Obi-Wan
Kenobi
Kenobi's Mech has an
alternate mode of a Jedi Starfighter. Like most Star Wars TFs, the alt
mode is nearly perfect-- the paint and mold detailing is nice and crisp,
and the proportions are right on. (The R2 unit is a bit large proportionally,
though that's a really small complaint.) I would've preferred a bit more
mold detailing on the top of the vehicle, but I'm not sure how accurate
that would've made the toy. There are several other little details to help
make the toy more playable in this mode than just a hunk of plastic-- there's
extendable landing gear on the front part of the vehicle, the wings fold
open for flight, the cockpit opens, and of course, a little bitty Obi-Wan
figurine fits nicely inside said cockpit. There's also a neat missile-firing
gimmick-- press in on the gunmetal gray panels on the front sides of each
wing and the lightsaber-missles fire out! Pretty nice way of hiding the
missile triggers, there. About the only real somewhat more-than-minor complaint
I have when it comes to the vehicle mode is that the 'Mech waist and top
of the upper legs are visible below the cockpit from a front view. It's
definitely not a deal breaker, though.
The proportions for
the robot mode, however, are the main downside of the toy-- the arms and
legs are way too short proportionally, and the main body too long. The
arms are also rather skinny, emphasizing their small size even more. The
large wings behind the back look somewhat like a cape, but they're a bit
too bulky and take up a bit too much of the body mass to really work, I
think. The back of the vehicle mode that folds out to reveal the 'Mech
head also doesn't really hook onto anything in the upper back, and it doesn't
lock into place, either, which is a little annoying. At least the 'Mech
head panel stays up somewhat well by itself. The head itself looks rather
cool-- the fake "hair and beard" details make it look somewhat like Obi-Wan,
while still definitely being a mechanical face. Obi-Wan also can hold his
dual lightsaber's prety well, and he has pretty good articulation-- he
can move at the shoulders (at two places), the elbows, the wrists (on ball
joints), the waist, the hips, the knees (at two places), and the neck.
His elbows can't turn on a full range of motion, and the large wing back-pack
does get in the way, but those are the only real limiations. (The knee
joints are really tight on mine, though.)
Obi-Wan Kenobi's Mech
has a great vehicle mode, but unfortunately the robot mode suffers from
several problems, most noticeably the odd proportions and the bulky wing-backpack.
He's rather sturdy for a Star Wars Transformer, but that's about the only
major area that makes him stand out above his other shelfmates. Definitely
a below-average Star Wars TF.
Review by Beastbot