Ezra Bridger - TFA - Build A Weapon (Desert)

An orphan and con artist on the planet Lothal, Ezra was unaware of his connection to the Force until he encountered Kanan Jarrus and learned the truth about his powers.

The Rebels toy line got off to a terrible start. Aside from a few initial case assortments that snuck out, most of the merchandise didn’t arrive to retail until months late, the end of 2014. And for the record, many (most?) American collectors to date have not seen a single figure from wave 1 hit their local retail stores. Knowing they had to get these great characters out again, Hasbro chose a select few to get out in various formats: like the Build A Weapon line and the Two-Packs line. So here we are, once again getting another Ezra Bridger action figure packaged in the new line look. But if you’re a collector you should take note to this one. Hasbro has finally provided his unique lightsaber for the first time ever. And dare we say it’s worth purchasing this figure all over again because of it. Yeah, that comment is a bit much for even us to digest, but we have to admit that finally getting this lightsaber is a very exciting event. Ezra Bridger has also been repainted a little bit resulting in a much better looking action figure. The figure still comes without flat feet and it’s a bit difficult to pose him, but other than that we’re quite happy with the overlook look of this Rebels action figure.

It’s been a long time feeling that moving the basic figure line to five points of articulation has been bittersweet. Hasbro has decided that the basic figure line going forward will be designed in simple five points of articulation. Super-articulated 3.75” figures are now a rarity, exclusion and anything but the focus for Hasbro these days. So we’re going to keep seeing simply articulated action figures for the time being. Thankfully, with the start of the Rebels line, Hasbro has shown tremendous improvements with these action figures when compared to the past garbage that was released under the Saga Legends and Mission Series monikers between 2013 and 2014. Continuing in that uphill trend, all action figures in The Force Awakens line, new and repacked, are looking better than ever thank the Maker. There are absolutely some issues that exist, but for the most part these figures are looking pretty sharp for what they are. Ezra Bridger was first offered in the 2014 R Reveal The Rebels: Jedi Reveal Mission Series Toys R Us exclusive multipack and then he was quickly added to the Saga Legends lineup. A few paint operations updates were made in between those two releases and now we have a third take, albeit the bet. The sculpt is fantastic and the paint operations look even better.

The MSRP on these figures have been a recent bone of contentions to the people buying these figures. The whole point of reducing articulation and adding as few accessories as possible was to contain retail costs: what it will cost the patron who supports this line. But prices are steadily climbing and some have found these figures for just a few cents under $8. Retailers will tell you that this isn’t Hasbro’s fault as they set their own prices. But one thing is for sure. Figure prices are crawling up higher and higher and it’s a shame that these simply articulated action figures are hanging in the same range that The Vintage Collection did when they were first released. Ezra Bridger comes with the same removable helmet and the new lightsaber accessory. And he comes with a three part Build A Weapon pack-in that looks like some sort of mechanical dog when fully assembled. We have yet to fully understand the need or purpose of the Build A Weapon concept. But at least these extra pieces of plastic don’t make the prices of the action figures higher than they already are. Who would have thought that we’d be wrestling with action figures with five points of articulation that may likely be hitting $10 in the next couple of years. It’s a shame, but a figure like Ezra Bridger may help that would heal a bit.