Let's start with the good guys of the set, and with one of them being the head in a jar precursing the ones we'd find in Futurama, it's Zordon! There was no doubt that Zordon would receive an appearance in the Lightning Collection, though I'm kinda iffy on how he turned out. Obviously, there's so much that Hasbro can do with a head in a jar, and while I commend them for at least making him work in a release, part of me wished he'd come in a "playset" that would work for the Lightning Collection Rangers. In terms of what we do have, I like that the top and bottom parts of the tube (which are based on his appearance in Zeo and Turbo) have decent panel-lines and somewhat look like metal; the blue plastic is fairly translucent to give his face a distorted and liquidy look, and the back has some sculpted detail to make it look more liquidy, but it's hilariously ruined by the warning text (PUT IT IN THE BOTTOM). If you happen to own three Triple-A batteries, you can use them to light his face up like in the show, and while it's neat, it kinda exposes some modeling imperfections. Also, I need to mention that his face doesn't quite look like David Fielding, but it does the trick alright. Better than the 2010 version that looked more like it came straight out of Futurama.
And this is Alpha, who looks like how he should and I feel is already going to be considered the best Alpha-5 toy for the Lightning Collection, but I gotta say "not so fast". He's proportionately accurate, and while the details are there, I don't think it's 100% perfect. There should be paint for the thigh and shin pads, the buttons on the chest need more paint, the hands shouldn't be entirely blue, and the back of the legs definitely need more paint.
The articulation is pretty solid, as he has a ball-jointed head, arms that move in the same ways like the Lightning Collection girls, a diaphragm joint, and his legs move the same like with every LC figure made in the past. He lacks butterfly joints, but you got all the points of movement to do that AY-AY-AY schtick he does. While he has no alternate hands, he does come with a Teddy Bear, which has a head that looks like his (though it kinda looks like a burger), and two beads that look like eyes. Kinda funny-looking but at least the teddy bear body has some sculpting to make it look like it's got a fur-pattern.
And for a size comparison, here we have the mentor and assistant with not a Mighty Morphin' Power Ranger but a Space Ranger who killed him (don't worry, MMPR-only people, Zordon told him to do so). The size works surprisingly well when you look back at Countdown to Destruction (though obviously Zordon should be in a higher position most of the time). And now that I mentioned Andros and In Space, I realized Hasbro could have easily added a red LED to mimic the time Zordon had lava filling up his tube...and add to that as well as Alpha's missing paint apps, I wish there was more to make the set more justifiable. Maybe instead of leaving the light on, every button press has Zordon say a line from the show like how the Power Morpher says the morph lines of the five Rangers? Maybe there could have been some silver-paint on the gray parts to make it look a little more worth the price? And how about some control panels? Just something to make it feel more than just a collector's version of that 2010 set of the same characters...I don't think this is a bad buy, but $30 is a little too expensive for an Alpha who's not that different from the previous versions and a Zordon who doesn't even come with the batteries to make him be a glorified night light.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐ and a half ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Now let's get to the villains in the Silver Wedding 2-pack! While I may have covered the Mighty Morphin Black and Green Rangers in more detail than with Zed, it's really because the differences between the two here aren't that different. Basically, the colors are slightly brighter for the new Zedd, his finger nails are painted, his Staff has the proper point, the tubes may be a little more blue, and his effect piece is purple instead of red. Zedd was an already great figure, and while it does suck for fans to get another Zedd if they want to get the two-pack, I don't feel as bothered by it as I would with Lost Galaxy Red and the two Psychos that were made before the 5-pack because he's at least a unique figure and one that I don't mind owning again (maybe I can customize the other one into a movie version?)
Aside from the hands and growth grenade with added paint apps, the only new accessory he comes with is the crystal of the Green Ranger. This was used to further drain his powers because regardless of all the love Tommy gets from PR fans and MMPR-only peeps, Tommy sucked at keeping his powers. And it's funny how this stupid thing got to us getting the White Ranger powers, and while many would be like "GREEN 4 LIFE", I'd like to remind them that the White Ranger had no such bullshit to worry about until Zeo came along.
Now it's time to take a look at Rita Repulsa! If you're going to buy this set, you know it's for Rita Repulsa! I'm going to say right off the bat that while this is indeed the best Rita Repulsa figure ever (hell, it's the only good one we got because Bandai previously made a shitty 4 inch version and canceled a 5 inch version), there are still some things that I will complain about. This figure nails the appearance of the character, and while the cloth dress is commendable since past ones did make her dress a hard material, it does make posing her or even standing her up a little hard. At least the dress is nicely made, and the details stitched on it look as good as the paint apps on her collar, headgear, and...pointy boobs. I kind of find it amusing that many would joke about her chest armor and then get more freaked out about her more revealing appearance in the 2017 movie. The back doesn't have much paint for the collar piece, but I kind of wish there'd be more drybrushing for the feather flap.
Head sculpt captured her angry behavior perfectly, but I have two things to say about it: 1) Doesn't it resemble the Wojak angry face? And 2) I wish we had an alternate head that represents her with a more smiling face. The likeness either resembles Machiko Soga or Carla Perez, and I think that making the price a little more worth what it is would mean giving her an alternate head. Like this works, but it needs a bit more of a Rita smile because she grins as much as she does frown. I mean I can recreate the first ever pose we see her make in the show but she looks less like she's going "AAAAAAHHHHAFTER10000YEARSIMFREE" and more "AAAAAAHHHHHHGOLDARIHAVEDEFECATEDMYDRESS"
Here are the accessories she comes with, which are her signature magic wand/staff, two alternate hands, a bouquet of flowers, and a perfume.
I like that you can either display her with the romance get up or the staff, but it makes me wish that she'd come with an alternate head to represent her appearance when Carla Perez played as her. Just SOMETHING to better add to the poses! Oh and she and Zedd can share a cake that looks more like it's gray clay melting. At least the spider and tiny versions of the couple look good. in terms of sculpting.
And that covers the villains! I'll be honest and say that this set is already the better of the two I've reviewed, though I won't deny that even this has issues of it's own. Those who are bothered by buying another Zedd will be upset, but I do like owning it since it's a figure I already liked for being a unique sculpt. As for Rita, I like owning her because she was a character that I did enjoy seeing with Zedd, though I won't deny that she could really go for an alternate head with an evil smile too her. Also her staff could go for more paint. But while Walmart has a pretty so-so set of Ranger allies, Gamestop has a more solid set of Ranger villains.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
No comments:
Post a Comment