KR|Dimness Review #13: Dark Legion Plant Creatures

Toy prototype details

Name: Dark Legion Plant Creatures^TM

Subtitle: deadly vegetal monsters

Line: KR|Dimness

Item type: multi-pack (3-pack) - Nº 4 in the line.

Character details

Name: Dark Legion Plant Creature

Classification: plant

Sex: male, female or hermaphrodite

Home: Tahron

Era: 5 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Dark Legion

Rank: footman, steed or queen.

Background

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

Brief bio: when the ancient Reptonoid^TM warrior Rabidriss^TM was killed during a fierce battle against King Khon-Uhr^TM and his Theriom^TM armies, the deadly pits produced by his parasitic plant sank in the swamps of Ucamur and remained confined for many centuries. The seeds were eventually discovered by Wordron, whose wicked intentions led him to use them in an attempt to revive the mystical golem Clavisaur. The seeds transformed into voracious crawling critters and their hunger for life force was viciously tested on the Forseha people. Once Clavisaur reawakened, he transformed the parasites into a demonic army of soldiers and steeds, and enhanced them with new powers that allowed them to fight using toxic vines and to manipulate plant life according to Wordron's cruel will. The reclusive warrior Moh-Qi^TM, who initially refused Solamya's offer of an alliance, helped the heroes stop the evil monsters from becoming an even bigger threat for the entire tribe. Together, they used a powerful antidote to end the Plant Creatures' ruthless war upon the brave tribesmen, but couldn't prevent them from becoming a menace to all people of Tahron through their proliferation and spread.

The set includes three figures: a Plant-Man, a Plant-Beast and a Mother-Plant, which I'm going to describe separately.

Plant-Man

Articulation

Standard, with the addition of a ball jointed extra neck piece, two fully articulated arms with hinged pincers, and one fully articulated leg.

Description

Head: roughened brown appearance, two stacked pairs of devilish deep set red eyes. The top and lower jaws (between which a subtle dark-green, seemingly muscular membrane stretches) end in serrated edges fringed by tooth-like white protrusions, which make the mouth resemble the snap trap leaf of a carnivorous plant and look like displaying an evil grin. A cabbage-like black washed magenta structure on the top of its head recalls an unopened flower bud or seed pod. The decidedly creepy design of its head is completed by an extension piece that represents its forward-bent, branch-like knotty wooden neck

Body: its knotty brown wooden body comprises a trunk-like torso, four branch-like arms with spiny shoulders and forearms (the bottom arms have claw hands, while the topmost arms carry woody pincers) and three root-like radially arranged legs+feet with spiny knees and calves

Wearables: a torso covering made of veined dark-green leaves and trimmed with dark-brown woody vines; a Dark Legion symbol (i.e., a diamond-shaped gemstone, which, when looking deeply into it, shows a subtle discolouration resembling a demonic face) is placed at the centre. A number of spiny and ivy-leaved dark-green vines wrap around the forearms, lower legs and waist; these vines are also loosely connected to the upper arms, thighs and hips respectively, preserving the full range of motion. The design includes leaf-shaped details such as a tall collar, two shoulder pads and a loincloth, which are dark-green on the underside and dark-brown on the upper side.

Dark Legion Plant-Man's stylised covering; the circle at the centre of the chest piece represents the Dark Legion symbol.

Action feature

The Dark legion Plant-Man has slightly longer arms compared to the standard figure, which allow for a menacing enemy-crunching action pose.

Weapons and accessories

The figure comes with two vine-based accessories, both with slender ivy-leaved dark-green tendrils that twine round larger spiny dark-brown woody stems. One is a tangled cluster of such vines that attaches snugly to the Plant-Man's claw-fingered right hand and looks like the monster is growing it straight out of its body. The other piece is a single vine that ends with a small carnivorous plant-like mouth ready to attack the Forseha people. This piece is bendy and can wrap around any one of the Plant-Man's arms or around other figures to ensnare them; when the monster is not using it, there are two little bumps on its back that can act like a weapon clip. While these pieces may have been even better with a lighter brown paint application, to match the Plant-Man's body colour, I’m not going to complain because they work so well with the figure and are easy to attach and pose.

Plant-Beast

Articulation

The Dark Legion Plant-Beast's articulation includes a ball jointed upper neck, a hinged lower neck, a swivel-hinged tail and eight swivel-hinged legs (each featuring two additional swivel-hinged joints at about one-third and two-thirds of its length).

Description

The roughened brown top and lower jaws (between which a dark-green, seemingly muscular membrane stretches) of this horrifying creature's head end in serrated edges (fringed by tooth-like white protrusions with trickles of resin-like drool) and have two pairs of devilish deep set red eyes each. Its crustacean-like knotty brown wooden body has four branch-like, spiny front legs (the frontmost of which don't touch the ground and carry a pair of mantis-like woody pincers), four root-like, spiny hind legs and a root-like tail.

Action feature

The Plant-Beast has two powerful raptorial legs on the front, each terminating in a large woody claw-blade curved downward and a cleft appendage curved upward. Aside from catching and holding a foe securely, these arms can alternatively lift the prey using their terminal appendages as hooks.

Accessories

The figure comes with a removable bridle, consisting of an arrangement of spiny and ivy-leaved dark-green tendrils that twine round larger dark-brown woody stems (which develop into a pair of reins), as well as a saddle, which has a button closure on the bottom and is characterised by a dark-green leafy texture with dark-brown woody details (incorporating a pair of stirrups).

Mother-Plant

Articulation

The Dark Legion Mother-Plant's neck is a ball joint with a swivel-hinge at the base of the neck-peg, which gives it a full range of motion, wile her unique hip system accommodates five swivel-hinged legs in fantastic fashion; her shoulders, elbows, wrists, knees and ankles share the same swivel-hinge joint, allowing for excellent motion and play.

Description

The Mother-Plant is basically a larger-scale (roughly 38 cm tall, around 15''), less articulated version of the Plant-Man. Her roughened brown head is a hybrid of the Plant-Man's and Plant-Beast's heads, and carries a complex and bizarrely shaped bloomed flower on the top. The flower resembles that of Rafflesia arnoldii and has a few leafy green fronds surrounding its base, four fleshy maroon petals covered with whitish warts and poisonous spines, as well as a bowl-like central structure from which a number of lime filaments emerge. Additionally, a fifth, enlarged and highly modified petal on the front functions as a specialised lip and is divided into three lobes: the side lobes are erect and form a spur-like tubular projection that seemingly extends from the base of the bowl-shaped central structure, while the middle lobe has wavy lime ridges on the upper surface and a pair of slender whitish appendages that resemble fangs pointing upward.

Her knotty brown wooden body comprises a trunk-like torso, four branch-like arms with spiny shoulders and forearms (the bottom arms have large claw hands, while the topmost arms carry woody pincers) and five root-like radially arranged legs+feet with spiny knees and calves. Even if her leg articulation works pretty well and allows her to get into a standing pose, the Mother-Plant is meant to be displayed in a crouched/sitting pose with her knees bent.

There are leafy/woody/viny embellishments here and there, which recall the Plant-Man's design, such as a torso covering as well as a number of stalks that wrap around the limbs and the lower trunk.

Action feature

In the comics, the small animated vine creatures produced by the Plant-Men are eventually coated by a sticky, viscous resin exuded by the Mother-Plant's flower, transforming them into new, fully developed Plant-Men. At some point, Wordron has the intuition to use this process on his enemies, converting the Mother-Plant into a torture chamber of sorts. After the victim has been bound to the monster's trunk-like torso by her woody claws, and slimed over with the awful ooze of resin from the flower, the gruesome goop quickly solidifies and transforms the captive into a mindless zombie, who bursts from the translucent hardened material and shows total loyalty to Wordron. In the toy, the articulated arms can trap an action figure securely and, after filling the flower with a slime-like fluid (it's necessary to remove a cap hidden in the central bowl structure) and tilting the Mother-Plant's head forward, the slimy resin is dumped from the flower's lip onto the figure's head, slowly coating it completely.

Accessories

The figure comes with a 180 cc (approximately 6 fl. oz.) plastic container made to resemble a cauldron that contains a honey-orange oozy material. I'm not sure we can call this substance Slime, since that was a toy product manufactured by Mattel and introduced in the winter of 1976, but the main components of the material released by PoliganToys are the same polysaccharide guar gum and sodium tetraborate. Though not originally manufactured for the Key Raiders line, I'm happy that it found it's way into the series alongside the Mother-Plant prototype.

Additionally, the figure includes a base, onto which an unfortunate figure can be posed. This stand is fully sculpted and painted in beautiful grey stone detail.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦♦ PoliganToys continues to find exciting ways to breathe life into the KR|Dimness series. It's been almost six months, and prototypes are still pouring into my mailbox. This multi-pack, comprised of an action figure, a creature and a large scale figure, is the best possible addition to the Dark Legion's ranks, although it is probably going to be so pricey that it'll be very unlikely to use it as an army builder

Articulation: ♥♥♥ Most of the usual KR articulation for anthropomorphic and animal-like creatures is here, even though it can be a bit restricted by different add-ons

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ The design of these creatures matches up with their comic book representations nicely, and incorporates an insanely large number of newly tooled pieces. There's a hit of red tints with the eyes and flower pieces, but the rest of these monsters is painted in various shades of brown and green. I can totally live with that, as they're plants after all

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ All the accessories (including the slimy resin material) are great, but my favourite piece is the snake-like chunk of vine (complete with open mouth) for the Plant-Man; it's a weapon of sorts, since it could bite an opponent, but it's also the monster's offspring... how creepy is that!

Playability: ♪♪♪♪♪ These items truly pop on the shelf and are a ton of fun. The articulation and accessories allowed me to have a really good time posing and... sliming them :)

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ These guys are characterised by a few issues here and there, such as lack of army-building potential and some odd decisions in the articulation and paint application departments, but nothing major or compelling. I love their head sculpts, and their overall design does a great job of using many new parts to create a unique look. This set would definitely be a solid release for the KR|Dimness line.

KR|Dimness Review #12: The Deity (Dimness Edition)

Toy prototype details

Name: The Deity^TM (Dimness Edition)

Subtitle: mystic arbiter

Line: KR|Dimness

Item type: action figure - Nº 9 in the line.

Character details

Name: The Deity

Real name: Kai-Xi (originally Wēn Kǎi xī)

Classification: spirit (formerly human)

Sex: female

Home: China

Era: 5 years before Foundation

Affiliation: neutral (formerly belonging to the Theriom faction)

Rank: divinity.

Background

First appearance: KR|Dimness #2 - Masq-Lor's quest

Brief bio: once a member of the Therioms who played a significant role in trapping Bi-Harr's mental powers beyond the multiversal walls, Kai-Xi raised to a powerful divine form after her own demise and chose to be tasked with maintaining neutrality throughout Tahron. Although she could no longer take part to the war, the constant struggle over the Key often called her to preserve the balance between good and evil forces.

Articulation

Standard down to the waist, excluding hinged abdomen; since she has a new dress/robe piece, her articulation has been changed a bit with a hinged thigh/crotch piece.

Description

Head: Asian features, cream white skin, black hair with an interesting new blueish tinge (arranged in a single-bun hairstyle and decorated with a golden ribbon as well as two gold hairpins on the front), hazel eyes

Body: covered from neck to toe except for her hands, which show cream white skin

Wearables: an elegant and complex garment formed of a set of coloured clothes, which create a layered effect. The items include: a long, nicely decorated red dress (with double-bird gold motifs, a high-neck bodice, long loose sleeves under which we can glimpse two dark-green bracelets, and a pleated skirt), a dark-green wrap top and a thigh-length dark-green wrap skirt (both embellished with light-green arabesque patterns as well as white lapels and hem), a short-sleeved light-green robe (with embroidered orange bands of floral designs on the front, cuffs and hem) fastened with a single copper button at the chest. The wrap top and skirt are secured by a wide dark-green sash wrapped around the waist and accompanied by two long narrow orange knotted belts whose ends fall down the sides: one above the longer pleated skirt and one above the shorter wrap skirt. The bottom of the dress is nicely sculpted and doesn't come flush to the ground, giving her the illusion of floating.

Action feature

Like with her Foundation and Enmity versions, The Deity doesn't have any particular action feature, apart from the fact that she comes with a clear stand. This has a ball joint on the end, which expands her floating poses in a great way.

Weapons and accessories

Aside from the stand, The Deity comes with the very same staff that accompanied her Foundation and Enmity versions - a light-green wooden stick topped with a fire pattern that resembles the Chinese character 凤 (phoenix).

The figure also includes a flowing shawl-like scarf made of pliable translucent orange plastic, which can be worn over the shoulders.

Variant

In addition to the standard version, the Dimness edition of The Deity will also be released in a "misty" variant, since such a form is briefly shown in the second comic issue Masq-Lor's quest.

I’m not getting into the specifics of this figure, since it's just the standard version with a few differences that I'm going to list below:

- The whole figure has been cast in a nice translucent blue plastic

- The only accessories are her staff, which is a translucent blue recast of the non-burning version that came with the normal form of Kai-Xi, and a clear stand

- A number of pretty rare and pricey deluxe variations of this figure will come in a fancy packaging that will transform into a cardboard playset (likely resembling the Forseha terramare settlement) and will feature light&sound effects.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦ Kai-Xi's fourth reiteration is not crucial to the line by any means, but this would make her an excellent candidate for a potential "convention figure"

Articulation: ♥♥ A change in the lower body to open up her range of movement would have made this new Deity much more interesting

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣♣ This is where KR|Dimness Deity, like her older versions, shines - sculpt and paint are definitely top notch

Accessories: ♠♠ Some fun new accessories apart from the usual stand, staff and shawl would have been very welcome

Playability: ♪♪♪ Well, this is not a dynamic figure at all, but I’m going to have to find a spot for all of the Deities on my shelves. They are all too cool to pack away

Overall: ☺☺☺ I personally love the idea of having a Kai-Xi for each KR era. However, to be totally honest, you surely don’t need another re-tooled Deity, unless you’re a completist or if you just really want one.

KR|Dimness Review #11: Hax

Toy prototype details

Name: Hax

Subtitle: armour-plated warrior

Line: KR|Dimness

Item type: action figure - Nº 8 in the line.

Character details

Name: Hax

Real name: Haxenar^TM

Classification: pholidotan mammal (but he looks mostly human)

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Era: 5 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Forseha

Rank: right-hand man.

Background

First appearance: KR|Dimness #2 - Masq-Lor's quest

Brief bio: a bold warrior who lived in the Forseha terramare settlement near the Ucamur^TM region, Haxenar was respected for his fearlessness and agile method of fighting despite his enormous size. Taking the nickname Hax, he was held in high esteem by many fellow tribesmen, including Dekerus^TM and Dhermot^TM, with whom he became close friends. Experienced in the use of plates of bone for defence against attack and in the excavation of defensive moats, Hax stood as Dakun's personal protector and later as a guardian to the youngest members of his tribe. While covering that role, he was offered a place as a combat teacher for Masq-Lor, as the kid wished to become a valiant warrior in the model of Dakun, and he proudly accepted.

Articulation

Standard, except that the wrists are ball jointed.

Description

Head: Nordic features, cream white skin, thick auburn hair and facial hair (including long, bushy moustache and beard ornamented with metal rings), and brown eyes. His mouth is slightly open, exposing the teeth in the lower jaw and suggesting that he is ready to fight. He sports a golden-yellow headband equipped with projecting bars covering the nose and ears, and embellished with engraved runes, small green gemstones and pieces of bones; the headband also bears an off-white bony plate covered in overlapping scale-like horny scutes, which protects the back of the head

Body: he exhibits a brand new bulky hairless sculpt, whose exposed body parts show cream white skin. His limbs wear metallic dark-green shoulder, elbow and knee guards that are ornamented with large golden-yellow eyelets (where additional pieces plug into, as will be explained later) and lined with brown fur

Wearables: a metallic dark-green armour with golden-yellow details, two metallic dark-green wrist guards with knuckle protectors, two metallic dark-green boots with metatarsal protectors, a studded metallic dark-green belt (with a hemispherical buckle that looks like a rolled up pangolin) and brown furry shorts accompanied by four golden-yellow pieces of plate armour for protecting the upper thighs, groin and backside (the piece on the front looks like an extension of the armour's central strip, while the one on the back kind of resembles a tail). Each knuckle and metatarsal protector is equipped with a number of golden-yellow spike-studs (four and five, respectively), while all the golden-yellow parts on the armour and loincloth have a texture similar to that of an armadillo's outer shell.

Hax's stylised armour.

Action feature

In the comics, when Hax is called to defend his fellows and be ready for combat, he folds over and turns into a bony globular form, to roll into battle and drive back attackers. Similarly to Kinod, the figure did not retain this bending down feature, but, instead, its back, arms and legs are protected by off-white bony plates, which can pop/clip out and connect to an included extra piece. The rolled up form is then completed simply by placing the detached figure's head (together with the crest on its back) on top, to seal the remaining hole. The "transformation" is pretty easy to perform and looks quite impressive when fully done.

Additionally, Hax is shown to possess a number of large metallic retractable claws in his extremities. So, the figure comes with alternate clenched hands (including the knuckle protectors) and metatarsal protector pieces that carry the golden-yellow studs extended into Wolverine-style claws.

Finally, the package also contains an alternate headband-less head, which, besides a pair of squinted eyes, displays some non-human details such as pointed ears, a round black nose similar to a dog's, and a long anteater-like tongue projecting from his mouth. This head is a reference to an amusing scene in the comics, where during a campfire meal Hax steals some food from his mates using his extended sticky tongue.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the various shell armour add-ons, alternate hands, foot pieces and head, Hax comes with a war club constructed out of greenish wood, which bears large golden-yellow studs on the thick, heavy end. Its shaft is multi-faceted (i.e., it has flat surfaces arrayed around the central axis) and tapers towards a slender handle with a pommel.

Comic

Together with the action figure we get the second comic issue Masq-Lor's quest. After seeing Pike and his family working closely-knit to repair their village following the recent Dark Legion's attack, Masq-Lor has a conversation with Dakun and Solamya. He tells them that he wishes he had a family like Pike's and expresses concerns about growing up without knowing his origins. Dakun answers that his origins are unknown to them too and that the whole tribe is his family, as they are proud of adopting him. Frustrated, Masq-Lor tells Pike and Xehrea^TM that he will ask Viluptra^TM, the goddess of the forests, where he comes from. Soon after Masq-Lor has left, Solamya notices his absence and Pike accidentally leaks the truth to her, prompting the tribe members to set out to search him. At his citadel, Wordron learns about Masq-Lor's journey into the jungle from some Plant-Men who were spying on him. The evil lord plans to use the kid to seek vengeance on the Forseha tribe for his latest defeat. When Masq-Lor finally finds Viluptra, the goddess confesses that she cannot help him discover his origins and only The Deity, Kai-Xi, could be revealing. Before the goddess can summon The Deity, Barkos and his minions attack the pair and capture Masq-Lor. Wordron chains Masq-Lor at his burg and explains that he intends to use him as a bait, while the golem Clavisaur suggests to use the kid as a sacrifice to himself. After Viluptra has alerted the Forseha tribesmen of the situation, the brave warriors smash through the wall of Wordron's citadel and, while engaging in combat with the Dark Legion soldiers, free Masq-Lor. Immediately, Clavisaur turns against Wordron, who in turn destroys the golem and reveals his demonic nature. Meanwhile, Kai-Xi appears to Masq-Lor and begins to tell a story of how he was abducted as a child and how one day he will become a hero admired for his courage, outstanding achievements and noble qualities. The Deity encourages Masq-Lor to wear the prodigious helmet absent-mindedly abandoned by Barkos, triggering the transformation into his future self. In possession of his full energy, Masq-Lor easily fends Wordron off, then causes a platform on the outside of the building, on which the demon stands, to collapse, temporally burying him in the rubble. After the fight, Kai-Xi returns to Masq-Lor and announces that his memory of the revelation will be erased once he removes the helmet and says that one day he will learn the truth by himself.

Overall, this is a very intense story, full of tension! One of the most interesting points in this issue is the rivalry between Wordron and Clavisaur. The two need each other's power, and both their plans for exploiting Masq-Lor are really evil.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦ Hax certainly doesn’t seem to have the potential hype of prior KR|Dimness figures. However, he's still a solid entry and a welcome item to take off the checklist

Articulation: ♥♥♥ Obviously, the articulation is hindered a bit when all of the exterior armour shell parts are attached

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ Besides offering a 100% new sculpt on this guy, I'm not sure PoliganToys could have done any better in his execution. The bony plates themselves have some great detailed deco

Accessories: ♠♠♠ I think that, personally, I may just not be a big fan of the extra head. I don't dislike it in any ways, but I certainly don't count it among the accessories that I was chomping at the bit to see with this figure

Playability: ♪♪♪♪ We really get quite a few display options, as we can display this dude in his ball form, in his human form with the shell armour or in human form without the shell armour

Overall: ☺☺☺ I can't deny that Hax is a solid figure, the detail and sculpt on him are simply incredible. I'm going to say that this guy would be highly recommended. The detail alone make him worth it.