KR|"Echoes of Future" Review #13: Baryanoid Twins

Toy prototype details

Name: Baryanoid^TM Twins

Subtitle: bonded twins with diverging paths

Line: KR|Echoes of Future

Item type: multi-pack (2-pack) - Nº 3 in the line.

Characters details

Names: Steeg and Caaul

Classification: baryanoid* amphibians

Sex: males

Relationships: twin brothers; Caaul is the father of Bi-Harr

Home: Idakarr (Tahron's former name)

Era: 570 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Interspecific Commission and Kimarhan^TM (a tribe of forest warriors who eventually form the Grand Resistance to oppose the rising reptilian authority), respectively

Ranks: consul and tribal warrior, respectively.

*Baryanoids are fictional rare intelligent transitional creatures combining fish and reptile features. They are distinguished by having a legless, snake-like semi-aquatic larval form followed typically by a humanoid, fully terrestrial adult form. The natural transformation process from immature to adult form was at some point suppressed by the Reptonoids, in order to exploit the larvae as draft animals, pushing them dangerously close to extinction.

Background

First appearance: KR|Echoes of Future #1 - The secret origin of chaos

Character summary: unlike his twin brother Steeg, who rose as a high-ranking official, Caaul never embraced the ideology of peaceful cooperation between the reptilian and mammalian people, and instead of joining the Interspecific Commission, he honed his combat skills within the Kimarhan tribe. The twins reunited against the revengeful Silef, and Caaul eventually left his tribe after a battle injury inflicted by Krenodos's venomous sting. He found refuge for his recovering as a member of the newly established Theriom alliance, although his loyalty to his old tribe remained steadfast. Unbeknownst to him, Caaul passed a mutation to the creature that his reptilian wife gave birth to: Anfis!

Articulation
Standard (new scheme), with the addition of a hinged upper jaw and a ball jointed bendy tail.

Description

We've previously encountered the baryanoids as components of a build-a-figure plan within the KR|Enmity line, where some figures included parts required to assemble the Baryanoid-Cart, a four-in-hand beast-drawn vehicle featured as Lor-Drek's personal transport in the KR|Foundation comic book series. While those baryanoids were portrayed in their larval stage, these new figures represent their adult forms.

Heads: the heads of the two figures share an identical sculpt (both exhibit a fairly flat shape) but differ in their paint applications - Steeg shows a dark-green skin adorned with yellow lines encircling the eyes and tracing along the jawlines, while Caaul's skin is characterised by a red colour with black detailing. Each figure's head also features a cranial crest, which resembled a gill arch in the previous versions but now looks more like a bony structure, and a pair of bulgy, bright orange eyes facing forward, each with an oval black pupil (Caaul actually bears a scar on his left eye, adding a distinct touch to his appearance), while their Ichthyostega-like jaws are armed with sharp, whitish teeth. The most distinctive features of each head are the elongated, curved flat protrusions on the sides of the skull, giving the head a boomerang-like shape similar to that of a Diplocaulus

Bodies: like the heads, the figures' bodies also share an identical sculpt made of shiny (seemingly moist) plastic, each showing the same colour scheme seen on the corresponding head - Steeg's body features dark-green skin with yellow stripes and blotches, while Caaul's skin is characterised by a red hue with black detailing (additionally accompanied by scattered scars). In particular, lines run down the sides of the limbs, and spots embellish the shoulders, arms and thighs. The attention to detail in the torso sculpt is particularly impressive, with bumps in the shoulder areas accentuating their amphibian appearance as well as transversal bony ridges on the chest, abdomen and thighs further enhancing their coolness. Their limbs boast fins (possibly with vestigial gills) extending from the back of the forearms and calves, alongside unique webbed, warty hands and feet consisting of four digits each, topped with bulbous tips similar to those found on frogs. Lastly, each figure has a lengthy tail that is laterally flattened and equipped with a fin supported by bony spines (reminiscent of that found on ray-finned fish)

Wearables: Steeg wears a golden-yellow cape featuring a loose closure composed of two seahorse-shaped, pearlescent white clasps linked by a nine-rayed golden brooch embossed with the emblem of the Interspecific Commission, i.e., a misshapen concave-sided dark-green lozenge. Moreover, he dons double-layered golden-yellow gloves and boots (specially designed to accommodate his finned appendages and with a pair of pearl-like gemstones embellishing the boot tops), a golden-yellow belt with a triangular, pearl-jewelled buckle, and an off-white skin loincloth. Caaul wears a light-green harness with off-white details, narrow studded light-green bracelets and anklets (each of the latter featuring three pointed protrusions diverging and ascending along the shins), a light-green belt identical to Steeg's, and a pale cream-coloured loincloth that seems to be made from large leaves and grass (or maybe fur). The harness consists of a nice pair of straps equipped with series of curved bony spikes, which go over his shoulders and fasten securely at his lower back. Complementing these are secondary straps that loop under his arms and intersect at the front of his torso, as well as a Kimarhan/Grand Resistance insignia (i.e., a laterally stretched, 14-rayed golden-yellow Vergina Sun symbol, from which the Theriom emblem derives) on his chest. The back of the main straps features one pair of spikes (more on this later) and I feel like an additional pair would have enhance their appearance, preventing them from looking somewhat bare.

Caaul's stylised harness; the oval at the centre of the chest represents the Kimarhan symbol.

Action feature

In the comics, the Baryanoid Twins are shown to be extremely skilled hand-to-hand fighters. Steeg includes a light-green&off-white spiked shoulder belt (reminiscent of Caaul's outfit) that can be worn once the cape is removed. It features two slots on the back for connecting it to the two rear spikes on Caaul's harness as described above. This configuration allows us to recreate a battle scene where they fight with their backs against each other, enabling them to confront multiple opponents simultaneously by spinning fluidly and changing constantly their facing direction.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the additional shoulder belt, the Twins come with a gaggle of weapons. Steeg includes an oval shield with a pearlescent white disc made of several riveted plates (kinda resembling a turtle shell), and a golden-yellow rim. In the comics, this shield has the ability to open out, revealing an inner compartment containing a weapon reminiscent of a small hwacha, capable of launching a volley of rocket-propelled projectiles. The toy shield comes with three unique swappable front pieces: the standard face, a cluster of silver-headed bolts poised for launch, and a barrage effect representing the bolts being launched. Additionally, the set includes six components fitted together in two separate three-piece assemblies, which depict the shield face in an unfolded configuration with cool retro-tech-mech details adorning the inner surfaces (it reminds me of the little repulsor drone deployed by Pepper Potts' Rescue Armor in Avengers: Endgame) and can be used in two different ways: attached to the shield and wielded as independent weapons. For the former, you have to replace the standard face with either the "hwacha launchpad" or the "barrage effect" piece, allowing the pegs of the two spread out face pieces to slide into two designated slots on the sides; when the figure isn't wearing the cape, the shield can also attach to the back of the above-mentioned shoulder belt, allowing it to fire a surprising volley of bolts from behind. For the latter, simply use the pegs as handles, transforming the two spread out face units into handheld war fans. I love the look of this last set up, and expect this is the way I'll go with my display.

Caaul comes with two pairs of tonfa, which actually represent a single pair with two modes: normal and bladed. The normal version consists of two whitish bony sticks, each with a short perpendicular handle attached a third of the way down its length and the front head ending in a slightly pointed design. The bladed version retains the same form, but with the addition of a series of three small sickle-like silver blades that fictionally spring out from the main body of each stick.

Update: to enhance the appeal of this 2-pack even further, there will be an exclusive variant featuring a snake-like tail for Caaul. To transform the figure, one simply needs to detach the lower half and replace it with this elongated, partially coiled lower body. This interchangeable piece boasts a cool sculpt resembling a larger, more intricately detailed version of Caaul’s standard tail. It's designed with different sculpted details and textures to mimic amphibian skin on the front and back, and is painted in two shades of red with black stripes: a lighter hue on the underside and a darker red on top. A new belt/loincloth piece is included to ensure a snug fit. Moreover, the tail is articulated with three ball joints and a waist swivel for added poseability. However, achieving dynamic poses beyond a standing posture can be challenging, especially when leaning to the side, as the figure tends to tip over. This design gives Caaul a hybrid appearance between the larval stage and the adult form, and it's highly likely that we'll see it reused on other figures in the future.

Final thoughts

Overall: the Baryanoid Twins are an exceptional addition to the KR|EoF line-up, showcasing a unique design, incredible paintwork and phenomenal extras that make this 2-pack a must-have. Personally, I wish I could have two sets in my collection, to display them with their weapons in different configurations, just to emphasise how delighted I am with these fun new characters

Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5