Obi-Wan Kenobi - TBS [P3] - Titanium Series (02)

A legendary Jedi Master, Obi-Wan Kenobi was a noble man and gifted in the ways of the Force. He trained Anakin Skywalker, served as a general in the Republic Army during the Clone Wars, and guided Luke Skywalker as a mentor.

In 2017, Hasbro foolishly believed they could appease 3.75” collectors by releasing a series of characters in titanium metal with little to no articulation. Although the line failed at retail and went on clearance for pennies on the dollar, Hasbro believed for one reason or another that they had lightning in a bottle. Instead of giving 3.75” super-articulated collectors a wave of figures from Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope, they gave us five figures in the Titanium Series line, a division of The Black Series. The figure came with horrible paint jobs and minimal articulation, but this is what hand Hasbro dealt to collectors to celebrate 40 years of Star Wars. No one wanted to see the return of die-cast metal Titanium Series figures. If you recall, Hasbro made them part of the line 2007, and it failed then. Why bring it back a decade later? And why offer these instead of providing the starved 3.75” super-articulated collecting community from updated versions of the 12-Backs Kenner released in 1978. The Black Series 6” collectors got them. Why not us? Now we have poorly painted metal figures based on Star Wars Episode IV: A New Hope. We say “no thanks” to that.

While most of the figures in the Titanium Series line are dreadfully painted, Obi-Wan Kenobi is one of the better-looking ones. Keep in mind; it’s not perfect. The paint operations are still off a little bit. In some ways, Obi-Wan Kenobi looks like King Triton from The Little Mermaid. Hasbro positioned Obi-Wan Kenobi in an action stance. The arms are up and ready to wield a lit lightsaber, and the robes are flowing. Interestingly, Obi-Wan Kenobi comes without the hoot attached to the head, so this version of the character is based on scenes from Chalmun’s Cantina. The display stand also confirms this detail. The colorful side features a picture of the distillery and bar. Obi-Wan looks excellent, displayed in front of it. With the lightsaber in the figure’s hand, it’s apparent that he just sliced off Ponda Baba’s arm. Obi-Wan Kenobi comes with two lightsabers. One is normal, and the other contains a “sweeping” effect. Other than these two, the figure doesn’t come with anything else. The hands are sculpted in a manner where they don’t cup the lightsaber hilt closely. The lightsaber is reluctant to stay in place, but you can make it stay in place with a little patience.

Hasbro officially confirmed the Titanium Series line at 2017’s New York International Toy Fair. JTA revealed all of the figures in a series of teasers and rumor reports months before that. While not ideal, it may not be fair to dismiss the line as an utter and complete waste of time for Star Wars collectors. Now, there are plenty of things that not too many people will be able to overlook, like the lack of articulation and the medium from which they’re produced (metal). Obi-Wan Kenobi has a passable pose, minimal articulation, and complementary accessories that work with the figure well. All figures in this line come with a display stand. The selling point of this line is the display stand, which breaks down into base and backdrop. The backdrop is reversible, and Hasbro has included a background of Chalmun’s Cantina. Then a decorative silver and black artistic interpretation of Obi-Wan Kenobi is on the reverse side. Admittedly it all looks lovely. The set comes with four removable footpegs. The head sculpt moves via ball-socket articulation, and the rest of the figure is ball-jointed and swivel articulation. Hasbro worked in ball-jointed and swiveled articulation throughout the figure. The MSRP is $14.99.