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