Ok, just got my Kenobi, and like a lot of you guys I was really on the fence with this one before I pulled the trigger because I still liked my Sideshow version. So now that I have both, here they are side by side...
I was unsure even after I preordered this which one I would keep, but now that I have the HT Ben in hand it is very easy to know that he is the clear winner. I know the cliche that "the likeness is better in hand" is way over used but it certainly holds true for this one. I'm not in any way saying the likeness of Guinness is perfect but it is WAY better than the pictures indicate. But the Sideshow likeness isn't perfect either, but until I saw them in hand together I would have told you the caricature version of SS looked more like Guinness than the HT version; now that I have them side by side I don't feel that way any longer. The exaggerated features on the SS figure that used to help me see more Guinness in the sculpt now makes it seem less like what he actually looked like. I am pleasantly surprised with how much I like the HT version and how much it looks like Guinness as Kenobi to me.
^^ Nice review - thanks for the side-by-side pics too.
Edit: I can really see the shortcomings of the SSC outer robe in that pic beside the HT.
Yea, I didn't really mention how much better the tailoring is on the HT version. The outer robe is beautiful and the thinner, closer to actual 1/6 scale, material just drapes so much better. By comparison, it's not just that the SS version is too thick but the frayed threads on the SS version look terribly out of scale too.
They both have their merits. I like the Sideshow robes better....I'll probably cannibalize the SS robes though.
I'm guessing you mean the inner robes here. I don't think either hits it out of the park. As everyone has noticed the HT inner robes are slightly see through because they are so thin, which I think is the biggest complaint. A few others have mentioned they don't like the texture on the material either. BUT, the HT version does drape far the more natural because it's thickness is closer to actual scale. The materiel of the SS inner robes is probably closer to what the material of the actual costume was made of, but it's also thicker, which while it means it isn't see through, it doesn't drape and wrinkle in a way it should for the scale either. I also don't like the long "scarf" piece on the SS version, it seems off to me.
I think with the outer robe on the inner robe is fine, though I personally would like to display him in just the inner robes at times, as I am sure some others would too. I haven't decided yet if I will swap them with the SS ones or not yet though because I haven't decided which is worse, the sheerness or a thickness that doesn't drape or wrinkle naturally for the scale. I'm wondering if there is a way to redeem the HT robes by finding something light to put under the inner robes to prevent the color of the darker shirt underneath from bleeding through.
...It was a good sculpt for its day with a good likeness to Guiness. The Hot Toys sculpt looks more realistic but like a generalized interpretation and doesn't really look like Guiness.
Again, to me, in hand it looks more like Guinness than I was expecting it to after looking at all the pictures on this thread over the last 5 weeks or so. Is it perfect? No, but I recognize that its Guinness in hand and like I said, the SS one isn't perfect or spot on either; and I don't just mean because of the poor paint apps. The SS version "looks like" Guinness because of the exaggerated features in the same way a caricature "looks like" someone; but that isn't actually what Guinness looks like either. It's just easier to evoke our recognition of who it's supposed to be when you exaggerate the prominent features of someone.
Even still I always liked the SS version and my satisfaction with it was one of the biggest reasons I was on the fence so long before I ordered the HT one. My fear was that I would get the HT one and be disappointed and wish I hadn't gotten it, still preferring the SS one; but that didn't happen. Now that I have them both side by side I don't have the slightest hesitation about putting the Sideshow one up on ebay (other than wondering if I should keep the inner robes). I really like this new HT version and I think it's a much better likeness of Guinness than many people give it credit for. Of course with neither being perfect there is always going to be a debate; which is why I took a side by side picture to help people see for themselves (though side by side in hand tells the best story).
