Almost everyday for the past three weeks I have been getting boxes from various online toy stores that I have ordered from; today was no exception. In my ongoing quest to convince all the Epinion readers to invest in this line of figures I proudly give you yet another review of a Star Wars Episode 1 figure. Spawned from the bowels of Hasbro’s brain storming department comes Collection 1 of the Comm Tech Talking Star Wars action figures. OK, so maybe the word action in action figure is a bit overstated but read on Star Wars fans – this journey has just begun.

Today’s delivery included Obi-Wan Kenobi (Naboo version) from the Collection 1 series. Although Obi-Wan suffers the same fate as Queen Amidala – not looking anything like the movie character – the figure does come with some cool extras. The lightsaber is pretty detailed for being as small as it is; the ‘wand’ is blue and see through and the lightsaber base has small features and buttons (no the buttons don’t work). You also get a handle – which is nothing more than another lightsaber base. These extras fit in Obi-Wan’s hands with some work – but once you get them in there they do stay put. [The Lego lightsabers also work in Obi-Wan’s hands]

Do You Have Rocks In Your Mouth?

Wow, I was really let down when I waved the Comm Tech chip over the Comm Tech reader – imagine a computer synthesized voice with a bad bad bad English accent. This is by far the worst chip in the group – it is hard to understand what Obi-Wan is saying most of the time.

For the curious – here is a list of what Obi-Wan says;

“How do you think this Trade Viceroy will deal with the Chancellor’s demands?”
“Yes, master”
“Master, Destroyers [followed by a series of explosions] They have shield generators!”
“It’s an invasion army” [followed by even more explosions]

The chip features a picture of Obi-Wan Kenobi on a holographic background – a very cool looking chip that is rugged and durable. It’s already been stepped on twice [in two hours!] and is still playing perfectly.

This chip interacts with Qui-Gon Jinn, destroyer droids and battle droids – although I have only gotten it to work with one of the battle droids so far.

Obi-Wan, The Man Behind The Ponytail

The Obi-Wan figure is one of the most flexible of the line [so far]. His head turns as well as having movement in his shoulders. His right arms bends at the elbow while the left one is stationary. He has waist movement which is limited due to his robe. Both legs move but again the positions are limited due to the robe – while the robe does limit the positions Obi-Wan can be posed it does help to keep him from falling over – which it does frequently. My usual fit-it-all comes into play once again – poster putty on the feet keeps Obi-Wan ready for battle. And – true to form – this figure comes complete with ponytail.

Oddly enough when I opened the package the figure stunk – it smelled like rotten eggs. I have never encountered this scent before with any other figures from this line and can only attribute it to the of plastic used in the lightsaber or the package being stored near something that had this scent. Be forewarned – the smell doesn’t go away easily – it’s been open for two hours now and is still very strong.

As with all the Comm Tech Talking Figures this package carries a weight of 10 Jedi Master Points – which can be redeemed for other toys from Hasbro. Other figures in this series include Queen Amidala [Coruscant version], Anakin Skywalker [Naboo version], Darth Maul [Jedi Duel] and Qui-Gon Jinn [Jedi Duel].

Here is my chance to brag – this figure cost me a measly .97 cents. Yes, that is correct - .97 cents. Out of curiosity I did a search using both Epinions and Alta Vista – the result? Some places are still charging upwards of $5.99 for this. Do yourself a favor and shop around if you want this figure – or any others from this line. It’s a great collection to have for children when they get older – and it’s pretty much a cinch to be worth money since it was a flop when it initially debuted. That means that not that many people bought it – translation – if they don’t want it today then they will pay triple for it in ten years.

As always, thanks for the visit!

^V^ Freak ^V^

© 2003 Freak369


Other CommTech product reviews ....

Watto CommTech Figure
C-3PO CommTech Figure
Queen Amadala [Naboo] CommTech Figure
CommTech Reader
Anakin Skywalker CommTech Figure
R2-D2 CommTech Figure




Recommended: Yes