Power Rangers Beast Morphers Beast Wrecker Zord review

Three months ago, we took a look at the main three components for the Beast-X Megazord, which was a pretty cool take on the Bandai Go-Buster Oh as it was better proportioned and there were a few new things that were added for the Hasbro versions. On top of that, it was refreshing to have Zords that would function on their own, with the Racer Zord being a Triple Changer akin to some Transformers. While we got three Zords introduced in the show early on, we didn't get the transforming Zords until much later, which included all five components of the original series' Ultrazord. Even then, no one ever found the triple changers while the dual changers were only at Target. Why? I wish I knew. Anyways, let's take a look at what this Zord has to offer.

Here we have the Wrecker Zord in its crane mode. It's one of the more uncommon vehicles that a Zord would base its look off of; while construction vehicles have been around with the likes of Turbo and Overdrive's Yellow Rangers as examples, a Zord taking the form of a crane was likely seen previously with an auxiliary Zord, so having it be for a Ranger this time works in my book. It's nicely painted, has a good amount of sculpted details, and even if it doesn't have that much gold all around, I appreciate that the design does have bits of it to go along with the black and silver/gray colors (along with a dash of blue for the cockpit). I do wish there was a bit more gold on the cran as well as some coloring for the tires.

This vehicle mode is pretty solid all around, though some may find the crane arm to be a little wonky, especially given how it's the arms of the warrior mode. Still, it's a pretty unique take of a crane mode, and certainly different from what we got from Overdrive. I also appreciate how the blades are hidden decently.

You can sort of move the crane around as you like, though swiveling the crane arm won't be too easy given how the joint clicks at 90-degree increments.

Here is a comparison with the Japanese version. As you can see, BC-04 has more paint added onto the crane arm as well as parts of the vehicle's body. It's more noticeable with the more complete silver trim and the gold rims. Still, setting aside any differences in molding, this does look more like a call-back to when Bandai America used to remove paint apps from the Japanese releases (which is a thing they stopped doing since Overdrive-Super Ninja Steel), even though this Hasbro Beast Wrecker Zord is a different mold from BC-04.

Transforming the crane mode into the bug mode means flipping it over, rotating the crane while splitting the head into a horn, and repositioning the panels and blades to make the legs and a portion of the abdomen. It's kind of a neat transition from one mode to the other, and the bug mode's not too bad. It does look like it's not too stable with the legs, but the crane arm is actually pretty loose, which isn't a killer for people that just display it, but it is as annoying as the intended method of storing the sword in the Racer Zord's cheetah mode. At least this mode doesn't have any other stability problems like, say, that 2015 Ant-Man Anthony toy.

It's a pretty interesting bug mode, especially how we didn't get bugs since Ninja Storm's Thunder Rangers, but calling it a mantis is not right. It's clearly a rhinoceros beetle, especially given how it's designed after one in the show. This isn't me saying that the Sentai version is better for having it as a beetle, this is me saying that its name change doesn't work. Mantises are smaller than rhinoceros beetles are in real life. While you can say that the horn is now the body and the rest of the body is an extra part of the body, then why are the eyes picked out. Even with the stupid name change, I'm just glad to have this and so many other toys themed after Go-Busters (even if I stick with the Power Rangers series and terminology)

Here is a comparison with the Japanese version. Sadly, it's missing a lot more gold that could make it look more complete like with the Japanese version. Don't get me wrong, it's not awful in this mode, but it could really go for just a few more paint apps to make the beast mode look different from the vehicle mode. You can also see that the crane arm in the stock image is positioned differently from the way I have it, so you can display the horn however you like, even if the show has one method of it.

Now for the transformation into its warrior mode; it's not as straight-forward as the Racer Zord, but I like how it extends the legs as well as uses the crane to make the arms. What I like most about it is the call-back to some of the more complex transformations that were seen from the likes of Time Shadow Megazord and the Thunder Megazord (from Ninja Storm). Sadly, the arms don't slide in due to how they're molded compared to BC-04's, but you can still attach them by opening the chest and putting them in there, and they stay in there well.

The design of the Wrecker Megazord is not too bad, I'd say. It doesn't look quite as cool as the Racer Zord does in the warrior mode, but I do like that it has more of a powerhouse look to it compared to the sleek Racer Zord. The arms could be a bit more raised up, but they're not as bad as on the skinnier arms of BC-04. The paint app differences here aren't too bad, though it should have some blue around the trim of the peg that held the arms in crane mode while the arms should have more paint. It also looks like it's stretched vertically than horizontally. And personally, I wish the gold didn't look too dull. It was something that I was okay with for the primary-colored Rangers' Zords, but the lack of metallic gold makes this Hasbro mecha look drab.

The side and back views don't look too bad, though I do like the vents from the back of the figure along with the folded up tires.

The head mainly takes the attributes of the Gold Ranger's Rhinoceros Beetle theme (despite Hasbro saying it's a mantis). The faceplates have some decent silver, so-so gold, and not so well-painted red for the visor, but the thing that is annoying is that they don't really line up too well if you want the mask to look proper.

Articulation is back to the days of Bandai bricks, and it's the same amount from the Japanese mold: shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out. While it would be neat if it was as poseable as the Racer Zord, we should keep in mind that it's designed to be split into more pieces for the Ultrazord configuration compared to the Racer Zord, who doesn't need to split into multiple pieces for the combination.

He has two swords, which look alright but could be better if he had just an elbow joint OR wrist swivels. Still, I do like that there is some silver paint added for the blades. For another comparison, here it is next to the nontransforming Wrecker Zord, which may not have the more varied colors of the converting version, but its proportions are better. Why it has the gun of the Jet Zord when it's missing the rest of the Jet Zord is beyond me.

This piece of the right arm comes off, though it might come into play for another mode or as an attack.

This converting Zord doesn't have as many improvements as the Hasbro Racer Zord did, so I do feel it won't get as much praise. That being said, I do like the crane and bug modes, and even if the warrior mode doesn't do too much, this Zord thankfully comes into play when you have other Zords to combine with it, which we will see later down the line.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐