Toy prototype details
Name: KiroahTM
Subtitle: ravening chimera
Line: KR|Horizon
Item type: creature - Nº 1 in the line.
Character details
Name: Kiroah
Classification: bionic insect-reptile hybrid
Sex: hermaphrodite
Home: Tahron
Era: 15 years after Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: steed.
Background
First appearance: KR|Horizon #2 - In the eye of the storm
Brief bio: while conducting her horrific bio-engineering experiments to forge the new Destructomorph army, Nemhetra accidentally created a hideous beast, which she called Kiroah. Made out of an assortment of animal body parts and machine components, Kiroah became so violently out of control, Nemhetra had to add computer-integrated brain implants to control it, until it had no will of its own except to obey its mistress. Wishing to claw and maul any enemies who stood in her way, Nemhetra unleashed and rode this fiercely loyal, ultra-evil creature into battle with Masq-Lor. Initially underestimated by the Therioms, Kiroah proved a true menace to Tahron and one of the heroes' deadlier foes.
Articulation
The figure has nearly 40 points of articulation: multiple hinged jaws, ball jointed upper necks, swivel-plus-double hinged mid necks, double-ball hinged lower necks, swivel-hinged shoulders, hips, elbows, feet and extra head, hinged knees, "hocks" and telson, ball hinged front appendages (i.e., two grasping pedipalps with hinged claws, and two wings), and ball jointed abdomen.
Description
Heads: each head of this double-headed creature is characterised by a scaly glossy black hood that surrounds and merges with a silver snout; it displays a pair of pointed dark-orange scaly ears, a pair of large shiny purple compound eyes, three smaller blue eye spots on the forehead and a complex copper-jawed grasshopper-like mouth composed of a finely serrated upper labrum, two heavily toothed mandibles, two maxillae with cutting edges and a number of small teeth (flanked by two pairs of black segmented appendages or palps), and a two-fanged lower labium (also flanked by a pair of short palps). Because each mandible-plus-maxilla mouthpart and the labium are independently hinged, the mouth opens and reveals a forked reddish tongue that can extend outwards. Additionally, each head is connected to the rest of the body by a fairly long snake-like dark-orange scaly neck with lozenge-shaped black markings; each neck features a double-ball hinged joint at its base, a swivel-plus-double hinged joint halfway down its length and a ball joint at the end, where the head attaches
Body: characterised by a slender, segmented black chitinous appearance (bearing numerous details such as cracks, bumps and dark-orange scaly stripes), except for the abdomen, which is covered with a longitudinal series of large orange scales that received a nice dark-red wash. A number of body parts, especially in the forelegs and the hind digitigrade legs, are protected by silver metallic plates, which show some spikes and machinery/circuitry patterns. Each foreleg ends in a leaf-toed dark-orange scaly foot, which shows five large toe pads equipped with curved, pointed black horny nails. Each hind leg is characterised by a robust thigh, and ends in a five-toed webbed dark-orange scaly foot with massive black claws. The body terminates in a hinged telson, which is characterised by silver metallic segments that are joined by seemingly flexible black membranes, and two long dark-orange bendable appendages, each resembling a lizard tail and ending in a silver pinching weapon for grabbing and crushing foes
Wearables: a removable battle barding characterised by an orange copper chain mail texture with silver trim, which includes a saddle (with a Destructomorph emblem-shaped copper button closure on the bottom) as well as additional multiple plates and lames riveted to it, such as two flanchards protecting the flanks (equipped with integrated stirrups) and a croupiere protecting the hind quarters. The pommel/handlebar of the saddle seemingly extends forward forming a silver structure, which resembles an Ankylosaurus' skull, and is characterised by a wide and low shape, a few mechanical and electrical components, evil-looking bulbous black eyes (each featuring a yellow/green glowing horizontal slit plus a beady-eye spot in the centre) and the front part of the jaws ending in a beak. Two silver horns project backwards and down from the back of this structure, right below an additional pair of larger horns pointing backwards and up; also, a pair of long silver robotic pedipalps featuring pincer-like grasping organs (each composed of two hinged black claws, the longest of which is spiky, while the shortest is toothed) as well as two pairs of large silver posable wings (each hind wing, which is patterned with dark-orange veins, is connected to the fore wing, which is covered in ridges where different metallic surfaces join, forming a single structure that shows several tech-mech details on the underside) emerge from its sides.
Action feature
Apart from featuring jaw-smashing and claw-ripping actions thanks to its hinged jaws and claws, and being capable of carrying a warrior into battle on its back, this beast also has the ability to stand on its hind legs, and use its forelegs, two heads and grasping appendages as multiple pairs of brawling arms. Also, in this upright configuration, the tech-skull swings forward to become the new creature's head, while the telson folds up. The nice and tight articulation allows for displaying the figure in such a pose without too many problems.
Weapons and accessories
The figure comes with an impressive set of removable weaponry, which includes:
- A long, lance-shaped silver side-mounted missile launcher that attaches to the rear-right of the saddle, can pivot up and down and is equipped with a spring loaded triggering system for a barbed copper stinger-rocket
- A rear-mounted silver gun that can pivot left and right
- A weapon storage that attaches to the rear-left of the saddle and is equipped with holsters for an included spare stinger-rocket (slightly differently shaped and more similar to a scorpion's stinger) and for Nemhetra's halberd and wand
- Two copper battle chanfrons for the two insect-reptile heads, each with four claw-like serrated steel spikes sticking out from the brow
- A gunmetal (i.e., a grey colour that has a blueish-purplish tinge) overhead cannon, which plugs onto the tech-skull (but is fictionally produced by the skull itself) and is equipped with a separate five-warhead copper missile
Additionally, the package includes two tail attachments, which are designed to replace the pinching weapons and make each tail end in a black stinger that resembles a scorpion's tailpiece.
Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦♦ Kiroah is only seen fleetingly in the second episode of the KR|Horizon comic book series. By reworking the sculpts for previous creatures and for the Destructomorph Goblins, and adding some awesome new pieces, the greatly skilled folks at PoliganToys were able to create a brand new mount for Nemhetra, which stands out not only as a magnificent KR toy, but one that would appeal to other collectors as well, as a spectacular sci-fi/fantasy beast formed from parts of various animals and machinery, and brought to life in plastic
Articulation: ♥♥♥♥ What really sets this prototype apart from previous creatures is the articulation. This guy is articulated everywhere and most of the articulation is excellent. The two lizard necks feature double ball-jointed bases... not every figure’s sculpt can work with that kind of joints, but combined with the other points of articulation, theses necks can pose pretty much anyway you want them, which is especially great when they become arms in the upright configuration
Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ The detail is amazing throughout the figure. I love the bendy tails, they are absolutely essential to making this figure work, but I do worry about the wear and tear where they connect to the body. Oh, and there are those nasty little slide-out tongues! The dark wash on the orange parts affords the figure some slop here and there, but you just wouldn’t really notice it along with everything else
Accessories: ♠♠♠ While it is great to get all those weapons as add-on extras, I still miss a bit a pair of inactive, total-black alternative eyes for the tech-skull when the figure is in a quadrupedal mode
Playability: ♪♪♪ Yes, the articulation is fantastic, but I occasionally have a hard time keeping the figure standing upright. Perhaps I don’t know where the figure’s centre of gravity is, but it’s mostly due to the knees, I think. You’ll just have to work a little to get the poses you want out of the figure
Overall: ☺☺☺☺ I love every creature prototype produced this year, but if I had to choose one, I’m pretty sure this would be the one to have. I’d like the legs to be a little stronger, but otherwise the sculpt and articulation are superb.
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