KR|Dimness Review #1: Solamya & Dhar-Wun

Happy new year!! We start 2019 with a brand new line in the world of Key Raiders!

The upcoming reviews will be about recently developed prototypes that belong to the latest Key Raiders wave. Like Origin and Enmity, this is a prequel series, which will be titled Key Raiders: Dimness (stylised as KR|Dimness) and concern a universe characterised by a barbarian vibe, recounting events happening 5 years before the adventures of the KR|Foundation series:

à			Timeline (intervals in years)			à
		500		15		5
	Origin		Enmity		Dimness		Foundation

So, let's start with the first prototype review of this new series!

Toy prototype details

Name: Solamya^TM & Dhar-Wun^TM

Subtitle: prophetic guide with her catlike companion

Line: KR|Dimness

Item type: multi-pack (2-pack) - Nº 1 in the line.

Solamya

Character details

Name: Solamya

Classification: human

Sex: female

Home: Tahron

Era: 5 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Forseha^TM

Rank: prophetess.

Background

First appearance: KR|Dimness #1 - Into dimness: Part I – Awakening

Brief bio: a wise and dauntless inhabitant of the Forseha terramare settlement near the Ucamur^TM region, Solamya was the daughter of the tribal chief Dakun^TM and held the blood of the great ancient warrior Myneran^TM in her veins. Her father himself had been a valiant hero entrusted with keeping their tribe safe from villains who learnt of their valuable legacy. Solamya's link to the powers of the ancient champion gave her a number of supernatural abilities and made her particularly hard to subdue when the evil Wordron set his sights on exploiting powerful warriors after his exile to Ucamur. With the help of her father and the other tribespeople, Solamya defended her clan and helped defeat the wicked rival.

Articulation

Standard, excluding hinged abdomen.

Description

Head: Indigenous Brazilian features, olive brown skin, bald scalp (except for a tuft of brown hair gathered by a red band on the top of her head), brown eyebrows (which extend much beyond the eyes), hazel eyes. She has two sickle-shaped, glow-in-the-dark blemishes located under the eyes and wears a pair of long beaded dangle earrings

Body: the exposed parts of her body show olive brown skin

Wearables: a body-length garment made from dark-brown linen with ring-shaped red decorative patterns, a large dark-brown leather wrist guard (ornamented with a red gemstone and two silver bands) on the left arm, a narrow dark-brown leather bracelet and a light-brown bark armband on the right arm, and two dark-brown leather boots with wide flat light-brown laces and furry turndown lapels. The garment is a long, tubular cloth open on the left side of the body, with the top edge folded down about halfway (so that the top of the tube is draped below the waist), while the bottom edge is at the ankle; the tube is gathered around the waist with a light-brown raffia fibre belt (equipped with a large bronze buckle bearing the Forseha emblem, i.e., a seven-petalled flower that vaguely recalls a Plumeria, and two lamellar red leather tassets) and the folded top edge is fastened over the left shoulder by a silver fibula (while the right shoulder is left uncovered). I like that the folded-down top of the tube provides the appearance of a second piece of clothing and even shows a different texture. The garment is sewn together along the left side, from the armpit to the thigh, while there is a slit on the right side of the skirt.

Action feature

In the comics, Solamya is shown to possess a range of supernatural faculties, such as precognitive and telekinetic powers, as well as the ability to communicate telepathically with animals for controlling their behaviour. Whenever she uses any of these powers, the marks situated on her cheekbones glow; so, the only action feature for Solamya is her GITD facial markings. What I can't tell is if this is meant to represent some sort of bio-luminescent marking, or some traditional makeup or tattoo.

Weapons and accessories

Solamya only comes with a kind of sceptre made of a knobbly reddish-brown wooden staff that ends in a loop and has a number of greenish vines twining around its length.

Dhar-Wun

Character details

Name: Dhar-Wun

Classification: ormurid* mammal

Sex: female

Relationship: mother of Ki-Wun^TM

Home: Tahron

Era: 5 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Forseha

Rank: steed.

*Ormurids^TM are fictional carnivorans.

Background

First appearance: KR|Dimness #1 - Into dimness: Part I – Awakening

Brief bio: before Ki-Wun loyally carried Masq-Lor^TM into combat, the Forseha tribe members rode into battle on top of their mighty ormurid mounts, an ancient lineage of formidable carnivorans, during the conflict against the invasion forces of the Dark Legion. Saved as a cub by a young Dakun from a rival clan of savage hunters, one of these indomitable beasts, Dhar-Wun, grew up with her master's daughter Solamya, faithfully protecting their tribe during Wordron's exile from O-Kin. Her offspring included Ki-Wun, who eventually became Masq-Lor's heroic steed.

Overall description

The sculpt is mostly re-used from Ki-Wun, except for a unique head, as well as new front paws and tail. Like her "cub", this seemingly ferocious beast resembles a large cougar, but has a new amazingly realistic cream-coloured flocked fur darkly marked with both large blotchy spots and wide stripes. Apart from the two paws with more extended claws and the tail with a hairy tuft at its end, her head is the only newly sculpted piece on the figure. Even though it shares almost all of her details (such as the round shape and the yellow eyes) with her whelp's head, her ears, whiskers, canine teeth and fur on the sides extend out further than Ki-Wun’s do. The most obvious difference, however, is the pair of large pointed, curved and spiralling dark-brown horns projecting from her forehead, a typical female feature that definitively makes her distinguishable from her single horned offspring.

Dhar-Wun's articulation benefits from Ki-Wun’s body with joints all over the place: hinged jaw, ball jointed upper neck, hinged lower neck, swivel-hinged shoulders, hips, elbows, paws and tail, hinged knees and hocks, and a final ball jointed abdomen. Surprisingly, most of the joints don't disrupt the sculpt as much as it might sound like they do.

In the comics, Dhar-Wun is occasionally shown to stand on her hind legs, in order to fight with her front claws; the nice and tight articulation allows for displaying the figure in such a pose with no problem. And I like that they added the new front paws for a great mauling action!

This mighty creature comes with no accessory (but she can wear the removable saddle and claws that came with Ki-Wun) and can fit most KR figures on her back (not Solamya though).

Comic

Together with the multi-pack we get the first comic issue Into dimness: Part I – Awakening. Fifteen years after the beginning of their exile to the region of Ucamur, Wordron, Modi-Rha and Barkos excavate a swampy site in search of the magical helmet that was once in their possession. Instead, they discover a number of lethal seeds, formerly belonging to the Reptonoid warrior Rabidriss^TM, and the ancient mystical being Clavisaur^TM. Wordron plots to use those resources to retrieve the lost helmet. To obtain the life force that is required to revive Clavisaur, Wordron attacks the nearby Forseha settlement with his new army of demonic parasites, and several tribespeople are put into an unconscious state. Solamya, whose father Dakun is among the victims, tells her fellows that they must find an enchanted fungus, which grows on the slopes of Mount Atubion^TM and can produce a powerful antidote. After the heroes have reached the volcano and found the fungus with much difficulty, Solamya fashions its decoction into an ointment that will neutralise the parasites' poison and make the wicked creatures life-giving. The Dark Legion attacks the settlement again, hoping to extract more life force from the tribespeople, but the heroes rub the ointment on their weapons and counterattack the evil army, reversing the effect of their stings. This time, Wordron's minions bring everyone back to life. After finally retrieving the helmet, Wordron gives Barkos the prodigious relic and sends him to stop the tribe's retaliation, but the shield-maiden Yla-Nha^TM defeats him and forces the Dark Legion to retreat.

Overall, all the ingredients for a good story are here, but they hardly seem to get together. Barkos himself is entirely pointless - all he does is walk to the tribe's settlement and then get beaten by a girl. The quest to gather the enchanted fungus begins and finishes too quickly, and Wordron spends too much time senselessly attacking people instead of actually looking for the helmet. Finally, the way the antidote is used to counteract the Plant-Men's poison is just too complex. The premise of the series is good, but I think I’ll rank this episode towards the lower end of the scale.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦♦ Solamya is a very important character in the KR|Dimness series, being the heir to the leadership of the Forseha tribe, the source of Masq-Lor's boldness. Dhar-Wun is also the mother of Masq-Lor's steed Ki-Wun and is considered one of the most powerful animals on Tahron

Articulation: ♥♥♥♥ You can get plenty of poses from both figures, even if they're not meant for interacting with each other. They still have great base bodies that work very well for the female human and ormurid KR figures

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ All the sculpting work is great here; there is very good detail work on Solamya's outfit, and Dhar-Wun's head sculpt, besides its flocking, is one of the many high points of this multi-pack. The paint on Solamya is mainly limited to highlights or shadowing - there appears to be dark washes over the brown cloth parts and dry brushing on the red details that adorn the dress and the belt

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ We get a small accessory with Solamya, which is her staff. It looks excellent, but is made from a very soft plastic, so it comes out of the packaging a little warped. Dhar-Wun could almost be considered an accessory and is also very cool, helping round out Solamya pretty well

Playability: ♪♪♪ Apart from the fact that Solamya can't actually ride Dhar-Wun due to her skirt, there are hardly any problems I can think of with this set

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ I really don’t have too many issues with this multi-pack: Solamya looks great and can be posed well, even if her "pet", which also looks awesome, isn't appropriate. Being two important characters in the Dimness series, they will fit perfectly in the collection.

KR|Enmity Review #25: Kerdhokk

Toy prototype details

Name: Kerdhokk^TM

Subtitle: destructive robot

Line: KR|Enmity

Item type: large scale figure - Nº 1 in the line.

Character details

Name: Kerdhokk
Real name: Kerdhokk-upgraded Dark Legion Trooper

Classification: robot

Home: Tahron

Era: 20 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Dark Legion

Rank: Dark Legion Troopers' first lieutenant.

Background

First appearance: KR|Enmity #3 - Notes of vengeance

Brief bio: after Wordron had appointed Ignitrys as his lead Dark Legion engineer, the evil Cereutian android combined her technological powers with Modi-Rha's paranormal faculties, in order to create a beastly biotech virus -the Kerdhokk strain- through which science and magic could contaminate each other. Once unleashed, this plague infected the evil duke's cybernetic army of troopers, allowing the robots to exceed their programming and posses a cunning of their own as well as the ability to reassemble their component parts in countless different ways. When Gax-Uhr and Ir-Ash travelled to O-Kin hoping to save the abducted Princess Sih-Len, two Dark Legion Troopers attacked the heroes, but, in an attempt to protect his brother, Gax-Uhr managed to force the two machines into colliding violently with each other. Despite the two robots were badly damaged and their chassis ripped apart, they magically initiated their own upgrade by fusing together the separate pieces. Aiming at preventing the heroes from accomplishing their mission, the pile of debris transformed into a hulking robotic menace equipped with a fearsome bladed weapon ready to burst from its chest. Although the droid's increased techno-power made it more than a match for the two brothers, Gax-Uhr and Ir-Ash ultimately succeeded in overpowering it once for all.

Articulation

Standard, excluding hinged abdomen. The feet are swivel-hinged and able to slide forward or backward. Also, there are two additional pivoting shoulder pieces placed between the arms and the torso.

Description

Head: composed of a double bladed piece, which is similar to the weapon that came with the Dark Legion Troopers and is fictionally produced by connecting the two wide wheels (with nicely patterned black rubbery studded tyres) from the vehicle configuration side-by-side, imagining that the rims of the wheels retracted and the tyres got taller and narrower, allowing the tread patterns to separate and reveal series of silver blades. The difference here is that the double blade is set horizontally and the space between the two stacked wheels shows two ominous triangular eyes that emit a red glow

Body: the figure is 23 cm tall (around 9'') and shows a very bulky sculpt that incorporates various parts from the two original DL Troopers. The arms and legs are generated by the four three-wheeled rear tank treads mixed with elements of the Troopers' black metallic electro-hydraulic limbs, while the four two-wheeled front tank treads form the two pivoting shoulder pieces and the two rotating feet respectively. Besides the black metallic wheels and the bands of dark-green metal plates, all the continuous track parts show many techno-embellishments, such as tubes, wires, pistons and hinges. Each clawed steel hand is made up of two circular saws (split in such a way that they create four claws), while each foot is connected to the leg by a truncated silver cone derived from one drill bit

Wearables: a metallic black armour with bronze details, a metallic black belt and a bronze crotch piece (everything shows lots of cyber details). The chest plate has a hole that reveals a second double blade, this time set vertically, stored inside the torso, while the back carries a wide wing-like, spiky structure composed of several exhaust pipes and two removable scythe-like silver blades.

Kerdhokk's stylised armour.

Action feature

In the comics, Kerdhokk is equipped with two large mechanical feet derived from a pair of two-wheeled tank treads. Depending on the position of its hinged "ankle", each foot can rotate in two ways: either round a horizontal axis (i.e., flip-flopping end-over-end) to crush enemies, or round a vertical axis (i.e., sideways, clockwise or counterclockwise) to kick obstacles.

Additionally, the destructive robot has a chest plate that pops open to let a vicious double blade "fly" out (fictionally, this spinning saw-blade that launches from Kerdhokk's upper body is also a sort of bouncing bomb). The inside of the chest panel contains a small ledge for the blade, which lets it rest out in the open.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from the chest double blade, Kerdhokk comes with some very interesting accessories. First up is a mace-like weapon consisting of a bronze shaft with an attached spiked ball (which is adorned with a number of small spikes similar to drilling bits) on one end, and a silver head (which is made up of the remaining four circular saws, vertically aligned side-by-side, and of the two drill bit conical tips extending outward from the sides) on the other end. 

Additionally, the two DL Troopers' black plasma-rifles (each with a detachable silver hose that runs to the wing-like structure on the back) can be plugged into two spots on the shoulder pieces, forming a pair of swinging/pivoting cannons. Interestingly, instead of the translucent plasma burst effects that came with the original Troopers, the figure includes two large-calibre projectiles that can plug into the muzzles of the rifles. Also, there are two plug-in plumes of greyish smoke seemingly spreading from the largest exhaust pipes.

Excitingly, many parts of these accessories can be switched around - for example, the mace silver head can also work as an alternate head for the figure, either plasma rifle can connect to the top of the standard head, the placings of the grenades and of the plumes of smoke can be exchanged, and either the rifles or the scythe blades can be attached to the sides of the chest double blade, transforming it into an even more menacing weapon. The possibilities are almost countless.
Update: the full-vehicle configuration of a Dark Legion Trooper with a tilting drill bit will also be included with the figure!

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦ I have mixed feelings about this robot. On the one hand, it’s a kind of pointless, large scale variant of a Dark Legion Trooper, but on the other, PoliganToys went the extra mile in making it a unique character

Articulation: ♥♥♥ The figure can take a lot of poses, although its arms are hindered somewhat by the additional shoulder pieces. And, sure, because of the chest cavity we lose the ab crunch articulation, which sometimes can make achieving a decent pose a bit frustrating. However, I like the fact that its hinged ankles are pretty tight

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ Despite Kerdhokk is essentially a rearrangement of Dark Legion Troopers' pieces, this figure certainly has one of the more original sculpts in the series. Its paint is almost identical to the original Troopers, but it has bronze trim instead of dark-green on some parts of its components

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ The great thing about getting multiple accessories is the freedom of choice - one feels free to use some and to discard some others according to their personal taste

Playability: ♪♪♪♪ I was pleasantly surprised to see the chest panel open smoothly and fit seamlessly when closed

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ Kerdhokk is actually quite great and definitely has a place on the shelf of my prototype collection.

KR|Enmity Review #24: Koptros (Enmity Edition)

Toy prototype details

Name: Koptros^TM (Enmity Edition)

Subtitle: air force-division marshal

Line: KR|Enmity

Item type: action figure (dual figure) - Nº 22 in the line.

Character details

Name: Koptros

Classification: human

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Era: 20 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: marshal of the Theriom Air Force; military communications and espionage expert.

Background

First appearance: KR|Enmity #1 - Flares of enmity

Brief bio: a native from the mountains of southern Tahron, Koptros was a descendant of the legendary Cereutian knight Galamars^TM, who masterminded the construction of the multiversal walls. Seeking to prove that he was worthy of his valiant ancestor's legacy, he enlisted in the Theriom army, where another recruit named Xonedar noticed his talent for several branches of engineering, especially aeronautical, and convinced him to pursue a career in the air force. When Koptros reached the highest military level, he answered the call of King Li-Khon to design the Gyrocarrier^TM, an exceptionally advanced aircraft, and to train a new generation of daring pilots, among which he recognised Noctylius^TM' excellent piloting skills. Although Xonedar did not share his romantic interest, Koptros was always a loyal friend and comrade-in-arms to him, and together they developed a number of innovative technologies. After Demo-Rha's betrayal, Koptros helped Xonedar search for his former partner across Tahron, hoping only to reunite the family she had wrecked. Eventually, he left the Therioms after a battle injury and found peace in a remote astronomical observatory on the Gumazir^TM plateau, while remaining available to assist his one-time fellows in case of need.

Articulation

Both figures have the standard articulation.

In the comics, Koptros is equipped with a hyper-technological backpack that can produce a powered exoskeleton, giving him superhuman strength and other abilities. Despite the two figures represent the same character, they render the two alternative forms and appear very different. Although it's not clear whether these figures will be released individually or in a 2-pack, I'm going to describe them separately.

Normal form

Description

Head: Native American features, dark brown skin with a reddish tinge, black hair, brown eyes. Similarly to Xonedar, he wears a dark-red headgear similar to a combination of a side cap and a peaked cap, with a brim folded up on both sides and projecting like a visor at the front, as well as silver details such as piping, a patterned band, a Theriom Air Force emblem (a modified version of the Theriom symbol, i.e., a seven-pointed star whose two elongated side points resemble the wings of a bat) worn on the front and a rank insignia worn on the left side

Body: covered from neck to toe

Wearables: a dark-red military uniform consisting of a high-collared, thigh-length double-breasted blouse (non-removable) and a pair of trousers (with silver knee pads and a double-strapped sheath on the right thigh), a silvery ascot tie, two silver bracelets, two silver boots and a silver belt ornamented with two studs near the buckle. The blouse has various silver details, such as a trim and several buttons down the middle, two ornamental shoulder pieces and two rank insignia on the sleeves. A number of silver Theriom Air Force emblems are displayed on the left breast, on the knee pads, on the bracelets and on the belt buckle. Additionally the bracelets and the boots sport narrow cyber bands (one around each wrist and two around each boot top) that probably work as links between the uniform and the exoskeleton.

Action feature

Koptros' normal form comes with a silver backpack attached to a harness that can be worn over his uniform. The backpack, which can fictionally produce the powered exoskeleton suit and other apparatuses (mostly radio-related gear, such as an automatic frequency hopper, a cryptography unit and jamming/anti-jamming equipment), is basically identical to Xonedar's one, while the harness, which features a number of tubes along the straps and an electronic panel that appears to control the backpack, is a slightly more detailed version of Foundation Koptros' outfit (except for the tubing, which looks much simpler).

Koptros' stylised harness.

Weapons and accessories

In addition to the harness+backpack, the figure includes a returning boomerang with a red elbow and a pair of silver arms (or wings), which can be stowed in the sheath strapped to his leg.

Enhanced form

Description

Head: protected by a full face red helmet with silver details (including a longitudinal stripe on the top and a pair of breathing hoses that seemingly connect the respirator to the back of the armour) and an orange glass visor. Like with Xonedar, this helmet has a nice metallic shine and definitely makes for a cool design

Body: despite the dark-red uniform is still visible, much of his body is characterised by the presence of a silver powered exoskeleton that allows for limb movement with increased strength and endurance. The exoskeleton, whose components run from the shoulders down to the hands and from the waist down to the feet, fastens to Koptros' body at various spots, including his upper arms, wrists, thighs and calves

Wearables: a silver armour with red details, two silver gauntlets, two silver boots with knee guards and small jet engines on the calves, a silver belt (displaying tech-looking details and two gun holsters on the sides) and a red crotch piece. The armour is embellished with straps, air vents, circuitry, wires, tubing and a supposedly active version of the electronic panel on the chest. The gauntlets and the boots have a nice cyber/armoured look and sport bat wing-shaped fins at the sides of the wrist guards and shin guards respectively, while the back of the crotch piece and the side of the right thigh feature additional tubular segments that look like an extension of the armour's air tubing.

Koptros' stylised helmet.

Koptros' stylised armour.

Action feature

Like with his normal form, Koptros carries a silver removable backpack, which in this version features a pair of turbojet engines and several bat wing-shaped appendages. Fictionally, this device can produce a number of tools, one of which is included as an accessory and can be mounted to the figure. This tool, specifically an aerial reconnaissance equipment that allows Koptros to fly, is composed of silver&red transverse rotors and control assembly attachments that plug into four sockets (two on the top and two on the sides of the backpack respectively), as well as a clear plastic dome that covers his head. The rotors have a ducted fan design and small jet engines in a tip jet configuration, while the control assembly is equipped with two joysticks, which Koptros can grab in his hands, and two missile launchers with separate missiles.

Weapons and accessories

Aside from the backpack-helicopter gear, Koptros' enhanced form comes with an energy angular katar that fictionally derives from the normal form's boomerang. This weapon, which has a H-shaped horizontal hand grip and is designed to function mainly as a sort of shock prod, is really nicely constructed, with semi-translucent orange segments between the seemingly moving-apart outer and inner halves of each silver arm, as well as along the convex edge.

Moreover, the figure includes an additional detachable structure that is designed to fold up from behind the backpack over the clear helmet and to hook to a peg on the front of the latter; this frame has a clip on the front, to store the above-mentioned angular katar, but can also hold an alternative split version of the weapon characterised by a cable (a string in reality) to the end of which a V-shaped semi-translucent orange piece is attached. I don’t know whether that energy piece is supposed to work as a projectile for knocking over Dark Legion folks or as a sort of anchor that can be used defensively if needed, but in the comics a similar implement is utilised as a grappling hook to rescue Xonedar from an unfair fight. The right side of the backpack also bears a hook to store the energy cable and grapnel.

Finally, the figure includes an alternative helmeted head with a flipped up face plate. Koptros uncovered face resembles the normal form's face faithfully and has some additional details, specifically a silver headset dual-microphone running down the cheeks.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦♦ Xonedar finally gets his bestest pal, so he won’t be so lonely anymore (Demo-Rha is gonna leave him...)

Articulation: ♥♥♥♥ Unlike with Xonny, I have zero problems with him, his articulation is flawless

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ Species balance is finding its way into the Theriom faction; Koptros and Xonedar, with Magda-Lyn and Demo-Rha, are all that the human portion of the heroes can offer to this point

Accessories: ♠♠♠ I wish an unhatted head were included with the normal form

Playability: ♪♪♪♪ I'm sure you'd join me in enjoying a solid figure of a really cool character

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ It is a relief to have the arguably two coolest Theriom characters on the shelf. While we are heading for the end of the series, I hope we will still see guys like Lord Tafmohr^TM and maybe even Kot to further help that along.

KR|Enmity Review #23: Ter-Ah-Sur

Toy prototype details

Name: Ter-Ah-Sur^TM

Subtitle: caustic warrior

Line: KR|Enmity

Item type: action figure - Nº 21 in the line.

Character details

Name: Ter-Ah-Sur

Real name: Kot

Classification: the reanimated corpse of a human

Sex: male

Home: Tahron

Era: 20 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Dark Legion

Rank: commander (formerly lieutenant commander of O-Kin's Golden Eagle armed force).

Background

First appearance: KR|Enmity #3 - Notes of vengeance

Brief bio: a former Golden Eagle soldier, Kot was supposedly killed during the last Reptonoid invasion of the feudal territory of O-Kin, caught in a giant landslide when the young Princess Sih-Len played her enchanted flute to eliminate the reptilian enemy. Before his corpse could disintegrate, the underground chemical conditions hideously disfigured him and changed his body into a shell made of a stony material filled with a corrosive ooze. His miraculously reanimated remains were discovered years later by Duke Wordron, when Kot emerged from a pit as an insane and unpredictable living dead. Although he vaguely remembered his honourable life before the accident, he more clearly recalled his suffering and, driven mad by his condition, sought to share that pain with whom had caused it. Impressed, Wordron wanted him to serve on his Dark Legion, and created a device that would allow Kot to survive and harness the deadly substance he had become. Renamed Ter-Ah-Sur by his master, he fought against the Therioms during a great battle caused by a failed attempt to breach the multiversal walls, once again dying on the battlefield.

Articulation

Standard.

Description

Head: similar to a statue made of a cracked brownish-red stony material, carved with deep-set devilish eyes and a wide mouth from which two large sharp teeth protrude upward. He wears a silver helmet with nice tarnished details, which looks like a reversed cup embellished with a white jade stone on the front and two large side-headpieces shaped like eagle wings; the helmet can be removed, revealing a blueish-green corrosive fluid oozing from his seemingly empty cranium

Body: made of a cracked brownish-red stony material. While he appears to wear laminar trousers on his legs, his arms only seem to be equipped with lamellar shoulder pads

Wearables: a dual-layer off-white (i.e., a white colour with a grey tinge that resembles tarnished silver) protective covering, two off-white bracelets, two off-white boots (with studded tops and riveted sandal-like soles), a studded off-white belt accompanied by two silver tassets, and a Roman-style skirt made of white-studded silver lappets. The torso covering seems to be composed of what, before being petrified, were a fabric vest (presumably with furry armholes) and a lamellar cuirass consisting of several overlapping leather plates laced together. Additionally, the chest armour displays a silver Golden Eagle army emblem (i.e., an eagle with two crossed axes) at the centre; similar symbols are also shown on the bracelets, the belt buckle and the tassets.

Ter-Ah-Sur's stylised armour; the design at the centre of the chest piece represents the Golden Eagle armed force symbol.

Action feature

In the comics, Ter-Ah-Sur is equipped with a chest/back armour created by Wordron and Ignitrys, which functions as a sort of containment suit as well as an ammunition loading machine. So, the figure comes with an additional piece of armour that sits on the figure's shoulders, and incorporates a studded steel chest plate (with pointy shoulder guards) and a back-mounted tech-mech apparatus. A seemingly flexible tube connects a round spout on the chest plate to the device on the back, which in turn produces an ammunition belt that retains and feed special cartridges into Ter-Ah-Sur's firearm. We can imagine that the corrosive ooze pumped from the inside of his body flows along the hose (which is partly black and partly translucent blue-green) and reaches the top-left corner of the back-mounted equipment, while the bottom-right corner of the latter is connected to the drum magazine of the rifle (more on this later) through the ammo belt. Thanks to this arrangement, he can fictionally create a stream of vials containing the lethal blueish-green acidic ooze and then use his gun to fire them towards the enemies.

Weapons and accessories

Aside from the shoulder armour with the attached ammunition loading equipment, Ter-Ah-Sur comes with the above-mentioned deadly firearm. This is a gunmetal (i.e., a dull bluish-grey colour) arquebus with two over-and-under barrels designed to shoot the vials of acid; it has a white drum magazine, into which the vials are fed via the ammo belt, an apparently complex firing mechanism and an axe-like shiny silver blade, which is fixed to the bell-shaped muzzle of the lower barrel in a bayonet fashion and is said to be the remainder of Kot's old weapon for use in hand-to-hand fighting.

Additionally, the figure includes an alternative head that bears a more human-looking countenance compared to the standard one, although it also appears to be made of the same cracked brownish-red stony material. This head shows, I believe, Asian traits and is carved with facial hair styled into a moustache and a beard. It also features the oozing fluid at the top and is compatible with the standard helmet.

Finally, there is a tattered brownish-red stony cape that can be worn by Ter-Ah-Sur once the chest/back armour is removed.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦♦ I was super happy to see Ter-Ah-Sur get included in the KR|Enmity line and I’m extremely pleased with how he turned out

Articulation: ♥♥♥♥ I’m quite surprised that those leg joints can hold the bulk of the figure when he wears that crazy equipment on his shoulders. Hopefully that will still be the case over time

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ He’s a unique character and, in a line full of crazy designs, he still manages to stand out in the crowd

Accessories: ♠♠♠ The alternate head is a kind of mystery to me, I don't really know what to make of it. It's a "nice to have" extra piece though

Playability: ♪♪♪♪ I love how the acid-shooting gimmick has been recreated from his appearance in the comics. It’s a pretty cool play feature that allows you to come up with some neat poses

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ So far this line has scored a series of fine goals. During the next few weeks we’ll see if it can keep that record rolling, as I review the last two (or maybe three...) prototypes in the assortment.

KR|Enmity Review #22: Sih-Len

Toy prototype details

Name: Sih-Len^TM

Subtitle: enchanting princess

Line: KR|Enmity

Item type: action figure - Nº 20 in the line.

Character details

Name: Sih-Len

Classification: primivod mammal

Sex: female

Relationships: Gax-Uhr's love interest

Home: Tahron

Era: 20 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: observer and royal musician (formerly Princess Sih-Len, next in line to rule the small Kingdom of O-Kin).

Background

First appearance: KR|Enmity #1 - Flares of enmity

Brief bio: as a child, Sih-Len, daughter of Lord Tafmohr^TM, witnessed the last Reptonoid invasion of her home, the feudal territory of O-Kin. Wishing to prevent a new fall of his domain alongside further exploitation and destruction at the hands of Bi-Harr, the monarch ordered Sih-Len to play a magical flute that was a family heirloom. The young princess, gifted with the power of controlling natural forces by playing beautiful melodies, caused a giant landslide that annihilated the reptilian enemies and forced their vile leader to retreat. Although her power was meant to be used for protecting O-Kin's terrorised people, it also seemingly killed a brave Golden Eagle soldier. Years later, after Duke Wordron's seizure of power, Sih-Len left the ruined rocks of her home to ask the Therioms for help. When Wordron learnt of Sih-Len's powers from the revived buried soldier, he kidnapped her and commanded Modi-Rha to force her into opening the multiversal portals, but King Li-Khon and his heroic allies stopped the evil plot and defeated the Dark Legion once for all. Though free to return to her home, Sih-Len decided to join the Therioms for good and married the king's youngest son Gax-Uhr.

Articulation

Standard, excluding hinged abdomen. The figure also has a ball jointed tail.

Description

Head: predominantly feline (even if she's a primivod, a fictional anthropomorphic marsupial), characterised by dainty features, short magenta fur and green eyes. An upper tooth faintly jutting out from the right corner of her lips adds an element of cuteness to her face. She wears a divided hennin-like headdress accompanied by a veil; the golden veil is pulled forward over the silver hennin and falls onto Sih-Len's shoulders, making her, in my view, resemble Maid Marian from the Disney animated version of Robin Hood

Body: the exposed portions of her body (i.e., parts of the upper arms and forearms, hands, lower legs, claw feet and a cat-like tail) show a short magenta fur

Wearables: a silver jumpsuit composed of a sleeveless off-the-shoulder bodice (with a wide patterned golden neckline) and pantaloons (gathered by two gold bands below the knees), two silver detached sleeves (each held in place by two gold bands around the upper arm and the forearm), two silver chain mail fingerless gauntlets (which only have a loop for the middle finger), two silver ankle bracelets, and a shiny silver sash accompanied by a belt made of several round gemstones laced together that also holds two long strips of golden fabric on the front and back. Around her neck, she wears a separate piece that includes a shiny silver scarf and a gold choker with a long pendant hanging down on the front.

Action feature

In the final comic issue of the Enmity series, Sih-Len is shown to jump from an elevated position above the multiversal walls site, using her veil as a wind sail, while the hennin underneath is revealed to be a combat helmet. So, the figure comes with an alternative head that features a silver helmet with gold details, close to the sides of which two golden straps (i.e., risers, seemingly joining her dress to four shroud lines) are pulled in order to release and expand the veil, making it act as a canopy. The "parachute" piece, which is made of a pliable plastic, can be detached from two sockets on the sides of the helmet and replaced with two short "fins" that are supposed to be remainders of the risers. The helmet has a large curved projection that protects the nape of the neck, two pointed prongs (slightly resembling a pair of cat ears) on the top and two flaps hinged at the side edges; once the flaps are shut, the headgear covers the entire face (although there are slits for the eyes and the mouth), and looks like a mix of a Corinthian helmet and the helmet of Kinnikuman's Robin Mask.

Weapons and accessories

Apart from her alternative helmeted head and parachute pieces, Sih-Len comes with a gold transverse flute, which, in the comics, she skilfully plays and magically uses to cause masses of earth or rock to collapse.

Additionally, there is a techie staff weapon that fictionally derives from the flute. This enhanced version of her musical instrument consists of tubular gold sections that seemingly slid apart to reveal a silver grip in the centre as well as translucent purple laser-like segments near the ends, and is equipped with a five-clawed (each claw bearing a sharp steel blade) spinning component at either extremity.

Lastly, the figure includes a three-wheeled carriage, which serves as the fifth and final instalment of the Build-a-Figure plan that gives us a complete Baryanoid-Cart! Everything related to this topic has already been covered extensively in Ir-Ash's review, so I'm going to focus on the description of the carriage. This open vehicle is made of wood (with lots of nice worn out details) and trimmed with bronze, and is composed of a two-wheeled part at the back, which strongly recalls a chariot used in ancient racing and warfare, and a narrow one-wheeled part at the front. The bronze decorative additions include a large king cobra head on a spiderweb-looking background at the front of the waist-high guard (which extends with snake-like edgings along the sides), a studded tyre fitted around the rim of each wheel (as well as the wheel's spokes), and large spikes sticking out of the hubs of the rear wheels. The four baryanoids that draw the cart can be clipped side by side to the forepart (which also allows for a great slithering action when rolled) and hitched via their pliable reins to the chariot: the two front reins connect to the two rear bits, while the two rear reins are secured to the handlebar of the chariot. A removable bronze gun can be mounted in a spot along the front edge of the chariot and can turn; this is right from the comic design, but, awkwardly, it has a handle that is a new addition and can be gripped. Maybe Lor-Drek can grab it and run into battle if the cart has been rendered immobile. A rear platform with foot pegs can even be pulled out to pose a figure in such a way that it looks like getting on or off the vehicle. A wooden beam, with the end in the form of a carved lizard head covered with a laminar, spiked/horned bronze "helmet", can project from the front part and bend forward by means of a spring loaded mechanism, in order to breach the enemy's fortifications.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦ I think the future mother of Mor-Rak makes for a great addition to the line and also makes KR|Enmity the series with the highest percentage of female figure prototypes produced so far

Articulation: ♥♥♥ I'm pleased that the standard female articulation is not hindered by her peculiar outfit at all

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ The highlight of the figure for me is the combat head sculpt, simply wonderful. She also has a bit of a dry brush on her coat, to bring out the fur details, and some glossy accents to the two-tone metal pieces in the costume. She reuses Par-Sya's basic body, but has new furry limbs with clothing parts that show some great design choices

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ The flute is fantastic in both forms and she really looks cool wielding the enhanced version

Playability: ♪♪♪ Sih-Len is one of those toys that either speaks to you or she doesn’t. Like her or hate her

Overall: ☺☺☺ This sweet pinkish/purplish primivod is pretty much the embodiment of how outlandish things in the KR world can get. The figure turned out nicely in my opinion and, most of all, came with an essential accessory for my Spektrosaur army.

KR|Enmity Review #21: Ignitrys

Toy prototype details

Name: Ignitrys^TM

Subtitle: extra-dimensional android

Line: KR|Enmity

Item type: action figure - Nº 19 in the line.

Character details

Name: Ignitrys

Classification: robot

Sex: seemingly female

Home: Cereutis

Era: 20 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Dark Legion

Rank: mercenary.

Background

First appearance: KR|Enmity #2 - Terror from the clouds

Brief bio: a murderous mercenary from the extra dimension of Cereutis, Ignitrys was originally a member of a race of sentient energy fields created by the Multiversal Balancers. Eventually, an evil militia subjugated these entities and confined them in reactors that powered robotic bodies made of a glassy substance with diamond-like hardness. Ignitrys became one of the most ruthless fighters of this subversive army, often carrying out zealous executions during air strikes. Her resourcefulness led Denortos, following his imprisonment at the hands of Galamars and his subsequent jailbreak, to hire Ignitrys as his personal bodyguard. With the rising threat of Skull Face on Tahron, Denortos saw an opportunity to take revenge on the Therioms, and ordered her to serve as his emissary and join the Dark Legion. However, after Ignitrys had been destroyed during a great battle between King Li-Khon and Wordron caused by a failed attempt to breach the multiversal walls, Denortos was recaptured and his oath of making the Therioms bleed remained unfulfilled.

Articulation

Standard, excluding hinged abdomen. The figure also has a pair of wings, each with two articulation points: a swivel-hinge at its base and a peg at half of its length.

Description

Head: bulbous shape with indistinct human-feminine features, cast entirely in a semi-transparent glass-looking plastic. There is a seemingly glowing orange core inside this glassy enclosure, which kinda makes the head resemble a light bulb

Body: the exposed parts of her body (i.e., arms, thighs and part of the torso) are cast in the same semi-transparent glass-looking plastic as the head, and show a few sculpted circuitry details here and there, to suggest the robotic nature of the character. On the back, a pair of middle-sized, angel-like wings project through openings in the armour. These wings are nicely articulated and have a lot of crystalline details that make them look really cool; they are cast in a very clear plastic, so it's easy to see all the prismatic, quartzy "feathers"

Wearables: an off-white (I'm gonna call this colour pearl) armour with glossy black details, two pearl bracelets, two pearl calf protectors, a pearl belt and a short black skirt. There are intricate cyber designs adorning her outfit, including a pentagonal glowing orange reactor at the centre of the chest armour. Her left arm and right thigh sport black leather straps with a short clear quartz prism protruding outwards and a holster, respectively. The skirt is composed of two flame-shaped matte black pieces (which consist of several large irregular leather scales laced together) on the front and back, and two glossy black tassets on the sides. The bracelets and the shin guards (but they could even be gauntlets and boots... it's difficult to judge due to the milky white appearance of her hands and feet) show many tech-looking details, as well as kite-shaped wrist and knee guards equipped with elliptical glowing orange "energy repulsors". Similar repulsors are also displayed on her neck, on the upper back of the armour, on the shoulder guards, on the front and back sides of the belt and on the tassets, and fictionally provide Ignitrys with lift, thrust and flight control.

Ignitrys' stylised armour.

Action feature

In the comics, Ignitrys has several powers, including nigh-invulnerability (thanks to her diamond-like body), supersonic flight and the emission of energy from various parts of her body. One of her most distinctive abilities is represented by the production of holograms and powerful blasts from her face; in the figure, this feature is rendered by means of a second head, into the front of which two translucent effect pieces (a light-blue image-projection and an orange blast, respectively) can be plugged alternately.

Furthermore, when Ignitrys needs to enhance her strength and durability, for example during flight and combat, the glow of her inner source of energy becomes more intense and extends to other parts of her body. Similarly to other figures in the line, this colour change feature can be achieved using warm water or a hairdryer, which will result in Ignitrys' translucent body turning pinkish with a rainbow shine that can be seen under certain lighting. Occasionally, this energy emission becomes so extreme, that she can even create luminescent spikes of plasma from some of her repulsors. These plasma blades come in the form of eight flame/lightning-shaped translucent orange add-ons that can be plugged into the upper back of the armour, the shoulder guards, the wrist guards and the knee guards after removing the repulsor pieces.

Weapons and accessories

Apart form the alternative head with effects and the plasma spikes, Ignitrys comes with a black Gatling-type plasma pistol. This gun has a rotary barrel cluster (which really revolves around a central axis!) and can be holstered into the leg holder.

Additionally, since Ignitrys is also depicted as an ordnance handling expert, the figure includes a small silvery explosive device that in Terror from the clouds is hidden inside the robotic body of Dymatrox as a part of the Dark Legion's plan to attack Theriom City.

Comic

Together with the action figure we get the third and final comic issue Notes of vengeance. Aiming to unearth ancient Reptonoid armaments, Wordron sets up a new archaeological excavation and accidentally exhumes the mysteriously reanimated corpse of a former Golden Eagle soldier. The creature, named Kot, recounts that he was killed during a recent Reptonoid invasion, when a young Princess Sih-Len, daughter of Lord Tafmohr^TM, managed to prevent a new fall of O-Kin by playing her magical flute and causing a giant landslide that annihilated the reptilian army, but also buried Kot. Seeing an opportunity to access the multiversal portals and gaining Bi-Harr's powers, Wordron sends Kot (now renamed Ter-Ah-Sur) and Fasyan on the mission to kidnap Sih-Len, who is visiting the island city-state of Semhadar together with Xonedar and Elykta on diplomatic business. When the group is on the way to reboard their amphibian vehicle for the journey back to Tahron's coast, the ambush takes place. The two evil warriors overpower their opponents and Fasyan throws Xonedar's motionless body into the sea, while Ter-Ah-Sur abducts Sih-Len and takes her to O-Kin. Elykta, who succeeded in escaping the surprise attack, calls for help at Theriom City. Gax-Uhr and Ir-Ash travel to O-Kin hoping to save the princess, but a massive robot under Ignitrys' control captures Ir-Ash. While Gax-Uhr is forced to follow the robot underground to rescue his brother, Modi-Rha takes control of Sih-Len's mind and, together with Wordron and his underlings, journeys to the multiversal walls site. In the meantime, Xonedar regains consciousness, but he finds himself underwater and attacked by a giant undersea creature. With Koptros' help, Xonedar makes it back safely to dry land and rejoins Demo-Rha, who tells him she's pregnant. The marine creature reappears on the surface of the sea and Koptros earns its (as well as the Semhadrian people's) trust by disentangling it from a steel fishing net. The three of them set out for the multiversal walls site, where the Theriom army led by King Li-Khon is also heading for. There, Sih-Len plays her magical flute for Wordron, who wishes to crush his opposition once and for all. Li-Khon and the heroes, joined by the Semhadrian people, arrive to battle their enemies, who are close to opening the portals. A huge battle begins and, as always, the outcome is decided by the heroes' cleverness as opposed to the brute force of the villains. Seeing his upcoming defeat, Wordron agrees on letting his brother use Elykta's stolen teleporting apparatus to hide the prodigious helmet, but this ultimately kills Fasyan. The evil menace of Wordron is finally over and the Therioms can now focus on protecting Tahron's people against future threats.

Overall, the only thing I can really complain about this story is that, according to my logic, Sih-Len's playing would have made the multiversal walls crumble away, instead of opening the portals. Kerdhokk^TM the robot didn’t seem enormously necessary either, and I have yet to figure out why the holopodian creatures are making repeated appearances, but an action figure of them has never been made. Nevertheless, in short, this issue is well worth a read.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦♦ PoliganToys gets credit for considering Ignitrys to be a very important character that needed a figure in the KR|Enmity line. I think she's the perfect partner for Wordron

Articulation: ♥♥ In my opinion, a leotard-like crotch piece instead of the skirt would have been a better choice in terms of poseability

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ Everything that was considered in her design is spot-on and perfectly sculpted and fabricated

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ All her accessories are absolutely gorgeous

Playability: ♪♪♪♪ I think a lot of potential fans would find a great appreciation for this figure

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ Ignitrys is an excellent figure and, for the most part, one of the more detailed and original toys released in this line. She’s a fantastic concept that’s executed perfectly and is worthy of a look based solely on her aesthetics. So, hats off to PoliganToys for this one.

KR|Enmity Review #20: Xonedar (Enmity Edition)

Toy prototype details

Name: Xonedar^TM (Enmity Edition)

Subtitle: navy-division admiral

Line: KR|Enmity

Item type: action figure (dual figure) - Nº 18 in the line.

Character details

Name: Xonedar

Classification: human

Sex: male

Relationships: Demo-Rha's partner

Home: Tahron

Era: 20 years before Foundation

Affiliation: Theriom

Rank: admiral of the Theriom Fleet; student of mechanical & materials engineering and surgery.

Background

First appearance: KR|Enmity #1 - Flares of enmity

Brief bio: an indisputably good man with a kind heart and the son of a former Theriom captain, Xonedar was eager to follow his mother's footsteps and was recruited by the Theriom maritime force at a young age. He started serving as a seaman while transporting cargo between Tahron and the island city-state of Semhadar, and worked his way up the ranks until he was appointed admiral. Apart from pursuing a remarkable military career, Xonedar also had interests in engineering and medical science, and, together with his colleague and close friend Koptros^TM, developed some innovative technologies, such as compressing armaments of weapons and equipment into small backpacks, equipping war vehicles with artificial intelligence and enhancing biological cells with robotic parts. Eventually, Xonedar was ordered by King Li-Khon to build a submersible ship that would be used as a means of escape and ocean exploration for locating a new safe territory in case of a sudden and illegal seizure of power by the reptilian forces.

Articulation

Both figures have the standard articulation.

In the comics, Xonedar is equipped with a hyper-technological backpack that can produce a powered exoskeleton, giving him superhuman strength and other abilities. Despite the two figures represent the same character, they render the two alternative forms and appear very different. Although it's not clear whether these figures will be released individually or in a 2-pack, I'm going to describe them separately.

Normal form

Description

Head: black skin, black hair, dark brown eyes. He sports a "rap industry standard" beard and a dark-blue headgear similar to a combination of a side cap and a peaked cap, with a brim folded up on both sides and projecting like a visor at the front, as well as silver details such as piping, a patterned band, a Theriom Fleet emblem (a modified version of the Theriom symbol, i.e., a seven-pointed star whose two elongated side points resemble the pectoral fins of a cetacean) worn on the front and a rank insignia worn on the left side

Body: covered from neck to toe. He wears a silver ring on his left hand ring finger... I don't know if this is supposed to be an engagement ring, but it is a wonderful touch that the guys at PoliganToys remembered to include it. It is that kind of detail that really spoils me as a KR fan

Wearables: a dark-blue military uniform consisting of a high-collared, thigh-length double-breasted blouse (non-removable) and a pair of trousers (with silver knee pads and a double-strapped sheath on the right thigh), a silvery ascot tie, two silver bracelets, two silver boots and a silver belt ornamented with two studs near the buckle. The blouse has various silver details, such as a trim and several buttons down the middle, two ornamental shoulder pieces and two rank insignia on the sleeves. A number of silver Theriom Fleet emblems are displayed on the left breast, on the knee pads, on the bracelets and on the belt buckle. Additionally the bracelets and the boots sport narrow cyber bands (one around each wrist and two around each boot top) that probably work as links between the uniform and the exoskeleton.

Action feature

Xonedar's normal form comes with a silver backpack attached to a harness that can be worn over his uniform. The backpack, which can fictionally produce the powered exoskeleton suit and other apparatuses, is probably a prototype of Sei-Lha's one in the Foundation series, while the harness features a number of nice sculpted details such as rivets, wires, circuitry, tubes and a sort of fan-looking chest reactor that appears to power the backpack.

Xonedar's stylised harness; the circle at the centre of the chest piece represents the inactive power reactor.

Weapons and accessories

In addition to the harness+backpack, the figure includes a small dagger with a dark-blue hilt and a silver blade, which can be stowed in the sheath strapped to his leg.

Enhanced form

Description

Head: protected by a full face dark-blue helmet with silver details (including a fin on the top and a pair of breathing hoses that connect the respirator to the "ears") and a light-blue glass visor. This helmet has a nice metallic shine and definitely makes for a cool design

Body: despite the dark-blue uniform is still visible, much of his body is characterised by the presence of a silver powered exoskeleton that allows for limb movement with increased strength and endurance. The exoskeleton, whose components run from the shoulders down to the hands and from the waist down to the feet, fastens to Xonedar's body at various spots, including his upper arms, wrists, thighs and calves

Wearables: a silver armour with dark-blue details (the two colours alternate clockwise), two silver gauntlets, two silver boots with knee guards, a silver belt (displaying several holster-looking holders all the way around) and a dark-blue crotch piece. The armour shows some similarities with Foundation Xonedar's one and is embellished with air vents, tubing and a seemingly rotating/glowing version of the chest reactor. The gauntlets and the boots have a nice cyber/armoured look and sport fins at the sides of the wrist guards and shin guards respectively, while the knee guards and the crotch piece feature smaller versions of the chest reactor.

Xonedar's stylised helmet.

Xonedar's stylised armour; the circle at the centre of the chest plate represents the active power reactor.

Action feature

Like with his normal form, Xonedar carries a silver removable backpack, which in this version features a pair of air tanks and several cetacean fin-shaped appendages. Fictionally, this device can produce a number of tools, one of which is included as an accessory and can be mounted to the figure. This tool, specifically an underwater attack gear that allows Xonedar to swim across the sea, is composed of a silver&dark-blue underwater scooter that plugs onto the chest armour, a clear plastic dome that covers his head and a pair of flipper-shaped dark-blue attachments that connect to the feet. The scooter is equipped with two side torpedo launchers (with separate missiles) that Xonedar can grab in his hands, while some additional air tubing folds up from behind the backpack over the clear helmet and hooks to a peg on the front of the latter.

Weapons and accessories

Aside from the underwater battle gear, Xonedar's enhanced form comes with an energy katar-rapier that fictionally derives from the normal form's dagger. This weapon, which has a H-shaped horizontal hand grip and can be stored in a loop on the side of the belt, is really nicely constructed, with a semi-translucent light-blue blade between the seemingly moving-apart upper and lower halves of the original silver blade.

Additionally, the figure includes an alternative helmeted head with a flipped up face plate. Xonedar's uncovered face resembles the normal form's face faithfully and has some additional details, specifically a silver headset microphone that runs down the right cheek.

Final thoughts

Character value: ♦♦♦♦ This is what I'm talking about! I'm such a fan of the younger versions of the characters introduced in the Foundation series. I hope I'll be able to see more of them in this line

Articulation: ♥♥♥ I would like him even more if the enhanced form could move better and had a few more display options, because the bulky armour, which can be explained as a pressure suit, hinders the articulation a bit. Anyway, I’ll deal

Sculpt and paint: ♣♣♣♣ I am very happy with the sculpt of both figures and I do so love their colour scheme

Accessories: ♠♠♠♠ Kudos to the folks at PoliganToys, who have found a great way to make the backpack/suit thing look like a prototype of Sei-Lha's future equipment

Playability: ♪♪♪ Xonedar is a fun dual figure and some of his flaws (such as the above-mentioned limited articulation) get a pass from me because he was so badly wanted

Overall: ☺☺☺☺ I’m very pleased with how Enmity Xonedar turned out. He gives me a much needed member of the Theriom forces and I’d definitely like to see another similarly themed character before the end of the line (*cough* Koptros with removable backpack and alternate head *cough*).