Tag Archives: Obi Wan Kenobi

#3500: Ben Kenobi – Tibidon Station

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

BEN KENOBI — TIBIDON STATION

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Obi-Wan Kenobi is set years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge Of The Sith wehre Kenobi faced the corruption of his friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned Sith Lord Darth Vader.”

I honestly don’t know if it’s possible to praise Ewan McGreggor’s performance as Obi-Wan Kenobi enough; it’s just one of those absolute stand out things, and the very best thing about the prequels.  While his role within the films at times left him a little under-utilized, he got his own show, which gave us so much more time with the character, and that was very cool.  Thus far, I’ve been light on Black Series coverage for the show, but I’m doubling what I’ve gotten today, with Tibidon Station Ben Kenobi!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ben Kenobi (Tibidon Station) is is figure 6 in the Obi-Wan Kenobi sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series‘s fourth phase.  He was a Target-exclusive release, which hit shortly after the first batch of figures from the show.  He’s based on the character’s look from early in the first episode of the show, before he settles back into his Obi-Wan ways to rescue Leia.  It’s a more unique look for the character, who otherwise tends to fall into the same general trappings for design.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  The main figure is a total parts re-use from the Wandering Jedi version of the character who hit in the main line.  The two outfits aren’t *exactly* the same, but they’re certainly close enough that I can see why Hasbro would go for the re-use.  It would honestly be pretty hard to justify new parts on such a look, anyway.  The head suffers from not being the Jabiim sculpt, which…well, it’s honestly not fair to judge it that harshly.  It’s not a bad sculpt on its own merits; there’s more than a passing resemblance to McGreggor, and he’s not terribly far off from his look in the show.  He’s a touch too clean and put together, I think is the real issue.  Still, given that this one predates the other, I can’t knock it.  The major change-up for this figure is the color scheme, specifically the shirt, which is now a lovely shade of blue.  It looks quite spiffy, and makes him suitably different from the main release.  To further differentiate him, he also gets a new cloak piece, as well as an all-new back-pack, both based on his stuff from the scenes with this look.  And, he’s also still sporting his blaster and lightsaber, just like the other one.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I dug this look on the show, even though it was rather short-lived, and I dug it as a figure.  But, it was a Target exclusive, and I wasn’t going hunting.  Then I found it, but it was when all the other Black Series exclusives got marked way down, and I didn’t want to pay full price, so I waited, checking every so often for a few weeks, with the same figure at my local Target.  But, he sold before I could get a markdown, which is really the risk you take, I suppose.  One got traded into All Time, however, rather amusingly on the same day that I wound up buying the Jabiim figure.  He’s fun.  Not as definitive as the other release, but I do like him a lot.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3455: Obi-Wan Kenobi – Jabiim

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

OBI-WAN KENOBI — JABIIM

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Obi-Wan Kenobi is set years after the dramatic events of Star Wars: Revenge of the Sith where Kenobi faced the corruption of his friend and Jedi apprentice, Anakin Skywalker turned Sith Lord Darth Vader.”

No matter your stance on the Star Wars prequels, it’s hard to deny that Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the very best things about them.  It was always kind of a shame that his storylines within the three movies never felt like the fully utilized him.  Thankfully, last year he got his own focus series, titled, rather unsurprisingly, Obi-Wan Kenobi, which really gave him time to shine.  There’s been plenty of action figure coverage from the show, especially of Obi-Wan himself.  I looked at the Retro Collection figure, but I haven’t yet looked at anything Black Series, so let’s change that up!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi — Jabiim is figure 11 in the Obi-Wan Kenobi sub-set of Star Wars: The Black Series‘s fourth phase.  He was part of an assortment that hit towards the end of this summer, which also featured Tala and the Fourth Sister from the same show, as well as Darth Malak and Bastilla Shan from Knights of the Old Republic, and Vel Sarhta from Andor.  This is the third Black Series Obi-Wan based on the show, and is specifically based on his attire from the back half of the show, which is, amongst other things, the one he’s wearing during his big showdown with Vader.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 27 points of articulation.  While Black Series has made some incredible strides in mobility on their figures more recently, Obi-Wan is a bit of a mixed bag.  A lot of it’s definitely more design than anything, but his arms are very restricted.  His shoulders have butterfly joints, but their range is very limited by the tunic, and while the elbows can get past 90, they’re limited in what they can do by how far the shoulders can go.  Additionally, the wrist joints are mostly rendered inert by the way the sleeves wrap around the hands, which is a definite bummer.  The neck, waist, and everything on the legs apart from the hips, are at least decent on their movement, which is a plus.  The sculpt makes use of the hands and lower half from the Wandering Jedi release, which makes sense, since he’s wearing a lot of the same stuff.  Interestingly, the head is *not* a re-use, despite the last two Obi-Wans from the show using the same one.  I can’t say I’m upset about it, though, because the end result is hands down the best Ewan McGregor likeness that Hasbro’s ever given us.  I mean, this thing is just absolutely spot-on.  It makes all the other Obi-Wans look like Obi-Twos.  The figure also gets a new torso and arms, as well.  They’ve got the aforementioned issues with mobility, but they do at least look the part of the garment he was wearing in the show.  It’s all topped off with a soft goods robe piece, which is okay.  It’s not great right out of the box, but I’d imagine there’s some tricks to shaping it, which would help it look a lot better.  Obi-Wan gets a pretty good mix of paint and molded plastic for his coloring; the face printing on the head is particularly strong on this release, and the base color work on the body is all rather cleanly applied.  Obi-Wan is packed with his lightsaber (with removable blade) and a blaster pistol, both of which are repurposed from the other two show-based Obi-Wans.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Since The Phantom Menace, McGregor’s Obi-Wan has been a favorite of mine, and its an opinion that’s only grown stronger over time.  While I immensely enjoyed Kenobi, the Wandering Jedi release for Black Series didn’t really speak to me.  This look, however, was one I really liked in the show, especially for the scenes between him and Vader.  That said, I was beginning to waffle a little bit on whether I was really going to grab this one, but once in-hand shots of him started surfacing, I knew there was no way I could avoid grabbing a figure with that good of a likeness.  Ultimately, the figure’s a bit of a mixed bag.  That head sculpt is absolutely fantastic, but the articulation definitely leaves something to be desired.  Still, he’s a very nice offering, and I’m glad I added him to my collection.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#3221: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , ,

OBI-WAN KENOBI

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (HASBRO)

“To gain free passage through Jabba the Hutt’s shipping routes, the Republic agrees to rescue the crime lord’s kidnapped son, Rotta the Huttlet. Obi-Wan learns that Anakin and his team have found the child and are under attack by Separatist forces. Obi-Wan races to join them on the remote planet, bringing much-needed reinforcements to Anakin and his embattled team.”

When the 3D-animated Clone Wars went into production, in order to save trouble on the animation concerning the flow of the robes that were signature to the Jedi Knights, the designs for the characters were somewhat ruggedized. Calling back on Obi-Wan donning a set of Clone armor during a sequence in the 2D Clone Wars, all of the Jedi were granted far more armored appearances, with Obi-Wan himself getting a more unique set of attire, merging his armored and robed looks. He kept the look for the shows first two seasons, and it was present for all of the launch product. Today, I’m looking at the first figure he got based on the design.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi is the second figure in the first series of Hasbro’s Clone Wars tie-in line, which hit shortly before the movie that launched the show in 2008. The figure stands just shy of 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 14 points of articulation.  Early in the line, only the Clones were getting full articulation, so Obi-Wan only gets proper movement above the waist, and even that’s slightly more limited.  Below the waist, he gets t-hips, and that’s it.  No knees or ankles.  As a result, he’s a little bit stiff.  The sculpt is at least a decent one.  Like the other early line sculpts, he’s not quite as accurate to the show model as later figures would be, but he gets the general gist of it.  The broader elements are there, with some of the edges rounded and lessened a bit, so that he comes just a little bit closer to the main line.  It’s an appealing look, and it’s at the very least quite in the spirit of the character.  The paint work on this guy is very indicative of its era; the base colors are pretty cleanly applied, and then the whole thing gets a sort of a messy wash over it.  It makes the details of the sculpt pop pretty well, but it’s also a bit heavy handed at times.  Obi-Wan was packed with his lightsaber, an alternate helmeted head, a jetpack, and a missile that can be launched from the pack.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I was a little bit skeptical about The Clone Wars when the toys first dropped.  I’d liked the 2D version a lot, but I was still pretty iffy on the prequels as a whole at the time.  Nevertheless, I did still grab a small handful of the figures when they launched, with hopes that I’d enjoy the source material.  The movie *wasn’t* what I hoped for, but the show at least picked things up pretty quickly.  Obi-Wan was one of the first four figures I grabbed, because I’ve always been an Obi-Wan guy.  He’s not a perfect figure, and there were better ones later in the line, but this one wasn’t a bad start.

#3212: Obi-Wan Kenobi – Wandering Jedi

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

OBI-WAN KENOBI — WANDERING JEDI

STAR WARS: RETRO COLLECTION (HASBRO)

It was only just a few months ago that I was looking at the second series of Hasbro’s Star Wars: Retro Collection, which was about a year removed from its first series predecessor.  Those two were both based on The Mandalorian, but it seems Mando isn’t getting all of the Retro Collection love, and we don’t have to wait a whole year for the next round of them.  Hooray!  For years, it’s been widely agreed that, whatever your opinion of the Star Wars prequels may be, Ewan McGreggor’s Obi-Wan was the best part of them, and was also really under-utilized in the grand scheme of things.  With Ewan still being very much on board to do more with the role, Disney decided to give Obi-Wan his own show, bridging the gap between Revenge of the Sith and A New Hope, at least as far as Obi-Wan himself was concerned.  It started slow, but the show’s honestly the best instance of truly melding the aesthetics and tones of the Prequel Trilogy with those of the Original Trilogy, and was just far better than it had any right to be.  With its direct lead-in to ANH, it’s not a bad fit for the Retro style, and Hasbro jumped right in on it, with an assortment of six different characters from the show.  I’m kicking things off today with Obi-Wan himself!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi (Wandering Jedi) is the first of the six figures that make up the first (so far) Kenobi-themed series of Star Wars: Retro Collection, which is officially the fifth series within the wider Retro Collection set-up, counting the more direct re-issue sets.  The figure stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 5 points of articulation.  He’s based on Obi-Wan’s “Wandering Jedi” look, which is what he wears for the first couple of episodes, while he’s doing his whole detective thing.  It’s the look that got the biggest marketing push up front, and also the one that I suppose best fits the overall aesthetic of the show, being consistent with his general looks from the prequels, while also still being a little more average and downtrodden.  To facilitate this, he gets an all-new sculpt, which, much like the rest of the line, is meant to evoke the vintage Kenner feel.  Though time-line wise, he’s from pre-ANH, the figure is clearly meant to evoke a post-Jedi era of the vintage line.  He’s a little less stilted in his posing, and the details are a little more organic.  He’s also lacking the built-in lightsaber of the original Obi-Wan, and gets a cloth robe that’s actually a robe, rather than the vinyl extended vest piece.  It’s an interesting concept of what an Obi-Wan in the vintage line might have been like post-ANH, if he’d gotten there.  I can definitely dig it.  I also enjoy that they’ve kept the working holster concept from Karga in the first series; someone was clearly very proud of that idea.  His paint work is rather on the drab side, as expected, but that’s not a bad thing.  In some ways, he feels like maybe he has just a little too much paint for proper accuracy to the style, but there’s obviously a bit of idealizing here, and I don’t think that’s so bad.  Obi-Wan is packed with his lightsaber (a recolored version of Bespin Luke’s from the vintage line), and a small blaster pistol.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I really enjoyed Kenobi, and I found myself really drawn into how it handled the throw-back feel.  I had the chance to grab the first round of Black Series offerings for it, but for whatever reason, they just didn’t speak to me.  These guys, on the other hand, felt much more up my alley.  If I’m entirely honest, this Obi-Wan design is probably my least favorite of the three that have thus far been tapped for toy treatment, but it’s not a bad one, and it certainly translates to a pretty fun little figure.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#3181: Obi-Wan Kenobi

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

OBI-WAN KENOBI

STAR WARS: THE CLONE WARS (HASBRO)

“Obi-Wan battles the enemies of the Republic as war expands across the galaxy. The Jedi General continues his hunt for General Grievous and leads diplomatic missions to far-flung worlds. Whether he is battling droids or negotiating with potential allies, Obi-Wan is resolute in his fight to save the Republic.”

The prequel films were, admittedly, not great when it came to character building. They were a bit like reading a Wikipedia article on the events. All the big stuff was covered, but there was ver little human element. The Clone Wars does a lot to salvage the films and the characters within by actually spending time with them, and even giving them some genuine emotional arcs, making you actually care about what happens to them. Though technically one of the main characters of the films, Obi-Wan had the misfortune of largely getting shoved to the side in favor of the plot. The Clone Wars gives him his own stories, and even a small glimpse into his history before the movies. And it also lets him just be cool, and that’s never a bad thing.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi was released in 2011 as figure 40 in Hasbro’s Clone Wars Collection. He was the fifth version of the character in the line, and the first to be based on Obi-Wan’s improved design model from later in the show, as they slowly moved him closer to his RotS look.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 18 points of articulation.  As the line moved into its more show-design accurate era, the Clone figures notably took a slight hit to articulation, but, on the flip side, the Jedi characters made out a lot better, by virtue of, you know, actually getting knee joints.  That’s the case with Obi-Wan, and even with the harder plastic skirt piece and the t-hips, he still manages to be quite mobile.  His sculpt was an all-new one, and it’s a far more show accurate one than the four that preceded it, and for my money, more accurate than those that followed it as well.  There’s a really good flow to it, and I love all the sharp angles.  The style is really captured well here.  The color work on this guy is generally pretty good as well.  The paint work is cleanly applied, and the colors all match well with the show.  Obi-Wan’s only accessory was his lightsaber.  It was a step down from prior offerings, but it does at least cover the basics, so it’s got that going for it.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The late run Clone Wars figures were much harder to keep up with at retail, so by this point I was really just making do with what I already had.  Since I already had the first Obi-Wan, I wasn’t actively searching for another, and this one slipped under my radar.  Back in the summer of 2019, All Time got a sizable collection of Clone Wars figures, and I wound up snagging a large swath of them.  Mostly, they were clones, but I also picked up this figure out of the bunch.  He’s probably the best Obi-Wan to come out of the line, and certainly my favorite.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure for review.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#2876: Jedi Spirits

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , , ,

ANAKIN, YODA, & OBI-WAN

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

“Obi-Wan Kenobi, Anakin Skywalker, and Yoda — three individuals with lives intricately intertwined. Before Obi-Wan Kenobi was forced into a life of hiding, before Anakin Skywalker gave in to the dark side and became Darth Vader, even before Yoda was known as the last Jedi Master, a young Anakin was presented to the Jedi Council for permission to train the boy in the ways of the Force. Many years later, the Galactic Republic crumbled and the evil Empire rose in its place. Only after the defeat of the Empire, at the hands of Anakin’s son Luke Skywalker, would the three great Jedi be reunited after death as spiritual guides for Luke and the New Republic.”

First hinted at during A New Hope’s climactic battle, when Luke hears the voice of the recently killed Obi-Wan during his run on the Death Star, the force ghost concept fully appears during Empire, when Obi-Wan fully manifests in spirit form.  He shows up again during Return of the Jedi, and is ultimately joined by both Yoda and Anakin in the film’s final moments.  They don’t really do much other than stand there, but it’s a distinctive visual, and one that stuck with fans.  So, toys, of course.  The first one we got was an Anakin, during the original Power of the Force run, though it was handled slightly differently than now.  A more conventional take on the concept in toy form hit the ’90s line as a mail-away figure, the Spirit of Obi-Wan.  Not content to let Obi-Wan have all the fun, Kenner put him out again, this time alongside the other two, as one of their Cinema Scenes, which I’ll be taking a look at today.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The Jedi Spirits set was part of the 1998 Cinema Scenes line-up for Power of the Force II.  They were one of two Jedi sets released that year, as the line began to be more focused on the final film.  They included a stand, based on the edge of one of the Ewok structures from Endor, where they are seen in the film.  Interestingly, they were all three screwed into the base in addition to the usual foot pegs.  Not entirely sure why that was the case; maybe there was some concern about potentially damaging them by twisty tying them in like the others?

ANAKIN

He’s been subsequently replaced by Hayden Christian in more recent editions of the film, but the original version of Jedi gave us a look at an Anakin from a potential version of events where he never fell to the dark side to become Darth Vader.  It’s honestly sort of sensible, since it also means he would, you know, look vaguely like the guy whose face Luke actually saw earlier that day, so he might be able to know it was his father, and all.  But that’s probably all very silly, I suppose.  The elder Anakin got a sort of force ghost-y figure in the vintage line, designed to sort of be the best of both worlds.  Power of the Force II split it into two figures, with this being the more overt ghost one.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches all and he has three points of articulation…technically.  The neck definitely moves…a little.  The arms also move, but as you can see from the photo, they tend to just fall out of the socket more often than not.  Not sure why, but that’s how it is.  He was an all new sculpt, based on Sebastian Shaw’s brief appearance as Anakin from the movie.  It’s distinctly different from Obi-Wan, so that’s certainly a nice touch.  There’s some nice texture work going on as well.  While the mail-away Obi-Wan was just translucent blue with no paint, they mixed things up a little bit for this set, adding some dry brushed white, to give him a little more depth.

YODA

Yoda was totally without any force ghost figures at this point, so him finally getting one was certainly an accomplishment.  While there were a few Yoda molds to chose from, this one was a new one entirely.  He stands about 2 1/4 inches tall.  You can sort of get some motion at the neck and shoulders, but nothing much, and it feels like it doesn’t want to really move.  Beyond that, it’s a nice enough sculpt.  It’s good for just standing there, which is all he really needs to do.  It’s more accurate than other molds from the same line, and the stance in particular is a little closer to the actual puppet, since he doesn’t have to contend with needing to move.  Also, the arms stay on him, so that’s a plus over Anakin.  Good for him.  His paint works pretty much the same way, although it’s not quite as intense in its application.

OBI-WAN

Obi-Wan is, of course, the figure in this set that was the least new, especially at the time of his release, with the prior version having hit just the previous year at the time.  That being said, Kenner did at least make him a little different, even if it was just for the sake of being different.  The figure is 3 3/4 inches tall.  He’s sort of got the same articulation as Yoda, where it’s *technically* there, but very limited and not really ideal for any proper use.  His sculpt is largely the same as the mail-away version, but he changes out the right arm for one with a different pose.  So there’s that, I guess.  It’s not a bad sculpt, so I can get behind it, especially without the one arm just kind of sticking out like on the prior version.  His paint matches the other two in the set, which looks a fair bit better than the unpainted version.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had none of the Cinema Scenes sets as a kid, so obviously that’s not where this one came from.  It is, however, one of the earlier ones I picked up once I actually started doing such things.  I snagged this one when it was traded into All Time, almost exactly two years ago, at this point.  I know, I’ve got quite a PotF2 backlog, don’t I?  It’s not a terribly playable set, but at the same time, it really seems to get the feel of Cinema Scenes down the best, because it’s a distinct visual, and these figures are always gonna be a tough sell by themselves.

#2743: Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

BEN (OBI-WAN) KENOBI

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (KENNER)

In last week’s review of Kenner’s Power of the Force Power F/X Darth Vader, I brought up the figure’s compatibility not only with the previously reviewed Luke Skywalker, but also with Obi-Wan Kenobi, a figure I had not yet reviewed.  Can you really say you’re surprised that I’m reviewing that figure now?  I mean…I don’t think you can, but I’ve been wrong before.  Anyway, let’s just get onto the figure!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi (as the line was very insistent on in reference to him) was another 1997 release, the fourth of the five figure Power F/X sub-line of Power of the Force.  In contrast to Vader’s cross-film set-up, Ben is, unsurprisingly, based on his A New Hope appearance, specifically his final duel with Vader, which is sensible, since it was, at this point, his only real lightsaber battle.  That being said, it’s low key kind of a shame that they didn’t use the Power F/X set-up for some shimmering force ghosts.  I guess that’s not as inherently toyetic.  Ben stands 3 3/4 inches tall and has 5 points of articulation.  Just like the last two, his right arm is restricted in order to facilitate the light-up feature, and the rest of his articulation’s more for just tweaking the exact nature of his stance.  His sculpt is quite similar to all of the other Kenobi’s from the line, being especially cut from the same cloth as his first figure and the one from the Cantina Cinema Scene boxed set.  He’s even got the same headsculpt as those releases, and his still removable cloak piece is almost identical to the one from the boxed version.  Beyond that, he really just follows the lead of Luke, being a somewhat awkward sculpt, including still having the hunch on his back for the batteries.  The robe does it’s best to hide this, but it doesn’t work quite as well as Luke’s cape did.  He does at least add a little more detailing to the lightsaber hilt than Luke did, but it’s still somewhat removed from the film product.  Ben’s paint work is pretty much the same as the other versions of the character, apart from one rather notable mistake: his lightsaber is the wrong color, being green, rather than the appropriate blue.  Supposedly, this change occurred because blue LEDs were more expensive than green, and Kenner couldn’t justify the cost.  Seems like a weird choice to me, but here we are.  Ben was packed with the same hallway stand piece that was included with Luke, allowing him, like Luke, to be connected with the Vader figure for a more interactive set-up.  And, while Luke came with an entire cardboard backdrop for him and Vader, Ben and Vader each got half of an A New Hope-inspired backdrop, which shows off the Millennium Falcon in the Death Star‘s hangar bay.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Luke was the only one of these I had as a kid, but I came very close to buying Obi-Wan a few times, mostly because I no longer had my original release, and I wasn’t yet at the point of going for exact replacements for my toys.  I never really could muster the excitement to grab this one, though.  He’s alright, but admittedly a bit redundant for me, since the Luke/Vader pairing is the one that holds more nostalgia.  Perhaps I’ll snag a second Vader some day, so that I can justify having Vader face off against each of them.

#2694: Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

BEN (OBI-WAN) KENOBI

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE FORCE II (HASBRO)

“Legendary among the heroes of the Rebel Alliance, Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi is regarded as one of the greatest Jedi Knights ever to have lived. As a young Jedi who had just completed his own training, Obi-Wan made a solemn pledge to train young Anakin Skywalker in the ways of the Force. Anakin became a Jedi but then turned to the dark side and became Darth Vader. Many years later, destiny would have an older and wiser Obi-Wan guiding Anakin’s own son, Luke Skywalker, in the ways of the Force, and ultimately, in turning Vader back to the light side.”

Last week, I took my first dive into the Power of the Force Flashback Photo subset of figures, and rather poked fun at the concept and how far of a reach some of those figures were for the idea.  Well, in their defense, some of them did make at least some bit of sense.  Given that it was to tie-in with the first of the prequels, and there were actually some crossover characters, showing those characters from the original trilogy, and offering the flashback there?  Not the worst idea.  Among the cross over characters was Obi-Wan Kenobi, who I’m taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi, as he is so specifically named on the box, was part of the first set of “Flashback Photo” Power of the Force figures, hitting towards the end of 1998, just as we were getting prepped for the new movie.  He was our fourth Obi-Wan from the line, and only the second to be part of the regular line.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 10 points of articulation.  This would mark the first real move to improve the articulation on these figures, as Obi-Wan wound up with a whopping three joints in each of his arms.  Sure, they were all cut joints, and sure, the rest of his movement was majorly restricted by the robes, but it certainly was a step up.  Also of note was the fact that this was the first Obi-Wan not to be based on the first PotF figure’s molds, making him generally less oddly bulked up and weird looking.  He’s still a little more bulked up than Sir Alec Guinness actually was in the movie, but it’s not quite as insane.  Preposing is a bit more involved this time, with the figure being designed to directly interact with the “Flashback” Vader figure, in an effort to recreate their duel from A New Hope.  With the extra articulation, there’s a little more variety as to what you can do, though it’s still not a ton.  Honestly, the screen accurate thing wasn’t the worst concept, and it does at least make him a little more unique compared to others in the line.  It’s not a bad looking sculpt, either, and they were really starting to get the hang of making the clothes look fairly natural on the bodies.  The hood in particular doesn’t look too bad, and hoods are usually pretty darn tricky.  The only downside is that the hands have some difficulty holding the lightsaber, which does somewhat hinder his purpose.  In terms of paint work, Obi-Wan is about on par with the rest of the line, so he’s basic, but generally pretty well handled.  All of the important details are there, and they’re pretty cleanly applied.  Obi-Wan is packed with his lightsaber, which is about all he really needs.  Of course, he’s also got the Flashback Photo, which is about as intriguing here as it was with Beru.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

All of the Flashback Photo figures passed me by as a kid, just because there wasn’t actually much new coverage there.  This one in particular proved frustrating for me as a kid, because I just wanted a prequel Obi-Wan figure, and I kept finding this one, and he wasn’t really what I wanted.  Admittedly not really the figure’s fault, I suppose.  I wound up getting him this past fall when he was traded into All Time.  He’s not a bad little figure, and is probably this line’s best version of Obi-Wan.

#2522: Obi-Wan Kenobi – Jedi Knight

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

OBI-WAN KENOBI — JEDI KNIGHT

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“Obi-Wan Kenobi became a general in the Army of the Republic as the Clone Wars continued, having many adventures with Anakin Skywalker.”

Obi-Wan’s definitely been the best treated of the Prequel characters when it comes to The Black Series.  It’s fair, because he’s probably the best of the core prequel characters, anyway, so I can’t argue with it.  But it’s certainly still noteworthy, because he’s so far the only character to get his primary look from all three of the films, as well as getting one from Clone Wars.  That’s certainly something of an accomplishment, don’t you think?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan is figure 111 in the Black Series line-up.  He’s the penultimate figure in the final red-box assortment, and unlike yesterday’s figure, he’s unquestionably Attack of the Clones based.  Yes, we finally have a Black Series release that can confuse your very religious Grandmother!  Unexpected bonus!  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  The vast majority of this figure’s sculpt is shared with the Phantom Menace version of the character.  I was a pretty big fan of the sculpt the first time around, and I think it’s honestly one of the best Jedi sculpts the line’s put out.  I know others have issues with how the hip joints work, but I personally think they have a solid range, and in general, the figure’s posability is top-not.  He gets an all-new head sculpt to adjust him to his Episode 2 appearance, and it sports another really strong McGreggor likeness, matching both the Ep 1 and Clone Wars versions in terms of quality.  The only slight nit to the quality is the somewhat obvious join between the hair piece and the head.  It’s not terrible, and it’s better on some figures than others.  Ultimately, it’s just the price of doing business this way.  It’s probably better than a solid head would have turned out.  Overall, definitely a strong offering.  In terms of paint work, Obi-Wan is about what you’d expect from the line at this point.  He’s got the face print, the base color work on the robes, and a little bit of accent work on the hair to bring out the details.  Not a bad set-up.  Obi-Wan’s only accessory this time around is his lightsaber.  It’s not a bad piece, but it’s a shame they couldn’t also give him a robe, or maybe an alternate soaked head from Kamino, possibly even his pilot head gear.  It does feel rather light as-is.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I wasn’t initially on-board for any Obi-Wan apart from the Episode 1 version, but the unexpected Clone Wars variant kind of broke that dam down.  While I didn’t outright want this figure, after snagging the rest of the assortment, I wasn’t exactly going to pass on him.  While he’s maybe not my favorite Obi-Wan design, he’s the best Obi-Wan figure to come out of The Black Series so far.  I wouldn’t mind seeing the RotS version get a re-do using this set-up as well.

Thanks to my sponsors at All Time Toys for setting me up with this guy for review.  If you’re looking for Black Series, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2330: Clone Commander Obi-Wan Kenobi

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

CLONE COMMANDER OBI-WAN KENOBI

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

“A legendary Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a noble man and gifted in the ways of the Force. He trained Anakin Skywalker, served as a general in the Republic Army during the Clone Wars, and guided Luke Skywalker as a mentor.”

Between Episodes II and III of the prequel trilogy, the Clone Wars got their first cartoon treatment in a 2D series led by animator Genndy Tartakovsky.  While it’s place in the cannon proper has been taken by the later 3D series, the broad strokes from it do still crop up from time to time.  One of the most recurring elements for re-appearance is the show’s distinctive design for Obi-Wan, which placed the Jedi in a suit of clone armor so that he could do battle with the bounty hunter Durge.  It’s a really cool look, and its gotten surprisingly little toy love.   Fortunately, though, it’s gotten a spot in The Black Series.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Clone Commander Obi-Wan is a late 2019 Walgreens-exclusive Black Series release (and, fun fact, Walgreens’ second time getting Obi-Wan as an exclusive).  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and has 29 points of articulation.  Obi-Wan’s largely made from re-used parts, as pretty much everyone was expecting when this figure was announced.  He’s built on the standard Clone Trooper that Hasbro’s been using since early in the line, and I’m sort of mixed emotions about that.  It’s a nice looking body, and it was one of the best in terms of poseability when it was new, but it’s got some definite issues compared to more recent stuff, most notably those really restricted shoulders.  Hasbro created a totally new clone body for Captain Rex, but as of yet haven’t used for anyone but him.  This feels like it would have been a good place to start, but maybe Hasbro’s got a specific reason for sticking with the old mold for now.  Obi-Wan gets a new head, belt, clasps for his cape, and a slightly retooled upper torso to work with the clasps.  The head’s really the star piece here, with a really strong McGreggor likeness.  Technically, for true accuracy to the source he should still have his Attack of the Clones hair, in contrast to this one’s Revenge of the Sith appearance, but given that the 3D show seems to have firmly decided that Obi-Wan had the short hair for the Clone Wars, and the fact that I honestly think it looks better this way, I can’t really complain.  He’s also got a cloth goods robe, which isn’t terribly impressive, but also isn’t terribly terrible (which some of the Black Series cloth stuff really has), so I again can’t complain.  Obi-Wan’s is largely pretty basic, apart from the head, which gets the nice printed face technique, which looks really nice on this particular figure.  Obi-Wan is packed with his lightsaber (which an be stashed on his brand new belt) and one of the stands they’ve been packing in with the exclusives.  It’s a shame he didn’t also get the standard clone helmet, since he wore it with the armor, but he’s at least got the bare minimum.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This guy is probably the most excited I’ve been for a Walgreens-exclusive Black Series, which is honestly a little funny given my prior “no prequels” rule, but I’ve always really liked this design, and this is the first time The Black Series has done anything 2D Clone Wars-related.  I lucked into this guy at the Walgreens between two of my day job’s sites, which made for a nice mid-day pick-me-up.  While the older body does hold him back a little in terms of posing, he’s still a really, really awesome figure, and I’m glad I was able to track one down.  Here’s hoping for a Durge to face off against him!