Hello there!  In honor of that not-yet-confirmed news recently that Ewan McGregor signed on to reprise his role as Obi-Wan Kenobi, we bring you Ewan McGregor as Obi-Wan Kenobi in plastic form! 

In 2008, the Thirtieth Anniversary Collection continued from the year prior with two waves.  We just finished reviewing the final wave, which was used The Force Unleashed as a source.  The penultimate TAC wave, which was the first of 2008, sourced the figures to Revenge of the Sith.  One major change to the TAC line was that Hasbro dropped the fairly popular collectible coins.  I guess that was fine, because we had run out of space in the coin albums to add any more coins.  So unless Hasbro was ready to issue a new book for 2008 coins, it’s just as well that it was all discontinued.  But that aside, 2008 did carry on the TAC tradition of excellent figures.  To lead off the year, Hasbro gave us the best Obi-Wan Kenobi figure to that point. 

This figure was one of many that were based an Obi-Wan sculpt that debuted with ROTS #55 in 2005.  At that time, it was an outstanding figure.  After being re-released multiple times, Hasbro gave it an overhaul.  TAC 08-01 has a new head sculpt, ball jointed hips, and a soft goods skirt.  Overall it was a big improvement, and was one of the better releases in the TAC line.  The ball jointed hips really upped the ante on the posability of this Jedi figure, while the soft goods skirt allowed for almost full range of motion of those hips.  A questionable change was the head sculpt.  Personally, I’m not a fan.  I think Hasbro has done better.  VC16 has a better head sculpt, adds a lightsaber hilt, Jedi robe, and headset, but loses the hips.  I won’t say that this figure is obsolete, because it’s still excellent, and some people might prefer this face over the TVC face.  Also, in an annoying development, the TVC figure lacks painted ankles. 

We gave VC16 an 8 out of 10.  This figure, due to fewer accessories but better articulation, also gets an 8.  So if you have this one, it definitely still works in a modern display.

To improve the figure, Hasbro should add rocker ankles. Also improve the range of motion of the hips with modern hip/thigh joints.  Update the arms to perform a better THWG and add ball jointed wrists.  FACE! tech could do wonders for the head sculpt.  Utilizing the new belt hook/hilt loop methodology found on the recent VC146 Luke Skywalker (Crait) figure would also be a plus.  And finally, let’s see if Hasbro can do better with traditional Jedi robes.  If executed perfectly, all of those updates would likely score an 11/10.  And perhaps there’s reason to do so with the latest Ewan McGregor news.  Time will tell.