Tag Archives: The Phantom Menace

#2110: Obi-Wan Kenobi

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

OBI-WAN KENOBI

STAR WARS: THE BLACK SERIES (HASBRO)

So, since the last time I discussed The Phantom Menace on this here site (just shy of 1800 reviews ago), public perceptions of the film have slightly shifted.  To be fair, last time around, the film’s 3D re-release had reinvigorated the fanbase’s hatred.  Now, it’s cool to like it, since the hate has shifted either to the new films, or to the portion of the fanbase who hates the new films.  Whatever the case, I’ve always liked Phantom Menace the most of the prequels, and that’s not changed.  As a kid, my favorite part of the movie was Ewan McGreggor as a young Obi-Wan Kenobi.  The Black Series has placed the majority of its focus on the original trilogy and the new trilogy, so the prequels have been sort of pushed to the side, and Obi-Wan’s “debut” appearance had a little bit of a wait.  Fortunately, it’s finally here, and now I’m gonna review it!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Obi-Wan is figure 85 in the Black Series line-up.  He arrived in stores in a mostly non-movie assortment, making him the a bit of an odd-man out.  It’s our fourth version of Obi-Wan in the line, and he’s the final of the three main Phantom Menace Jedi to be added to the line.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and he has 29 points of articulation.  Obi-Wan’s sculpt is all-new, and it’s another strong piece.  It’s another step forward in working the articulation into the sculpt without things looking too weird.  The arms are a touch long and seem to bend a little too far down, but beyond that the joints are well-implemented and he has an impressive range of mobility.  The head is sporting a solid likeness of Ewan McGreggor, certainly an improvement over the head from the Revenge of the Sith Obi-Wan.  The torso is constructed via layering, which has done a nice job of creating depth on the figure, as well as preserving the articulation.  His robes are nicely textured, and do a suitable job of looking lifelike.  Obi-Wan’s paintwork is pretty solid.  He’s the first of the Phantom Menace figures to released post-face-printing, and it does him a lot of favors.  He’s definitely a really lively looking guy, and it does the sculpt all sorts of favors.  The more basic paintwork isn’t quite as strong, with some noticeable slop on the edges of the boots in particular.  That said, it’s not as bad as some of the others we’ve seen in this line.  Obi-Wan’s only accessory is his lightsaber, which, following the trend of others in the line, has a removable blade and can be hung from his belt.  It’s a shame they couldn’t throw anything else in with him; even a cloth robe would have been nice.  As it stands, he does feel a tad light.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

When the Black Series first launched, I had one firm rule: no prequel figures.  Even before I broke it to get in on some Clone Trooper goodness, this guy was the one exception to that self-imposed rule.  I was definitely playing a mean waiting game with both Maul and Qui-Gon out already, so I was very excited when this guy was finally shown off.  He was at the top of my list for this assortment, and I gotta say, he’s a really satisfying figure.

I picked up Obi-Wan from my friends All Time Toys.  If you’re looking for toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

 

#0335: Pit Droids

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

PIT DROIDS

STAR WARS 30th ANNIVERSARY COLLECTION

PitDroids1

So, umm… run down on the Star Wars stuff I mentioned before. Prequels bad. Originals good. Toys for both. There, up to speed?

Amazingly enough, I actually don’t hate The Phantom Menace as much as the other two. It’s still not great, but I can find things to enjoy about it. The lack of a certain Hayden Christiansen really helps. Anyway, the wonders of CGI meant that we got to see some pretty decent designs that wouldn’t have otherwise been brought to life. One such design was that of the Pit Droids, the little droids that worked in Watto’s shop and on the Pod Race track (incidentally, two of my least favorite places/sequences in the movie, but not at the fault of the Pit Droids). Today, I’ll be looking at a pair of those droids.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

PitDriodsWilsonThe Pit Droids were released in the Fan’s Choice assortment of the 2007 series of the Star Wars 30th Anniversary Collection. The figures are about 2 ½ inches in height and the each feature 5 points of articulation. Both Pit Droids in the set make use of the same sculpt, so I’ll just be examining it once. They are a total re-use of the Bonus Pit Droids that were released in place of the comm-tech cards included with Phantom Menace figures in countries that weren’t carrying the comm-tech reader. The figures never saw a domestic release, so it was nice for Hasbro to get them out to those that missed out. It’s a pretty decent sculpt, and seems to accurately translate the Droid design to the toy form. They seem to be a little on the large side based on the scale in the movie, but it isn’t too far off. The Pit Droids were available in three different color schemes. I got the orange/white scheme, which is the one I preferred and coincidentally the one I found. The paintwork is pretty decent. It’s cleanly applied and there aren’t any noticeable instances of bleed over or slop. Like the different color schemes, there were also different accessories offered with the figures. This particular set included a silver power converter, as well as metal coin with a Phantom Menace related design on it, denoting these figures as Fan’s Choice.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I like the Pit Droids, but given their absence from The Phantom Menace toyline, by the time they were actually released I was mostly out of collecting prequel figures. My ability to resist figures severely lowers when the figures are on sale, so when my local comicbook store, Cosmic Comix, marked all of their Star Wars figures down to $3.99, I was kinda roped in. It’s a nice little set, and if you like the Pit Droids, you’ll like these.

PitDroids2

#0111: Obi Wan Kenobi

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

OBI WAN KENOBI — JEDI DUEL

STAR WARS: EPISODE I (HASBRO)

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. [EDIT–I actually found all of his parts for his Flashback Friday Figure Addendum!]

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.