Kylo Ren (Starkiller Base) - TBS [P3] - Six Inch Figures (Exclusive)

A dark warrior strong with the Force, Kylo Ren commands First Order missions with a temper as fiery as his unconventional Lightsaber.

Well, we have good news and bad news for you. The good news is that the new Kylo Ren (Starkiller Base) Kmart exclusive is for the most part the same old sculpt as 2015’s TBS [P3] Kylo Ren (03) 6” figure. So you already technically have this figure. The bad news? Hasbro has tremendously updated the figure’s lightsaber in a very screen accurate and meaningful way that it’s likely going to force you to PURCHASE this version too. Oh, and let's not forget about the new "Force push" left hand. Instead of creating a removable blade, Hasbro has included both a fully lit lightsaber here as well as a separately sculpted hilt. And it’s most appreciated. Also included to add more value is an environmental display stand of the Starkiller Base which really just boils down to some snowy terrain. Oh, and to sell it completely home, Hasbro also added some snow collection on Kylo Ren (Starkiller Base)’s lower robes and shoes and these extra paint operations just look splendidly. These extra enhancement really look impressive. With an original MSRP of of $24.99, it seems like this is ultimately a deal because of the extra parts and exclusivity, but it just seems safer if Hasbro and their retail partners would do anything humanly possible as to keep prices at bay because there really isn’t much elbow room when it comes to these nonessential playthings. They have to know resources are incredibly limited today, so play is safe!

Because of the included Starkiller Base display stand, Hasbro had to construct a larger box to accommodate the larger part inside. It’s a nice window box, but as loose collectors, it quickly went into the trash receptacle before we could finish blinking. Kylo Ren (Starkiller Base) has also received some paint operation updates too. The silver lines running across the face of his helmet have been cleaned up quite a bit. But more importantly perhaps, his belt buckle has now been painted in almost a completely inverted manner. We noticed the update right away. Because it’s the same sculpt, Kylo Ren (Starkiller Base) can attain a vast array of positions and they look quite incredible in our opinion. The character’s mysteriousness is still shrouded in mystery and this The Black Series [Phase III] figure has captured all of this quite well. Although we get to see his head without the cloak covering it, there is very little revealed otherwise on this beautifully sculpted action figure. The articulation systems on these figures are quite complex, but Hasbro opted for the simpler ball-jointed elbows here. That’s fine by us because we think a nicer aesthetic exists with ball-jointed elbows than when double hinge-jointed elbows are applied. Hasbro made the articulation points as seamless as possible throughout the entire sculpt of this Kylo Ren (Starkiller Base) figure.

The original basic version of Kylo Ren came with a removable lightsaber blade. Hasbro stepped away from this approach completely by giving us two ligtsaber hilts with this release (one lit and one unlit). For most collectors, getting the fully lit lightsaber with this release is huge. And many people will begrudgingly buying this version to get the corrected lit lightsaber. But lit or unlit, you can make Kylo Ren (Starkiller Base) wield his lightsaber in an infinite amount of ways and the figure looks incredible holding it. With the wonderful ball-socket hips, double hinge-jointed knees and ball-jointed/”rocker” ankles, Kylo Ren can pretty much do anything you want him to do. And he looks amazing doing it. Besides, the display stand brings a very small piece of the new Star Wars “world” to the action figure line. Although mostly adorned in black clothing, you can see a couple of finer details here and there throughout his costume. For example, there are some beautiful details in his belt (as well as this figure’s enhancements). And the parallel horizontal lines on his helmet look very nice as well. The mask of the costume is very predatory bird like. Relegated to being a Kmart exclusive, it’s been a bone of contention with so many Star Wars fans that don’t’ have any Kmart locations near them. To make matters worse, Kmart.com has canceled many orders because of the inability to fulfill these orders. Hopefully this is just another Hasbro distribution issue that will seemingly self calibrate. Only time will tell however.