Toy Review: Flame Toys Kuro Kara Kuri 02 Tarn

Flame Toys proves that they can take just about any character they want and turn it into a centerpiece of your collection with this Tarn figure.

Producer: Flame Toys

Price: Approx. $360 USD

Release Date: Nov. 2018

Where to Buy: D4Toys

Item Height: Approx. 8.25″

Item Weight: N/A

Batteries: 2x LR41 Cell batteries and 4x LR

Flame Toys came out absolutely swinging last year with the debut of their high-end-aimed Kuro Kara Kuri line of Transformers (non-transforming) figures with Drift. Just about a year later they’re keeping things rolling with the second of the line, Tarn. Carrying on the trend of large, highly-articulated, diecast goodness, Tarn brings a character that’s only been shown in the comics to the mainstream and does so in tremendous fashion. This was a highly anticipated piece for myself as a collector and I know a lot of you all too so I’m glad to be able to present this. Check out the videos above and of course my written breakdown and thoughts below and please let me know what you think of this in the comments! Are you going in on Tarn?

Presentation: Flame Toys legitimately has arguably the best box presentation I’ve ever laid eyes on for a collectible. Like Drift, the Tarn box is a book-styled box with an insanely thick and solid-feeling cardboard which has a magnetic attachment that lets it legitimately open and close like a book and the entire, box contents are right there to begin taking out of their plastic shells. It does come shrink-wrapped so that you know you’re getting something brand new but once unsealed the ease of access while still being absolutely protected is impeccable. There are two layers of plastic clamshells stacked and separating the Tarn figure and base accessories and the stand. The bonus pieces that come from preordering from D4Toys are in their own plastic bag taped to the clamshells.

Build: Like Drift, Tarn is comprised of strong plastics and diecast throughout the frame and outer shell. It has a nice finish throughout all of it and feels relatively hefty in hand. All of the joints are nice and tight and it balances extremely well (see video!) He’s just plain sturdy. As shown in the video the only area that I really feel has potential to break on handling is the “horn” parts of either mask so as shown please don’t handle the head by grabbing them. The one gripe that I do have are the fingers popping off fairly easily if bent too far down (shown in video.)

Accessories: The instructions for Tarn (which I highly recommend reading as they’re in English, even) have a nice layout of the accessories so I’m going to just copy and past as written:

All Releases: Fusion Canon, Cluster Canon, Right Arm Shield, Left Arm Shield, Back Cannon x2, Supporting frame, Stage, Arm Shield Weapon x2.

Bonus Parts: Clean face mask, Vocal Effector Canon x2.

The accessories are awesome and come with tons of options for mixing and matching in terms of both display and function. the video actually goes over all uses for all accessories so definitely check it out to see them in action! I’m personally a big fan of the Back canons becoming batons as it’s extremely creative and it’s the first time I’ve seen him with melee weapons.

Articulation: Like Drift, one of the key points of Tarn is the advanced level of articulation it posses. The video and pictures show it off but I’ll say that posing this thing yourself in person is just something else.

Overall Score: 9.5/10 – Flame Toys absolutely knocked it out the Tarn and managed to make a character that I really had no interest in one that I consider one of the best Transformers pieces I own. It’s definitely on the pricey side but in my opinion well worth it. If you can swing it I also recommend getting the version with the bonus parts included as they’re very well done.