Power Rangers Beast Morphers Beast Racer Zord review

The last time I took a look at a Beast Morphers Zord, it was a non-transforming one. Thankfully, the converting Zords managed to be released later in the line, but they're now sold individually rather than in a set like the old days with Bandai. This method is similar to the 2017 Movie Zords, where they were each sold individually due to how massive they were compared to the norm. Here at least, the Zords have more to do on their own, and they can also form Megazords of their own without having all 5 components at once. So after years of Zordbuilder, a rigid Zord formula, and a frustrating amount of Auxiliaries to keep track of, how does Hasbro's first wave of Zords stack up? Let's discuss with the first guy in my review, the Beast-X Racer Zord!

Here is the Racer Zord in its vehicle mode. It's certainly a nicely done car, one that has some may say is a common design in the franchise, what with Turbo, S.P.D., and RPM also being sleek, red cars. Either way, I appreciate that this one at least is more black and silver than just res. I kind of wish the rear portion of the altmode didn't look too broken up, but the rest of the car is pretty good.

It's certainly got a sleek look to it, what with the low profile and Batmobile-esque curves from the front of the car to where the spoiler attaches. Even if the colors aren't metallic, this car at least looks like how it should.

This isn't mentioned in the instructions, but you can store the Cheetah head inside the otherwise empty cavity. It doesn't look too convincing like this, so I presume this was why Hasbro didn't mention it.

As for using it when Cruise is linked, all you need to do is to lift up a small part of the car's front and then you can attach the Cheetah head on the front if you so choose. Here, the head looks a bit too big, and it almost touches the ground and points downward.

For a vehicle mode comparison, here it is with the Go-Busters version of the design, that being the Buster Machine CB-01 Go-Buster Ace. Yeah, that's a mouthful. The Japanese version was wider than the Hasbro version, and its spoiler is not as long, but I do like that the cheetah head doesn't look oversized. I also like that version's paint better. Still, Hasbro's Racer Zord looks good nonetheless.

The Japanese version of the cheetah head had a hinge because it gave you the option to have it as a Cheeda Nick figurine. In the show, the Beast Bots (Buddyroids in Japan) would link up with the Zords and have the animal heads protrude from the front of the core three vehicles. This feature is neat, but I feel kind of something I could live without, and the exclusion from the Zord is something Hasbro elected for their line.

The cheetah mode's transformation is nowhere near as simple as it seemed from a first glance. The front hinges of the legs can hinge into the stomach to reveal the front legs, and the rear legs transform similarly to the Japanese version. It's not the best cheetah ever, but I like the fact that it can become either a car or an animal. It's also refreshing that the Red Ranger gets a Zord that isn't a lion (a lion Zord is still in Beast Morphers/Go-Busters, however!), as seen in Lost Galaxy, Wild Force, and Samurai in terms of feline Zords associated with Red (I know Jungle Fury had a tiger for Red).

Next to the Japanese version, I'm torn on which one is better. Hasbro's version has legs that are super skinny, while Bandai's looks very boxy in comparison. At the very least, the cheetah mode is present and functional, not like when Bandai America took out stuff like the origami modes from the Samurai Zords. One funny thing is that there are faux cheetah legs that Hasbro made to emulate how the Japanese ones look due to the new transformation.

The sides do make it look like it's just a car with limbs attached, but at least the attempt works well for the most part. I do wish there were more paint apps, and having proper gold rather than the nonmetallic paint. Another thing I should mention is that the tail is not quite stable when attached like that. It slides off the 5mm peg hole, and it sticks out a bit. More on that later.

The Cheetah head may be different from the Japanese version, oversized somewhat, and is missing the black paint on the top of the head, but I appreciate that its mouth can still open. It's a little feature that didn't have to be included, but it's neat that they did nonetheless.

Back to the swordtail, here is my way of storing the tail. It's a tighter grip than the intended method, and it also makes the sword handle a lot less noticeable than it originally was.

I love the transformation of this Zord. The way the legs straighten out, the method of the arms repositioning, and the sleekness of the conversion makes this figure a lot more worthwhile than it normally would be with car Zords that transform from that mode to a robot.

The Warrior Mode is nice, sleek, and tall; it's something that the show captured but the Japanese toy didn't. While the proportions aren't the best, mostly with the skinny waist (and its lack of paint), at least it makes the Zord feel more athletic than most one-piece Zords that aim for a similar aesthetic. The robot mode kind of has the best of both worlds going on, too, what with the animal head being a common part of most Megazords or warrior modes, and a transformation that some vehicular Zords share, like the front of the altmode becoming the legs and the back becoming the arms. It's almost like a transformation similar to that of Wheeljack from G1.

The head design looks pretty cool, though I wish the gold paint of one part of the visor was better applied. Also, this is a nitpick, but I wish that glowing part on the forehead didn't have a gap left; I say that it's a nitpick because even though it looks off, that's how it looks in the show! While it's smaller than the rest of the body, you can pull it up slightly to have it look like it has a neck (while also making the neck swivel tighter)

Articulation is great for a mainline Zord! The head can swivel left and right, the shoulders move front and back on normal swivels, in and out on ratchet joints (though at two points), two-point bends at the elbows, and swivels mear the biceps. The waist swivels, the hips move front until it bumps into the cheetah head (which annoyingly doesn't stay on too well unless you play around with it carefully), but doesn't move entirely back, and a part of the legs move outward (though on lower joints than the norm), and bends at one point at the knees.

The only accessory it comes with is the sword made from the spoiler/tail from the previous modes. It looks pretty decent, even if one part of the handle is hollowed out, but the best thing about the sword is the many methods of displaying the toy with it in-hand.

I love posing this figure so much, it's something that I wish most Power Rangers Zords got to do in the past. I get that they were more so meant for kids and the main point of the line since MMPR 2010 was the Zordbuilder line, but after 25 years of mostly bricks in the mainline, this is a HUGE breath of fresh air!

For a robot mode comparison, here it is next to the nontransforming Racer Zord on the left and CB-01 on the right. The transforming Hasbro Zord admittedly lacks the proper proportions of the nontransforming figure, but it's better than the thiccness that is CB-01. However, there is a benefit with each individual figure. Nontransforming version makes for a nice display piece and has the best proportions yet, the Bandai figure had better plastic and paint, and the Hasbro Racer Zord has the best of both worlds, containing the transformation elements of the Bandai CB-01 and some of the proportions of the basic figure, and it beats both with the articulation.

The nontransforming Zord is still neat to have for a display, but I feel that the Triple Changer Zord has earned more spotlight on the shelf.

Here is a comparison with some Bandai America Zordbuilder figures, which include the Legacy Megazord and the Dino Charge Megazord (which I painted to better resemble the Kyoryuger mold, albeit amateurishly). It's in somewhat of a decent scale, but wait till we see the other combinations.

Here is the Racer Zord next to the last two uses of Bandai Japan molds in the US lines, that being the Delta Squad Megazord and the Titan Megazord. And that's about it for Megazord comparisons, sorry.

For any Transformers fans that want to get this guy yet are curious about the scale, here it is next to MPM-4 Optimus Prime and Power of the Primes Optimus Prime. I have a hunch this figure has more in common with the Cyberverse Ultimate figures in terms of size class treatment (though the Cyberverse guys have nore beef than Racer Zord does).

This Zord certainly gives me a lot of hope for the line as we speak. While I don't think I'll get every new Megazord in the future due to design preference (I hate ToQger and Zyuoger but am fine with Kyuuranger and maybe LupPat), I'm excited to see what new things can be done with Hasbro, now that they can prove how ambitious they are with updating the rigid gimmick designs of Sentai and add what the Sentai Robos didn't have. Abandoning Zordbuilder also makes me happy that there's more to do with these Zords than swap arms and legs. It's not 100% perfect, as I wish there was more paint and have the cheetah head stay on better, but this has a lot going for it when compared to single-unit Megazords of recent time like the Bullrider, Titano Charge, Q-Rex Drill, and Gosei Ultimate. But the fun doesn't stop there, as there are other Zords to look into with the line.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐