Series: Ultima Online

Craftsmanship: 8.4 out of 10

- Great looking figure but has

to be displayed above eye-level

for best effect

- Sculpt and articulation of lower half limits poseability

- The lost member of

Samurai Spawn

- Good size and very easy to stand

Playability: 7.0 out of 10

- Good accessory

- Watch out for the sharp bits!

- Medium articulation increases its durability

- A lizard man in armor is going to be played with

- Helmet not removable

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Warlord Kabur (Ultima Online) by McFarlane Toys

If there’s one thing that gets my attention, its action figures based on video and PC games. They manage to combine two of my passions while entrenching my image as a gaming geek. Warlord Kabur is a good example of the two mediums squashed

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together – regardless of the fact that I never really got into Ultima Online. Warlord Kabur comes direct from the imagination of Todd McFarlane and complements the latest addition to the Ultima Online universe, Lord Blackthorn’s Revenge.

Even without the license, Kabur is a pretty good action figure. Actually, he could quite easily fit in with the troop from

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Samurai Spawn (Spawn 19). The high detail and paint job are on par with what collectors expect from McFarlane. There are many small details and just about everything has been textured in some way or etched with an intricate design. The coloring, while applied well, is the same drab dark colors that typified Spawn 19. (The exception of course being the gold highlights on the helmet and the backplate.) It means he has to be displayed in high light conditions so the details can be appreciated. And for the best display effect, he has to be at or above eye level. The sculpt means he’s always looking slightly down and to the left, so if your eyes aren’t level with him, all you see is the top of his head. Whatever display situation you choose, it’s extremely easy to keep him standing – his feet are huge, nearly disproportionate to the rest of him and his lower half is immobile.

All the articulation is located in his upper half: ball-jointed right shoulder, seam left shoulder, seams at the elbows, wrists, waist, and neck. The articulation is good enough to achieve different poses, however, because of the sculpt the poses are never radically different. It’s a good display piece, don’t get me wrong, the action stance is great but it had more potential. (It actually looks like there was going to be hinged knees.)

Playability is a little mixed since I nearly poked a hole in my thumb trying to get Kabur out of the package. There are sharp bits to watch out for: the two short spikes on each foot and the horns that protrude from under the helmet. His helmet doesn’t come off, which works out as a win-lose situation: you can’t lose the helmet but being able to remove it would have been a good option. His staff is a good accessory and is big enough not to be sucked up accidentally by the vacuum. The staff is very easy to warp, which is something to watch out for if you like playing with your toys. The most obvious piece that can be broken off is the helmet ornament – and it breaks off pretty easily. Overall though, Kabur is moderately durable owed in large part to his lack of lower body articulation.

Warlord Kabur is sure to click with fans of Ultima Online and McFarlane Toys collectors. While it’s definitely a solid display piece, Kabur probably won’t be remembered for its playability.

- Omni