Bandai: S.H. Figuarts Star Wars: The Last Jedi Kylo Ren, Elite Praetorian Guard, and BB-8 Video and Quick Pics

Another month, another set of Bandai S.H. Figuarts Star Wars: The Last Jedi figures. Well, that’s a lie. It hasn’t been a month, it’s only been about two weeks since the FO Executioner/Elite Praetorian/2BB-2 pack. Getting Kylo Ren, a slightly different Elite Praetorian, and BB-8 early is cool and all, but that’s a whole lot of import goodness in a short amount of time.

Add to the pile the Hasbro Black Series three different Praetorian and it’s been an avalanche of red armored types. Almost too much. When you hear me utter “Geez, slow down” then you know something is off. But I can’t really complain too much, especially about getting more and more plastic goodness. I’ve really come to like the guard’s design and how it looks against the sea of black and white. And in Snoke’s case, sparkly yellow.

The guards from both companies may differ in size but with strategic placement they look good together. In fact, it’s hard for me to pick a winner, if you’re into that kind of thing. Hasbro did some fancy stuff to get their guard’s arms to look seamless, while Bandai dances some magic into the sculpt and colors. And those shoulder pads, yum.

Did I just type yum? Cherry is my favorite candy flavor, but my fingers went out in front of my brain on that one. Weird.

Then there is Kylo. I don’t know if Bandai as a company are psychological geniuses or just enjoy torturing us to the point of us asking for more but much like the character itself, there is struggle here. Kylo is fighting between the light and the dark. And we as an audience is looking for some kind of redemption for Ben while still kind of hating him for doing what he does. The figure follows that same dichotomy. I love it but I also kind of hate it.

The sculpt and paint are fantastic. He looks a bit Severus Snape but that’s not really the fault of the toy company. There is a lot of Adam Driver in the head. Again, menacing but child-like. I’m really, really digging the new duds, much more stream-lined, and the figure pulls it off beautifully. Those shoulders are amazing. The poseabilty works exactly how you would want it to work. Fluid and useful.

But where there is light, there is dark.

The neck is a mess, engineering-wise. The ball in the torso where the neck attaches just does not want to secure into the socket in the lower neck. At all. You breathe heavy and the damn thing goes Highlander. Then for the alternate neck for the masked head, it plugs but doesn’t allow for any movement. But it’s more secure, right? Let’s just use that neck with the unmasked head. Nope, sorry, incompatible, two completely different dumbbell lengths. What in the Sith Hell is this?

And then the hands. Every now and then we get this, where the hands are a nightmare to change out. Either the holes are small, or the wrist is big, but it really comes down to the material used for the hands. For the Praetorian, it’s a nice soft material, flexible. Not only does this make it easier to pop on and off, it makes it a dream to place weapons in their grips. Kylo’s hands are rigid, stiff. I feel like something is going to explode before I get the hands off, and putting them on is a test of Jedi patience. Let’s not even mention putting the lightsaber in the hands.

Despite all that, I really dig the figure. It’s going on the shelf. I can’t say the same about the BB-8.

BB-8 was essentially a freebie with the set and it shows. There is a little paint but Bandai didn’t really go out of their way to liven it up. The sculpt is nice but that’s about all it has going for it. And this late in the game we’ve some fantastic BBs from other companies. The Hasbro one is awesome with it’s weeble wobble feature and the model is sweet with it’s accessories. But the MAFEX takes it for me. A nice blend of all the goodness we want in the little droid, including a magnet for the head.

All-in-all, I love the set, but it’s definitely not without it’s problems.