Kylo Ren - TFA - Armor Up (Snow)

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

Despite what some may consider to be some form of a conspiracy theory, Hasbro does feel that the Armor Up line does warrant a slightly higher MSRP. In recent discussions with them, Hasbro has all but put the blame on retail this time around and they’ve expressed that a difference of $5 was not to exist between the Build A Weapon line and the Armor Up line. Take that as you wish. One thing is for certain however. Hasbro must provide “new” figures in the Armor Up line if they wish for this line to be a success because the same figure with costume jewelry isn’t going to cut the mustard for too much longer. Granted, the Armor Up line is geared towards younger Star Wars fans, and possesses what Hasbro refers to as a “toyetic” quality. This simply means the toy has interaction and additional play value. But we hope they realize this generation of youth is mesmerized by electronics and devices and no plastic bell or whistle will capture the attention of young people like the former would. Anyway, this isn’t a debate on the value of this line, but we do have to question why these seemingly misplaced efforts are in place.

The good news for the Kylo Ren Armor Up figure is that it’s essentially an all-new sculpt. In our opinion, while there are subtle differences, the torso and right arm of 2015’s TFA Kylo Ren (Build A Weapon) (Forest) figure have been reused here. This time the figure comes with his hood down so that the Armor Up accessory gives us an alternate take/look at this engaging new Star Wars character. What’s particularly nice, the Armor Up Kylo Ren closely resembles The Black Series [Phase III] Kylo Ren (03) figure since the soft-goods on that figure can be pulled back to reveal the helmeted head sculpt. So, this is our 3.75” version of that figure. As with many of The Force Awakens figure, Kylo Ren’s sculpt is actually quite good. The limited articulation is frustrating as always, but the limitations on the articulations do not equal the limitations of the sculpt. This is a fairly excellent representation of the character that The Force Awakens footage already revealed. If you forget about the Armor Up piece for just a minute, we believe collectors will feel they have an admirable version of this character in 3.75” scale. It’s just a crying shame that we have to pay more for it if we want it.

The Armor Up accessory itself is 50% silliness and 50% alternate play. We really don’t know who will be finding interest in these figures for the sole purpose of getting new costume gear. We have heard time and again from parents how their own kids want movie specific and accurate action figures. So to circumvent this and create “off screen” add-ons seems futile to us. If it’s not necessary, why create it? And why charge more when we’re getting the same amount of plastic in the Build A Weapon line that retails for $7.99 each. Sure. Hasbro has uttered that the Armor Up line should not be costing us $12.99 a pop, so we’ll have to play the waiting game and see if things get calibrated a little more fairly down the road. It does seem that Hasbro is committed to this sub-line and we will be seeing more units in the near future. Either way, sales will dictate the future success of the line and how much effort Hasbro will put into it. Again, we must reiterate that Hasbro is going to HAVE to include “newish” figures in this line to guarantee its sustainability. Because there is no way in the world that collectors are going to be paying $12.99 for a special screen inaccurate accessory.