Obi-Wan Kenobi - TLC - Basic (BD 34)

Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi listens to the message that Princess Leia recorded into R2-D2's memory. Projected onto a table, the flickering holographic image of the princess asks for the venerable Jedi’s help, telling him he is their "only hope."

The future is always in motion with Hasbro. For Hasbro announced a while back that one of the Evolutions sets in The Legacy Collection was one based on the development of Obi-Wan Kenobi. It was quickly “canceled,” and the figures that made up the three-pack were put into their respective themed basic figures wave. (Editor’s Note: Obi Wan Kenobi (BD 44) and Obi-Wan Kenobi (BD06) were not yet released as of the original published date of this review.) Hasbro has hinted that Evolutions is not performing up to expectations, so they seized the opportunity to get these super-articulated figures into the basic line and to be honest, we can’t think of a better place for them to be released. It is a great thing that this figure was released as part of the basic line, because it was unknown if the wonderful accessory (his homestead table) would have been included in the Evolutions package since accessories from Evolutions sets were getting more and more pathetic as of late. And interestingly, we had to worry about the homestead table even making it into the same package as the basic figure. But Hasbro came through, and despite their (unintentional) misinformation, the glorious Obi-Wan Kenobi with his dwelling table and holographic Princess Leia Organa has indeed seen release. And what a beautiful and stunning release it is. We will get to the figure in a moment, but we have raved about the accessory he comes with first. The table (where R2-D2 shows the image of a holographic Princess Leia) is perfectly recreated and comes complete with non-removable glasses and a teapot-like container. It is brilliantly sculpted and is an amazing accessory for such an awesome super-articulated action figure. Perhaps the “gravy” of the table is its beautifully marbled paint job. You have to see it in person to fully appreciate how authentic it looks. It is clear that Hasbro didn’t save on any tooling costs on this set, but we don’t expect them to lose money on it either. This basic figure packs a lot of value for $7.99, and it would be foolish to consider passing on it. There is a peg in the center that the Princess Leia mini figure attaches to very snuggly so “she” won’t fall off easily. And on top of the marbling effect, you can see beautiful uses of dirty washes. They are subtly visible throughout the main gray color of the table. The table itself comes in the package in two pieces that permanently snap together once assembled. Or if it can be taken apart, it is a risk we are not willing to take as we don’t want to break the piece.

Now onto the actual action figure! My goodness! Where do we begin? Well, we almost have our definitive Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure. The 2004 VOTC Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi figure pales in comparison. It is simply a joy to get an Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure with so much attention to detail. And more importantly, it's great to get him with so much quality articulation. Obi-Wan has a pretty good track record with Hasbro because it is a character that that Hasbro has successfully nailed throughout the years when it comes to likeness. But nothing comes close to the likeness of this figure as it is probably the best we will ever see out of Hasbro. Obi-Wan is a much-adored character that was played by Sir Alec Guinness, and it is evident that this is Sir Alec Guinness in a shrunken state. The figure is perfect. Despite this being a revolutionary version of Obi-Wan Kenobi, you may be interested to know that although the figure is essentially all-new, the torso and cod section are borrowed from the 2004 VOTC Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi figure. Even still, have no worries, because the new figure is loaded with premium super-articulation of which many are ball-jointed points. Hasbro has eliminated the swivel arms joints (a joint type that we wish would just disappear because we think an arm with no elbow joints would be better) and virtually any position can be attained by this action figure. A great deal of thought went into the engineering of this figure, and Hasbro has delivered a beautiful final product to collectors. While the sculpt is fantastic, Obi-Wan Kenobi does have a few loose joints, especially in the head and legs which requires a bit more futzing than you may desire to gain the appropriate pose you are trying to achieve. Futzing is not a huge issue, but even the legs move around a bit too much and getting the figure to stand upright may require more than your fair share of patience. Still, once you successfully pose the figure, he will keep it and look fantastic in your collections. A figure that comes with accessories that are worth his weight, Obi-Wan is loaded with lots of goodness from Hasbro, and the accessories are culled from multiple mediums. Obi-Wan Kenobi comes with the homestead table, holographic Princess Leia miniature figure, lightsaber, and removable soft-goods cloak. He also has a cloth skirt, and it works very well even though it significantly contrasts against the molded chest upper robes (the colors and textures are off by just a bit). Also new to this figure are the robe ties that drape nicely down the front of the figure. The overall result is an absolute score for collectors, and we are so thankful that Hasbro has these high standards in place for iconic Star Wars characters that they translate into action figures.

We absolutely feel 100% confident claiming that we now have our definitive Obi-Wan "Ben" Kenobi figure. It satisfies in every way possible, and if this figure does see rerelease in the future, we just think that some color choices can be improved upon as well as some additional tightening in the joints. This figure would have been an ideal release for the "vintage" line, but Hasbro had other plans. We'd love to see him reissued in premium collector vintage Kenner-inspired packaging because this figure deserves it. A new bar has been raised by Hasbro as evidenced by Obi-Wan Kenobi. He proves what Hasbro is able to release in the basic figure line. But it also works both ways. These higher quality figures will command higher price tags, and we have seen this first hand at retail. Obviously, the figures won’t cost us $10 or more each, but the super-articulation as a standard certainly is cost-prohibitive unless Hasbro can increase costs or include more repacks in the basic figure line. Our wish is for Hasbro to keep quality standards high while simultaneously keep costs as low as possible for the consumer. Is this basic figure worth $7.99? Absolutely! Is it worth $10 or more? Well, that envelope is being pushed now. What we do know for sure is that we want action figures of this caliber to keep coming. Obi-Wan Kenobi is such a powerful action figure that older sculpts look better because of him. For example, check out Obi-Wan Kenobi and how he affects 2006’s TSC Luke Skywalker (SAGA 036) figure when posed next to him. Since that figure has his trunk, it completes that whole scene! There is not much more Hasbro can do to make this figure better. (Editor’s Note: Hasbro released a Battle Packs set entitled Resurgence Of The Jedi in December 2009 updating this Obi-Wan Kenobi figure among others. We recommend checking out that review too!) We have heard whispers of collectors complaining about the cloak being too big and bulky again, but we have to disagree. Sometimes it is just impossible to please everybody. But if you play with the cloak long enough, you can pose Obi-Wan "hood up" to face Darth Vader is his final duel. The cloak is also big enough to disguise him as the "krayt dragon caller" that scared away the Sand People too. So we prefer the versatility that this cloak/rove provides the collector. The possibilities are endless with this figure. If Hasbro can fine tune some of the small issues, it would be amazing, but even so, this figure is nonetheless excellent and will likely not disappoint you. Another detail we hope Hasbro will consider for the future is interchangeable hands. It seems like a no-brainer to us, but it could be a tooling cost issue for Hasbro. Obi-Wan is in need of a couple different hand gestures as the static pointing hand is not really appropriate for every diorama. Nevertheless, Obi-Wan Kenobi will no doubt enthrall you! He is such a great figure and it is evidently no wonder why he was up for the premium inclusion in an Evolutions set. But we still got him (and in a much better format in our opinion) and that’s all that matters.