Sunday, July 15, 2012

2k12 The Kraang Review




If you grew up in the 80s and watched Ninja Turtles you know that Krang played a large part in the cartoon. When the first live action movie came out a lot of people wanted to know where he was. It seemed a lot of people didn’t know at the time that TMNT started out as a comic and the character of Krang was made just for the show. Well here we are in 2012 and we are seeing this character resurface, well sort of.

In the 2k12 show it seems Krang, now Kraang, is a race of evil aliens that are going to be helping the Shredder. We know they kidnap April’s father because of his scientific genius, that they are hive minded, and they mutate a lot of things. Past that we don’t know a lot more. The different bios seem to contradict each other so it is a wait and see kind of thing.

When I saw this guy online I really thought would pass on this figure. I didn’t have the desire I needed this guy in my collection. However when I was at the store it hit me. I needed him. Not just one either, but at least two.

Sculpt

The figure is pretty basic but that is what makes this figure so amazing. Its straight forwardness in design makes this one of the best Krang figures I’ve ever seen. This time around the android body has a very Terminator feel to it. It gives the idea that these Kraang are dangerous.

Don’t let the idea that I say this figure is basic mean it doesn’t have detail, because it does. It has bits of robotics showing, there are tendrils that control the arms and legs sculpted on. It has some very fine details for a TMNT figure. That is just the android body.

Another great thing about this figure is that The Kraang comes out of its little socket. He is made of a softer plastic that is very squishy. Unlike the Kran of old, these Kraang have six little tentacles on their body. The sculpt lets you see that it is clear they are a mix of Krang and the Utroms from the comics. Both parts of this figure are great.

Paint Apps

There really isn’t much color on this guy. The pictures and animation shows that they will have a bluish glow about them, but the figure it self is more of a base grey with some light grey dry brushing to give it a worn metal look.

Red is used for the eyes, mouth, and a couple little highlights. It stands out nicely from the grey and does work well. But the true stand out is the pink tendrils on the figure.

Now I’m assuming that these pink tube like things are supposed to be the tentacles of Kraang that they use to manipulate the exo-skeleton. If they are they are a great touch. It integrates the alien with the robot making it feel like one whole figure instead of The Kraang being an accessory.

Articulation

Unfortunately this is where this figure falls flat. For such a great sculpt it has no articulation really. Sure the legs move ad the hip forward and back, and the shoulders have a ball joint but this does no good when the rest of the figure doesn’t move. There is really one pose this figure has which is a huge let down.

Final Thoughts

While it is not certain what role The Kraang will play or if we will see one be the “leader” and have a relationship akin to the OT Krang this figure still looks pretty cool. I want to build a little army of these guys and make a diorama about their lab. I just think it would look sweet.

However if your not a completist or a huge TMNT fan then you could pass on this figure. It is a great figure, I just don’t see it being one many people would play with or want more then one of maybe. Hopefully we will see later lines fix the issues this figure has.

No comments:

Post a Comment