We've gotten so deep into the Lightning Collection that at this point, we've gotten 7 waves out as well as a handful of 2-packs and even a few exclusives! The thing I love most about the line is the selection of Rangers to get within a single wave; on top of that, there is no Build-A-Megazord needed to wait for other figures from a specific team to get, which is fine by me. All this and the balance between having at least one member of Mighty Morphin as well as a fan-favorite Ranger and even a villain on the occasion is something that puts a smile on my face. That being said, Wave 7 certainly went a little too heavy on the Mighty Morphin yearn. Like it was fine to have two MMPR-related characters with White Ranger and Zedd in Wave 1 and the Red Ranger with Lord Drakkon in Wave 3, but three characters, with one of them both being a repeat AND a version of Tommy, is pushing it. Still, I've got another Ranger to replace him and keep the balance between Mighty Morphin and two Dino seasons. Let's see what we've got for Wave 7!
Before we continue further with the review, Target randomly decided to make a special packaging variant wave called "Spectrum", which gives them different package art a la how they did with Star Wars events. Unless you're a completionist or don't mind the unique packaging contrasting the rest of the line, then you can stick with the regular versions if you already got them.
Let's get Mighty Morphin' Green out of the way. We last had a version of the character in the line back in 2019 where he was in a 2-pack with a regular Putty; that was the Fighting Spirit version of the character, depicting him with the Silver Stripe on his helmet as well as a white holster that was on the right hip and even a Power Morpher that was silver (or white on this version). I'll get to the comparisons in a moment, but this guy is basically a standard version of the Green Ranger, and I'm sure everyone will love him because he's the Oh-Gee Green Ranger and Taw-Me 4 Life and all that shit. I think he's still a nicely done figure, though there are some things that I'd need to mention. This guy doesn't have the white diamonds (which is more hurtful if you want to take the shield off somehow)...
...and the helmet, despite being the same sculpt and whatnot, trades the silver stripe in favor of a silver visor trim. This guy easily could have just ditched the silver stripe and be left with a white outline that still has the silver teeth, but the silver visor doesn't look as good as it does for MMPR Red. The articulation on the Green Ranger is the same as with every other male Power Ranger in the line, consisting of a ball-joint for the neck to turn and tilt as well as a hinge to look up and down; arms move around but are slightly hampered by the armor, while the biceps swivel, the elbows bend at two points, and the wrists both swivel and hinge. There is a diaphragm joint that moves around fluidly, butterfly joints, and an ab-crunch underneath the diaphragm joint; hips move front and back, in and out, swivel at the thighs, bend at the knees, swivel at boots, and the feet hinge down and up as well as pivot side to side.
Here are the accessories he comes with, which are a green lightning piece, the civilian head based on his look from Green With Evil, the Dragon Dagger, two alternate hands (one for playing the tune, and the other for a fist), and a Sword of Darkness. Most of these are the same accessories that came from the Fighting Spirit version, though Tommy's head is new.
The display options are nice as always, and it's so refreshing to have Tommy with a different head style that isn't the same head that came with the White Ranger. Otherwise, the Dragon Dagger pose and the Sword of Darkness pose feel like I took the same pics from the original toy and digitally altered the cosmetics.
For a comparison between this and the other Green Ranger we got in the line, you can see that the cosmetics are the sole differences between the two. The Fighting Spirit version has the silver stripe while the Legacy one doesn't yet the visor is more silver on the regular Green Ranger while it's more detailed on the Fighting Spirit version; the golds on the Dragon Shields might be slightly different, but more noticeable differences include the belts having different holster placements (on top of the holsters being of a different color), and the Power Morphers are colored differently. Some say that the shades of green are different between the two, but I really can't see it unless someone puts them under specific lighting.
And here is the Green Ranger with the rest of the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers! I remember back in 2010 when the MMPR revision toyline had the 4-inch figures and I wanted to complete the team, and then there were the expensive AF Figuarts, and then there were the Action Heroes in the Legacy line that were hard to find because I had no Toys R Us near me, then there was the Legacy Collection which had missed opportunities (I bought the Metallic line but got a regular White Ranger and no Green Ranger)...but with the Lightning Collection, I am quite happy with how the toyline turned out. And as you can tell, I've also given the Red Ranger a proper helmet from a spare Dino Team Pack version of himself.
With this being based on the Green with Evil Tommy, you can have him fight Jason like days of old or even have a Tommy vs Tommy fight by having him go up against the White Ranger like in Season 2!
And for more comparisons, here is the Green Ranger with the other versions of the character (the only other one I have is the Super Megaforce Action Hero). That version was pretty much fine for what it is. The Legacy Collection version was pretty good overall and was also one of the better Legacy figures in the line, what with the gold paint on his chest armor, the accessories he has, and the overall quality he has. The S.H. Figuarts Dragon Ranger is pretty good, too, and I'm sure it's got the more accurate shade of green to the suit. Super Legends is still good even with the lesser articulation. His chest armor even comes off! This Green Ranger figure is pretty much fine but I do question stuff like the silver visor trim and the removal of the chest diamonds. The new Tommy head is neat but I gotta take more points off for the hands being slightly fragile because the joints aren't glued properly. Sorry, Tommy.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Next up, it's Dino Thunder Red! A sentimental favorite of mine, it's great o see this guy pop up in the line, especially considering how we're starting to get towards completing Dino Thunder. This guy thankfully had very little that got screwed over, as I love the gold he has as well as the white diamonds being applied as well as they could on a 6-inch action figure. I also appreciate the Morpher both being painted red (to help me complete the details myself) as well as the correct design. There's not much else to say about the back, though I wish the shoulder diamonds would be more prominent. There is a slight paint mistake on the chest emblem, but it's otherwise spot on. The only real eyesore are the red pins sticking out on the diamonds, which should be painted white.
Head sculpt is perfect, in terms of proportions, though the visor trim is silver instead of white. At first, I thought it'd look bad on him because it's inaccurate, but it kinda works when it's under a well-lit area. His articulation is the same as ever, but with no shield to get in his way.
Here are the display accessories he comes with, which are the Tyranno Staff, two versions of the Thundermax sidearm, a Connor McKnight head, two alternate hands, and a flaming effect piece.
I gotta be honest and say that the likeness to Connor isn't there, as he looked more like a babyface in the show while this head looks more like a young Michael Bay. Still better than the Rocky head, but it kinda hurts that one of my favorite Red Rangers ever has a face that looks nothing like James Napier to go with the voice of Tyler's dad that sounds nothing like Connor either. As for the display options, they're neat as always, but I wish the Thundermax side arms would have either a darker blue or silver paint for the middle portion of the gun. As for the Tyrannostaff, it's nice and long (that's what she said), but while I'm fine with it not having the diamonds around it, I do wish the Dino head would have more paint to have it stand out.
Here is Dino Thunder Red along with the other Tyranno Rangers of Red as well as Beast Morphers Red, recreating a famous promo shot used for their team-up (though it's actually from Kyoryuger vs Go-Busters). I'm happy to own all of the 4 Red Rangers that showed up in the team up, though it's funny how Dino Charge Red and Beast Morphers Red were the first to show up (which I'm sure annoyed the MMPR-only noobs), but I did expect Dino Thunder Red to be the fourth guy to show up because of the Disney Era not getting as much attention as the other eras (at least SPD got love early on).
Here is Dino Thunder Red next to his fellow teammates, which are the Blue Ranger from the Triple Dino 3-pack and the White Ranger from the Lightning Collection line. The two LC guys look great together (and yes I did paint the glove pads on the White Ranger), and the same could kinda be said for the Red and Blue Ranger despite the skinnier proportions on Blue and the smaller amount of articulation. One thing that the Blue Ranger does better is having a darker shade of blue for the Thundermax weapons than with the Red Ranger.
Here is our Hasbro figure next to the Bandai offerings. While his silver visor trim is wrong and lacks the gold neck trim, I like his proportions more than with everyone else. This helmet and the 5-inch are also accurate in terms of proportions and visor shape than the Legacy version. Both of the more recent Bandai figures have more prominent shoulder details than the Hasbro figure, and the old toy is pretty dated but still charming. But even with the issues of the Red Dino Ranger, he's a great figure to own and even without the bias I have with loving Dino Thunder, it's one that many should get (even if they're MMPR-nutjobs that only watch the one season).
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And the final character I'll be taking a look at from this wave is the Z-Putty! This guy is the first standalone version of the footsoldier in the Lightning Collection, but I do like that Hasbro spliced things up with the version of putty to release. Rather than giving us yet another basic Putty, we get one that's introduced by Zedd when he took over Rita's palace. As far as differences go, it has a new vest with the center Z that kills them upon getting hit (which is stupid), kneepads with Z's on them (will those break their knees?), and boots with fucking shoelaces. Maybe the budget used on Lord Zedd made Saban go cheap with the attire of the Putties. While the Putties in MMPR contrasted their looks in Zyuranger footage, at least the Z-Putties look consistent with the cheap ass designs in Season 2.
Headsculpt is the same, though I appreciate how the face is darker than the rest of the body, which is also something that makes it look like it's wearing a gray onesie with the face exposed...yeah these henchmen dudes look stupid. The articulation is the same but the gloves being the entire forearm means there is no wrist hinging.
Here are his accessories, which consist of two fists (with one being slightly more open), a chest attack piece, and a firey punch attach.
The display options are a little more limited, but it does allow you to make the most out of what there is on top of being easier to keep track of. The chest effect piece is recolored from the one that was included with the Putty 2-pack, and the firey effect piece is a different sculpt from the one that came with Beast Morphers Blue.
For a comparison with the Putties that assisted Rita, here he is with the predecessor. The new Z-Putty is slightly shorter, he has no deco, the color is slightly darker, the face is more pronounced, the knees are different, the belts are removed, and their boots are altered. I can't really say that the Z-Putty is better than the regular one, but the regular Putty isn't really a mindblowing addition.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So now you might be wondering why I'm not taking a look at the White Ranger, he was already reviewed back in the end of 2019 along with the Shadow Ranger, Dino Charge Red, and Lord Zedd. He was a great figure in 2019, and he's still a great figure in 2020-1. If you somehow didn't get this guy back in 2019, you can get him either as he appeared in 2019 or in the shnazzy new Spectrum box.
Thankfully, we don't need him because we've got an actual new figure to review and it's Dino Charge Black! This guy has most of the same attributes shared with Tyler, so I'll mention that this guy is a Target-exclusive release, and some fans are upset about that as well as the details that he has. For consistency sake, I am kind of annoyed that he has a neck that's colored like Tyler but unlike Ivan, yet he is the second Ranger to not have painted glove pads, and the chest symbol isn't as defined. Now I'll admit that those are complaints that would be understandable, though I'll admit that they're not as upsetting of a complaint as, say, the missing visor outline of Dino Thunder White or the weird helmet of MMPR Red (then again, can't be a day without the Toku fanbase having a meltdown on the dreaded bird app).
Head sculpt looks spot-on to his suit design, and while the yellow visour outline is a little hit or miss, it at least adds to the coloring of the front along with the white outline, red eyes, and silver mouthplate. There's even a but if a point on the back from the Parasaurlophus. His articulation is the same as always.
Here are the accessories he comes with, which consist of a Dino Saber, his Morpher, two alternate hands, a civilian head, and trading in the lightning effect piece in favor of a new blast piece.
The display options are mostly the same as with Tyler the Red Dino Charge Ranger, and while it might be a little dull to have him come with almost every accessory that came with him, this guy takes notes from what Beast Morphers Blue did and trade one accessory for another. Unlike Beast Morphers Blue, he keeps his range weapon and trades the lightning piece on the sword for a blast piece on the gun! Also nice is that it fits with the color scheme and can be used for either representing him shooting enemies or even recreating the morph sequence.
For a comparison with the two other teammates available so far, here he is next to Dino Charge Gold and Red, both of which are regular releases in the line. While I like owning this guy, I can't deny that it'd be much better had he been a regular release rather than be a store-exclusive. I understand that Dino Thunder White was an exclusive because he's not part of the core team like Chase is, and I'd rather see either a more uncommon Dino Charge Ranger like Aqua or Graphite or a version of T-Rex Supercharge Red; it'd be a different character/power up yet won't be as required to your core team like it is with Chase. I don't like how he's an exclusive, but that doesn't make him a bad figure if you set aside him being an exclusive (he just doesn't really fit the role).
And here is Dino Charge Black next to the other versions of the character. The Bandai Action Hero was decent for what it was, like all of the Action Heroes were at that scale. Sure, it's blocky, but it did the job well IMO. As for the Figuart, it looks better in some aspects, like the more refined details on the belt, but I'm not a fan of how skinny its proportions are, especially considering how Tamashii Nations were more focused on the articulation than the sculpt. So yeah, Hasbro's version is a solid addition to the line, but not one that deserves to be a Target exclusive for the reasons I mentioned above.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And here we have Wave 7 as well as the Target-exclusive Dino Charge Black Ranger together! This is an interesting line-up that was basically made to tie-in with Grid Connection. You've got two Rangers that showed up in the actual episode, a footsoldier who has a version of itself in the episode, and Tommy Oliver who wasn't in the episode but is there for the sake of completing MMPR. And I'm honestly lucky that Chase was added to the review so we wouldn't overshade Connor with more MMPR than needed.
In terms of civilian likeness, Chase and Tommy look very close to their actors while Connor really doesn't look like Connor. The Z-Putty has no alternate heads so stop asking.
There are some things that I'm not too happy about, such as the use of paint apps on the Green Ranger (or lack thereof), the slight inaccuracies with Dino Thunder Red, the Z-Putty being a little undercooked, and Dino Charge Black, despite being a solid figure, having no right to be a Target-exclusive.
The thing that surprises me most about this wave is the fact that they were initially revealed on eBay and sold at scalper prices, especially before they were officially shown by Hasbro (while Dino Charge Black popped up in a Target before he was revealed). So is this a perfect wave? Not really. Is Dino Charge Black a good exclusive for Target despite being a core team member? He is not. But is it good to own these figures? Sure, even if some like Tommy and the Z-Putty have issues worth bringing up.
Now let's make up a small and late tribute to Grid Connection by having Connor, Chase, and Tommy beat the fuck out of the Z-Putty! With Wave 7 being the only wave out, you should have some form of luck getting the figures unless the Christmas purchases prevented you from doing so (which would even suck if you had no luck getting Green or the Z-Putty). With Dino Charge Black being a Target-exclusive, it'll be even harder to find him in a store unless you're lucky or bought him online like I did.
Overall ranking: ⭐⭐⭐.63 out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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