KR|Dimness Review #9: Forseha Defenders

Toy prototype details

Name: Forseha Defenders^TM

Subtitle: combative tribespeople

Line: KR|Dimness

Item type: multi-pack (3-pack) - Nº 3 in the line.

Character details

Name: Forseha Defender

Classification: mammal (various species)

Sex: male or female

Home: Tahron

Era: 5 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Forseha

Rank: tribal warrior.

Background

First appearance: KR|Dimness #1 - Into dimness: Part I – Awakening

Brief bio: for many centuries, the reclusive Forseha people rejected the technology that had quickly spread across Tahron, and continued to live in a primitive terramare settlement near the Ucamur^TM region. In their veins, most of the tribe members held the blood of the great ancient champion Myneran^TM, who, alongside other valiant paladins, had been entrusted with keeping the legendary Key safe from the ruthless reptilian armies. Because of this valuable lineage, the Forseha tribe was targeted by the evil Wordron, who wished to access the bloodline’s link to the powers of their ancestor for reviving the mysterious golem Clavisaur. Blessed with strength, deep knowledge of the forest environment and the ability to use the resources of nature to their advantage, these warriors were tough adversaries for Wordron. After courageously defending their clan from an army of demonic parasites, many of the tribesmen suffered mystical wounds that put them into an unconscious state. Eventually, the few unaffected heroes freed their companions from the curse and together joined forces to defeat the Dark Legion.

Articulation

Standard, excluding hinged abdomen for the female figure and calf swivel for both human figures (due to the fact that they wear neither boots nor shin guards).

Description

The set includes three figures: a human male, a human female and a non-human male.

Heads: the two human figures' heads have Indigenous Brazilian features, both showing brown skin, fairly long brown hair and hazel eyes; I really like their facial expressions, which instantly communicate brawn. The non-human figure has a similar appearance to a hippopotamus, identifiable by the large mauve taupe head with a long muzzle, eyes, ears and nostrils placed high on the roof of his skull and broad horny lips

Bodies: the two human figures show brown skin, while the non-human figure exhibits a hairless mauve taupe body. The male's body displays a few L-shaped black war-paint markings here and there, while his chest and back are mildly hairy. All the three characters are barefoot; in particular, the hippo-like figure has four-toed webbed feet

Wearables: the human male figure wears a short light-brown raffia fibre tunic with L-shaped white decorative patterns, a dark-brown leather strip tied around the right forearm, a dark-brown knotted rope belt and a long torn off-white skin loincloth. The female figure wears a one-shoulder leotard with a cut-out on the right flank, a dark-brown leather armband on the left arm, a pair of narrow tubular bronze bracelets on the right arm, two narrow tubular bronze anklets ornamented with layers of light-brown plant fibres (or perhaps fur...), a belt made of several bronze discs laced together and a short pale-straw grass skirt. The leotard seems to be made of two pieces that are stitched together: the top piece (perhaps originally part of a bikini-like outfit) is made from pale cream-coloured fur that is brownly marked with blotches and stripes, while the bottom one is made from light-brown raffia fibre. The non-human figure wears a thigh-length shaggy tunic (made from the same blotchy/striped fur described above), two dark-brown leather gloves and two dark-brown leather calf protectors with tattered light-brown turndown tops. The tunic is secured around the waist by a dark-brown leather belt equipped with a little skull buckle and a small scabbard for a dagger on the side. All the three garments are embellished with necklaces that are variously adorned with claws, stones and shells, and I like that the two males can exchange their tunics to add more variety to the set (they both also look cool shirtless).

Weapons and accessories

Although the Forseha Defenders are extremely skilled warriors, their figures have no action feature, but they do come with a nice set of weapons that are very fitting (and savage) for the three characters. The human male wields a spear that definitely has a primitive look to it, with a pointed dark-grey chert head tied with brown rope to a long shaft. The shaft itself is composed of two parts, which are also held together by rope: an upper whitish bony segment and a longer lower wooden part. This piece is also very detailed, with the knapped, almond-shaped head having scratches and nicks in it.
The female character brandishes a very cool tomahawk, which has a nice sharp sculpt and features a whitish bony handle fitted with a head of bladed dark-grey stone. I love how it looks weathered - you can see the dents and chips in the blade, as it looks like its owner has had many uses for it.

The non-human figure has a double bearded axe and a dagger. The axe shows two polished dark-grey stone blades mounted asymmetrically (i.e., one of the two blades is upside down) to a wooden handle. Again, this piece shows excellent attention to detail by the folks at PoliganToys, with good woodgrain and dinted stone features. The dagger also has that primitive look seen in the other weapons, with rope holding two bones crossed to form a hilt and the polished dark-grey stone blade all together.

Additionally, the three figures come with three alternate heads that show slightly different details compared to their standard ones: the human male sports darker brown hair and beard as well as a band of light-brown raffia fibre tied around the head, the human female has shorter, darker brown hair and a bony band worn on the front, while the non-human chap shows the mouth wide open, revealing large yellowish canine and incisor tusks.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦ In my opinion the Defenders are a vital part of the KR mythos, just like the Theriom Troopers/Knights/Soldiers. I hope they'll be mass-available, because they would make an excellent customisation base

Articulation: ♥♥♥♥ The standard KR articulation is only hindered slightly at the neck by the longish hair of the human figures

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ Sculpt of course is killer; there are a surprising number of new parts on the two human characters, since they're barefoot and not wearing much around their forearms and lower legs. Paint is crisp and clean

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠♠ All the weapons are cast in a solid and sturdy plastic and feature fine sculpts and excellent paintwork. They all have a nice dark paint wash to give an appropriate level of crudeness to the pieces. The additional heads are an impressive extra

Playability: ♪♪♪♪ I had a great time posing these savage warriors fighting any beasts and monsters from my collection

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ The Forseha Defenders multi-pack is an amazing set and all the figures are very well detailed. The alternate heads are excellent and are going to replace the standard heads on my figures from here on out.