Toy prototype details
Name: Astral Wraith SilefTM
Subtitle: revengeful reptilian spirit
Line: KR|Echoes of Future
Item type: action figure - Nº 17 in the line.
Character details
Name: Silef
Classification: spirit of a reptile of uncertain group
Sex: male
Home: Idakarr (Tahron's former name)Era: 570 years before Foundation
Affiliation: independent
Rank: demonic presence.
Background
First appearance: KR|Echoes of Future #3 - The unforeseen fall of destiny
Character summary: a mysterious and relentless spectre, determined to sow chaos and psychological torment to achieve his goals. Driven by vengeance following his separation from Krenodos, Silef's spirit possessed the power to induce nightmares, twist emotions and manipulate minds, even using Rhadiel as a pawn to turn her against her brother Desion. Despite his ultimate defeat at the hands of Masq-Lor, Silef’s cryptic final words hinted that his influence may not be fully extinguished, leaving an unsettling sense of a greater, impending threat lingering over Tahron.
Articulation
Standard (new scheme), plus a hinged lower jaw, a pair of removable ball hinged wings and a tail that features two swivels at about one-third and two-thirds of its length. Additionally, the hip joints are simple front-to-back swivels, lacking hinges.
Description
Head: similar to a Spinosaurus skull, but with a more dragon-ish look, characterised by a long and narrow snout, a creamy-white ivory colour and large, sharp steel-coated teeth along the edges of the jaws (interestingly, the inside of the mouth is painted in a pinkish colour). He wears a crowned, five-horned golden helmet with an elaborate half mask, a dark-green gemstone on the forehead, slits for his solid amber glowing eyes and for the curved pointed horns (whose colour fades from grey-brown to creamy-white) extending from the rear, and some crazy cool wing-shaped ornaments in the back, which resemble his own wings. While echoing the helmet that came with regular Silef, this version has several differences: 1) it features nicely detailed riveted strips, including those along the rim portion and a central one running from front to back; 2) it is adorned with several distinct horn types, namely two large, segmented horns projecting forward (reminiscent of those of the black chromatic dragon from D&D), two curved, snake-shaped horns converging at an orb suspended above the helmet, and a prominent, barbed horn, shaped like a cobra poised to strike, rising from a front crest and ending in a small lizard skull; 3) it is equipped with a bevor, a piece of plate armour designed to protect the neck (basically, the snout protrudes from the space defined by the helmet's rim and the upper edge of the bevor). Lastly, his head rests on a neck of ghastly, swirling translucent chartreuse energy, giving the impression of floating ethereally (the extra removable neck piece fits right on top of the body)
Body: his torso and limbs (the latter displaying large ridges that run down the sides and equipped with narrow studded golden arm and thigh bands) are made of a slush-cast clear plastic with a faint pinkish tinge, which reveals a fully sculpted, creamy-white ivory skeleton within. There is a cool design etched on his chest, which resembles the Interspecific Commission emblem, i.e., a misshapen concave-sided lozenge symbol, but just the outline, rendered in a vibrant chartreuse colour; his arms and digitigrade legs are also partly marked with veins of the same ghastly yellowish-green. In contrast, other parts are cast in creamy-white plastic with painted black details to create the effect of negative space: 1) the spiked elbow and knee joints, which slightly -and strangely- resemble horned human skulls; 2) the massive five-digit hands, each with two oversized fingers, and feet, each with three prominent toes (two forward and one back), all ending in steel-coated claws; 3) a comb of extended neural spines and two additional pairs of large, claw-thumbed bony limbs (supporting a pair of chartreuse wings that, though bat-like in general shape, resemble butterfly wings and are riddled with holes where the original membrane has presumably rotted away) virtually projecting from his backbone through openings in the armour's back; 4) a long, thick bony tail emerging from beneath his skirt and extending from his spine to end in a zigzagged steel-coated point flanked by two barbed tines, like a trident
Wearables: a metallic dark-green harness with golden details, pairs of metallic dark-green wrist and shin guards shaped like reptile skulls (which are worn over tattered brown bandages wrapped around his forearms and lower legs), and a removable waste/groin piece consisting of a belt of linked metallic dark-green discs with a short U-shaped chain dangling in front, a dirty-yellow (defined by the hex triplet #cdc50a) furry loincloth and a skirt of loosely wrapped tattered brown bandages. The harness features a dragon skull-shaped chest plate, similar in concept to the outfit included with standard Silef, but with distinct differences; these include subtle tech-tube detailing (perhaps a reference to Krenodos's armour), a central emblem depicting a demonic visage with pointy ears, a long brown beard and a decaying greenish face (reminiscent of the Dark Legion symbol), and massive, reptile skull-shaped shoulder armours displaying a pair of long U-shaped real chains dangling in front and a translucent chartreuse energy flame effect erupting from behind the figure's head. The lower strap is secured by a bronze buckle that is decorated with a complex heraldic design, i.e., a large dragon skull with two pointed bones crossed below it on a web-like background; from this strap hang two tassets made of overlapping horizontal strips of dirty-yellow fur, along with a pair of U-shaped dangling real chains and five long, torn golden-yellow Roman lappets studded with skull-shaped silver discs and hanging down in front. The two side straps extend and cascade down as ankle-long, dangling tassels, seemingly tucked beneath the lower strap; these tassels are made from a bendy wire rubber and are adorned with intricate designs resembling metal reliefs sewn onto them. The rear part of the harness has slots for attaching the spinal frill and the wings. His shoulder, wrist and shin armour pieces resemble the flattened captorhinid skull-shaped mask that was donned by Gladorr in The dark powers of dominion, and boast yellowish-green glowing eyes as well as large clear crystal blades (reminiscent in shape of Shredder's armour).
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| Astral Wraith Silef's stylised harness. |
Action feature
In the comics, Silef in his Astral Wraith form possesses several supernatural abilities, including mind control, levitation and teleportation. While the figure understandably can't replicate these powers, it does boast some impressive features of its own. The most striking is its glow-in-the-dark skeleton, which includes the bones embedded in the translucent, slush-cast body parts (torso and limbs) as well as those that are separate (head, elbows, knees, hands, feet, spine frill, wing limbs and tail). The ghoulish, greenish glow of this spooky spectre is quite strong and well visible even through the figure's "ethereal" skin/aura.
Next up, he comes with two interchangeable hands, both featuring mystical, translucent chartreuse energy effects: a left hand displaying swirls of energy around it, forming a sort of dark-magical ball with extending energy claws, and a right hand from which an energy skull projects, ready to strike a devastating blow.
Finally, the package includes a set of additional parts (i.e., a pair of alternate arms, an extra neck piece and auxiliary body armour) that allow Silef to be configured in a cool quadrupedal beast mode distinct from his standard humanoid form. First, the harness (with wings), energy neck piece and waist/groin covering are removed. The long bony neck piece, which is identical to the mid section of the tail, is then inserted between the torso and head (the latter has a second socket on the back that allows Silef to look forward when in its four-footed posture). Next, the regular arms are replaced with the alternative forelegs, which wear cannon bone protectors matching the shin guards. The final step is adding the body armour piece; this sits on top of a dirty-yellow furry blanket or robe of some sort and has a fantastic design, featuring metallic dark-green barding accented with gold detailing, a strap with a bronze buckle (similar to that on the standard harness) securing across the stomach, a pair of shield-like covers embossed with demonic visages protecting the hips, and a pair of U-shaped real chains as well as tattered golden-yellow tassels tipped with small pointed bones dangling from the saddle. The shoulder areas are equipped with slots for connecting the wings once they are detached from the harness; each wing has a really great range of movement despite the presence of only one swivel/hinge point of articulation.
Weapons and accessories
Apart from the alternate body parts and additional body armour, Astral Wraith Silef comes with a double sided poleaxe that is similar in design to the weapon included with the standard figure. It consists of a long golden shaft fitted with a GITD spear tip, two blades mounted on both sides, and a pointed, zigzagged GITD counterweight fixed to the other end of the shaft. The spearhead loosely resembles Silef's head, while the two side blades, mirroring the shape of his wings, are wreathed in eerie chartreuse flames. This weapon is also modular, transforming, by splitting at the midpoint of the shaft, into a separate axe and a bizarrely bladed baton.
Additionally, there is a set of translucent chartreuse effects that attach to various parts of his body, such as a sort of electric arc for his spinal frill (giving the impression that the neural spines crackle with energy), a pair of interchangeable flames that plug into the back sockets when the wings are detached, and four ghostly flaming foot effects that enhance his quadrupedal form.
Finally, the package also offers an alternative unhelmeted head for the regular version of Silef. This portrait features translucent chartreuse flames erupting from the head, a visual representation of his spirit leaving his body as shown in the concluding moments of The secret origin of chaos.
Final thoughts
Overall: Astral Wraith Silef is a highly impressive figure. His transparent skin revealing his skeleton and his ability to transform into a beast make him a valuable addition to the line. If you missed the regular figure or are simply a devoted fan of the character, this version offers a fantastic representation and delivers a striking presence with its novel design and glowing features. Astral Wraith Silef stands out as a truly cool and epic figure worthy of a place in any collection
Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5
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