Figure Review: Sideshow Obi-Wan in Clone Armor

Sideshow’s latest 12-inch figure from the Star Wars Universe is the Obi-Wan Kenobi in Clone Armor. This figure also marks the first time that Sideshow has attempted an armored 12-inch figure.

It was said that Hot Toys took part in the design/manufacturing process for this figure and also played a part in the development of the new Armored Body used for this figure. This view was reinforced by the tiny Hot Toys Sticker Logo stick on the bottom left-hand corner of the box.

Accessories

Accessories for this figure were relatively few compared to previous Sideshow’s Star Wars Jedi 12-inch figures. The standard lit and unlit light sabers were included and there were 2 sets of hands including those with the so-called “blaster grip’.

No blaster was included and the box comes in a smaller edition, perhaps to save costs on plastics, card box materials and also shipping.

I generally do not mind the smaller box because it also helps me save on freight costs besides taking up less space in my already over-crowded storage room.

Head Sculpt

Considering that the head sculpt is that of a human, Sideshow did surprisingly well. The likeness to the actor who played the character of Obi-Wan Kenobi is undeniable.

The painting of the eyes does seems a bit “cartoon” but that is something I can live with.


Overall Figure

No much assembly is needed and you can as much display this figure straight from the box.

The joints for this figure are bad though. They are so “soft” and weak that my figure has a problem standing on its own. Without using the stand, I had to prop it up against the wall of the glass display so that the figure has some “backbone” on which to keep its pose and stand on its own.

The overall quality of the new Armored Body doesn’t look or feel good. The leg armor was loose and keep sliding away while my figure comes with its whole right hand twisted 180 degrees backwards. To adjust it back to the correct position so that I can bend its elbows, I had to remove all the armor pieces from the right hand and rotate the hand back to its correct position. This is a 2 minute job but if one is new to 12-inch figures and not realizing that the hand is not adjusted properly during production, one could easily break the hand if too much force is used to try bending the elbow.

Compared to the Medicom Clone Trooper's Armor and Armored Body, Sideshow’s Armored Body leaves much to be desired and has a lot of catching up to do in the areas of quality and workmanship.

Looking at the poor quality and workmanship of Sideshow’s Armored Body, I am now very tempted to cancel my current pre-orders for the upcoming Sideshow’s Stormtrooper and Utapau Clone Troopers!

Overall Rating

Overall, this is an okay figure, not taking into accounts the shoddy quality of the so-called new Armored Body. However, it is definitely not something that is worth paying USD$90 for.

I would rate this figure a 3 out of 5 (3/5). To me, this figure is a fairly good production but the new Armored Body is total let-down.