Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi - TBS [SW40] - Six Inch Figures

By the time we reached the third phase of The Black Series 6” line, collectors began to wonder if Hasbro was ever going to get out the classic characters from the first Star Wars film. Now that we've arrived at 40th anniversary of Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, Hasbro has gone back to these classic characters and placed them on vintage Kenner inspired packaging to celebrate this incredible four decade landmark. One of the most highly anticipated characters of all for The Black Series 6" line was Obi-Wan Kenobi. If you recall, we broke the news that this figure was coming into the basic The Black Series 6” line, but Hasbro surprised us all when they announced that a special version of him was going to be issued as a 2016 San Diego Comic Con exclusive (with the special accessories that were only part of the exclusive release). So now after two distinct releases, the figure enters the line once again with a new name and new packaging. Obi-Wan Kenobi has turned out about as well as we had expected. In all honesty, Hasbro has had very little trouble throughout the years getting the likeness of Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi right. And they have done a fine job on this 6” version. Obi-Wan Kenobi is a positive step forward for the line and he is an excellent effort and we’re happy to say that we’re confident he’ll meet your expectations and perhaps more than that. This version comes with less accessories, but the figure still feels complete nonetheless. The question however is do you need this figure a third time? If you buy all three, you will spend $85 on the same figure. Hasbro is smarter than you think, huh?

This is probably nitpicking, but we feel it’s relevant to mention. Do you recall how 2004’s VOTC Ben (Obi-Wan) Kenobi had a head sculpt that looked like it was caught in a vice grip too long? While not nearly as exaggerated, we feel that this Obi-Wan Kenobi figure has an ever-so-slightly too narrow head shape that looks the teeniest bit off. Now, please know that we don’t think it looks terrible, but we can’t help but notice that we do see semblance of that elongation that was prevalent on the VOTC release. Some may disagree with our assessment here, but it’s something we see each time we analyze the figure. That being said, the head sculpt is still excellent and looks like very much like Sir Alec Guiness. We’re really not teeter-tottering here. We’re genuinely are impressed with Obi-Wan Kenobi’s portrait. We just feel compelled to point out the things we notice is all and the thinness of his head sculpt stands out. Thankfully, the rest of Obi-Wan Kenobi is a pure joy. Hasbro nailed the details of his costume, worked in a flawless soft-goods cloak that clings closely to the figure’s silhouette yet possesses a beautiful drape and accurately styled hood. Despite the outfit being mostly robes and heavy clothing, Hasbro worked in an incredible amount of articulation that is functional and useful. Obi-Wan Kenobi can swing a lightsaber with the best of them, as well as strike an action pose that is believable and awesome. As with most robed figures, Hasbro added slits all the way on the sides of the legs to allow for a full range of movement. What’s the point of having ball-socket hips, double hinge-jointed knees and rocker ankles if they’re all inhibited by a molded skirt?

In addition to the soft-goods outer robe, Obi-Wan Kenobi comes with his own lightsaber hilt with removable blade. We really don’t like the thinness of the lightsaber blade or the rubbery hilts, but they’re not terrible. They don’t seem to bother TBS6 collectors all that much, so maybe we’re focusing a little too hard complaining about them. Let’s face it, Hasbro has gotten embarrassingly cheap with how many accessories they now include with The Black Series 6” figures. And if they don’t think it’s taking a toll on the psyche of the collector than they better rethink what they’re doing. Obi-Wan Kenobi seems to be a great example to reassure us that they’re planning to include more stuff with their 6” figures. At least that’s what we hope to see continue for the future. The Black Series 6” line is a premium collectors’ action figure line. We have to keep the figures in it feeling like premium. One accessory just isn’t going to cut it. We’re not saying every Obi-Wan Kenobi figure needs to have a table with electronics, but Hasbro can certainly be a whole lot more generous with what they include. One of the most popular characters from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, we believe that this reissue version of Obi-Wan Kenobi will be a strong seller at retail regardless. But it’s too hard to gauge for that sure right now. As we continue to celebrate 40 years of Star Wars, it will be interesting to see how far Hasbro will take the line. Hasbro sort of teased that more is coming this year, but they do like to dangle carrots in front of collectors to keep the interest viral. We'll just have to wait and see.