When you make a list of all the best Jedi, Mr. Koon probably doesn’t ran in the top 5. Unless you’re his mom. But he was considered an ass kicker even amongst other Jedi, and there’s no doubt he has one Hell of a cool alien appearance. He’s a Kel Dor, and has to wear protective goggles and breather whenever he’s in oxygen rich atmospheres, which in the world of Star Wars is pretty much all the time.

Gentle Giant has finally added him to their Star Wars mini-bust series, in a limited edition run of 4500. Yea, I know – that’s not too limited, but he might just be a cool enough bust to sell through. Expect to pay around $45 for him, and he’s available now.

Gentle Giant Plo Koon mini-bust

Packaging – ***
These use the new dull 30th anniversary colors of gray and black – did I mention that these were dull? However, there’s some good points. There’s a nice window that allows you to see the bust, which is always a plus for me. Also, there’s the usual GG baseball card style Certificate of Authenticity. And of course, the interior foam is designed to keep Plo and his saber nice and safe. So while it’s not perfect, it’s better than average.

Sculpting – ****
The sculpt is extremely well done, with some wonderful skin texture and amazing small detail work on the breather and claws. The robe itself doesn’t have any texturing, which some fans may end up not liking, but it is consistent with other GG mini-busts.

While he’s not quite as impressive as Chewbacca, he certainly ranks up there with Maul and some of the Jedi released previously. Because he has such an interesting face and skin texture, they could get more detail and style in this bust than a more boring human, and they took advantage of it.

If you haven’t picked these up before, they stand around 6″ tall, and they are close to sixth scale from the waist up. Close, but they are a smidge small when compared to something like the Sideshow Star Wars line.

Paint – ***1/2
The paint doesn’t quite rank up there with the sculpt, but it’s still well above average. I was actually a little worried when I saw him through the window of the box, because the paint looked too washed out. However, once I had him out of the box, I was much more impressed.

They used a wash to pull out the cool sculpt of the freaky skin and head, and did some amazing paint work on the finger nails. There’s also a nice range of colors here, both light and dark, that adds some nice pop to the shelf.

All the paint is well applied of course, with clean cuts between colors and no slop whatsoever.

Design – ****
These mini-busts can be tough to design. Jedi’s are men of action, especially Plo Koon, who felt that justice was best served violent. But with only half a body, how do you manage to pull of the perfect pose? This bust answers that question. They did a perfect job with the pose of the arms, head and even the flow of the hood on the back of his robes. This is the best Plo Koon we’ve ever gotten (although the Sideshow 12″ version may end up giving him a run for his money), and fans should be very happy.

Value – ***
Most mini-busts run around $40 to $45 these days, and GG sets the bar for quality in sculpt and paint. Usually. This mini-bust is an excellent example of GG at their best, and as such, gets a better than average value rating.

Things to Watch Out For –
I had a bit of an issue getting the saber together. It’s a very tight fit, which is a good thing due to the angle that he’s holding it at, but you’ll want to use a slow twisting movement to get it to fit the first time.

Overall – ***1/2
This is a great looking bust, and will fit in perfectly with the rest of the series. Of course, only the regular buyers of the GG Star Wars mini-busts is going to pick this guy up – seriously, how many Plo Koon only fans are there? All three of you can write me and complain, but the rest of us know he ain’t no Boba Fett.

Where to Buy –
Online is your best bet, unless your LCS gets these in regularly. Options include:

– Alter Ego Comics has him at $42.49.

– Dark Shadow Collectibles has him in stock at $40.

– Amazing Toyz has him in stock for $43.99.

– CornerStoreComics has him as well for $43.99.

– Hero Hunt has him in at $44.99.

– and for the U.K. readers, there’s always Forbidden Planet, who has him for 32.99 pounds.

Related Links –
I’ve covered a fair share of GG Star Wars busts and statues:

– the most recent was the excellent Chewbie and Darth Maul, the poor Qui-Gon, Palpatine, and Lando in Skiff Disguise.

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