Another wave of the Lightning Collection, this time, I've got two things to talk about: first of all, the box art I have may look a little dodgy, and that's because Tom Whalen has yet to post proper renders of Wave 6. Additionally, you may be noticing that Dino Thunder White replaced Goldar in the first pic below, and that's because I opted not to buy Wave 6 Goldar. If I was given one as a gift, I'd include him here, but that is not the case because I can have a wingless Goldar simply be removing the wings of the one that was released by Gamestop. But I'm glad to see In Space represented with a Yellow Ranger, Zeo finally bringing in its Red Ranger, happy that MMPR Black is out so I can display the Walgreens one on his own, and we'll talk about Dino Thunder White in a bit. Now onto the review!
Let's start off with the Yellow Space Ranger! She is the first representation of the season itself, and while some may find her as an odd choice, to begin with, but she was a fan-favorite to many and was also a nice way to add a female character that's also from a beloved season (not that fans will be happy about it if they're still going to complain about the lack of females). It's got everything needed for the character design to have, and considering it's a simple suit design, I'm fine with how everything turned out on the figure.
Helmet sculpt is pretty good, though I do admit the paint app alignment could be a bit better. It's stuff that I can forgive with some Spider-Man figures given how they tend to have the web lines be tampographed onto the smooth surfaces, but with the ridges on the helmet implying where certain details would go, I expect better. Her articulation is the same as every female Ranger in the line, with a notable aspect being the single-jointed elbows that work with a swivel at the elbow in lieu of bicep rotation. Unlike Ranger Slayer (but like the two Mighty Morphin' girls), her boots swivel because they are separate parts from the rest of the costume; unlike Ranger Slayer AND Trini (but like Kimberly), she has a skirt that does inhibit her leg movement, yet as with the basic female figures of Beast Morphers Yellow and Dino Charge Pink, it's a lot better than the minimal movement of the Bandai Legacy toys and especially the Action Heroes.
Here are her accessories, consisting of her civilian head in the form of Ashley Hammond, her Star Slinger, an effect piece to go with it, an Astro Blaster, and two alternate hands in the form of a karate chop hand right hand and a left fist.
The likeness to the actress is there, but some found her to be quite creepy (probably because most smiling faces can look a little off or online PR fans might need to see other people's smiles more often), but I think the head might be a little too big on her body? Anyways, the Astro Blaster looks nice on her hand and the same can be said for her Star Slinger, which the figure can be posed pulling the sling strap thanks to her hand articulation and her butterfly joint!
Now it's time for a comparison with her other counterparts, which consist of her Bandai Legacy Collection counterpart and the original 1998 5 inch toy. The proportions of the former are not as realistic as Hasbro's take on the figure, and that's especially noticeable with her skinny waist and her thin limbs. Hasbro's female figures are pretty skinny compared to the males, but it's at least balanced out perfectly fine with the males not being as muscular. The 5-inch toy is positively dated, and having the chest details be raised in relief is a little unusual, but man are her tits bigger than they actually are in the show! So the Hasbro figure is pretty solid overall, though the Bandai Legacy version was pretty good for what it was. I kind of expect Hasbro to reuse the helmet with either an SPD Orange Ranger or A-Squad Yellow.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Next up, we have Zeo Ranger V: Red! With SDCC giving us the Gold Zeo Ranger in the team and Wave 4 adding Zeo Ranger III: Blue, it's nice that the leader is added to the growing display of Power Rangers Zeo. Like with Blue, Red's details are pretty much the same as before, only with his appropriate color and helmet details added on. I guess you can complain that the butterfly joints don't have any white paint added, which did upset online PR fans because fuck it, right? Personally, that's not something that really bugs me because I'm more concerned with how much gold would be carried over.
The helmet sculpt is spot-on to the on-screen one, though aside from the outline being white instead of silver, my copy's helmet details are actually a little misaligned with the embossed details. It's nothing too severe from far away, and I am a little lucky that the misalignment is not too severe, but as I said before, the details are there and should correspond with the damn paint apps! The articulation is the same as ever with the male figures, which means he has double-jointed elbows and bicep swivels. In the case of the hands he has on, they hinge up and down instead of in and out.
His accessories consist of a Zeo Laser Pistol, his Ranger-specific weapon in the form of the Zeo V Power Sword, a new Tommy Oliver civilian head, two clenched fists, a new effect piece for the pistol, and a Zeo Power Pod Sword.
The display options are pretty much the same as with the Blue Ranger from the same team, right down to the odd way the sword is displayed on the holster and the issue I have with the paint chipping off the standard weapons. Regarding the display options exclusive for the Red Ranger, I like how different the Tommy head is compared to the one that came with the White Ranger and Fighting Spirit Green Ranger (even if the expression's not quite fitting for his character). The blast effect piece is great for the pistol and I feel may be useful with some other weapons with similar ports. Tommy's Power Sword looks good aside from the slightly see-through blade, but now I wonder how Rocky's Tonfas will be included.
Here is a comparison with the other versions of Zeo Ranger V: Red, consisting of the Bandai Legacy Collection figure and the 5-inch action hero from Super Megaforce. now the Legacy guy was a decent toy for what it was back when Bandai still had the license, but it shared the same muscular proportions, the pod sword was retracted and is better off left in the holster, and his shades of gold were inconsistent. The Super Megaforce guy was a nice toy despite the dated proportions of the Action Hero mold. His gold is nicer than the Legacy guy when they're both in-hand.
Now for a comparison with the other Zeo Rangers. We're halfway from completing the team and I'm happy with what we have so far! Sure hope we get Green, Yellow, and Pink (along with some Beast Morphers, Dino Thunder, and SPD, Hasbro!), because I'm already liking the display we have between the three.
The head sculpts are pretty much ready for a recreation of the press photos that most PR seasons take advantage of. In terms of likeness, Trey of Triforia looks the closest, Tommy is somewhat like his likeness (maybe the forehead is a little too big) and Rocky's likeness is weak.
And finally, here he is with the other versions of Tommy that appeared in Fighting Spirit.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Then we have the Mighty Morphin' Black Ranger! This guy's a shield-less variant of the Walgreens-exclusive Dragon-Shield Black Ranger, with this version now displaying the chest details and ditching the arm-bands, too. I was happy to get him because I did want to give the DSBR a unique spot on the display so the MMPR team can have regular members with the two distinct 6th Rangers from Green and White. As before, he has the same detail traits as MMPR Rangers from the past, except his Power Morpher's missing the red circular trim! I know I said that the lack of white paint on Zeo Red's no big deal, but the red trim is a little more noticeable here! I'm tempted to switch them around at some point.
Head sculpt looks pretty much the same as the previous figure, except my copy's paint apps are at least better handles than with the Walgreens version. Some may find the proportions of it to be a little off, but I think it still looks better than the MMPR Red helmet.
Here are the accessories he comes with, consisting of a Power Axe, a recolored effect piece, a dagger and gun version of the Blade Blaster, a new Zack Taylor civilian head, and clenched fists.
While the civilian head is a little odd and not quite reminiscent of Walter Jones, I commend Hasbro for making the hairstyle reminiscent of Season 2. Still, I don't remember his head being that light shade of brown compared to the color used for Zack in the show. The inclusion of both modes of the Blade Blaster's is commendable, though I wonder why the other Rangers didn't come with blade versions of the blaster. Not a big deal either way since I prefer they use their unique weapons anyways.
Here is a quick comparison between the exclusive and general retail versions of the Black Ranger. The Dragon Shield of the Black Ranger isn't the shiniest compared to the gold on Zeo Red, but it does give the Black Ranger a bit more bling (also helps by the fact that he looks the coolest with it on). While I like the shieldless version's paint apps on the helmet and handling of the diamonds, I don't like how the Power Morpher turned out on his copy. As mentioned, I'm going to plan on switching the belts around and then give Armored Black the Blade Blaster that came with Kimberly.
Their heads are also different from one another, with Season 1 Zack having a more traditional hairdo found on the character and Season 2 Zack having a different style of hair. I'm not an expert on hairstyles, but I will say that I prefer Season 1 Zack's head because he looks younger than Season 2 Zack, who looks a little awkward with a face that's slightly old and a hairstyle that may not look the best with the shade of brown. Almost looks kind of fake.
Their cannons are not altered from one another, though the blast effect is differently colored. The original effect piece was blue whereas this one's purple and has a glittery pattern applied. I admit I wish the Mastodon coin was painted, but at least the effect piece being a different color shows Hasbro is making this more than just a repackage without the chest armor.
Here he is next to other versions of himself, consisting of yet another Legacy figure and Action Hero, but in-between them is the S.H.Figuarts. We already covered how the Bandai Legacy figures' muscles are with Zeo Red, so I will instead mention that his helmet might be a little more accurate and the version I have here is the Metallic version. The Figuart version is pretty skinny and fragile, but aside from the Mastodon trunk's thick white lines, the helmet on that version is pretty good. The Action Hero is still dated as mentioned previously, but it's still a decent take on the character. One funny thing is that only the Legacy figure's weapon can't combine, which the Action Hero, Figuart, and Lightning versions can do!
Once again I gotta get into more details by comparing Hasbro and Bandai. Like always, the Blade Blaster is better for Hasbro with the option to pose him while Bandai's is only good to stay in the Blade Blaster.
The axes are where things are 50/50. The Hasbro version is still missing the gold for the Power Coin, and I have to admit I prefer how the Bandai version's axe can be held; it's handle is narrow and isn't hard to insert into the hand.
That being said, the Hasbro version does have the option to hold it as a cannon properly thanks to the sliding piece. Oh, and the aforementioned effect piece! While Wave 6 of the Black Ranger removes the armor and has a slightly worse Power Morpher, he at least justifies his release by having an dagger mode for the Blade Blaster, a recolored effect piece, and a new version of Zack's head.
Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
So instead of covering a Goldar with different accessories, let's instead take a look at the Walgreens-exclusive Dino Thunder White Ranger! This guy looks quite good...for the most part. I'm sure other reviews quick on the uptake already mentioned what's glaring in these pics, but to start positively, I like the details applied on the suit! The black points look crisp on the suit while the gold is nicely applied. I'm sure some obsessed fans will point out some details that are missing, like on the pads that go on the gloves or the Ranger suit designs or the pegs used to connect the legs, but those are fairly easy to understand. The Morpher being unpainted is annoying, but that's somewhat understandable...
...what ISN'T understandable is the removal of the visor outlne on the helmet! It not only loses the impact of the helmet design but also looks cheap! You either had to paint the outline on yourself OR get Hasbro to send you a replacement copy with the proper outline (THANK ZORDON); the proper helmet itself looks pretty good with the details added, and while some may nitpick how it doesn't quite line-up with the rest of the helmet, I'd rather not complain further because my helmet looks good overall. In terms of articulation, this guy has the chest armor but is otherwise the same as always.
Here are his accessories, which include the Trent Fernandez civilian head, his wicked laser arrow effect piece, a weird right hand that is supposed to hold the sword but doesn't, a left hand that his posed more dynamically, and the Drago Sword itself.
The display options, complete with the proper helmet, are nicely done! The likeness to Jeffrey Parazzo looks great, the and the sword looks wicked on his hand, with or without the effect piece!
One thing worth mentioning is the chest armor; it's able to come off without anything inhibiting it compared to the Dragon Shield or the White Ranger armor from MMPR. A noteworthy aspect of the toy is the addition of peg hole meant to better secure the armor on. If we bring in MMPR Black, you can tell he does not have said peg hole on his back.
For a comparison with the Beast Morphers Dino Ranger 3-pack's Blue Dino Ranger, which may be a different class of figure quality for the articulation and the proportions, but they at least look good in terms of a display. The basic figure is a little shorter, but for a display that's meant to have the Dino Thunder Rangers together, this itself looks fine for the most part; IDK if Ethan's shorter than Trent, though.
For a comparison with the Bandai versions of the characters (and thankfully with the complete visor), here he is next to the Legacy Collection version of the character and the original 2004 toy. The Legacy figure was pretty decent for what it was, though stuff like the actual copies of the toy have missing paint on the back or incorrect shades of gold did hurt it on a level similar to the lack of a visor outline for the Hasbro version. The Bandai figure's pic I have here is kind of shitty because no one has proper in-hand pics of the damn thing. But yeah, I think with the complete helmet, I love how Dino Thunder White turned out, so a high recommendation he gets (still wish he had a few more details though)!
And that sums up Wave 6 as well as the White Drago Ranger! It's great to catch up with yet another wave for this line, and while we're at it, I'm happy to not include Goldar because I've got a slick version of the White Drago Ranger to go along with the other Rangers! On top of having debut Rangers for the Lightning Collection in the form of characters from Dino Thunder and In Space, we completed the core MMPR team (which can include either Fighting Spirit Green and MMPR White if you please) and are halfway there with completing Zeo thanks to the Red Ranger's inclusion!
After Wave 5 excluding a head for Ranger Slayer, it's nice to say that the heads for the entire wave as well as Walgreens' White Drago Ranger are all here! In terms of likeness, Trent's the strongest, Ashley's ranked second, and both Zack and Tommy are tied because their likenesses are so-so; Zack looks a little older than he is while Tommy looks like he has a big forehead.
The display options are pretty neat, too. In the case of the range weapons, White Drago may not have a blaster, but MMPR Black, Zeo Red, and Space Yellow have blasters with various designs and color schemes. Zeo Red's effect piece adds to him, too!
But it's good to have everyone that's involved with their signature effect pieces, and Tommy can make up for that with his signature sword as well as his pod sword! And tha shall be all for my Power Ranger reviews until I get more characters as well as Dino Fury. I'll see you then!
Overall ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐.6 out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
No comments:
Post a Comment