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Tuesday 20 August 2019

KR|Dimness Review #17: Terebror

Toy prototype details
Name: TerebrorTM
Subtitle: baleful destroyer
Line: KR|Dimness
Item type: action figure - Nº 13 in the line.

Character details
Name: Terebror
Classification: mutant human
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Era: 5 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Dark Legion
Rank: lieutenant commander.

Background
First appearance: KR|Dimness #3 - Into dimness: Part II – Escape
Brief bio: during the Reptonoid domination of O-KinTM, the kingdom's population suffered the mutating effects of the chemical weapons deployed by Bi-Harr for psychological manipulation. A small percentage of the inhabitants who emerged were born with defects, and while some were fitted with electromechanical prostheses, some others were ostracised and banished from O-Kin. Those outcasts were eventually welcomed by the mysterious chief monk MohrdaxTM into the shelter of his monastery near the UcamurTM region. When Wordron befriended Mohrdax, many cloisterers, including an armless and disfigured man named Terebror, sided with the Dark Legion in their conflict with the Forseha tribe. Terebror's desire to become a skillful warrior allowed Wordron to lure him into his laboratory with promises of fame and glory, but instead he was transformed into an insane cybernetically-enhanced minion. Half-man half-machine, Terebror relentlessly fought his enemies by shooting vicious chisel-like projectiles with his robotic arms.

Articulation
Standard, except that the "wrists" are ball jointed.

Description
Head: he wears a tech biter mask (which features two upwards curved rostra on the chin, as well as some rivets, grooves and tubes, making him look like a weird mash-up of Hannibal Lecter and Bane from The Dark Knight Rises) and a side-crested helmet topped with a spike (similarly to a Pickelhaube) that resembles a fairly large conical drill bit; both items are painted in metallic light-blue with shiny purple details. While not much of his face is exposed here (only his dark-brown eyes surrounded by taupe skin are visible), his furrowed brow suggests a fierce expression. The top part of the helmet can be removed, exposing Terebror's bald and disturbingly scarred scalp, while the biter mask extends over the ears with a kind of headphone-like device (to which the two side crests are actually attached) and buckles at the nape
Body: the only exposed parts of his body are the shoulders, which are the remnants of his human arms and show taupe skin, although they are mostly concealed under two purple shoulder pads that are embellished with metallic light-blue bolts and attached via a rubber “hinge” to the armour. His torso seems to be wearing a sleeveless black shirt, while his legs are covered with sturdy light-blue trousers (is he wearing blue jeans?) that bear black leather knee pads and two large side pockets, from which two sculpted chisel-looking metallic light-blue implements peek out
Wearables: a purple bulletproof vest with metallic light-blue details, two purple leather combat boots that buckle up at the sides and a purple leather belt with a four-bladed gunmetal shuriken as a buckle. A gunmetal compressor-backpack is placed on his back, and is attached to two criss-crossed purple armoured straps that run around his shoulders and chest over the vest.

Terebror's stylised helmet with side crests.

Terebror's stylised harness over bulletproof vest.


Action feature
Terebror displays his iconic huge robotic arms that he is most dreaded for in the comics. These are essentially replacements for his human arms, and sport functioning pistons and connected wiring/tubing above the "elbows". The design of these cybernetic limbs just generally gives them a martial, weapon-ish look and makes them reminiscent of other crazy concepts such as Power Arm Terminator and Dutch Schaefer from the Alien vs Predator arcade game. Instead of traditional hands, Terebror fictionally carries several tools that release, and often shoot, from his mechanical forearms (which bear blade-like shiny purple spikes sticking out the sides), and that he uses to demolish enemy structures and generate earth tremors. The jackhammer-like gunmetal arms are connected via two black pliable tubes to the two ends of a cylinder placed horizontally at the bottom of his backpack; the backpack, in turn, is connected to a slot of the biter mask on Terebror's nape with the aid of an additional black tube departing from its top.
The figure comes with a nice set of metallic-light blue add-ons that plug into his wrist-chucks: two pairs of large chisel-bits and a pair of piledriver pistons. The bits include a pair of flat blades and a pair of pointy, cross-shaped tips, while the piston-like parts (which feature a sort of release mechanism, as you can slide the shafts out) transform his arms into powerful piledrivers that, when pounded against the ground, can cause violent earthquakes.

Weapons and accessories
Apart from his tools/projectiles, Terebror comes with two pairs of metallic light-blue robotic hands and a pair of translucent orange firing effects. The cyber hands plug into the same chuck-like sockets used for the tools, and each open hand can swap out with a closed-fisted one.
Additionally, each mechanical arm can be equipped with a flamethrower effect that attaches to another slot just below the chuck.
Finally, to deal with a slightly inconsistent design in the comic book, there's an alternate unhelmeted head, which is identical to the standard one except for a black leather strap that runs centrally over the head from the biter mask to the nape.

Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦ After some really cool, imaginative designs through the first half of 2019, this one still shines as a solid figure and will fit in nicely with the rest of the KR|Dimness lineup
Articulation: ♥♥ The overall articulation is as outstanding as ever, but the torso and waist are a little restricted by the armour+backpack this time around. It's not terrible, but considering how good this base body is, that's a bit disappointing
Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ As I said, there are a couple of different themes going on here - a bit of Bane or Hannibal with the mouth mask and a bit of Terminator vs Predator (how cool would that be!) with the arms. The detailing on both the head sculpt and the arms looks terrific; the paint work is solid, but metallic paints are always tough ones to work with. There are a few slops here and there, and some of the edges are off by a bit. Update: PoliganToys informed me that some details such as the face mask and the bolts on the shoulder guards will probably be repainted in gunmetal colour if and when the figure is released
Accessories: ♠♠♠ The sculpts are solid here too, although the paintjob on the piston pieces is pretty skimpy
Playability: ♪♪♪♪ This is a very fun action figure. Actually, with the general bionic man-like theme, one might not even realise he is a bad guy, and could have him playing either side of the field
Overall: ☺☺☺ Despite a few nitpicks, Terebror is a pretty sharp figure. The limbs sculpt is incredible, the head looks great, and it’s nice to have a cyber-themed action figure in this barbarian-filled series.

Saturday 10 August 2019

KR Review #80: Pyrosaur

The PyrosaurTM (sorry Screechers Wild, but I think we got it earlier) is the first Spektrosaur land vehicle to come into the KR line... I know, there's also the Baryanoid-Cart, but I tend to consider that a creature item rather than a vehicle.

Really, this panzer is the one that makes the most sense as a land unit: it's specifically designed to carry Lor-Drek's evil goons into battle against their rivals as well as wreak havoc and destruction in peaceful places, and take on enemy armoured fighting vehicles. The Cart, on the other hand, can't be used for much more than travelling around a golf course.

Okay, petty details and jokes apart, let's look at what probably is gonna be the last vehicle under the Foundation banner of the KR universe.

Details
Name: Pyrosaur
Subtitle: battle tank destroyer
Classification: land vehicle
Home: Tahron
Affiliation: Spektrosaur
Rank: transport.

Description
The Pyrosaur is a tank-like, wheeled combat vehicle used by Lor-Drek's forces for ground assault, reconnaissance and transport of soldiers across the battlefield; when necessary, it can rise to turn into a bipedal machine that traverse the landscape on large mechanical legs. Sporting blast-impervious armour plating, this massive construct is used by the Spektrosaurs as much for psychological warfare as it is for tactical advantage. The toy version is painted in metallic light-blue with silver-gray details, exhibits tons of tech-mech details (e.g., panels, tubes, wires and pistons) and can be operated in several positions; when upright, it stands about 46 cm (around 18'') tall and is reminiscent of a mechanical tyrannosaurus.
The robotic legs display tracked clawed feet (each with an additional wide treaded wheel on the front, which is the only truly rotating part) and a pair of large ratcheted wheels at the knees, which allow the tank to roll forward or backward when in crawler mode.
The cockpit (which only accommodates one figure, unlike the comic book version that seats two combat drivers overseen by a commander sitting behind them) and the attached canopy (which can be open, closed and removed) resemble the toothed jaws of a dinosaur's head, whose neck can turn slightly left, right, up and down. Additionally, a rotating turret (which also carries one figure, and features an opening canopy and a cockpit with hand-grips) is mounted on top of the vehicle's dome-like body.

Action feature
Thanks to its rotating hip, knee and ankle joints, the Pyrosaur can easily switch positions, allowing for extreme posability with three assault modes: low-riding (i.e., kneeling) roller tank for sneak attacks, standing (i.e., two-legged) mech walker for strikes over rough terrain, and upright robotic siege engine for assailing enemy walls. Moreover, two mechanical arms are attached to the sides of the hull and feature two points of articulation each, which allow them to bend and retract. Each arm bears a menacing crusher claw that can open and close to capture enemies.
On the tank's underside (on the front when the vehicle is upright), there is an entry/escape hatch with a hinged opening ramp, which reveals a hollowed-out centre section that can fictionally hold a number of troopers and a cargo container.
The rotating turret is detachable and has the ability to act as a flying pod equipped with bat-like folding wings and a rear hatch that gives access to a weapons storage compartment. Aside from perching atop the transport's main body, the flying pod/turret can also dock at a port on the front of the head/cockpit when the war machine is set in a vertical position.
Last but not least, the Pyrosaur has an additional mechanical arm ending with a powerful flamethrower, which can be manoeuvred via a handlebar-like joystick inside the head/cockpit and can also function as a a third leg for stability. While in the comics this snake-like arm is retractable, in the toy it is a separate piece that plugs into a socket exposed by removing a metal panel on the vehicle's belly and only features a hinge at its halfway point.

Weapons and accessories
The head/cockpit armament consists of two horn-shaped temple-mounted pivoting grenade launchers and two chin-mounted heavy laser cannons; the latter are removable, in order to reveal a docking port and, as mentioned above, allow the flying pod/turret to perch and rotate. The turret itself is equipped with wing-mounted cannons and a front spring-loaded twin-missile launcher.
Finally, the vehicle comes with two attachments that plug into the flamethrower nozzle: a large translucent red blast effect and a mechanical foot-like ball jointed accessory.

Overall, the Pyrosaur is an excellent prototype and a great way to wrap up the Foundation segment of the KR line. It is a wonderful vehicle and likely to be a fan favourite. With this, we are now finished with the vehicles of the regular series (I don't believe that CoBoN 2.0 and the Gyrocarrier will ever be produced due to their enormous sizes) and while I'm looking forward to reviewing large scale items from the other chapters of the KR mythos, I still hope that new KR|Foundation figures, creatures and perhaps playsets will be created in the future. In any case, this piece makes me remember all the joy and enthusiasm with the line over the last 4 years and what was accomplished with this blog. That made it worth it.

Thursday 1 August 2019

KR|Dimness Review #16: Viluptra

Toy prototype details
Name: ViluptraTM
Subtitle: woods goddess
Line: KR|Dimness
Item type: action figure - Nº 12 in the line.

Character details
Name: Viluptra
Classification: spirit
Sex: female
Home: Tahron
Era: 5 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Forseha (indirectly)
Rank: mother goddess.

Background
First appearance: KR|Dimness #2 - Masq-Lor's quest
Brief bio: Viluptra belonged to an elder race of elemental creatures, who once shared Tahron with many other supernatural entities. Her bizarre character was often mistook for naivety, but in reality she mastered the greatest magical secrets of the forests, despite some flaws in her sorcery wielding abilities. When the reptilian forces invaded many territories inhabited by mammalian societies, Viluptra only wanted to see the people of Tahron free from Bi-Harr's evil tyranny. After an ancient violent conflict, most of those mystical creatures were annihilated, but Viluptra managed to rise to a spiritual form and settled in the jungles near the UcamurTM region. The founders of the Forseha tribe regarded her as their mother goddess and through her worship they welcomed numerous refugees into the shelter of their terramare settlement. The Forseha people viewed Viluptra as a spiritual guide who could advise them in matters of inter-tribal relationships and, more importantly, as an ally during the struggle against Wordron.

Articulation
Standard, excluding hinged abdomen.

Description
Head: grayish skin with a pinkish tinge, vivid red lips, prominent chin. She wears a pair of flower-shaped gold earrings and a domed red-orange cap resembling the fungal growth of an Amanita muscaria (which is covered with numerous yellowish-white warts and presents a few cracks along the edge); her gill-like grayish hair (with a blueish tinge) is visible on the underside. Two yellow stamens seemingly protruding from the top of her flower-like suit end with a pair of anthers that form a sort of eyewear, through which her eyes display glowing sclerae/irises, large black pupils, and long black eyelashes that extend beyond the yellow-rimmed spectacles. I would have liked a pair of either solid black or GITD eyes better, but I think this is a good compromise between the two comic book looks
Body: striated grayish skin with a pinkish tinge. She has a number of mossy green vines that wrap around the upper arms and legs, and wears many rings on her fingers
Wearables: a dual-layer, high neck flower-like body suit, two veined orange bracers ornamented with flower-shaped cuffs and several narrow golden bracelets (from which an equal number of long liana stems hang), two veined orange sandal-boots adorned with flower-shaped tops and sharp extended thongs curled upwards, a veined orange waistband, a long skirt made of many liana stems hanging from an additional golden belt (equipped with a large buckle bearing the Forseha emblem, i.e., a seven-petalled flower that vaguely recalls a Plumeria) and a short, wide cape made of feathery green fern fronds. The Plumeria-shaped body suit is composed of an orange upper layer that resembles the flower's corolla (with a small butterfly-shaped yellow marking in the centre of each veined petal) and a golden lower layer that looks like the calyx; the latter appears golden thanks to leaf-like green, creamy yellow-striped sepals that are edged in maroon (this combination of colours is also used on the liana stems hanging from her forearms and hips).

Action feature
In the comics, Viluptra possesses a number of powers, including levitation as well as the ability to control and grow plants and flowers. The figure doesn't offer any of those qualities (although a flight stand or some vine-based pieces would have been welcome additions), but has a nice display feature - her fungal headgear is removable and an additional bushy grayish (with a blueish tinge) hairpiece can attach to her head. The real Viluptra has a mushroom on her head, while Masq-Lor's mental picture of her, as seen in the comic issue Masq-Lor's quest, doesn't; so, this is PoliganToys' way of giving us the option for either style. I think it looks great, I wouldn't have missed it if this wasn't included, but I appreciate the effort.

Weapons and accessories
Apart from her alternate hairpiece, Viluptra comes with two accessories: a mushroom sceptre and her funny fruity companion Jabak. The sceptre resembles a golden oyster mushroom cap with a long whitish stipe/shaft that is twined in ivy-leaved, flowery tendrils.
Additionally, her apricot-like, red-orange sidekick has a pair of large cartoonish eyes, a couple of green leaves on top of its head and a pair of feet with green grassy shoes, but lacks a mouth, nose and arms. There is really not a whole lot to articulate on a walking fruit, but he was afforded the essential two points of articulation - a swivel-hinge on each hip. This inclusion is kind of curious, however, because I'd have expected to get Jabak's enhanced jack o'lantern-like version with this figure. See, this figure represents Viluptra's true look, but in the comics she also appears briefly disguised as an elderly lady, who is characterised by a short, stocky body and wears large thick-lensed glasses through which her eyes look magnified as well as a hip-length, long-sleeved maroon jacket with gold buttons, green trousers and a double layer creamy yellow and orange poncho with grassy fringes (everything is tattered and mended with stitching and leaf-shaped patches). The version of Jabak that I'm holding is the one that accompanies old lady Viluptra and not her younger warrior-goddess form. So, it is not perfect, but I'm getting two characters with one release and I should only be happy.

Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦ It’d be easy to just write Viluptra off as the Elykta of KR|Dimness, there are a lot of similarities in terms of supernatural abilities. I’m glad she got into the line and that PoliganToys did such a great job on her figure
Articulation: ♥♥♥ The lianas that dangle from her forearms have the potential to be the most discussed part of the entire figure. The concern over these obviously comes with how much they are going to impede posing options, and while they do so to some extent, it is definitely not nearly as much as I thought
Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣♣ Viluptra is one of the best designed and painted character that I’ve seen so far in this series and I cannot express how awesome she turned out
Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ She was given a few greatly sculpted accessories that are executed well to the end. The paint is crisp and the colours look fantastic on all of them
Playability: ♪♪♪ Although articulation works great, I would like to get a stand for some nice levitation poses. However, the figure is fun to pose and play with
Overall: ☺☺☺☺ I know Viluptra isn’t going to be everyone’s cup of tea, but I think we'll all have to appreciate the work PoliganToys did here when (and if) the figure is released.