KR|Dimness Review #27: Dimness Expansion Kit for Tahron

PoliganToys sent me their prototype of the third expansion kit for the epic Tahron playset/game. This kit is inspired by the KR|Dimness line, which was presented back in 2019. The Ucamur^TM Citadel makes its debut in playset form for a new great playing experience!

Description
The KR|Dimness Expansion Kit includes:
• 24 booster tokens for the game
• An additional Ucamur Citadel playset with many features and accessories
• A bag with 75 translucent green chips that are shaped like Antikythron crystals (or rather SpawnCrystals shards, as they are now referred to).

Except for giving an exhaustive description of the Ucamur Citadel playset, I'm not going to detail these components and the game rules with the expansion pieces. You can find all this information in my post about the Origin Expansion Kit. I only need to remark that besides the usual properties, i.e., class, faction, strength, agility, and in some cases a special ability or limitation, each expansion piece is also characterised by a particular era (in this case Dimness) and a number of accumulable credits. The credit-chips included in this expansion kit are translucent green, and spending 30 of them allows a player to know the identity of any unexposed Second Line token, with or without showing it to their opponent. In limited cases (i.e., primary era variants), expansion pieces present no credit, but are characterised by additional strength values and/or different agility patterns compared to their primary counterparts.

List of Dimness expansion pieces and their properties.

List of possible primary pieces variants in the Dimness Expansion Kit (only one piece is included in the kit).

Ucamur Citadel

This playset represents an historicist-like fortress built on top of an enchanted tree above a swampy area, and displays a dark green-and-brown paint that fits right in with the KR|Dimness aesthetic.

Fictionally, the bog is surrounded by high, rugged hills that delimit the Ucamur region. The sentient tree was created by the Multiversal Balancers, for transferring vital faculties to other living beings at risk of extinction. When the tree's mission was completed successfully, its crown died out, while its trunk and roots entered a quiescent state. Millions of years later, the tree top was used as the foundation of the citadel commissioned by a mysterious warlord as a retreat, who paid for its construction out of his personal fortune and used it as a private residence until he died. Shortly after his death, the Therioms appropriated the abandoned fortress and used it as a site of exile for war criminals.

The set is composed of four main sections: a base, a tree, a fortress and a ramp.

Section 1 (base): the piece on which the playset rests looks like a thick layer of swirly, brownish muddy soil. The sculpt of this piece is incredible and the paintwork definitely matches the quality of the sculpt. The front part (extending beyond the grooves in which the next component is placed) is a terrifying pit filled with resin, from which horrific plant creatures emerge. It can be filled up with water or with the honey-orange oozy material that came with the Mother-Plant, and features two separate, detachable 3D figures with knotty greenish-brown wooden bodies: a vine monster and a man-eating plant creature. The vine monster has three tendrils with devilish red eyes on them snaking their way out of the resin swamp; it is an incredibly well done solid piece that is made of harder plastic on the bottom and from a bendy wire rubber on the top. The main body is not bendable or anything, but it does look like it's moving thanks to how it is sculpted; the ends of the three tendrils are not super-bendable, but they do give you the chance to get the creature positioned how you like to fit your display. The man-eating plant creature resembles the upper body of a Plant-Man slightly and has some basic articulation: two swivel-hinged vine-like arms and a ball jointed Venus flytrap head with a hinged jaw. The bases of these two monsters can plug into the surface of the pit to keep them in place, but you can replace them with the upper bodies of two real Plant-Men surfacing or two Forseha warriors sinking, if you will. Sculpted in the pit is also a little parasite poking his head out of a small semi-submerged cave and crawling ashore to perch himself on the rocks; this piece has no articulation whatsoever, but it's a fearsome little guy too. The rear part of the base has a hidden quicksand-trap feature placed in the middle - it's a sort of spring-loaded beartrap (activated by a small lever) that can grab onto a figure’s feet. It's one of the coolest parts of the entire set!

Section 2 (tree trunk) - exterior: this semicircular, dark-green (with a brown wash) piece snaps into place on the base (although it cannot just rest, because it wouldn’t support the weight of the remaining part of the playset, but there are little “teeth” that help the two pieces lock together) and represents the tree trunk used as the load-bearing foundation of the citadel. It has large roots sticking out from the sides, but the most impressive part is without a doubt the sentient tree's demon-like face growing out of the front side of the trunk. The sculpt is wonderful with amazing detail - I love the thick bark texture with fissures and deep cracks worked in the features of its face. The eyes are excellent too (although a splash of deep red colour on them would have looked awesome), while the upper jaw has two ball jointed fangs that can be positioned in various ways. The lower jaw (complete with a sort of beard) is hinged and can be operated using a small lever located on the proper right side (hidden in the roots), while a pair of branch-like arms near the mouth can move together (with a twisting-and-retracting movement, to capture approaching figures) by means of another small lever on the proper left side. When the mouth is closed, the lower jaw is located high in a tree hollow and makes it possible to access the interior of the trunk. Hidden in the rough, uneven bark protecting the surface of the trunk on the proper right side, is another natural tree hole that acts as a secondary entrance leading to the inside.

Section 2 - interior: the inner side of the tree trunk shows roots sculpted everywhere near ground level. The main hollow/entrance looks like a wooden archway, something you would expect to see in an ancient temple dedicated to some malevolent divinity. There is a prison cell to hold someone captive on the left side of the trunk; this has chains, bones and rats sculpted on the inside, a locking door (which can be unlatched with the flick of a spider-shaped release switch) with irregular bars made of wood, and a small bar window on one side. It is very nicely scaled for most KR figures and there is plenty of room for Wordron to keep a Forseha warrior locked up. The tree hole in the right side of the trunk, which works as an auxiliary entrance, is surrounded by a sculpted monstrous face and is equipped with soft plastic vines hanging from the top. A dummy version of the Plant-Beast (a smaller-sized imitation of the front part of the creature equipped with a hinged jaw and held by a stick) can be manipulated through this hole, making it crawl to the inside of the tree and attack a figure trapped in the quicksand.

Section 3 (citadel) - exterior: the roughly semicircular fortress, which is modelled after Neuschwanstein Castle, is supported by the tree trunk (again, there are teeth that have to lock into place) and is easily the coolest part of this playset, as it's the largest and the most impressive. There aren't many play features on the outside, but the excellent sculpt, capturing a fine line between appearing carved by hands and looking craggy, makes for one of the coolest KR backdrops you could ask for. The stony façade is painted in grey with a dark, brown wash, and shows cracks to make it look weathered, some vines climbing the walls, claw-like pinnacles made from spiked rocks, and numerous creepy little carved gargoyles and demon faces coming out of the living stone. There are also many other interesting sculpted details such as a number of windows with wooden ledges and balconies, little staircases, wooden side doors and bar windows. The hinged exterior wooden door that closes the gateway to the inside at the front of the fortress is marvellous! It is made out of two layers of wood planks: the grain of the wood runs vertically on the front layer and horizontally on the back, like a simple form of plywood. The two layers are seemingly held together by iron studs, and the whole structure is strengthened and stiffened with iron bands. The studs themselves are pointed on the front, so that attackers would damage their weapons while trying to break through. The paintwork almost makes this door look like it's actually made of wood and metal, which is pretty cool, and I love how menacing and ominous the toothed bat/vampire crest on the front looks. There is also a secondary wooden doorway with metal ornamentations on one side, but it's got some broken slats and looks a bit rusty too. The building includes four watchtowers, two of which can be equipped with optional half dome-shaped tiled roofs. One of the towers rests atop one side of the fortress and is removable (I'll get to that in a minute).

Section 3 - interior: on the inside, there are more demon faces and gargoyles sculpted on the walls. The lower level features a wooden floor with a trapdoor (a metal grating activated by a melting skull-shaped button, through which a figure drops into the prison cell underneath) on the left side, a vita-ray-esque chamber used by Wordron to transform the sickly cloisterers of the Drojyo'Bhakma^TM Monastery into muscle bound soldiers (it is actually just the front panel, but it's a pretty fun example of the steampunk technology present in this fortress, and seeing all of the wires, the clear window and the tech-monster face embedded in the upper part gets your imagination going) on the right side, two wooden load-bearing posts (to support the upper floor) more towards the middle, and an arched double stairway (with two symmetrical curved flights shaped like giant spines, both rising to a throne on the next floor) in the centre. Turning the monstrous face-shaped knob of the chamber activates a play feature in which the image of a figure placed behind the device comes to life and disappears thanks to a magnifying effect of the front window. While it is possible to pose figures on the steps of the staircase, it's going to take some real concentration and expert balance, but I can understand that the sculptors probably wanted to retain a more organic feel. However, on the right flight, there is a small group of steps that can collapse (i.e., swing down) by hitting a higher step-shaped button, causing a figure to fall. The upper level features a stone floor, a wooden door on the left side (the above-mentioned secondary doorway, which lets out on a ledge and then shuts again using a gargoyle-shaped candle stand on a nearby stony table as a lever), a little door that opens to reveal a secret storage compartment for weapons or artefacts (there are lots of mysterious symbols on this and it kind of reminds me of the evil counterpart of the case that holds the three enchanted helmets inside of Theriom City) on the right side, and two columns designed to look like some sort of ceremonial pillars (which can rotate to reveal hidden spiral staircases leading to two of the four tower-tops) towards the middle. The idea was that one of the two columns/towers would be a removable microphone communicating with a Bluetooth speaker - the concept's main gimmick was the talking tree-monster, where you would speak into the tower microphone and move the mouth from the lever on the side. Instead, the tower was made as a simple removable pillar, to leave a pedestal onto which you can place the Mother-Plant. The missing gimmick doesn't bother me though. The throne in the centre, to which the two stairways rise, is made of cemented skulls and some other spiky bones projecting from the sides, and shows a kind of bat motif. It's an excellent rendition of the throne used by Wordron in the comics; the paintwork is really cool, giving it a mixture of light and dark hues of grey, and the sculpted detail is amazing. To help you get up and down between floors, apart from the main stairways the set comes with two separate wooden grappling ladders that can hang anywhere (there are some slots and notches here and there, to help them be more stable). Each of the four towers has a cool little platform that gives Wordron and his henchmen a place to stand, watch and guard the entrances to their lair. The platforms can support a variety of included accessories, namely a Dark Legion softgoods flag, a perch on which two crows roost, a ballista equipped with a separate bolt, and a 2-part flat piece cast in a translucent orange plastic and looking like Wordron's giant ghostly manifestation after being killed (it has a stand and features an "opening mouth" effect thanks to one of its parts being able to slide up).

Section 4 (ramp): to make their way toward the fortress' main entrance, the Forseha warriors will have to cross the swampy ground by traversing a menacing, rickety old ramp climbing up. This piece has some excellent detail on the stone slabs that make it up, with some great paint applications showing the age of the structure. The ramp looks cool and is littered with vines, while strewn weapons and bones, a cluster of skulls and a gravestone are sculpted into the U-shaped rock piece on the bottom, which fits around the resin pit of the base. However, well, it's a bit small. The comic book version has a curved path that leads from the ground level to the front of the building where the main door is located. The toy version makes it shorter and almost straight, with a steep stair-like lower level, adding in some extra height, but making it less of a ramp and more of a decorative feature. Visually it looks more rugged and untamed, but the downside is that it only fits one archway instead of two. It doesn't look too bad though, and the KR figures don't seem to have a hard time walking up the path, but it seems like the ramp needed to be a couple inches longer to accommodate a second archway or at least to make it have two figures fighting comfortably on it. The archway is made of a large flat capstone laid on two upright haunted sculptures. Each statue resembles a gargoyle (very similar to Demo-Rha's three-faced demon-ghost and wearing a triple diadem with a mitre-like crown supporting the stone) mounted on a plinth and entwined with thorny vines (there are even a couple of crows standing on it). The torsos of the two gargoyles, which fictionally have the ability to animate due to the living vines twined round them, can be rotated synchronously by turning a cobblestone-shaped knob on top of the capstone, and made to grab and hold a figure passing between them with the vines' hand-shaped tendrils (this feature was originally intended to be activated by two levers under the base, making the capstone fall, but was changed eventually). At the end of the ramp there’s a platform, which looks like a sealed abandoned well (there's some nice paint detail on the floor), placed in front of the main entrance and flanked by two curved woody stems of dead shrubs with spiny branches. When these are tilted towards each other above the platform, a figure standing on it drops through a double trap door into a rubbery net seemingly made of vines. The net hangs from snake-shaped posts and is suspended over the resin pit, facing the tree-monster. The two tilted stems form a wooden archway with a tree hole where they meet and connect, through which you can pour some resin ooze on the prisoner in the net. A very cool feature is that the positions of the net and the prison cell are interchangeable, meaning that each can slide out from its own location and be placed below the other trap-door. Alternatively, the platform can be filled with ooze and its trap-door mechanism can be overridden through a switch underneath, making it possible for a Plant-Man to rise from under the platform, break the seal and emerge from a puddle of resin. I like this feature a lot, as it creates a setting for an evil creature to scare the bejesus out of unwelcome visitors.

The KR|Dimness Expansion Kit is fully compatible with the previous Tahron board game sets, including the KR|Origin and KR|Enmity Expansion Kits. Overall, if nothing else can be said about the playset, let it be said that it is massive, overwhelming, and visually stunning. The plastic quality is excellent, and the set feels very, very sturdy. The paintwork is just so well done, too. There are really lots of nicely captured details here, from the painted vines growing out from between the crevices, to the dark shading on the various surfaces. It is excellent looking!

Happy holidays!!!

KR Review #100: CoBoN Mark II

Despite everything RaiderCosm has brought to the Key Raiders line this year, I will personally remember 2022 as the year that I wrote my 100^th KR|Foundation review. While PoliganToys is still actively producing KR prototypes and they may revisit the style of Foundation characters in the coming months, this review is truly a milestone in my long running blogging streak stretching back to the first prototype of Masq-Lor in 2015. Since then, PoliganToys has produced prototypes of well over 200 regular figures, multiple oversized figures, creatures and vehicles, and even three massive playsets (with a further one in the pipeline), a feat that's quite impressive in this modern age, especially when you realise that 99% of the product never appeared on a retail shelf and only a handful of pieces were sold at conventions.

Now, it's time for my review. This final Foundation item, CoBoN Mark II, is an interesting piece and a reasonable choice, since this vehicle appears towards the end of the Foundation saga finale. While there are certainly still toys I want for the line should it ever continue (or at least be revisited via the upcoming new wave), this new version of CoBoN does feel like the cherry on top of what has been a delicious cake. So, let's take a look at it.

Toy prototype details

Name: CoBoN Mark II

Subtitle: hyper-technological war machine

Line: KR|Foundation

Item type: vehicle - Nº 7 in the line (technically Nº 12, since several vehicles were included in multi-packs).

Character details

Name: CoBoN Mark II

Classification: fighting vehicle

Home: Tahron

Era: Foundation

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: transport.

Background

First appearance: KR|Foundation #13 - The ultimate curse

Related character(s): CoBoN, CoBoN 2.0.

Concept

Let me immediately make this clear: the name is absolutely misleading! This prototype only represents a part of the amazing machine that is CoBoN Mark II. That being said, it is worth spending a few words about its overall look in the comics, because I really wouldn't mind to see the rest in toy form at some point.

Like the previous model, this version of CoBoN is an all-terrain fighting vehicle that is characterised by a revolutionary design, powered by a classified energy source and controlled by an advanced AI. However, this model is composed of a number of modules and, when needed, it can separate into four individual vehicles, each of which is thrusted by formidable jet engines and possesses the ability to transform into a specific attack vehicle. In all this, I can see a lot of inspiration from some Japanese toys and TV programs from the late 70s / early 80s, namely Machine Hayabusa, Cho Supercar Gattiger, Dinosaur War Izenborg, and Diaclone Change Attackers or Attacars.

CoBoN Mark II is initially painted in silver like its predecessor, but it's subsequently airbrushed with black radar-absorbent paint for stealth purposes. It is also equipped with various vertical and/or horizontal air-deflecting, stabilising surfaces on the front, side and rear parts.

The individual modules have partially transparent canopies or pairs of scissor doors that are hinged either at the back or at the front; in this way they can open by folding up and backward or forward, in order to allow access into the respective cockpits/cabins. Each cockpit is outfitted with one or two seats (all provided with 4-point safety belts), and a high-tech dashboard/handlebar that shows tons of controls and resembles the instrument panel of an aircraft rather than a road vehicle; the instrumentation includes a voice display, which shows coloured lights that diverge horizontally when CoBoN's AI module speaks.

In its fully assembled form, CoBoN is capable of a hyper-speed transformation, which provides an extra-boost in velocity beyond the vehicle's original top speed. This consists of the production of structures on the vehicle's body intended to enhance acceleration and improve road-holding when travelling at those extremely high speeds.

Side modules

Apart from two badass Lambo-like doors, each side vehicle is equipped with two sets of tank treads (covered by fender skirts in the upper portions) and a pair of powerful glass-covered headlamps at the front, as well as two ordinary-sized wheels with all-terrain tires and a single huge booster rocket at the back (this is connected to the rear module in the fully assembled mode).

During hyper-speed transformation, each vehicle's front bumper (on its external side) deploys an additional side wing for aerodynamic stability, while the fender skirt expands to bring an array of small auxiliary thrusters into action.

After separating from the rest of the machine, each side module transforms into a tunnelling vehicle. The front caterpillar tracks swing back sideways against the rear wheels during a brief wheelie action, while the front part of the bodywork swings up and back to reveal a large conical steel drill bit (with a blade-like tapered screw thread) at the front as well as a pair of missile launchers on the top (which was previously part of the undercarriage).

Rear module

The rear vehicle is equipped with a pair of humungous off-the-road flotation tires, a display of weapons (including pairs of Gatling guns and clusters of missile launchers) at the front, and two large rectangular air intakes/outlets on the top-sides; each air intake/outlet is fitted with a V-/Pelikan tail, in which the external control surface has a gun on the tip that emits a laser-rope capable of wrapping around objects. The back features a bunch of horizontal tail lights, a boarding ladder to aid entry into the two-seater cockpit (which is covered by a canopy hinged at the front top) and four exhausts (two of which are particularly large) embedded in the rear bumper.

During hyper-speed transformation, the fenders expand to reveal supplementary air inlets for increased cooling, while the top part (including the canopy) rises substantially forming an aircraft-shaped structure (characterised by a pair of wings that connect the cockpit to the two rectangular air intakes/outlets, a T-/cruciform tail with large horizontal stabilisers, and a pair of small rocket boosters on the nose) and revealing a powerful, enormous 5-piece (one large, two medium-sized, and two small) jet engine underneath. The emergency braking system works by activating the two front boosters, tilting forward the two horizontal stabilisers to create air friction, and deploying a large braking parachute.

After separating from the central module, the rear module transforms into a submersible watercraft. The sides swing down revealing a pair of large impellers in the inner surfaces of the wheels (which make the vehicle hover on dry land), the front panel swings down allowing a secondary cockpit (equipped with canopy, twin headlamps on the nose and hinged torpedo launchers on the sides) to slide forward, while the roof and the rear panel fold like a "map", exposing the huge propeller (which is the upside-down jet engine) to view.

Central module

The central vehicle is equipped with four nicely sculpted all-terrain tires. The front part shows a louvered vent on the top as well as the signature nose-mounted scanner bar with red and yellow patterns, i.e., two lines that sweep horizontally and a central pulsing "eye" that allows CoBoN to "see". The cockpit is furnished with three round windows on each side below the canopy hinged at the back, while the side skirts project outwards to connect to the fender skirts of the side modules (in the fully combined configuration, the central vehicle is not attached to the rear vehicle; this connection is only established once the two side modules detach). The back part is wide and includes the hood (which can slide backward to reveal the amazing turbine engine) topped by two large exhausts and flanked by two massive air intakes/outlets.

During hyper-speed transformation, the louvered vent moves up becoming a shaker scoop, while the front bumper slides forward and partially rises to form a spoiler and to produce extra downforce.

After separating from the rear module, the central module transforms into a combat aerial vehicle. The wheels retract for hover conversion, the front bumper rotates to reveal a nose cone vaguely resembling a bird's head, the sides swing down to deploy a pair of variable-sweep wings with circular saw blades at their tips, and the bodywork (including the canopy/roof, replaced by a secondary transparent canopy that slides forward to cover the cockpit) swings up and back and converts to a H-/twin tail equipped with a pair of rotating laser guns on the sides, and a powerful jet engine fitted with four additional control surfaces arranged in an X-shape.

Description

As I mentioned at the beginning of this review, although the prototype is named CoBoN Mark II like the entirety of the machine, the transformed form of the central module is the only part that comes in toy form. The cool bird-themed silver nose at the front includes the distinctive scanner bar, represented well by a black lenticular sticker, while at the tip of each swivelling wing is a spinning saw blade. There's also a piece at the back that features two pivoting (around a transverse axis) cannons. The hinged canopy (with some sculpted circuitry patterns on the clear portion) opens up and there is room inside the cockpit for one regular figure as well as the sphere-shaped AI module that came with CoBoN 2.0. No real unique features inside, but there are some handles for a figure to hold onto in order to safely control the vehicle.

Accessories

Apart from an articulated flight stand, CoBoN Mark II comes with two cybernetic processor units (basically two small tech-looking, card-shaped devices) that can be slid into apt sockets placed in CoBoN (Mark I, since Mark II's AI module is separate) and LoGoN vehicle forms' dashboards. I had never even noticed the presence of those slots in the two vehicles and I'm very happy we get these pieces of Theriom-tech that we fleetingly saw in a couple of comic book issues, namely The ultimate curse and Terror from the clouds.

Also included is an new version of Masq-Lor that features a wax sculpture-inspired look. This is basically a repaint of Apprentice Minister Masq-Lor with his Horizon Edition unhelmeted head and cuirass, which resembles the hero's waxy depiction made by Psadimyr as seen in the comics of the Horizon series. The figure is cast in an off-white/light yellow plastic and shows a shiny surface. Masq-Lor's wax sculpture comes with no weapon, but is (paradoxically) fully articulated and actually looks cool controlling CoBoN in the vehicle's flight deck.

Final thoughts

Overall: the transformed central module of CoBoN Mark II gets a solid thumbs-up from me. I like the design, I like the quality, but there's not much more to it than what I described. The spinning blades are fun, but another more imaginative feature or two would have been welcome. It is a rather decent sized vehicle, though, and I'm still trying to decide how to display it, since I'm not planning to make it a centrepiece item, but it does need an adequate amount of space. Of course, including a (sort of) variant of Masq-Lor, the figure that started it all, was a clever decision that really brought a smile to my face

Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR|Horizon Review #29: Muvaran (Extra Armoured Forms)

Toy prototype details

Name: Muvaran^TM (Extra Armoured Forms)

Subtitle: warring sorcerer

Line: KR|Horizon

Item type: large scale figure (dual figure) - Nº 2 in the line.

Character details

Name: Muvaran

Classification: the reanimated corpse of a human

Sex: male

Home: unknown

Era: 15 years after Foundation

Affiliation: Destructomorph

Rank: sorcerer priest.

Background

First appearance: KR|Horizon #2 - In the eye of the storm

Related character(s): Muvaran.

Articulation
Both figures have the standard articulation.

Description

In the comics, the mummy form of Muvaran controls a human-sized armour made of metal (these were the two figures I reviewed back in 2020). Moreover, each time he needs more power, Muvaran jumps into an additional larger coffin-like armour made of painted wood; for maximum-strength amplification, he can further enclose himself in an even larger sarcophagus-like armour made of carved granite. These are the two items included in this new set, and both have a similar appearance to the metal-armoured form. Although it's not possible to place one armour inside the other, the two figures are in scale with each other and with the older figures: the wooden version is 23 cm tall (around 9''), while the stone version is 30 cm tall (around 12'').

Heads: each head sports a helmet painted/carved with intricate details, which is seemingly composed of a sculpted headcloth (covering the ears and the nape of the neck) and a ceremonial headgear: an atef feathered crown in the wooden armour, and a hemhem crown in the stone armour. The atef combines a tall bulbous hedjet with curly blue-painted ostrich feathers on each side of the crown (the feathers are identified as ostrich from their curve at the upper ends and a slight flare toward the base). The hemhem is an elaborate triple atef set on top of a pair of long spiral ram's horns and ornamented with various feathers, a cobra on either side of the crown and three bronze sun discs on the top. The face slightly resembles the mask of Tutankhamun, with chiselled details such as a pair of evil wadjet-like white glowing eyes and a spiky false beard. In the wooden version, the mouth area is covered by layers of plastered scraps of linen decorated with geometric shapes and runes, while the stone version appears to have a sculpted mouth guard

Bodies: the limbs (specifically the upper arms, hands, thighs and knees) are covered in hieroglyph-like ornamental inscriptions with mysterious or magic significance. In the wooden version, such inscriptions are painted on plastered scraps of linen, while in the stone version they are engraved on the surface. Each figure wears four bands (made of silver in the wooden version, bronze in the stone one) around the upper arms and the thighs

Wearables: each figure displays a wesekh-like broad pectoral, two large spiked, reinforced spaulders, a sort of apron, two bracers with spikes sticking out of the sides, two sandal-boots with fan-shaped tops, a belt with a triangular buckle, and a short shendyt painted/carved with four-pointed stars all the way around (and seemingly fringed edges in the stone version). Many details, namely the torso underneath the pectoral/apron, the bracers and the sandal-boots, show sculpted ornaments imitating criss-crossed straps, while the few inlays in the pectoral/apron, the spikes on the spaulders and bracers, and the belt buckle are made of silver in the wooden version and bronze in the stone one.

Weapons and accessories

Muvaran's armoured forms have no action feature and don't come with any proper weapons, but the set includes an awesome accessory - the mummy's "unwrapped" bituminous inner body that in the comics is capable of shapeshifting powers, including the ability to form spikes or expand his size. This item has no articulation whatsoever and comes in the form of a demonic dark-taupe bust emerging from a puddle of tar mixed with some loose ecru bandages. This piece is smaller than the standard KR figure, but has a pair of outstretched arms ending with ghoulish, large clawed hands.

Final thoughts

Overall: of all the KR|Horizon figures that were missing from the original wave (we still need quite a few mecha characters...), I was looking forward to Muvaran's extra armoured forms the most, and now that they're in hand, I can happily say they do not disappoint. I could make a few minor nitpicks about the paint, but otherwise these figures are excellent. In either case, the sculpt is great, the colours are beautiful, and the figure is loads of fun to pose and play with

Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR|Enmity Review #29: Semhadrian Warriors

Toy prototype details

Name: Semhadrian^TM Warriors

Subtitle: armoured waterlords

Line: KR|Enmity

Item type: multi-pack (army builder 2-pack) - Nº 3 in the line (Sondakor and Flail-Flinger, each of which came with an additional action figure, are not considered multi-packs in the Enmity line).

Character details

Name: unknown

Classification: osteichthyan

Sex: hermaphrodite (but he appears as male)

Home: SemhadarTM

Era: 20 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Semhadar's maritime force (which is Theriom's ally)

Rank: seaman.

Background
First appearance: KR|Enmity #3 - Notes of vengeance
Related character(s): Aktahnor.

Articulation
Standard, plus a ball jointed tail and a pair of articulated (with a swivel joint at the base and a hinged joint in the middle) appendages attached to the wrists.

Description

Heads: each figure's head is similar to an arthrodire placoderm and is encased in an armoured shield made of broad flat, seemingly articulated bony plates. This armour, which is cast in grey-brown and is covered with a light-greenish wash, is characterised by large eye sockets (enclosing spherical pink eyes with dark pupils) protected by light-blueish bony rings as well as jaws lined with whitish bony structures similar to thick, sharp teeth. It also sports several short light-blueish spines projecting from the top of the head and from the face

Bodies: each figure's upper torso is protected by a thoracic shield made of armoured plates (its colour scheme –grey-brown plastic covered with a light-greenish wash, and light-blueish paint on the details– matches that of the head shield), whereas the rest of the body has a scaly texture from a covering of small diamond-shaped shiny blue-green (with a predominance of blue) horny plates, which fit together more like a jigsaw rather than overlapping one another. The figure also displays webbed hands and feet with grey-brown claws, a curved dorsal fin projecting from a slit in the thoracic shield, two pairs of fairly large lobe-like fins extending from the upper arms and the thighs, and a rather short, thin tail emerging from under the loincloth and ending in a sickle-shaped heterocercal caudal fin. Like with other aquatic characters in the KR line, two interesting details about each warrior's body are found under the removable (although it's supposed to be part of their body) chest armour. First, the torso features two glossier lines running down each side, from the armpits to the waist; this is probably a reference to the lateral line sensory organ usually present in aquatic vertebrates, which enables the Semhadrians to sense minute vibrations and electric fields produced by nearby enemies. Second, each figure carries an extra neck piece that fits right on top of the body (it is glued on, but it might be possible to pry it off if one had will to do so) and shows a bony operculum on each side, behind which I guess the gills are hidden

Wearables: each figure carries some seagrass ribbon-like, light-green leaves twining round the lower legs, a light-green oxidised bronze belt with a triangular light-blue aquamarine gemstone as the buckle, and a lobe fin-shaped shiny light-blueish loincloth.

Semhadrian Warrior's stylised thoracic shield.

Action feature

In the comics, the Semhadrian Warriors are shown to be extremely strong fighters, and to have the ability to breathe both deep underwater and on the surface world. Moreover, they bear additional "arm fins" that are modified into caliper-like bony appendages resembling arthropod-like articulated limbs. So, each figure is equipped with a pair of long wrist-mounted armoured fins attached to two bony bracers, which are all cast in grey-brown and covered with a light-greenish wash. Each snap-on appendage has a swivel joint at the base, an elbow-like hinged joint between the two segments of which it is composed, and can also rotate together with the wrist/forearm piece, so that it can be posed in any direction.

Weapons and accessories

The Semhadrian Warriors come with an interesting assortment of weapons. First up is a polearm consisting of a long metallic light-blue shaft with two golden-pronged ends and light-green seagrass trim wrapped along the portion near each end. Each extremity is composed of a spearhead with protrusions on the sides, giving the weapon the look of a double trident. One end bears a double-edged pointed tip with two stacked crescent-shaped cross-hilts at its base, the individual barbed prongs on either side having a cutting edge and extending side by side with the central blade (its overall shape makes me think of a five-branched menorah... a "quindent"?) The opposite end has a broad, leaf-shaped spearhead with a diverging bladed projection on each side (kind of resembling Maserati's trident badge), and has a more elaborate appearance than the other - the segmented spear-tip holds a translucent light-blue aquamarine gem in the centre, while each side-blade is jagged and has a small curve to it. The shaft can also split in the middle, to produce two smaller trident weapons.

In addition, there's a fish skeleton-shaped shiny light-blueish shield, which, when flipped, reveals a slot for storing an included sword between the back of the protective surface and the light-green leather grip. The sword has two lobe fin-shaped shiny light-blueish quillons and a blade derived from a sawfish rostrum, which is a narrow, flattened yellow-orange bony projection, lined with a row of sharp whitish teeth on either side of it and ornamented with a blue-green stripe down the middle.

Finally, and I didn't really see this coming, we get a set of pieces for transforming either figure (after removing its head, chest shield and arm fins) into Semhadar's head of state and grand admiral Chief Rada^TM. The set consists of a head, two gemstones, a robe, an armour and a belt. The large head resembles that of a blobfish and is characterised by smooth blue-green skin (matching the colour of the scaly body), a pair of round pink eyes with dark pupils, a wide mouth and a cranial crest-shaped metallic yellow-green headdress, which I suppose is his crown. The two light-blue aquamarine gemstones are meant to cover the sockets in the bracers after removing the two armoured fins. His ceremonial outfit includes a nicely tailored, sleeveless light-blue soft goods robe (there's a Velcro strip to make it easier to put on the figure as well as a slit on the back for allowing his dorsal fin and tail to go through), a yellow&light-green armour that fits over the robe (its shape is vaguely reminiscent of Aktahnor's armour, but includes a pair of shoulder pads, a long central strip in the front, a stole with Semhadrian heraldic symbols, and a soft goods, permanently attached cape that is split into two parts down the middle) and a yellow belt made of flexible plastic that fits on the fully attired figure nicely.

Final thoughts
Overall: I really like these Semhadrian Warriors! They do look quite unique, and the armoured head, chest and fin pieces on the figures make for some very different fish-like characters. Their weapons are quite cool too, especially that double trident. Also, considering we have the option of getting another completely different look out of one of the two figures, I'm more than satisfied here
Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #99: Leutra

Toy prototype details

Name: Leutra^TM

Subtitle: tricky rebel

Line: KR|Foundation

Item type: action figure - Nº 62 in the line.

Character details

Name: Leutra

Classification: human

Sex: female

Home: Tahron

Era: 521 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Kimarhan^TM (a tribe of forest warriors who resist, among others, the rising reptilian authority); possibly becoming a member of the Theriom faction at a later time

Rank: apprentice tracker and scout.

Background

First appearance: KR|Foundation #12 - Dawn of a new past

Related character(s): none.

Articulation
Standard, excluding hinged abdomen.

Description

Head: Hispanic features, cream white skin, hazel eyes. She wears a boar's tusk helmet, i.e., a helmet made of ivory slivers of boar tusks that are attached to a purple leather cap in rows (the cap is visible through the gaps between the horizontal rows), with the tusks running all around in alternate directions in each row. The helmet also has a pair of cheek-guards and a double bony hook on top

Body: the exposed parts of her body (i.e., lower torso, forearms and legs) show cream white skin

Wearables: a V-shaped brown crop top with a purple motif (i.e., a seven-rayed sun) on the front and mid-length sleeves marked with beige stitches, a purple jacket with very short jagged sleeves, a brown emblem (again a seven-rayed sun) on the back and a collar made from brown-coloured fur that is darkly marked with both blotchy spots and stripes, two pairs of armbands made of either black leather or green woven grass, two finger bracelets (each made of a brown leather strap that wraps around the wrist and part of the forearm, forms a harness with a silver stud attached across her knuckles, and then loops around her middle and ring fingers), two brown leather shoes, two narrow loose fitting criss-crossed brown leather belts, and a short tattered purple skirt. The jacket (whose serrated hem, like the crop top, is cut short so that it reveals the stomach) is completely open and exposes a necklace, from which several pendants resembling teeth or claws hang down in front. The skirt doesn't really match the upper body's outfit and I guess it's a reference to the short dress with criss-crossed straps briefly seen in the comics.

Action feature

In the comics, Leutra is a young tribeswoman who dreams of becoming a great hunter like her father. She develops impressive skills in concealment and prefers to work alone, since she thinks that few could reach her level of sneakiness and camouflage technique. So, the figure comes with an alternative head as well as an alternative lower section that replaces the standard legs and attaches to the upper body by a peg at the waist. The alternate head shows brown camouflage paint applied on both her face and helmet as well as some natural foliage such as grass, leaves and twigs added to the helmet. The alternate lower body includes a pair of above knee-length purple trousers patched with beige, green and brown pieces of cloth, a pair of under knee brown leather boots (whose shafts are fastened with two pairs of bands made of either black leather or green woven grass), and two wide loose fitting criss-crossed brown leather belts, which incorporate several sculpted darts plus one loop for a separate dart. Each dart consists of a stone point fitted with a triangular bony arrowhead and attached to an equally long shaft of wood that is fletched with feathers to provide stability of flight.

Weapons and accessories

Aside from the alternate head, lower body piece and projectile, Leutra comes with a kestros, a specially designed sling that she uses to throw her heavy darts. The sling is composed of a metal ring to which two chains are linked. Each chain is connected to a length of rope: one rope ends with a loop, while the other rope is attached via a circular leather patch to a backbone (roughly of the same length as the chain-plus-rope section) ripped out of some animal. To throw the dart, Leutra holds the weapon by looping her middle, ring and small fingers around the central ring, passes the butt of the dart through the loop at the end of one rope, wraps the dart's head in the leather patch by bending the other rope and the spine at their joint, and grasps the end of the spine portion with her thumb and index finger (in the accessory, the end of the backbone clips onto the ring). The dart remains fixed in that position while the weapon is whirled round and round similarly to a lasso, but when at maximum centrifugal force the end of the spine is released, the dart is propelled towards an enemy. Wow, sounds like it takes great amounts of training and skill to properly deploy a dart with this weapon! The accessory is made of real metal chains and pliable purple (except for the brown leather patch) "rope" parts, while the silver central ring and the bony white spine portion are made of rigid plastic. It is also fictionally used as a spiked whip (that's why the sling is not just made of rope - the spiny backbone and the chain sections look pretty vicious) and can be worn over the shoulder and across the body like a bandolier.

Additionally, the figure includes another alternative portrait, which is helmet-less and shows auburn (i.e., reddish-brown) hair tied in a short ponytail at the back, and with side swept bangs at the front.

Final thoughts

Overall: Leutra is an excellent figure with a great likeness to the character. This heroic female warrior was featured in one of the best episodes in the Foundation series and I think she's a pretty good representative of the Kimarhan tribe, which is incredibly important to the KR mythos (after all, that's King Tah-Ron's tribe!) She definitely deserved a figure. The attention to detail, paint applications, sculpt and accessories look great. The neck peg seems a bit fragile though and I had to make sure to use some caution while swapping out the heads, as I definitely don’t want to risk breaking it

Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #98: Vehicle Driver

Toy prototype details
Name: Vehicle Driver
Subtitle: mysterious vehicle maneuverer
Line: KR|Foundation
Item type: action figure - Nº 61 in the line.

Character details
Name: unknown
Classification: uncertain
Sex: presumably male
Home: Tahron
Era: Foundation
Affiliation: varying
Rank: maneuverer.

Background
The Vehicle Driver has the distinction of being the only figure in the entire KR line that doesn't correspond to any characters in the stories. The figure comes with a set of interchangeable heads, chest plates and weapons that match up with the eight vehicles included in the Foundation series.

Articulation
Standard.

Description

The basic look of the figure hails from the generic warrior design on the tokens of the Key Raiders board game. In terms of sculpt, the figure makes extensive re-use of previous moulds... there’s very little new here.

Body: the figure's torso and limbs use the same proportions seen in other KR human male figures. In addition, he wears a whole-body protective clothing of dark red-and-purple leather, while black leather is visible in the form of gloves and boots on the hands and feet

Wearables: a golden armour with black details, two golden wrist guards with knuckle protectors, two golden knee/shin guards, a golden belt and a black groin protector. The new, relatively simple armour features some great design elements such as raised edges, rivets, and circuitry details. The back of the armour shows off what are presumably some sort of air tanks, while the attached spaulders are softer and do move nicely when you pose the shoulders.

Action feature, weapons and accessories

The included heads are inspired by “made-up” background characters for the artwork on some large items packaging, promotional posters and comic books. To help tie each of these characters more closely to the vehicles they're identified with, PoliganToys have incorporated design elements from the rides into a number of unique chest plates and weapons. The interchangeable chest plates are separate pieces that merely plug into a socket in the armour. You can easily remove one and replace it with another.

Wheel-Wolf driver

Head: a bulbous silver space suit helmet with an orange visor, a trapezoidal breathing apparatus connected to two headphone-like devices on the sides by bundles of golden tubes, and lots of cyber details all over the dome at the top, which is reminiscent of the Theriom Trooper's helmet. The visor is nice and wide, and can be popped off to reveal the eyes of a beast-looking, brown-furred character inside

Chest plate: modelled after the silver armour on the Wheel-Wolf's hull front, which subtly resembles a wolf's head

Weapon: a shield modelled after one of the Wheel-Wolf's wheels, including the black off-the-road flotation tire and a silver central spike.

Aviotak driver

Head: a full-face golden helmet with a pair of blue-violet lenses and a breathing apparatus composed of three silver hoses (two smooth that are threaded horizontally through two loops on the sides of the head and one corrugated that extends vertically between the lenses, with all three hoses ending at the back of the helmet) and black O-rings

Chest plate: an electronic panel modelled after the Aviotak's high-tech silver dashboard and equipped with a blue-violet pliable hose that plugs into the figure's mouth piece

Weapon: a double-barrelled (side-by-side, with a substantial gap between the two barrels) red-and-silver gun modelled after the Aviotak's pair of turbojet engines.

Ceratank driver

Head: an off-white (i.e., a white colour with a grey tinge that looks like tarnished silver) great helm consisting of a flat-topped (actually slightly curved) cylinder of metal that completely covers the head and has small openings for ventilation and vision. The helmet is also extended downward until it reaches the throat and has a cross-shaped shiny steel ornament riveted to the face portion

Chest plate: modelled after the ivory-white bony armour on the Ceratank's hull front, which strongly resembles a Centrosaurus skull (with some metallic dark-blue tech details and red glowing eye sockets)

Weapon: a club modelled after the Ceratank's wavy ivory-white bony tail ending with a head shaped like the tank's metallic dark-blue missile-launcher.

Pterajet driver

Head: a tech looking glossy black covering, which looks like a full face motorcycle helmet with an overall shape that is reminiscent of the Rexodon Troopers' robotic head. Instead of being covered by a visor, the large cut-out in the eye and snout area exposes a reptilian face underneath, characterised by an insanely wrinkled and orange-coloured skin, two yellow eyes with round black pupils and open jaws lined with sharp whitish teeth

Chest plate: modelled after the black-and-gold shape and outline of the Pterajet

Weapon: a double-bitted axe (similar to an onzil with a golden handle) whose glossy black blades are modelled after the Pterajet's bird head-shaped, red-eyed nose and one of the folded-wing structures mounted to the neck, respectively.

Pyrosaur driver

Head: a metallic purple helmet with three parallel ridges (or crests) raised from the top of the skull and running from front to rear (the two on the sides are smooth and sharp, while the keel-like, segmented one in the middle is made of silver laminar armour), a thin curved translucent red eye guard and a pointed, serrated flap of silver chain mail for mouth and throat protection. The visor plus curtain of mail can be detached to reveal a reptilian face underneath, which is characterised by scaly greenish skin, three white eyes with small round black pupils, a purplish proboscis-like nose and two large yellowish tusks pointing upward

Chest plate: modelled after the head of the Pyrosaur Siege Warfare cannon's battering ram, which looks like a robotic lizard's silver skull equipped with bronze tusks, chin spike and sagittal crest

Weapon: a large silver-grey gun modelled after the Pyrosaur's flamethrower.

Serpocraft driver

Head: characterised by slimy light-blueish skin, a pair of goggles with large oval glossy black lenses (or are they actually eyes?) and a segmented greyish bony nose/mouth guard that kind of resembles a trilobite's carapace. He wears a ceremonial Attic-like red-orange helmet that is very reminiscent of the Spektrosaur Troopers' helmet

Chest plate: modelled after the Serpocraft's dark-green cockpit that resembles the head of a cobra

Weapon: a double-sided sword whose slightly curved jagged-edged pearl-grey blades are modelled after the Serpocraft's rotor aerofoils.

Arkiopod driver

Head: human-like, characterised by a ghostly, pale blue-green skin, thick black eyebrows and dark-green face war paint on the forehead, around a pair of solid purple eyes, down the cheeks (somehow slightly extending beyond the jawline) and the top part of the nose. He wears a dark-red cowl that also covers the upper back, similarly to a short cape

Chest plate: modelled after the Arkiopod's reddish-brown copper hull front equipped with a pair of tech looking dark-grey arms (each split into three tentacles) and a pair of headlights (similar to two beady eyes)

Weapon: a wrist-mounted retractable whip modelled after one of the Arkiopod's tentacles ending with a sharp claw (the dark-grey whip portion is detachable from the tech looking reddish-brown portion that clips onto the wrist).

Rotakord driver

Head: warty purplish skin, two large light-blue eyes with slit-shaped dark vertical pupils, two small nostrils, and a wide mouth that is equipped with sharp dark-grey teeth and flanked by two pairs of arthropod-like dark-grey crushing mouthparts. He also wears a silver-horned golden-yellow helmet, whose design, combining barbaric and tech features, is very reminiscent of the Destructomorph Troopers' helmet

Chest plate: modelled after the Rotakord's metallic purple canopy with translucent yellow windscreen, which is shaped like two connected devilish eyes

Weapon: a purple staff with one end modelled after the Rotakord's boring/suction mechanism fitted with spinning steel saw blades, while the other end is shaped like the chainsaw/jackhammer-like silver tool mounted to the vehicle's nose.

Final thoughts

Overall: while the Vehicle Driver isn't really a fan-demanded character, the figure itself came out nicely despite having mostly reused parts. I know a lot of people don’t like these obscure characters, but this is the kind of thing that makes the line cool to me, so I am very glad to have him as well. PoliganToys was also smart to just call him a “vehicle driver”, so you could potentially army build him

Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #97: Murmirian Warriors

Toy prototype details

Name: Murmirian^TM Warriors

Subtitle: insectile hooligans

Line: KR|Foundation

Item type: multi-pack (army builder 2-pack) - Nº 21 in the line.

Character details

Name: unknown

Classification: insect

Sex: male or female

Home: Tahron

Era: Foundation

Affiliation: Destructomorph

Rank: vandal.

Background

First appearance: KR|Foundation #12 - Dawn of a new past

Related character(s): Zektax.

Articulation
Standard, with the addition of two fully articulated arms (each pair of arms on either side is connected to an extra swivelling double socket) and with the exclusion of a hinged abdomen.

Description

Heads: each figure's head is somewhat human-like, and is characterised by a scale armour golden-yellow helmet that surrounds and merges with a reddish face. The helmet is equipped with water polo-like ear coverings, a central caterpillar looking crest and two short tubes from which a pair of fairly long, thin black forward-pointing antennae projects. The face displays a pair of evil almond-shaped glossy-black compound eyes, three smaller red glowing eye spots on the forehead, a vampire looking mouth complemented with two pairs of honeybee-like black mandibles and elongated black maxillae (above and beside/below the lips, respectively) as well as a housefly-like stretched out black proboscis extending from the chin, which is equipped with two palps and ends in a pair of fleshy protrusions that are more or less fused to form a single structure similar to a sucker

Bodies: each figure's four slender arms are protected by a segmented reddish chitinous exoskeleton and bear spinous ridges running down the sides. The arms and the legs end with reddish clawed hands (four-fingered in the upper arms and two-fingered in the lower arms) and digitigrade feet (reused from the Destructomorph Goblins, with the heel section high up, and three massive claw-like black toes in front and one in back). The figure's torso is essentially a jar of viscera, which is filled with a slimy fluid that allows his/her internal organs (such as heart, air sacs, guts and ganglia) to float around; these can be seen through the transparent chest (which features sculpted pecs and abs) and back, while the sides are spray-painted in red

Wearables: each figure wears a metallic purple collar characterised by a triangular shape in front and back, "insect-style" sculpting and golden-yellow details, four scaly (with some of the scales developing a bit more into spines) purple bracelets, two purple shin guards fastened with criss-crossed leather laces, a purple belt with a rectangular golden-yellow buckle, and a pair of laminar armour golden-yellow trousers.

Weapons and accessories
Although in the comics the Murmirian Warriors are shown to be extremely skilled hand-to-hand fighters, to have the ability to lift 20 times their body weight, and to communicate with each other telepathically via pheromones produced by their antennae, these figures have no action feature (apart from the translucent torso as well as the additional shoulder joints that allow the arms to spin in an attack motion). However, each figure comes with a giant winged weapon that can either be worn on the back or used as a dual-bladed staff of sorts. Designed to look like insect wings, these two pieces are as tall as the figures, are cast in translucent yellow with added golden glitter, and feature some excellent golden-yellow and metallic purple paint apps to bring out all the detail. On the back of each figure's collar is a clasp that the handle of the winged melee weapon can snap into. I like to imagine that they are made of an extremely lightweight material that could enable the Murmirian Warriors to glide.

Final thoughts

Overall: the Murmirian Warriors turned out wonderfully and have a lot of new parts to make them stand out on my KR shelf. Even if they were not my most anticipated figures, there is a lot to like about these excellent prototypes. And I'm very happy with how the translucent chest came out... with almost 100 prototypes in the line, I definitely appreciate a KR toy that stands out from the rest due to some unique feature. Their weapons design and colour scheme is rather eye catching too

Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR|Origin Review #29: Varadria

Toy prototype details

Name: Varadria^TM

Subtitle: faithful spouse

Line: KR|Origin

Item type: multi-pack (2-pack) - Nº 5 in the line (this figure will likely be packed with a re-release of Zhongat).

Character details

Name: Varadria

Classification: lepidosauromorph reptile

Sex: female

Relationships: wife of Zhongat

Home: Tahron

Era: 520 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Theriom (formerly belonging to the Reptonoid faction)

Rank: ally.

Background

First appearance: KR|Origin #2 - Battle for Tahron: Part I – The journey begins

Related character(s): Zhongat.

Articulation
Varadria's articulation scheme differs from the standard one significantly and is the following:
- neck (ball jointed)
- shoulder (ball hinged, x2)
- elbow (ball hinged, x2)
- wrist (swivel + hinged -for left wrist front-to-back movement and right wrist side-to-side movement-, x2)
- mid-torso (ball jointed)
- tail (swivel)

Description
Head: similar to a Komodo dragon, characterised by ochre skin, a long scaly snout with a closed mouth, light-blue eyes, and a gular fold
Body: shorter than most characters (only 12 cm, almost 5"), bulky. Her body is covered from neck to toe except for the hands and a tail. Her hands display long black claws, while the thick pointy tail, which is as long as the rest of her body, emerges from under her skirt. Her exposed body parts, especially the tail, display a rugged hide reinforced with bony armoured scales, and show crazes, warts and an ochre drybrush that brings out all the amazing detail in the sculpt

Wearables: a floor length, long-sleeved light-green crocodile leather dress (with yellow cuffs and hem, all showing a tortoiseshell-like texture and decorated with golden studs). A broad collar/necklace is wrapped around and supported by her neck and shoulders; from the inside to the outside, the collar is made of closely placed rows of teardrop yellow stone beads, tubular golden yellow pieces and large scute-like golden plates, and is connected with clasps of gold. The dress is secured by a Y-shaped belt made of several metallic light-green rings laced together (except for the forked tongue-shaped, tortoiseshell-patterned studded yellow vertical element that includes a purple-gemmed golden buckle resembling a neural spine sail). Finally, she wears a dark-green fabric removable cape characterised by a wide collar that slightly rises on the back, forming a sort of cowl, and a hem trimmed with light-green crocodile leather.

Action feature

In the comics, Varadria is depicted as an incredibly wise creature, and such a quality is well rendered by the standard portrait of this figure. However, a second head, showing a slightly open mouth with closely spaced serrated teeth along the edges of the jaws as well as a long, deeply forked yellow tongue flowing out, is also included. I like that although the sculpt is very reminiscent of Zhongat's face, it still has a feminine appearance.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from her alternative head, Varadria comes with a wooden stick around which two intertwined golden dragons (one looking European, the other Chinese) are coiled; the two dragons' heads emerge over the end of the stick, which is topped by a purple glassy orb, while the other end is adorned with a metallic light-green point.

Final thoughts
Overall: I think Varadria is perfect. The sculpt, colouring and paint-job are spot-on. I am also very happy with this figure being packed with a re-release of her beloved husband's figure. If you’re not a fan of their scaled down aesthetic, I can see how they wouldn’t be appealing, but since I’m a completist type of guy, I want as many characters as I can

Rating: ☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #96: Deptilion's Legacy Demon (One-Horned)

Toy prototype details

Name: Deptilion^TM's Legacy Demon (One-Horned)
Subtitle: cruel leviathan
Line: KR|Foundation
Item type: large scale figure - Nº 8 in the line.

Character details
Name: unknown
Classification: spirit
Sex: uncertain
Home: Tahron
Era: Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: demonic entity possessing Geel-Ber.

Background
First appearance: KR|Foundation #12 - Dawn of a new past
Related character(s): Geel-Ber, Deptilion, Three-Horned Demon.

Articulation
Standard, with the addition of a ball jointed tail.

Description

Head: sea serpent-like, covered in warty dark blue-green skin and characterised by a spiky grey-brown sagittal crest, a pair of deep-set solid purple glowing eyes, a pair of small pointed ears, and one dark-grey forward-pointing horn on the beak-shaped, orange-tipped muzzle. The slightly open mouth shows some sharp whitish teeth

Body: the figure is 23 cm tall (around 9'') and displays a body covered in warty dark blue-green skin, with large scales occurring especially on the neck (thanks to a rubbery removable neck piece that fits right on top of the body and mimics a horny collar with a sequence of extended, spinous grey-brown processes running down the middle of the upper back) and shoulders (the latter are also equipped with two pairs of curved grey-brown spikes), and sharp grey-brown spikes sticking out of the elbows. He also has clawed hands and feet (including one claw protruding from each heel) as well as a fairly long dark blue-green scaly tail with grey-brown spikes projecting from its upper side

Wearables: none.

Weapons and accessories
The Demon has no action feature and doesn't come with any proper weapons, but includes two interesting accessories. The first piece is an alternate head that shows a screaming, much angrier expression compared to the regular portrait.

The second accessory is Demo-Rha's sceptre as it is shown in the 10^th issue of the KR|Foundation comic book series Evanescing act, where it is used by Deptilion to teleport his enemies to Cereutis. The staff is moulded in purple plastic and is topped with a modified version of the Destructomorph symbol, i.e., a square-shaped black spider, whose back resembles a human skull. The only difference with Demo-Rha's standard sceptre is that two red gemstones are embedded in the skull's eye sockets. As another option, the staff can also be grasped by the Demon and wielded as a weapon.

Final thoughts
Overall: of course PoliganToys couldn't deny us the perfect companion of the Three-Horned Demon. He is tremendously sculpted and looks great on my monster shelf or with the rest of my KR prototypes
Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR|Emergence Review #27: Tauton (Emergence Edition)

Toy prototype details
Name: Tauton^TM (Emergence Edition), aka White-Outfit Tauton
Subtitle: fighting cadet
Line: KR|Emergence
Item type: action figure - Nº 24 in the line.

Character details
Name: Tauton
Classification: human
Sex: male
Home: Tahron
Era: 3 years before Foundation
Affiliation: Theriom
Rank: officer cadet; expert in hand-to-hand combat and weapons master.

Background
First appearance: KR|Emergence #2 - The war of all against all: Part I – Breach
Related character(s): Tauton.

Articulation
Standard.

Description
Head: he wears a crested (i.e., with a longitudinal raised band) white balaclava that covers the whole head and neck except for the eyes

Body: the torso and the legs are covered with a tight, sleeveless white uniform. The uniform looks solid white at a distance, but up close it appears to be painted in a camouflage pattern of dull and pearlescent white. While his upper arms wear two white leather armbands, the trousers are equipped with two pearl-white knee pads, a high-tech looking blueish-grey strap around the left thigh, and a simpler white leather strap bearing a side-pocket around the right thigh

Wearables: a padded white vest held tight by a pearl-white sash that wraps around the waist (with a small silver non-removable dagger tucked in), two white gloves fitted with silver knuckledusters, two white boots, a blueish-grey belt equipped with many pockets, and two vertical flaps hanging from the front and back of the belt. The vest is accompanied by two shoulder pads (which almost look like short sleeves) as well as a chest plate shaped like a hybrid of a blueish Theriom insignia and a silver throwing star, and held in place by an asymmetric arrangement of white leather straps choke-full with small silver weapons, i.e., throwing stars and hand grenades. The shoulder pads and the flaps protecting the groin and the posterior are made from white leather strips reinforced with blueish-grey steel plates, while the sculpt of his feet vaguely suggests that the boots are actually a combination of socks and rope sandals. Moreover, both the gloves and the boots are complemented with white boxing wraps around the forearms and the lower legs (another small silver non-removable dagger is stowed in the wraps on the right leg).

Weapons and accessories

Although in the comics Tauton is depicted as a skilled hand-to-hand fighter even in his younger days, his figure has no action feature, but it does come with some nice weapons and accessories. The included weapons are the same compound bow (plus separate arrow), techno-katana and kamas that came with Foundation Tauton, just redone in the new white-and-steel colour scheme. He can actually tote these weapons around thanks to a brand new white backpack/quiver piece that contains several sculpted arrows, and has an attached pearl-white sheath for the katana (the quiver and the sheath intersect each other like in an X) and two clips on the bottom for holding the kamas.

Additionally, the package includes an alternate unmasked head, which shows Asian features, olive brown skin, black hair and a pair of hazel eyes, and two blueish-grey hoods (or rather a hood in two different forms: down and up) that can be positioned between the body and either head.

Finally, Tauton comes with a weapons rack, which looks like a conical frame made out of wooden poles and is done with the same premium detailing found on the figure. You can load it up with both the included weapons and those that came with Wog-Rauan.

Final thoughts
Overall: as a hardcore KR fan, I'm really glad to have this version of Tauton to finish off the Emergence line. If the second portrait isn't enough for you, you can remove the plastic armour on the figure and put on the cloth piece that was included with Wog-Rauan. This gives you yet another option to display Tauton on your shelf, though I’ll really have to ponder what style to have him represent on mine. I may be leaning towards the soft goods look, because it’s unique to the series. If the line ever comes to fruition, I'll even be ready to buy more than one figure, so I can showcase them all
Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #95: K'Ran

Toy prototype details
Name: K'Ran^TM
Subtitle: shielding mayor
Line: KR|Foundation
Item type: action figure - Nº 60 in the line.

Character details
Name: K'Ran (pronounced Karan)
Classification: human
Sex: male

Relationships: descendant of Al-Mih-Tek
Home: Tahron
Era: Foundation
Affiliation: Theriom
Rank: mayor of the city of Ra-Hal^TM.

Background

First appearance: KR|Foundation #13 - The ultimate curse

Related character(s): Al-Mih-Tek.

Articulation
Standard.

Description

Head: Middle Eastern features, brown skin with a pale blue tinge, thick dark-brown/grey hair and beard, blue eyes, and a tattooed headband with a sun-shaped central design on his forehead. He wears a flat-topped conical light-green hat similar to a mix of a fez and a taqiyah, which has a red tassel on top as well as a red band embroidered with gold-and-silver triangular motifs

Body: covered by a whole-body protective clothing of brown leather, which is also visible in the form of gloves and shoes on the hands and feet (although their colour is darker and each shoe has the ankle collar trimmed with off-white fur)

Wearables: a complex garment formed of a set of coloured items, which create a layered effect. The items include: a thigh-length, short-sleeved light-green wrap vest, a Y-shaped lamellar chest plate, and an ankle-length, sleeveless open red robe (with green bands embroidered with gold-and-silver triangular motifs on the front and hem, and arm holes trimmed with off-white fur). The wrap vest is secured by a red sash wrapped around the waist and accompanied by two loose criss-crossed studded red leather belts (one of which is equipped with a scabbard on the left side) that are joined by a large, elaborate disc-shaped silver buckle. The chest plate is made from small rectangular red leather scales laced into horizontal rows, and is edged with metallic light-green plates, while its vertical central strip extends and falls down tucked between the vest and the belts buckle. Additionally, he wears two square metallic red wrist guards with knuckle protectors, and two metallic red shin/knee guards, each embellished with a silver disc on the knee area; each wrist/shin guard is ornamented with studs and spikes.

K'Ran's stylised chest plate.

Action feature

PoliganToys gives us the possibility to display K'Ran's figure in two different ways: a KR|Foundation younger look and a KR|Horizon older look. The former has been described above and can be completed with an included asymmetric brown&purple cape, whose "closed" right side conceals the right upper arm almost completely, while the flowing left side looks windswept. The cape also features a high standing collar and a sun-shaped silver brooch on the left side of the chest, while an intricate ornament consisting of braided silver-wire cords hangs from the brooch and on the mantle.

The Horizon look is simply obtained by replacing his head with an older version of it (sporting longer grey/white hair and beard, and wearing a pair of bottom half-frame glasses) and by adding a different symmetric brown&light-blue cape with a "down" hood, a loose closure formed of two silver clasps connected with an elaborate sun-shaped silver brooch (this time, the sun looks split in the middle and is accompanied by a golden beam of light projecting downwards), and bunches of off-white ribbons hanging from the shoulders.

Finally, a third head+cape set allows us to transform the figure into a completely different character from a completely different series - Lord Tafmohr^TM, O-Kin's legitimate ruler, from the KR|Enmity line! The head, which looks predominantly feline (even if he's a primivod, a fictional anthropomorphic marsupial) and wears a relatively simple gold crown on a purple field (i.e., a cap), is characterised by thick brown fur striped with magenta, green eyes, the mouth wide open (which exposes a number of sharp whitish teeth and fangs), and a very long beard ornamented with a Golden Eagle army emblem (i.e., an eagle with two crossed axes). The heavy layered cape is composed, from bottom to top, of a dark-yellow mantle, an off-white fur collar that forms a half-length coating on the back portion, and two large spiked silver spaulders connected by chains on the front and back. The outfit is mostly comic book-inaccurate, but I don't mind and I'm glad we got this additional display option.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the alternative heads and capes, the figure comes with three weapons: a shield and two swords. In the comics, every time K'Ran refers an important political question to his citizens for a direct decision, he senses the voters' choices across the proposed courses of action via his forehead tattoo (which glows) and the result of the vote appears in the form of a pie chart on the bulletproof glass disc of his shield. I really love the lenticular sticker on the shield, and PoliganToys has recreated the comic book modelling perfectly for this. It works in four parts and if I were allowed (unfortunately, I'm not), I'd try to capture them individually in pictures, to show you the difference in each stage. The decagonal metallic light-green rim of the shield is actually a rotating ring with a silver marking that allows the reading of the winning option.

About the two swords, one is meant to be for K'Ran, which has a metallic light-green blade, a sun-shaped silver hand guard and a handle wrapped in red leather, while the other is for Lord Tafmohr, and has a silver blade, an eagle-shaped golden hand guard and a handle wrapped in purple leather. Either sword can be stowed in the belt scabbard.
Last but not least, the package includes a communicator-projector (or comjector), a type of communication device employed by the various factions throughout the Key Raiders saga. In the comics, the comjector allows two parties to converse as if in the same room by projecting moving visual images of each other courtesy of a "light well"; each user stands in the middle of a disc-like platform in front of a semi-circular slit (the so-called light well) near the edge of the disc, and the light coming out of the slit shows the user on the other end (with the intensity of the light varying while they speak). What we actually receive in toy form is just the high-tech looking gunmetal platform, which kind of disappoints me, because I would have liked to get some sort of vertical light effect that could be attached to the base as well. Still, the piece looks nice and it's better than nothing.

Final thoughts

Overall: I’m glad we finally got K'Ran (and in some way Lord Tafmohr) in the KR line. This proves that a supporting character like this can go years without receiving a figure (if they ever get one at all), especially if we consider that in the Foundation comics he was one of the last characters to be introduced before the curtain fell. Despite some hindered articulation issues and a few paint inaccuracies (in the Horizon comics, K'Ran's robe's arm holes are trimmed with dark fur), the mayor of Ra-Hal deserves a front spot on my shelf and PoliganToys ensured the figure wouldn't disappoint

Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5