1/6 Hot Toys - MMS 283 - Star Wars Episode IV: 1/6th scale Obi-Wan Kenobi

[TaliBane]

yea, bit of a fish eye thing going on in that one



yea, the likeness seems best from a profile or partial profile view.
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But I was surprised that he looked pretty good in the first one from straight on too. Not many straight on pictures convey Guinness to me like that one (not as much as the profile ones but better than other straight on ones).
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Dunno, I think he looks good in this 3/4 view too, even though the robe gets a bit sheer/TMI if its backlit.

 

[Jaymas]

Might as well be Henry Pim.

Now who is trying to do jedi mind tricks???

I don't think anyone can honestly say the figure looks just as much like Douglas as Pym as it does Guinness as Kenobi. It's not a home run by any means but it's also not a universal generic old man that equally fits anyone old with gray hair and a beard.

 

[Asta]

I don't think anyone can honestly say the figure looks just as much like Douglas as Pym as it does Guinness as Kenobi. It's not a home run by any means but it's also not a universal generic old man that equally fits anyone old with gray hair and a beard.

You're right, of course.

It looks more like James Coburn than Michael Douglas.

 

[Pixelpiper]

I don't think anyone can honestly say the figure looks just as much like Douglas as Pym

That's my point. It doesn't look like Michael Douglas at all. So it might as well be his Pym character, just like it's supposed to be Alec Guinness' Kenobi. It looks like none of them.

 

[Jaymas]

You're right, of course.

It looks more like James Coburn than Michael Douglas.

That's true, especially because of the squinty eyes, but it's not like if you put a Hot Toys figure out of James Coburn using the Kenobi HT head that people wouldn't rightly complain saying that it looks more like Guinness. Again, I am not saying that Hot Toys captures Guinness perfectly, but even despite the eyes that can remind you a bit of Coburn, it's still more Guinness than it is Coburn or anyone else. I agree the likeness of Kenobi is a bit off and I don't fault anyone for wanting it to be as perfect as possible, but let's not exaggerate how much it is off either.

That's my point. It doesn't look like Michael Douglas at all. So it might as well be his Pym character, just like it's supposed to be Alec Guinness' Kenobi. It looks like none of them.

No, I agree it doesn't look exactly like Guinness, but it does look MORE like Guinness than Douglas. I respect that you want it closer to perfect (I do to), I just don't think we have to act like there is zero resemblance as if we could not tell who they were trying to capture.

 

[Pixelpiper]

I just don't think we have to act like there is zero resemblance as if we could not tell who they were trying to capture.

I'm not acting. I think there is zero resemblance and the only reason to even guess Kenobi is because of context, including clothing, hair style and that we like Star Wars. Put that head sculpt on a body with a Star Trek uniform or jeans, boots and a Sons of Anarchy cut and that context is going to fade away.

It's (at least) as bad as Hot Toys DX05 Indiana Jones head sculpt in terms of likeness. And DX05 had the rest of the package going for it - and under the right lighting you can begin to see a bit of Ford, believe it or not. Still swapping that head out shortly.

Speaking of Indy, put that sculpt on the Medicom or Sideshow Henry Jones senior body/clothes for a laugh.

 

[Asta]

That's my point. It doesn't look like Michael Douglas at all. So it might as well be his Pym character, just like it's supposed to be Alec Guinness' Kenobi. It looks like none of them.

You're right, of course.

The sculpt is as much a random old guy as it is Alec Guinness.

We only know it's supposed to be Alec Guinness because Hot Toys told us it was:

- Authentic and detailed likeness of Sir Alec Guinness

However, they might have been using the Marvel comics for reference.

Will the real Alec Guinness please stand up.

 

[abake]

The 3R figures look incredible, too bad they're nazis..

I can understand that someone might want their figures, but there are whole elaborate sets with desks and stuff. "-Here is a diorama with Heinrich Himmler signing orders to send another hundred people to the gas chamber", that's kind of strange to me. But the quality is someting else, some of the absolute best I've seen.



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This is painted by Darren Carnall and it's probably the best Ben I have found.

Here is another newer paint apparently:

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Still up close like this it doesn't match the paint quality of HT, but the sculpt does look like Kenobi.

It's just so weird how from the front HT Kenobi looks like anything but him, but in profile that changes and it looks a lot better. I can't swear that the profile is perfect compared to the real Alec Guiness but at least it doesn't NOT look like him if you know what I mean.

Yeah, I know... as a WWII collector, I don't get the fascination with having a mini-Hitler or mini-Himmler on your desk either, but let's not get political.

I wonder what DiD/3R could do if they invested the same type of care and craftsmanship into movie licenses as they do on WWII stuff.
The closest they've come are a couple of "Enemy at the Gates" inspired figures, out of which the Ed Harris and Ron Perlman were pretty outstanding.

Anyway, sorry to keep derailing this...

Back to Ben and paint apps. I remember a customiser/painter on some WWII-themed board who had a very interesting technique for painting heads. IIRC, he used make-up to achieve that "translucent" effect. It's been a while, so I'm not sure I can find his work again, but I'll keep a look-out.

 

[paramoremcr88]

You must unlearn what you have learned.....for this is the way of Star Wars. Better is one, yes.....

Yes. The HT.

 

[Pixelpiper]

Is anyone planning to do a complete tear-down of this figure or has anyone seen such a tear-down anywhere else? What I most want to see is every part removed from the whole and photographed in some detail.

 

[Cocoboloboy]

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Good reference pic. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Neither is spot on. HT looks like a realistic interpretation of Obi-Wan and SS looks like a caricature interpretation of Obi-Wan. My preference is the more realistic version.

 

[paramoremcr88]

Good reference pic. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Neither is spot on. HT looks like a realistic interpretation of Obi-Wan and SS looks like a caricature interpretation of Obi-Wan. My preference is the more realistic version.

My thoughts too. It's not an absolute either way.

 

[Pixelpiper]

 

[galactiboy]

That's a fair point... the Sideshow has slightly exaggerated features. I think it still looks more like Kenobi, but not as much like a real person. Even the stranding of the hair is much thicker than the HT work. Still, if I could have a shrunken down version of the Sideshow head will some extra skin and hair texture I'd be a happy camper

Just to throw in more of the repaint talk... this is one of my most recent repaints of the Sideshow Kenobi. It can really look great with some extra work, but will never have the same subtleties that make the HT so realistic:

​

 

[DarthAlias]

Good reference pic. Both have their strengths and weaknesses. Neither is spot on. HT looks like a realistic interpretation of Obi-Wan and SS looks like a caricature interpretation of Obi-Wan. My preference is the more realistic version.

Yes. The HT.

 

[Jaymas]

I'm not acting. I think there is zero resemblance and the only reason to even guess Kenobi is because of context, including clothing hair style and that we like Star Wars. Put that Head sculpt on a body with a Star Trek uniform or jeans, boots and a Sons of Anarchy cut and that context is going to fade away.

It's as bad as Hot Toys DX05 Indiana Jones head sculpt. And DX05 had the rest of the package going for it.

I agree that context helps and without it the likeness isn't as obvious. Without it being a home run sculpt it becomes pretty subjective to how close or far away the likeness may be to what it is supposed to be. I don't think it is nearly as far off as the Hot Toys DX05 Indiana Jones head sculpt and I REALLY wanted that one to be good to replace the "doll" faced Sideshow one with its puppet like body I still have on my shelf today. Despite the MANY flaws of the Sideshow one I don't regret not getting the Hot Toys Indy. Doing some custom work on my Indy is still on my to do list, or perhaps I will pick up the Temple of Doom one. But despite the similarities in circumstances as I sit here with a sideshow Ben (which I like despite its flaws yet not nearly as flawed as ssc Indy) on my shelf I don't find it as out of the question to consider the Hot Toys Ben as an "upgrade". It's just doesn't seem as far off as the Hot Toys Indy to me, though to be fair the problem with Indy was enhanced with the poor execution of the peers eyes that we don't have to worry about with the Kenobi figure. Another factor is that Indiana Jones is displayed by himself where there is nothing next to him to compare directly to him, but as I collect the other OT Star Wars figures my SSC Kenobi figure will not have the same advantage. So, I'm still on the fence about getting this figure, and as I ponder if I will move on this or not I am trying to be as objective as I can. If it were perfect it would be a no brainer, it's not, so now its left to personal preference and subjective opinion about how close it is or not in likeness and what it takes for each of us for a figure to be worth picking up or not. Right now I do see some picture of HT Kenobi, especially when it at least has a hint of a profile, which I feel looks more like Guinness than any picture I have ever seen of the Hot Toys DX05 Indiana Jones. Will this be enough for me to pull the trigger- we'll see. Until I know which way I am going to go I look forward to seeing more pictures, especially in hand, and hopefully more videos and reviews.

 

[paramoremcr88]

Oh and just to let you all know that Stealth V has left SSF. Shame to have lost a great contributor to board.

 

[Jaymas]

Even without the Star Wars context it's not like the sculpture in the middle doesn't look like its supposed to be Guinness. Again, am I saying it's perfect or even better than Sideshows? No. But I think it is a lot closer than some people think it is.

 

[Pixelpiper]

I like DX05 Indy and I don't think there's anything wrong with PERS and that it in no way affects the likeness even though I see that feature parroted as a scape goat all the time.

 

[paramoremcr88]

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Just looks like Guinness dressed up as Henry Jones?