Toy prototype details
Name: AlyptroTM
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 ikobrassTM, 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 BeoqastTM, 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.
Name: AlyptroTM
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 ikobrassTM, 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 BeoqastTM, 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
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.
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. |
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.
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.
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.
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