Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,863: Kylo Ren (The Black Series / Titanium Series / 40th Anniversary)

KYLO REN 40th Anniversary
The Black Series Titanium Series 3 3/4-inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. C1857 No. C2574
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #03
Includes: 1 stand, hood helmet, unhooded helmet, 2 lightsabers, 4 footpegs
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $14.99
Availability: August 2017
Appearances: The Force Awakens

Bio: A dark warrior storng in the Force, Kylo Ren commands First Order missions with a temper as fiery as his unconventional lightsaber. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo dump.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: I've been meaning to open this one for a while! This Kylo Ren came out millions of years ago, back in 2017. Remember 2017? At that point Disney had spearheaded only two movies - which at the time were largely loved - and Rebels, at which point fans were more or less on board. Hasbro was riding high before overproduced items started to back up at retail, and before fans started to bristle at the idea of lining up all day to buy some toys. We got some neat stuff - these guys were a riff on Titanium Series figures from nearly a decade before, which came in giant Sea Monkeys aquariums, cost about the same, and were also pretty cool. The 2017 ones riffed a bit more on the collectible statue angle.

Kylo Ren was arguably better than the basic figures, as he has ball-jointed shoulders and swivel wrists. The legs and torso are metal, and there's no leg articulation to speak of - you can swivel the waist. What I love about the figure is that he draws inspiration from a moment in the 2015 film that absolutely riveted me the first time I saw it, when Kylo Ren used the Force to freeze a blaster bolt in place while giving Poe Dameron the business. (This has since been swiped in Star Wars Visions.) A bigger The Black Series monument/statue would also replicate this moment, debuting at $50 but dropping to an oh-so-fair $24 these days. But I digress - this little version lacks the bolt and scenery, but you get an awesome weighted figure that stands freely and has a genuinely lovely "swooshing" lightsaber in addition to a normal one. And a second helmeted head, meaning no Adam Driver, a pensive bison who may sneeze in your McFlurry.

The figure part has the cape and general look and feel if 2015, but has some silver paint highlights. I assume this is to remind you he's metal, if the weight wasn't enough to do it. The figure stands nicely but includes four tiny foot pegs you can plug in his base, which features a reversible backdrop.

With the endless products and increasingly tired fans getting pulled in multiple directions it's no shock this - and almost everything from the first few Disney movies - came out in abundance and sat a bit. Which is a pity - it's good! It's a bad toy, but it's an excellent little statue for your desk and you can connect them together to form a bigger diorama. The photo backdrop is nice, but so is the etched foil portrait on the back that reminds me a bit of 1990s Topps foil chase cards. I think it was a mistake to brand these as "The Black Series" - Hasbro branded everything aimed at adults with that name - because these were secretly very nice figures. Compared to the then-$8 plastic guys on shelves, you got some nice extras that would've probably done better if given better packaging and maybe a better display environment. This is also one of the few figures in the format that's not arguably worthless, so clearly the free market agrees with me that it's pretty good. The sculpting is sharp, the pose is nice, and I'd say you should track one down on the cheap if opportunity permits.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,863: October 12, 2021

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,672: Supreme Leader Kylo Ren (The Black Series 6-Inch)

SUPREME LEADER KYLO REN & New Hat
The Black Series 6-Inch Action Figure
Item No.: Asst. E4071 No. E4076
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #90
Includes: Cape, hood - up, hood - down, lightsaber hilt, lt lightsaber
Action Feature: Swap hoods, lightsaber clips in belt
Retail: $19.99
Availability: October 2019
Appearances: The Rise of Skywalker

Bio: As Supreme Leader of the First Order, Kylo Ren wields more power than ever before. Nevertheless,  Ren continues to search for secrets of the Force from the depths of the dark side.  (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: "Is this figure any good?" is basically what I'm always getting at in this column, and it's weird to be in a position where we've been saying "well, it's complicated" for a while now.   This Supreme Leader Kylo Ren is something you would love if you found it on clearance, but probably be annoyed by at full price.  The 2018 The Last Jedi figure's body - used for a basic figure you can get for around $10, in the Galaxy's Edge set, and also a Walmart exclusive Throne Room set all of which are basically the same save for some head changes and other accessories - well... here it is again.  Hasbro may have gotten as much as $120 out of you for those previous three releases, or less if you got the non-Disney Park ones on clearance, but it's still a lot of money.  Seeing the same costume again is kind of a bore, even if we do get a new helmet and updated to the cape and hoods.  The body is the same, the lightsabers are the same, and yet it seemed to sell just fine this time around.  What I say is moot.

First, let me sing the praises of that new cape.  I like it.   Hasbro has struggled with cloth cape hoods for years, particularly in the 3 3/4-inch scale.  By leaving them out of most of the 6-inch line, they've generally not been a problem - Mace Windu got a cloth one, Darth Maul got a plastic one, but it's this Kylo Ren cape and hood that seems to have figured out how to do it right.  The cape itself rests gently over the same black shoulders, but the back of the cape has a couple of posts on it where you can plug in one of two hoods.  A raised hood and lowered hood give you some choice as to how you want him to be displayed, which is good given the "back to one" nature of the movie.  I'd like to see Hasbro consider this kind of cape/cloak hood system for future Jedi, Sith, and other figures where appropriate.   (The revised throne Emperor's plastic hood with cloth robes was also a winner.)  Kudos to Hasbro for deploying a good improvement here.

The lightsabers are nothing new or special.  There's a slot on the belt, you can plug the hilts in there, or Kylo can hold them in his hands.  The deco is fine, there's not a lot going on new here.   They're fine, they fit, that's all I can ask for short of a metal hilt or some new innovation in tiny electronics.

The body has the same 27 points of articulation you got last time, but you get a new reforged helmet - and that's arguably this figure's selling point.   The red lines look cool and are a new sculpt - or at least revised tool - to simulate the work done by Flash Gordon's Ape on Mustafar.   (I don't know the name but I would like to see a figure of them.)   The figure poses great and looks fantastic - if you don't have the previous versions, this is a good one.  If you have the previous  versions and are a completist, well, yeah.  This is our curse, isn't it?  It's fine.  It's not bad.  It' just not new.  It is a good figure.  It is not a bad figure.  It's just now a terribly new figure for when it was released just a few months ago.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.  

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,672: March 12, 2020

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,636: Supreme Leader Kylo Ren (Galaxy of Adventures 5-Inch)

KYLO REN Supreme Leader
Galaxy of Adventures   5-Inch
Item No.: Asst. E3016 No. E3812
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber, cloak
Action Feature: Force Attack
Retail: $9.99
Availability: October 2019
Appearances: The Rise of Skywalker

Bio: Kylo Ren, a Force-sensitive human male, was the Supreme Leader of the First Order and master of the Knights of Ren during the New Republic Era. Once a promising student of Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, the former Ben Solo was neither Jedi nor Sith, but a product of both sides' philosophies. Though trained in the ways of the dark side by his predecessor, Supreme Leader Snoke, Ren still felt the pull to the light and consequently struggled to overcome the conflict within himself. Ren idolized his grandfather, the Sith Lord Darth Vader, and aspired to become just as powerful. Driven by ambition and the desire for greater power, he believed it was his destiny to rule the galaxy.   (Stolen from Wookieepedia. Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary: Much like Rey, this Kylo Ren from Galaxy of Adventures is a decent, 5-inch stylized figure smooths over some of the details from the film, but is a pretty good recreation of what we've seen as the movie costume so far.  It's basically a hooded cloak over The Last Jedi costume with a fixed-up helmet and a lightsaber - it's a good, recognizable figure.

Like Rey, Kylo Ren has 23 points of articulation.  His wrists are a little tilted, so they swivel but don't bend beyond their molded position.  This is pretty good for achieving nifty lightsaber duel poses, especially since the arms also have a great range of motion and the lightsaber itself is pretty striking.  The exaggerated energy crackles really look awesome on this version of the weapon, which comes complete with a chunkier-than-usual hilt.

The lightsaber is more or less perfect, with a thick  black hilt and some nice wiring painted on the grip. The cloak has a hood, not unlike 1990s Jedi Knight Luke Skywalker figures.  It's fine.  It's not fancy, it won't do much to hurt the figure standing on a shelf.  I can't say I would miss it if it were gone, but it's good to have to add some heft to the rather skinny figure.

Kylo's ankles are a little more difficult than Rey's, meaning you might have to take some care to get them just-so.   The rocker motion and general range of movement are good, but getting things to get in place just right so he doesn't fall over may take some work.  The results are striking - he looks awesome swinging his blade, and I find myself wishing this is the format we got in 1995 instead of 3 3/4-inch redux at times. Could you imagine hundreds of these guys, with vehicles and playsets?  It's a pity that will never come to pass, but at least for now we have some very good, nicely-priced toy figures.  I can't believe I'm saying "you should buy this Kylo Ren figure," but it's good enough where I can't dump on it.  Good size, good quality, good price... but if you're avoiding new scales, stay away.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth. 

--Adam Pawlus

Figure of the Day

Day 2,636: November 7, 2019

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,619: Kylo Ren (The First Order, Galaxy's Edge, The Black Series 6-Inch)

KYLO REN (The First Order)
Galaxy's Edge The Black Series 6-Inch Figure Disney Park Exclusive
Item No.: No. E5160
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #n/a
Includes: MSE Droid, Mountain Trooper, Commander Pyre, Lightsaber, Cape, Hilt
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $69.99
Availability: June 2019
Appearances: Galaxy's Edge

Bio:  The son of Han Solo and Leia Organa, Ben Solo was seduced by the dark side of the Force and renamed himself Kylo Ren, bcoming the First Order's champion and Supreme Leader Snoke's student. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability:  Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  This is not an essential Kylo Ren figure.  While Rey, R2-D2, C-3PO, and Chewbacca all had unique bells and whistles to make you want to give them a second look, Kylo Ren is a step backward.   You could cobble one of these together using the head of the 2015 6-inch figure and the 2017 6-inch figure, just by giving the helmet to The Last Jedi release - and it might be better.

If you look at Kylo Ren #45 [FOTD #2,454] this is pretty much that figure with some problems.  Kylo Ren has the 2015 helmet with some divots created by the plastic insert - it doesn't look good.  His ankles are looser, which is bad for displaying - sturdy ankle joints are incredibly important for ensuring a figure doesn't topple over on your shelf.   The lightsaber hilt will not fit in or stay in the belt slot, at least on my sample. 

On the bright side, the sculpt still looks good.  The simple paint job is still perfectly fine, and he can hold his accessories in his fists nicely.  I like the plastic cape which drapes over his shoulders nicely.  Since the figure is molded in black and has elbow joints with a marvelous range, it's a pretty good skeleton on which to build a figure.  With 26 points of articulation, it's totally fine but won't knock your socks off since you've probably got all the parts of this figure in your collection already.  

While you may wish to track down this set, this figure is not a worthwhile part of it.  Even if you're a Kylo completist, you'd be better served buying extreme-clearance Kylo Ren figures and cobbling together a similar one on your own.  This is a bad reissue, or a bad sample of a perfectly dull reissue.  I would advise getting a display stand with neck or waist support so he doesn't fall over, if your sample is anything like mine.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from my pal Shannon who went to Disneyland's Galaxy's Edge in June.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,619: September 10, 2019

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,542: Kylo Ren (Solo: A Star Wars Story line look)

KYLO REN Cape and Helmet
Solo: A Star Wars Story Force Link 2.0 Basic Figures
Item No.: Asst. E0323  No. E1244
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Lightsaber
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $7.99
Availability: September 2018
Appearances: The Last Jedi

Bio: Kylo Ren, a Force-sensitive human male, was the Supreme Leader of the First Order and Master of the Knights of Ren during the era of the New Republic.  (Stolen from Wookieepedia.  Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  This is a weird one.  Kylo Ren in today's review is the Force Link 2.0 carded release - and it's dang near identical to the Force Link 1.0 pack-in figure from last year.  You can get that one at Ross for a couple of bones, this one has a different sound chip and a green symbol on the foot.  Is it worth it?  I guess?    It has a cape, a helmet, and a lightsaber making it a unique configuration until The Last Jedi figures if you missed it before.

Rilo Kiley has an issue being weighted forward a bit, meaning the cape helps keep him standing upright.  Our not-hero has 5 points of articulation and feels pretty sturdy.  I like how Hasbro made the figure with minimal paint applications - there's the silver on the helmet, the belt buckle, and some gloss on the boots. And that's it.  Figures like this make me think Hasbro could do a "low cost" figure assortment with unpainted or lightly painted figures some day, which would be a change compared to today where the assortment price comes out of a target cost of an average of the figures in the assortment.   Really good figures - like Ephant Mon - cost Hasbro a bit more, so seeing them create this line with a moonshot program of a $5 or $6 retail could be awesome for all of us. (This won't happen.)

This is a good figure with plenty of sculpted detail, whose only real problem is being a figure you may have bought, with a Force Link band, at a lower price, last year.  I love the clean paint job, the wonderful textures, and the pose is no stinker. A wrist joint would be nice, but since his hands match his arms it doesn't make sense for Hasbro to do one in the context of cost.  As of right now, Kylo Ren is one of the most fascinating characters in the saga - a bad guy, a little good, seemingly written as a weird wink and a nod to old-school fans while carrying political weight due to the iconography and the company he keeps.  How will he shake out in 2019? I can't wait to find out.


Force Link 2.0 Notes: "The darkness in me grows stronger." "I will let nothing stand in our way." "I know what I have to do."  Lightsaber hums, clashes, and bolts.  It's a good one.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.  

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,542: December 13, 2018

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,482: Kylo Ren (with display base and metal helmet, The Black Series 6-Inch)

KYLO REN (Throne Room, with display base)
The Black Series 6-Inch Walmart Exclusive
Item No.:    No. C3222
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Metal lightsaber hilt, metal helmet, lightsaber, display base, cloth cape
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $30-$35
Availability: March 2018 (wide, showed up a few months earlier in limited numbers)
Appearances: The Last Jedi

Bio: After a stinging defeat by the scavenger Rey, Kyo Ren refocuses his efforts on destroying the Resistance.  Though his powers in the dark side have increased Kylo still has much to prove to his shadowy mentor, Supreme Leader Snoke. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  After more than a small delay, this Kylo Ren 6-inch action figure finally started to hit Walmart.  There's no indicator as to whose exclusive it is - perhaps they weren't sure during production - but there have been exceedingly few exclusives in recent years that were ultimately hard to find in the long run.  This one is like the other "premium" Luke and Rey, in that the faces have more paint, they all have big display bases, and there are cloth and metal parts now.   It's better - mostly.  If you got the main line's Kylo Ren [FOTD #2,454] you've already got the same body and the premium price may not be sufficient for you to double-dip.  But if you don't have either?  Try to get this deluxe one.

The base figure has a brighter silver belt buckle and slightly deeper, richer blacks on the body.  He still has the same great elbows, wrists, ankles, and other joints that make him very flexible and great for posing in numerous poses.   The main changes on the core figure are the head - it has a sort of transitional paint job that's not quite as good as the printed 2018 figures, but it has more going on than the 2017 figures.     The scar looks fresher and redder, especially against his slightly darker hair and fairer skin.  The eyes  have a little more shading around them, and while I believe it to be the same sculpt it seems like a sharper output.  It might also just be an illusion from the lighter plastic, but he looks a little lumpier and more realistic.  You can see more ridges and bones - on every level, it's a harsher production piece and all the better for it.

The metal bonus parts were selling points for me.   The die-cast metal helmet looks great and feels wonderful.  It has silver highlights on the front and scuffing on top that looks decent.     It's clearly fake scuffing, but it's nice enough and the painted helmet looks better than the molded-in-black helmets.  The interior is molded plastic, and it's a tight fit over the neck peg.   What's more, the lightsaber hilt is more silvery and also metal - it plugs in his belt much more easily than the plastic one last year.  

The basic lightsaber is the same basic one as the regular figure, but with more light silver on it.  It looks better.   The only accessory here I don't prefer is the cape, since the cloth over-the-shoulder and no-clasp cloth accessory looks a little cheap and doesn't drape as well as the plastic one.   It needs more to grip his neck or shoulders, so the end result isn't as good as what we had before - you may want to mix-and-match parts to make the deluxe Kylos Ren of your dreams.

The big exclusive piece is a 3-part throne base made of grey and blue plastic.  It's super glossy and is going to show your finger prints, so keep that in mind.  I'm sure fans will do special things to light it or make it look otherwise cool, and it works well with the figure for displaying.  I need to crack open Snoke so I can connect them together still.   The form fit is great and it's a wonderful design, so Walmart got a good one here.  It's a pity it couldn't be a launch item so fans could make smarter decisions as to which figures to buy, when, and for which features.   If you dragged your feet, go ahead and get this set - if price isn't an issue, it's a lovely improvement (and a helmet is a cooler metal extra than a hand.)

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Walmart.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,482: May 16, 2018

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,481: Kylo Ren (The Black Series Centerpiece)

KYLO REN with display base
The Black Series Centerpiece
Item No.:    No. E0331
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #03
Includes: Blade, base, antenna, flame, bolt, figure, skirt pieces, 6 foot pegs (hidden)
Action Feature: Lights up
Retail: $49.99
Availability: April 2018
Appearances: Star Wars: The Force Awakens

Bio: In service of Supreme Leader Snoke and the powerful First Order, Kylo Ren and a legion of stormtroopers invade Jakku in search of the star map that will lead them to the last Jedi in the galaxy, Luke Skywalker.   (Taken from the packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  When I first saw the Centerpiece concept (and price point) I rolled my eyes and said "well, this isn't going anywhere good.  Some concepts haven't made it out, but the very best one that I was really excited to see can now be yours with Kylo Ren.   Doing new form factors raises questions like "Why?"  Hasbro has sold collectors no fewer than 6 total The Black Series 6-inch Kylo Ren figures since 2015, and there's lot a lot genuinely new to offer on most - this one took advantage of the form and gave us a movie moment we haven't really seen well-represented.

This time the figure has no articulation, and you have to plug in the flowing robes to make it work.  Once assembled you get some rock and ruins, plus the super-cool blaster bolt Poe Dameron shot at Kylo Ren in the opening scene of The Force Awakens.  Representing the Force is a tough thing to do in toys, but this does a bang-up job showcasing one of the most memorable moments of the new movie generation so far with a bright glowing blue bolt and some red flames... plus a lamp.   This is a toy that really feels like it makes use of the electronics and budget well, as opposed to Luke's weird attack run on Hoth or the not-quite-Rogue One Darth Vader.   The deco is great, and the lights are bright - push the button for 12 seconds of visuals, or hold it in for a few seconds and it stays on until you push it again.    It takes 3 "AAA" batteries and that seems excessive, particularly given that USB or another greener way of doing things would have been nice.

Kylo Ren lacks display options in the figure itself, but the base gives you the choice of putting one or both feet on to give him some distance from the bolt.  If you're hard up for shelf space this is particularly handy.   Space can be at a premium, especially now.   Foot pegs under the base allow you to plug in Stormtroopers to fill out the scene, were you so inclined.  I like having options.

Hasbro's sculptors did an awesome job giving Kylo Ren life with an action-oriented pose showing a quick turn and mastery of the Dark Side to save his neck.   The robe textures are some of the best in this line, and moving away from cloth gives us one of the best Kylo Ren collectibles yet.  He just can't move - what you see is what you get.   It's amazing with amazing detail in the arms, legs, boots, helmet, hood, and everything else - but if you don't love the pose, this is pretty much it.  You could also swap out another The Black Series Kylo Ren if you want, but I like this one here just fine.

While it's pretty stunning and on par with some of the statues we get - except plastic - so as a statue, it's cool and priced well. As an action figure, it's a lousy deal - a $20ish figure, minus articulation, with a $30 base with a couple of LEDs seems nutty.   The final product does look excellent though - so I'd say Hasbro has justified taking your $50 here.   They made something really good here - even though it's expensive.   If you see it on clearance and don't buy it, I pity you.  I'd even say buy it at full price and hopefully Hasbro continues the line with scene-specific takes on things you might want like Boba Fett, or something relating to Han Solo in the Carbon Freeze chamber, or (if you'd let me) a multi-figure set focusing on the Kylo Ren and Rey team-up from The Last Jedi against the Praetorian Guard.  This format has potential for amazing things, if Hasbro keeps it going I bet it could turn around - much like the original 7-inch Unleashed line took a few waves to really kick off.

Packaging Notes: A significant improvement from the 2017 models, this one has a fifth panel box with velcro tabs and a ton of photography showing it off.   It just looks and feels better, like Hasbro took the idea and ran with it.   What we got before was the beta - this is a final release with a stronger pose and movie tie-in as opposed to the off-camera statues we got before.   This is the first Centerpiece toy - and one of very few similar items even when comparing it to the Unleashed 7-inch line - modeled after a specific movie moment.  It's much stronger as a result.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,481: May 14, 2018

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,454 Kylo Ren (The Last Jedi, The Black Series 6-Inch)

KYLO REN Now with Cape and Scar
The Force Awakens The Black Series 6-Inch Figure
Item No.: Asst. B3834 No. C1773
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: #45
Includes: Cape, Lightsaber, hilt
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $19.99
Availability: September 2017
Appearances: The Last Jedi

Bio:  Growing more powerful in 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.  (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  With The Last Jedi, Kylo Ren gets a new costume - this is interesting because The Force Awakens takes place a day before, and he goes from a robe and a hood and a helmet to a cape and no mask.   We even see him with some sort of bandage on his face briefly, but so far that hasn't made the transition to toys.   While a new mold, this Kylo Ren looked a lot like the unmasked one from 2016.   This shows us that the character has a personal sense of style, but that unmasked figure was something already on markdown.  This unmasked version has at least two flavors so far, and the price dropped quickly.  This is a shame - I really like this figure!

He has a good Adam Driver portrait with a slightly healed scar.   Seeing that only days pass between the fight with Rey and this look, he's doing pretty well.    The horizontal bands on his arm remain, and his clothing is a lot shorter so it's less like a dress.  You can see is boots, and the figure can make the most out of its 24 points of articulation.   For better or worse, the figure as the same as many that have come before with great sculpting and good articulation.   It's a wonderful format, but it doesn't get to  break any new ground.  Sure, the hilt can plug on to his belt, and yes you get a cape, but it's a lot like the existing figures.   I love the range of motion given to the figure with the shorter coat, and I was able to get some pretty nifty poses out of the figure.   I'd also like to see what could be done if Hasbro tried a new kind of articulation, just to keep it interesting.

There's not a lot of paint here, but what's here works well.  Glossy black boots really shiny, and the face has clean hair and great eyes.  The eyebrows are solid, and it's one of the better figure faces in the format.  The only shortcoming is Adam Driver is, to say the least, a unique face.   Converted to a plastic head, he loses some detail like his moles and a bit of his personality.  That's no knock against Hasbro, that's just the reality of a $19.99 action figure.  The SH Figuarts one is a bit fancier, and pictures of the actual man have little lines under the eyes that you can't do on a mass-produced head that's the size of a grape.   Hasbro did paint the lips, and they did a great job here too.

I like what Hasbro did here and I'm really curious to see if they'll up the game for the next one.  If you compare this figure to the unmasked figure from 2016, this one is amazing.  The 2016 one is good, but the kind of plastic used here is so much better, and so is the paint.   This figure got down to a couple of bucks on an online toy seller over the holidays, and he's a necessity in a new movie's toy line.  The market seemed to have a mixed reaction to it, but as The Black Series goes I really dig it.  If we can see a more plussed-up and more detailed portrait later I'd be eager to check it out.   If you're happy with the Kylo Ren figures you have, you may not need this one too.  But you might want to go ahead and get it, particularly if it's in a set or is available on the cheap.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.  

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,454: February 12, 2018

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,422: Kylo Ren (The Last Jedi Line Look)

KYLO REN with Force Link
The Last Jedi Basic Figure Orange Assortment
Item No.: Asst. C1503  No. C1506
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Cape, lightsaber
Action Feature: Force Link sounds
Retail: $8.99
Availability: September 2017
Appearances: The Last Jedi

Bio: Kylo Ren, a human male, was a Force warrior and a former Jedi trainee under his uncle, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, before Ren destroyed Skywalker's attempt to restore the Jedi Order and became an apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order. (Stolen from Wookieepedia.  Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  If you're making a new movie, you're going to get more of Kylo Ren.  I got a few emails lamenting this - even though the figure is in a new costume with a new head, some thought we had enough by getting him in the last movie line a few times.   Kylo Ren is kind of like Darth Vader, in that you're going to get more of him.   He's a major player, and even though the figure may look like The Force Awakens  he's new for this movie.  But - three figures share this sculpt so far.

If you're collecting them all, each figure is slightly different.  The other unmasked Kylo Ren with the TIE Silencer has a different Force Link logo position on his foot, and the head is decorated differently.  (Let's be honest - this one is better.)  What makes this figure unique is the cape, often rumored to be an artifact from Darth Vader.  It might merely look like Vader's cape but I don't know.  It's black, it flows, it's plastic.  You can take it off, and the legs are jointed to fit in a vehicle with no problems.  The robes are shorter like that of a Jedi, giving us a better look at his legs and boots.   His arms have that horizontal banding, bringing to mind the original Darth Vader costume.

His head has a swell scowl and decent paint on most samples, plus a painted scar that looks great.  His hair is painted far better than his pack-in counterpart, and mine stands without any fuss despite hanging out on my desk for nearly a month.   I would've loved to have a cloth cape, super-articulated version but this is nice too.   Hasbro did a good enough job, and the lightsaber fits in his hand because that's the least any figure should do.  You won't be amazed by this one, but it might be worth picking up. 

If you want Kylo Ren in this costume with a helmet, he's currently sold with a Force Link band.   We'll look at that version soon.

Force Link Notes: "I feel the power of the Force."  "I know what I have to do." "We're not done yet."  Lightsaber hums... and an engine?  "Traitor!"

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,422: November 1, 2017

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 2,411: Kylo Ren (The Last Jedi Line Look)

KYLO REN with TIE Slicer
The Last Jedi Class D Vehicles
Item No.: No. C1252
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: TIE Silencer vehicle, lightsaber
Action Feature: Force Link sounds
Retail: $49.99
Availability: September 2017
Appearances: The Last Jedi

Bio: Kylo Ren, a human male, was a Force warrior and a former Jedi trainee under his uncle, Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, before Ren destroyed Skywalker's attempt to restore the Jedi Order and became an apprentice of Supreme Leader Snoke of the First Order.  (Stolen from Wookieepedia.  Packaging has no bio.)

Image: Adam's photo lab.

Availability: Click here to buy it at Entertainment Earth now!

Click here to buy it at Amazon now!

Commentary:  Hasbro launched its The Last Jedi offering with a whopping three figures of Kylo Ren, and this is the least essential.  A helmeted one comes with the Force Link gizmo, the single-carded one has better paint and a cape, and then there's this one - the pack-in to the TIE Silencer.  It looks very similar to the individually carded figure, but it's from a different mold - the feet have different copyright and Force Link markings on them.   It has five joints, an unpainted scar (as opposed to a painted one on the individually carded figure), and a lightsaber.  It's pretty good - I like the vehicle a lot too.  Oh, and the sound chips are different.

Hasbro did a decent job here with very, very subtle paint on his lips and no scar paint.  At this scale the lack of paint works well, as the sculpting and shadows from the light do the heavy lifting.  Kylo Ren's eyes aren't as fancy as the other versions, and the hair isn't painted as well either.   In other words, this is a great figure to throw in a vehicle as a pilot.   There's little variation in deco, but you'll note glossy fingers, a shiny belt, and even glossier boots bringing it to life.  He has no problems standing, sitting, or fitting in a vehicle, and what's funny is I realize just how much I take it for granted that things work.  Snoke fits perfectly in his throne.  The A-Wing's pilot just plain works.   Everything here succeeds in ways we previously had problems, and back in the 1980s this was merely normal.  Kudos to Hasbro for making sure this functions correctly - even if there's no lightsaber storage bay.   (Hey, I gotta complain about something.)

Kylo Ren is very similar to his previous incarnation with the black and the fancy belt buckle - but he has shorter robes.  Actually, it's like a short skirt rather than the dress of the original.  This makes it much easier to get him in a vehicle or something, which is a lot more important these days.   This is a much more stripped-down and dynamic Kylo Ren, which is interesting to see as Hasbro seemingly focused on revealing his face while the first movie's pre-launch window focused on almost completely concealing his identity.  Minus that Annie Leibovitz picture we all saw and a lot of people assumed was just some silly thing, but apparently it was not.   But you know that.  

Long-time readers know I really love vehicles, and aliens, and robots, so this figure is related to part of that.   You're probably better off getting another Kylo Ren for the sake of character representation, but this figure does what it needs to do and delivers the experience of being good enough.   Get it if you want the vehicle - just look at the hair paint when you do.

Collector's Notes: I got mine from Entertainment Earth.

--Adam Pawlus

Day 2,411: September 25, 2017