I’m not sure why, but I pre-ordered this latest Black Series wave across multiple retailers and they are straggling in one at a time. In a way that’s nice because I have time to focus on each figure, though I was getting a little impatient for this guy. Let’s take a look at Black Series Plo Koon!
Don’t know what you got…’til it’s gone. Yes, I think of that old Cinderella tune every time I get one of these last OG style Black Series boxes with the grayscale artwork.
Plo comes with a Saber that looks like the one I remember him having. The detail is pretty good and I like the paint hits. It does not attach to the belt. I kind of wish they included a yellow blade with this one for nostalgia sake. It’s not canon, but the original figure had a yellow saber and he had one in Jedi Power Battles. It’s funny that I’m far enough away from the prequel era now that have nostalgia for it!
He also has a soft goods cloak, though you have to pop the head off to get this off since it’s sewn shut at the front. It resembles a hot toys version of Plo I’ve seen, but I’m more used to a deep V neck on Plo’s cloak. It can look like a blob of brown in neutral poses, but I like the way it hangs on him in action poses. The hood is humongous, but I like the way it lies flat against his back. I haven’t really figured out a good look for it up over his head.
Plo re-uses Mace Windu’s body, but I think it works really well here since they added nice new hands and a new neck piece. I’m so glad they added the new neck piece that gives him that sort of Turtle neck look he has across all his different costumes.
I’m not sure I really appreciated the Mace Windu figure at the time of original release, but it’s got very nice cloth texture detail and proportions.
I like that his right hand will grip the saber, but it’s also open enough to serve as a force push/mind trick hand. The head also has a great deal of detail packed into the ornate mask and Plo’s squishy alien head.
The figure also moves really well with:
- Swivel/hinge shoulders, elbows, hips, wrists, and ankles
- Double hinged knees
- Swivel thighs
- Butterfly hinged pecs
- Ball and socket waist, neck and head
The barbell ball joints in the head and neck allow for nice tilt and up/down range of motion and the softer outer vest and butterfly hinges help with saber holding poses.
Paint is good, though I do think the turtle neck section of the robe should be a more mustard yellow. I like how they used wash to bring out those alien details in the head and the metallic they used on the mask is perfect.
Overall I think Plo Koon turned out pretty darn Plo Cool and they did a good job re-using previous figures here. I’m so glad to add another Jedi to the shelf, especially the more unique alien designs like Plo and Kit. In a lot of ways the Jedi Council is the Cantina or Jabba’s Palace of the Prequel Trilogy and I’m all for the wilder designs getting figures.
