Saturday, July 21, 2007

Figure of the Day: Day 441: Holographic Obi-Wan Kenobi

Holographic OBI-WAN KENOBI
The Saga Collection
Item No.:
Asst. 85770 No. 87341
Number: 063
Includes: Cloak, lightsaber, hilt, base
Action Feature: n/a
Retail: $6.99
Availability: Early 2007
Appearances: Revenge of the Sith

Bio: Obi-Wan Kenobi and the rest of the Jedi Council appear as holographic images to brief Yoda while the diminutive Jedi Master is on Kashyyyk. Obi-Wan's holographic form cannot hide the despair he feels as he watches the galaxy slip further and further into darkness and chaos. (Taken from the figure's cardback.)

Image: Adam Pawlus' toy shelves.

Commentary: It's hard to make something clear blue and with no paint exciting, but Hasbro made this Obi-Wan Kenobi figure a good one by using the best super-articulated mold available to them and by including nearly every accessory from the regular release of the figure. You get the cloak, the lightsaber (in "on" and "off" modes), a stand, and more joints than you could ever possibly need for a figure of this nature. So the figure can sit on a Jedi Council chair if you have a spare, more or less, so until Hasbro figures out how to add more definition to a translucent figure as well as some sort of "scan lines," this is probably as good as you can ever hope to see for a holographic figure of old Ben. So if you like holographic action figures, this is one of Hasbro's best, and as such, is worth snagging while you can. If you don't like the idea, there's really nothing new here to bring you over to the clear blue side of the Force, so you probably aren't going to miss too much by skipping it. I think it's worth a look though, just because it did turn out fairly well.

Collector's Notes: If there's one thing Hasbro is really good at, it's getting the most out of a mold. Starting life in 2005, this mold has been used for a "pilot" figure, a basic ROTS-style figure during the early Saga Collection line, this holographic figure, and of course, the post-duel "swimming" Obi-Wan from Episode III, and the comic pack figure based on the Clone Wars comics. Oh, and it looks like parts were used for a Mace Windu too. This figure shipped in two different colors: a very light blue (as pictured here, nearly identical to the blue mini holographic figures) and a much darker blue color. The first release was the dark blue, as far as I can tell.


Day 441: July 21, 2007

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