Let's start with my favorite season of the four represented; it's the SPD Red Ranger! After last year's Shadow Ranger, one has to wonder just how Hasbro could make the other Rangers interesting. Their helmets are relatively similar to one another, and their main forms of distinction aside from the colors and slight changes to their helmets include the numbers on their suits. Thankfully, our first main SPD Ranger looks the part when it comes to his suit details. Everything about this guy looks great with the exception of the badge on his chest. It's tampographed rather than molded like it would be. I guess it's not a big deal but it is something that I wish would be fixed. The only other issue I have with this guy from a distance aside from that is that his left cuff isn't as silver as it should be; otherwise, Hasbro pretty much nailed this suit design.
The helmet sculpt faithfully captures the look of the Red Ranger quite well, and aside from a few minor paint app alignment errors and the incomplete silver visor trim (which is more forgiving here than on other figures), everything that I'd expect from this figure is present. It's funny how everyone flipped their shit over the V part of the forehead being the same part of the visor, but while it shouldn't sit up that high, it at least doesn't look too connected thanks to the pertrusion of the forehead compared to the visor. As for the articulation, it's the norm as we'd expect from the line, with the head on a ball joint as well as a hinge for the neck underneath it. Shoulders move front and back as well as in and out, biceps swivel, the elbows bend, and the wrists both swivel and hinge up and down. There is a diaphragm joint that turns and hinges along with the ab-crunch. Hips move front and back, in and out, the thighs swivel, the knees bend, the boots swivel, and the ankles pivot.
Here are the accessories he comes with, consisting of a civilian head for Jack Landers, his two Delta Blasters, his Delta Morpher, a blast effect piece, and two hands that hinge in and out.
These display options are obviously great for taking advantage of his accessories, and it's worth noting that his Delta Morpher is molded properly as the slider actually goes with his right hand's thumb! The guns can be stored on the holsters or on his hand, and seeing him with his good likeness to the actor Brandon Jay McLaren makes me want to laugh at the people that got extremely pissed off at how they thought Hasbro was going to use a fan's pic as a reference (though the fact that the fan photo was used in the first place is dumb); here, the head itself looks great, and it captures his attitude as a laid-back yet capable Power Ranger (compared to his Sentai counterpart). Have I mentioned that I like Jack? He, Connor, and Shane easily go well for my top 5 Red Rangers of all time.
If that wasn't enough, the blasters can actually combine and be held by both hands as he normally does in the show when he displays his finisher. Hasbro probably would have either left the blaster as a single gun or as two guns that can't combine, but they actually made them combine! That's sweet!
Here is a comparison between the latest version of SPD Red and the first, that being the old Bandai figure from wayyyyy back in 2005. Additionally, I'll be comparing it to the 2014 Super Megaforce version as well as the SH Figuarts Deka Red (who may or may not have been released with an SPD logo). The old toy is certainly dated and may seem pretty laughable with its muscles and what-not, but it's still a good toy nonetheless, even back then. I'd say its plastic feels nicer than the LC version. The Figuarts one doesn't look too bad, and it might have better articulation and accessories than the Hasbro guy, but its proportions seem relatively smooth and nowhere near as accurate to the cloth-details that the line has. The Super Megaforce version is neat but does have an incomplete visor outline. Still a good addition nonetheless.
I must confess and say that it made me happy to revisit this old toy. While not the perfect toy of all time, it is nice to have it standing next to the current guy, especially given the nostalgia I got from SPD, the season where I bought even more stuff than I did with either Dino Thunder or Ninja Storm. And it's nice to have SPD Red next to his new self because we rarely get these comparisons unless it's MMPR (unless you're DosmRider or MMPRToys). Either way, a great pic of these two can only be summed up here.
Here he is next to the Shadow Ranger There is a bit of a height difference between him and Anubis Cruger himself, which is fine by me given the latter being a taller Ranger. Still, I feel Jack could be a little shorter than he is given the actor's height. This height does work for Sky or Bridge, given their heights are different than Jack's. Time will tell how the other Rangers will look next to Jack. Still, a nice pic between the two (Even though I wish Jack's belt buckle had a more detailed SPD font.
The display options are obviously nice to have if you collect this line, but I knew I had to take the second pic with Jack holding Cruger's sword; IDC if you watch SPD or not, but seeing the Red Ranger hold his boss's weapons is based if you ask me. Cruger doesn't seem to mind, as he wants his ally to take on whichever enemy they're facing! Still, Jack is a pretty nice slam dunk to me! Would love to see a few improvements, but I love this guy regardless, especially given how SPD was a season I was already in love with. I absolutely recommend getting this guy!
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Next up we have Zeo Ranger III Blue! While it may seem odd for a regular Zeo Ranger that's not Tommy to show up, the fact that fans either got Zeo Gold in the Jason 2-pack or in Wave 5 makes this a bit more appreciative to me. This guy, like the MMPR guys, is fairly hard to screw up in terms of details; he's got a nice amount of gold on his suit as well as the cuffs on the boots, gloves, and his belt. The details are nicely picked out, and nothing feels left out so to speak. If there is one thing that's odd, it's the knees themselves. They look bigger than they normally are, but I'll get to that in a bit.
The helmet sculpt is certainly nicely done. Maybe the inset details look a little too deep, but it otherwise looks the part to me. The silver outline might be a little inaccurate, but it's otherwise good and nowhere near as odd as if it were gunmetal gray or missing. With the articulation, you can give this guy the morphing pose if you so desire.
The accessories included with this guy are his civilian head, the effect piece, his Zeo Laser Pistol, the Zeo Power Pod Sword extended, and two weapon-holding hands that hinge up and down instead of in and out. There are disappointingly no Power Tonfas! Those would have added even more to this guy, but the lack of them makes me scratch my head. Now I know Tommy's going to get his sword, but what about everyone else? We'll have to wait and see.
Once again, the display options look neat, but I must confess and say that the civilian likeness to Rocky Desantos's actor, Steve Cardenas, isn't the best. It's not an awful human head, per se, but the likeness doesn't look that great. At least the weapons are neat to have, though displaying them in the sheaths is weird for at least the sword. It's funny how people complained about the compact swords but later complain about how the complete sword looks on the sword. Either way, I prefer the sword to be extended.
The lightning effect doesn't look too great since it doesn't go all the way in (maybe it wasn't supposed to), but another issue I have is the paint coming off of the handles. It shouldn't be a thing, and the paint of the sword handle is worryingly coming off and is remaining on the gloves of the left hand (which looks like a cake mess). Hasbro, please resolve that. Speaking of resolving, anyone that was worried about the lack of a Rocky head that goes with the Mighty Morphin Red Ranger can easily switch heads. And yes, we'll see how Adam, Aisha, and Katherine will get their heads.
Here he is next to the Mighty Morphin Red Ranger, which is nice to have if you want to reflect on his past as the second Red Ranger before he has a form that stands out more to fans in terms of who he turns into. They look good, but I should try to complete the visor of the Red Ranger at some point.
These two make for a neat display nonetheless, either as Rocky's past form and his later form working together or Jason and Rocky fighting alongside each other in the Legendary Battle. Bit notice their knees? Red's look smaller while the part of the leg that connects to the boot is more prominent in terms of plastic while the knees of Zeo Blue are bigger and leave no room for the plastic used for the leg that connects to the boots. Why the knees look different on Zeo Blue compared to the other figures is beyond me, but at least it doesn't take away any articulation.
Now we have a comparison with his past selves. The old toy certainly looks dated, but the Bandai version wasn't that bad. Obviously, I prefer how Hasbro's turned out in terms of form and function, but Bandai's was a second-best of some kind. Also adds to the fact that he doesn't really get many figures. The wrists look very thin, though. So Zeo Blue does have some civilian head inaccuracies, the missing Tonfas, and some paint issues with his weapons, but everything about it works as well as it should; nothing feels out of place, and it does the job quite well. I recommend getting him if you're a Zeo fan, but be aware of the issues he has.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Now we have the Mighty Morphin Yellow Ranger. Straight away I gotta give Hasbro props for not improving the issues I had with Kimberly (even if one new problem is added, which we'll get to later). The paint apps are nicely applied, nothing feels rushed, and the belt is thankfully in the same shade of white compared to the Pink Ranger's belt, which has a pinkish shade.
The helmet pretty much captures all the details it'd need, though I wish the visor would be a bit better aligned with the molding. Maybe there's also supposed to be another silver rim or the mouth, but it's still fine. The articulation is the same as with the males, so nothing new to mention aside from the elbows and arm swivels combined, meaning no double-jointed elbows.
Here are the accessories she comes with, consisting of two effect pieces, a Trini Kwan civilian head, two Power Daggers, a Blade Blaster, and two alternate hands.
The accessories obviously add to her display options, though I must say that switching her heads is scary as shit. People reported that the neck hinges break on this toy, which means that it requires either not removing the head or attempting to fix the neck yourself. This was something that MMPR Pink didn't have. Anyways, the head itself does have a nice likeness to Trini Kwan's actress, Thuy Thang, and the accessories can be held nicely if she wants to go Blade Blaster or Power Daggers.
And now her effect pieces can give her that fireworks look if you want to go that extra mile. She looks like she's having so much fun, and it makes me happy that she's having fun, too! Also worth noting that her Power Daggers come with the SDCC Jason 2-pack, but you no longer need to worry about the lack of the weapons here.
Here is the Yellow Ranger in a comparison with the Bandai Legacy Collection version, and we also have the SH Figuarts version as well as the Action Hero 5-inch version. I should mention that my Legacy Collection version is the metallic version because it had the proper Morpher paint and the weapons. I feel the Hasbro and 5-inch versions are the best in terms of proper helmet proportions. The Legacy Collection and Figuarts ones have helmets that look pretty narrow, though the former has worse details on its helmet. Some will still love the Figuarts, but it doesn't really make much of an attempt to have its body stand out better from the male TigerRanger version. The 5-inch version is neat and is also one of the rare female Rangers to not have a plastic skirt since that normally ruins its articulation. Bandai's Legacy Collection figure isn't entirely trash by any stretch of the imagination, but it does have proportions that still weren't capable of matching up to the show. This isn't me bashing the huge breasts and hourglass waist of the female from Bandai (I have the same issues with the Bandai muscles on the males); this is me saying that I'd like my Power Rangers to not look like they're roided out or have waifu proportions. Hasbro gets that, and we have a female figure that once again doesn't look like a waifu and moreso a tough gal.
Let's continue the comparisons with the Legacy version. The daggers each have the same levels of detail, though I gotta give Bandai props for the slightly better sculpt of the Sabertooth Tiger and the gold paint.
The Blade Blasters are where Hasbro wins once again. We have a proper Blade Blaster that's a gun and not left in its holster mode. Obviously not an issue if you have the Metallic Yellow Ranger from Bandai, but those that never got it have no real accessory.
All in all, Hasbro beats the other version for feeling more fulfilling than the other versions made so far. Not that the other versions, let alone Bandai Legacy, were awful by any means, but there is something that doesn't beat Hasbro's intent in making the best mass-retail version of the character to date.
And now here she is with the other Mighty Morphin Power Rangers I have so far. She looks great with the other Rangers and also works better than the Pink Ranger for the aforementioned reasons from a few paragraphs ago. All I need is a regular Blue, Black, and Green (even though the other figures I have so far are the Walgreens and Fighting Spirit versions). You can get MMPR Yellow if you want, but be on the lookout for any QC issues as well as the neck issue.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And last, but certainly not least, here we have Blaze from Beast Morphers! Kind of surprising we've gotten one of the villains from that show instead of either Yellow or Silver, but I'm not complaining! This suit is done up quite well, with everything you'd expect to be present with this toy as it strives to go for the accuracy you'd expect from the line. Nothing feels missing to me, and I gotta give Hasbro credit.
Head sculpt is once again done up nicely, though I may take away the credit of everything being present since there should be a black outline for the animal eyes for the helmet and the black outlines should be better applied on the top. I also don't like how there's somehow a random silver dot on the orange visor, which is driving me nuts! Thankfully the articulation is the same as always, even with the chest armor.
Here are the accessories he comes with, which consist of his civilian Blaze head, his lightning effect piece, his virus laptop, two alternate hands, and his sword.
As always, the alternate display options look great, whether he's holding the helmet with his head exposed, the laptop looks quite nice and even has the screen detailed with the sticker and some buttons that look the part. The sword looks good, and is even better with the effect piece.
Here he is next to his mainline counterpart, which is the only other version of the character that we have. Aside from the articulation points, proportion differences, and slight paint alterations, these figures look relatively similar to one another; it's nice that we have Power Rangers made for the mainline that still look good even if they're not as poseable, though Blaze and all villain figures have the baffling decision of not making the legs pose outwards.
Their swords are quite comparable to one another, which is fine by me. At least they're different molds, even if they look the same.
The new guy doesn't come with a black Cheetah Beast Blaster, which is expected.
The difference in articulation is what matters most, as the basic Blaze doesn't have the same outward leg movement that the Lightning Collection version has. This made me want the LC version even more if you ask me.
Here he is next to the other Beast Morphers Rangers. As mentioned, no Yellow or Silver Rangers yet, and no Roxy, either. He still looks nice with the other Rangers, whether you want him to be with or against the Rangers themselves.
While I'd love to get Yellow, Silver, and Roxy at some point, Blaze at least spices things up a notch by being a villain that's also a Ranger. And if you want, you can add the civilian head to the Red Ranger and recreate the one time he became the Red Ranger and wipe out the memories of Devon. Now let's see how that'll work if we get a Roxy that has an alternate head. As for Blaze himself, he makes for a nice addition into the line, especially given how worthwhile he makes as a villain that's also a Ranger; it's easier to do than have an all-around villain design. I recommend getting him, too.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
And that covers my look at Wave 4 of the Lightning Collection! It's great to have 4 different seasons have some representation, and it's also neat to have one of them as a villain. While Zeo Blue is a basic choice that may not seem that exciting, he at least gives a bit of primary color variety that pops nicely with SPD Red and MMPR Yellow. Their accessories are also nice to have with each Ranger, though the lack of Tonfas for Zeo Blue is questionable.
The civilian likenesses are also done well, with Blaze and Jack being the best of the four, Trini being second best (she could use a bit more of the same feeling of looking alive like the other two are), and Rocky looks like the weakest. Nice to once again see all four characters have an alternate head where applicable (which I feel isn't an issue for the first two wave's Lord Zedd and Magna Defender, though a certain figure will let us down for Wave 5).
Now the three Rangers can end this review with their preparations in killing the villain of this wave. Overall, I recommend getting Blaze and SPD Red with no problems, MMPR Yellow if you are more careful in getting the QC issues and preparing for any neck issues, and Zeo Blue as the one you need to get last since he's not as important as the others. Still good, but needs a bit more importance with those Tonfas.
Overall ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.6 out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
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