Original review by Chris, 9/27/14

The ROTS #55 Pilot Obi-Wan stands as one of the best figures in Hasbro’s arsenal.  For that reason, no one complains when that figure gets re-released or slight retooled as is the case for this TAC offering. The problem is that this figure is overly ambitions in trying to be too many things while succeeding at none.  It tries to represent Kenobi in several scenes while on Utapau.  It’s got an electrostaff for giving Grievous’ Wheel Bike what for.  It’s got an E-5 blaster rifle for giving Grievous what for.  Finally, it’s got a rebreather for completely destroying the use of this figure. 

That rebreather, which I don’t think Obi-Wan ever uses in Episode III, destroys the display functionality of this figure.  Update:  Please see the comments where Darth Mire points out that Kenobi is shown using the rebreather when exiting the sinkhole pool.  Now back to your regularly scheduled program [/update].  More specifically, it’s the retooling of the head to accommodate the rebreather that is the problem.  This is presumably for the scene where Kenobi falls into the sinkhole pool after Commander Cody executes Order 66.  The problem is that, as just mentioned, I don’t think Obi-Wan ever dons this particular device, so there is no value in displaying the figure as such,  When removed to recreate other scenes, it gives the impression that Obi-Wan is standing with his mouth agape.  Lord, how am I going to express this while maintaining our pledge of family friendliness?  I will just say that it looks like Obi-Wan was the guest of Randy Marsh at a Broadway play.  You got me?  No? Go to South Park Studios, season 15 episode 11.

It’s a shame that the head sculpt has this damning feature because it’s based on an outstanding figure.  This isn’t the ultimate version of the base Episode III figure.  That actually comes later in the Thirtieth Anniversary Collection and features ball jointed hips.  This version has the original swivel hips, but still provides plenty of lower body posing options.  The arms are slightly dated, but still passable.  The range of motion of the elbows isn’t great.  Improving the elbow articulation would certainly help as would the addition of ball jointed wrists, but the arm articulation still functions acceptably despite these limitations.  This is a would be eight out of ten figure, but the head sculpt issue is such a negative that it takes it down to 5 out of 10.  There are only two reasons to own this figure.  One is that you need the coin.  The other is that you really want an Obi-Wan Kenobi figure that looks like an inflatable companion. 

Update by Bret 9/1/19:

Chris wrote the review based on the rebreather being a useless accessory, but added a note correcting this based on that Darth Mire guy correcting him.  So to set the record straight, let’s give this figure a fair shot.  As Chris wrote, it’s based on an excellent base mold, which was slowly retooled and improved over time, culminating in the TAC 08-01 figure which appeared just about a year after this one.  That figure had the ball jointed hips and soft goods lower tunic.  But this figure still has value, as it includes a couple of important accessories.  The first is the electrostaff, complete with electric effects on both ends.  Not only did Obi-Wan use this to fight Grievous on his wheelbase, but Obi-Wan also picked it up and used it during the MMA match on the landing platform.  He smacked the blaster (also included) out of Grievous’s hand, before being disarmed himself. 

But most importantly is the headsculpt, which has slicked back hair, and can also accommodate the included rebreather.  This replicates the scene where Obi-Wan is blasted off the back of Boga and plummets into the lake below.  He uses the rebreather to make it back to the surface.  The real problem with the figure is that the headsculpt, which is scene specific to the post-Order 66 moments as Obi-Wan emerges from the lake, negates anything else included with the figure.  The electrostaff and the blaster don’t really go with this figure. 

So while not the best ROTS Obi-Wan sculpt, it’s still good, and if you accept it as scene specific to the Utapau lake, it’s pretty good.  Then you just get a couple of other accessories which can be lent to other, more appropriate figures.  I have to elevate the figure to a 7.  It does its job pretty well.