Review of Jyn Imperial Disguise Version - Star Wars Rogue One

Introduction

Like Michael, I rate Rogue One among the best three or four Star Wars films. Of course, as an Original Trilogy fan I am biased, but this also highlights how this film avoids the many things there were to dislike about the Prequel Trilogy, and the fewer things there are to dislike about the Sequel Trilogy. To be sure, although it did have a darker and more realistic tone, Rogue One was not short on faults -- the protagonists' successes were still too easy, the antagonists' mistakes too silly, the laws of physics broken, motivations and dichotomies too simplistic. But there was more nuance (at least potentially) as well -- the present has reminded us that not every insurgent is right and not every underdog to be cheered on. While that was not really the point of the movie (which remained dogmatically subversive and used over-the-top cartoon-like villainy to mark the antagonists), Jyn Erso's character came closer to voicing the potential nuance better than any other. Yes, she was a rogue from the start (and in the grand tradition of rogues being the good guys, we cheered her on), but at least for a while she displayed a trace of a philosophical detachment amid the simplistically stark alternatives of the Star Wars universe. And when she did make her choice, she had plenty of personal reasoning for it in the fates of her parents (though in both cases one could well wonder where did responsibility actually lie). Combine this with Felicity Jones' acting, and Jyn Erso made for the most compelling and relatable protagonist in the film (even if there were some other cool or entertaining characters, like Chirrut Imwe and K-2SO).

Hot Toys has produced three different versions of Jyn Erso from Rogue One, including the deluxe version already reviewed by Michael. The product discussed below is the Imperial Disguise Version, depicting Jyn as she appeared towards the end of the film, clad in the stolen uniform of an imperial ground crew operator. So, in a way, one could collect two figures/characters at once: Jyn in disguise, and a ground crewman (or crew-woman? or crewperson?). Although I hold a grudge for the revision of the original ground crew uniform, I decided to go for the figure. Hence, this review. (The original version of this costume was seen in the Return of the Jedi, in the background next to the emperor's shuttle; HERE is a slightly inaccurate reconstruction -- there should be no imperial emblem on the helmet.)

Packaging - ***
The figures comes in standard Hot Toys Rogue One packaging: a shoebox type of container, with the usual two shades of black cover, showing off a beautiful image of the figure. Near the bottom runs the now familiar "cigar band" wrapper typical for their collectibles associated with this film. Inside is a similarly dark cover card showing a similarly beautiful image of the figure. Below that is a single plastic tray with a transparent plastic lid. Everything inside is collector friendly, as might be expected. As usual these days, there is a little folded instruction sheet. While the packaging and imagery is attractive, it is held back from being anything particularly creative or mind-blowing by the Star Wars franchise's requirements.

Sculpting - ****
The sculpts of both the face and of the armor/outfit seem excellent. The stranding on the hair is quite fine, and is enhanced by the overhanging pieces. The skin is finely textured, and even the characteristic little smile creases on the sides of the mouth are there, although difficult to notice. I should note that the head sculpt is more impressive and realistic in hand, than in my photos. The sculpted elements of the costume -- the chest- and back-armor, the gloves, boots, knee-pads, and belt-buckles -- are very sharply done. The gloves and boots feature realistic looking sculpted stitching; the knee-pads have different sculpted textures and a scratched, worn look to them. Overall, the product in hand looks remarkably close to the prototype used for the promotional materials like the box cover and the cover card. For a more critical appraisal of the head sculpt you can consult Michael's notes on it, as it appears to be identical (or almost identical) to the head sculpt that came with the deluxe figure.

Paint - ***
We have come to expect absolute perfection from Hot Toys where paint is concerned. This is almost the case here. The face is beautifully painted in a realistic and nuanced way that my camera did not capture in all of its glorious detail (also, my lights tend to make the skin tone appear a little bit too yellowish). The boots are a work of art, with the metal parts sharply painted, while the leather parts are given a subtle weathering that makes them look worn. The utility boxes on the belt also display a worn effect on their shiny silverish surfaces. The admittedly not very complex work on the helmet and the chest- and back-armor is very sharp. The accessories (more on them below) are also nicely painted and given some weathering.

But there are several minor problems. The first of these is by design. Recently, Hot Toys has been painting many of their head sculpts glancing sideways: the new Star Lord and the first Harley Quinn are good examples. This does instantly give the head sculpt more character and inherent animation, but it limits its adaptability to different poses and scenes (similarly with the wide grins of the same Harley Quinn and General Zod). In cases like this, for this price and in a perfect world, one should get two head sculpts: one in a more neutral state, the other as wacky as Hot Toys wants to make it. That is what we got, for example, with King Leonidas from 300. And, if they don't want to do this without increasing the price even more, then they should probably go with the more neutral eyes and sculpt, reserving the alternative for an exclusive. As much as I like the character, I do not want to purchase two Jyn Erso figures, especially at Hot Toys prices.

The other two problems I spotted are not by design. The hair is painted in what appears to be a flat brown color (unlike, apparently, the deluxe version). It may be technically accurate, but the result seems flat and rather artificial, detracting from the realism of the sculpt. Worse yet, the painting of the gloved hands, where one sees both leather glove surface and protruding flesh (mostly the fingers), is not quite as perfect as one might expect it to be: in some places, the brown color for the leather gloves bleeds a little onto the fingers. It is a minor problem, and one has to look carefully to spot it, but it is there.

Articulation - ***
Like so many other Hot Toys action figures these days, one is tempted to start with: "The underlying body has all the usual good articulation, but it is limited by the outfit." I have been generous enough in my ratings of this in the past, but I am getting tired of doing so. Yes, action figures like this are expensive collectibles that are likely to be displayed in a static pose; but being action figures, they should be poseable. There are two issues with the articulation here: the ankles and the thighs. The ankles are restricted, as so often, by the sculpted boots. The boots here, admittedly, are not easy to segment into a shoe + greave combination, but something should have been done or attempted. Hot Toys has segmented boots before (for example on their Thor figures), or used very soft plastic (for example on the Christopher Reeve Superman). As it is, Jyn has some problems standing in even medium-animated stances.

The other problem is the articulation at the thighs. When trying to pose this figure, I discovered that she could not really be made to sit properly except with extreme and possibly damaging effort. I thought it was a problem with the padding that has become typical to insert under the pants. After taking the photos, I investigated further, partly undressing the figure (Hot Toys states that it is not made to be undressed!), and discovering that she had a full body suit under the uniform. The two superimposed continuous layers of clothing, possibly combining with something in the design of the underlying body, get in the way of proper thigh articulation. While we do not see her sitting around in this particular outfit in the film, this is a very annoying limitation.

Accessories - ***
Compared to the deluxe version, this Jyn Erso figure is relatively poorly accessorized. To be honest, that is not unreasonable for this iteration of the character, based on what we see onscreen. However, quality and detail issues kept me from giving this category another half star. There is only one accessory that does not form part of the fully-kitted out figure: the blaster. It is nicely sculpted and textured (with smooth, reflective scope lenses), and given a suitable weathering. There are only three hand sculpts apart from the relaxed pair of hands that comes on the body in the box: a right gun-grip hand, and a pair of sword- (or rather baton-) grip hands. Although nicely sculpted, they are not painted quite as sharply as one might have hoped (see above). Hot Toys included a spare pair of female wrist pegs, just in case the ones on the arms go rogue on you. There is also a standard action figure stand. Then there are the extra items needed to create the full imperial ground crew look. These are a second, helmeted head (perfectly sculpted and painted), and a pair of air-traffic-control batons. They are nicely sculpted, painted, and weathered, and attach to the grooves in the back armor magnetically.

The quality issue I mentioned has to do with one of the batons and the chest- and back-armor. With the slightest provocation one of the batons fell apart into its tip and handle components. It had apparently come unglued and was easily repaired with super glue. Something along the same lines happened to the armor. The loops under the arms coming from the bottom of the chest-armor connect to the underside of the back-armor by both snapping into place and being held by glue. Here, too, the glue became undone with alarming ease. I don't mind as much (gave me a chance to explore the underlying clothing), but it does seem to indicate some slippage in terms of quality.

Finally, if the helmeted head is an accessory, I should point out that it does not have quite the detail we have come to expect from these with Hot Toys. Until recently, at least, Hot Toys provided translucent lenses for helmets (like Stormtroopers, Death Troopers, etc.). This was a very nice (if not entirely necessary) touch, but it seems like they have moved away from that. Their recent Shoretrooper and Death Star Gunner have non-translucent lenses, and that is the case with this product. This is a disappointing development, and does not seem counterbalanced by a lower price. Moreover, in the film we see Jyn Erso lowering her helmet's visor so that we could see her eyes. There is no way to replicate this look with the included sculpted head, although one would expect it to be within Hot Toys' ability to pull off (witness the various interchangeable eyes and lower faces of recent Batman and Deadpool figures).

Outfit - ***1/2
The outfit consists of both sculpted and cloth goods, and its various elements have been mentioned before under sculpt, paint, articulation, and accessories. Careful screening of the film indicates that Jyn's imperial disguise is actually incomplete: she kept her own brown fingerless gloves and own brown boots. The official uniform had black gloves and black boots, but it is of course Jyn's composite outfit that we get with the figure. The cloth uniform is very nicely done, with a great deal of tiny stitching. There is a zipper in the front and a buttoned collar. The imperial emblem is displayed in minute and film-accurate textured detail on both shoulders. I did not explore the velcro fittings of the underlying white body suit. For the upper body, the outfit does not restrict the articulation very much, but (as noted above), the two layers of continuous clothing get in the way of thigh articulation, almost completely preventing the figure from keeping wide stride stances or sitting properly, except with the greatest of effort. Surely that could have been done a little better. The ends of the sleeves and pant legs tend to ride up to expose the much lighter underlying bodysuit, something I do not recall from the film.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
This is hard to gauge. The difficulties with some of the articulation (especially the ankles) would rather lend themselves to a Frustration Factor category. On the other hand, the figure is beautifully made and would make a perfect companion to a K-2SO figure and (if it existed) a Cassian Andor one. An adult collector should have plenty of options as to what to do with this figure when it comes to posing and display.

Value - **1/2
Retailing at about $220, this is not quite as expensive as the deluxe version, but then again it comes with fewer accessories. If (if!) one accepts the current pricing of Hot Toys products as reasonable, then the price is not unreasonable, compared to recent releases (for example, it is only $10-15 more than the Death Star Gunner; of course, a Star Wars license probably costs quite a lot). It does provide what is essentially a second head (the helmeted one), but between the sideways glance of the eyes and the minor problems in several categories, one might have hoped for a lesser price or for an even better product.

Things to Watch Out For -
Those poorly glued plastic items, like the batons or the closure under the back armor, unless these problems were limited to my figure; they are reparable. The female wrist pegs are reasonably resilient, but just in case Hot Toys included a spare pair in the box. Be careful with the belt, which Hot Toys unnecessarily glued and might tear if you try to open it. Remember that the outfit is not intended to be removed or modified, so proceed with caution if you decide to investigate or customize.

Overall - ***
Despite some minor misgivings with various aspects of the product, I am happy I got this collectible. I do wish the articulation was less impeded, and that the nice touches Hot Toys is capable of delivering (like translucent visors and alternate face pieces) had been employed with this figure. As it is, what could have been excellent work becomes merely good work. Nevertheless, it is more than just passable, and a nice addition to any sixth-scale Star Wars collection.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has her for $220.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Recent Hot Toys Rogue One (or relevant) sixth scale action figure reviews on this website have included: Jyn Erso Deluxe, K-2SO, TIE Fighter Pilot, Death Trooper Specialist Deluxe, Shore Trooper, Chirrut Imwe, Stormtrooper, Death Trooper Specialist, Darth Vader, Jedha Patrol Stormtrooper.

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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