KR|Horizon Review #25: Ni-Hil-Zor

Toy prototype details
Name: Ni-Hil-Zor^TM
Subtitle: rolling warrior
Line: KR|Horizon
Item type: action figure - Nº 20 in the line.

Character details
Name: Ni-Hil-Zor
Classification: uncertain
Sex: male
Home: Cereutis
Era: 15 years after Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph (temporarily)
Rank: junior-grade mercenary.

Background
First appearance: KR|Horizon #3 - The last horizon
Brief bio: Ni-Hil-Zor was a descendant of a primitive and malevolent group of monstrous creatures that had originated during the ancient Cereutian wars. Eventually, due to their ungovernable nature, these creatures became a pestilence on Cereutis and frequently clashed with the Multiversal Balancers. Failing to reach an uneasy truce and to coexist peacefully, the Multiversal Balancers attempted to hunt them down. Driven from their homes by their pursuers, a number of highly adaptable clans survived and took refuge deep inside the bog caves in the dark corners of Cereutis for centuries, growing stronger and stronger. Some of these creatures were bred to be the servants of older members of the same race, and Ni-Hil-Zor was bound to Denortos' commands, serving as his backup soldier when Deptilion aimed at creating a trans-dimensional breach in the multiversal walls. After Denortos had returned from his unsuccessful mission on Tahron, Ni-Hil-Zor renewed his devotion to him and, as he became more ambitious, decided to join him in a new journey to Tahron and help him fight against the Therioms. Although physically stronger than his gaffer, he was not as clever and his own ambition to obtain greater power for himself finally backfired, leading to a disastrous failure that prevented him from achieving any goals.

Articulation
Standard, with the addition of a hinged lower jaw and two extra fully articulated arms.

Description
Head: elongated shape, dark-red skin, a strip of spade-shaped imbricate glossy black scales running centrally from the middle of the forehead to the back of the head (developing into a spiny cranial crest), two short tentacle-like dark-red antennas, two pairs of curved dark-red spines pointing backwards where one would expect to find the ears, a pair of purple eyes (each with a horizontal slit-shaped yellow-green pupil resembling a series of four small holes, similarly to a Tokay gecko eye) topped with jagged brow ridges, two large nostrils and two rows of sharp, piranha-like whitish teeth lining the jaws. It's probably due to the new colour scheme, but his look seems to have a more devilish feel compared to Denortos. His head rests in a new large, matte black collar/cowl piece with stripes on the inside, bronze rivets on the outside and a bladed edge (the silver blades projecting all the way around resemble shuriken points), which fits around his neck and rises behind the back of his head. I know some folks might not like the added cowl, but the whole piece can be removed, if you prefer, just by popping off his head, lifting it off, and popping his head back on; this gives Ni-Hil-Zor's head a lot more range of movement, but to me he just doesn't look as good without the hood

Body: his dark-red skin is stretched over a series of bony plates with spine-like tubercles, which are arranged in rings throughout his body, giving a general segmented, armoured appearance. His six limbs (four arms and two legs) sport claw extremities and large strips of spade-shaped imbricate glossy black scales running down the sides (a similar stripe also extends from the nape of the neck, divides along the shoulder blades and continues along the back to the loin). I'm glad that the skin on his limbs is visible in the figure, unlike the comic book version which wears a black garment wholly covering his arms and legs. Finally, he has a short pointy tail emerging from his trunks and protected by a leaf-shaped, spiny-edged dark-red tail shield
Wearables: a bronze armour ornamented with glossy black studs, four bronze bracelets, two bronze calf protectors, a bronze belt (displaying a 4-point silver compass rose on the buckle) and a striped matte black crotch piece. The cuirass shows a scale armour texture and a large silver Cereutian symbol (resembling a four-pointed throwing star with what looks like a trilobite embossed in the middle) on the front. The upper arms are protected by large shoulder armours lined with matte black leather, while the feet carry two matte black instep guards.

Ni-Hil-Zor's stylised armour; the circle at the centre of the chest piece represents a Cereutian symbol.

Action feature / Weapons and accessories
In the comics, apart from having extremely accurate senses owing to his antennas, Ni-Hil-Zor is shown to possess the ability to inflict ferocious bites on his enemies. The feature is wonderfully rendered thanks to the spring-loaded lower jaw, which can swing open and then suddenly snap shut like a bear trap.

Additionally, he is incredibly skilled in six-limbed hand-to-hand combat, often wielding four weapons at a time to keep his opponents off-balance. Among such weapons, the figure comes with a large, round black shield that features several bronze details such as a studded rim, a cross pattern (similar to a 4-point compass rose) on the face and a mean looking pointed central protrusion, and attaches securely at the figure's left wrist (... either one) via a peg. Adorned with a collection of rivets, the bronze trim that runs around and across the shield balances the black finish on the disc, which is fictionally made of anthracite, but –judging by the woodgrain pattern– was originally intended to be made of wood. In the comics, Ni-Hil-Zor has the ability to enhance his fighting skills by connecting his torso to the above-mentioned shield as well as to a second one, enclosing his whole body into a wheel-shaped shell made of the two mechanically expanded shields, and rolling into battle like a bowling ball towards the enemy. The wheel gathers energy as it rolls, and then unleashes all of it in a powerful blast on impact. To mimic the first phase of this transformation in the figure, the emblem on the chest plate can be detached and then replaced with the included shield, while an identical shield is permanently attached to the back plate (I'm not sure how I feel about this). In addition, an expanded, wheel-like double-sided version of the two shields is included as an extra accessory together with a small clear stand. This piece has the same sculpt and paintwork as the original shields, apart from the larger size and from an 8-point compass rose bronze pattern on both faces. Amazingly, this wheel is hinged on one side and can open to reveal a low relief, comic book accurate version of Ni-Hil-Zor in a Vitruvian Man-like pose sculpted inside, showing a slightly smaller size compared to the standard figure, a threatening grin on his flattened out face, and a loose black garment covering his limbs. The opening wheel is on a very sturdy hinge, shuts tightly thanks to an equally sturdy clasp, and contains slots and pegs to hold Ni-Hil-Zor's detached emblem (which could also be used as a shuriken) and two included jitte (each with a black hilt, a pointed and edged bronze blade, and a short "stag beetle mandible"-shaped silver tip attached to the handle). The inside of this piece does hold more than you would expect, and features some sculpted circuitry as well as a Cereutian petrifaction-beam gun, giving it a nice high-tech look.

Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦ I have fond memories of the original Denortos prototype. While I reviewed that one back in 2016, a new version of the character showed up in 2017, and it was a great way to get some exciting updates along with a few great accessories. But I had to wait until 2020 to see more characters of his same species such as his brother Spelekos (in August) and a badass close associate (now). I've always loved action figures that could expand a mythos in some way, and these guys delivered
Articulation: ♥♥♥ The articulation for the four arms works really well, while the cowl limits the range of motion on the head a little, but probably not much more than it would to a person in real life
Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣ Even though in the comics Ni-Hil-Zor is slightly smaller than his chief, this figure seems to be pretty much a repainted version of Origin Denortos, with a new added cowl, a new armour and an additional pair of arms (which means a new torso). All of the features on the head and on the limbs are the same, although with the new colour scheme some of the details of the sculpting are not as sharp as they should be. The feet have been corrected to be more accurate to the comic book, which is a nice touch. There's some great work around the edges of the cowl, which I'm glad is separate from his head, and the paintwork is more than adequate
Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ Apart from the shield and the wheel, which are both great pieces, the additional swords are quite nice in terms of both sculpting and paintwork. I'm really happy they included more weapons, it'd have been such a waist to have all those hands empty
Playability: ♪♪♪♪ Playing with such an articulated figure that has the extra feature of the opening wheel as well as the extra accessories is definitely fun

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ As a Denortos fan since the Foundation line, I'm always happy to see nods to him in what PoliganToys is doing here. I was really excited about the idea of a sidekick, and I find the execution to be very satisfactory, with an impressive sculpt, adjusted size, great paint, and some added accessories. I love the opening wheel and how neatly everything is sculpted inside. Spelekos and the new version of Denortos really brought something new to the Cereutian table in the Horizon line, and this guy is just a very welcome addition to the roster.

KR|Horizon Review #24: Dreadace

A big component of the Key Raiders toy line is the vehicles. The Dreadace^TM might not be the most obvious choice for the first and only vehicle in the Horizon series, but a revised version of the legendary Rotakord was a smart way for PoliganToys to end this supplemental branch of the KR universe for good.

What’s the Dreadace, you ask? Only one of my most wanted KR prototypes to hit my doormat this year! I’ve been craving this vehicle since I first saw its blueprints at a PoliganToys meeting at the beginning of 2020, just before the world as we knew it began to change. However, does the realisation live up to the anticipation? Is this the vehicle that I’ve longed for all these months? Well, let me say that it’s pretty darned close!

The Dreadace is one of those vehicles that almost defy description. It is a heavily armoured aircraft that has sacrificed troop capacity and aerodynamics for a secondary attack mode - in this case, a fleet of deadly land attack machines. Made of three separable modules, this transport is a real monster, nothing can resist it!

Details
Name: Dreadace
Subtitle: aerial and ground assault machine
Classification: aircraft and modular land vehicle
Home: Tahron
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: transport.

Description

The Dreadace has a mainly metallic purple paint, and is visually similar to the Rotakord as well as, to my mind, to the space shuttle in Ulysses 31. This massive vehicle has the capacity to seat up to three figures, one in each module, and its sculpt includes vents, tubes, cables, seemingly rotating handles for shut-off valves, and even individual bolts; applications of red, black, and silver paint all help pick out some of the details.

All the modules feature moving wheels and mostly non-transparent canopies, which can open by folding up and can also be fully removed, if one likes to do so. Each cockpit canopy features a translucent yellow windscreen that is shaped like two connected devilish eyes, and its framework includes sculpted rivets and a non-functioning escape hatch at the top. Inside, each module's cockpit/seat is equipped with a 2-point belt, foot-operated levers, a sculpted dashboard and a movable dual-handled control stick protruding from under it. The console displays some great tech design with an array of buttons, switches and joysticks in all different colours as well as a central viewscreen that shows a radar display graphic. The left and right of the pilot seat is flanked by more consoles, showing all sorts of gauges and readouts, and even what appears to be an intercom system between the different modules.

Module 1 (aka Path-Cleaver)

The first part of the vehicle has the shape of a jet plane, but is actually a winged motorbike à la Hiroshi Shiba from Steel Jeeg. Its manoeuvrability and speed make it an excellent fighting machine. The canopy is hinged at the front of the module to protect its driver. It has two steel flapping wings, which show an interesting mix of organic and tech-mech embellishments, and are fitted onto the left and right sides of the module's front; each wing has a flap that is swivel-hinged, so it can fold and rotate freely, a horizontal impeller and a rotating laser cannon. It also has two steel nacelles attached to the back end sides, which help the module connect to the rest of the vehicle and, when the module is detached, can deploy (i.e., slide outwards) in order to work both as thrusters and stabilisers.

To transform the module into its ground attack mode, the two impellers at the front end of its wings are flipped, allowing them to function as wheels (while the single central rear wheel is always deployed).

This module may look quite simple in appearance, but it actually comes loaded with well-concealed action gimmicks. First, there is a large steel rock-crushing nose at its front, which fictionally allows the machine to burrow through anything; when the module is rolled on the ground, this rock crusher automatically spins into action (I wish I had the option to disengage the mechanism). Also, slide out the two hidden bars below the wings and attach two included silver blades (which can alternatively be combined with an additional handle, to form a powerful boomerang for a figure) and you obtain an instant slice and dice machine. In addition, lifting back the dorsal fin panels on the nacelles reveals another secret weapon - two extremely poseable grappling claws, which can close in and grab any enemy within their reach (each finger even articulates). Last but not least are two handle grips that pop out from below, allowing a figure to grab on to them and use the module as a rocket-pack transportation.

Module 2 (aka Saw-Spinner)

The second part of the vehicle is a hovering module shaped like a flying saucer. The opening canopy is hinged at the back and there are two rotating laser cannons at the front.

Its main action feature consists of a large suction mechanism located on the underside, similarly to its Foundation counterpart. A number of steel saw blades are fitted all around the inner circumference of this opening and spin (producing a turbo-whirl sound) when a button situated at the rear of the module is pressed, not when the module is rolled forward or backward like with its predecessor; it does however have four hidden wheels at its sides, which can be revealed by lifting the side-skirts, turning the module into a kind of all-terrain machine (in the comics, the module has landing skids instead of wheels).

Module 3 (aka Maul-Striker)

The third part of the vehicle is shaped like a mix of a tank and a bulldozer. Not very manoeuvrable on dry land, it can however be very fast thanks to its two powerful reactors that propel the whole vehicle when it's fully assembled. It is equipped with a canopy that tilts forward, two eerie eye-shaped red headlights and two rotating laser cannons on top of the hull front. The back portion of the module displays two large thrusters and two smaller ones in the middle.

It has two side-by-side retractable tailfins on the aft end of the main body, and two lateral panels that lift and slide inwards to deploy a pair of caterpillar tracks. These tank treads come with two pliable belts made of black rubber, which are fitted onto three pairs of massive non-working wheels, each equipped with a large spike sticking out of the hub (four real rolling wheels with steel axles are hidden underneath the chassis). Two front opening mechanical arms (which are shaped like stag beetle-styled gripping claws and are linked to the main body via pliable tubes) and a broad, curved spiked upright dozer blade projecting from the front (which makes for a perfect battering ram) allow the second module to be ejected by moving a lever on the back. Like the wings of the first module, the claws show an interesting mix of organic and tech-mech ornaments.

The main action feature of this module is its giant mechanical steel hammers fitted onto the left and right sides, which pound the ground and bash obstacles when the vehicle is rolled on a surface. The pounding action of the swinging mallets alternates between the two arms, together with the closing/opening action of the grabbing pincers. Alternatively, moving the rear ejection-lever back into the original position deactivates the automatic action, and pressing down on appointed buttons makes the bashing arms slam down simultaneously and the grabbing pincers open, with no movement required. The studded basher mallets look like oversized pick hammers for stones, but are made of soft plastic, so they hit the surfaces with quite a force, but cause no damage. They can also move back and forth on the telescoping arms for extended smashes, and even tilt inward, to join and form a larger hammer (this way, the enemy is caught by the claws and smashed by the hammer), or outwards, to fictionally work as an aid to vaulting over obstacles.

Two metal lids in the back can be raised for "maintenance", revealing nice details of the reactors housed inside as well as a cargo bay that accommodates a number of slots for holding weapons such as the above-mentioned silver blades for Module 1.

Accessories

The set comes with a clear flight stand that attaches to a hole in the bottom of the second module, and can be rotated forward and backward with a ratchet feature, allowing for some nice dynamic aerial posing of the fully assembled vehicle.

All in all, the Dreadace is a real winner and I’ve truly enjoyed playing around with it! It is a great, sturdy vehicle with tons of fun value that also manages to look cool just sitting on the shelf. It has countless nice features that really work well and enhance play; and let’s keep in mind, it is designed to hold three figures... no other KR vehicle has ever achieved this goal. I also love that they went with actual sculpted instruments for the bulk of the cockpits controls here, rather than cop out with just stickers. PoliganToys has come a long way and, although this one might be the last KR vehicle we'll ever see, we can only hope the future is equally as bright.

KR|Horizon Review #23: Alyptro

Toy prototype details
Name: Alyptro^TM
Subtitle: flying lieutenant
Line: KR|Horizon
Item type: action figure - Nº 19 in the line.

Character details
Name: Alyptro
Classification: human
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Era: 15 years after Foundation
Affiliation: Theriom
Rank: second lieutenant (he is eventually promoted to first lieutenant for replacing Tauton).

Background
First appearance: KR|Horizon #2 - In the eye of the storm
Brief bio: native to a village on the slopes of southern Tahron's mountain range, Alyptro found that he had a natural affinity for birds of prey during his teenage. Although he was concerned about the possibility of reptilian heritage in his family being the reason for his limited telepathic and empathic control over birds as well as his exceptional reflexes and agility, he became a skilled aerialist, capable of performing acrobatics high above the ground by imitating raptors. Thinking that his impressive physical skills would make him a natural fit for military airborne operations, Alyptro attempted to join the Theriom Air Force, but was rejected by the army recruiters. However, Senior Minister Desion overrode their conclusion when he pursued strengthening his armed forces and saw great potential in the young aspirant soldier. Eager to prove himself worthy of Desion's decision, Alyptro underwent extensive training with Tauton, in order to improve his hand-to-hand combat skills and turn into an excellent fighter. Following his passion for raptors, he also took up training falcons under Sei-Lha's supervision and became an expert bird trainer. Influenced by his mentors' enthusiasm for science and technology, Alyptro developed an interest in inventing novel materials, and created ikobrass^TM, a composite made of a metal alloy matrix reinforced with bird's feathers; he then produced an outfit that could enhance his abilities with cybernetics, and built Beoqast^TM, a robotic falcon with which he felt a remarkably strong bond. Alyptro was promoted to the rank of first lieutenant when Tauton was believed to be permanently transformed into a monster, and he used the amazing technology he created to help the Therioms fight the evil forces of Nemhetra.

Articulation
Standard.

Description

Head: white skin, dark blond hair and facial hair (his style, with hair up on the sides, sideburns and moustache-less, slightly pointed beard, reminds me a lot of Ikima from Steel Jeeg), and dark brown eyes. He sports a large cinnabar metal crest protruding centrally from his head (which makes him kinda reminiscent of Yondu)

Body: covered with a full-body, close-fitting purple uniform that only exposes his white-skinned hands. The uniform is fictionally made of a synthetic stretch fabric reinforced with a honeycomb-like metal mesh

Wearables: a light-blue (actually light blueish-grey) armour with cinnabar details, two light-blue bracelets, two light-blue boots, a light-blue belt, and ridged cinnabar metal shorts. Every item shows lots of cyber and decorative details; in particular, the armour and the belt display circuits and wires all over, the bracers feature two bird-shaped wrist guards moulded onto them, while the boots have studded knee guards, ridged vamps and thrusters on the heels. Additionally, the armour features a brand new Theriom Air Force emblem (a modified version of the Theriom symbol, i.e., a seven-pointed blueish-grey star whose two elongated side points resemble the wings of a falcon) on a shoulder strap, and is equipped with a short purple cape made of the same material as the uniform.

Alyptro's stylised armour.

Action feature
In the comics, ikobrass is a nearly indestructible composite material with mild gravity-negating effects. The properties of objects made of or containing ikobrass can be controlled mentally by Alyptro through his crest, which is also made of ikobrass and houses the cyber-psychic technology linking him to the material. His uniform and cape are formed by combining ikobrass and a synthetic fabric together, to create a laminated material that makes him resistant to injury (even from small arms fire), augments his strength, quickness and athletic prowess, and enables him to glide silently with precise manoeuvrability on air currents. The figure comes with two interchangeable capes: one down and the other extended to form a pair of SilverHawk-ish under-arm artificial "feathered" wings.

Weapons and accessories
Apart from the two interchangeable capes, Alyptro comes with a pair of shields, which he wields as his main weapons in the comics. These two large trapezoidal cinnabar ikobrass shields attach at the wrists via pivoting clips, and are incredibly detailed, each featuring grooves, ridges, two domed central bosses and what looks like a turbojet engine at the side. In the comics, since they are controlled by Alyptro's cyber-psychic link, the shields can be instantly reshaped into dozens of different configurations.

The package also includes Beoqast, Alyptro's companion - a heavily mechanised cinnabar ikobrass representation of a falcon with lots of robotic details, featuring a pair of long, slender pointed wings, a pair of sharp talons and a pair of booster rockets on its back (as well as an ear-shattering screech). Each of the two bird's talons is designed with fine embellishments, such as three large bladed, fierce looking claws in the front and a smaller claw in the back. It also features some articulation, which includes one ball joint in each leg, one on the neck/head area and one on the tail, while each wing is articulated via a peg at half of its length and can move up and down as well as rotate on a ball-hinge at the base. There's even a tech-looking blueish-grey steel perch, onto which the bird can alight by grasping it with its talons.

Beoqast has the imaginary ability to transform into a flight harness that can be worn by Alyptro, replacing his standard armour and cape. This harness allows Alyptro to fly by a combination of natural winged flight, thanks to the mechanical articulated hawk-like wings, and powered flight, thanks to the thrusters on the back, wings and boots. Alyptro can control the entire system mentally through his crest, which enables him to be linked to his cyber-bird companion. It's interesting to sum up the way the bird configuration transforms into the harness, both fictionally and in reality, to appreciate all the cool details:

	In the comics	In the toy
1	Beoqast's legs and talons fold and compress onto its belly armour	Beoqast's legs detach and are set aside
2	Beoqast's chest splits open wide and reveals the harness' waist strap	Beoqast's chest splits open wide and reveals two sockets
3	Beoqast's head detaches and becomes a half mask-helmet for Alyptro	There's an alternate masked head for Alyptro
4	Beoqast's neck splits (revealing a missile launcher) and swings forward to form the shoulder/chest armour	Beoqast's neck + head piece detaches and is replaced with a cannon piece, while the shoulder/chest armour + waist strap piece is a separate component, which is worn by Alyptro and bears two pegs on the back for connecting to Beoqast
5	Alyptro's shields attach to Beoqast's wings cybernetically, forming a pair of broader, rounded jet-powered wings	Beoqast's wings are replaced with an alternate pair, which are articulated and can clip onto Alyptro's wrists (his hands are also replaced with an alternate light-blue gloved pair)

In this enhanced form, Alyptro is equipped with a bird of prey-like protective half mask-helmet (a bit à la Hawkman), which is fictionally retractable, has an integrated wide band receiver and transmitter, and whose blue-green visor possesses various capabilities, including night-vision, magnification, and remote imaging sensing that allows for a full, 360 degree of vision. Additionally, the harness features a pair of hidden attack talons, i.e. two mentally controlled laser grappling lines built into the shoulder guards, which Alyptro uses to entangle opponents, hook objects, or for swinging and climbing when his wings are damaged. This ability can be recreated in the figure thanks to two included bright yellow pliable cables, which connect to the harness at one end and to Beoqast's repurposed talons at the other end.

Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦ I like Alyptro. Something about the design–the latticework outfit, the reddish tech-items, the bird-flight harness, the bird-flight mask–really appeals to me
Articulation: ♥♥♥ Unfortunately, he suffers from the "blind flight syndrome", meaning that he can’t really look up straight for a good flying pose, although I find I can easily pose him looking straight down. Beoqast's wings are mounted on ball hinges and feature additional hinges at the top of each, allowing it to get some excellent mid-flight poses
Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ The figure features some fantastic detail - every raised line of the hexagonal cellular pattern on his uniform is visible. Also, while I appreciate the fact Alyptro is known as a physical fighter, I'm glad PoliganToys went with two open hands in this instance. The real amazing paintwork is on the ikobrass items - they’re moulded in red, but have a fantastic orange dry brushing that brings out all their detail. It’s some of the best paint job I’ve seen on this line so far
Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ Some KR figures only get one weapon, others get the accessory bonanza. Alyptro has two capes, two armours, two shields, an alternate head, an alternate pair of hands, a cyber-bird with stand, and additional pieces for his flight harness. The paintwork is up to the quality of the sculpt - many of them feature some nice weathering, and have clearly seen more than a few battles
Playability: ♪♪♪ As I already mentioned, perhaps the sculptors could come up with a new engineering trick for flying characters, so they look straight forward when they fly. I’d be willing to accept a slightly sculptural loss to the back of the head to allow for it
Overall: ☺☺☺☺ This is as good as it gets, folks. Alyptro is in the running for my "KR Prototype of the Year" award. In my opinion this is an excellent figure, capturing the essence of what I love about the character in the comics. He even gets an extra half point due to the shields that can swivel without having to customise the figure.