KR|"Echoes of Future" Review #15: Elibhurn

Toy prototype details

Name: Elibhurn^TM

Subtitle: fearless ligneous knight

Line: KR|Echoes of Future

Item type: action figure - Nº 11 in the line.

Character details

Name: Elibhurn

Classification: extradimensional elemental being

Sex: male

Home: Cereutis

Era: 570 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Multiversal Balancers

Rank: knight companion.

Background

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

Character summary: the creator of the Time Dice and a selfless fighter, who sacrificed himself in a daring act of heroism during a fierce battle in a mine controlled by the Multiversal Balancers. By trapping a multitude of Bogthropod enemies and setting himself ablaze, he saved his allies, although his brave action led to the collapse of the mineshaft. Despite the great sacrifice, this dramatic turn enabled Silef's forces to loot the precious metal essential for the Multiversal Squires' survival.

Articulation
Standard (new scheme).

Description

Head: similar to a bud with a leathery appearance and a greenish hue that has been given a brown wash. His face, kind of reminiscent of Groot, is characterised by a pair of bulbous black eyes and an overall serious but friendly expression, and is adorned with structures subtly resembling pointy ears and a goatee. However, the head is mostly concealed by a brown removable hood, finished with an off-white binding along its edge; this hood tapers off in a wizard hat-style, ending with a pointed shape reminiscent of a spider plant leaf at the back, and adding an air of mystery to the character

Body: cloaked from neck to toe. His arms are covered by long, wide off-white sleeves, while his hands show a sort of branch-like appearance, with greenish mossy backs and clawed brownish wooden fingers. Compared to the average figure, his arms are slightly longer and his hands are larger. His brownish feet, resembling more plant roots than toes, shyly poke out from under the robe he wears

Wearables: his long habit consists of several pieces, including a sleeveless soft goods robe draping to the ground and made of a coarse, rough off-white fabric (featuring a Velcro strip for easy dressing), as well as a seemingly hooded lamellar scapular designed to be worn over the robe, covering the shoulders. While the former item seamlessly blends in with the sculpted sleeves, the latter appears to be crafted from small rectangular brown leather scales laced into horizontal rows, and bordered with pearlescent white plates—it bears a resemblance to K'Ran's attire, with the addition of a pair of shoulder pads flanking the long central piece that hangs from front, reaching to the knees. Completing the ensemble is an off-white belt made of flexible plastic, designed to resemble a rope-like girdle, which secures the habit around the figure's waist (the scapular should be tied under the belt, but it can also be worn over the belt if preferred). The only issue with his outfit is that the “up” hood (added as a separate piece) and the “down” hood (sculpted on the back of the scapular) were combined into one solution. I'm totally OK with it, since the latter still works as additional folds of a larger hood.

Action feature

In the comics, Elibhurn displays sufficient strength to lift and throw massive wooden beams with ease, and possesses some degree of control over plant life, bending it to his will or accelerating its growth to attack his opponents. Additionally, he can regenerate damaged or severed body parts, as well as produce vine-like projections. To recreate this ability, the figure comes with two arm extensions, which fit onto his hands and resemble long clusters of twisted vines jutting out from his sleeves and ending in large claw-like structures.

Furthermore, by shedding his robe, he can unravel and dramatically expand his body, transforming into a large net made of a straw-like, yet highly resistant material, capable of trapping a large number of enemies. In the figure, this process happens in two separate stages. First, we can display Elibhurn as if he's starting to come apart, to simulate a mid-transformation phase. This is achieved by removing his outfit (belt, scapular and robe) and using an alternative head, a neck extension, a pair of full alternative arms and a torso covering with a pair of attachments. His undressed body shows an overall brownish woody appearance with patches of greenish moss-like wash here and there, a tree trunk-like torso and thighs, and large roots that make up his clawed feet. His alternative arms have translucent green leaves sprouting out of his shoulders, along with nets of twisted greenish-brown vines wrapping around the upper arms. The additional "harness" also looks like twisted vines running across his torso and has two attachments, each made of three large greenish-brown stalks cross-linked by smaller stems, which connect to the back. Furthermore, he "wears" double-layered, scaly brown bark-like wrist and shin guards with pointy flares at the elbows and knees, a brown belt made of carved wood, and a long green grassy/leafy loincloth. Finally, the alternative head, along with its vine cluster-like neck extension, is an unfurled version of the regular head. In this portrait, the bud scales are spread out and partially unravelled, forming a whorl of nets, which surrounds a brownish (with a greenish wash) woody skull with dark empty eye sockets emitting an eerie bright glow, and long teeth that create a menacing grin. This version appears much scarier and less friendly than the standard portrait. Next, to unleash Elibhurn's ability to ensnare his foes in his fully expanded form, there is an included greenish-brown soft rubber capture net, which looks like an arrangement of slender, woody intersecting vines and is seemingly covered with prickles. This great accessory is perfect for capturing multiple KR figures and creating dynamic action scenes. Unfortunately, in the comics, he doesn’t appear to be resistant to fire.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the many accessories that allow Elibhurn to recreate his vine-generation and body-unravelling powers, the figure comes with a cool looking double scythe. This weapon consists of a long, knotty brown wooden pole with two slightly curved silver blades bolted to its ends. In the comics, the blades, which point at opposite directions, have the ability to spread out like fans, transforming the weapon into a double adze with the blades' cutting edges perpendicular to the shaft. This functionality is replicated in the figure with two included fan blades that can replace the folded scythe blades. The great thing is that all four interchangeable blades can be wielded by Elibhurn as either swords or tessen (war fans), since the pegs that normally attach them to the wooden pole serve as convenient handles.

Lastly, two unique extras pay homage to the comic book lore: a nicely sculpted thick-billed raven that can be perched on either of Elibhurn's shoulder pads, and a beautiful black lily that is shown to grow at the location of Elibhurn's noble sacrifice.

Final thoughts

Overall: Elibhurn turned out to be a fun and solid figure to have. It’s not the best Multiversal Balancer figure ever, but it’s still pretty neat. The unique sculpt adds a lot to its appeal, and along with the detailed paintwork, it matches the comic book look well and captures the essence of the character

Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5