Toy prototype details
Name: Nar-AjaTM, aka Hell-Storm Nar-Aja
Subtitle: battle-hardened snake leader
Line: KR|Echoes of Future
Item type: action figure - Nº 28 in the line.
Character details
Name: Nar-Aja
Classification: lepidosauromorph reptile
Sex: female
Home: Tahron
Era: Foundation
Affiliation: Spektrosaur
Rank: army corps general.
Background
First appearance: KR|Echoes of Future #3 - The unforeseen fall of destiny
Character summary: a descendant of an ancient lineage of mystical snakes created by the reptilian wizard SphenoratTM, who distinguished herself as a formidable battlefield colonel, frequently leading reptilian assaults on mammalian territories and unleashing overwhelming terror in their wake. After Lor-Drek's death and, most profoundly, the loss of her husband Volcrotran, she rose from the remnants of the Spektrosaur army as a pragmatic and calculating leader, driven more by necessity than ideology. Balancing ruthlessness with a keen instinct for unity, Nar-Aja forged strategic alliances with former adversaries instead of pursuing blind conflict. In the aftermath of a battle with the Rexodons, she emerged as a stabilising force, reuniting the fractured Reptonoid factions into a single, coordinated power that no longer sought war.
Standard (new scheme), with the addition of a tail, which is a ball jointed separate piece. It features two articulation points, two swivels at about one-third and two-thirds of its length.
Description
Head: closely resembling her Foundation version's cobra-like head (but without the hood), characterised by reddish, scaly skin, except for the lower jaw and throat, which are rendered in a greenish (rather than yellowish) tone accented by dark-brown spots. Her right eye is light-blue, while the left one is a darker blue that appears glassy (suggesting it may be artificial) and is marked by a visible scar; a three-pronged ornament extends from between her eyes, branching outward like two stylised golden eyebrows with a light-green central vertical element resembling a cobra. The opening upper jaw reveals two large fangs and a forked tongue sculpted on a pink-toned interior
Body: her scaly skin is characterised by a camouflage pattern of greenish and dark-brown tones, with the limbs marked by broad reddish bands running down their sides. She also features three-digit hands and feet tipped with golden claws (possibly wearing nail guards), as well as a long, slender tail (predominantly reddish with two greenish crossbands), which is a separate piece emerging from beneath the skirt and ending in a pointed, triangular (or spade-shaped) tip where the reddish hue fades into greenish
Wearables: a brown armour with light-green details, echoing her original design but with notable refinements (the neck section is formed from a series of fang- or claw-shaped elements, while subtle gold accents evoke cobra imagery such as eye-like motifs on the chest plate, fang shapes along the abdomen, and a hood-like, scale-textured structure framing the shoulders), three coiled snake-shaped brown bronze bands adorning her arms (two short, slender ones wrapping around the upper right arm and right wrist, contrasting with a much longer, thicker one that forms an elaborate bracer on the left forearm, complete with curved spikes protruding between its loops), two thigh-high brown boots, a brown bronze belt (whose buckle resembles a cobra head), and a light-green skirt that, like the boots, appears to be made from large overlapping leather scales. The boots expose much of the feet (they are only secured by a single loop around the central toe) and parts of the legs (through open diamond cutouts), and are adorned with slender snake-shaped golden elements running along and around the shafts; also, they give the impression of being high-heeled, but each of her digitigrade legs is bent at the knee to accommodate the actual heel suspended high above the ground, with an off-white dewclaw extending downward to lift and support the foot in a way that can’t possibly be comfortable to walk on. Finally, she wears a removable light-green snakeskin cape, pierced with large, irregular holes along the lower edge and split by a vertical slit that allows her tail to pass through. The cape is equipped with an elaborate cobra hood-like collar, made of two flattened, widened expansions that flank her head and meet at the back in a heart-shaped form, while at the front they descend as two separate, segmented extensions (reminiscent of the lappets of a nemes or Ahsoka-style lekku) reaching down to the abdomen, where a sculpted medallion shaped like the Spektrosaur emblem hangs between them (more on this later); the rear surface of the collar is reddish, decorated with a golden motif consisting of two circular patterns connected by a curved line, while the front is yellowish with brownish, radiating spiny ribs and features a hypnotic slit eye-shaped glowing red jewel on each side. Although the hood-collar slightly hampers the head movement, good poses are still possible.
 |
| Nar-Aja's stylised armour. |
Action feature
In the comics, Nar-Aja possesses several abilities, including extending her sharp, stiletto-like venomous dewclaws from her feet while kicking, as well as squirting venom from her fangs in self-defence. While the former ability is not recreated in the figure, the latter is rendered with her signature translucent yellow plug-in spitting effect for her mouth.
Additionally, after shattering the urn that hangs from her neck and contains the ashes of her deceased husband Volcrotran, and “breathing in” his spirit, Nar-Aja can conjure an evil spectre from her jaws splayed wide. The urn is beautifully sculpted, looking like a flame-shaped greenish ampulla encased in a golden medallion, and seemingly fastening her cape, which, in the comics, falls when the chain is ripped. To reproduce this very cool concept, it's necessary to remove the figure's original head and cape, then add a new "collar" piece, which represents an alternate version of her head featuring glowing yellow eyes and the mouth opened to an extreme gape; this piece just sits around the neck ball joint and is kept in place as more pieces are assembled on top. These additional components form a set of skeletal, ghost-like parts, primarily cast in translucent yellow plastic that glows in the dark, and painted with black lowlights. They can be attached in sequence in various configurations, creating the impression that the spirit is gradually emerging from Nar-Aja's body through her mouth. The process begins with the spirit's head, which roughly resembles a horned viper skull, characterised by a triangular shape, black eyes with slit-shaped yellow-green GITD pupils, and two curved dark horns rising above the eyes. The lower jaw can open, revealing a sparse set of small, sharp off-white teeth, including a pair of more prominent downward-pointing fangs. These fangs can be swapped out with a substantially extended version thanks to a removable gums insert, mimicking an extendable/retractable action; each fang features a small forward-facing orifice near the tip, suggesting a hollow venom channel. Also, an optional long, forked tongue can be inserted into a slot in the open mouth (alternatively, Nar-Aja’s spit effect piece can be used). An elongated neck can then be inserted between the spirit’s head and Nar-Aja’s body. This spine-like piece features a series of curved spikes protruding from the sides of the vertebrae, possibly a reference to Emergence Volcrotran’s retractable neck appendages. Optionally, once the spirit’s head is not hindered by Nar-Aja’s stretched-mouth head, a cobra hood part can be added; this hood has visible ribbing on the underside and connects via a removable piece at the back of the head, which reveals a slot to plug it in. Finally, the configuration can be extended further by inserting a torso piece, either between the spirit’s head and Nar-Aja’s body or between the elongated neck and Nar-Aja’s body. This torso is formed from a bundle of snakes, like numerous small serpentine skeletons stretching and slithering in all directions; two of them are larger and longer, textured with bumps and equipped with keeled ridges along the sides, and function as elongated arms with swivel-hinged "shoulders". Each arm ends in an articulated horned viper skull (with an opening lower jaw) in place of a hand; these heads closely resemble the main one, but each features hollow eye sockets and two extra horns below the primary pair, pointing backward and down. There is also an alternate version of these two head-hands, each featuring a group of three smaller snakes emerging from the eye sockets and the mouth.
Weapons and accessories
Apart from her venom-spit effect and the various components used to recreate her spectre-conjuring ability, Nar-Aja comes equipped with two cool weapons: a mace and a shield. The mace is composed of a subtly wavy, greenish wooden handle capped with two light-green, oxidised bronze fittings: the bottom end is adorned with a rattle-shaped ornament, while the top features a striking head with four knife-edged flanges. A knob at its peak is sculpted like a snake head with a gaping mouth and is designed to accommodate Nar-Aja's spit effect; additionally, a portion of the four-flanged head, including the snake head, two flanges resembling a stylised cobra hood, and a shaft normally concealed within the handle, can be removed, echoing the projectile-launching mechanism shown in the comics. The shield appears to be crafted from light-green, oxidised bronze with gold accents, and its design evokes a roughly triangular cobra head, formed by four horizontally overlapping plates, set against a circular backdrop of radiating, intertwined vipers that hold a brown bronze ring in their mouths (like the spokes of a bicycle wheel), around which yet another slender snake coils. The lower section is detachable and can be replaced with an alternate piece that helps represent the cobra with its jaws agape, from which a long, brown bronze blade (shaped like a stylised bifurcated tongue) protrudes. This interchangeable feature mirrors the comic depiction, where the shield’s lower portion slides downward to unleash the blade in a sudden forward thrust, viciously piercing enemies. I love the battle-worn detailing on the shield, and it can also be stowed on her back when she isn’t wearing the cape—it fits neatly into a slot on her back plate, making it easy to carry while also giving protection against attacks from behind.
Additionally, to enhance the appeal of this already striking figure, the package includes a snake-like tail piece that can attach to the spectre’s body. This elongated, partially coiled and highly poseable lower section features three ball joints and a waist swivel, as well as a spider-like tip and a detailed sculpt that carries over the same skeletal, ghost-like yellow GTID design from the upper body. An additional torn, brown fabric belt/loincloth piece (complete with some interesting little silver tags with runes on them hanging from real chains) is included to ensure a secure fit between the two sections.
Finally, Nar-Aja comes with a winged yellow-green energy snake that’s highly flexible and can coil around her shoulders and arm. This isn't shown in the comics, so it's unclear whether it's meant to be an alternate design of the snake companion from her Foundation version or more like the form the spectre takes when it emerges from the urn.
Final thoughts
Overall: Nar-Aja is an outstanding figure and an amazing reinterpretation of the character, definitely a strong example of how much value PoliganToys is packing into the latest KR|EoF releases. This prototype stands out as one of the best so far, thanks to her fresh, distinctive design and the way her new "transforming" feature is executed. The ability to swap multiple parts and create different versions of the character makes her both fun to play and visually striking on display. With the hope of future Spektrosaur soldier army builders on the horizon, Nar-Aja already feels like a perfect centrepiece. This is a great addition to the line, an easy favourite of the year, and a figure I’m genuinely excited to have in my KR display
Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5
