In 2004 Hasbro gave us a Ben Kenobi figure that seemed to be dying of starvation, as part of their Vintage Original Trilogy Collection line.

I was so disappointed that I immediately made my own custom action figure in response.

The most recent "old Ben" figure is loosely based on that same anorexic VOTC figure from 2004, but with some added articulation, and poofy, badly tailored soft goods robes. No thanks.

I continue to believe that the Power of the Jedi Ben Kenobi figure from 2001 still has the best head sculpt (likeness, cleanliness of casting, and paint deco), and it has not been improved upon at all. Plus, I will always RESIST the continued scale SHRINKAGE of the action figures of my main STAR WARS characters (the way Hasbro has been steadily doing). For me, they must remain in scale with one another (based off of Power of the Jedi). This means quite a few customizations, I'm afraid.


For my Ben Obi-Wan Kenobi (Episode IV), I wanted a clean, elegant, richly-detailed 4 inch-scale action figure of the former Jedi General. It was important to me that this Custom action figure have Alec Guinness's proper body type and stature. I wanted him to be able to SIT DOWN in Luke’s X-34 Landspeeder, So I knew that Super Articulation, a cloth skirt, and cloth outer robe were going to be a must.

So much of my Super Articulation work on this figure ended up being hidden by all the robes. But in the end, I really didn't mind. Some minor tailoring was required of the main outer robe for a proper fit and proper drape upon the figure. The soft goods skirt, hanging vestments, and waist sash were all made from patters I created. I cannot sew, so all the finish work was done with fabric glue. I'm really glad too because in this scale, I just find that even the smallest sewing machine stitching ruins the scale illusion of the figure.

The belt was made from a piece of brown satin ribbon. I used the very thin plastic from an action figure blister to make the belt buckle shape. Some gold-plated printing on glossy paper (from a magazine cover)was laminated onto the very thin plastic buckle I made.

The accessories for this figure (not pictured) are a lightsaber (ignited), a lightsaber hilt (for hanging on the belt), a small storage pouch (for the rear of his belt). A training remote (for lightsaber drills with Luke). And the small table from his hut on Tatooine.