Review of K-2SO - Star Wars Rogue One
Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

The best Star Wars movie since 1983 is an easy pick for me - Rogue One. It is the only one of the five since Return of the Jedi to capture, at least for me, what Star Wars is all about.

There's some excellent potential for sixth scale figures as well. We're getting several versions of Jen Erso, and we already have multiple Troopers, a Vader, and even a Chirrut Imwe. We also know Baze is coming, and since these are largely one shot characters, it's not like we'll get swamped with future variations, making every purchase less risky.

For all the good human choices in the film, perhaps the most visually interesting is the droid, K-2SO. Not only did he steal every scene he was in, he combines several classic robot designs to create an interesting final look.

Hot Toys jumped all over him of course, and he's now shipping worldwide. Expect to pay around $230, depending on the retailer.

Packaging - ***
Ho-hum. While Hot Toys does some pretty amazing stuff with other licenses, they are quite restricted by the edicts sent down by Lucasfilm and now Disney. They did get to add the nifty cigar band style wrapper on the lid, and the overall design is quite collector friendly (even if you do have to cut off the plastic wrapping on the hands and feet), but the design is still dull.

Sculpting - ***1/2
Jeff Parker was recently discussing this figure on our HotToysCast (that's our podcast with Eamon - you're listening, right?), and I agree completely with his assessment of the design. There's a little bit of the Iron Giant here, and a little bit of Ashley Woods' Popbot, both modern android designs which owe inspiration to earlier designs. It's a great final look, borrowing from classic concepts, including the dome head, the long gangly limbs, and the thin neck.

This guy is big of course, standing just over 14 inches tall. I don't think it was mentioned in the marketing info, but he has die cast parts as well, particularly in the legs. This gives the legs more weight than the upper body, making him much more stable, and making it less likely that the legs will wilt over time.

There's lots of really nice small detail work, particularly around the 'mouth', but also on the panels on the front and back of the torso. The sculpt and articulation are also designed together, to create a figure that remains true to the concept and on screen look, yet is much more poseable than you'd anticipate.

I do have a minor nit with some of those small details though. Several, particularly on the abdomen, are a little softer than I'd like to see, which hurts the realism a smidge. It's not a major issue, but being picky is what I do.

Paint - ***1/2
While the majority of the exterior is done in a very metallic, smooth finish, there's plenty of minor wear and damage to give him that aged look. This wear is in sensible, expected areas, at least for the most part. There were a couple nicks and scratches on mine that I thought looked out of place, hence the loss of a half star, but this is going to be a very specific thing, and will vary figure to figure.

The majority of the details are well painted, although there could be more detail overall on the front and back of the torso. This is more of an issue with the source material than the figure, however.

By the way, the eyes are adjustable, sorta PERS style. When you pop off the top of the head to turn the light on or off, you can also adjust the tubes that transfer the light to the front of the eyes. These tubes are independent of each other. It won't create a massive effect in hand, but if you'd like to see an example, the photo below has them tilted all the way toward the bottom. Compare this to the photo above where they are pointed straight forward. While it's not a critical addition, it's the sort of attention to detail that keeps Hot Toys ahead of the competition.

Articulation - ***1/2
From top to bottom, this is a tremendously well designed, innovatively engineered body that allows for maximum poseability with little damage to the visual aesthetic.

The neck has a ball joint top and bottom with a ton of mobility. You can use this to add just the right personality to any pose, and it's these subtle changes that make all the difference, particularly with a character like K2.

The ball shoulders aren't quite as mobile, but certainly enough for realistic arm poses. The elbows are a simple hinge, but there is a cut above them to allow the arm to turn fully across the body. The hinge wrists and fully articulated fingers/thumb (three joints each!) round out the arm articulation, and facilitate just about any pose. The finger joints are tight enough to allow him to grip objects and hold them long term as well.

The torso has a rolling joint, with lots of tilt and lean, particularly for an android. Again, even a slight adjustment at the waist can create a much more realistic stance. The hips are V style, with very little movement in or out from the body - perhaps the one big area where you could use better range. But there is a cut joint in the thigh that allows the leg to turn, a critical addition for adjusting the lower half. There's hinge knees and ankles, as well as a rocker and a mid foot pin joint. The rocker will make flat footed stances possible as well.

I already mentioned the poseable eyes, and this works hand in hand with the light up feature. Again, this allows for what might seem like a super minor adjustment, but those minor adjustments can take a pose from good to fantastic.

My only real complaint is with the knees and ankles. These are ratchet or 'clicky' joints, with a gear that holds the joint in place at each position of the teeth. This is pretty common with big figures, since the weight of the upper body can make it hard for the knees and ankles to maintain stances long term. The extra strength these ratchet joints provides is the upside.

The downside is the reduction in the number of places the knee and ankle can 'rest'. The gears here have quite large teeth, making the distance between each click fairly great. This all adds up to fewer stops where the joint can stay. It's not a deal breaker, but he does take a hit for it from me.

Accessories - *1/2
Here's the one area where this figure drops the ball. He's really not well outfitted. I'll be honest - there's not a lot more you could add. But there's a few things, and considering the re-use here, I'm probably being generous with the score.

He does come with a blaster, which we've seen with the Death Troopers they released earlier. He can hold it in either hand, thanks to the poseable fingers.  The sculpt is good, and it has a weathered look.

He also has one of the grenades, also released earlier with the Death Troopers. This grenade can turn and separate at the center as well.

And then there's the display stand, with a nice graphic design from the film on the top and a crotch support. It matches up with the other Rogue One figures and also differentiates it from other film releases.

And that's it. Yep, you can't get much more basic.

Light Feature - ***1/2
It's pretty critical for the eyes to light up on K-2SO - without it, he looks dead, or at least deactivated. They supply three batteries, but you'll use these up quite quickly. The compartment and switch are inside the dome head, along with the adjustable eyes. Pop off the top, unscrew the compartment, and insert the batteries. This works easily enough for the occasional time you'll have to do it.

However, you also have to pop the head off every time to turn the lights on and off, which drives me nuts. They need to come up with better solutions. Fortunately, the light is very bright and even, and the eyes do look fantastic when illuminated.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
The terrific articulation means you can get this guy into some fun, interesting, very non-robotic poses with a ton of personality and character. And you can do that over and over, coming up with new ideas for the display. This goes a long way to upping the fun factor for the sort of collectors that will be picking him up.

Value - **
You can expect to pay around $230, which is just slightly higher than the average I like to see ($220).  In his favor is the unique nature of all his parts, the light up feature, and the use of die cast metal in some of the pieces. Going against him is the lack of accessories.  I'm willing to go just slightly under an average value here, weighing most of the pros above most of the cons.

Things to Watch Out For -
There are two very thin, very strong, very sharp posts on the 'mouth' of K2. These could break with improper handling, or you could end up drawing blood...or both. You'll also want to take care with the antenna on the back, which can be broken with too strong of a grip. Keep all of these in mind when posing or adjusting the figure.

Overall - ***1/2
This is one of those figures that was *this* close to perfection.  The sculpt is amazing...but I did think some of the details on the abdomen were a little soft. The paint was terrific...but there's a few wear marks on mine that seemed out of place. The articulation is fantastic...but those clicky knees and ankles frustrated me a bit. The light up feature works well...except for the location of the switch. And yea, he's got little in the way of extras.

Everything was almost where I wanted it, and the misses were very, very minor. I'm extremely happy I picked him up, and he's going to look fantastic with Jen Erso. C'mon Hot Toys, let's get that Baze up for pre-order!

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has him for $230.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Other Hot Toys Rogue One figures I've reviewed included the Death Trooper Specialist, Death Trooper Specialist Deluxe, the Patrol Trooper, Chirrut Imwe, and Darth Vader. I'll hopefully have Jen Erso here very soon!

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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