K-2SO (Kay-Tuesso) - TVC - Basic (VC340)

A reprogrammed Imperial security droid, K-2SO is an effective insertion agent, as he can blend in perfectly at Imperial installations and outposts.)

Hasbro hopes that a nameplate change, a character photo change, or an Entertainment logo is enough to pull the wool over the eyes of its collector base. It seems more than ever that Hasbro is turning The Vintage Collection into a line that seeks to deceive its fanbase instead of engage it and elate it. Unfortunately, that’s what comes to mind when we check out K-2SO (Kay-Tuesso), a fine action figure that needed more notable changes before Hasbro packaged it up for the second time. K-2SO (Kay-Tuesso) isn’t a bad action figure and likely needed a second chance at retail. But why do the exercise of repackaging a figure as something new instead of re-releasing it as they do for so many other figures? K-2SO (Kay-Tuesso) arrives in “Andor” labeling with a new character photo. And while we do see some changes in the paint operations, it looks like this droid is receiving battle damage in the same manner it did in Rogue One. The tooling of the action figure appears to be holding up well, and we expect to see this figure a few more times before it goes into the vault.

For the 2016 Rogue One line, K-2SO was one of the first figures produced. For a figure that came with simple articulation, Hasbro made an admirable effort with it. The 5POA RO K-2SO figure impressed us despite its limitations. Instead of one-plane swivel articulation, Hasbro worked in ball-socket articulation to the older K-2SO action figure, but collectors didn’t seem to care. But with a super-articulated release of the character, now we care. Aesthetically, this simple design is mostly how this character functions, but getting a super-articulated version is what collectors wanted to see. Because of the range of motion, the articulation offers this K-2SO (Kay-Tuesso) figure; collectors wanted to see what Hasbro could do with the character if they released a version of the droid in The Vintage Collection. Anyone knows this droid needs elbow and knee articulation, and the only figure at that time that had it was The Black Series 6-inch figure. We liked the figure, but we wanted to love it. K-2SO has articulation in the head, including a ball-socket joint for the head and a reverse ball-socket joint for the neck.

This approach allows you to make the figure look down and around and turn the head. The amount of movement here, just in the head sculpt, is staggering. We’re thankful that Hasbro threw collectors a small bone here. On top of decent articulation, Hasbro tooled an impressive sculpt. This figure looks exactly like the on-screen character. The ridges, lines, shapes, and detail are beyond exceptional. The paint operations are overall quite lovely, but we think Hasbro could apply them with a little more precision. K-2SO has a slightly different paint job this time but the same stains and battle damage, so it looks much like its predecessor.  Hasbro, for instance, removed the stain from the figure’s face this time. The figure can stand in action and pose well, making us happy collectors. K-2SO (Kay-Tuesso) comes with a blaster pistol. Hasbro tooled both K-2SO’s hands to accommodate the blaster pistol as needed. The plastic used still feels a bit too pliable. And to make matters worse, K-2SO has very tight joints. We usually appreciate incredibly tight joints, but Hasbro cast the figure in soft plastic, and it feels like you’ll break it at EVERY joint. The action figure has 28 fantastic points of articulation!