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