Plo Koon’s Jedi Starfighter - TCW [SOTDS] - Vehicles

A Delta-7B starfighter is one of the ships flown by Jedi Master Plo Koon during the Clone Wars. Jedi starfighters are modified throughout the conflict to adapt them to changing needs. The Delta-7B's chief modification is a centralized socket that can hold a separate astromech droid. Plo Koon flies a Delta-7B fighter during the mission to destroy the Separatist warship Malevolence.

If you read our Research Droids Reviews column with any regularity, you know how meaningful it is to us when Filoni connects the dots to previously established alternate Clone Wars sources or the Star Wars films. Connecting the stories together is one of the most rewarding aspects of being a Star Wars fan. When we see recognizable stuff, it burns that “happiness” in our brains and from that we are able to appreciate The Clone Wars at new and more exciting levels. In one of the very earliest episodes of The Clone Wars, Filoni ensured this by entering an early model of Plo Koon’s Jedi Starfighter into the storyline. The color scheme and pattern of it looked exactly the same to what was seen in Tartakovsky’s Clone Wars micro-series in addition to the live action version seen by all in Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith. Of course, the one that appeared in Filoni’s The Clone Wars was unique. Modeled after Obi-Wan’s Jedi Starfighter (that came in the 2008 The Clone Wars toy line), it has been repainted in the immediately recognizable blue and white striped patterns that we’ve identified as belonging to Plo Koon.

What you may not know is that Plo Koon’s Jedi Starfighter actually has a name, the Blade of Dorin. The Blade of Dorin was a Delta-7B Aethersprite-class light interceptor named after the native planet of Kel Dor Jedi Master Plo Koon. It has a droid socket in the center right below the cockpit and can fit the various astromech droids that Hasbro has released in The Clone Wars line. (Editor’s Note: Collectors can rejoice because R7-D4 was finally released in the basic figure line almost a year later from the release of the vehicle.) First seen in the “Malevolence” story arc in the first season of The Clone Wars television show, Plo Koon and his astromech witnessed some of the toughest battle during the Clone Wars and thankfully his Jedi Starfighter was able to get him out of some very sticky situations. Plo Koon played another important role in a battle on Felucia where he came to the rescue of Warthog. (Editor’s Note: Clone Trooper Pilot Warthog was released in the 2011 TCW Deluxe line as part of the Y-wing Scout Bomber With Clone Trooper Pilot set.)

Plo Koon’s Jedi Starfighter is a very cool and functional vehicle. The previous model of the Jedi Starfighter just didn’t makes kids and collectors that happy because of the “permanent” droid. In this version, there is a fully working droid socket that can house a full sized astromech droid. The vehicle also has great play value. It splits into two separate vehicles which is something especially cool in the era of Transformers! Kids love building things and finding more than meets the eye and this feature has been done so well that it’s seamless for the collector. There are two firing missiles on the top of the vehicle and a firing cannon that can be tucked away when it’s not firing projectiles. We think the fact that this ship has two opening canopies; one for the pilot and one for the astromech droid is such a nifty design. And Hasbro worked both in so well to not affect the aesthetics of a screen accurate and very believable toy. We hope that more and more Jedi use this style of Jedi Starfighters in upcoming episodes of The Clone Wars because to date it is the best type of vehicle for the many Jedi we have in The Clone Wars line.