Ok, I admit it. A LOT of people said The Phantom Menace (TPM) sucks big time. I get it, most people were not interested to see how the whole universe came about before the events of the Battle of Yavin took place. Couple that with the fact that the mediocre acting in Episodes I till III were nowhere near the quality we've seen in Episodes IV-VI....a definite recipe for disaster. But one of the positives of Episode I was that we got to see a very young Obi Wan Kenobi at the beginning of his 'career'. Yes, I looked forward to see the 'Padawan' Obi Wan in action, whatmore when I first heard that he's gonna accompany his 'master' on some treaty mission. The time gap between Sideshow's Sixth Scale Qui Gon Jinn and the Padawan Obi Wan Kenobi is totally unnaceptable. When I first receive Qui Gon way back in mid 2006, I was so confident that the Padawan Obi Wan was to follow suit almost immediately. Darth Maul came around the same time but Obi Wan wasn't even the works until we saw the teaser pic sometime in early 2012. I knew I had to get him at all cost....Qui Gon's been pretty lonely on his own. I'm actually glad Sideshow waited for 6 years before releasing the Padawan. The advancements in 1/6 action figure engineering has grown leaps and bounds since the mid 2000s.
So let's see if Sideshow's Sixth Scale Padawan Obi Wan Kenobi from the 'Order of the Jedi' series is a home run or otherwise
Let's start with the packaging. We've all seen this before. Sideshow employs a very cool magnet system that allows you to open the flaps without damaging the packaging whatsoever. This has been their hallmark since they first released the line from the beginning. So why change something that works really well? Perhaps my only grouse is that the graphics are at a minimal. But I heard that Sideshow had to keep it simple under direct orders from Lucasfilm themselves. I love the 'matte' look by the way....seemed to be more 'camera friendly' when photographed with lamp lights.
I love the gate-fold presentation format. You'd get to see the pictures plus the chance to read the lenghty 'historical' facts on the inner flap. Gone are the days when Sideshow would give us a second tray (with all of the extra hands and stuff) on the opposite site of the main tray (with the figure). Nowadays, they just place the second tray underneath the main tray. More on that later on.
My expectations were pretty high for this figure. Like most collectors, I have been waiting for the Padawan Obi Wan forever to complement my Qui Gon in the battle against Darth Maul! I kinda expect the figure to be at least 'there' when compared to those of Hot Toys'. I'm not saying that it should be at par with HT but the least that we can expect is to (finally) see a 'human' figure more realistic than Sideshow's previous offerings.
Below you can see the two trays. The first one houses the figure itself plus two pairs of extra hands, each posed in different positions. You also get two extra feet which is already posed in their 'action' stance if you wanna pose Obi Wan in an action mode. In the second tray you get his lightsabers (both ignited and non-ignited) and another ignited lightsaber permanently attached to a 'right' hand (more on that later). And....oh, did I tell you you'd get yet a bunch of extra hands too?
Right, let's move on to the figure. The first thing I checked for was the height differences between Obi Wan and his mentor, Qui Gon Jinn (you know, the figure which I had in my collection since 2006 but now looks completely outdated compared to his Padawan?!). Qui Gon is still much taller than his Padawan, so I'm kinda happy Sideshow didn't mess up the scale. The 6-year gap between the two figures is so evident when you compare both head sculpts side by side. But that's not what I'm here for. I'm gonna blabber about the Padawan figure so let's just forget about that issue for now.
Really. Obi Wan looks way much closer to (although not in the same league as) the Hot Toys' offerings, a major improvement on Sideshow's part. Ok, ok....there I go again. No more comparisons between Sideshow's old and new. Seriously, that's it.
One immediate flaw I noticed on the Obi Wan's head sculpt is that his Padawan 'pony tail' is in a different color than the rest of his hair. I'm pretty sure it wasn't so in the movie. Not much of a flaw but more of an annoyance really....haha. The Padawan braid is a separate piece but looks like it's part of his 'hair' since it's well hidden behind his ear.
Obi Wan's robe is made out of a much softer material this time around. I mean, wayyy softer than what we've gotten thus far from the earlier Jedi/Sith figures from Sideshow. It's got a 'velvet' feel to it but still looks good as a scaled representation of the Jedi robe in real life. The wire at the hood is good enough to allow you to place the hood in your desired positions and shapes. I had no problem whatsoever getting the hood in its 'natural' position when Obi Wan has it over his head.
Not only the robe is much softer, Obi Wan's tunic and his pants are made out of softer material. It gives a more realistic feel to his appearance. I think I've also read somewhere that this new Sideshow 1/6 body buck has some improvements over its predecessor so technically speaking it allows you to pose the figure in more poses and stances with ease.
Seeing the advancements in Sideshow's capabilities to produce their sixth scale figure, it almost made me wish that the earlier 'human' figures can be revisited and re-made using all of their latest technology and engineering capability.
What's a Jedi without his lightsaber now, right? Like I've said before, you get 3 lightsabers with Obi Wan. The un-ignited hilt clips nicely onto his belt while the other 2 gives you more options to display Obi Wan in his battle-ready mode. The ignited blade is not something we haven't seen before, but what we really want to see (and really CURIOUS about) is the 'light-up' lightsaber function that comes with the second lightsaber aka the one that can't be detached from his right fore arm.
The 3rd lightsaber is actually permanently attached to a detachable right fore arm which swaps easily with the one already attached on Obi Wan. Batteries are included so that brings us to the all-too-famous question that is surely on every collectors' mind...."Will the batteries leak anytime soon?". I wouldn't be too worried about that really...just take 'em out if you're concerned about leakages. Anyway, back to the 'electronic' arm. What you do is simply pull the bottom of the lightsaber to 'ignite' the blade.
Honestly, I am a wee bit disappointed with the light-up function. It's not as bright as I thought it would be. But it's not a big deal really. Who else am I gonna pose him with? I mean, nobody else seems to have the same 'lightsaber light-up' function thus far. The light-up saber does its job fairly well in these photos and that's good enough for me...heheh.
The thing with some collectors is that they're almost certain to complain and complain about a head sculpt that they're getting. I, for one, appreciate the fact that we're lucky to even have these characters made into their sixth scale glory. Give 'em some love people! Obi Wan's here is no exception. Some people are saying that the sculpt's a bit off and all. But to me he looks pretty good and has a decent likeness to the actor. Sideshow may not have the same ensemble of sculptors as Hot Toys (yet) but they are improving over time. Kudos to that.
I don't know about the whole lot of you but this Episode I Obi Wan just shortened my 'most wanted Star Wars 1/6 figure list'. I wish Sideshow would work on a sixth scale Chewbacca next!
Now what good is an Episode I Obi Wan Kenobi if he can't dance with Qui Gon and that certain Dathomirian Zabrak tattooed warrior? Man.....been waiting for a loooooong time for these pictures!
THE REBEL'S VERDICT: This one is definitely for you hardcore 1/6 Star Wars fans. I mean, who else would want multiple versions of Obi Wan from every each of the different era on their shelves, right? Sideshow figures still suffer from the 'melon-head' syndrome although not as bad as before. You really can't compare any of Sideshow's offerings to that of a Hot Toys'. They're not exactly 'apple-to-apple' to begin with. But for what it's worth, Sideshow has actually improved quite a bit from their early days. I may be biased here because I have been anticipating a sixth scale Padawan Obi Wan since like forever but this figure is a huge improvement over previous Sideshow 'human' figures...so go 'figure'! Simply put, if you collect them Jedis or if you collect any Phantom Menace memorabilia then this Padawan Obi Wan Kenobi is a definite must in your collection.
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