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

A dark side warrior with a mysterious past and a temper as fiery as his unconventional lightsaber, Kylo Ren was neither Jedi nor Sith, but a product of the teachings of both. Once an apprentice of Luke Skywalker, Kylo eradicated his fellow students and drove Skywalker into exile to become a First Order warlord and servant of Supreme Leader Snoke. Determined to destroy the last remnants of the Jedi and fulfill the legacy of Darth Vader.

Is it possible to get through an RDR on an item based on The Force Awakens without criticizing the film here at JTA? Probably not. But we’ll try. Perhaps the biggest surprise of the three 2016 Hasbro The Black Series 6” convention exclusives is the Kylo Ren [Unmasked] figure. We honestly just expected it to be more of the same. In many cases it is exactly just that, more of the same, but the new parts brought forth in addition to the new accessories set this release apart from all others; like VERY far apart. This will also cause some chagrin. Because all of the extras here SHOULD BE PART of the basic Kylo Ren [Unmasked] release. These shouldn’t be exclusives. Sorry, Hasbro. We couldn’t feel more strongly about this. A premium line has the responsibility to produce premium accessories to interact with the figures, and if we have to wait once a year for a special San Diego Comic Con or Star Wars Celebration release to get these “extras”, well, then many collectors will undoubtedly build up resentment because that’s not doing right by this line. And before you misinterpret the point here, that isn’t entitlement, that’s expecting Hasbro to produce a fine collectors’ line. If their other brand can get “build a figure” pieces in addition to a ton of accessories, then the Star Wars line can at least get a nice amount of awesome accessories too. Let’s redirect. Kylo Ren [Unmasked] has the basic sculpting of 2015’s TBS [P3] Kylo Ren (03) figure. That’s quite evident. But more importantly all of the enhancements and running changes have been brought forward to this release like the slightly retooled hood and the shorten skirt. Kylo Ren [Unmasked] starts off on a very positive foot.

The most important new piece here is the all-new head sculpt. It’s excellent. It is definitely simply approached with minimal paint operations, but as well all know with the current Hasbro production process, less is more. With Kylo Ren [Unmasked] it works towards the figure’s benefit. His skin is a bit too pale in color, but again, we’ll take it before Hasbro messes it up with some sort f unnecessary or too heavy wash. The sculpt looks very much like actor Adam Driver, although the expression is rather tame and shows no signs of his onscreen outbursts of anger and temper tantrums. Also not included: blood squirting fist punches on his side. The figure has all of the wonderful articulation of the original Kylo Ren (03) figure. All of the functionality works just as well for this release. We love how the soft goods hood is tucked into the plastic cowl. Right out of the packaging Kylo Ren [Unmasked] is all set and ready to go. Other cool accessories include the updated lightsaber as well as the lightsaber hilt. Let’s talk about the new and exclusive stuff. And man oh man is it going to tick off those unable to secure the exclusive editions. Kylo Ren [Unmasked] comes with a miniature scaled version of the First Order flag seen in Star Wars Episode VII: The Force Awakens. It has been made well and breaks down into four pieces. The flag itself it cut from some synthetic soft-goods and has a beautiful drape. We wish it was bigger, but Kylo Ren [Unmasked] looks fantastic posed in front of it (when used as a backdrop). The base also contains the first order logo. We wish it was bigger also so that Kylo Ren [Unmasked] could be posed in a widened stance and still be able to stand upon it.

The new accessory that everyone is going to want is the melted Darth Vader helmet. A ton of questions surround how Kylo Ren is in possession of this item. We won’t go into that here, but we do admit that it is a pretty neat accessory. Hasbro described the amount of time and effort that went into developing this as a pack-in for this exclusive figure. But we have to be honest. This should be part of the general market release. We’re frustrated already for those that won’t be able to own this accessory due to its relative scarcity as an exclusive. Despite the outrage this small accessory will undoubtedly create, Darth Vader’s melted helmet has been both designed and decorated beautifully. We couldn’t be more pleased with how it turned out. Last but not least, Kylo Ren [Unmasked] has also been give an interchangeable masked portrait in case you want to return him to the way we remember him originally. All of these bonuses certainly do not make this release worth the premium Hasbro is asking for it. Kylo Ren [Unmasked] has an MSRP of $34.99, about $10 too much. All of this and more should have been included for a very palatable $24.99. Had we known a version of Kylo Ren was coming like this, we probably all could have saved some money because this is the quintessential Kylo Ren 6” figure you need. Aside from maybe some Starkiller Base environmental pieces, everything you want and need from this villain has been included here. Kylo Ren [Unmasked] is a pretty decent release in The Black Series [Phase III] lineup. We’re not even fans of the character and we find him very interesting and well done. This could have been a debacle. Let us count our blessing that he didn’t turn out that way!