Ezra Bridger (Cadet)/Kanan Jarrus - R - Mission Series (MS18)

Ezra impersonates a cadet to get inside an Imperial academy, as Kanan seeks more opportunities to disrupt the Empire's control.

Getting all-new sculpts trumps every other desire collectors have. Incessant repacks are about as exhausting as they are annoying. So we have to wonder when Hasbro decides to release a Mission Series set that includes the same Kanan Jarrus figure that we have had three previous opportunities to purchase already. Sometimes straight repacks are a great thing especially when army builders are included. But who wants to army build Kanan Jarrus? We don’t think we could name anyone. So why Hasbro thinks this is a wise decision is beyond us. With so many other cadets in the the Rebels television show, why didn’t Hasbro just make a two-pack like that instead. And if they couldn’t think of a good secondary character to pack in with the Ezra Bridger (Cadet) figure, then why not just release him in the Saga Legends line instead? You’re probably going to purchase this set if you want the Ezra Bridger (Cadet) figure, so it may be moot to mention that the Kanan Jarrus figure is essentially a straight repack of 2014’s R Kanan Jarrus (SL04) figure. There are a few paint variances, but overall this figure is identical to all previous versions.

Ezra Bridger (Cadet) on the other hand is essentially and all-new figure. We believe that many will be fooled that the head sculpt has been reused from the 2014 R Ezra Bridger (SL02) figure, but we’re confident that this is a wrong assessment. His “hair piece” has indeed been reused, but there is definitely a new head sculpt underneath the hair. It took us a while to figure it out, but we were able to discover this fact when looking at the neck thicknesses of the two figures. If you compare them side by side you’ll indeed see how there are two different sculpts. More importantly, the rest of Ezra Bridger (Cadet) is all-new. The sculpt is pretty good and the paint operations are equally good. The only issue we have is that this figure is significantly a shorter than the Ezra Bridger (SL02) figure. It would have been a huge gesture on Hasbro’s part to ensure that they made two different Ezra Bridger figures the same height. Currently, the height differences between the two versions is quite jarring. You might almost think they’re meant to be two different characters. We’re disappointed to say the least. Aside from that, Ezra Bridger (Cadet) is a very nice figure.

Ezra Bridger (Cadet) comes with a removable cadet helmet which has Ralph McQuarrie written all over it. You will instantly think “McQuarrie Concept Snowtrooper” when you look at it. The only thing that we don’t like about how it fits on Ezra Bridger’s head is that it looks like he is looking down all of the time. Also, because of his “big hair” the helmet is abnormally larger that it needs to be and makes him look a little bit monstrous. You may be happier over this release more than we are, but we find it a little weak, mostly because we’re ticked that Hasbro packed a figure none of us need with the “new” one. Together, the Ezra Bridger (Cadet)/Kanan Jarrus Mission Series set pales in comparison to the other great sets in this line’s third wave. We don’t want to beat Hasbro up too much for this set’s selection, because they have been consistent with giving us new figures in this line generally speaking. Where they do need to step up to the plate a lot more is with paint operations. Until they get this mess locked down we will have very little faith in the products they produce. Hopefully good change is on the way.