Obi-Wan Kenobi - TVC - Basic (VC103)

Celebrate the legendary Star Wars saga that changed the universe forever! This collection brings to life the incredible story of good versus evil that captured our imagination and took us to a galaxy far, far away. Iconic Star Wars heroes and villains are captured with incredible detail and premium features to commemorate each epic tale in the Star Wars saga. May the Force be with you!

One of the most expensive The Vintage Collection figures on the aftermarket is (was) Obi-Wan Kenobi (VC103), based on the character’s appearance from The Clone Wars. The action figure was part of the final wave, The Vintage Collection, and included a dozen new action figures relegated as online exclusives. Not available at TARGET or Walmart, it was only through etailers like Amazon, Entertainment Earth, and other small online shops where collectors could order the action figures. Due to the lack of distribution, these figures go for a hefty premium on the aftermarket. Hasbro attempted to release some of the wave’s most popular characters, including Emperor’s Royal Guard (VC105), Ahsoka (VC102), and Republic Trooper (The Old Republic) (VC113). But that didn’t come close to meeting the demand of the others. Eight years later, Hasbro adds Obi-Wan Kenobi (VC103) to the second run of The Vintage Collection, and the announcement elated many Star Wars collectors. The good news is that Obi-Wan Kenobi now comes with Photo Real deco and better overall paint job, and the packaging expanded upon what Hasbro did previously with the graphics. If you recall, the original Obi-Wan Kenobi figure came with awkwardly painted eyes. Thanks to Photo Real, Hasbro fixed the aesthetics of Obi-Wan’s facial features. So we have a definitive presentation of this figure now. Hasbro also changed the reference image of Obi-Wan Kenobi. Now the character's head is pitched.

Although now ended, The Clone Wars took an exciting but exhilarating turn. Hasbro decided long ago that collectors’ interests didn’t affect the animated The Clone Wars line’s production. Take that as you’d like, but Hasbro, in the future, will be saving super-articulation for realistically-styled characters from Filoni’s The Clone Wars television show for the collector-focused format from here on out. Many are upset to see Hasbro make this decision because collectors want a complete animated The Clone Wars collection. Still, others happily jumped on board with the new directive. The selection won’t be as vast, but collectors will ultimately reap more benefits with this approach. Firstly, you can expect all figures to come super-articulated. Secondly, collectors can expect state-of-the-art sculpting and excellent character choices of their favorites – many of which will come super-articulated out of the gate. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a superb example of why heading The Clone Wars toy license into a realistic style (for collectors) is the way to go. This action figure brings a fantastic amount of quality into the basic figure line. And quite honestly, we wished that Hasbro put this much effort into the head sculpt of the Tartakovsky Obi-Wan Kenobi (BD 9) from The Legacy Collection. Wow, what an incredible likeness this Obi-Wan Kenobi action figure has indeed! Hasbo struggles with the consistency of their quality, but they appear to have everything in place here.

Obi-Wan Kenobi is a realistic interpretation of the first 2008 The Clone Wars [Blue] Obi-Wan Kenobi (No. 2) figure. Hasbro updated this figure when they released it as 2010’s TCW [SOTDS] BARC Speeder Bike With Obi-Wan Kenobi Deluxe figure and again with 2010’s TCW [SOTDS] Freeco Speeder With Obi-Wan Kenobi Deluxe figure set. They added more articulation so the figure could pilot the bike, but it wasn’t perfect, and collectors wanted a bit more. The same figure was repainted and released in 2011’s TCW [SOTDS] Assault On Geonosis Battle Packs set. We list all of these releases to make the point that it was a pivotally important character for Hasbro produce. It makes complete sense why this character got a realistic take so soon (it was the third non-animated The Clone Wars figures). But after these releases, Hasbro never went back to update the first The Clone Wars Obi-Wan Kenobi appearance as an action figure. You may or may not care about that. But it’s important because it shows that Hasbro cleverly restrained themselves from producing any others so that collectors would develop an appetite for a realistically-styled interpretation. One thing is sure. This Obi-Wan Kenobi (VC103) figure should trump all previous versions – animated or realistic. It’s that good. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a figure we’re proud to own, and Hasbro should be equally proud of creating such an impressive action figure. And it looks great next to Anakin Skywalker and Ahsoka!

Obi-Wan Kenobi comes super-articulated. The figure comes with a ball-socket head, two fully functioning ball-jointed shoulders, ball-jointed elbows, swivel wrists, a swivel waist, swivel hips, ball-jointed knees, and two ball-jointed ankles. We always knew the portrait was extraordinary, and now we have the proof thanks to Photo Real. It would be nice to see Hasbro reuse it for future Episode III-type Obi-Wan Kenobi action figures (or new versions of The Clone Wars iterations). The expression on the face is flawless, and the paint job on the hairline is improved. Hasbro added a discreet soft-goods skirt (which is very formfitting to his midsection) that allows for a decent amount of hip movement while not interrupting the rest of the sculpted parts’ smooth aesthetics. The armor pieces on the outfit are incredibly detailed and perfectly proportional. Nothing looks too large or out of place and suits the figure well. Hasbro added some dirt and scuffs to the armor. This time they’re painted differently. Overall, most of the brown paint applications are richer (and lighter in some spots) this round. Hasbro brought back the same method of applying deco to Obi-Wan Kenobi that they utilized for the Clone Troopers in The Saga Collection with their carbon-scoring and dirt markings via half-toning. Obi-Wan’s accessories include a lightsaber and lightsaber hilt. If there is one area that Obi-Wan Kenobi lacks, it’s the number of accessories. We wish Hasbro included a removable Clone Trooper helmet or interchangeable helmeted head if we had to complain about something.

Editor's Note: Hasbro re-released The Vintage Collection Obi-Wan Kenobi (VC103) figure in September 2020 with a significant number of changes. Updates include: (1) "photorealistic" deco, (2) different "battle damage" applications – both color and shape (3) darker brown hair color (4) different color outfit parts like belt, shirt, and shoulder armor (5) refreshed 2020 packaging with different graphics including revised character composite, (7) different shade of blue for figure backer and name "pill."

Review Status Update: The original publication date of this review is October 2, 2012. It was subsequently updated with a new Photo Gallery and revised General Analysis and republished on September 11, 2020 after Hasbro reissued the figure.