Power Rangers Lightning Collection Ninja Turtles Crossover Multipacks review

The Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles have teamed up once, with the Space Rangers clashing worlds with the cast in The Next Mutation. Now, the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers meet the team in a collab with Boom Studios and IDW Publishing. In this splinter timeline (har har), Tommy runs away after he was defeated in a version of Green With Evil, finds his way to New York City, meets a childhood friend, and gets his Power Coin taken away by Shredder; being the power-hungry freak that he is, Shredhead corrupted it and wore a version of the suit that's detached from the familiar Mighty Morphin design beyond the color and vague dragon influence. Later, when the Rangers lose their connection to the Morphin Grid, the Turtles decide to take over and morph into Power Rangers themselves. And after waiting for these sets to be discounted because some of these nearly cost $60, I finally own them!

Let's get ourselves started with not the leader of the Turtles but the team member that is associated with leadership because of the suit color: The Red Ranger. Raphael takes on the power of the Tyrannosaurus as his body is now covered in the spandex suit while the shell has been tweaked to add that Power Rangers influence with the gold coat of paint, the belt's Morpher, and the chest emblem. It makes for a great combination of Turtle Power and Ranger Power that results in an imposing look. He even has armbands for added protection. The only issue I have is that the knees and elbows are not a consistent shade of red in some lighting, with them looking pink occasionally.

The helmet sculpt captures that imposing look perfectly, as not only does it have the proportions reworked to fit the head shape better, but the inclusion of a blank mouth plate instead of lips as well as the piercing red eyes gives this guy an extra layer of intimidation not seen with the regular Red Ranger helmet. And in addition to the budget prioritizing the new sculpt and paint, likely due to Hasbro using the TMNT license as they don't own it, we get even more paint for the Power Scythes, inspired by the Power Sword, as well as two extra pairs of hands instead of just one pair (we get fists and splayed open hands), an effect piece for either scythe and an unhelmeted Raphael head!

Talking about Lightning Collection display options and articulation can get tiresome since it's usually the same body mold for the males and females, but it's nice seeing an unhelmeted head that isn't human or humanlike apart from someone like Cruger. Ralph's got snarling rage on him, perfect for his hot-headed personality. And the scythes store on the belt like they normally would. As for his articulation, while the arms, elbows, wrists, thighs, knees, boots, and ankles work the same as before, the head now has two ball joints rather than a neck with a hinge and a ball on top for the head. The butterfly joints are modified to work as they normally would by moving front and back while still being able to move up and down like on the old shoulder hinges found on Toy Biz Legends like Hawkeye as an example from Glenn Webb's review. The hips pose the same as always, but they now have drop-down hips which I believe some Legends have, like the Retro Collection Spider-Man I own. It's this added articulation that makes them more special, though PowerRangerGram did say they might feel fragile.

Also included with Raphael is a Foot Soldier, who uses the standard body mold associated with nearly every Male Ranger in existence. The chest armor, gauntlets, loincloth, and combination of purple and dark gray make the identity for the otherwise featureless fodder for the Turtles to beat up. While not the exact shade, I can see the gray being used for a Graphite Ranger in Dino Charge.

Head sculpt is featureless as mentioned before, but I like how there are creases in the fabric stretched over the head to represent a living, breathing person (though some Foot Soldiers are known to be robots). The eyes are red again, though he looks like he's bleeding a tear...? Anyways, the display options give him fists, a katana, a punch effect piece, two alternate unmasked pieces, a lightning effect piece, and a new Tommy head.

The effect pieces are nice to have if you want him to attack with or without a katana, but the display options for the mask are nice, so he can wear it while the rest of his face is exposed, or it can be all the way down! I wouldn't recommend army building since it's going to include duplicates of Raphael.

Let's go over one and a half of the remaining 2-packs since they're mostly similar. The other Turtle Rangers have the same modifications applied, though I like how in addition to Donatello and Michaelangelo having the Black and Yellow Ranger colors to sort of correlate with their purple and orange bandanas, respectively, Donny and Leonardo both have the slung-over sheaths for their weapons while Mikey, like Ralph, doesn't.

While the Turtles are known to each come with a pair of weapons, Donny comes with a normal Power Axe for a certain reason as we'll get to. It's the same as the one that the regular and Dragon Shield Black Rangers came with, only with more gray and less black and silver. But we also get effect pieces, alternate heads, and the same alternate hands for all three while Mikey and Leo come with their own twin weapons.

I like how we have alternate heads that come with not just different shades of green, but unique expressions added into the mix. Donny's got that hectic panic with goggles on his forehead, Leo's stern as the leader, and Mikey's a party animal! And like Ralph, their weapons can be stored away like their normal weapons would.

The continued weapon display options rules as always, as it's nice to see the Power Axe on a stick bo staff, the Power Lance as twin katanas, and the Power Daggers, now doubled like Ralph's weapons only this time conjoined, as nunchucks.

Now let's go from being shell-shocked to just shocked because we get a regular MMPR Pink Ranger...at first glance. While it seems unusual that she didn't get Turtlefied (since Venus isn't always canon), someone else takes the mantle. That being said, we get no skirt a la Dino Fury Green, a Power Morpher without Silver, a somewhat more consistent shade of pink, on the torso, and a more accurate helmet. At first, I thought the original helmet was accurate but turns out I was wrong because the Legacy helmet looked awkward on a skinnier body while this helmet is more stylized. The updated helmet is always appreciated, as ks a less pink shade on her belt. Her arrow is pink and bow grey instead of vaguely metallic gray for the former and white on the latter like with the original release, but the main display I'd give her is definitely the April O'Neil head, camcorder, and mic! She may not have the iconic raincoat, but she's still willing to report on the news while being a Power Ranger, so that counts as multitasking! My copy's eyes are painted slightly above the sculpting, so she looks a little tired.

Since most of these weapons still work the same way the original ones did, you can make a Power Blaster! Only one of Ralph's Power Scythes can go on, but while you lose the added firepower of the daggers turned nunchucks, it still looks like the combined weapon we know and love, although the combination of the painted yellow, gray bow, lighter blue, and lack of silver on all of the weapons except the scythe makes it look worse than the original one.

Regardless, it's cool how the Turtles and April can still make the weapon even if they've been tweaked somewhat to fit the context of the franchise these characters are from. And Leo gets to take the blaster since he's the leader.

It's even greater to have the heroes in a half-shell vibe with alternate heads for the characters. Obviously great to have the alternate heads for the in-show Rangers to recreate the promo pics and stuff, but the Turtles are way more unique in comparison! And the camcorder+microphone for April makes the display options even more interesting. I did wish she came with an extra pair of hands for when she's not pretending to be Kimberly under the helmet. 

And finally, we got Shredder! This guy also gets a new sculpt, making for a more impressive body frame fitting for the character, while also combining the established design with the Green Ranger elements, from the armbands to the added gold and green, and from the Dragon Shield and Power Morpher to the redesigned helmet. His cape is still purple, but it still works with his color scheme, complete with the deliberate wear and tears he'd experienced. The only issue I have is the bands for the claws don't have the straps painted, but the figure is otherwise badass.

His helmet combined his signature kabuto helmet with what little remains of the Green Ranger design with the Dragonzord elements. It also reminds me of the 2003 version and a bit of the 2014 version with the face shrouded in darkness the equally badass red eyes. Since he has no other accessories, we'll cut (ha) to the fisted hands and claw slice effect pieces. Next to the Ranger whose powers were stolen from him, he's not only taller but also muscular, which reminds me of the scale and build that the Armored Hero Rangers from (Super) Megaforce and Dino Charge had back when Bandai used to make the toys and roid them out. One of my friends said that he wished the shade of green was brighter, and while it was more or less the same shade for both suits in the comics, the darker shade works for Shredhead if I'm honest. That being said, where is the black outline for the diamond?

These sets are glorious to own, especially for those who both love Power Rangers and Ninja Turtles. It also finally made me want to get the normal Ninja Turtles figures since I always wanted to own the characters but felt kind of nervous since the line history is harder to catch up with than the Power Rangers franchise. Even if you're not a big TMNT fan, you can pretend these guys come from a universe where THEY are the Power Rangers. Get these sets while they're still available at discount.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ and a half out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for all of the sets

Transformers Legacy Wildrider review

Wildrider is a weird one; he is fairly disposable as a character, doesn't get represented in other forms, and his post-G1 toys were constantly made as repaints, and was kind of replaced in Combiner Wars. See, back when Hasbro used to bring us the many combiners, the original Scramble City 4 were shown to have 4/5ths of the cast present, with the Aerialbots replacing Slingshot (Quickslinger) with Alpha Bravo, Wildrider (Brake-Neck) with Offroad, Groove with Rook (with Groove now a Legends figure), and shuttle Blast Off with a brown Quickslinger as Blast Off. I would have gotten Brake-Neck, but him just being a gray Dead End with only a new head turned me off (wait till a similar thing happens in this line). I think Wildrider might be a better figure in this line, so let's hope that's the case!

Here we have Wildrider in his car mode. It's a genericized Ferrari 308 GTB sports car to avoid licensing issues, but it is a reasonably nice-looking vehicle as expected. It's got a few decent details, but it otherwise mainly prioritizes the signature gunmetal-gray with red accents look one would expect from this character. The red windows look gorgeous while contrasting the darker coloring used on the body. I do wish the sstripe popped a little more.

Side profile is pretty scrappy with those transformation seams, and it does mean that the pinstripe on the side doesn't really line up 100% perfect (it's 90% perfect). But at least the wheels are painted, though for some reason, the front ones look fine and dandy and the back ones have the mushroom pegs...yeah me neither.

Guns can be placed on the back and they don't stick out too much in this way.

For a vehicle mode comparison, while Offroad may be nothing alike Wildrider overall, there have been a few attempts to reference him with the deco; the gray body, the red windows and side decal (albiet done in a different manner), and the Decepticon on the hood are callbacks to the original guy. However, Offroad is a new guy all around. I did want to make Offroad the actual guy and pretend Wildrider doesn't exist for my CHUG collection, but with Legacy making refined Stunticons, I knew I'd have to get the team again.

For a vehicle mode group shot, Wildrider looks great with the other members of the Stunticons. Soon, I shall get my hands on Dead End and Breakdown, who might be pretty exciting or disappointing if you're getting to understand the gist of his current state.

Transformation is pretty much whad I'd expect for a guy like him. Typical leg transformation, arms don't do a whole lot, chest panel hinges to bring the head up, blah blah blah. New to this figure is the ability for the front of the car to split into three so it can look broken up and add some form of illusion to this guy transforming, but if I'm honest, it's not really worth it if it makes the back kibble look worse. The resulting robot mode is fine. It's nothing I'm crazy for since he feels plain. I like the colors on the upper body, which I'm sure the lower body could use, but he's alright, I guess.

Head sculpt looks like Wheelie's head if it had Frankenstein drills on the head and was pissed off because of his design being mid at best. And we have a continuation of Stunticon heads being random; Dragstrip's back of his head was hollowed out, while this guy's got lightpiping despite having painted eyes! His articulation consisted of the head, shoulders moving front and back and in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, a waist swivel, hips that move front and back as well as in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends, and ankle pivots. His guns make him a little better, and leaving the backpack untransformed, while making him even more plain, does look better; I wonder why Hasbro's resources are inconsistent with Legacy.

For a robot mode size comparison, he's nearly the same height as a Combiner Wars figure, which is fine, I guess. While his robot mode is plain, Offroad has had a few issues with the shoulder kibble, an even bigger backpack that's hollow from the top, skinny arms, and a sort of nondescript chest. 

And here he is next to Motormaster as well as Dragstrip in the robot mode, feeling kind of baggy and unimpressive compared to the more robust Motormaster and Dragstrip. Granted, it might be due to the way the first Deluxe and the Commander transform in comparison to Wildrider, but it's still going to be something that'll determine if he's worth it. Oh yeah, he's able to transform back in his combined state as the back of the leg by opening the windshield and hinging the front of the car up. It does the job alright. And that sums up Wildrider. He does the job alright. I only recommend him if you want to complete the gestalt since he's otherwise functional but not interesting on his own. I'm curious about Dead End since he's probably got some issues, and Breakdown's probably going to be an interesting discussion because he might win or lose!

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Transformers Studio Series Sideways review

Even I, someone who loves the Bayverse and will defend its criticisms (especially the stupidest of criticisms), knows that Sideways did shit in ROTF apart from driving away, transforming, and being split in half by Sideswipe just so he can prove he's damn good. And I honestly don't have much of an issue that it took Sideways that long go make an appearance in the line, especially when other dudes like Hatchet, The Twins, and the rest of Megatron's TLK crew who were more visible for a little longer deserved toys. But now that we're getting closer to Hasbro's next phase with injecting more G1 stuff with the inevitable High Moon Cybertron games (which is cool but like come on now, Hasbro, let us finish the previous movies and start Rise of the Beasts), it makes sense to get some of the other guys out ASAP. This version of Sideways does not split in half, but would that still deter him from being a worthy purchase? Let's find out!

Here is Sideways in his vehicle mode, which takes the form of an approximation of the Audi R8 that was actually used in the movie; this is due to the licensing issues that Hasbro and Paramount dealt with back then. As far as how it represents the vehicle, it looks mostly fine. The crevises over the car are standard for the Moviefigures due to their more complex transformations, but while it's not on the same problems as Universe Ironhide, it's fairly broken up on the sides, which makes it somewhat hard to line the parts up due to the way some of the joints work on this guy.

It's not entirely perfect, as he back looks like it wants to go in but it can't due to the precise nature of where you need to line up the fingers and thumb on both hands, but I've seen worse. That middle gray part reminds me of the Combiner Wars Dead End mold, with the unpaintable plastic used on the elbow joint. And yes, there is a difference between the snap-on tires and the pinned tires.

The weapon storage has the gun (based on the PS2/Wii video game) stay on the back of the car. Nothing too new.

For a vehicle mode size comparison, here he is alongside Sideswipe, and in front of the two Sides are the Arcee triplets. The scale between the vehicles in question works fairly well; the Corvette Stingray and the Audi R8 are fairly low in terms of car height or profiles, so they look pretty good next to the bikes, which aren't that grossly oversized. 

You can recreate the times the Arcee Triplets tried to shoot Sideways down, but while we can't recreate the Twins' failed attempt at stopping him, we can at least have Sideswipe's path get cleared so he can show how he's damn good by slicing Sideways in two. You can't actually split him, but lifting the panel and jamming in the blade works.

Transformation is pretty similar to Barricade's, but with a few differences here and there: the hood becomes part of the backpack on Barry while the front of the car only breaks up on Sideways, the arms are made up from a majority of the vehicle's sides like on Sideways rather than including the windows as shown with Barricade. The winglets are made from parts of the doors rather than being faux parts, and the legs are much skinnier on Sideways due to them not integrating any vehicle parts. This results in a similar yet different approach to Barricade's design, which has even distribution even in spite of having long arms. Ot does help distinguish them, in a way similar to.any G1 Autobot Car with a hood chest, or the way TLK Hot Rod has more of a leaner build than Bumblebee's. His engineering does feel less effective than Barricades, kind of calling back to the way old Deluxes used to work. I like how the tires embed themselves into the arms, though.

Head sculpt is pretty silver, though the eyes are kind of hard to make out. They are there, though, and painted in red. His articulation consists of ball joints at the neck, shoulders, elbows, hips, and ankles (though no rockers), hinges at the fingers thumbs, and knees, and a swivel at the waist. His gun pegs in by sliding the fingers into it and solidifying the connection with the thumb. Don't know why it needs the 5mm port, but hey, this guy has a unique form of weapon storage! Massive W.

For a robot mode size comparison, here he is with Sideswipe and the triplets once again. He's pretty squat, contrasting the lean proportions that Sideswipe is known for. And it has been a complaint some fans initially seemed to have until it turned out the stock images made him seem hunched over. That being said, he is a pretty sid release in spite of his shortcomings. He hasn't impressed me as much as Galvatron did, but it's nice to see a new mold pop up after tons of attention to SS86 and Bumblebee.

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