Black Series and Elite Series: Kylo Ren

September 24, 2015 at 12:01 am | Posted in Reviews, Star Wars, Toys & Collectibles | Leave a comment
Tags: elite series, kylo ren, the black series

In the aftermath of Force Friday, Kylo Ren has invaded stores everywhere. With a variety of sizes to chose from, I went with the Hasbro Black Series 6-inch figure, and the impressive Disney Elite Series figure which is measures in at 7-1/2 inches. Below you’ll find my review with tons of pictures and comparisons. Enjoy!

First up, The Black Series. Hasbro went with a soft goods cloak and hood as well as a soft plastic cape draping on his back. It’s an interesting combination that allows for a lot of posing and does not interfere with his legs or arm articulation.

Above you can see the soft plastic cape than hangs on his back.

There’s good detail on the face. Between The Black Series and the Disney Elite Series, there’s not much difference in the quality of the face detail. However, the soft cloak hood on The Black Series allows you to see the entirety of Kylo Ren’s helmet.

It has a very distinct Vader vibe to it. Could this be Vader’s salvaged helmet? Or is it just a homage?

Kylo Ren’s only accessory is his trisaber. Like the other lightsabers in the series, the blade is removable.

You can see that underneath the soft goods cloak is a soft plastic skirt. It doesn’t interfere too much with posing, so Kylo can still kneel.

Here you can see him next to a Black Series First Order Stormtrooper. I think he definitely needs two so they can flank him.

And now for the Disney Elite Series diecast Kylo Ren.

Now this figure isn’t completely made of metal, but it is very hefty. If you threw this at someone, it would seriously hurt. Heck, make sure you don’t drop it on your toes.

The diecast body doesn’t limit the amount of articulation. The diecast figures do not have as much articulation, or freedom of movement, as The Black Series. However, Kylo has some decent articulation that works fairly well for posing. The detail on the trisaber is also far superior with the Elite Series figure.

You can see there is one point of arm articulation at the elbow, one at the wrists (the hand can rotate 360 degrees) and there is one point at the shoulder which allows both rotation and a hinge point.

Looking at the back of the figure, you can really see the detail of the cloak. While the Elite Series went with a soft plastic cloak, cape and hood, it looks really nice. I actually like the look way better than the soft goods cloak, though it does limit posing.

Another thing to keep in mind is that the Disney Elite Series diecast figures do have big glaring screws on the back side. The advantage with Kylo Ren is that his cloak hides most of them.

Here you can see the articulation on the arm. There’s no rotation between the shoulder and the elbow like with The Black Series. The elbow joint moves up and down, the shoulder joint moves up and down. The shoulder can rotate, the wrist can rotate. That’s it.

Here’s an idea of how much movement you can get out of the jointed limbs. Note that he cannot truly kneel.

In addition to the trisaber, the Elite Series Kylo Ren comes with a thick plastic base with pegs that allow you to place the figure on for stability. All of the diecast figures come with these.

Now for some side by side posing of the Elite Series versus The Black Series.

Here you can see that the two figures are not the same scale, and it’s not a close scale. The Elite Series Kylo is 7-1/2 inches tall. The Black Series Kylo Ren is 6-1/4 inches tall.

Soft goods cloak versus plastic cloak, it all depends on the viewer. The good things is that between the two series, fan’s have a choice.

Notice how The Black Series went with the flaming trisaber while the Elite Series has a clean blade.

Now posing the Elite Series with the regular Black Series figures actually works to some extent. Kylo look very commander and imposing as he towers over the other figures, but it’s to the extent that a very tall person would, not necessarily a giant. It might not be screen accurate to mix the two scales, but it looks kind of cool. For those trying to choose between the two, I don’t really recommend getting both, as it’s very redundant, and there’s not much value in posing the two together. Personally, I like the Elite Series Kylo Ren better. If I could only have one, that’s the one I would go with. I think the soft plastic cloak looks superior to the soft goods cloak, and the heft of the diecast figure makes the purchase feel like it’s worth the $25. It has excellent detail and decent posability. The Black Series Kylo Ren isn’t bad, and if you’re collecting only The Black Series, it’s not a figure you should skip.

Posted By: Skuldren for Roqoo Depot.