Szaltax comes from the McFarlane toy line known as Clive Barker's Tortured Souls. The first series of the toy line featured six horror action figures. Each of them comes with a chapter from a novelette that Barker wrote, which features that particular character.
The venture was such a success that a second series was launched called Tortured Souls 2: The Fallen. These featured new figures that were described as "more visceral" compared to the first line. They had less bondage-style clothing, and instead focused more on mutilation and surgical alteration. They were made with, as Barker said, "flesh as canvas."
Tortured Souls 2 characters did not appear in any novella. nor did they have back stories. This lack of back story is actually quite appealing, because anything can be imagined about the characters, letting the fans spin their own creative stories about them. The figure featured here comes from this second line. Its name is Szaltax, a six-limbed being that has mechanical prosthetics.
The figure has various tubes that supply blood to many of her body parts, including the head, which is essentially separated from the torso.
Her head, which is literally decapitated from the body, apparently provides and is given nerve supply by the metallic connections on its side, which connect it to the neck and chest. A tube at the back of the head gives it blood supply and nutrients. In addition, both sides of the head have pincers that can be moved. She also has six spider-like eyes.
The four metallic forelimbs are attached to the sides of the chest, with the metal on and near the connections being bloodied, suggesting an imperfect or botched gory surgical job. The legs and feet are an amalgamation of metal and flesh.
At her back, Szaltax has an additional robotic appendage with pincers. It is a delight to note that these pincers are highly articulated, enabling them to be posed in myriad ways.
