Plo Koon - SW [TPM 3D] - The Clone Wars (CW6)

Plo Koon fights to free an ice-covered world from the Separatists. The Jedi general wears a special mask to protect him from Khorm's harsh environment. Traction spikes make it easy for him to move quickly over the snow and ice, as he fights a ruthless warlord and battles droids who are controlling an important source of fuel.

For the life of us there are just some figures that we will never understand Hasbro reissuing. Perhaps the most powerful example of this would be 2012’s SW [TPM 3D] Plo Koon (CW6) which is a pretty much a straight repack of 2011’s TCW [SOTDS] Plo Koon (CW53) figure (plus or minus some very slight paint operation differences – but nothing too distinct). The figure was a huge peg-warmer in 2011 (if your area got these assortments) and the character is from an Expanded Universe source based on events surrounding The Clone Wars television show. Plus, the gear made Plo Koon look like a freak and many kids and collectors didn’t like the limited movement the figure had (despite being blessed with 18 points of articulation). We don’t know why we’re surprised by this. The Movie Heroes assortment was retail poison, so why wouldn’t Hasbro treat The Clone Wars sub-line in the same fashion? Admittedly, Hasbro got brave during the last few waves of The Clone Wars line during the "Shadow Of The Dark Side" phase of the line look. They were itching to dig their hands into the Expanded Universe interpretation of the events in The Clone Wars. So we understand why this cold weather version of Plo Koon exists. It just didn’t need to be reissued is all.

The figure itself is very interesting. That is the best one word description we can come up with because we honestly have never seen Plo Koon look this way. The sculpt is done very well and as mentioned earlier he comes with an impressive 18 points of articulation. Just keep in mind that his coat inhibits an unfortunate amount of movement. The good news is that he’s well centered and can stand up without any issues as well as well-accessorized to make both the kids and collectors very, very happy. What’s more, Hasbro seamlessly blended him into the basic figure line and to be quite honest with you, Plo Koon wouldn’t fit more at home in the line than if he appeared in the Battle of Orto Plutonia during the season 1 Trespass episode. And so far all of the “cold weather” The Clone Wars figures look fabulous together. That’s certainly one of the bonuses here. The head sculpt on the figure is nothing to sneer at either. This version of Plo Koon has the best The Clone Wars likeness of Plo Koon we have seen to date. Both the 2009 TCW [F/S1] Plo Koon (No. 14) figure and the Plo Koon from 2010’s TCW [SOTDS] Speeder Bike With Plo Koon Deluxe set had both their plusses and minuses. But one thing that bothered us about both of them was the way Hasbro decorated his skin color. Is was either too light, too dark or just plain too orange colored. This one is about perfect.

His parka is excellently sculpted and in an unexpected move, Hasbro has made the hood a separate accessory, similar to what we saw with 2010’s TCW [SOTDS] Anakin Skywalker (CW42) figure. It’s a nice option to have with Plo Koon too. One portion of this figure we’re not too keen on is the removable face mask. We know reference material exist for it, but Plo Koon is already wearing a gas mask to protect him from oxygen, does he really need another mask encumbering him? Apparently so. It also doesn’t attach as neatly as we’d like to see, but at least it stays in place unlike the removable gas mask that Hasbro included with the 2009 LC Plo Koon (BD45) figure. Just like the 2011 TCW [SOTDS] Kit Fisto (CW60) figure, Plo Koon comes with removable snow shoes that plug into the holes in his feet. They stay tightly in place and allow him to stand up without falling over. But we actually prefer to display this figure without them. This updated version of Plo Koon also comes with a revised Galactic Battle Game card, a tan display stand and a black and gold die. These pack-in premiums are almost overbearing at this point, but they’re also collectible, so maybe people don’t mind them. Expect this figure to collect dust. There are SO MANY other The Clone Wars figures that needed a second stab at retail before this one. We wonder if Hasbro will ever learn.