Power Rangers in Space has plenty of great antagonists, and it's awesome that the two most recognizable examples are in a single 2-pack for fans to obtain in one swoop. Ecliptor was one of the mainstays of that season, no doubt being best known for his association with Astronema, his rivalry with Andros, and the fact that he had a few forms in the show, from being fused with Darkonda to having a red upgrade that destroyed the Delta Megazord. It's such an amazing feat if you ask me, but that's t's quite a lot to say about the villains since before this line existed, they never received any merchandise attention outside of Ecliptor having one action figure only during In Space (Astronema had 0 until now), but Hasbro is more than happy to give us the figures we all wanted, so let's see how they deliver with such a feat!
Let's go over the new mold, Ecliptor. This guy has both the slick green gridlines added throughout him in a surprisingly consistent and clean manner apart from maybe the slightly rough look on the right forearm, but the asymmetry is captured very well with this figure, from the forearms to the torso, and from the forearms to the head design. Even the waist has a bit of asymmetry to it. With how simple the coloring is for Ecliptor, the addition of a gold bracelet for the left forearm combined with the red eyes add subtle additions to his appearance where he'd otherwise look repetitive with the coloring.
Headsculpt is very well done as mentioned before, and I have to give props to Hasbro for making sure the paint apps look aligned properly in addition to having them not look as transparent as they'd normally be on a dark surface like Ecliptor's face. His articulation is the same as with just about every anthropomorphic character in the Lightning Collection, with his armor design having a few hindrances here and there. He has a ball joint at one part of the neck and a hinge at the other, he may have butterfly joints but those may be hindered by the shoulder armor, and the shoulders vary on how they move front and back as well as in and out when it comes to how the pads work with the pectoral armor. There are swivels at the biceps and double-jointed elbows, wrist swivels, hands that hinge in and out, and both a diaphragm joint as well as an ab crunch. Hips move front and back as well as in and out, thighs swivel, knees bend at two points, boots swivel, and the feet hinge up and down as pivot at the ankles. His own sword, which is picked out in a handful of matching colors, can be held by a hand that hinges downwards as one would expect for a swordsman, and it also has an effect piece that not only has you wrapping it around but also helps you break up its coloring.
The lightning-related effects don't stop there, as there is a massive lightning effect piece that can merely be rested on him to make him look like he's absorbing power so he can then use it against his enemies with his shock attack, reminiscent of the Psycho Rangers and Emperor Palpatine of Star Wars fame. Comparing him to his only other figure, it's no contest; I know some may be fond of the older figures for the nostalgic charm and probably better plastic quality, but rose-tinted nostalgia aside, Lightning Collection wins.
For repaint history, this is Red Ecliptor. He has been essentially retooled in a few areas to give him that cyborg look that was a result of him recovering from his separation from Darkonda before he received his red upgrade. Apart from the new tooling and sword, he is otherwise identically functional to the original figure. Honestly, this looks more like a prototype test shot model instead of an official release; I'm being reminded of that test shot Animated Bulkhead toy where it was all red.
And now here is Astronema in her more commonly seen outfit, more so in the earlier episodes of the series with her pink hair that may need to be a little more purple, and having a leaner suit design that lacks the chest armor she wore in her previous figure. She also has a necklace as well as a mesh-like pattern on her torso. Otherwise, Astronema's generally functional in the same way as her previous release. We'll get to those differences very shortly.
Head sculpt may be slightly different from the figure we had before, though I do find the hair could be a little closer to resembling how the hair would look in real life in terms of the shading that picks out the different strands of her hair overall. At least the likeness works well, even if it's a little more reminiscent of Cruella DeVille. Her articulation functions the same as Ecliptor, though with bicep swivels combined with elbow bends and having no hindrances. Her staff can be held and use a unique effect piece while the boomerang can be held either in one hand or on her thigh, though it's very flexible.
For a comparison with her previous self, you can tell that they both have slightly different suit designs, with the new one having no chest armor but at least having a more textured mesh pattern for the torso. Her gauntlets are also a little shinier, though I do like the blue hair and face sculpt of the original figure more. Either way, they're both great figures overall. And while she does scale well with Ecliptor, I do feel that it's a weird situation when Andros gets involved since he and Astronema look good together in terms of scale, though I do feel Andros should be a little shorter than Ecliptor, or maybe that's how they always scaled in the show?
Overall, this set's pretty well made in terms of the figures that we get in addition to most of the accessories. Ecliptor's easily the selling point thanks to him being a newly sculpted figure, and my copy at least has no such QC issues that plague other releases. Astronema also works well because, in addition to having everything she'd need, especially the Wrath Staff, she's at least got a new appearance that makes you feel less like you're double-dipping. I do wonder if we'd get her cyborg look at some point. If you see this set, I encourage that you pick it up.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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