After purchasing the Darth Vader figure for my father's Christmas gift, I was eager to see what else the Star Wars buildable figures had in store. Since the CCBS parts are more suited to armored/armored-appearing characters, I decided to get the Kylo Ren figure as soon as I was able to.

Box/Instructions

The box has a red color scheme which helps it stand out against the blues, grays, and muted colors of other sets in the Star Wars Buildable Figure line. Ren's posing seems a bit off, though; in the film he always seems to prefer a menacing, hunched swagger to the more powerful and commanding pose he strikes on the box. He is also holding his lightsaber strangely, seemingly in the perfect position to slice a hole in his forearm. These complaints don't matter, after all you're not buying the set for the box.

Parts

The parts selection consists of your usual CCBS fare: armor plating and "skeleton" parts. The helmet is extremely well done, depicting the already iconic mask perfectly and excellently showing wear and tear through both printing and molding. The cape elements are also excellent, although I feel as though a hood should have been included as well. (I'll just make one myself from my own fabric.) The only minor issue is that the "ankle" pieces stand out like sore thumbs in their dark silver compared to the glossy black of the rest of the model. Also, there are absolutely no stickers in the build! Everything is printed.

The build

As with all CCBS builds, it's fun to watch as the model bulks up from a skeletal frame to a finished product. Assembling the Bionicle gearbox is also a nice task, even though the black gear sticks out of a hole in the cape. Once again, the lack of stickers is always welcome.

The completed model

The completed model towers over even the tallest of last year's Bionicle figures and is extremely impressive. It is very pose-able in most places, although the ankle pieces make it more difficult to position the feet due to the added friction. It's also difficult to recreate Ren's usual hunch due to the way the figure is structured, although leaning the body forward a little can recreate that look.

Overall opinion

This set is mostly a very worthwhile purchase and it looks absolutely outstanding on display. The gear system makes it fun to swing his lightsaber around as well. The one major complaint is the set's value for money: the Darth Vader figure has almost twice the part count and is only 5 USD more expensive. If choosing between the two, I feel that the Vader set is the better choice. However, once you've built Vader, look no further than Kylo Ren for your next set.

This is very unique line of Lego toys. As such, it's breaking new ground, specially for AFOLs like me. While it does have technic pieces and somewhat of a look and feel of what one would traditionally call a "Lego set", it's not really and reason why I titled this "an action figure by Lego"

Pros:

• Well articulated and hold a lot of different poses
• Good if you are looking for action figures for kids (or a collection item)

Cons:

• Aside from a few technic pieces, most of the volume in the box is comprised of highly specialized molds (I'm guessing you can combine them, but this is my only set of of this line, so I can't really comment on that)
• I don't like the hands design, specially the left hand which is clenched and looks unnatural
• You can see the technic skeleton through the gaps between armor pieces. It just feels odd. Mostly because I get the impression that Lego is going for correct proportions and what I consider a "realistic" aesthetic (unlike regular minifigures) and the narrow pieces from the skeleton break that suspension of belief