Review of Chirrut Imwe - Star Wars Rogue One
Deluxe Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

I enjoyed Force Awakens. Yea, some people complained, but it was nothing like the travesty that was the prequels.  It was clearly derivative though, and while it was a 'safe' movie, it wasn't telling much of a new story. And then came Rogue One...and Star Wars was back, baby!

One of my favorite characters was the blind bad ass Chirrut Imwe, as played by Donnie Yen. Most folks know Mr. Yen from the Ip Man flicks, but if you were unaware of him, he made a lasting impression in his turn in the latest Star Wars saga.

Hot Toys is finally giving us something other than a Stormtrooper (although don't worry, I have reviews of two more of those coming up this week), and it's very welcome.  Of course, he doesn't come cheap, but there are two versions - the regular runs around $210, and a deluxe (with extra goodies) for $245. I'm covering the deluxe tonight, and I'll point out the differences in the Accessories section.

Packaging - ***1/2
The now standard outer slip cover doesn't do much for me, but underneath is a surprise. Instead of a standard box, or a five panel box closed by magnets, you get a five panel box...closed by a small piece of fake bone, slipped through a loop!  Very Imwe inspired, and a nice touch. The graphics are good as well, and the overall color and tone of the interior box matches up nicely with the character.

Even with the deluxe version, the figure and accessories are all held in one plastic tray, which is completely collector friendly.

Sculpting - ****
I used three images to compare - this one during battle, this one being contemplative, and a happy shot, just for giggles.

We have another excellent likeness from the folks at Hot Toys.  It checks off all three boxes in my normal human portrait review - accuracy, realism, and emotive.

It's clearly accurate - this is Mr. Yen as Imwe.  The shape of the nose, the style of hair, even the chin and jawline, mirrors the look of the actor extremely well.

A ton of small, fine detail work helps with the realism. Short hair is always easier to sculpt than long, but they still went crazy with the fine strands. Add in a subtle transition between the hair and skin and you have a tremendously realistic coiffure.

The detail work on the skin texture is equally insane, including the wrinkles on the neck. This is a one piece neck/head sculpture, which can add to the realism (but take away from the Articulation).

Finally, there's the emotive aspect.  Too often, we get mannequin head sculpts, with no 'life'. That isn't a problem here, where they managed to capture just the right amount of squint, just the right tension in the face, to add life without going over the top. That's particularly important with this character, since he didn't allow his emotions to show on his face in any extreme way.

He's a little shorter than the normal figure, which is accurate for the character. Imwe comes in at 11 1/2" tall.

He has a number of additional hands, and they are the only downside to the otherwise fantastic sculpting.  Several open hands have E.T. fingers, a problem Hot Toys has struggled with in the past.

Paint - ****
The outstanding sculpt is supported with outstanding paint. This is the one area where I think other up and coming sixth scale companies are still struggling, and capturing this extremely realistic, extremely consistent production paint remains tricky, even for Hot Toys at times.

The transition from hair to skin is critical with a short style like this, yet they pull it off beautifully. The skin tone looks good, and there's the right variation in the lips.  The eyebrows are excellent, and even the area around the eye is just about perfect. One of the areas where they still have the occasional problem is with bleed around the eyes, but there's no problem this time.

In fact, it's the arresting 'blind' eyes that make this figure. The slightly foggy appearance is extremely well done, and takes the overall portrait over the top.

Articulation - ***1/2
While the underlying TrueType body has all the articulation you expect and all the standard body joints work pretty much as intended, he still loses a bit thanks to two areas.

As I said, the arms, legs, and torso all have the full array of joints, and they work smoothly. They are tight enough to maintain deep stances and extreme poses over time, and while a display base is included, it isn't necessary to keep him upright.

I found that the wrists worked particularly well this time, which is a key area for him, particularly when posing with the staff.  The left hands are sculpted to allow greater movement, even with the hard plastic armor on the back of the hand.

But there are two areas where more articulation would have been helpful. First, the ankles. The boots are quite short, and shouldn't create a lot of issues for the ankles. But I was unable to get much rocker movement out of them, making it tough for the feet to be flat on the ground in deeper stances.

Of course, the second area is the neck. While the one piece head/neck sculpt can look better, it also means less tilt and lean in the head itself.  The lower neck joint is buried pretty deep in the torso too, restricting it quite a bit. This means there was very little tilt in the head, a big negative for me. It means less realism in the stances when the head is forced into a straighter pose with the body.

Accessories - ***1/2
I'm checking out the deluxe version - I'll point out the extras he has over the regular when we get to them.

Both versions come with a good set of hands, nine in total. There's the fists he comes wearing, a gun grip right, a staff grip right, and a splayed right. On the left side, he has two different staff grip hands, and two different splayed hands. They all swap easily, and there's a couple extra wrist pegs just in case.

Both versions also have two weapons - his staff with extra metal bits added, and his bow blaster. The blaster has a strap so he can wear it over his shoulder, and it's quite articulated. The handle is extendable AND rotates 360 degrees.  The sides of the bow move in and out as well, providing a lot of different ways he can hold it and display it.

The sculpt work on both the bow and the staff is excellent, as you'd expect. Lots of small details, and lots of attention was paid to creating extremely realistic looking weapons.

Here's where the regular release and the deluxe part ways. The regular includes a simple black display base with the movie logo, similar to what we've gotten with other basic releases. The deluxe includes a sculpted base with support, more in line with a diorama. This one has a small 'puddle', several rocks, a stump, and a few plants growing out of the dirt.

The deluxe also includes a Stormtrooper helmet, a trophy from a battle I suppose. It's simply a helmet from another figure, with nothing particularly unique or interesting about it. In fact, the diorama base leaves me pretty cold, due to it's very small size and it's high gloss paint job on the rocks and tree stump. This is one of those rare situations where the extras provided with the deluxe model aren't worth the extra cash required - around $35 in this case.

EDIT - as a reader pointed out, this is a re-used base from a Predator figure from several years ago. Yea, that makes it all the worse.

Outfit - ***1/2
The outfit consists of the short boots, the pants, an inner red tunic, and a long outer coat. There is a combo chest/waist belt that includes the hanging 'pack'. There's also a cape of sorts attached to the back of this rig.

The material used is excellent, with various types for various layers.  The quality is excellent, and the tailoring just about perfect. It isn't too restrictive either, allowing for most fighting stances.

The plastic band on his left arm looks good and is tightly attached, but the attachment on the gauntlet isn't quite as good. It's really only tacked to the sleeve at the front. This makes it easier to move around, but I was constantly worried that I'd pull it free when swapping hands. Be sure to take care with it.

The belt is also a bit of a let down overall. It's quite plain looking, almost to the point of looking a little cheap.  It's a minor nit to be sure - overall, the outfit looks great - but as an individual piece, it's my least favorite aspect.

Fun Factor - ***1/2
Pose, re-pose, and pose again. You'll be able to surround Imwe with Troopers - Hot Toys has made sure of that - and create the ultimate battle scene. Assuming of course you have the real estate for something that epic.

Value - **
Remember, I'm grading the deluxe here. There's simply no way this figure is worth $245. It's a nice figure, but not worth $25 more than the market average right now.

However, the regular is a completely different story.  At $210, you're getting all the best parts, and getting it for a price below average.  I'd go three stars on the value for the regular, and I recommend going that route if you can.

Things to Watch Out For -
I mentioned the gauntlet on the left forearm earlier. It is attached to the sleeve at the front, near the wrist. Don't squeeze or hold this piece while swapping hands - hold the sleeve itself instead.

Everything else, including the blaster, is well made and sturdy. You should have no problems under normal conditions.

Overall - ***1/2
If you're like me, you like having different characters on the shelf, not the tenth or twelfth or hundredth Stormtrooper or Iron Man. Yes, I've bought that many Stormtroopers and Iron Men too, but I always prefer a new and interesting character like Chirrut.  It also helps that it's Donnie Yen, a terrific actor and martial artist.

The regular version is the better release this time, something I don't say very often. The extras that come with the deluxe really aren't worth the extra $35 or so, but it might be tough finding the regular now. People were smart, and they jumped on that release early.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has the deluxe for $245.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
The last Hot Toys Star Wars figure I looked at was the Death Trooper Specialist. Before that I had the most recent Darth Vader, as well as the Jedha Patrol Trooper. Just prior to that, I covered the Resistance Outfit Rey and the regular Rey with BB-8, a fantastic set.

I've covered lots of other Hot Toys Star Wars figures, including the Battlefront Shock Trooper, Finn and Riot Control Trooper, Captain Phasma, the FO Flametrooper, the FO Snowtroopers, and the First Order Shock Trooper, and of course their regular Imperial Stormtroopers. Other Hot Toys Star Wars figures include Kylo Ren, Darth Vader, C-3PO, Tatooine Luke Skywalker, Luke in his Stormtrooper Disguise, Obi-Wan Kenobi, and Han and Chewbacca from ANH. If you'd like a bit more of a regular Shock Trooper, they've done him as well, along with a Blackhole version.

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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