Obi-Wan Kenobi with Pilot Gear

Height: 10cm to top of head.

Articulation: 23 total points of articulation: ball-jointed neck; 5 points in each arm- double-jointed shoulder, double-jointed elbow, swivel wrist; double-jointed waist; 5 points in each leg- swivel hips, double-jointed knees, double-jointed ankles.

Accessories: Pilot Headset, Cloak, Lightsabers (activated and belt-storage versions).

Colors: Molded tan, golden brown, reddish brown, brown, fleshtone, and translucent blue (lightsaber blade). Painted light brown, dark brown, reddish brown, silver, black, white, and blue(eyes).

Release Data: Released Late Summer 2005 for an MSRP of $5.99. This item is still widely available as of this writing (November 1st, 2005)

Gallery: 9 images.

Author: RAC

The Figure

There have been quite a few figures of Obi-Wan this year. Up to now, though, they've all had some kind of gimmick- Slashing Attack! Force Kick! But now, just in time for the DVD release, the Basic line's final all-new assortment provides what will most likely be the best-articulated, least-gimmicky Obi-Wan Kenobi figure for quite some time.

The Head

The face seems a fair likeness for Ewan McGregor. Like Count Dooku the eyes are a bit too beady-looking to be exactly right, but this seems to be a problem that's relatively common to the line because of the scale. The neck is ball-jointed, and has a fair range of motion- not quite as much as the Clone helmets, but still quite respectable.

The Arms

Happily, the arms feature the hinge-and-swivel combination at both the shoulder and elbow, as well as swivel wrists. The only hindrance is the shape of his tunic, which forces the arms outwards as they're raised. This makes holding his lightsaber two-handed difficult, but not quite impossible.

The Torso

Obi-Wan's tunic is pretty nicely detailed, with the waist joints falling just above his belt. They have an excellent range, with an infinite swivel range and enough tilt to make Obi-Wan look like he's doubled over in pain. As usual the range is greater swinging forward than it swinging back, but that's pretty much in line with how most peoples' backs work.

The "skirt" is soft plastic, and split in pretty much the exact right places to obstruct the legs minimally. The decision to make this figure "Pilot Gear" Obi-Wan isn't entirely arbitrary- I don't think he'd have any trouble with sitting in any vehicle you'd choose to put him in.

The Legs and Feet

The legs have an excellent range as well. The hips are obstructed little, but not much, by the tunic, though they are still swivel joints. That's standard for the line, though, so while I'd like to see something better I don't intend to hold that against the figure. The knees are the same double-joint combo as everything else, and do quite nicely. Same goes for the feet, which actually have a slightly better range than the same joint on the Clone Troopers- Obi-Wan can point his toes or lean into his step. The knees and ankles are the slightest bit weak, however, and the ankles will occasionally give way when you go to stand him up. Also, the length of his shins does unfortunately prevent him from doing any decent kneeling.

Paint and Detailing

The paint is good overall, with the most noticeable bleed being on the red pouch on his belt. The Lightsabers, in particular, are pretty sharply painted, considering how small they are. All in all he looks quite good.

Articulation gets 8/10

Sculpt and Deco get 8/10

Accessories:

-Pilot Headset

Yup, this tiny piece of plastic is Obi-Wan's "Pilot Gear!" gimmick. It's not entirely identical to the headset used in the movies, mainly because it'd be hard to attach that to the figure's head without a big hole where the right ear should be. So instead Obi-Wan gets a slightly expanded headset which runs around his entire head. The fit's not perfect- the plastic is soft enough that it doesn't take much force to knock it off his head. It's not really a great accessory- in fact, it's kind of amusing that the piece which lends the figure its name and theme is the weakest part of the whole package.

-Cloak

It's a plastic cloak, so you know to expect a few things: for one, it stands up without the figure's help. For another, you have no hope of posing the figure while he's wearing it. However, that's not as large an issue for Obi-Wan as other plastic cloaks and capes have been for other figures, as he usually removes the cloak immediately before doing anything interesting. Also, I consider this particular cloak a scene-specific accessory: it's made specifically for Obi-Wan's entrance on Mustafar, immediately before he and Anakin begin their famous duel. In that respect, it's a winner, as it makes the figure look pretty much as imposing as it needs to. Your mileage may vary, but I like it.

-Lightsabers

Both are pretty well-sculpted and painted, and fit in both of Obi-Wan's hands well. The right has a slightly better grip than the left, though, which makes sense. The storage model has a nice long peg and stays on Obi-Wan's belt with no trouble at all. Knowing how bad a bad two-piece weapon of this type can be, I have no objections to the two-hilt approach.

Accessories get 8/10

Closing Remarks:

It really is the best Obi-Wan figure I've seen. It has a good likeness, great articulation, and decent accessories. The headset isn't really necessary, but if that's what it took for Hasbro to get it to stores, I'm fine with that.

I paid a little more than the SRP- $6.99 plus tax- but it was well worth it. It's a Very Good figure, and while I don't know if I'll be buying any more Star Wars figures after this, Obi-Wan would easily make a satisfying close to my experiences with the line.

-RAC 11/01/2005