Kylo Ren
One of the more intriguing bits of information released prior to the premiere of Star Wars: The Force Awakens was the image of the movie’s villain, Kylo Ren.
The design for Kylo borrows heavily from the Sith warrior concepts we had already seen from games like Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic and Star Wars: The Old Republic. Kylo is depicted wearing a full face mask under a hood and long, flowing robes, very reminiscent to the outfit worn by a certain Darth Revan.
Although there are a couple of possible variations to this character from what can be seen in the movie, for this 3.75-inch release Hasbro went for the fully attired version, with the tattered short cape and the hood up over the helmet.
Kylo is sculpted in a neutral stance and was given the standard five points of articulation. You can tell it is a modern day figure only because of the ball jointed neck and the fact that he has fully sculpted legs underneath the long robe, as well as the heavily textured outfit. If you pop out the head, the cape can be removed although the hood looks odd on the figure without it.
Kylo’s mask is also an interesting design. Not quite as dramatic as Vader’s, but iconic enough to stand on its own. The paintjob on this figure is minimal, consisting in touches of silver for the mask and the belt buckle.
Unfortunately, the mask applications on most of the figures I saw at the store were sometimes crooked or slightly shifted, but since the silver is applied over a black plastic background, it is hard to notice at first glance.
Kylo comes armed with his trademark lightsaber, with the plasma quillions protruding off the handle. The blade is not removable and the handle was painted in a gunmetal color.
In addition to the lightsaber, Kylo Ren comes with the corresponding Build-A-Weapon piece to complete the Forest Mission device. This piece is rather odd because it looks like some sort of claw device but the way it incorporates the handle doesn’t seem fit to interact with the figures intuitively.
Again, foregoing the articulation issues, the stronger aspects these figures have going for them is the sculpture and on that regard, Kylo Ren delivers in spades.
Errex Score: 80/100
Category: Featured, Star Wars, Toy Reviews