KR|Dimness Review #22: Dhermot

Toy prototype details

Name: Dhermot^TM

Subtitle: gliding warrior

Line: KR|Dimness

Item type: action figure - Nº 18 in the line.

Character details

Name: Dhermot

Classification: dermopteran mammal (but he looks mostly human)

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Era: 5 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Forseha

Rank: flying tribesman.

Background

First appearance: KR|Dimness #3 - Into dimness: Part II – Escape

Brief bio: Dhermot and his sister Ycabie^TM grew up with Solamya after their parents were killed by a devastating storm that struck their home in the Northern Forest. While his sister acquired special powers to communicate with animals thanks to Solamya's training, he was uncertain whether he would ever develop skills of his own aside from his exceptional gliding abilities. When the evil Wordron attacked the tribe's terramare settlement along with a horde of wicked Plant Creatures, Dhermot spared no effort in joining the ranks of the Forseha Defenders. His determination to fight the dreaded Dark Legion and to impress Dakun and Solamya both helped and hampered his noble actions, since he had yet to understand if his aim was to serve the greater good or to seek his own glory.

Articulation

Standard.

Description

Head: Afro-American features, black skin, blue eyes. He seems to wear a close-fitting dark-brown furry garment (but it is probably his natural growth of hair and facial hair), which is topped with a long crew cut and covers the whole head and neck except for the face and the ears (which are rounder and slightly larger than normal)

Body: almost entirely covered with a growth of short, fine dark-brown hair. His hands and feet show black skin, webbed spaces between the fingers and toes, and small sharp claws. Despite Dhermot displays a relatively light build in the comics, his figure uses the regular KR male body

Wearables: a poncho-like garment made of a piece of off-white buckskin with a hole in the middle for the head, two off-white leather bracelets, two off-white leather calf protectors (which buckle up at the back and bear triplets of greenish decorative buttons on the front), an off-white leather belt with a greenish tortoise-shell buckle, and a light-green loincloth of woven grass that incorporates a small brown leather purse attached to a loose fitting belt. His outfit is ornamented with light-green patterns (seemingly made of applied stone chips) that are reminiscent of "greek-key" meanders, and is fringed with a light-green featherwork.

Action feature

In the comics, Dhermot has the ability to glide through the air from one tree to another or from higher to lower locations with the aid of a patagium, a wingsuit-like dark-brown furry membrane of extra skin that stretches from his shoulders to his wrists, from his wrists to his ankles, and between his legs. For those wondering how Dhermot's patagium was executed, PoliganToys decided to include two plastic pieces that incorporate the poncho and plug into the back of the figure and into its limbs. The plastic used for these pieces has some pliability, so they’re not rock solid. The first alternative allows for having the skin flaps in a folded position, with the option of having the arms and legs plugged into them, to give the figure a standing-at-ease look. However, even when the limbs aren’t plugged in, the figure still looks natural and the membrane works more like a cape attached to the back (although the pegs are visible). The second option is the extended look, where the limbs have to be plugged into the patagium, because it would just seem too odd to have the skin flaps open and not have the arms and legs matching. I think this was a smart move by PoliganToys and is way better than the soft and rigid pieces used for the Reptonoid Troopers. I understand the approach that was taken on those figures, but the translation did not quite ring as true, especially with the rigid skin flaps. The solution used here looks pretty sharp on the figure, at least to me.

Weapons and accessories

Aside from the two interchangeable patagia+ponchos, Dhermot only comes with one accessory, which is his Chīmalli-like wooden shield. This piece is very nicely sculpted and looks like a greenish log with some pale-straw vines growing on it and a curtain of off-white feathers attached to the bottom portion. The reverse is equipped with a wrist-clip resembling a leather strap, which is used for carrying the shield.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦ Dhermot is not a primary character at all, but his figure is one prototype I have been wanting for some time

Articulation: ♥♥♥ Some of the posing is still limited when the skin membrane pieces are on (for example, he is not going to be able to sit on his patagium), but I do like the way these work. The rest of the figure functions well

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ The sculpt and the paint job are fantastic, fairly true to the look and feel of his appearance in the comics. The figure has lots of nice details like the moulded fur and feathers on the character's headpiece, skin and outfit

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ Even if it can kind of be a trick to get the clip to stay on the forearm, including a nicely sculpted shield was a good idea from the folks at PoliganToys

Playability: ♪♪ A cool tree-branch playset for him to glide from would be the only thing that would make this figure more fun

Overall: ☺☺☺ The best way to describe my opinion of Dhermot is enjoyment. The inspired patagium design (which is a massive improvement over the Reptonoid Troopers) and the inclusion of a nice accessory enhance the final product. This should have been at best a mediocre addition to the line; instead, it’s a figure I am excited to get.