On the subject of paint, who needs it? This figure is black. There’s some gloss on the boots and a little silver on the buckle, but that paint on the mask is pretty much the majority of the paint. Mine could be a little neater, but it does look alright up there.
Articulation is what we’d expect for a 6” black series figure: ball-joints at the neck, shoulders, mid-torso, elbows, wrists, hips, and inverted ankles; swivels thighs; and double-hinged knees. This is where the cloth robes come in handy because all of this articulation is useful! The robes and the soft plastic robes underneath them do a great job getting out of the way when you want to do deep poses. I would like a little more articulation out of the neck and the elbows, but he’s fun to play with and pose.
Kylo Ren included what will be his trademark accessory, his lightsaber. This piece was probably the first big split between fans of the movie. It was either “whoa!” or “lightsabers don’t work that way” as soon as it appeared with very little agreement in between. I thought it looked neat and I don’t really know or care “who lightsabers work”. I do think it’s funny that they have to keep trying to up the Sith’s lightsaber game in each era. If a lightsaber is the epitome of cool, then how are dual blades and cross guards improving on that? (They manage to do it though).
The accessory seems to be accurate and modeled well. The blade is removable, so that’s cool too, but I would like somewhere on the figure to store it, besides just tucking it into his belt. I’d also like the blade to be a little more… vibrant? I’m not sure, but it just seems a little dull.
Overall, it probably sounds like I’m knocking this guy down. I’m not. He’s a cool visual and he looks great hanging out with Vader & Maul. He makes me enjoy having him despite being covered in black rags. If I could pull the head and belt off and see how he looks without, I’d prolly love him more. The articulation is strong with him and he’s able to get some great lightsaber poses out of it. He’s a fun figure to have, even if he’s soft-gooded from head to toe.
For more Star Wars Black reviews, check out our
Star Wars Black Collector’s Guide.
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Excellent review and comics, as per.
Gotta agree with you on the soft goods robes. They’re a bit long, neat-o texture, though, and what is the point of having soft goods to allow all kinds of poses when the legs are blocked by rigid plastic flaps, which are covered by the soft goods so you can’t see ’em anyway? Baffling.
I heard of a trick where you can dampen the cloth, shape it into the way you want it to lie on the figure, and let it dry. Maybe that might help your Kylo’s hood . . . ?
We had seen Adam Driver’s unmasked head before these were released, and if this figure had come with it, I would have picked him up already. as it is, I can wait two months to see what role he plays. I am seeing more 6″ figures the last few weeks, so the restocks are coming…and nobody wants Chewie. 🙁
still kicking myself for not grabbing a Maul back when these first hit and he was plentiful… ah well. (and R2!!!)
I did find Phasma, Poe, and Guavian Enforcer (aka not!Red Hood), tonight at Kmart ($22). passed on …Zuvio? desert alien dude. also saw my first new 6″ Stormtrooper.
Poe is an all new sculpt compared to X-wing Luke, including alt.ungloved hands…and forearms. his chest box reminds me of the “neutralizer box”(?) used in Heroes s3v4 and now Heroes Reborn.
(speaking of, any word on Grunny’s “Gorwyn” X-pilot? They might need a thicker torso, and I really wish the X-wing vest was a separate piece, so I have less work to custom him into Xxxx!)
Phasma – again, not sure on her yet, but it was more of “she’s scarce now, and will likely still be scarce in a few months, so better grab her now.”
(now I need to track down a Brienne!)
Guavian – his look is DC’s Red Hood meet’s “Zero” from Cable’s future Six Pack/Stryfe’s MLF (hello custom fodder!).
(there is a potential spoiler on this box description, but I’m not sharing it here.)
I think your being way too harsh on the soft goods.To my mind at least in the last picture Maul looks the worst of the three because of the molded hunk of plastic he’s cocooned in.
I may be being too harsh, but I disagree on the last picture! Maul pulls it off the best!
I will respond with Black Series Palpatine. That figure looks awful.
On a semi-related note, why doesn’t Palpatine have a lightsaber? Yoda came with one, so he could function as prequel Yoda or OT Yoda. Palpatine just has a walking stick, so he can’t function as a prequel version. Lame.
Trying my best to hold out for the upcoming Ahsoka but, I am digging this guy more I see him and the draw for Rey is the droid mostly and already seen it stolen out of the box already x( in stores so that stinks.
Ina a way I feel there could be a spoiler under that so glad couldn’t see the chest. Remembering Dark Empire from Dark Horse.
Too many cool lines out now and not enough cash.
Yes, you can get the soft goods off and back on. You’ve got to heat the head up really well with a hairdryer before it pops off, then you’ve got to get the arms off at the shoulder, once again using more heat (I blasted the hairdryer into his armpits, seemed to work the best).
After that you can slip the robes off from the top, put the arms, scarf, and head back on, and you’re left with a figure that has a little more free articulation, but looks much less interesting than it did when you started the whole process.
Gotta love the mountain of Star Wars stuff out in Australia. Stores are filled with it and will probably only increase/
Yet 6 inch Black Series figures are nowhere to be seen.
Count yourselves lucky you don’t live in this backwater as a collector.
I know what you’re going through, Ghost. I’ve yet to see a First Order Stormtrooper of any kind in the department stores here in Manila. The classic TIE Fighter pilot and the Clone Sergeant have shown up on the shelves, though. Chewbacca, Finn, and Constable Zuvio are still waiting for buyers.
As for Kylo Ren, I hope he becomes the basis for a six-inch Jedi Temple Guard down the line. The three-inch version looks nice but the lack of articulation is disappointing.
I really want to like this line, but for every figure that turns out great there is one that turns out really not so great and sadly it’s these figures that are characters that I would want to get.