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holyscream
Two or three photos in this post are horrifically grainy because I messed up the ISO settings on my camera while unboxing. I apologize in advance to your eyes.
Back in 2022, if you were interested in the Chinese scale figure market or non-ero OC figures, you might have come across the prototypes for a set of 1/7 scale figures by then brand-new manufacturer Fluo: Platonica and Luminoustar.
(To skip my rambling and get to the review keep scrolling until you see photos. TL;DR rating is way down at the end.)
Based on an illustration by Tiv, the pair was dressed in cute color-coordinated outfits with one leaning more feminine and the other more sporty and could be displayed by themselves or together with their pinkies interlocking. I saw someone describe them as a case of siblings-or-dating which I can’t unsee anymore, but think is cute either way. (and I guess both ways if that is your cup of tea, lol. kinktomato 🙏🏽)
It seemed like a fun concept and as someone whose main figure collecting interest has become OC figures showcasing nice outfits, I was quite curious to see how Luminoustar would turn out. I didn’t enjoy Platonica’s style as much and getting two figures just because they were an optional set seemed excessive. I ended up not playing a preorder anyways as I’d almost reached my figure budget for the year and didn’t love the design enough to sacrifice what wiggle room I had left. Lumi went onto one of my “maybe someday” wish lists and that was that.
Fast forward to summer 2025—I’m impatiently waiting to pay the remaining balance for two unrelated Hpoi preorders when I remember that the Fluo figures must’ve released by now. Wondering if any large Taobao stores have Lumi in stock for a good price I check the Hpoi database listing only to be greeted by a figure that was apparently cancelled—two years after it was commercially released. There are user photos and even a discounted AmiAmi listing still up. Odd.
So, what happened?
According to (a DeepL translation of) Hpoi and posts on Fluo’s Weibo account, manufacturing issues caused production to have only a 10% viability rate, and the factory involved wasn’t taking responsibility. You can read the company’s statements here:
Apology Statement: weibo.com/77439...
Statement regarding QC Issues: weibo.com/77439...
You know it’s bad when a company is posting text message screenshots on their official communications channel.
But I’m not here to verify manufacturer issues in a language I don’t even speak; I’m here to look at their results—and those are… not great. In some user pictures of the official release the figures look like their own bootlegs. There are paint and molding defects on many units and some close-ups look like shots of old trading figures. The hands don’t even touch because the arms are misaligned, and even if they were posed as intended, the warping of the sleeves’ shape would likely prevent the hands from meeting anyways.
It’s bad, especially when you remember that people had preordered these figures for about 90 EUR each at the time.
The manufacturer did announce that they were planning a rerelease with better quality, then postponed it multiple times and offered refunds (through retailers) to those unwilling to wait any longer, but things have been quiet for a while and, as mentioned above, Hpoi has listed both figures as cancelled for a few months now. It wouldn’t surprise me if the financial and reputational hit was just too big for Fluo to overcome.
A Bargain Hunter’s Dream
Now, I wasn’t going to spend 90 EUR on a glorified prize figure again, but thankfully I didn’t have to: According to Hpoi users, apparently this event and the financial loss for those who had invested in preorders eventually resulted in a sort of reverse bidding war between figure stores of who could offer the pair at the cheapest price possible—with the price currently fluctuating around 120 RMB, approx. 15 EUR per figure. Considering that the original asking price was 6 times higher, that’s a pretty good deal even with the imperfections of the figures factored in. If one were particularly lucky one might even get a figure that looks close to its prototype—ignoring the face and hair, that is; I’ve yet to see one that looked even remotely like the prototype in that department.
Once I found a well-reviewed Taobao store with (presumably) real product photos that offered a Luminoustar/Platonica bundle, it didn’t take long to decide on getting both. After all, they now covered almost all of my figure interests:
- They were OCs,
- had sculpted bases with a small footprint,
- their design was fashion-focused,
- with details such as miniature bags with charms,
- and they were an affordable option in their market segment.
Plus, the manufacturing woes made for an interesting backstory to add to my sub-collection of “QC nightmares I was originally excited for”.
anger vortex
Remember that time Taito cut out the middleman and just produced and sold their own figure’s bootleg directly to their customers? Seriously, every time I look at my Precious f Miku, I’m newly surprised by just how terrible it is. I paid almost 90 EUR for this on 7net! And that’s in 2019-Euros, not 2025 ones! They sold this! For money! Can you believ—
Anyways, after ordering and consolidating them with other Chinese releases in a proxy shipment, my anticipation for the two was through the roof. What was I going to get? Warping? Paint defects? Dirt? The only two units that magically looked exactly like the prototypes? When they finally arrived on Monday, like my very own convoluted form of gacha, I got to find out what rank I pulled.
End of Rambling : Time to Review
Nice boxes, even if the typography is Placeholder Basic. The blisters were only held together by the strips of tape but there was a lot of protective wrapping and padding around the figures.
To my genuine surprise I really liked these two. Aside from the hand gap and the infamous faces I’ve struggled to find things wrong with them that didn’t require an up-close inspection and zooming in on my photos. There are minimal paint issues and one frayed seamline under a sleeve, but that’s it for the most part. I saw lots of people say that they look better in real life than in photos and I have to agree; I personally think the production faces look downright awful in almost all photos but in real life they “merely” look different from the prototype.
The hats are removable, but they both have a serious case of hat hair, so I’m not sure I’d count this as an actual display option.
The hand misalignment viewed from the side. This is what it looks like with the bases perfectly flush.
The most visible painting imperfections are on Lumi’s zipper and belt details.
I was impressed with the level of detail on both figures; the decals on their clothes are detailed and sharp, if a bit grainy, the bags look great with the backpack even containing books, and even the finish and paintjob of the trinkets is clean and well done. Since the outfits are the most important aspect to me, this is enough to make this whole gamble a win.
My Platonica’s load-bearing foot has some gaps between the sock and shoe.
Even the underwear matches their fashion styles. Attention to detail!
As you can see above, I had to really angle the camera to even see anything, so if (like me) you’re not really into panty shots, you can feel secure in the knowledge that, despite their short skirts, these figures can be displayed slightly above eye level without immediately flashing you.
Oh, and each figure comes bundled with its respective human-sized hat:
These shall join the Racing Miku 2024 snapback in my collection of “perplexing hat bonuses”.
I only have one bundle box to show you because I had Superbuy remove the other to save space in the giant parcel the figures were part of. :(
Closing Thoughts
I’m glad I got both figures after all. The two complement each other well and while I would never have bought Platonica for 90 EUR, 30 is an insane bargain for a genuinely nice 1/7 scale duo. Zero regrets there.
But the thing is, of course, that I knew what I was getting into—that I might end up with figures of prize figure quality that don’t match their prototypes in at least two substantial ways. I had seen the photos of scuffs, painting errors, seam lines, and other QC issues that less fortunate buyers had posted before making my purchase. If I had instead preordered Luminoustar for her original price, the face discrepancy alone would have left me pretty damn pissed.
Now, if anyone wants to take a gamble on these two in hopes of receiving nice ones, too, I’d recommend buying them on Taobao rather than spending over 100 EUR with western retailers for something that might end up being below Pop Up Parade quality. AmiAmi currently seems to list them at a decent discount as well.
If you’d be happy with just the artwork of these lovely character designs, Tiv’s eponymous double art book (ISBN 9784758068352) with its illustrated slipcase might be a safer choice. And should you be looking for a cute figure duo whose hands actually touch like in their promotional pictures, might I recommend these two:
Toilet Bro; Get Your Shit Together – My Friend Rabbit Blind Box Series (PLZDOT)
They can be attached to each other by their magnetic arms. The toilet is even heart shaped. And people say romance(?) is dead.
Thanks for reading!
TL;DR Rating
Sculpting ⸻ 03/10
The sculpting is nice, but the mold warping ruined it and negatively affects other aspects. The faces are completely different from what was advertised but the proportions themselves are fine.
Painting ⸻ 06/10
Very nice. Would be a 10 without the belt/zipper and graininess of the decals.
Posing ⸻ 06/10
Simple but effective and illustrative of their personalities. The poses would be an 8 if I didn’t know the hands are supposed to meet. Silver lining: They at least don’t bump into each other in a way that would make the bases not fit together.
Base ⸻ 08/10
The bases are great; I love their small footprint, the sculpting and leaf details, but they could have been a 10 with some more props for set dressing.
Packaging ⸻ 08/10
A bit loose-fitting all around and showcasing some of the most boring typography I’ve ever seen on a figure box. Otherwise very nice and no bigger than it needs to be. Lots of safety cushioning and wrapping around the figures.
Enjoyment ⸻ 10/10
I really love them. The faces and hair do bother me, but the context of the manufacturing issues, the bargain prince I got them for, and my whole micro-journey of figuring out what was going on and then finding my own pair was just a lot of fun.