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    Discuss This Story ReviewFriday, March 11th, 2016 at 9:10pm by Benjamin, BZPower Reporter

    "I will finish what you started," someone says as you open the box to your new LEGO set. You give them a glare and then a Force choke, and they back away. This Kylo Ren LEGO constraction set is yours to enjoy, and you shall build it yourself! Today we review the latest Star Wars baddie in his LEGO action figure form, to see just how well he stands up against our building expectations. Read, and watch, on to find out!

    A big shout out and thank you goes to The LEGO Group for being awesome enough to send BZPower some of these new constraction sets. We love reviewing them for you and seeing how they match up to our expectations. If I were to pick him up off the toy store shelves, he would cost $25 for 86 pieces. That is five dollars and just two parts more than Rey, recently reviewed, so I suppose the price increase comes from him being a bad guy, unless his increase of fabric compared to Rey's calls for that.

    Presentation
    From the design of the box to the instruction manual, these are the first things you see before building the set.

    Box front Box back

    The box art presents Kylo Ren posing with lightsaber in hand, legs out for support and to show the armor pieces, and generally looking intimidating as a bad guy. The background is aflame in what looks to be from the opening of Star Wars: The Force Awakens Surrounding the figure is the LEGO, Star Wars and Disney logos, along with the image for the buildable figures line. We see his set number, age recommendation, and name. And on the back we see the play feature of swinging his lightsaber. Some other details show his height (26 cm) and other sets to buy.

    Building
    Half the fun is had building the set. How fun is it to build and how easy or challenging is it?

    Gear box Legs Arms and skirt

    Armor Finished Final

    Kylo Ren starts off with a lot of the basics for a constraction build. Legs and leg armor. Gearbox and arm connections. However, the fabric is a nice touch that is luckily very simple, but LEGO put some thought into it so that the chestplate could still connect through the hole. Overall it is a simple build, but the final product is worth it.

    Set Design
    Now that the set is complete, we can critique how it looks from every angle. New or interesting pieces can also be examined here.

    Pieces

    We get a handful of new pieces with Kylo. The fabric parts stand out the most, which serve as his cloak and skirt. The cape is slightly longer than Darth Vader's, but only by half a centimeter or so. The black curved piece that serves as his neck and back has been seen in a few other constraction sets too, covering the gearbox. We also get some of pauldron armor in black. His head has plenty of details on it to show all the scratches. The new torso piece is good for customizing an upper-body build. We get more of the new leg armor in black. And finally his chestplate, with only one connection point, does not look too unique and might work with some other builds.

    Kylo front Kylo left Kylo back Kylo right Kylo pose

    My favorite part about Kylo Ren's look is how intimidating he is. He might has missed the mark as a character (as well as he was written), but as a set his cloak and stature make him something to watch out for. Otherwise, he is fairly well-built if not the hardest build, and the armor parts work well.

    Playability
    The other half of the fun is in playing with the set. How well does the set function and is it enjoyable to play with.

    Gear up Gear down Kylo fist pose Lightsaber point

    Kylo's main play feature is the swinging lightsaber action using the gearbox, a function many Bionicle builders are accustomed to. I can not help but wonder if the new waist-swivel feature we have this year would also work well for a lightsaber attack. Perhaps something to try with one's collection. Aside from playing with Kylo, if posing and displaying him on the shelf he does look very col in a variety of poses.

    Final Thoughts
    Once it's all said and done, how does the set stack up? Should I get it?

    Pros
    What's to like?

    • Intimidating look
    • Great selection of pieces
    • Fabric pieces!

    Cons
    What's not to like?

    • Unnecessary high price
    • Simple build

    Vader and Ren
    Come to the Dark Side, we have cookies.

    Kylo Ren as a set has a great look too him. Unfortunately that look comes as a price hike compared to similar sets and lacks any grand building styles underneath the armor and fabric. But the fabric is a large bonus with many building opportunities. Overall the value will be decided through your own collection, but would be easier to decide with a better piece-to-price value. I think he looks pretty cool though, and am happy to have him in my collection.

    Discuss This Story

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