ong before humans became the dominant life form on Earth, dragons reigned. Intelligent creatures, they learned speech, founded writing, created mythology and even studied magic. A complex society arose around these majestic beasts, whose numbers were in the millions, roaming the planet freely. Their goal was to be good guardians of the planet. Dragonkind yearned for knowledge and desired to keep their history through the new tools of communication. One dragon was chosen to guide them toward this goal. He was King Draako. Knowing he was mortal and would one day die, Draako gave unto the world a son, Prince of the Realm.
"A cataclysm struck the dragon nation, killing the king, destroying their civilization and causing the disappearance of the sole heir to the dragon throne, the king's son. ..."
McFarlane Toys has introduced a series of dragon figures around which it has written this new history about the blending of dragons into human society.
Six dragons, each from a different clan, measuring from 10 to 13 inches in length, are now on shelves.
With the exception of the deluxe boxed Berzerker Clan dragon, each comes packaged in a large clamshell case with one segment of a five-part backstory relating the evolution of the dragons into the intelligent, dominant life form on Earth and the coming of humans into the picture.
Each dragon uses a nice trick of materials to give translucency and depth to the wings. At least some of the dragons are molded entirely in clear plastic and painted, giving a depth to the skin and translucency to parts that are made of thin skin.
Most of the dragons have some minor articulation, allowing for only a small range of posability of some limbs, but clearly these are not meant to be posable.
Spectacular presentation
Each of these six dragons has its own unique features that set it apart from its kin.
The Komodo Clan Dragon is a rich blue with wings that are partially clear. With jagged spikes all along its spine, this dragon takes a fierce pose with mouth wide open in an apparent scream. The arms can pivot, but the poses made possible by this are minimal. The spiral-horned head rotates around the axis of the spine.
The Eternal Clan Dragon is a muscular green-and-yellow dragon with fewer spikes along a smoother body. This dragon sits atop a derelict castle tower and is unique among this series in wearing armor and a saddle. In the saddle sits a fully armored human with battle-ax. The bendy wire tail can take any pose, and the armor-plated head with ridged horns rotates at the base of the neck.
The Water Clan Dragon is a solid figure attached to its base by all four legs. This dragon has the skin and fins of a water-dwelling creature, and its clear wings are far smaller than the others. Its tail—solid and unposable—has clear, eel-like fins at the top and bottom all along its length. Its sharp head has alligator teeth, and its back ridges are webbed all along its body. Its display base is an ocean floor, complete with coral.
The Fire Clan Dragon is the one I find the most stunning. Its white skin is complex and covered with sharp plates set off by tall blue spikes in patches. Its wings sweep along its forearms over its back and are painted in deep blue and red on clear plastic. The scaled tail is bendy and ends in long blue barbs.
The Sorcerors' Clan Dragon stands with its large translucent red wings wrapped around itself like a shell. Its horny spine ends in a tail that forks into two tentaclelike protrusions. The wings are tattooed with gold and black symbols. The arms holding a clear crystal orb have articulation at the biceps and wrists, but still, posability is minimal. Its sharp, jagged head rotates at mid-neck.
The Berserker Clan Dragon comes in a deluxe box set and is the largest of the line. Its wingspan is larger, and it is shown in full flight, unlike the others. Also on the display base are a horse and rider—a silvered knight with sword and shield whose head and arms are articulated. A clear plastic flame shoots from the green dragon's mouth and engulfs the shield, which is the human's only protection from searing doom.
For the most part this is a gorgeous series of figures. But unlike much of McFarlane's stock in trade, these are not toys. These are decorations as finely crafted and painted as many far more expensive busts and sculptures I've seen in recent years. If these were polystone sculptures with similar detail I would not be surprised to pay five to 10 times as much for them. These are quite reasonably priced and are just beautiful to look at.
