Toy prototype details
Name: DakunTM
Subtitle: sagacious shaman
Line: KR|Dimness
Item type: action figure - Nº 1 in the line.
Character details
Name: Dakun
Classification: human
Sex: male
Relationships: father of Solamya; descendant of Myneran
Home: Tahron
Era: 5 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Forseha
Rank: tribal chief; shaman.
Background
First appearance: KR|Dimness #1 - Into dimness: Part I – Awakening
Brief bio: born in the reclusive jungle tribe of the Forseha terramare settlement, in his youth Dakun was the strongest hunter in his village. Though not gifted as a shaman naturally despite his mystical ancestry, he was fascinated by the supernatural, and committed himself to the practice of the shamanic arts and their effects upon his people, quickly learning to distinguish the good from the evil spirits. To quench a long running epidemic, Dakun quested to the furthest slopes of Mount Atubion, to find an enchanted fungus that could produce a powerful remedy. To succeed in his quest, he fought and defeated several of the Lava Sentinels that guarded the volcano; to honour his great deed, the village made him their leader and soon he proved a fair and honest chieftain, whose devotion knew no equal. During a time of turmoil due to territorial disputes in the area, Dakun rose to prominence among the various tribal chiefs, preaching peaceful respect and cooperation, an ideology in conflict with the then-hostile jungle clans. Eventually, he rescued a child who he recognised as Masq-Lor, the hero prophesied to end the war between the mammalian and reptilian peoples of Tahron, and taught him how to survive in the harsh jungle environment and to protect himself from the wrath of potential enemies. These skills soon turned out to be crucial when the peace of the Forseha tribe was plagued by the vengeful Wordron and his army of Plant Creatures.
Articulation
Standard, except that the wrists are ball jointed.
Description
Head: Indigenous Brazilian features, olive brown skin, long grey hair (which is combed back from a strongly receding hairline with a widow's peak), a bushy grey unibrow (which extends much beyond the eyes and splits at either end), hazel eyes, long, thin grey moustache (ornamented with beads) and a longish, thick grey beard. He sports a band of light-brown raffia fibre tied around the head with three light-blue feathers tucked through the back
Body: the exposed parts of his body show olive brown skin
Wearables: a thigh-length dark-brown tunic with V-shaped light-blue decorative patterns, a dark-brown leather wrist guard fastened around the left forearm using two black leather straps, a dark-brown leather strap wrapped around the wrist and part of the forearm plus a light-brown bark armband on the right arm, and two dark-brown leather boots with wide flat light-brown laces and furry turndown lapels. The sleeveless garment is made of two rectangles of linen that are stitched together from the sides to form a cylinder, leaving two openings near the top for the arms; the cylinder is gathered around the waist with a light-brown raffia fibre belt (equipped with a large bronze buckle bearing the Forseha emblem, i.e., a seven-petalled flower that vaguely recalls a Plumeria, and with a silver-studded dark-brown leather piping to which four light-blue feathers -two at each side of the buckle- are attached by means of bronze rings and hang down in front). The buckle holds a fairly long strip of light-blue fabric that is partially sewn to the lower part of the tunic along its sides. Additionally, he wears a removable cape made from cream-coloured fur that is darkly marked with both large blotchy spots and wide stripes. This coat probably used to belong to an animal similar to Dhar-Wun, although the piece is not flocked; the two sides of its upper portion are joined with a string that is chocked full of all sorts of little pendants, such as spiky bones (or perhaps pointed teeth...), beads, shells and even a small skull.
Action feature
In the comics, Dakun is portrayed as both the wise leader of the Forseha people and, despite his old age, a skilled hand-to-hand combatant. So, PoliganToys gives us the possibility to display the figure in two different configurations: a chief look and a combat look. The former has been described above, while the latter is easily obtained by removing the cape and adding a wooden pauldron that has an attached shoulder belt. The pauldron is beautifully carved with tribal designs, while the shoulder belt is made of various tangled vines, and includes a sheath and a sculpted pouch. I have no idea what would be in the small bag, but the knife is removable and looks like it’s made of stone.
Additionally, Dakun is regarded as having access to the supernatural world in order to practise divination and healing. To mimic his ability to heal small wounds and injuries with his hands, there is a pair of translucent swappable hands, which are in a kind of spell-casting pose and glow in the dark.
Weapons and accessories
Other than his removable cape and pauldron and his healing hands, Dakun includes a double-bitted axe, which is composed of two deer antlers tied with a length of brown rope to the top of a long wooden haft. A metallic light-blue blade is mounted onto each antler and I like that the two blades have similar shapes but slightly different sizes. With this weapon, Dakun definitely looks like he could do some serious damage to his opponents.
Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦ Dakun is one of the more interesting characters created for the Dimness series; he’s also a leader and mentor for Masq-Lor, and if he hadn’t been produced, there would have been a glaring empty space on my shelf
Articulation: ♥♥♥ He is a little hampered by his outfit, but otherwise movement is quite sufficient. After all, we can't expect too much from an elderly guy...
Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣ Well, like his daughter, he wears a little bit too much brown. On the other hand, he's got a lot more facial detail than most KR figures, mainly because of his wrinkles and beard
Accessories: ♠♠♠ The guys at PoliganToys could have made use of a flocked ormurid robe, since that exists as of this line. Also, since his staff is rather stiff, he has difficulty holding it well and care needs to be taken not to bend or break it while forcing it into his hands
Playability: ♪♪♪♪ After a year of military/tech-themed figures, we finally have characters who return to KR’s fantasy roots! Dakun is one of them and, in fact, he could work as a generic barbarian/sword-and-sorcery figure in any toy lines
Overall: ☺☺☺ This figure might seem to be a poor offering compared to last month's multi-pack feast, but I had high hopes for Dakun and he even turned out better than I had expected. Which is a really good thing.
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