EPII 12" Obi-Wan Kenobi MiniReview!

[Jayspawn]

It blew my mind! I walked into Wal-Mart and saw 12" Obi-Wan and Anakin Episode II figures sitting on the shelf, EARLY!!!

- Likeness : Well...at first Obi-Wan's beard looks funny on a 12" figure. With a little time, I've gotten used to it. I had to look at it for a while, but the Ewan McGregor likeness is not too bad. The figure even has that small mole above Ewan's left eye. Whats throws me off is the beard. I think Obi-Wan has more 'chops' on the 12" figure then he does in the movie. 4/5.

- Sculpt : This being a 12" figure, the Sculpting catagory only really aplies to his head. Which was very nicely done. Obi-Wan has sculpted hair as opposed to 12" Qui-Gon who had 'rooted hair.' The sculpted hair looks good and the detail with the beard looks good also. *note* there is a flesh toned corrective mark on the right side of Obi-Wan's head seperating his beard and hair. I guess the paint maybe over ran. But the mark doesn't stand out, I thought it was interesting. 4/5.

- Articulation : Once again Hasbro uses the standard 12" body for this figure. Expected. He is very posable, none of his joints are stiff or tight. 5/5.

- Accessories : Obi-Wan only comes with his lightsaber. Thats it. I believe it's the same lightsaber from the EPI Obi-Wan. It's nothing new but it's enough. The lightsaber's blade is removable and the hilt clips very nicely onto his belt. It would have been nice if Obi-Wan came with a Jedi robe. 4/5.

- Playability : This is actually a prety good 12" figure. He looks a lot better out of the box. So take him out. His hands seem to be a little soft so he can grpi his lightsaber more easily. Nice! His biggest problem is that he has a problem standing. There's not enough weight in his toes so he easily falls over. 5/5.

- Value : I picked this up at Wal-Mart for $19.95. Standard price for 12" figures. Is it worth it? Yes, the figure's outfit is very well detailed. His tunic is 'crimped' I think thats the word, its a nice feature and adds a little more detail to the figure. 5/5.

- OVERALL : I had a few beefs about this figure. But it kinda grew on me. Hasbro actually did a good job on this figure. My biggest peve though, is that he can't stand! He is very posable so he can do most anything, accept stand. I love his outfit, some nice work. He looks a LOT better out of the box! So take him out and find a creative way to stand him up. 4/5.

[browndroid]

yeah, there have been reports of walmart cross the country releasing early, great review!

[2-1B]

I'm glad you liked him, I can't wait to get him and Anakin. I'm excited that the beard sounds cool, I hope the Dooku looks cool too when he's released :)

[derek]

i just got anakin and obi wan 12 inch figures. and hasbro, i owe you an apology regarding my complaints of the head sculpts. they are actually quite good. whether real scan was actually used, i don't know, but they both look really good, especially if you compair the quality of the episode 1 obi-wan to the new likness.

jayspawn, i gotta disagree with you on the body though.:)
my anakin and obi wan stayed on their 1993 hasbro body for about 30 minutes before i just had to pull their heads off!:)

here's what you can do to improve your 12 inch obi-wan and anakin:

1. carefully pull their heads off. no heating is required.
2. after you have de-capitated your doll, get an exacto knife and cut off the area that starts to "round off" at the bottom of the neck. there is a seam there, and it's easy to follow the line so you will get a straight cut. now look inside the neck area. cut that area out that is around the inside of the jawline.
3. now your doll head can be transplanted to his new doner body. i highly suggest the 21st century super soldier body. this is the super articulated one, not their original version which is showing up in stores again. avoid that one!:eek:
4. the head will snugly fit on the neck post. no glue is necessary. it will stay in place, but can easily be removed.
5. now dress your doll. you don't want anyone thinking you're a pervet.:evil: now sit back and admire your work and rejoice that your doll doesn't have elephant hands and has the extra leg articulation so he dosen't look like he has to go to the bathroom.

the reason the 21st century body works here is two reasons:

1. the neck post is "shorter" than the g.i. joe neck post. if you transplant the head to a hasbro body, you will have a giraffe neck, or you'll have to cut more of the neck off.

2. this body is taller than hasbro's. there's nothing worse than a munchkin jedi, unless it's yoda, or yaddle, or that one-eyed pink yoda.:D

[JediTricks]

Right on Derek, that's the body I use for my transplants!!!

[2-1B]

I also think he looks better out of the box :)
I didn't like the way his head was posed in there, it just seemed awkward. I agree with Jayspawn on the beard, I was startled at first but 3 weeks later I'm pretty pleased with him.

Derek or JT, what's the price on those donors?

[JediTricks]

21st Century donor bodies range from $15 to $30 depending on which figure you get that has the body.

[jedibear]

A quick question regarding the 21st cen donor bodies....what's the name (or names) of some of the 21st century figures you guys are using?

[jedibear]

Oh, & now some comments of my own regarding this figure....

I like the head sculpt too....it really shines under severe lighting conditions i.e.: side-lit or back-lit with a small lamp.
I like the jedi robes, but the one I got was severely wrinkled on the front (they ALL were of the ones I had to choose from the day I picked it up) so I carefully ironed it with a low heat setting to smooth it out. It flattened the crinkle-cloth a bit, but it looks good.
I also borrowed the robe from the first edition Qui-Gon figure (I have the DoN one for display...taller & more impressive) to put on him since Hasbro saw fit NOT to include robes with any of these jedi figures this time around....sorry but the cynic in me knows they'll probably release a new version towards the end of the year with robes, the pilot head-gear and the transmission accessory (like the regular figure will sport). I makes him really stand out with the robe on.
I'm with you guys on these barely posable bodies though...I think I'll try your recipe for improvement there....