Friday, November 11, 2011

Star Wars Figure of the Day: Day 1,673: Plourr Ilo

PLOURR ILO & Dllr Nepp
30th Anniversary Collection Shared Exclusive Comic Pack
Item No.:
No. 93272
Manufacturer: Hasbro
Number: n/a
Includes: Helmet, blaster, extra figure, comic book
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $17.99
Availability: March 2010
Appearances: X-Wing Rogue Squadron comic books

Bio: Plourr Ilo and Dllr Nep are X-Wing pilots in Rogue Squadron. Plourr is a princess who joins the Rebel Alliance to fight the Empire. The Sullustan pilot Dllr Nep takes part in several dangerous missions during his time with the elite squadron. (Taken from the figure's packaging.)

Image: Adam's old back yard.

Commentary: Before being dumped at Ross, Plourr Ilo was a shared exclusive sold mostly, perhaps exclusively, to online distributors. It was originally developed for Wal-Mart as an exclusive until they objected to some language in the comic book, which I found amusing given what appears in various other forms of media I've purchased at the store over the years.

Anyway, this is a good figure. Plourr makes use of the increasingly popular female pilot body from 2008, which has been used on no fewer than four characters so far. It's a good design-- it's one of the few Rebel pilot molds to sport a working holster, plus it's just generally pleasing. The figure can basically stand and sit just fine, although the plastic leg straps are an increasing annoyance for those of us who actually use pilots as vehicle drivers.

Her head is really the only new element, which turns a bald chick into bald chic. (Eh? Eh??? Eh.) The sculpt is pretty good, but where Hasbro knocked this one out of the park was in its deco-- the face is actually (for the scale, heavily) made-up with red lipstick and a lot of rosey coloring which serves as a contrast to her shiny bald head. As figure head deco goes, particularly in humans, this is some of Hasbro's best work. It feels more real because of the paint, the fact that they painted her mug rather than leave it a plain plastic color makes it feel like a premium figure. If Hasbro spent the half-cent per face on its Vintage figures, they could probably add a lot of value to them visually which, at $10 a whack, would be nice. But we're talking about Plourr, and Plourr is good.

Collector's Notes: I've seen this set dumped at Ross for about six bucks after it was sold online for a few months, meaning the secondary market price should be somewhere in the middle. If you can get it cheap-- under $10-- this is a fantastic 2-pack you simply must own. (If you love pilots, I mean, it's fantastic.)

--Adam Pawlus



Day 1,673: November 11, 2011

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