KR|Horizon Review #27: Kentadon

Toy prototype details
Name: Kentadon^TM
Subtitle: bionic insectoid warrior
Line: KR|Horizon
Item type: action figure - Nº 22 in the line.

Character details
Name: Kentadon (sometimes alternatively spelt Kentadron^TM)
Classification: bio-robotic hybrid
Sex: undefined
Home: Tahron
Era: 15 years after Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: commandant of the Destructomorph Goblins.

Background
First appearance: KR|Horizon #2 - In the eye of the storm
Brief bio: originally an archetype of the Destructomorph Goblins created during Nemhetra's diabolical evolutionary experiments, the bio-robotic insectoid Kentadon was eventually abandoned in a dumping site, because driven by an ungovernable truculent instinct. It was salvaged by Muvaran, who by Mohrdax's command infused the creature with part of his magical powers, to exploit it as a ruthless hunter of prey when set loose upon Tahron. Later, Psadimyr augmented Kentadon with bionic parts using his own evil combination of science and sorcery, in order to boost its abilities even further and transform it into the ultimate war machine. Its vicious and malevolent enhanced nature attracted the attention of Nemhetra, who quickly recruited it to serve as an enforcer in her ranks and help her defeat the Therioms. Rising as the leader of Nemhetra's military defences, the vile Kentadon was tremendously fierce and surprisingly brainy in battle, making the heroic Therioms extremely cautious while confronting it.

Articulation

Standard.

Description

Head: characterised by a scaly glossy black hood that surrounds and merges with an android-like silvery face; it displays a pair of short thin biramous black antennae pointing backward, a pair of fairly large red glowing compound eyes, three smaller light-green glowing eye spots on the forehead and a wide (stretching almost as wide as his eyes) human-looking mouth bearing two vampire-like, finely serrated black fangs, as well as two heavily toothed ivory-coloured spikes protruding from the chin and flanked by a pair of short black segmented appendages (or palps)

Body: his four main limbs (mostly reused from the Destructomorph Goblins) are characterised by a slender, segmented black chitinous appearance (bearing numerous details along their length, such as cracks, bumps and reddish-brown stripes) and is protected by a number of silver metallic plates, which show some spikes and machinery/circuitry patterns, and act as shoulder guards, rerebraces and thigh guards. The arms feature two giant silver robotic pairs of shears, which have a lot of sculpted tech-mech metallic purple details, such as wires and gears, and are articulated with a hinge joint on each partially toothed blade, so they can open and close. Each of his four-digit feet bears three massive claw-like black toes in front and one in back. It is worth noting that under the removable armour, the torso is the same tech-mech piece used for the Goblins, with identical dials, sliders, buttons, knobs and rectangular lenticular sticker at the centre of the chest (which gives an illusion of coursing sound waves)

Wearables: a metallic purple armour with light-green details, two metallic purple bracers, two blocky metallic purple boots (each with a triangular light-green ornament on the shaft and with the dark claws protruding outward), a grooved metallic purple belt with a buckle that looks like the Destructomorph symbol (i.e., a square-shaped spider whose back slightly resembles a demoniac face), and a laminar light-green crotch piece that is split in the middle. The rear surfaces of the armour and of the crotch piece feature seven sockets in total, while the chest armour carries two pairs of light-green robotic appendages similar to small arthropod-like arms, which extend from the sides of the abdomen and terminate in single tiny silver claws.

Kentadon's stylised armour.

Action feature

As a precursory Destructomorph Goblin, Kentadon hatched from the egg-like corpse of a poligavoid^TM with an insect-derived bionic armour, prehensile mouthparts, 26 limbs, and a pair of large chopping hands. In the comics, Kentadon eventually enters into a pupa-like stage and emerges from his bio-metallic cocoon as a flying creature, with an overall smaller body mass, fully formed antennae, eyes and wings, and glands used to secrete a poisonous substance that can be injected into an opponent's body by firing sting-projectiles.

In his pre-metamorphosis form, the figure's lower jaw is equipped with a large extensible bio-robotic organ, which in the comics is termed as a "mask" (as it is normally folded neatly and held before the face and the chest) and can be struck out at great speed to grasp enemies. The tech-mech silver double-hinged (i.e., near the chin and in the middle) piece can extend forward and retract, and terminates in a crushing weapon composed of two claw-like reddish-brown moveable palps with cutting edges and a number of small teeth. This mask fits on the head perfectly and stays put thanks to two small notches on the figure’s TMJs. Also, a silver carapace piece (which is covered in ridges where different metallic surfaces join, and has a sort of spine-like structure topped with a tall collar) is attached to the back armour. Finally, an extra millipede-like abdomen piece is attached to the back of the crotch and is characterised by silver metallic segments that are ring-shaped and joined by seemingly leathery black skin armed with tufts of spiny reddish-brown bristles. The first segment bears an additional pair of fully articulated legs that are identical to the main legs (except for having metallic purple calf protectors -each bearing a double row of spines and a silver spur near the lower end- instead of boots, and completely black feet), while each of the remaining five segments has a pair of ball hinged double-leg parts (each part is composed of two small arthropod-like reddish-brown legs terminating in single black claws). The abdomen piece ends in a long segmented, hooked silver ball jointed telson.

In his post-metamorphosis form, the figure loses the mouth mask, which can be removed by gently pulling its sides, and acquires an elaborate silver helmet with light-green highlights. This separate, removable headdress is characterised by a segmented structure and a pointy, spiky shape that is kinda reminiscent of a Queen Alien's crest embellished with rhinoceros/stag beetle-like protrusions in the middle and at the sides. It also displays a pair of long, thread-like forward-pointing silver antennae with multiple joints, and a pair of large bulbous purple compound eyes (which meet at the top of the helmet), each with a blue glowing horizontal slit plus a beady-eye spot in the centre. Additionally, the figure is deprived of the carapace and of the extra abdomen piece (except for the telson, which plugs into the back of the crotch piece), and obtains six new ball hinged appendages on his back, namely a secondary pair of arms and two pairs of dragonfly-like wings. The additional pair of arthropod-like reddish-brown arms, each terminating in a bulbous silver structure with an arched translucent light-green poisonous detachable sting-missile, project from the back of the shoulders, while the four large transparent (with a purplish tinge) wings are patterned with numerous circuitry-looking veins.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from his pre- (face mask, carapace and millipede abdomen) and post- (helmet, stinger-arms and pairs of wings) metamorphosis pieces, Kentadon does come with a couple of cool accessories: his giant poundin’ war hammer and an alternate head. The battle hammer has a great looking sculpt and lots of good metallic green paint. The large, bulky sledgehammer head has two thick, solid polls with equally spaced grooves that make them similar in appearance to honey dippers, while the long haft has a wicked looking spear-like barbed spike on the opposite end. Kentadon's shear blades are sculpted with holes (one in each hand), to hold the weapon in a variety of one- and two-handed poses - the handle can split into up to three sections, the two furthermost of which can be pushed into such holes, and reassembled afterwards.

Interestingly, Kentadon has a separate portrait depicting his helmet posed in a different way. While the standard head has a removable helmet that enhances his vision, the alternate head has the helmet permanently attached in a raised position, so you can see Kentadon's red eyes underneath.

Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦ I was super-pumped when PoliganToys announced that they would produce a prototype of this character and I couldn't wait any longer for Kentadon to make his debut in toy form in the ranks of my favourite faction, the Destructomorphs

Articulation: ♥♥♥♥ All the joints and articulation on my figure are intact and cause no issue

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣♣ I’m really happy with how this figure looks - the bulkier armour gives it the width that makes it more intimidating. The paint is pretty clean and nothing seems to be prone of being rubbed off

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ While a character like this shouldn’t rely on a weapon, I think it’s cool to envision it using that giant hammer to hit his enemies and then go in to slash or poison them when they’re down. Yes, the way it is held looks very impractical, but I'm a fan of this weapon, because it's a unique and well-designed piece; it’s also great to see some extra paint on it to make it pop more
Playability: ♪♪♪♪♪ All the extra pieces just pop off of pegs, fit really well and are easy to swap with no concerns about breakage

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ I love this figure - not only does it add an awesome character to my collection, but it is also great looking with a really unique set of display options. This is the final figure prototype of 2020. It is not the final KR item to close the year out, but it's the last character of the KR|Horizon line, definitely the best series in the Key Raiders universe so far!