KR|Origin Review #20: Al-Mih-Tek

After taking a short review break, I’m back today with a look at the prototype of a figure that I'm sure a lot of people would love - Al-Mih-Tek^TM!

As the 17^th action figure (as a matter of fact, a dual-action figure) prototype in the Origin series, I gotta say I actually like the guy. He's another great addition to the Theriom faction and, even though I don't find him as appealing as Ki-Shudan or as novel as Galamars, I’m enjoying having him all the same. So, let’s take a look at Al-Mih-Tek.

Details

Name: Al-Mih-Tek

Subtitle: daring architect and inventor

Classification: human

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

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

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: commander; chief science officer.

Background

First appearance: KR|Origin #2 - Battle for Tahron: Part I – The journey begins

Brief bio: a member of a grouping of nomadic peoples who historically inhabited the dry valleys of Harir^TM, Al-Mih-Tek stood out in his clan for his great intelligence and inquisitiveness. Sent to study under many great inventors, scientists and archaeologists, he was devastated when his eldest mentor was killed by Bi-Harr after stealing his immense knowledge and vowed revenge. Armed only with an interactive encyclopedia and a sophisticated head-mounted display, Al-Mih-Tek spent years scouring the desert regions of Tahron in search of legendary relics he had learnt about, until he arrived at a burning rift and discovered few of those prodigious crystalline artefacts. Eventually settling in Theriom City, he lived with single-minded determination planning Bi-Harr's defeat and created his greatest invention, an instrument that in the future would be known as the Antikythron^TM and that he initially conceived as a weapon but, unbeknown to him, could also harness energy to control the forces of nature. Later, when the Therioms decided to build the multiversal walls, Al-Mih-Tek was appointed head architect of this great task and also helped construct the Trinergon^TM devices. During an epic battle against the Reptonoids, the Antikythron, combined with Cereutian power, transformed him into a mighty warrior made of stone; hunted for his powerful creation, Al-Mih-Tek was forced to jettison the Antikythron, so that his life would no longer be in constant danger.

Articulation

Standard.

Description

Head: Middle Eastern features, brown skin with a pale blue tinge, bald scalp, blue eyes and a five o'clock shadow on the chin and face. He wears a dark-blue (with glitter added to the plastic to achieve a silver-decorated look) removable headdress similar to a tagelmust, which consists of a piece strapped over the head and a second piece plugged on top of the first: the former includes a mouth veil, while the latter has the appearance of both a veil and a turban, and includes a cord-shaped silver headband seemingly keeping the headdress in place

Body: brown skin with a pale blue tinge

Wearables: a copper shoulder/chest armour with dark-blue details, two fingerless copper gauntlets with a few studs around the wrists, two armbands made of silver plates laced together, two copper boots fastened with criss-crossed leather laces, an orange sash tied in a knot (with the ends hanging down between the thighs) and a dark-blue skirt. The gauntlets and boots are reused from Koptros, while all the dark-blue parts have, like the headdress, a silver glittery effect.

Al-Mih-Tek's stylised shoulder/chest armour.

Action feature

In the comics, at some point Al-Mih-Tek discovers by accident an incredible power of his antikythron. This power allows him to transform into a giant warrior, who is made of the building material used to erect the multiversal walls. So, included with the daring architect and inventor is his post-transformation alter ego, a huge stone-made being.

This figure is nearly 23 cm (around 9") tall, which means that despite it "contains" an adult person, it's not larger than Titanic Fighter Mor-Rak. The body is designed to look like being composed of actual stones from the two walls, showing lots of details such as cracks and crevices, and has as much articulation as the standard figure. The paint is mostly black wash and highlights on the grey limestone and tan sandstone parts.

His torso, which somehow reminds me of a Greek temple, includes the hips made of a step-like component, the abdomen composed of vertical elements similar to pillars and the chest formed of a structure resembling an entablature. The legs are similar to two elaborate columns, while the arms look like circular stone towers. The head is topped with a dome-like golden structure, while the face, which bears a slight resemblance to Al-Mih-Tek's real visage, displays cube-like features and deep-set dark-brown eyes.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from his enhanced form, Al-Mih-Tek comes with a plethora of accessories. First of all, the legendary antikythron, the instrument that Mor-Rak uses in the regular series to combine himself with the forces of nature and become a powerful warrior. Back then, its origin was unknown, but now we finally learn that it was engineered by Al-Mih-Tek several centuries ago. Like the version that came with Mor-Rak, this antikythron is a short metal staff characterised by an interesting technological design. However, it lacks the baldric (although the two loops, to which a strap could be tied, are still present) and shows a few other differences. The silver&metallic-blue handle is designed in such a way that the weapon can be held either vertically or horizontally (in the comics, Al-Mih-Tek mostly utilises it as a blaster). The part near the handle displays six large coloured buttons plus a few smaller copper switches and sliders all the way around. The top metallic-blue part is fictionally composed of five pieces that can open (in an upside-down umbrella fashion) to reveal the machinery inside; also in this case, this feature hasn't been reproduced in the toy accessory and instead we get three interchangeable snap-on top pieces, which are the closed, the open inactive and the open energised version respectively. The open inactive form shows the five sides spread out and a central axis, on which three short horizontal coaxial silver arms hold one vertical coloured crystal each (in the comics, depending on the orientation of these components, the device generates a different power); all these pieces, i.e., the whole top part, each coaxial arm and each crystal, spin vertically and individually via swivels. The energised version carries a well designed glow-in-the-dark energy vortex/blast at its centre and also spins.

In addition, the guys at PoliganToys tossed an alternative version of the antikythron in the package, which represents a prototype model of the instrument. This is slightly larger than the standard version and looks pretty different. It has a copper base instead of a handle, while the part near the base looks unfinished, leaving several wires and electronic components uncovered. The top part is in its open inactive form, showing the five copper sides spread out and a central silver axis, on which three short horizontal coaxial red arms hold one vertical coloured crystal each; again, all these pieces (i.e., the whole top part, each coaxial arm and each crystal) spin vertically and individually via swivels.

Moreover, the figure includes a few items related to Al-Mih-Tek's desert exploration days: a pair of close-fitting eyeglasses with side shields, for protecting his eyes from glare and dust, an alternative single-piece removable headdress and his scientific tome. The goggles are really well done, they fit on the head perfectly (with or without the regular headdress) and stay put thanks to two small notches on the figure’s temples. The alternative headdress incorporates the dark-blue veil (which has the same silvery glitter of the default headdress, but only covers the head and not the mouth) with a circular augmented-reality device that comprises a translucent visor covering the eyes and a pair of black earphones joined by a silver band placed around the head. Finally, thanks to its snake-like folded structure, the book snaps open from either side and can be held in the hands of the figure; the cover is worn but emblazoned with mysterious symbols on both sides, while the inside pages bear lenticular stickers and printed pictures of meaningful historical events along with a sculpted bookmark.

Overall, Al-Mih-Tek was very much on my radar for getting a figure in the KR|Origin line and now that I have him, I like him a lot. He makes for a great hero and really helps bolster my collection. Both his forms are sharp and very well constructed figures and, to me, they seem like they have some of the best engineering and quality that I have seen in a long time. All of the plastic is solid, the joints are tight, the colours are accurate throughout, the paint work is clean and the accessories are fun. In a word, awesome!