Review of Odo - Star Trek Deep Space Nine
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

If you're a fan of Star Trek and a fan of sixth scale action figures, EXO-6 has been your best friend the last few years.  They've been producing terrific figures for every Trek property for only three years, but we already have 26 characters (and one chair!). We've gotten characters from Voyager, Next Generation, TOS, Discovery, Enterprise, and several of the movies. And my personal favorite, Deep Space Nine, has just gotten its fourth figure - Odo.

He just started shipping, and those that ordered directly from EXO-6 should be getting theirs in the next week or so. He was originally $215 through their site, but you can still find him for pre-order at other stores for the same price.

Packaging - ***1/2
EXO-6 uses a sturdy brown shipper with plastic corners added to increase the odds the art box will get to you safe and sound. The box itself has an extra layer of plastic trays to increase their strength as well, and everything is packed in a completely collector friendly way - there's absolutely no reason not to open these up, since no real damage to the packaging is required.

Sculpting - ****
Odo was never a super expressive dude. As a shape shifting entity, getting emotion down was a bit tricky. But EXO-6 has captured his usual look extremely well, with the smooth skin, slightly chunky features, and deep set eyes.

Getting the likeness accurate requires an even greater attention to the shape of specific features, since they were such a key attribute. The boxy jawline, small mouth with thin lips and frown, tiny nostrils, chunky ears, and unique nose all go a long way to creating the perfect likeness.

But they didn't sacrifice realism either. While there's not a ton of skin texture with someone like this, they did ensure the hair was finely stranded, and quite realistic. The work on the hair is a place where they've really upped their game the last few releases.

He stands just under 12 inches tall, fitting in nicely with other characters in the series so far.

Paint - ****
There isn't the sort of natural variation in skin tone with this character as you'd see with a human, making the application a bit tricky. It has a nice consistency, and the details - the eyes, tiny lips, shadowing around the eyes, and even the hair line - are super clean and life-like.

As with the sculpt, the paint work on the hair helps support the overall realism. With a darker wash in the crevasses and a lighter color on the edges, the hair has depth and detail.

Articulation - ***1/2
They went with the usual body, and all the normal articulation you'd expect. There's a couple spots that are slightly restricted here due to the design.

The first is the neck. As a single head/neck sculpt, it's a little less mobile. Not much though, thanks to a very good ball joint inside the torso. And having this a single head and neck was critical to creating the look of the jawline.

There's the great shoulder (which have the 'butterfly' style joint that can cross the chest more deeply), elbow, wrist, hip, knee, and torso joints that work nicely and have very little restriction thanks to the stretchy cloth costume. He can sit, stand, and even take some deeper stances, although he was never the kind of character to be in ninja poses.

The only other restriction is at the ankles, and like the neck, they've done a pretty good job working around it. The short boots are one piece, which does restrict the ankles a bit, but the material is fairly soft, and does allow for a little rocker or side to side movement.

Accessories - ***
This is one area where he's a little light, although they did include two very character specific extras, which isn't always the case.

He has six hands in total - the two relaxed grips he comes wearing, a set of fists, and a set designed to hold the other extras.

One of these can hold the tricorder. The tricorder has the usual magnet that can hold it open or closed, and the sculpt and paint are just as excellent as we've seen with other DS9 releases. The other hand can hold the PADD, and again, the detail work on this flat panel is excellent.

They've included a holster for the tricorder, but Odo can't actually use it. He has no magnet in his costume, unlike other releases, because he never wore holsters like this on the show. But hey, now you have an extra in case Kira loses hers.

His two character specific extras are his bucket, and a second version of himself, in translucent semi-liquid form. The bucket looks great, and is a nice shelf extra, since no one has to hold it.

The second version is made from hollow plastic, slightly soft, and catches the light nicely. It too makes a nice addition to the display, and is a very useful extra.

There's the usual display stand and support rod of course, with both of the octagonal cards. He can be on his own transporter base, or it can be combined with others (with included pegs to hold them together) to create the larger transporter base.

There's also the small autograph card, which comes with most of the figures. Rene Aberjonois has died, but having the card for consistency sake isn't a bad thing.

Outfit - ***1/2
While the outfit is fairly basic - tunic, belt, pants, boots - it's still critical to get every aspect just right.

The tunic looks fantastic, and as always, the stitching and materials are top notch. The small badge is straight and even, and tightly attached. The colors look right, and the overall craftsmanship is excellent. My only nit is with the length of the sleeves. They could have been just a smidge longer, to better cover the wrists in bent arm poses.

The pants are nicely tailored, and as mentioned earlier, the soft one piece boots look good. They also keep him standing in most short to medium stances without the need for the stand.

This outfit was his most common, worn in seasons 3 through 7. They've also included his belt, which he had worn but given up since he had no need for it (he shapeshifted his clothes, of course). But he had the hots for Kira, and she said she missed it and felt it looked good on him, so he included it with his outfit again. You can remove it if you'd prefer, but I agree with Kira.

There's also a slight fat suit under the tunic. It's not extreme, but it does give him the slight paunch that he had on the show.

Fun Factor - ****
Add this guy in with the others - especially Kira - and you've got a terrific display that you can alter and change over time to your heart's content. Figures like these get better and better the more characters you can add to the group, and the DS9 shelf is finally starting to fill out. Now we just need Bashir, and O'Brien, and Garak...

Value - **1/2
At $215, he's on the slightly higher end of EXO-6 figures, but you are getting some nice, character specific extras instead of just the re-used accessories. Regular readers know that this category is unique - a **1/2 here is 'average', and it means the price you're paying won't affect my Overall score either up or down. Anything under **1/2 decreases it - anything over increases it. Here, I feel you're getting what you're paying for.

Things to Watch Out For -
Not a thing. Swapping hands was easy enough, and none of the accessories or parts were fragile or easy to damage.

Overall - ***1/2
These releases just get better and better, and for those looking forward to the eventual TOS onslaught, that's great news. As a DS9 fan, I'm really happy with the four we've gotten so far, and we know that several more are already planned.

Up next overall should be Neelix, who would finish off the Voyager series, or perhaps Geordi, depending on how quickly they get him wrapped up.

Score Recap (out of ****):
Packaging - ***1/2
Sculpting - ****
Paint - ****
Articulation - ***1/2
Accessories - ***
Outfit - ***1/2
Fun Factor - ****
Value - **1/2
Overall - ***1/2

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Entertainment Earth is at $215. The preorder is sold out, but they may have extra when they come in, and if you use my link then you'll get an additional 10% off, plus free shipping!

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
I've covered most of the EXO-6 Star Trek releases, but most recent we had Kira, Data, and Torres.

You should also hit the Search Reviews page, in case any other applicable reviews were done after this one was published.

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