Re: Hot Toys - MMS477 / MMS478 - Star Wars Episode III: Obi-Wan Kenobi (Std & Dlx)
Head sculpt doesn’t look like a disaster, but I’m not particularly blown away. The face and beard on the older ANH Obi-Wan is far sharper in detail it seems. Also interesting that JC Hong confirmed they had tweaked the sculpt from the proto due to licensor demands.
I hope those "licensor demands" aren't slow moves to dial the actor's personalities/likenesses back and make these look more generic in appearance to focus more on the "character". Yes, this Kenobi portrait still looks okay if not a little "blank stare" compared to the proto, but it's not at the level of attitude and intensity that the proto was (and I'm not talking manufactured softness or paint apps here).
Disney could decide that they want people to look at the figures and toys and see the "character", not the actor playing them. Pull the focus off of actual "likeness" and mandate a general "appearance" instead. I hope not. That idea makes me nervous for Dooku, Qui-Gon, Krennic and any other characters whose potrayal by the actor was one of the main attributes to it's appearance and success. But these are just assets to Disney, not characters portrayed by actors who brought a specific appearance and attitude to it.
If Disney wants to make more of these "adjustments" moving forward, I hope that it is on the prototype that we don't see until they have approved how they expect it to look. It would be more honest for the buyers and help alleviate the disappointment that comes from adjustments that are made after the proto is revealed, the PO's go up and in some cases, NRD's are collected for the figure.
I' agree with davejames's sentiment...it looks good enough to keep the order but the excitement level is definitely dampened for me for this figure.
Boy, remember the days when JC would actually stop/destroy a figure run if it didn't look it's best? (the old TS John Connor comes to mind)
Considering what's sliding through these days, it's a safe bet that if it looks "good enough", it gets in the box. It's all one big expensive gamble for us now.
Okay, rant over. Let's hope for more images and videos to hit over the weekend to help the wait.
