Hey, did you guys hear about that new Star Wars movie that is out right now? The one making all the monies? Well, we have not had a shortage on coverage of action figures that are out in full support of The Force Awakens, but I would like to toss one more into the pile because this new Bandai S.H. Figuarts Kylo Ren is impressive . . . most impressive.
I have talked at length about my love for the Figuarts Star Wars figures as of late, and the Jedi Luke Skywalker was even my pick for the best of 2015. I was originally going to be choosy about the Episode VII figures I was going to pick up because, well, these guys are bit more expensive than a regular domestic figure, but once I saw the movie and began taking stock of what I wanted for my collection, I knew I had to get this Kylo. First and foremost, because he is a great character and I cannot wait to see where he goes in the subsequent films, but also, because even though I do like the Hasbro Star Wars Black figure, I knew I would never be completely content with all of those soft goods covering the figure.
Yeah, I will admit it, by and large, I am a cloth hater on 1:12 scale figures. Even when it looks its best, it still doesn’t look “right” to the eyes because the fabric itself is not in the right scale, and the cloth folds and movement always looks wrong to me. Sure, I can handle a bit of cloth here and there for Jedi cloaks and what not, but as a general rule, I do not want it on my figures. Hasbro has done an *okay* job with using soft good in this line in the past, but the Emperor and the aforementioned Kylo Ren just have way too much cloth where I believe nicely sculpted soft plastic could have been used in its stead. Enter the Figuarts Ren: in seeing pictures of this figure from various toy shows, I knew I had to have him, and all of that glorious sculpted plastic that came with him.
However, just because I prefer plastic to cloth, I was still uneasy about the figure because I knew that, if not done correctly, the plastic could inhibit the movement of all of that great articulation Figuarts is known for. Having a preference for plastic over cloth comes with the risk of inhibited movement, but thanks to the great engineering and design of this figure, most of my concerns washed away immediately. The lower robes/skirt pieces had the potential to be the worst offenders, but for the most part, the work well to allow for the leg articulation to function as intended. Sure, with any figure based on a character with a costume like this, some of the more dynamic poses are going to look slightly odd due to how the plastic robes fall, but that it is all a part of the trade-off that comes with the choice in materials. There was never going to be a perfect resolution to Kylo’s costume at this scale, so you have to make a choice about what it is you prefer in terms look.
On the shelf, I am a rather “vanilla” poser: I always try to pose a figure in a way that is true to the character, but I normally have them standing in place as opposed to jumping and batting away. Sure, I love to do that for pictures, but not the shelf, a bit more plain posing helps for an even display and it also conserves precious space. So naturally, the plastic is better for me because I will take the aesthetic high road, and the four piece pegged system that makes up the skirt works really well, actually, so with a little finagling, I was able to get just about any “Kylo” pose out of the figure while still looking natural. I know, you are going to watch Robo’s video and he is going to try to convince you otherwise, but trust me, this figure is completely legit in terms of useful articulation.
I was also originally concerned about the shape of the hood on this figure, but I tell you, the longer I have this, the more I like it. Yes, it is a bit puffier than it usually looks in the movie, but that allows for the independent head piece to move on its own, not controlled by the hood. This is just part of an overall articulation scheme that is very well designed and engineered for all of the joints to be useful, and also very strong. That is saying a lot because the articulation and aesthetics go hand-in-hand, and there is a LOT here, but the sculpt is never sacrificed past the normal joint placement that is typical in any action figure. That is true from the iconic helmet, to the boots that are, for the most part, covered by the skirt — everything is very clean and accurate. I think the tooling used for this figure is cleaner than that of the Black Series figure because while they are both well-sculpted, this one is not “soft” anywhere, and all of the lines are crisp as can be. This might not be a huge thing with any individual detail, but when you put them all together, it makes for a VERY sharp figure.
You would think that a lot of the detail would get lost in a figure that is, for the most part, all black, but the different textures make all of the difference in the world here. The outer robe and hood have a bit of stitched pattern, while the more form-fitting suit is ribbed, and the helmet is, of course, smooth and somewhat shiny. That last part is important to me because I find the Black Series figure to be just a touch too shiny in places where it should have more of a matte finish, but your mileage will vary there. The black does help to make some of those joints I mentioned before hide a bit better in the sculpt; as you can see, you can actually disassemble a lot of the figure, but the joints offer a lot of movement while remaining fairly hidden, so that is nice.
So if you are still on the fence about which Kylo you prefer, I will proffer you a tie-breaker, and it isn’t even close: the accessories that come with the Figuarts version blow the Black Series out of the water. This is nothing more apparent than in the very unique an already-iconic cross-guard lightsaber. The SWB version is very soft and rounded, and the unstable blade is not even contained properly in the sculpt, so it kind of all runs together. The Bandai version is very precise in the hilt, and the saber blades are much sharper and emit from the hilt correctly. Plus, with the Figuarts, you also get the non-ignited hilt, something that the Hasbro version cannot accomplish.
To take it even further, Bandai included the plain hilt for him him to hold, but also another with a peg that snaps right into place on the belt. Kylo also comes with four (yes, FOUR) sets of hands: fists, grips, splayed, and “Force choke” options give you the right hands for any occasion. Like all Figuarts, the hands are really tough to switch out, so I usually pick and option and stick with it, but the world is pretty much your oyster here. I opted for the right grip and the left splay so that Kylo can duel, but still toss the Force about when he needs it.
Well, as a staff, we are actually divided on our choice of Kylo: Indy is taking the Black Series, I find this Bandai version to be awesome, while Robo is eventually shooting for a mix of the two. For both, some compromises must be made, but I find that aesthetic of the plastic to be superior to the cloth, and for what I need, the posing holds up with the look of the skirt with just a little bit of work. If you have not gotten on the Figuarts train yet, I would HIGHLY recommend it because all of the Star Wars hits continue to look amazing. I cannot wait to build out a massive collection of these, supplemented with the Black Series. Kylo is real deal and now I need Bandai to show off a Rey figure, like NOW. Thanks for reading and if you want to see Robo’s take, check it out here:
