Kylo Ren - TBS [P3] - Six Inch Figures (45)

Growing more powerful in the dark side of the Force, Kylo Ren pursues his enemies with sinister determination. He will prove to Supreme Leader Snoke what he is truly capable of and will hunt down those who caused his defeat at Starkiller Base.

A new Force Friday event means new Hasbro Star Wars products. After one leak after another, the Star Wars collecting community was able to figure out what was going to be released way in advance of Force Friday II (September 1, 2017). There was a lot of product breaches and many collectors were able to score many of the figures thanks to self-checkout scams or selling some sort of misinformation with store managers to get the product out of the stores and into collectors' hands. Whatever may have come of that, Force Friday II is here and Hasbro has released a healthy amount of products in support of Star Wars Episode VIII: The Last Jedi. Because we’re in Sequel Trilogy territory here, many of the products feel like a wash, rinse and repeat. Much of this is to be expected when we’re dealing with the same main characters in this part of the Star Wars timeline. One of the first figures in the new wave of The Black Series [Phase III] 6” is a new version of Kylo Ren. This all-new figure looks a whole lot like the previous versions we have already received, but it’s evident that Hasbro has paid a little more closely to the actor’s features and have honestly tooled a rather wonderful version of this controversial Star Wars character. It’s a safe bet to expect all 6” figures to follow a similar approach with their articulation systems. Certainly, nothing is out of the ordinary here with Kylo Ren. But the finished figure is quite a few steps above and beyond the last unmasked version of him, we received: 2016’s TBS [P3] Kylo Ren (Unmasked) (26) figure. This new Episode 8 version of him looks leaps and bounds better than that previous release.

Kylo Ren comes loaded with articulation just like most of the figures in this line. In a change of pace, Kylo Ren has been given no soft-goods here. Even his removable cape has been cast in molded plastic. In all honesty, it works so much better than the inclusion of soft-goods. The details of his ribbed costume are simply stunning. Hasbro spent a great deal of time making sure this ribbed pattern looks right when it folds and creases. Add to that the details of his belt and his boots and you become amazed at just how well this action figure has been made. The head sculpt in particular impresses us. We honestly care nothing about this character in the film, but there is no denying that his portrait looks fantastic. The hairline and the scar are realistic and just look really well done. The paint operations aren’t completely perfect, but they too are leaps and bounds better than we have seen on other figures in this range. You know how badly some of the characters in this line have looked. Kylo Ren is clearly worlds apart from these past offerings. Our sample has a left leg that bows out quite a bit from his body. We’re curious to know if this is how the figure was intended, or if it’s just a small defect on our particular sample. We love the molded styling of the robe. It has a wonderful, albeit permanent, drape. This can be disappointing to fans that want more freedom with their action figures, but Kylo Ren looks fantastic with the robe on him. We’re glad Hasbro took this approach. The pleating, the texture and the color of the cloak/cape are stunning and it adds a lot of character to the figure. Kylo Ren absolutely looks fantastic. Fans of The Black Series 6” scale are going to appreciate what Hasbro has done here.

Aside from his cape, Kylo Ren is lightly accessorized. This is very disappointing to us because the 6” line is gradually increasing and Hasbro has not shown a goodwill attempt to give collectors more value for their hard-earned money. There is no reason why Hasbro cannot give more with the 6” line. Even at the previous $19.99 MSRP, there was so much more they could have given collectors of this line with these figures. To only get a lightsaber hilt and a fully lit lightsaber with Kylo Ren (in addition to a robe that really completes his outfit) is a major disappointment. That being said, these accessories are very nicely tooled. The separate lightsaber hilt plugs into a hole on Kylo Ren’s belt. It’s very functional and he looks great wearing the hilt. Our sample came with a bent lightsaber blade, and this is something that continues to bother us in this line. The packaging really destroys the accessories. Many collectors don’t find this to be a problem because they use the hot water method to reverse the bowing the packaging creates, but we still find it a burden to have to correct something that shouldn’t be messed up because of the figure’s packaging. Either way, there is no denying how great Kylo Ren looks in The Black Series [Phase III] line. Hasbro really did a great job with him and we are quite impressed with how the production figure turned out. We think his enhancements might be overlooked because at first glance he doesn’t look all that different from the previous figure Hasbro made. In fact, we witnessed people at Force Friday II unable to realize that this was a new figure. They thought he was a repack. This in and of itself is important to note. Hasbro needs the freedom to communicate their products prior to launch date.