Toy prototype details
Name: XehreaTM
Subtitle: beautiful water nymph
Line: KR|Dimness
Item type: action figure - Nº 16 in the line.
Character details
Name: Xehrea
Classification: sirenian mammal (but she looks mostly human)
Sex: female
Home: Tahron
Era: 5 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Forseha
Rank: tribe observer.
Background
First appearance: KR|Dimness #2 - Masq-Lor's quest
Brief bio: the member of a group of shapeshifting water creatures from UcamurTM, who were eventually expelled by occupying forces and made their home in the Forseha settlement, Xehrea grew up enjoying both scampering on dry land and swimming in the flowing waters of the river AtoggTM. Thanks to mystical items that she received from her father, she gained the powers to control water and to summon all creatures of the river, especially her faithful giant otters. Although Xehrea belonged to a peaceful ethnic group, when Wordron's evil menace arose, this young water nymph fought bravely against the wicked foes to protect her friends.
Articulation
Standard, excluding hinged abdomen.
Description
Head: Native Hawaiian features, light-brown skin, long curly dark-brown hair (adorned with a fairly large iridescent light-green snail shell at the left side, while two locks are embellished with shell beads) and blue eyes
Body: slightly shorter than the adult characters (only 14 cm, around 5.5"), light-brown skin, webbed hands. She wears two light-green pondweed armbands and a fish-shaped silver navel piercing jewel
Wearables: a shell bra with iridescent light-blue valve-cups and criss-crossed light-green pondweed straps, a shell necklace with a hydra-shaped silver pendant, two scaly light-blue bracelets, two scaly light-blue boots, a scaly light-blue belt with a crayfish-shaped silver buckle, and a thigh-length light-green pondweed skirt. The bracers and boots sport flipper-like fins at the sides, and, like with the belt, their fish scale effect is enhanced and brought out by an added glitter effect.
Action feature
In the comics, Xehrea shows a number of capabilities. First, she can control and manipulate the movement of liquid water using the power of her magical hydra pendant.
Additionally, to engage in battle both on land and in water, she has the ability to transform her lower body into a sort of mermaid tail by mystically growing the leaves of her pondweed skirt, which wrap the legs completely and form two large flukes at the end; in this conformation, Xehrea gains super-fast swimming and underwater adaption skills. So, the figure comes with an alternate lower section that replaces the legs and attaches to the upper body by a peg at the waist. I'd say that this mermaid tail (which includes a slightly different version of the standard belt) is something of a masterpiece, with amazing leafy texture, light-green (and dark-green wash) paint deco, added glitter for "wet" effect, and articulation in three parts (hinged crotch, swivel-hinged "knees" and swivel-hinged tail fin). Yes, the skirt is also shown to transform into a pair of trousers at some point in the comics, but I'm totally OK with not getting an additional set of legs.
Finally, PoliganToys has included a horn-shaped multicoloured snail shell, which Xehrea fictionally uses to produce underwater sound waves for control of all aquatic life and occasionally for echolocation. Unfortunately, the figure's hair prevents Xehrea from stowing this accessory in her bra band like she does in the comics.
Weapons and accessories
Aside from the alternate tail piece and shell horn, Xehrea comes with a greenish oxidised bronze staff that has a trishula-like trident at one end and a swordbreaker blade at the other end. This weapon looks great with her, and the little blue gem at the base of the central prong is a nice detail.
Also, included with the figure is a water-looking, articulated posing stand with a sort of clamp for her tail, which allows Xehrea to be displayed in her mermaid form. It works decently, not perfectly, but it's a cool water effect and helps her strike a few different swimming poses.
If I had a vote for what else to give her, I would add one of her river otter friends, but to be honest, she is probably pushing the budget as it is. Update: the otter will be included with Pike! This little (well, actually not that little) figure has minimal articulation (neck and tail only), but it’s got a great expressive face. The fur is chocolate brown, the legs are short and stubby, and end in powerful, large webbed feet tipped with sharp claws, while the tail is long and muscular. Additionally, its trunk has a number of scale-covered, fawn bony protective bands that are seemingly connected via flexible skin. It’s not a great figure, but it makes for fun background detail in scenes and looks fabulous on the shelf with Xehrea.
Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦ I think Xehrea is a great addition to the line-up. If I just wanted a mermaid character, this maybe isn’t what I would expect, but since I'm collecting KR prototypes, she’s really going to spice up the shelf as part of the collection
Articulation: ♥♥♥ Although her tail is not the most flexible item, she’s surprisingly manoeuvrable and her hair doesn’t cause any problems
Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ A lot of work went into the tail, which is the most detailed part of the figure
Accessories: ♠♠♠ The staff is wonderful, while the posing stand is not the best, but it suffices. Update: While I would like a fully articulated otter at some point, the one that will accompany Pike completes what I wanted with Xehrea for my purposes
Playability: ♪♪♪♪ Thanks to a mermaid tail and legs that are interchangeable, her design is unique and doesn't compare with anything that came in this series before
Overall: ☺☺☺ Xehrea is just good enough to live up to expectations, though she doesn't necessarily exceed them. She’s not a standout figure like Yla-Nha or Viluptra, but maybe I’ve been spoilt by those prototypes. However, Xehrea is painted much better than Modi-Rha and came out one step ahead in comparison.
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