Obi-Wan Kenobi - TBS [P1] - Six Inch Figures (#10)

Obi-Wan is forced to battle his friend Anakin Skywalkwer in a devastating lightsaber duel after Anakin turns to the dark side.

"I have failed you, Anakin."

Hasbro proud new scale of 6” figures is strong and steadfast. And to date, they are picking characters that are interesting the collectors that are supporting the line. While so far an Original Trilogy heavy line, Hasbro releases their very first character based on Episode III: Obi-Wan Kenobi. Always a fan favorite character regardless of the film, Obi-Wan Kenobi, based on his appearance from Revenge Of The Sith, enters The Black Series line with the same approach and in the seemingly dedicated direction that has worked for Hasbro since the line’s inception. With a hefty amount of articulation worked into the sculpt and a sculpt that should impress most collectors, Obi-Wan Kenobi is still not a perfect The Black Series 6” release, even though Hasbro is pretty darn close. What astounds us are the issues they’re having with head sculpts. It has always been our position that Obi-Wan Kenobi is typically a character that Hasbro has been able to master from any film. And frankly the potential of the head sculpt is there for this release. But the paint operations work against the art that the sculptors have etched into plastic thanks to weaker than normal paint operations and a skin tone than makes him look anemic.

We understand the need for Hasbro to contain costs whichever way they can, but it is our position that Hasbro made a few mistakes by not including key accessories with Obi-Wan Kenobi. Most notably absent is the soft-goods outer robe that this character desperately needs. You’ll notice in our photo gallery that there are four pictures which show the Obi-Wan Kenobi figure adorned in a beautiful soft-goods robe, so we’ll clarify with you that this is a custom woven cloak bought from a customizer on eBay. But we wanted to show you how necessary this accessory is and how the figure leaves a lot to be desired without it. We’re curious. How much more would Hasbro claim they’d need to charge to include more accessories than what they are currently in this large-scaled line? While we have been impressed with most of the figures in The Black Series 6” line, a few things, namely head sculpts and lack of accessories are beginning to become burdensome, as we want the most for this line, while the figures are arriving lacking a few things. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a character who has a ton of accessories in Episode III, so why does he only comes with a lightsaber (that splits into hilt and blade)? It seems as if something is out of place here.

We often get yelled out by readers for our comments surrounding the “learning curve” of a new line and that we don’t mind executing a little bit of patience for Hasbro to correct things. But we hope that Hasbro isn’t already getting a little too lax with the line with the oceans of praise they’re receiving from fans of it. We want Hasbro to remain edgy and feel the need to constantly tweak and improve things. Because right now, Obi-Wan Kenobi may not meet the expectations of the many fans who have eagerly awaited him. He comes with an impressive 17 points of articulation, but again, the final head just leaves a quite a bit to be desired. What’s tragic is that we see its potential and that it actually is a fine sculpt. Then why release it with the seemingly rushed paint operations it possesses? Maybe it isn’t the worst paint job we have seen in the line, but when a figure costs $19.99 (and potentially higher as inflation affects things) it should be relatively flawless with tight paint operations and a healthy does of accessories. Don’t misunderstand us please. We love The Black Series 6” line, but there are more and more hiccups affecting the line and they are hiccups that Hasbro doesn’t seem to be addressing. Let’s hope this train ride sticks tightly to the tracks. We don’t want a train wreck after all.