KR|Horizon Review #32: Combining Goblin (SDCC 2024 Exclusive)

Toy prototype details

Name: Combining Goblin

Subtitle: bionic giant trooper

Line: KR|Horizon

Item type: large scale figure - Nº 4 in the line.

Characters details

Names: Destructomorph Goblins

Classification: bio-robotic hybrids

Sex: undefined

Home: Tahron

Era: 15 years after Foundation

Affiliation: Destructomorph

Rank: drones.

Background

First appearance: KR|Horizon #1 - The Destructomorph legacy

Brief bio: with a surge of power, the dreadful Destructomorph Goblins possessed the ability to expand to giant size and morph into terrifying insectoid behemoths, wielding immense strength boosted by their mechanised bodies.

Articulation
Standard (new scheme) plus a hinged clawed finger on each hand.

Description
As we know, the Destructomorph Goblins are insectoid, bio-robotic droids (part organic, part technological) that in the comics can merge to create larger armoured robots. These combined forms include the three-unit droid that serves as the basic figure in this set. Standing at an adequate 30 cm (approximately 12'', the same size as the Combining Cyborg), this figure boasts a remarkable construction, incorporating numerous die-cast metal parts. It draws inspiration from the design of its three individual components (one Goblin forming the legs, another one forming the torso and the arms, and another one forming the head), featuring an impeccable paintwork, with silver coating on the plate armour elements contrasting with the glossy black of the exposed organic parts beneath.

Head: the figure's silver, ball-jointed robotic head evokes the regular Goblin's visage, but with a distinctly short-muzzled appearance that deviates from the iconic Ankylosaurus skull theme. Borrowing elements from the Sangheili (Halo) head design, this portrait's most distinguishing trait is its bug-like jaw structure, which consists of a frontally compressed beak-like upper jaw and four separate lower mandibles arranged in two tiers. Each of these mandibles has a sharp edge and a number of small teeth, as well as an additional larger fang at the tip, while a series of broader teeth lines the upper jaw. Furthermore, the head is characterised by various mechanical and electrical components (including three small blue LEDs on the forehead resembling eyespots), a pair of thread-like, segmented black antennae pointing backward, a pair of menacing, shiny green compound eyes, and two horns projecting backward and down from the back of the head. Completing the look is a golden-yellow removable headgear reminiscent of a segmented hood, featuring a long silver horn atop, two holes for the antennae and a pair of large, bulbous black goggles, each displaying a red glowing horizontal slit and a central beady eyespot

Body: intricate sculpting embellishes every inch of this figure, from the strikingly designed machinery/circuitry patterns on the spiky (particularly on the thighs) metal plates protecting its body to the cracks on the shoulders and hips, the large overlapping scales on the forearms and lower legs, and the bumps on the extremities, accentuating its segmented, chitinous sections. The torso is composed of silver metallic segments that are ring-shaped and joined by seemingly flexible black membranes. The four limbs are slender and feature a pair of pincer-like grasping hands, each with two primary claw-like black fingers (one slightly longer and spiky, the other shorter and toothed) and two smaller side fingers, as well as a pair of four-digit feet ending in claw-like black toes, with one split to form a pincer in front, two on the sides, and one in back. Metallic dark-red and golden-yellow accents further enhance the figure's visual appeal, including two pairs of narrow metallic dark-red bracers with silver studs, two metallic dark-red shin guards (each adorned with a double row of silver spines and a silver spur near the lower end), a tech-inspired metallic dark-red belt with a triangular buckle, and a laminar golden-yellow crotch piece.

Action feature

The Combining Goblin comes with several additional/alternative parts. First off, one pair of bracers on his forearms can be swapped out for a pair of spiked variants, where each menacing bladed silver spike is fictionally deployed from a stud on the bracer.

Moreover, the set includes multiple extra pieces to build larger versions of the character, which are fictionally formed by the combination of up to a hundred Goblins, as seen in the comics. While not quite that large in toy form, the assembled variants are indeed taller than the standard figure. The intermediate version is created by replacing the regular head and lower legs with larger, alternate parts. The head is characterised by a scaly, glossy black hood that seamlessly blends into a silver face with an imposing look (it reminds me a bit of Bayformers Megatron). A pair of antennae emerges from between the solid green glowing eyes, lying flat against the scalp rather than projecting upward, while a wicked, broad grin shows a finely serrated upper labrum, a two-tusked lower labium, and a pair of short, segmented appendages (or palps) extending from the chin. The elongated digitigrade legs require bent knees to accommodate the feet with the heel sections high up. Each foot ends in four claw-like black toes: one massive front toe, two side toes that curve forward forming a pincer, and a single rear toe. The set also includes a metallic dark-red one-shoulder harness with golden-yellow accents. This features a single strap crossing the left shoulder (with two more passing under each arm), connecting to a chest plate adorned with a triangular, yellow glowing piece reminiscent of a reactor core and echoing the design of the belt. Completing the ensemble is a silver back armour that attaches to the rear of the harness. This impressive piece resembles a hybrid of the head shield of Marrella and the peculiar thorax protuberances of Bocydium globulare, bearing a series of elongated, curved spine-like projections (the rearmost featuring a serrated keel) adorned with globular translucent magenta appendages, fictionally capable of firing lethal spheres of lightning.

The largest version is further augmented with more additional parts. The first addition is a translucent yellow helmet that fits over the alternate head. This is characterised by a segmented texture, a pair of long, antenna-like silver horns, a frontal ornamental crest with seven small blue LEDs arranged in a star shape to resemble eyespots, and a thin, curved riveted silver visor with eye slits and nasal. Two more pairs of horns project backward and down from the back of the helmet, just below the antennae, while two heavily toothed maxilla-like cheek guards, each accompanied by a pair of black palps, descend along the sides of the face. A second harness is provided, consisting of a laminar metallic dark-red chest plate studded with golden-yellow rivets and embossed with the iconic Destructomorph emblem. The chest plate is flanked by a pair of golden-yellow box chains (i.e., made of cubed links) serving as shoulder straps, as well as a shoulder guard piece equipped with a pair of angular spikes that point forward like additional insectoid, one-clawed limbs. Completing the harness are two detachable, swivelling wings, each sporting a sharp-cornered translucent magenta membrane (creating a neat see-through effect reminiscent of solidified energy) with circuitry looking veins, and sustained by a long, blade-like silver structure shaped like a stag beetle mandible. Next, an additional torso piece, designed to fit between the upper and lower body sections after they've been detached, is included. This is painted in silver, with metallic dark-red circles on the sides and a golden-yellow opening door in the front, and its design looks a bit like a honeycomb with a densely packed hexagonal prismatic cells pattern. With this torso piece, which looks like it is held up by the chained shoulder braces, the figure also gets a swivel point of articulation on the top and bottom. When the abdominal iris diaphragm dilates (in the toy, this is recreated by opening the hinged door and removing an hexagonal translucent magenta piece at its centre), the Combined Goblin emits powerful concussive blasts (represented by an included translucent magenta plug-in effect) from a reactor in his belly, echoing a bombardier beetle's defence mechanism.

Weapons and accessories

In the comics, the Combining Goblin possesses the ability to generate deadly weaponry from his hands. To mimic this weapon augmentation power, the figure features detachable hands that can be swapped with a variety of included golden-yellow armaments, namely a buzz-saw axe, featuring two broad, spined blades that spin around an axis perpendicular to the arm (each blade is reminiscent of a mole cricket's foreleg), a ball-and-chain flail with a striking head covered in spikes that resemble scorpion telsons and connected to a "handle" by a length of box chain (a retracted, solid ball version of this weapon can fit to the end of the handle by popping off the ball-and-chain attachment), and a barbed, sting-like lance.

Finally, the figure also comes with a shield that clips to either forearm. In its normal form, this shield resembles a beetle with folded wings - the golden-yellow disc forms the body, while two large silver forewings (detailed with intricate tech-mech designs) overlap it. When needed, these forewings swivel to reveal a secondary set of smaller, silver hindwings (marked with dark-red veins), which also swivel outwards, significantly expanding the shield's defensive area.

Final thoughts

Overall: the Combining Goblin is a phenomenal figure that fans will surely want to add to their collection. It is tons of fun and looks great on display! With perfect articulation and a menacing look, this figure is easily one of this year's best prototypes, and really shows that PoliganToys has definitely put some real time and thought into it
Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR|Horizon Review #29: Muvaran (Extra Armoured Forms)

Toy prototype details

Name: Muvaran^TM (Extra Armoured Forms)

Subtitle: warring sorcerer

Line: KR|Horizon

Item type: large scale figure (dual figure) - Nº 2 in the line.

Character details

Name: Muvaran

Classification: the reanimated corpse of a human

Sex: male

Home: unknown

Era: 15 years after Foundation

Affiliation: Destructomorph

Rank: sorcerer priest.

Background

First appearance: KR|Horizon #2 - In the eye of the storm

Related character(s): Muvaran.

Articulation
Both figures have the standard articulation.

Description

In the comics, the mummy form of Muvaran controls a human-sized armour made of metal (these were the two figures I reviewed back in 2020). Moreover, each time he needs more power, Muvaran jumps into an additional larger coffin-like armour made of painted wood; for maximum-strength amplification, he can further enclose himself in an even larger sarcophagus-like armour made of carved granite. These are the two items included in this new set, and both have a similar appearance to the metal-armoured form. Although it's not possible to place one armour inside the other, the two figures are in scale with each other and with the older figures: the wooden version is 23 cm tall (around 9''), while the stone version is 30 cm tall (around 12'').

Heads: each head sports a helmet painted/carved with intricate details, which is seemingly composed of a sculpted headcloth (covering the ears and the nape of the neck) and a ceremonial headgear: an atef feathered crown in the wooden armour, and a hemhem crown in the stone armour. The atef combines a tall bulbous hedjet with curly blue-painted ostrich feathers on each side of the crown (the feathers are identified as ostrich from their curve at the upper ends and a slight flare toward the base). The hemhem is an elaborate triple atef set on top of a pair of long spiral ram's horns and ornamented with various feathers, a cobra on either side of the crown and three bronze sun discs on the top. The face slightly resembles the mask of Tutankhamun, with chiselled details such as a pair of evil wadjet-like white glowing eyes and a spiky false beard. In the wooden version, the mouth area is covered by layers of plastered scraps of linen decorated with geometric shapes and runes, while the stone version appears to have a sculpted mouth guard

Bodies: the limbs (specifically the upper arms, hands, thighs and knees) are covered in hieroglyph-like ornamental inscriptions with mysterious or magic significance. In the wooden version, such inscriptions are painted on plastered scraps of linen, while in the stone version they are engraved on the surface. Each figure wears four bands (made of silver in the wooden version, bronze in the stone one) around the upper arms and the thighs

Wearables: each figure displays a wesekh-like broad pectoral, two large spiked, reinforced spaulders, a sort of apron, two bracers with spikes sticking out of the sides, two sandal-boots with fan-shaped tops, a belt with a triangular buckle, and a short shendyt painted/carved with four-pointed stars all the way around (and seemingly fringed edges in the stone version). Many details, namely the torso underneath the pectoral/apron, the bracers and the sandal-boots, show sculpted ornaments imitating criss-crossed straps, while the few inlays in the pectoral/apron, the spikes on the spaulders and bracers, and the belt buckle are made of silver in the wooden version and bronze in the stone one.

Weapons and accessories

Muvaran's armoured forms have no action feature and don't come with any proper weapons, but the set includes an awesome accessory - the mummy's "unwrapped" bituminous inner body that in the comics is capable of shapeshifting powers, including the ability to form spikes or expand his size. This item has no articulation whatsoever and comes in the form of a demonic dark-taupe bust emerging from a puddle of tar mixed with some loose ecru bandages. This piece is smaller than the standard KR figure, but has a pair of outstretched arms ending with ghoulish, large clawed hands.

Final thoughts

Overall: of all the KR|Horizon figures that were missing from the original wave (we still need quite a few mecha characters...), I was looking forward to Muvaran's extra armoured forms the most, and now that they're in hand, I can happily say they do not disappoint. I could make a few minor nitpicks about the paint, but otherwise these figures are excellent. In either case, the sculpt is great, the colours are beautiful, and the figure is loads of fun to pose and play with

Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #97: Murmirian Warriors

Toy prototype details

Name: Murmirian^TM Warriors

Subtitle: insectile hooligans

Line: KR|Foundation

Item type: multi-pack (army builder 2-pack) - Nº 21 in the line.

Character details

Name: unknown

Classification: insect

Sex: male or female

Home: Tahron

Era: Foundation

Affiliation: Destructomorph

Rank: vandal.

Background

First appearance: KR|Foundation #12 - Dawn of a new past

Related character(s): Zektax.

Articulation
Standard, with the addition of two fully articulated arms (each pair of arms on either side is connected to an extra swivelling double socket) and with the exclusion of a hinged abdomen.

Description

Heads: each figure's head is somewhat human-like, and is characterised by a scale armour golden-yellow helmet that surrounds and merges with a reddish face. The helmet is equipped with water polo-like ear coverings, a central caterpillar looking crest and two short tubes from which a pair of fairly long, thin black forward-pointing antennae projects. The face displays a pair of evil almond-shaped glossy-black compound eyes, three smaller red glowing eye spots on the forehead, a vampire looking mouth complemented with two pairs of honeybee-like black mandibles and elongated black maxillae (above and beside/below the lips, respectively) as well as a housefly-like stretched out black proboscis extending from the chin, which is equipped with two palps and ends in a pair of fleshy protrusions that are more or less fused to form a single structure similar to a sucker

Bodies: each figure's four slender arms are protected by a segmented reddish chitinous exoskeleton and bear spinous ridges running down the sides. The arms and the legs end with reddish clawed hands (four-fingered in the upper arms and two-fingered in the lower arms) and digitigrade feet (reused from the Destructomorph Goblins, with the heel section high up, and three massive claw-like black toes in front and one in back). The figure's torso is essentially a jar of viscera, which is filled with a slimy fluid that allows his/her internal organs (such as heart, air sacs, guts and ganglia) to float around; these can be seen through the transparent chest (which features sculpted pecs and abs) and back, while the sides are spray-painted in red

Wearables: each figure wears a metallic purple collar characterised by a triangular shape in front and back, "insect-style" sculpting and golden-yellow details, four scaly (with some of the scales developing a bit more into spines) purple bracelets, two purple shin guards fastened with criss-crossed leather laces, a purple belt with a rectangular golden-yellow buckle, and a pair of laminar armour golden-yellow trousers.

Weapons and accessories
Although in the comics the Murmirian Warriors are shown to be extremely skilled hand-to-hand fighters, to have the ability to lift 20 times their body weight, and to communicate with each other telepathically via pheromones produced by their antennae, these figures have no action feature (apart from the translucent torso as well as the additional shoulder joints that allow the arms to spin in an attack motion). However, each figure comes with a giant winged weapon that can either be worn on the back or used as a dual-bladed staff of sorts. Designed to look like insect wings, these two pieces are as tall as the figures, are cast in translucent yellow with added golden glitter, and feature some excellent golden-yellow and metallic purple paint apps to bring out all the detail. On the back of each figure's collar is a clasp that the handle of the winged melee weapon can snap into. I like to imagine that they are made of an extremely lightweight material that could enable the Murmirian Warriors to glide.

Final thoughts

Overall: the Murmirian Warriors turned out wonderfully and have a lot of new parts to make them stand out on my KR shelf. Even if they were not my most anticipated figures, there is a lot to like about these excellent prototypes. And I'm very happy with how the translucent chest came out... with almost 100 prototypes in the line, I definitely appreciate a KR toy that stands out from the rest due to some unique feature. Their weapons design and colour scheme is rather eye catching too

Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #96: Deptilion's Legacy Demon (One-Horned)

Toy prototype details

Name: Deptilion^TM's Legacy Demon (One-Horned)
Subtitle: cruel leviathan
Line: KR|Foundation
Item type: large scale figure - Nº 8 in the line.

Character details
Name: unknown
Classification: spirit
Sex: uncertain
Home: Tahron
Era: Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: demonic entity possessing Geel-Ber.

Background
First appearance: KR|Foundation #12 - Dawn of a new past
Related character(s): Geel-Ber, Deptilion, Three-Horned Demon.

Articulation
Standard, with the addition of a ball jointed tail.

Description

Head: sea serpent-like, covered in warty dark blue-green skin and characterised by a spiky grey-brown sagittal crest, a pair of deep-set solid purple glowing eyes, a pair of small pointed ears, and one dark-grey forward-pointing horn on the beak-shaped, orange-tipped muzzle. The slightly open mouth shows some sharp whitish teeth

Body: the figure is 23 cm tall (around 9'') and displays a body covered in warty dark blue-green skin, with large scales occurring especially on the neck (thanks to a rubbery removable neck piece that fits right on top of the body and mimics a horny collar with a sequence of extended, spinous grey-brown processes running down the middle of the upper back) and shoulders (the latter are also equipped with two pairs of curved grey-brown spikes), and sharp grey-brown spikes sticking out of the elbows. He also has clawed hands and feet (including one claw protruding from each heel) as well as a fairly long dark blue-green scaly tail with grey-brown spikes projecting from its upper side

Wearables: none.

Weapons and accessories
The Demon has no action feature and doesn't come with any proper weapons, but includes two interesting accessories. The first piece is an alternate head that shows a screaming, much angrier expression compared to the regular portrait.

The second accessory is Demo-Rha's sceptre as it is shown in the 10^th issue of the KR|Foundation comic book series Evanescing act, where it is used by Deptilion to teleport his enemies to Cereutis. The staff is moulded in purple plastic and is topped with a modified version of the Destructomorph symbol, i.e., a square-shaped black spider, whose back resembles a human skull. The only difference with Demo-Rha's standard sceptre is that two red gemstones are embedded in the skull's eye sockets. As another option, the staff can also be grasped by the Demon and wielded as a weapon.

Final thoughts
Overall: of course PoliganToys couldn't deny us the perfect companion of the Three-Horned Demon. He is tremendously sculpted and looks great on my monster shelf or with the rest of my KR prototypes
Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #94: Belemnian Warriors

Toy prototype details
Name: Belemnian^TM Warriors
Subtitle: tentacular thugs
Line: KR|Foundation
Item type: multi-pack (army builder 2-pack) - Nº 20 in the line.

Character details
Name: unknown
Classification: mollusc
Sex: male or female
Home: Tahron
Era: Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: berserker.

Background
First appearance: KR|Foundation #12 - Dawn of a new past
Related character(s): Todahr.

Articulation
Standard, with six additional tentacles, which are ball hinged separate pieces. Each tentacle features an additional swivel at about one-third of its length.

Description

Heads: each figure's head is composed of a slender tusk-shaped pearlescent off-white shell, from which the snout protrudes. While the upper side of the shell is marked with red spots, the snout is topped with a bumpy orange leathery hood and is characterised by two evil solid yellow glowing eyes as well as eight short greenish-grey arms arranged around a small syphon-like mouth
Bodies: each figure's anthropoid limbs (two arms and two legs) have a wrinkled greenish-grey skin, bear numerous suckers along their length, and carry webbed clawed hands and feet as well as fin-shaped gill-like extensions that project from the forearms and the calves through openings in the worn items. Additionally, six slim tentacle-like greenish-grey arms (each decorated with a plain golden-yellow armband) are attached to the underside of a limpet-like shell that plugs into a socket in the back armour. The shallow, conical shell is smooth and painted in pearlescent off-white on the underside, and cracked and of a darker colour on the upper side, while the tentacles have skin-rings running all the way down and suckers near their club-shaped ends

Wearables: each figure wears a golden-yellow armour with metallic light-blue details, two golden-yellow wrist guards, two golden-yellow shin guards, a triangular studded golden-yellow belt and a scale armour (i.e., consisting of several overlapping metallic light-blue plates laced together) loincloth.

Belemnian Warrior's stylised armour.

Action feature
The Belemnian Warriors' fictional ability to seize their enemies with a powerful grip has been recreated by providing each figure with six cool extra arms. Each arm is unique and numbered, has a pin/disc joint (with a ball-shaped peg that pops into a slot in the underside of the shell) at one end, so it can turn and tilt, and is bendable towards the other end. These arms can turn up and down, and hinge forward and backward, but the forward range of motion is blocked by the body and the backward range is mostly blocked by the shell. I was afraid that they couldn’t really be posed in a forward attack motion, but fortunately the folks at PoliganToys made them a bit more fun to pose by including a swivel at the armbands and by making them from a bendy material. Also, you can get a variety of tentacle poses by swapping around the order they are inserted in the shell. As an additional display option, the six tentacles can also be removed from the shell piece, to transform each figure into a simple two-armed warrior.

Weapons and accessories

The Belemnian Warriors come with two weapons, one for each figure: a "pearl-shooting" gun and a crystal lance/spear. The metallic light-blue gun (with some golden-yellow details) has a fairly long barrel which is seemingly enclosed within a hinged double shell (which looks like an open clamshell) and consists of concentric tubular sections supposedly designed to slide into one another. The barrel ends in a bell-shaped muzzle that holds a hemispherical, pearl-like off-white emitter, which in the comics has the ability to shoot deadly globular blasts of plasma. The bulky, hi-tech main body of the weapon is equipped with a rear grip, an L-shaped fore grip (i.e., with a handle sticking off the side for two-handed firing), a stock, and a laser sight (conveniently, the upper shell has a hole). The rear grip and the vertical part of the fore grip are joined by what looks like a chipped axe blade. Two fin-shaped ornaments projecting from above the sight and the butt of the weapon have loops for fitting a faux leather baldric.

The other weapon is a dangerous looking, long shard of crystal, which either figure can wield nicely in either hand. This tapering lance-like accessory is moulded in translucent light-blue plastic and is the same weapon that came with Helimex (minus the white frosting).

Final thoughts
Overall: the Belemnian Warriors are among those one-issue only characters that I have been looking forward to getting and, a few articulation quibbles aside (namely the uselessness of the hinge joint at the base of each extra arm), they don't disappoint. The tentacles, although a bit limited, still make for a striking look posed on the shelf. This is a pretty great 2-pack and one of the more interesting prototypes this year
Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR|Horizon Review #28: Nemhetra (Robotic Avatar Forms)

Toy prototype details
Name: Nemhetra^TM (Robotic Avatar Forms)
Subtitle: battling leader
Line: KR|Horizon
Item type: large scale figure (dual figure) - Nº 1 in the line.

Character details
Name: Nemhetra, aka Iron-Face
Family name: Amhalgaard^TM
Classification: uncertain, seemingly human
Sex: female
Relationships: daughter of Demo-Rha and Ir-Ash, cousin of Desion (Masq-Lor), Herrion, Rhadiel (Fai-Rha) and Mor-Rak, half-sister of Sei-Lha
Home: Tahron
Era: 15 years after Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: chief marshal.

Background
First appearance: KR|Horizon #3 - The last horizon
Related character(s): Nemhetra, Destructomorph Goblins.

Robatar mode
Description
In the Horizon comics, it is revealed that each prodigious helmet holds a sample of liquid alloy, which was hidden by Galamars after forging the enchanted artefacts. When the liquid metal is combined with a tiny amount of the helmet wearer's blood, a small ball lightning (which in Nemhetra's case is magenta and not cyan, probably due to her blood being purple) arises and creates a statue (called totem and made of the same material as the helmets and halberds) of a creature, behind which there is a sort of chair. When the helmet wearer introduces their halberd into a slot on the side of the totem, and sits in the chair with their hands and feet positioned on apposite rests, a connector automatically inserts into the helmet's socket, i.e., the hollow left after extracting the liquid alloy vial. The wearer appears to lose consciousness, when in fact their consciousness is relayed into a robotic avatar (called robatar) that forms from the totem moments later.

Nemhetra's totem is a monstrous spider-reptilian demon hybrid (it reminds me a bit of Spider-Mohawk in Gremlins 2) and her robatar, which is the first figure included in this pack, can be described as a giant mechanical spider, whose abdomen carries a large machine-like, demonic skull on top; two mechanical arms are attached to the sides of the skull and each arm ends with a large chela-like pincer that can open and close for capturing enemies. The silver-coloured (with a dark sheen) robatar has plenty of tech-mech details (including several boosters with magenta glowing propulsion effects on the underside) and all the limbs (the eight legs plus the two arms) are swivel-hinged at various points, so the range of motion for each limb is pretty good. The spider head bears a black visor with eight magenta glowing eyes, two steel chelicerae and two large mechanical pedipalps, which have pear-shaped ends.

Action feature, weapons and accessories

In the comics, this fearsome robotic creature can both knock down opponents by stomping its legs and ensnare prisoners with its powerful pincers, to whip them around and around with a wild, whirling action. The toy is able to grab and hold effectively on to two figures at a time thanks to the claws being articulated with spring hinges that snap closed, while the skull section can rotate 360 degrees.

Additionally, to simulate the retractile laser-like fangs seen in the comics, a long magenta glowing blade can snap into each chelicera. Finally, the pedipalps can transform into a pair of vicious ball-and-chain flails by disconnecting the bulbous pieces from the ends of the appendages and replacing them with an alternative pair of chained striking spheroids covered in spikes.

Super-Robatar mode

Description
When Nemhetra's silver mask is activated, the evil robatar metamorphoses into the torso of an even larger super-robatar, whose body is completed by the addition of several Destructomorph Goblins. This figure is 30 cm tall (around 12'') and has as much articulation as the standard KR figure. The different body parts have some moving details (such as small wings) and can even detach to mimic the assembling process seen in the comics. Actually, the best way to describe this figure is to sum up the way the robatar mode fictionally transforms into the super-robatar, and to appreciate all the cool details:

1. The skull-abdomen slides forward revealing a robotic, skeletal bust lying face upwards (with the head being the "tail" of the spider)
2. The spider's eight coxae pivot up and back and connect to the robot's back
3. The robot's bust rotates face down, while the skull's mechanical arms fold and compress
4. With the robot's bust in upright position and facing forward, and the skull-abdomen positioned on the robot's lower back and facing upward, the spider's legs swivel and combine together two by two, forming four larger arthropod-like arms that project from the back
5. The skull-abdomen opens and spreads out, and swings upward and forward to envelop the robot's bust: the back of the skull covers the back of the robot, the front of the skull covers the chest of the robot, and the sides (with the collapsed arms) of the skull connect to the sides of the robot, to become its shoulders
6. Ten transformed Destructomorph Goblins merge with the robot, to produce its limbs: two pairs form the upper and lower arms, while two triplets form the upper and lower legs, and the feet
7. The monstrous visor on the robot's head moves up to reveal the super-robatar's humanoid, bright-eyed face, which strongly resembles Nemhetra's visage.

Action feature, weapons and accessories

In addition to two pairs of interchangeable hands (two fisted, one weapon gripping and one splayed open), there are two sets of not-spiked and spiked arm bracers for the four articulated arthropod limbs (the latter type can fictionally spin). Then there's her arms - each one of the eight silver nubs on her gauntleted forearms pops off and can be replaced with a long, forward-protruding magenta glowing blade called "hand-slicer".

Furthermore, to mimic her ability to fire energy tentacles from her chest and energy orbs from her additional arms, the figure comes with two bundles of threadlike magenta glowing flexible appendages, which plug into the skull's eye sockets and fictionally stretch out, twine round and grasp her opponents, as well as two magenta glowing spheres, which can be placed between the tarsi of each pair of arthropod arms (these fictionally generate charges of extremely high voltage that are discharged and shot as spherical bolts of lightning).
Finally, the package includes a huge tech-mech version of Nemhetra's halberd (fictionally dispensed by the unfolding back armour) as well as an equally large weapon composed of the four halberds joined together, which is meant for the three heroic siblings' super-robatar.

Final thoughts

Overall: this set is, in a word, insane! My review only began to scratch the surface of this amazing toy, because the playability aspect of it is pretty high. The two large scale figures were created for the passionate KR fan, one who wants to recreate - in precise detail - every possible mode, pose and action of the last Destructomorph chief marshal in her robotic avatar forms. This set delivers on all accounts with two toys worthy of a legend

Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #91: Holopodian Mutants

Toy prototype details
Name: Holopodian^TM Mutants
Subtitle: thorny minions
Line: KR|Foundation
Item type: multi-pack (army builder 2-pack) - Nº 19 in the line.

Character details
Name: unknown
Classification: mutant holopodian*
Sex: male or female
Home: Tahron
Era: Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: officer.
*Holopodians are fictional large-sized echinoderms with some characteristics that are shared with crustaceans.

Background
First appearance: KR|Foundation #11 - Herrion's ordeal
Related character(s): Kinod, Queen Holopodian.

Articulation
Standard, except that the left wrists are ball jointed.

Description
Heads: each figure's head consists of a spherical bivalve black shell covered with spines and partially open, whose serrated opening allows a pair of evil green glowing eyes to peek through
Bodies: each figure's body has pinkish skin (which bears a number of projections in the form of porous warts), clawed hands and star-shaped clawed feet. The back is equipped with a separate black shell clip-on piece; this bony shell displays four strips that run down its length and bear comb-like bands of seemingly vibrating translucent light-blue hairs. The comb rows originate from an eye-shaped dark-blue ornament situated at the top part of the shell, while a pair of long pliable pinkish tentacles (each fringed with little filaments and ending in a bony tooth-like structure) emerges from the sides of the shell and projects forwards over the shoulders
Wearables: each figure wears a light-blue armour with dark-blue details (including studs, spikes and rivets), two light-blue bracelets with star-shaped studs, two light-blue boots (each with a spiky top), a spiky light-blue belt and a dark-blue gorgonian-like loincloth (reused from Colotros).

Holopodian Mutant's stylised armour.

Weapons and accessories
The Holopodian Mutants have no action feature, but they come with a cool assortment of accessories. First of all, two weapons, one for each figure: a flail and a staff. The flail, which is a replica of Kinod's signature weapon, comprises a metallic dark-blue haft connected by a long real metal chain to a spherical silver-spiked dark-blue striking end. The staff, which is a repaint of Xehrea's weapon (retooled slightly in order to be grasped by these figures) consists of a metallic dark-blue pole that has a trishula-like trident at one end and a swordbreaker blade at the other end, and features a translucent light-blue gem at the base of the central prong.

Furthermore, there is a selection of dark-blue&silver plug-in attachments for the figures' left arms, which includes a rigid whip, an elaborate bow-shaped sword blade, a shield (which looks a little like the rotating arrangement of blades of a fan to me) and a spiked striking ball. The last accessory is interesting, because it may be replaced by the flail (whose haft can also plug into the arm) in order to simulate an extending/retracting feature of the same weapon.
Last but not least, the package includes two pairs of alternative heads, one pair for each figure. The first type is the unfurled head that also came with the Queen Holopodian. The spread-out head-shell reveals a star-shaped, bumpy face, while its back is still protected by a spiny black carapace. The five "arms" are connected by a pinkish, seemingly muscular membrane and radiate from a central disc that has an anthropoid brownish calcified nose. The two blueish top arms exhibit a pair of evil pinkish eyes, which are topped by rough, brownish brow ridges and bear two elongated lobes resembling sensory appendages. Below the eyes on either side of the head are bunches of tendril-like pinkish filaments, which look like the stinging tentacles of a jellyfish. The blueish bottom arm is similar to a protruding chin and carries a humanoid mouth, which is slightly open and reveals several sharp whitish teeth. The second type is the "concept art" head. This is similar to the entirety of a shell-less, green-eyed pink jellyfish, with a number of tentacles surrounding its supposed mouth; this concept design was finally discarded because considered too similar to Cthulhu, but I'm happy that we are finally getting it in toy form.

Final thoughts

Overall: thanks to a few additional pieces, Kinod could also be displayed as one of his soldiers, but a pair of Holopodian Mutants as separate figures is a great choice for an army builder multi-pack. They are really solid figures and I like them quite a bit. Honestly, I kind of like them better than the Kinod-based version, which isn't as comic book-accurate as these ones
Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #89: Seutron & Deutron

Toy prototype details
Name: Seutron^TM & Deutron^TM
Subtitle: multiform henchmen
Line: KR|Foundation
Item type: multi-pack (2-pack) - Nº 18 in the line.

Characters details
Names: Seutron and Deutron
Classification: poriferans
Sex: males
Home: Tahron
Era: Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: sergeants.

Background
First appearance: KR|Foundation #13 - The ultimate curse
Related character(s): Pleutron, Xonatron.

Articulation
Standard, except that in each figure the connection points at the waist, shoulders, wrists, hips and tail are ball&socket (but the shoulders and hips are also hinged), and the neck features a double ball joint.

Description
Both figures are 23 cm tall (around 9'') and display a richly porous skin. Each has a short, thick segmented (i.e., formed of a longitudinal series of similar parts) tail emerging from the trunks, which is reused from Pleutron and is painted in a more greenish colour on the upper side.

Seutron

Head: characterised by an irregular chanterelle-like shape, light-blueish skin, human-like ears, a pair of bulging orange eyes (with slit-shaped dark vertical pupils and thick black vertical lines over and under the eyes), boar-like nose, a human-looking mouth exhibiting plump lips and white gnashing teeth, and a prominent cleft chin

Body: light-blueish skin. The arms bear a pair of spiked copper armbands and have human-looking hands with black nails, while the legs wear armoured copper knee guards

Wearables: a large metallic dark-green collar with copper inlays (which holds a tattered red cape on the back, and is connected via copper chains to two spaulders showing layers, from bottom to top, of reddish fur and shiny dark-green metal), two studded metallic dark-green manacles with broken, loppy copper chains, two armoured metallic dark-green ankle boots, a studded metallic dark-green belt (with dangling copper chains and a copper buckle displaying the Destructomorph emblem, i.e., a square-shaped spider whose back slightly resembles a demoniac face), and a torn red fabric loincloth. It is worth noting that only the chains attached to the shackles are real and not sculpted, and that the cape splits into two parts towards the lower back.

Deutron

Head: characterised by an irregular sea anemone-like shape (with a ring of tentacles around the top part, three of which are longer and resemble loop-shaped antennae), purplish skin, pointy ears with golden earrings, a pair of bulging bloodshot yellow beady eyes, boar-like nose, two sharp-pointed ivory tusks that protrude from the lower jaw, and a prominent square chin

Body: purplish skin, a large hump on his upper back. The arms and the legs wear laminar blueish-grey steel rerebraces and thigh guards, respectively. Each hand has four ivory claws as well as four dark-grey spikes emerging from the knuckles, while each foot has two dark-grey claws plus an ivory one

Wearables: a dark-green furry garment worn over the left shoulder and under the right (secured by a large blueish-grey steel pauldron showing the Destructomorph emblem), two dark-green leather bracelets with jagged ridges and knuckle protectors (the latter allow the dark-grey spikes to come through), two dark-green leather shin guards with jagged ridges and instep protectors, a dark-green leather tasset belt, and a light-blueish furry loincloth.

Action feature
In the comics, Seutron and Deutron are depicted, like Pleutron, as shape-shifting giants who can rearrange their cells to acquire countless monstrous forms, as well as stretch, squeeze and tear apart their jelly-like bodies, and then recover their original forms. In each figure, these transforming abilities are well recreated by a modular action feature that involves several snap-on body parts, namely the head, neck (double ball jointed), torso, pelvis, arms, hands, legs and tail.

The figures are not only fully modular with themselves, but they are also fully modular with Pleutron and the Xonatron; as they all share the same ball&socket joints, parts can be swapped back and forth between them at random, and they can be combined into a vast array of creatures, including a single crazy enormous monster.

Weapons and accessories
Each figure comes with a tech-looking, gun-like hand-held launcher, which fits in the figure's right hand and has no spring-loaded mechanism. Seutron's metallic red launcher fictionally allows him to fling two included bladed discs. The weapon's "barrel" ends with a hook, into which a fan-like four-bladed (actually, eight-bladed, but four of the eight blades are smaller) clear, glassy disc can be slotted. Either disc can alternatively be clipped onto the left bracer, acting as a sort of shield, or stowed on the back of the collar. Deutron's metallic light-blue weapon has two side-by-side barrels and two separate drill bit-like whitish, chalky projectiles. The butts of the two weapons bear pairs of slots and plugs, respectively, which allow them to connect to each other and form a larger weapon.

The set also comes with two different weaponized attachments to replace hands: a double-bitted light-blueish axe for Seutron and a giant purplish mallet for Deutron.

While I find that I prefer having the two figures separate, thanks to an additional cube-like abdomen piece (which has two balls and two sockets, and whose colour fades from light-blue to dark-blue to purple end to end) plus two extra dark-blue legs (wearing studded golden thigh bands and dark-green furry boots) it is actually very easy to place them into the combined configuration shown on the back of the box, with six legs and a torso and head at each end.
In addition, there are nine additional organic-looking (i.e., with a porous and segmented texture) dark-blue pieces for bigger and better builds. That includes five Y-connector joints (one of which is larger than the others) and four extension pieces (one male-male/neck piece, one female-female piece, and two male-female pieces), which make it possible to form double shoulders, hips and neck, and generate, for example, amazing double-headed, multi-limbed creatures. They’re all solid and a lot of fun to mess around with.

Last but not least, the package includes an alternate, taser cannon-shaped dark-blue-and-silver head for the Xonatron, which briefly appeared in The ultimate curse comic book.

Final thoughts

Overall: Seutron and Deutron are excellent figures with tons of accessories. PoliganToys improved on the interchangeable concept of Pleutron and Xonatron to release an even more technically impressive set. However, I don't like them as much as I like Pleutron, partially due to the design and the colour scheme, but they are still very, very high quality figures
Rating: ☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #88: Mal-Ah-Krill Warriors

Toy prototype details
Name: Mal-Ah-Krill^TM Warriors
Subtitle: hard-shell invaders
Line: KR|Foundation
Item type: multi-pack (army builder 2-pack) - Nº 17 in the line.

Character details
Name: unknown
Classification: crustacean
Sex: male or female

Home: Cereutis
Era: Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph (temporarily)
Rank: soldier of the Mal-Ah-Krill squadron led by Mal-Ah-Kros.

Background
First appearance: KR|Foundation #10 - Evanescing act

Related character(s): Mal-Ah-Kros.

Articulation
Standard, except that the wrists are ball jointed.

Description
Heads: each figure's head is encased in a box-like pail purple carapace with a bumpy texture, and is characterised by a spiny cranial crest (which seemingly runs down the upper back), two pairs of antennae (one pair, shorter and branching into two parts, is placed on top of the head, while the other extends from the back of the upper side-jaws), a small greenish beady compound eye situated in the middle of the forehead and two ghost crab-like elongated, swollen stalked eyes with slit-shaped black vertical pupils, large yellow-green corneas and brownish horns on the tips. The human-like partially open mouth exhibits a set of sharp ivory teeth (including two large fangs protruding upwards) and is flanked by three pairs of whitish jaws (the uppermost of which is larger than the other two). Both the head and the slim neck extension are on ball joints, which not only gives the figure a slightly longer neck, but also an extended range without hindering the movements at all
Bodies: each figure's body is protected by a pail purple chitinous exoskeleton with a cracked and bumpy texture. While the two main arms end with slender, three-fingered hands, the two legs display two additional pairs of arthropod-like limbs (each ending in a single long claw) projecting from the sides of the thighs, and, in one case, two-toed clawed feet. One pair of additional arthropod-like arms, each bearing a line of fin-shaped appendages and terminating in a flattened paddle (similarly to the last pair of swimming legs of a lady crab), project from the lower back, which is protected by a large, nicely sculpted chiton-like shell. The shell is yellow-grey with leopard-like clusters of light purplish spots, and is divided into eight seemingly articulating valves, the uppermost of which resembles a lady crab's carapace showing several spines along the upper edge

Wearables: each figure wears a segmented (similarly to a shrimp's or a lobster's abdomen) golden harness with cracked yellow details, two narrow golden wristbands, two simple golden boots, a golden belt with yellow studs, and yellow laminar trunks. The harness is equipped with a broad, star-shaped collar, and carries an emblem consisting of a blue gemstone carved with three vertical wavy lines on the front. The boots are claw-shaped in one figure, and have smooth, human-like toe-boxes in the other - I guess this is a reference to the inconsistency between the ways the feet of these characters were drawn in the comics and perhaps it is related to some kind of sexual dimorphism.

Mal-Ah-Krill Warrior's stylised armour; the circle at the centre of the chest plate represents a Cereutian symbol.

Action feature

In the comics, the Mal-Ah-Krill Warriors bear protective dorsal shells that allow them to roll into a ball when attacked. Unfortunately, this ability couldn't be rendered in the figures, since the two shells are solid pieces and their overlapping plates don't articulate with one another (I would have appreciated the inclusion of at least one curled up shell though). However, each shell is actually a removable part and features a small handle on the inner side, which makes it able to be held like a shield.

Furthermore, while Mal-Ah-Kros came with swappable mouth and eyes, these figures just go the whole hog and come with two alternate heads, each showing a gaping mouth and a pair of "bugged out" eyes, i.e., on longer stalks than the regular ones, with bright white pupils (in the comics, their eyes, once extended, have the frightening ability to discharge a variety of stun beams that can overpower an enemy in mere seconds).

Weapons and accessories
Apart from the alternative heads, the Mal-Ah-Krill Warriors come with four threatening maces, which the figures can grip tightly in their hands. Each bludgeon has a yellow shaft and a head consisting of a golden robotic chela. Alternatively, the pincers can be detached from the ends of the handles and used on the figures in place of their regular hands; it's worth noting that although the chelae are not articulated, they can still wield the head-less sticks as weapons.

In addition, each figure comes with an alternative pair of hands that have a more relaxed look compared to the standard gripping hands.

Final thoughts
Overall: I knew the Mal-Ah-Krill Warriors would be coming eventually, but I had a few prototypes that were kind of higher priorities for me at this time. However, now that they are here, they might be in my new top five for this year's selection
Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #87: Deptilion's Legacy Demon (Three-Horned)

Toy prototype details
Name: Deptilion^TM's Legacy Demon (Three-Horned)
Subtitle: cruel hellhound
Line: KR|Foundation
Item type: large scale figure - Nº 7 in the line.

Character details
Name: unknown
Classification: spirit
Sex: uncertain
Home: Tahron
Era: Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: demonic entity possessing Herrion.

Background
First appearance: KR|Foundation #11 - Herrion's ordeal
Related character(s): Alterok, Herrion.

Articulation
Standard, with the addition of a ball jointed tail.

Description
Head: werewolf-like, covered in short red-orange hairs (however, the hairs on the cheeks are elongated and form tufts) and characterised by a pair of solid yellow glowing eyes in the centre of two Spawn-like diamond-shaped light-blue plaques covering the face, two large dark-grey backward-pointing horns where the ears would be, and a rather smaller dark-grey forward-pointing horn on the long, blunt muzzle. The slightly open mouth shows some whitish teeth, including two large sharp fangs protruding upward
Body: the figure is 23 cm tall (around 9'') and displays a body covered in short red-orange hairs, with longer hairs occurring on the neck (thanks to a rubbery removable neck piece that fits right on top of the body and mimics a woolly collar with a strip of fur that runs down the middle of the upper back), forearms, back of hands, lower legs, insteps, and from the lower part of the abdomen down to the pelvis. All these furrier parts show some hairs that are white. The additional neck piece gives the impression that especially long hairs grow on the shoulders and almost form a crest on the upper part of the back. He also has clawed hands and feet as well as a fairly long red-orange furry tail with white hairs on the tip

Wearables: none.

Action feature

The Demon comes with an alternate head that shows, apart from an angrier expression, a roughly circular stump on his snout, which is left behind after Masq-Lor cuts off one of the Demon's horns. The package also includes a detached horn piece.

Weapons and accessories

The Demon doesn't come with any weapons, but includes two interesting accessories, namely two wooden sticks, each of which is ignited at one end. These torches are shown in the second issue of the KR|Foundation comic book series Hunt for the energy stone, where they are used by the Theriom warriors as a light source inside the labyrinth-cave in the Bay of Sortok. These pieces are moulded in translucent orange plastic at their heads and, aside from being utilised as portable means of illumination, they can also be grasped by the Demon and wielded as arms. They are really neat looking accessories and something that we haven't seen before.

Final thoughts
Overall: the folks at PoliganToys knocked this long-awaited prototype out of the ballpark
Rating: ☺☺☺☺☺ / 5

KR Review #84: Ultimate Curse Set (SDCC 2017 Exclusive)

I'm reposting this news blog post from 20 July 2017 as a review.

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PoliganToys will be in attendance at this year's San Diego Comic-Con!

Their SDCC exclusive release is the Key Raiders Ultimate Curse 2-pack, which contains the vehicle form of LoGoN and its "mysterious" white-suited driver.

CoBoN's evil counterpart is one of the more interesting machines shown during the several episodes of the KR saga. We already got LoGoN's robot configuration last year, but if its vehicle form hadn't been produced, there would have been an empty space on the shelf.

This very first release (not a prototype!) from PoliganToys is mostly a reuse of CoBoN's vehicle mode with a few differences:

- The bodywork is painted in a glossy black colour

- The front mounted scanner bar is recreated with a black lenticular sticker displaying green and purple patterns

- The voice display on the dashboard is painted in colours closer to the blue part of the spectrum, rather than to the red one

- Neither the central multi-spectral detector/holographic projector nor the clawed continuous tracks pieces are included

- The two Gatling guns are replaced by a spring-loaded rocket launcher and a plasma cannon (in black&silver).

The package includes a full-body version of LoGoN's white-suited driver, which is my personal favourite Demo-Rha's variant. The head and the torso are reused from the static bust that came with the original LoGoN, while the rest of the body is made of white&ochre repainted pieces from Combat Sei-Lha, specifically:

- The arms (with gloved gripping, non-removable hands)

- The legs (with glued leg guards)

- The belt and the crotch piece.

The articulation is the female standard and no weapon is included.

This KR exclusive will be available for $100 at the convention.

They will also have plenty of prototypes on display at their booth all weekend long! I wish I could be there...

KR|Horizon Review #27: Kentadon

Toy prototype details
Name: Kentadon^TM
Subtitle: bionic insectoid warrior
Line: KR|Horizon
Item type: action figure - Nº 22 in the line.

Character details
Name: Kentadon (sometimes alternatively spelt Kentadron^TM)
Classification: bio-robotic hybrid
Sex: undefined
Home: Tahron
Era: 15 years after Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph
Rank: commandant of the Destructomorph Goblins.

Background
First appearance: KR|Horizon #2 - In the eye of the storm
Brief bio: originally an archetype of the Destructomorph Goblins created during Nemhetra's diabolical evolutionary experiments, the bio-robotic insectoid Kentadon was eventually abandoned in a dumping site, because driven by an ungovernable truculent instinct. It was salvaged by Muvaran, who by Mohrdax's command infused the creature with part of his magical powers, to exploit it as a ruthless hunter of prey when set loose upon Tahron. Later, Psadimyr augmented Kentadon with bionic parts using his own evil combination of science and sorcery, in order to boost its abilities even further and transform it into the ultimate war machine. Its vicious and malevolent enhanced nature attracted the attention of Nemhetra, who quickly recruited it to serve as an enforcer in her ranks and help her defeat the Therioms. Rising as the leader of Nemhetra's military defences, the vile Kentadon was tremendously fierce and surprisingly brainy in battle, making the heroic Therioms extremely cautious while confronting it.

Articulation

Standard.

Description

Head: characterised by a scaly glossy black hood that surrounds and merges with an android-like silvery face; it displays a pair of short thin biramous black antennae pointing backward, a pair of fairly large red glowing compound eyes, three smaller light-green glowing eye spots on the forehead and a wide (stretching almost as wide as his eyes) human-looking mouth bearing two vampire-like, finely serrated black fangs, as well as two heavily toothed ivory-coloured spikes protruding from the chin and flanked by a pair of short black segmented appendages (or palps)

Body: his four main limbs (mostly reused from the Destructomorph Goblins) are characterised by a slender, segmented black chitinous appearance (bearing numerous details along their length, such as cracks, bumps and reddish-brown stripes) and is protected by a number of silver metallic plates, which show some spikes and machinery/circuitry patterns, and act as shoulder guards, rerebraces and thigh guards. The arms feature two giant silver robotic pairs of shears, which have a lot of sculpted tech-mech metallic purple details, such as wires and gears, and are articulated with a hinge joint on each partially toothed blade, so they can open and close. Each of his four-digit feet bears three massive claw-like black toes in front and one in back. It is worth noting that under the removable armour, the torso is the same tech-mech piece used for the Goblins, with identical dials, sliders, buttons, knobs and rectangular lenticular sticker at the centre of the chest (which gives an illusion of coursing sound waves)

Wearables: a metallic purple armour with light-green details, two metallic purple bracers, two blocky metallic purple boots (each with a triangular light-green ornament on the shaft and with the dark claws protruding outward), a grooved metallic purple belt with a buckle that looks like the Destructomorph symbol (i.e., a square-shaped spider whose back slightly resembles a demoniac face), and a laminar light-green crotch piece that is split in the middle. The rear surfaces of the armour and of the crotch piece feature seven sockets in total, while the chest armour carries two pairs of light-green robotic appendages similar to small arthropod-like arms, which extend from the sides of the abdomen and terminate in single tiny silver claws.

Kentadon's stylised armour.

Action feature

As a precursory Destructomorph Goblin, Kentadon hatched from the egg-like corpse of a poligavoid^TM with an insect-derived bionic armour, prehensile mouthparts, 26 limbs, and a pair of large chopping hands. In the comics, Kentadon eventually enters into a pupa-like stage and emerges from his bio-metallic cocoon as a flying creature, with an overall smaller body mass, fully formed antennae, eyes and wings, and glands used to secrete a poisonous substance that can be injected into an opponent's body by firing sting-projectiles.

In his pre-metamorphosis form, the figure's lower jaw is equipped with a large extensible bio-robotic organ, which in the comics is termed as a "mask" (as it is normally folded neatly and held before the face and the chest) and can be struck out at great speed to grasp enemies. The tech-mech silver double-hinged (i.e., near the chin and in the middle) piece can extend forward and retract, and terminates in a crushing weapon composed of two claw-like reddish-brown moveable palps with cutting edges and a number of small teeth. This mask fits on the head perfectly and stays put thanks to two small notches on the figure’s TMJs. Also, a silver carapace piece (which is covered in ridges where different metallic surfaces join, and has a sort of spine-like structure topped with a tall collar) is attached to the back armour. Finally, an extra millipede-like abdomen piece is attached to the back of the crotch and is characterised by silver metallic segments that are ring-shaped and joined by seemingly leathery black skin armed with tufts of spiny reddish-brown bristles. The first segment bears an additional pair of fully articulated legs that are identical to the main legs (except for having metallic purple calf protectors -each bearing a double row of spines and a silver spur near the lower end- instead of boots, and completely black feet), while each of the remaining five segments has a pair of ball hinged double-leg parts (each part is composed of two small arthropod-like reddish-brown legs terminating in single black claws). The abdomen piece ends in a long segmented, hooked silver ball jointed telson.

In his post-metamorphosis form, the figure loses the mouth mask, which can be removed by gently pulling its sides, and acquires an elaborate silver helmet with light-green highlights. This separate, removable headdress is characterised by a segmented structure and a pointy, spiky shape that is kinda reminiscent of a Queen Alien's crest embellished with rhinoceros/stag beetle-like protrusions in the middle and at the sides. It also displays a pair of long, thread-like forward-pointing silver antennae with multiple joints, and a pair of large bulbous purple compound eyes (which meet at the top of the helmet), each with a blue glowing horizontal slit plus a beady-eye spot in the centre. Additionally, the figure is deprived of the carapace and of the extra abdomen piece (except for the telson, which plugs into the back of the crotch piece), and obtains six new ball hinged appendages on his back, namely a secondary pair of arms and two pairs of dragonfly-like wings. The additional pair of arthropod-like reddish-brown arms, each terminating in a bulbous silver structure with an arched translucent light-green poisonous detachable sting-missile, project from the back of the shoulders, while the four large transparent (with a purplish tinge) wings are patterned with numerous circuitry-looking veins.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from his pre- (face mask, carapace and millipede abdomen) and post- (helmet, stinger-arms and pairs of wings) metamorphosis pieces, Kentadon does come with a couple of cool accessories: his giant poundin’ war hammer and an alternate head. The battle hammer has a great looking sculpt and lots of good metallic green paint. The large, bulky sledgehammer head has two thick, solid polls with equally spaced grooves that make them similar in appearance to honey dippers, while the long haft has a wicked looking spear-like barbed spike on the opposite end. Kentadon's shear blades are sculpted with holes (one in each hand), to hold the weapon in a variety of one- and two-handed poses - the handle can split into up to three sections, the two furthermost of which can be pushed into such holes, and reassembled afterwards.

Interestingly, Kentadon has a separate portrait depicting his helmet posed in a different way. While the standard head has a removable helmet that enhances his vision, the alternate head has the helmet permanently attached in a raised position, so you can see Kentadon's red eyes underneath.

Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦ I was super-pumped when PoliganToys announced that they would produce a prototype of this character and I couldn't wait any longer for Kentadon to make his debut in toy form in the ranks of my favourite faction, the Destructomorphs

Articulation: ♥♥♥♥ All the joints and articulation on my figure are intact and cause no issue

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣♣ I’m really happy with how this figure looks - the bulkier armour gives it the width that makes it more intimidating. The paint is pretty clean and nothing seems to be prone of being rubbed off

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ While a character like this shouldn’t rely on a weapon, I think it’s cool to envision it using that giant hammer to hit his enemies and then go in to slash or poison them when they’re down. Yes, the way it is held looks very impractical, but I'm a fan of this weapon, because it's a unique and well-designed piece; it’s also great to see some extra paint on it to make it pop more
Playability: ♪♪♪♪♪ All the extra pieces just pop off of pegs, fit really well and are easy to swap with no concerns about breakage

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ I love this figure - not only does it add an awesome character to my collection, but it is also great looking with a really unique set of display options. This is the final figure prototype of 2020. It is not the final KR item to close the year out, but it's the last character of the KR|Horizon line, definitely the best series in the Key Raiders universe so far!

KR|Horizon Review #25: Ni-Hil-Zor

Toy prototype details
Name: Ni-Hil-Zor^TM
Subtitle: rolling warrior
Line: KR|Horizon
Item type: action figure - Nº 20 in the line.

Character details
Name: Ni-Hil-Zor
Classification: uncertain
Sex: male
Home: Cereutis
Era: 15 years after Foundation
Affiliation: Destructomorph (temporarily)
Rank: junior-grade mercenary.

Background
First appearance: KR|Horizon #3 - The last horizon
Brief bio: Ni-Hil-Zor was a descendant of a primitive and malevolent group of monstrous creatures that had originated during the ancient Cereutian wars. Eventually, due to their ungovernable nature, these creatures became a pestilence on Cereutis and frequently clashed with the Multiversal Balancers. Failing to reach an uneasy truce and to coexist peacefully, the Multiversal Balancers attempted to hunt them down. Driven from their homes by their pursuers, a number of highly adaptable clans survived and took refuge deep inside the bog caves in the dark corners of Cereutis for centuries, growing stronger and stronger. Some of these creatures were bred to be the servants of older members of the same race, and Ni-Hil-Zor was bound to Denortos' commands, serving as his backup soldier when Deptilion aimed at creating a trans-dimensional breach in the multiversal walls. After Denortos had returned from his unsuccessful mission on Tahron, Ni-Hil-Zor renewed his devotion to him and, as he became more ambitious, decided to join him in a new journey to Tahron and help him fight against the Therioms. Although physically stronger than his gaffer, he was not as clever and his own ambition to obtain greater power for himself finally backfired, leading to a disastrous failure that prevented him from achieving any goals.

Articulation
Standard, with the addition of a hinged lower jaw and two extra fully articulated arms.

Description
Head: elongated shape, dark-red skin, a strip of spade-shaped imbricate glossy black scales running centrally from the middle of the forehead to the back of the head (developing into a spiny cranial crest), two short tentacle-like dark-red antennas, two pairs of curved dark-red spines pointing backwards where one would expect to find the ears, a pair of purple eyes (each with a horizontal slit-shaped yellow-green pupil resembling a series of four small holes, similarly to a Tokay gecko eye) topped with jagged brow ridges, two large nostrils and two rows of sharp, piranha-like whitish teeth lining the jaws. It's probably due to the new colour scheme, but his look seems to have a more devilish feel compared to Denortos. His head rests in a new large, matte black collar/cowl piece with stripes on the inside, bronze rivets on the outside and a bladed edge (the silver blades projecting all the way around resemble shuriken points), which fits around his neck and rises behind the back of his head. I know some folks might not like the added cowl, but the whole piece can be removed, if you prefer, just by popping off his head, lifting it off, and popping his head back on; this gives Ni-Hil-Zor's head a lot more range of movement, but to me he just doesn't look as good without the hood

Body: his dark-red skin is stretched over a series of bony plates with spine-like tubercles, which are arranged in rings throughout his body, giving a general segmented, armoured appearance. His six limbs (four arms and two legs) sport claw extremities and large strips of spade-shaped imbricate glossy black scales running down the sides (a similar stripe also extends from the nape of the neck, divides along the shoulder blades and continues along the back to the loin). I'm glad that the skin on his limbs is visible in the figure, unlike the comic book version which wears a black garment wholly covering his arms and legs. Finally, he has a short pointy tail emerging from his trunks and protected by a leaf-shaped, spiny-edged dark-red tail shield
Wearables: a bronze armour ornamented with glossy black studs, four bronze bracelets, two bronze calf protectors, a bronze belt (displaying a 4-point silver compass rose on the buckle) and a striped matte black crotch piece. The cuirass shows a scale armour texture and a large silver Cereutian symbol (resembling a four-pointed throwing star with what looks like a trilobite embossed in the middle) on the front. The upper arms are protected by large shoulder armours lined with matte black leather, while the feet carry two matte black instep guards.

Ni-Hil-Zor's stylised armour; the circle at the centre of the chest piece represents a Cereutian symbol.

Action feature / Weapons and accessories
In the comics, apart from having extremely accurate senses owing to his antennas, Ni-Hil-Zor is shown to possess the ability to inflict ferocious bites on his enemies. The feature is wonderfully rendered thanks to the spring-loaded lower jaw, which can swing open and then suddenly snap shut like a bear trap.

Additionally, he is incredibly skilled in six-limbed hand-to-hand combat, often wielding four weapons at a time to keep his opponents off-balance. Among such weapons, the figure comes with a large, round black shield that features several bronze details such as a studded rim, a cross pattern (similar to a 4-point compass rose) on the face and a mean looking pointed central protrusion, and attaches securely at the figure's left wrist (... either one) via a peg. Adorned with a collection of rivets, the bronze trim that runs around and across the shield balances the black finish on the disc, which is fictionally made of anthracite, but –judging by the woodgrain pattern– was originally intended to be made of wood. In the comics, Ni-Hil-Zor has the ability to enhance his fighting skills by connecting his torso to the above-mentioned shield as well as to a second one, enclosing his whole body into a wheel-shaped shell made of the two mechanically expanded shields, and rolling into battle like a bowling ball towards the enemy. The wheel gathers energy as it rolls, and then unleashes all of it in a powerful blast on impact. To mimic the first phase of this transformation in the figure, the emblem on the chest plate can be detached and then replaced with the included shield, while an identical shield is permanently attached to the back plate (I'm not sure how I feel about this). In addition, an expanded, wheel-like double-sided version of the two shields is included as an extra accessory together with a small clear stand. This piece has the same sculpt and paintwork as the original shields, apart from the larger size and from an 8-point compass rose bronze pattern on both faces. Amazingly, this wheel is hinged on one side and can open to reveal a low relief, comic book accurate version of Ni-Hil-Zor in a Vitruvian Man-like pose sculpted inside, showing a slightly smaller size compared to the standard figure, a threatening grin on his flattened out face, and a loose black garment covering his limbs. The opening wheel is on a very sturdy hinge, shuts tightly thanks to an equally sturdy clasp, and contains slots and pegs to hold Ni-Hil-Zor's detached emblem (which could also be used as a shuriken) and two included jitte (each with a black hilt, a pointed and edged bronze blade, and a short "stag beetle mandible"-shaped silver tip attached to the handle). The inside of this piece does hold more than you would expect, and features some sculpted circuitry as well as a Cereutian petrifaction-beam gun, giving it a nice high-tech look.

Final thoughts
Character value: ♦♦♦♦ I have fond memories of the original Denortos prototype. While I reviewed that one back in 2016, a new version of the character showed up in 2017, and it was a great way to get some exciting updates along with a few great accessories. But I had to wait until 2020 to see more characters of his same species such as his brother Spelekos (in August) and a badass close associate (now). I've always loved action figures that could expand a mythos in some way, and these guys delivered
Articulation: ♥♥♥ The articulation for the four arms works really well, while the cowl limits the range of motion on the head a little, but probably not much more than it would to a person in real life
Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣ Even though in the comics Ni-Hil-Zor is slightly smaller than his chief, this figure seems to be pretty much a repainted version of Origin Denortos, with a new added cowl, a new armour and an additional pair of arms (which means a new torso). All of the features on the head and on the limbs are the same, although with the new colour scheme some of the details of the sculpting are not as sharp as they should be. The feet have been corrected to be more accurate to the comic book, which is a nice touch. There's some great work around the edges of the cowl, which I'm glad is separate from his head, and the paintwork is more than adequate
Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ Apart from the shield and the wheel, which are both great pieces, the additional swords are quite nice in terms of both sculpting and paintwork. I'm really happy they included more weapons, it'd have been such a waist to have all those hands empty
Playability: ♪♪♪♪ Playing with such an articulated figure that has the extra feature of the opening wheel as well as the extra accessories is definitely fun

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ As a Denortos fan since the Foundation line, I'm always happy to see nods to him in what PoliganToys is doing here. I was really excited about the idea of a sidekick, and I find the execution to be very satisfactory, with an impressive sculpt, adjusted size, great paint, and some added accessories. I love the opening wheel and how neatly everything is sculpted inside. Spelekos and the new version of Denortos really brought something new to the Cereutian table in the Horizon line, and this guy is just a very welcome addition to the roster.