Hey all,
I have been collecting toys for what seems like forever. Being a toy collector is a big part of who I am and as such I have ended up with a room full of figures from various toy lines. Most of what I collect isn't special, that is, nothing is very rare as most things were available at retail or a collector shop. The most I spent on a single toy was probably 130-150, for my 12” Indiana Jones, or my Masterpiece Mega tron. Because of this the average person may not think that my collection is any thing to write home about; I have nothing that a typical collector couldn't pick up on Eba for a few bucks. I guess it would be the equivalent of a art collector who only collects prints of his favorite painting, but to me it is very different. It would be foolish to say that I remember every toy purchase that I made, but I remember a great deal of them. I love looking at a particular figure and remembering when I got it, where I got it from and in some cases, who got it for me. Sure I can also appreciate the figure for what it is, but I like to reminisce a little too.
Lately I have been looking at my collection as more of a chore than anything. Sure I still like being a collector, but it has been hard to find to to really enjoy my figures, so I have decided to start picking toys at random and doing reviews on them. I hope to show a little bit of why I think that toys is cool, but to also show why it is special to me.
And away we go!
Random Review 1
Star Wars
Kenner, Power of the Force
Obi-wan (Ben) Kenobi
So first up is Obi-Wan Kenobi. Wondering why he is the first? Well, he was the first toy that I got as a collector. He, and the Tie Fighter vehicle, were a Christmas preset from my brother in 1995. I was 15 at the time and a huge Star Wars fan. It has also been some time since I got toys from Christmas, so it was pretty exciting. If you ask me, Christmas is not Christmas without toys to open.
The figure itself is pretty basic. 5 Points of articulation. He comes with a removable plastic Jedi cloak and was part of the first wave “Long Saber” variants that had ridiculously long light sabers.
The cloak is nice because it is molded to look like he is wearing his classic Jedi robes, but easy be removed to make him look like the brown cloak is completely off.
I think the head sculpt is really good and captures the look nicely. Considering the size of the toy, the sculptor did a decent job.
One of my biggest pet peeves with an toy is it's ability to stand up on it own. There isn't very much articulation to Obi-Wan, so the options are limited, but this is the only way that I can stand him up unaided.
Overall the figure is good. Compared to today's standards it is a little weak, but I think the innovative molded cloak and the great face sculpt make up for it. I also like that it has the Long Saber. This was a pretty big deal for collectors back then even though it looks ridiculously un proportioned.
Still one of my favorites though...
thanks for reading, more to come!
