, he was chosen by King Khon-Uhr^TM to help vanquish the reptilian army. Although his training among the Theriom ranks was relatively short, he quickly became one of the greatest of Khon-Uhr’s service warriors, battling the Reptonoids in any environment at any time and protecting the mammalian people from Bi-Harr's cruelty. Shortly after the king's and Kai-Xi's deaths, he joined his close friend Myneran in attempting to establish diplomatic relations with the reptilian enemies.

Articulation

Both figures have the standard articulation.

Description

In the comics, Elkymor wears a magic helmet that in certain situations gives him incredible abilities and changes his look. Despite the two figures represent the same character, they render the two alternative forms and appear very different. Although it's not clear whether these figures will be released individually or in a 2-pack, I'm going to describe them separately.

Normal form

Head: Eskimo features, light brown skin, longish black hair, brown eyes

Body: the arms are exposed and show light brown skin, while the legs are covered with brown furry trousers that display dark stitches at the sides

Wearables: a harness made of dark-blue leather and whitish bony elements (with the right shoulder-brace enhanced into a shoulder-protector), two metallic dark-blue bracelets, two brown leather armbands around the biceps, two dark-blue leather boots trimmed with white fur and two knee-length U-shaped front and back white fabric flaps joined by two series of silver discs laced together. The harness, which is retooled from regular Masq-Lor, carries a small bony inuksuk at the centre of the chest piece, an attached dark-grey fur covering on the back (seemingly connected to the front upper straps via two alternating light and dark brown ringed raccoon tails fastened with two long sharp teeth) and a large metallic dark-blue belt that fastens on the front with a skull-shaped buckle. The belt, which is actually attached to the cape, has some interesting details, with a flask filled with seal oil, a hook to retrieve game from the water and a pouch hanging from the sides.

Enhanced form

Head: similarly to Kai-Xi and Myneran, Elkymor wears one of the silver magic helmets, which in certain circumstances produces a copper half mask (or visor) and gives him incredible physical and mental powers, changing his appearance significantly. The figure comes with an helmeted head, characterised by the copper visor activated, fierce eyes and light brown skin around the mouth. The helmet also features two long yellowish antlers at the sides

Body: covered from neck to toe with a dark-blue&white armour, whose most components are reused from Myneran's suit

Wearables: a metallic dark-blue cuirass with pearlescent white details, two metallic dark-blue gauntlets, two metallic dark-blue boots with knee guards, two criss-crossed studded metallic dark-blue belts and two medieval-style pearlescent white armoured tassets. Besides these basic components, he wears various dark-blue&white pieces of armour to protect the rest of his body, such as shoulder guards, rerebraces and thigh guards. There is an impressive amount of intricate decorative features all around the various components of this protective covering; I especially like the small gem-ornamented Theriom emblems on the wrist and knee guards, and the little gaps here and there that reveal silver chain mail details beneath the armour. The cuirass displays a few inuit-inspired decorative patterns and a golden Theriom emblem on the breastplate. Elkymor also carries a translucent red cape, which fastens at the cuirass by two white leather straps next to the collar and sports a cool stencil-like dark version of the Theriom symbol on its surface.

Elkymor's stylised helmet with frontal crests.

Elkymor's stylised cuirass; the circle at the centre of the chest piece represents the Theriom symbol.

Weapons and accessories

Like with his pal Myneran, neither of Elkymor's forms has any action features. So, I directly jump to the accessory section. Elkymor includes three items: a unaq (i.e., a hunting/fishing tool), a halberd and an alternative head. The unaq is meant for the figure's normal form and is probably my favourite among the three accessories. It's a spear/harpoon with a long spiralling wooden shaft and a pointed bony tip; the tip is attached to a long rope (a string in reality), whose other end can be held by Elkymor's left hand. This weapon looks particularly nice when it's stowed in a loop on the back of the loincloth.

The enhanced form is equipped with a silver halberd, which is one of the four components of the Key (the one whose sawtooth blade is curved inward) and a shinier version of the halberd that belongs to Deptilion in the regular series.

Finally, there is an alternative head that displays a daring expression and wears the inactive helmet, i.e., with neither the copper visor activated nor antlers. This head works as the necessary bridge between the unhelmeted and the helmeted-with-visor heads.

Overall, Elkymor kicked off May with a bang. I’m a little disappointed with the total lack of action features, but that doesn’t interfere with my appreciation for this dual-figure. He is just too well done. The sculpt of both forms, even if with so much reuse, is spot-on and the paint applied over that is fantastic. I look forward to the future of the line - I want King Khon-Uhr! If he's going to be as good as Elkymor, that’s a win for all the potential collectors of this line.