Tag Archives: Obi-Wan Kenobi

#4107: Obi-Wan Kenobi – Jedi Training Gear

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI — JEDI TRAINING GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE JEDI (HASBRO)

“Obi-Wan Kenobi, a Jedi Knight training under Jedi Master Qui-Gin Jinn, has proved his loyalty to the Council and Jedi code time and time again. In missions involving great danger, the Jedi don specially made training gear that protects them in close combat without hindering their movement.”

I started my return to Power of the Jedi with one of the two concept Obi-Wan figures from the line, and after a quick stop off with a wacky sort of Darth Vader, let’s head back to the Obi-Wan concept well for another one.  This time, less environment specific and more…um, like, merchandise specific?  They wanted a different color palette, I guess? Well, anyway, here’s Jedi Training Gear Obi-Wan.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi — Jedi Training Gear was released in the second year of Star Wars: Power of the Jedi in 2001.  He’s the second of the two concept Obi-Wans that year.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 9 points of articulation.  It’s sort of an odd articulation set-up, because he’s got wrist swivels on both arms, but an elbow swivel only on the left arm.  This is coupled with a really quite strange pose for the body.  Like, he’s got…something going on, but I’m not entirely sure what.  Parts feel like they’re meant to be sort of loose, while other parts are really stiff and rigid.  He feels like his pose was designed by committee.  His actual design is interesting, mostly in the sense that there was also a Jedi Training Gear Qui-Gon Jinn that year, and the two don’t really share much in terms of design aesthetic, so they don’t really work as a pair, despite what the names might imply.  Beyond that, it’s an okay design, with a bit of OT stylings with the ribbing on the jumpsuit underneath and all.  Obi-Wan’s head sculpt is yet another variation.  This one’s…fine.  Not the strongest, but I guess not the worst either.  He looks a little…pudgy?  I don’t know, maybe it’s just how stiff the posing is.  The color work on Obi-Wan is heavy on the black shades, because we sure do love putting a Jedi in all black.  This one has some variation, though, with different parts getting different shades and finishes.  Obi-Wan is packed with his lightsaber (without the black detailing on the hilt, much like the Cold Weather Gear) and his training helmet.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I had the Cold Weather Gear figure as a kid, but somehow I missed this one.  I remember the Qui-Gon variant, and kind of wanting an Obi-Wan to match, but I don’t think I remember seeing this one new at retail.  I do remember seeing him later on, but by that point I’d moved away from Power of the Jedi.  As with Jedi Knight Obi-Wan, post-Power of the Force, I’ve found myself looking at some of the other spots from the era, and decided to work a bit on my McGreggor Obi-Wans, and happened upon this guy at Yesterday’s Fun while vacationing this year.  He’s odd and quirky, and not as strong as the Cold Weather Gear, but he’s nothing if not unique.

#4099: Obi-Wan Kenobi – Cold Weather Gear

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI — COLD WEATHER GEAR

STAR WARS: POWER OF THE JEDI (HASBRO)

“A Jedi must always be well equipped for any circumstance. Obi-Wan Kenobi, a loyal and disciplined Jedi, is often sent by the Jedi Council to resolve matters on worlds where the environment is very cold. He often must prepare for these missions by bringing special gear with him to handle the colder temperatures.”

With my review of IG-11 last week, I’ve once again exhausted my new Star Wars merch, so it’s time to go back to the retro stuff.  With my meager Episode I collection wrapped up, I’m moving onto that which follows, Power of the Jedi.  The diminishing returns of the Episode I line at retail led Hasbro to rework it into a more franchise comprehensive line, more in the mold of the just wrapped up Power of the Force.  In addition to putting out the handful of remaining Episode I toys, the new line offered up some Original Trilogy stuff, and also a handful of early stage concept figures from the Episode I production process.  A few of the heavy hitters got some variants this way, especially Obi-Wan, whose Cold Weather variant I’m looking at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi — Cold Weather Gear was released during Star Wars: Power of the Jedi’s second year in 2001.  He’s one of two Obi-Wan concept variants from that year.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Obi-Wan was sporting an all-new sculpt for his all-new cold weather gear design.  The gear design is pretty consistent with the other looks we’ve seen in Star Wars, bringing to mind the Hoth looks for sure.  The sculpt captures it well, with minimal pre-posing, and an extensive level of detailing that’s all pretty sharp.  The design’s a little limiting on the movement front, especially on the hips, but it’s not as bas as some.  The head sculpt is, to my eyes, the strongest McGregor likeness of the ’99-’01 run, generally just hitting the mark a bit better than the others.  It lacks the Padawan braid and the rat tail is pressed into the head, rather than sticking out, making him far less prone to breaking as well.  His color work brings to mind Han’s Hoth Gear, or the toy version at least, which is a decent set-up.  It’s always nice to see a little bit of blue on a Star Wars figure, especially in this era.  Obi-Wan was packed with a lightsaber, removable cap with goggles, and a survival pack.  The lightsaber is notably missing the black detailing on the hilt, which is a bit of a step down.  The paint on the visor of the goggles is also quite prone to rubbing off, due to the soft rubber construction, but it’s otherwise a very cool piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m fairly certain this was my first Power of the Jedi figure.  I’d seen a fair number of figures from the line, but I remember this guy showing up in ToyFare, and thinking he looked super cool, so I kept my eye out for him.  He was ultimately a comic book store purchase, if I recall, probably Comics to Astonish, which tended to have the best off the beaten path selection of newer Star Wars figures at the time.  I’ve always really liked this one, and time hasn’t really changed that.  He’s quite a fun variant.

#4091: Obi-Wan Kenboi – Jedi Knight

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI — JEDI KNIGHT

STAR WARS: EPISODE I (HASBRO)

“As the invasion of Naboo rages outside, Jedi apprentice Obi-Wan Kenobi battles the evil Sith Lord, Darth Maul, in a fierce lightsaber duel. The outcome could change the galaxy forever!”

It’s a bit like a game of ping-pong with the Star Wars: Episode I figures, right?  Obi-Wan to Qui-Gon to Obi-Wan to Qui-Gon.  And just like that, we’re back to Obi-Wan!  Can you believe there’s another Obi-Wan? Well, probably, because you saw the title, and then the photo, and now you’ve read his bio and also my opening remarks about him, which all adds up to another Obi-Wan.  So, here we go, looking at another Obi-Wan!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi — Jedi Knight is a 2000 release for Hasbro’s Star Wars: Episode I line, part of an assortment meant to coincide with the film’s home video release.  The aim was to re-introduce some main looks, so that’s really what he does.  He’s another basic Obi-Wan.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 6 points of articulation.  Though the prior year had granted the Jedi characters extra movement, the second year of the line returned to the basic set-up used in Power of the Force.  It’s not amazing or anything, but it’s fine.  The sculpt was all-new, and would more or less remain unique.  It’s different from the others.  Arguably, it’s a bit better, at least in some sense.  It’s a more standard pose, and it goes for a mixed media approach, with a cloth skirt piece to his tunic, as well as an actual braid piece.  His head sculpt is notably a closer match to McGregor than the earlier offerings, and it’s aided by not having the weird plastic braid blocking his articulation or being at risk of breakage.  The sculpt is otherwise kind of basic, but does what it needs to.  His color work isn’t too involved, but works well enough.  The colors match the earlier figures well, and the application is all pretty clean.  Obi-Wan is packed with his lightsaber, communicator, and a CommTech stand, which, rather amusingly describes him as “Jedi Padawan,” in contrast with the figure’s title.  I don’t believe we’d gotten the communicator before, so it’s a neat extra.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In 2000, I already had three Obi-Wans from Phantom Menace, and I don’t think there was any way I was convincing my parents to buy me a fourth, even if I knew it existed at the time, which, admittedly, I didn’t.  I’ve only come to know about this one in more recent years, and I didn’t exactly jump on it.  But, with Power of the Force wrapped up, and me jumping back into what I owned of Episode I, I felt a little twinge of a need to have all the standard Episode I Obi-Wans, and this one was pretty easy for me to snag from Yesterday’s Fun while I was on vacation this year with my family.  He’s not anything particularly crazy or notable, but he’s intriguing from a progression of the line sort of perspective.

#4083: Obi-Wan Kenobi – Naboo

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI — NABOO

STAR WARS: EPISODE I (HASBRO)

“The young Jedi Knight Obi-Wan Kenobi and his mentor, Jedi Master Qui-Gon Jinn, help Queen Amidala and her forces in their attempt to liberate the planet Naboo from the overwhelming onslaught of the Trade Federation.”

On we march with this Phantom Menace—oh, sorry, Episode I thing, apparently.  It does sort of feel like the next natural point after Power of the Force wrapped up, I suppose.  I’ll admit, it’s a bit more of a limited selection as far as my personal collection goes.  Pretty much, it’s Obi-Wans and Qui-Gons.  I knew what I liked as a kid, and it was really those two.  I’ve looked at *most* of my Obi-Wans, but not all of them, so, here’s another one of those.  This time he’s got a robe!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi — Naboo was part of the second push of product from Hasbro’s Star Wars: Episode I line, hitting after the movie’s release in 1999.  He was the line’s second main Obi-Wan, following up the Jedi Duel release.  The main difference, as noted above, is robe.  The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 8 points of articulation.  The Jedi Duel release added elbow and wrist swivels to the articulation set-up, and this one keeps them…on the right arm.  The left is back to just the shoulder.  His sculpt was totally and unique, but certainly had a lot in common with the earlier Obi-Wan.  The heads in particular look like they’re the same general depiction of the same guy, with only minor tweaks in posing.  It’s not a spitting image of Ewan McGregor, but it’s not awful for the scale and the era.  The detailing on the clothing is a bit sharper and refined than the Jedi Duel version, and tops everything off with a rubber robe piece, very similar to that of the mail-away Mace Windu.  It’s got a good flow and hang to it, and while it’s not ideal for posing, it’s not terrible for it either.  His color work is basic, but generally does what it needs to.  Like all of the earlier prequel Obi-Wans, the hair’s a bit darker than it should really be, but otherwise things work out alright.  He’s packed with a lightsaber that’s ignited, a non-ignited hilt, and a CommTech stand.  The non-ignited hilt was a cool extra, since it hadn’t really been done before, and it can even be plugged into his belt.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I, of course, had the first Obi-Wan as soon as possible after seeing the movie, because I just had to.  I was actually so fixated on him having his robe that my mom bought me the Naboo accessory set so that I’d have the robe from that one.  And then, weeks after getting that, I found this guy at the store, and really wanted him, even though I already had a robe for the other one.  Having a Qui-Gon who also needed a robe did at least help me plead my case.  Also, the fact that my basic Obi-Wan’s hair braids at all broke off, so this could be my “standard” Obi-Wan, which he was for quite a stretch of time.  I think he holds up pretty darn well, honestly.

Flashback Friday Figure Addendum #0044: Obi-Wan Kenobi – Jedi Duel

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Flashback Friday Figure Addendum and tagged with , , , ,

OBI-WAN KENOBI — JEDI DUEL

STAR WARS: EPISODE I (HASBRO)

It’s another Friday, which means it’s time for another Flashback Friday Figure Addendum!  Today, we venture once more into the galaxy far, far away, albeit with a slightly different focus than my usual more Original Trilogy-focused interests, instead turning our sights on the now 26 year-old tie-in toyline for The Phantom Menace, with a look back at Obi-Wan Kenobi!

Ah, yes, The Phantom Menace. What a thing that was. Has any other movie simultaneously brought back and killed a beloved franchise? Oddly enough, even though I don’t particularly care for it, it’s the only of the prequel trilogy that I can stand at all these days. Sure, it’s total crap, but it didn’t put me to sleep or make my brain hurt too much like the other two. Plus, it did actually have some pretty good performances by Liam Neeson and Ewan McGreggor. So, it wasn’t all bad I suppose. Just mostly…

Regardless of opinions of the film itself, the toys were a pretty big hit, and they aren’t terrible. So, today I’ll be looking at the basic figure of Ewan McGreggor’s young Obi Wan Kenobi.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan was released as part of the initial wave of figures released by Hasbro to coincide with the release of the movie. Obi Wan is based on his look during his and Qui Gon’s final battle with Darth Maul. The figure stands 3 3/4 inches tall and features 10 points of articulation. The articulation is important to note, as this was probably the most articulation ever to be seen on a Star Wars figure at the time. Until Revenge of the Sith came along, this was the new standard. The sculpt on the figure is pretty decent, not perfect, but a nice approximation of what Obi Wan looked like in the movie. While I understand the decision to sculpt the arms bent to hold the lightsaber two-handed, it does leave the sculpt looking a bit odd if he isn’t holding the saber. The torso also suffers from being a bit boxy, even for the time. The paint is serviceable. Nothing spectacular, but pretty good in general. The lines on the boots are a bit fuzzy, but everything else is pretty clean. Mine have long since been lost, but when he was new, Obi Wan included his lightsaber and a “comm-tech” display stand that would play some of Obi Wan’s dialogue from the movie when hooked into the big comm-tech player you could buy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

While Phantom Menace is far from one of my favorite movies, I was 7 at the time of its release, and I was willing to overlook most of its flaws because it was a new Star Wars movie. I rushed right from the theatre to get an Obi Wan figure (Which was $2.99, by the way. That’d cost you $10 now…), and I was very happy to have him. 

Okay, so, like, I just need to address that, amongst the more minor things I disagree with my past self on, a pretty notable one is my stance on the Prequels.  The thing is, when they came out, I loved the Prequels, because I was between the ages of 7 and 13, and that’s the perfect time for such things.  As a proper adult, I’ve revisited them, and I see what works and what doesn’t, and respect them for what they are, because Star Wars is, first and foremost, about being entertaining and fun, and they’re honestly pretty good at that (so are the Sequels, but that’s another argument entirely).  But, there’s a period from the late ‘00s through the mid ‘10s where I gave into the cultural peer pressure of “the Star Wars Prequels are terrible” and stuck with the trendy stance.  I’m not about that these days, so I kind of find my opening remarks to this review… “cringe”?  At least I do stick up for Ewan McGregor’s Obi-Wan.

In the heading of my original review, I erroneously list the title of the line as Star Wars: The Phantom Menace, when in actuality the line was called Star Wars: Episode I.  I was still very early in my reviewing, and not checking information as much as just writing down what I remembered off the top of my head.  Otherwise, the actual review part’s not so bad.  I was at least pretty nice to the figure.  He was at the time missing his lightsaber and CommTech stand, both of which I have since located.  Not too bad.

#3748: Obi-Wan Kenobi

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI

STAR WARS: EPISODE I (HASBRO)

Welcome to draft 2 of today’s review, brought to you by me accidentally deleting all the text I’d written before saving!  Always remember to save incrementally, kids!  Otherwise, you’re gonna wind up writing the same damned review twice.  Yaaaaaaaaaaaaay……

When I wrote this before, I had this whole piece discussing the Prequels and their merits, and the sliding nature of how we’ve all viewed them, as well as how online opinions and peer pressure can seriously influence how you take in media.  Well, I don’t wanna write all that again, so you’ll just have to take my word for it that it was indeed very good and very smart, and I made a lot of excellent and compelling points.  The long and short of it is that maybe we were all a little harsh towards The Phantom Menace.  I haven’t talked Phantom Menace a ton here, especially not its direct tie-in line, largely because I don’t still have much of it.  I do have a lot of the Obi-Wans, though, so here’s one of them!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan Kenobi was one of the three deluxe releases in Hasbro’s Star Wars: Episode I tie-in line, alongside Qui-Gon and Maul.  They were all released with the other launch product, but, at least from my observation, Obi-Wan seemed to be a little rarer than the other two.  Maybe he was just more popular, though.  At his core, he’s not a terribly different figure from the one in the main line.  He stands about 3 3/4 inches tall and he has 7 points of articulation.  He lacks the wrist swivels and one of the elbow swivels compared to the standard, and his shoulders are rather limited by the nature of the action feature.  The sculpt itself isn’t all that different to the standard.  He’s a little more pre-posed, and the hair braid is swept back, rather than sitting over the shoulder, but the end result is about the same.  There’s a button on the lower back that activates the action feature, but it’s pretty low profile.  The paint work is again pretty similar, with the most notable change-up being the slightly lighter hair color, which winds up being a little more accurate.  Obi-Wan is packed with his standard saber, which is pretty straight forward.  He’s also got a larger “control” saber, which hooks around his waist and activates the swinging feature, but also has its own telescopic blade for…reasons?  I don’t know.  It’s there.  Unless, of course, you’re talking specifically about my figure, in which case it’s not because silly child Ethan went and lost it like some sort of silly child who wanted to pretend he was Obi-Wan or something silly like that.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

The deluxe version of Qui-Gon was actually the first figure I got of the character, and I liked him more than the standard release.  My seven-year-old brain assumed the same would be true of the matching Obi-Wan, so I desperately begged my parents to get me one.  Well, okay, I don’t know how desperate it really was.  I probably just waited until I saw one in store and asked for it.  Wait, did my parents buy it for me?  I’m suddenly having flashes of my Grandmother buying it for me?  Maybe I desperately begged her for it.  She was the sort that would have actually specifically taken me out to get him (not that my parents wouldn’t; they just had busier schedules), so this tracks.  Huh.  Well, he’s not ultimately that special or unique or different, but he’s hardly bad, and in ’99 he continued my commitment to having all of the Obi-Wans from the movie.

#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.