Review of Death Trooper Specialist Deluxe
Star Wars Rogue One Sixth Scale Action Figure

Introduction

Bleeding collectors dry by releasing every possible Stormtrooper variation has been a long standing tradition with every company that has produced collectibles based on the films. For Hot Toys, it's no different. Star Wars Rogue One brought with it a plethora of new military characters, including the Death Trooper.

There are three versions of this particular Trooper available from Hot Toys. Since it can be kind of confusing, I'm going to use the same description of the three here that I used in my previous review of the Death Trooper Specialist. There's a basic version, the 'specialist' (which I reviewed earlier), and the deluxe specialist (which is the subject of tonight's review). Here's the breakdown of differences, as far as I can tell:

- the basic figure includes a basic stand, standard armor, four lights on the helmet, and three blasters (two rifles, one pistol). This guy retails for around $220.

- the Specialist upgrades to the fancier Rogue One display stand, includes the chest rigging with pouches and explosives along with the shoulder pouches, but does not include the largest blaster rifle or the lights at the side of the helmet. He retails for around $235.

- the Specialist Deluxe upgrades the display base further to a rocky diorama style, does include all the lights AND the chest rigging with the explosives AND the shoulder pouches, but only has two of the three blasters. He is missing the blaster that comes with the regular specialist, of course.  He also has one extra no one else has: the cute little Stormtrooper doll. As the most outfitted, he costs the most, coming in around $250.

In simple terms, they took two of the guns from the basic model along with his helmet, added the pouches and rigging from the Specialist, and threw in two new accessories to create the Deluxe. And there you have the definition of 'bleeding you dry'.

Packaging - ***
This shoe box design is identical to other recent releases like the Shoretrooper, with the cigar band label added to the cover. Inside is an attractive interior cover over a single plastic tray that holds the figure and all the accessories. Everything is collector friendly of course, but there's a lot of plastic wrap and foam pads on the figure itself to avoid damage in transit.

Sculpting - ***1/2
This is the same figure as the previous Specialist, although he does add the additional light on the side of the helmet that was only available with the regular Death Trooper before.

I'm still annoyed by the slightly undersized look of the helmet, but I have to admit that after comparing with enough screen shots, it looks accurate.  I'm thinking it's a more robotic, less human look they were going for, but I'm honestly not a fan of the design. Somehow it makes him less ominous, less dangerous looking.

The detail work is good, and there's even some sculpted wear and damage at certain points. The armor is sharply defined and cut, and gives off the impression of strength and solidity.  It's less restrictive on key joints, like the neck, elbows, and knees, then you might imagine, thanks to some smart engineering.  The body suit is a different story, but more on that in the Outfit section.

He's a big boy, standing 12 1/2" tall. The various hands are sculpted in specific poses to work with the weapons, but unfortunately the gun grips are a little too tight.  The grips on both weapons are fairly big, and getting them in the tight, hard hands can be tricky. It is possible if you take your time, however.

Paint - ***1/2
He has that basic Johnny Cash look going on, and it works well enough. Here's the funny thing - while this look usually is associated with a serious bad ass (think Darth Vader or the Terminator), it doesn't come off that way for me here. I'm not sure what it is - perhaps it's the bulky rigging on the chest that makes him look 'pudgy', perhaps I'm just not a fan of this design aesthetic - but it's not an intimidating figure.

There are some highlights and striping on the basic black that adds some detail and visual pop, and the bright, glossy surface is highly reflective. It's also a dust magnet, but that's not its fault.

Articulation - ***
As I mentioned earlier, the armor is less restrictive than you might imagine.  The underlying body suit, is not.

The rubbery ribbed suit effects the elbows the most, although the hips and knees are also less mobile than I'd like. The ankles and neck are the highlights, with a good range of movement in both areas.

As with the previous release (and the recent Shoretrooper), the biggest problem for this category is those damn wrists. The small pegs that go into the hands don't fit tightly enough. They could be a tad longer as well. This isn't a problem for a figure that lacks armor, but the hard plastic forearm pieces here push down on the hands and create pressure in almost every pose. The hands pop off with the slightest touch, making posing him far more frustrating than it needs to be, and reducing the number of possible hand poses.

Accessories - ***1/2
This guy has more stuff than either the regular Death Trooper or the Specialist, which is why he gets the 'deluxe' moniker.

He has seven hands, fewer I believe than the other two figures.  There's a set of fists, a set of gun grips, a set of medium grips, and a splayed left hand. These pop on and off too easily, thanks to the short, tiny wrist pegs.  There's a couple other wrist joints included as usual, but there's no real potential for breakage with this figure.

He has two guns - the same pistol blaster as the others, and one of the two large rifles (the DLT-19) that comes with the basic Death Trooper. The sculpts and paint work on both of these is fantastic, and the DLT-19 even has a moving 'slide'.

Since he has the chest rig, he also has the removable explosives. These pull apart slightly at the middle, and fit tightly in the elastic pouches. This version also has the extra ammo pouch that slips up on his left arm and onto the shoulder.

He does get one extra accessory that no one else has - the Stormtrooper doll that he picks up from the ground in the movie. It's really cute, with jointed limbs and a wooden appearance. I'm not sure it's worth buying another version, but it really is damn cute.

The other different - but not extra - accessory that this guy has is the rocky base. The previous Specialist had the newer black base with the small card, a step up from the even more basic black base with a logo or name plate, but the deluxe version has a more diorama-like stand. It's tiny, it's pretty simple, but it's still an upgrade. You can see it next to him in the LifeSizer photo above. Some people will prefer the stand/card that came with the non-deluxe Specialist for consistency - here's a photo from the previous review.

Light Feature - ***
All three Death Troopers have light up features on the helmets.  This guy has the same set of lights as the basic version - two small lights at the 'chin', a third smaller light to the left of the head, and a narrow blue light on the left side as well.

All three are powered by three batteries (included), and the battery compartment and switch are hidden under a skull cap. This cap is held in place by a magnet, but is easy to remove. Pop it off to switch the lights on and off or change the batteries, easy peasy. The only annoyance factor is the close proximity of the magnet and the battery compartment. This can make inserting the batteries tricky, since the magnet likes to pull them out of the compartment.

The light's aren't particularly bright and will be tough to see in normal room lighting. It's a better set up than the regular Specialist, but it's still not all that exciting.

Outfit - ***
I've already mentioned the high quality sculpt and paint work on the various armor pieces, so I won't get into that again here.  Instead, let's focus on the rigging, the body suit, and the belt.

The body suit is the thicker, ribbed, more rubbery material.  It's more restrictive than the cloth body suits we get with most original movie Stormtroopers, and I'm not a huge fan.  However, I'm not sure they have much choice, since they need to also get that ribbed appearance.

While the belt, rigging, and packs are bulky, they do look good. They have a modern military appearance, and add some visual interest to the otherwise consistent design.

I do hate the cheesy loop that serves as a holster on his right hip though, even if it is screen accurate. On the figure, it ends up looking cheap and silly.

Fun Factor - ***
He's a fun figure to pose, but you will get a bit frustrated with the limitations of the body suit and your constant replacing of the hands. Sure, these are minor nits, but they can affect your enjoyment of the figure, and certainly reduce your desire to mess with him more than once or twice.

Value - *1/2
This guy is the most expensive of the three, coming in at $250.  Considering the massive amount of part re-use and no new paint operations, you're spending that extra money on the upgraded stand (not an extra stand, since he doesn't get the more basic version), and the Stormtrooper doll. It's hard to justify a Hot Toys higher end price point on something like this.

Things to Watch Out For -
I mentioned the tight fit of the gun grips in the specifically designed hands.  Don't squeeze the guns when putting them in place, since there are plenty of small details that you could break with too much unintended pressure.

Overall - ***
This is a figure created from two others - take a gun and a helmet from the basic Death Trooper, add in the rigging and explosives from the Specialist, and throw in an upgraded base and one brand new extra, and voila! You have the 'deluxe'.

If you can only buy one, I'd buy this one. He covers the most ground with extras, although you'll still be missing a couple things. If you can only buy two, I'd go with the basic Death Trooper and this deluxe model, as that gets you *almost* everything.  The only thing you'll be missing is the Specialist helmet that does not have the lights on the left side, and the mid-grade stand. Of course, if money is no object and you're building the ultimate army, get all three and you'll have every base (literally) covered.

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

Where to Buy 
Online options include these site sponsors:

- Sideshow has him in stock for $250.

- or you can search ebay for a deal.

Related Links -
Obviously, you'll want to check out my review of the Death Trooper Specialist. Other recent Hot Toys Star Wars figures include the Shoretrooper, Chirrut Imwe, the most recent Darth Vader, the Jedha Patrol Trooper, 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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