Toy prototype details
Name: VolcrotranTM (Emergence Edition), aka Pre-Shed Volcrotran
Subtitle: snake warrior
Line: KR|Emergence
Item type: action figure - Nº 4 in the line.
Character details
Name: Volcrotran
Classification: lepidosauromorph reptile
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Era: 3 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Unnamed Clan
Rank: vice-marshal.
Background
First appearance: KR|Emergence #3 - The war of all against all: Part II – Rise
Brief bio: Lor-Drek’s loyal right-hand man, Volcrotran was the first of Bi-Harr's soldiers to defect in dishonour to serve in the Unnamed Clan, and worked with his new master to enlist as many warriors as possible. Once strong enough, the newly born army began a three-way war against the Therioms and the Rexodons, with Volcrotran leading many battles while being married to his fellow soldier Nar-AjaTM. After Lor-Drek's military force had been renamed Spektrosaur, Volcrotran was nominated second in command for his cunning military skills as well as his keenness to wickedly poison his victims with dreadful snake bites, although shedding his skin made him lose the ability to lash out at enemies with his menacing extendable clawed limbs.
Name: VolcrotranTM (Emergence Edition), aka Pre-Shed Volcrotran
Subtitle: snake warrior
Line: KR|Emergence
Item type: action figure - Nº 4 in the line.
Character details
Name: Volcrotran
Classification: lepidosauromorph reptile
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Era: 3 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Unnamed Clan
Rank: vice-marshal.
Background
First appearance: KR|Emergence #3 - The war of all against all: Part II – Rise
Brief bio: Lor-Drek’s loyal right-hand man, Volcrotran was the first of Bi-Harr's soldiers to defect in dishonour to serve in the Unnamed Clan, and worked with his new master to enlist as many warriors as possible. Once strong enough, the newly born army began a three-way war against the Therioms and the Rexodons, with Volcrotran leading many battles while being married to his fellow soldier Nar-AjaTM. After Lor-Drek's military force had been renamed Spektrosaur, Volcrotran was nominated second in command for his cunning military skills as well as his keenness to wickedly poison his victims with dreadful snake bites, although shedding his skin made him lose the ability to lash out at enemies with his menacing extendable clawed limbs.
Articulation
Standard, with the addition of a neck extension and a tail, both of which are ball jointed separate pieces. The tail features two articulation points, two swivels at about one-third and two-thirds of its length.
Description
Standard, with the addition of a neck extension and a tail, both of which are ball jointed separate pieces. The tail features two articulation points, two swivels at about one-third and two-thirds of its length.
Description
Head: similar to a spider-tailed horned viper, characterised by a triangular shape, purplish scaly skin, yellow-green eyes with slit-shaped pupils and a closed mouth. The scales above his eyes rise up to give him a horned appearance, while a snake-shaped silver ornament is coiled around his neck, appearing to lengthen it. This neck ring is actually an extension piece that can be removed if one has will to display the figure without, and is slightly shorter than its Foundation version
Body: multicoloured scaly skin, cream-clawed hands. Each digitigrade leg ends in a four-digit foot with massive cream claws, while each knee is bent to accommodate the foot portion with the heel section high up. His body is covered with keeled, imbricate purplish, yellow and light-blue scales arranged in a complex geometric pattern, similarly to an Atheris squamigera. Also, he has a long, slim yellow (except for the underside that is light-blue) tail, which is a separate piece emerging from under the loincloth and has a bulb-like yellow-green (with a nice metallic shine) end that is bordered by long drooping scales, giving it the appearance of a spider. Finally, his right arm wears a silver armband resembling a coiled winged snake, which looks like a reference to Lor-Drek's alternative form in the Origin series
Body: multicoloured scaly skin, cream-clawed hands. Each digitigrade leg ends in a four-digit foot with massive cream claws, while each knee is bent to accommodate the foot portion with the heel section high up. His body is covered with keeled, imbricate purplish, yellow and light-blue scales arranged in a complex geometric pattern, similarly to an Atheris squamigera. Also, he has a long, slim yellow (except for the underside that is light-blue) tail, which is a separate piece emerging from under the loincloth and has a bulb-like yellow-green (with a nice metallic shine) end that is bordered by long drooping scales, giving it the appearance of a spider. Finally, his right arm wears a silver armband resembling a coiled winged snake, which looks like a reference to Lor-Drek's alternative form in the Origin series
Wearables: a golden armour with dark-blue details (the chest piece displays the Unnamed Clan symbol, i.e., a light-green snake emerging from an upright, spirally coiled conic dark-green shell), two golden bracelets, two golden calf protectors with knee guards, a golden belt (whose large buckle resembles a viper head with long fangs) and a dark-blue loincloth. The armour has the distinctive feature of bearing four silver real chains attached and hanging from the breastplate and the shoulder plates, which can be connected to the neck ring via small hooked studs on the latter. Each wrist/shin guard is shaped to resemble a viper skull, while the loincloth looks like made of large overlapping scales.
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| Volcrotran's stylised armour; the circle at the centre of the chest piece represents the Unnamed Clan symbol. |
Action feature
In the comics, Volcrotran is equipped with an additional pair of snake-shaped retractable appendages sprouting from his neck, each nearly half as long as his body and ending in a pad with sharp horny claws (it reminds me of the displacer beast from Dungeons & Dragons). These tentacles are normally concealed under his neck ring and can shoot out at high speed when his neck stretches, allowing him to pierce an unfortunate enemy's armour and drag them towards his venomous fangs. So, the figure comes with alternative head and neck pieces, which are very easy to pop on and to mix and match - just take the four chains off the hooks of the neck ring, remove the default head and neck, put the new pieces on their respective joints, and then re-hang the chains on the hooks of the new neck piece. The elongated, nicely angled neck extension displays the loops of the neck ring (which are normally touching in the default position) not touching and allowing the two cream-clawed purplish bendy arms to extend forward, while the head's jaws are wide open and bear few small sharp white teeth, except for a pair of fairly larger (although not as large as their Foundation counterparts) fangs pointing downwards. Of course, the skin visible through the neck ring's loops (which is yellow and light-blue on the underside, and purplish on the upper side) and present on the retractile arms shows a scaly texture that matches his body's, while there is a forked tongue sculpted on the inside of the mouth.
In the comics, Volcrotran is equipped with an additional pair of snake-shaped retractable appendages sprouting from his neck, each nearly half as long as his body and ending in a pad with sharp horny claws (it reminds me of the displacer beast from Dungeons & Dragons). These tentacles are normally concealed under his neck ring and can shoot out at high speed when his neck stretches, allowing him to pierce an unfortunate enemy's armour and drag them towards his venomous fangs. So, the figure comes with alternative head and neck pieces, which are very easy to pop on and to mix and match - just take the four chains off the hooks of the neck ring, remove the default head and neck, put the new pieces on their respective joints, and then re-hang the chains on the hooks of the new neck piece. The elongated, nicely angled neck extension displays the loops of the neck ring (which are normally touching in the default position) not touching and allowing the two cream-clawed purplish bendy arms to extend forward, while the head's jaws are wide open and bear few small sharp white teeth, except for a pair of fairly larger (although not as large as their Foundation counterparts) fangs pointing downwards. Of course, the skin visible through the neck ring's loops (which is yellow and light-blue on the underside, and purplish on the upper side) and present on the retractile arms shows a scaly texture that matches his body's, while there is a forked tongue sculpted on the inside of the mouth.
Weapons and accessories
Aside from the alternative head and neck parts, Volcrotran comes with a double scythe sword. This weapon features two fierce-looking silver blades (one resembling a falx and one very similar to a khopesh) at both ends of a handle that is wrapped with dark-blue snake leather for a secure grip. Both blades recall the long curvy, jagged design of his Foundation weapon, and can pivot to allow for a number of display options.
Additionally, the package includes a new young, unhelmeted head sculpt for Tir-Hing, which is actually meant for his Enmity version rather than the Foundation one. I'm very glad I finally got this long-awaited alternate portrait for one of the most compelling characters in the Enmity series!
Final thoughts
Overall: I was really anticipating this figure and it didn’t let me down. Like with his Foundation version, Volcrotran’s sculpt and paint job are equal parts awesome. The level of detail in both departments is incredible and really shows off what the Key Raiders line is about. His articulation is standard and works great, and the accessories he comes with are amazing, especially his new neck attachment that helps recreate an insane action feature. Unfortunately, PoliganToys wasn't able to make his tail rattle in this case, which is a bit of a bummer - that would have made for an even better, truly great figure
Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5
Aside from the alternative head and neck parts, Volcrotran comes with a double scythe sword. This weapon features two fierce-looking silver blades (one resembling a falx and one very similar to a khopesh) at both ends of a handle that is wrapped with dark-blue snake leather for a secure grip. Both blades recall the long curvy, jagged design of his Foundation weapon, and can pivot to allow for a number of display options.
Additionally, the package includes a new young, unhelmeted head sculpt for Tir-Hing, which is actually meant for his Enmity version rather than the Foundation one. I'm very glad I finally got this long-awaited alternate portrait for one of the most compelling characters in the Enmity series!
Final thoughts
Overall: I was really anticipating this figure and it didn’t let me down. Like with his Foundation version, Volcrotran’s sculpt and paint job are equal parts awesome. The level of detail in both departments is incredible and really shows off what the Key Raiders line is about. His articulation is standard and works great, and the accessories he comes with are amazing, especially his new neck attachment that helps recreate an insane action feature. Unfortunately, PoliganToys wasn't able to make his tail rattle in this case, which is a bit of a bummer - that would have made for an even better, truly great figure
Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5
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