Power Rangers Lightning Collection Yellow Ranger 2-in-1 review

Lost Galaxy and SPD are two seasons with different themes and different character archetypes. Yet they have a few things in common, from having space play a factor into their settings as well as the main five Rangers all sharing the same color layout, and in the case of the Lightning Collection, two Yellow Rangers that help complete their respective teams. While we have nearly completed SPD in 2021 with the Green Ranger, we haven't really seen much progress for all of 2022 up until this point. Luckily, Lost Galaxy is killing two birds with one stone thanks to not just Yellow but also Pink showing up, as the most recent wave is including her into the mix. So let's complete these two teams with our Yellow Ranger double act! After all, there's no confirmation that too much yellow energy is dangerous, so perhaps we'll be safe!

Here we have the Lost Galaxy Yellow Ranger in-hand. It's about time we got one of the females of the team here, and hot off the heals of the previously made Green Ranger. The suit design of the Yellow Ranger is basically that of her teammates: we get the Charlie Brown chest pattern on a white torso while the rest of the outfit apart from the boots and gloves are yellow. And much like MMPR, the chest pattern is repeated on the aforementioned gloves and boots. And no, there isn't supposed to be any more paint on the back. The suits are like that. Don't you fucking dare press the panic button, PR Twitter! Though the minor paint mistake on the glove is a bit annoying.

Her helmet matches all of the details one would expect from the suit design proper, and I have no other complaints otherwise for it. As for the accessories she comes with, new for me is the Quasar Launcher (which the single-packed Red Ranger from the same team came with), a shortened Quasar Saber in its holstered dagger mode, the standard karate chop and gripping hands to replace her more signature hands, a blast effect piece that is colored like some neuro-mood-thingy, and an alternate head representing Maya, the tribesgirl from Mirinoi.

The likeness to the actress, Cerina Vincent, is not too bad, and it along with Damon so far look the best among the team IMO. her Quasar Launcher can be extended as some sort of melee weapon before it is used with the effect piece as a range weapon. Now this accessory is new to me, but I don't like how it uses stickers rather than paint apps. At least it doesn't look too out of place compared to the Titans Return/Power of the Primes stickers. 

For a comparison with her male teammates (Pink Ranger is on the way!), and should point out another the other issue I have with this release: there is no extended Quasar Saber, which was something fans had an issue with from the standalone LG Red release, but at least it could be done to make him unique from the 2-pack version. Honestly, with how the team apart from Magna Defender could be a bit samey, I guess it is expected that they have different effect pieces for the sword (Blue Ranger), come with a Transdagger weapon (Green), or include a Quasar Launcher (Red 2 and Yellow). We'll see how the Pink Ranger turns out.

And up next, here we have the SPD Yellow Ranger, and about time, too! Without any SPD Rangers in 2022, it's great to have her complete her teammates in the roster, and I can't help but admit it's a miracle she's finally here to go with the rest of the team before the hiatus. Honestly, I could do without the other Rangers in the season if we don't get figures of everyone past Omega, but Yellow is far too important to NOT make. That being said, she is about the same as what we got with the past Rangers in terms of details that we should be familiar with from past figures in the same team. Her 4 is crisp, as are the badges, but the belt could be a little less fuzzy in terms of sculptwork.

Her helmet has a complete visor outline, which is good for this release, but it will be a bit inconsistent with other Rangers given how other figures tend to look in terms of their outlines. Red's was silver and partial, Blue's was also completely like Yellow but thicker, Green is partial like Red but white like Blue and Yellow, and Pink's was nonexistent. Also thankful on my end: I don't have an accidental extra helmet, because my copy's accessories come with the alternate head for Z, a lightning effect piece, the Deltamax Striker in long and short length, a Deltamax Knuckle, two hands meant to hold the weapons and the Delta Morpher. Speaking of which...

...the final accessory is incorrectly applied in the wrong way! Literal 180 there compared to what we previously got with past Rangers, who despite having inconsistencies of their own, were at least able to be properly oriented with the paint apps. Here? It's a big fuck-up! Thankfully, the likeness to Monica May is pretty good, and her weapons do not look inaccurate and are detailed the way I'd expect them to. By the way, with how the Toku fandom is asking itself if it's Got Chard, praising King Ohger as the best Sentai season since the last Sentai season (a la SchmoesKnow and etc when reviewing Disney Star Wars movies), or rinse and repeating the same whiny comments towards Cosmic Fury, I'm amazed barely anybody pointed out that the actress began an OnlyFans account. Probably for the best given how family-friendly the fandom tries to pass off as.

For a comparison with her teammates, here is the Yellow Ranger in the center of the B-Squad! Finally happy to complete this team, as SPD was not only a childhood favorite of mine but also remains one of my favorite teams to this day. I know the fandom has been right to criticize the minor inconsistencies for the Lightning Collection with the visors and morphers, but setting that aside, I am happy to have figures that look good on a shelf, are poseable compared to the originals, and aren't as expensive as the Figuarts, especially since we got Shadow and Omega Rangers early on. And this makes the hiatus a little less painful for me as a big SPD fan. Now once we get back, let's have them do Ninja Storm to complete my trinity of favorite PR seasons, yeah?

Overall, these two Yellow Rangers are pretty equal in terms of quality. They're great for completing their respective teams, and they each have their own kinds of strengths and weaknesses. In the case of the Lost Galaxy Yellow Ranger, her Quasar Launcher's stickers in place of paint detailing for some parts of the accessory seems out of place for the Lightning Collection, and she is missing her Quasar Saber. As for the SPD Yellow Ranger's morpher has the logo upside down and the copies of some fans are known to have the extra helmet instead of an alternate head. But beyond that, these two are worth picking up beyond their minor issues. Though I wish LG Yellow had her sword and SPD Yellow had better QC. Also, is it me, or is it odd that the Lost Galaxy Yellow Ranger has double-jointed elbows along with bicep swivels while the SPD Yellow Ranger has the out-dated forearm movement that plagued past female Rangers and numerous female figures in Marvel Legends? Must be from being associated with certain tooling...

Final Ranking (for both): ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Marvel Legends Colossus vs Juggernaut review

Colossus and Juggernaut: two powerhouses representing different mutant abilities from one another. The former can turn his skin into organic steel that enhances his strength, a power that helped him save his sister in the past before meeting Charles Xavier. Speaking of, the leader of the X-Men basically has a step-brother in the form of Juggernaut, who isn't a true mutant and is instead powered by the Cyttorak Ruby, with his body now bulked up with a helmet that blocks Charles' mind control as he barely contains the incomparable rage of a god. Both characters were represented as Legends figures in the ToyBiz days and also had Select counterparts before this 2-pack, but is this set still worth getting 4-5 years later?

Here is Colossus in-hand. An entirely new sculpt, the character benefits from having not just a towering presence among his peers, but also getting a chance to literally shine with the new tooling he received. The tunic combined with the trunks, belt, wrist cuffs, and the high boots give him the appearance of a bodybuilder you'd find in the circus, but rather than perform acts for the audience's amusement, he's going to take on any large threat with his organic steel skin, gorgeously contrasting the red and yellow of his attire. And it's great to see the outfit have sculpt work of its own to make it look like it's separate from his skin, in contrast to the average Marvel Legends where a lot of the details of a costume are painted on. And that belt he has proudly displaying the X logo in the center proves that a character like him ain't fucking around.

Head sculpt continues the organic steel aesthetic that he is known for, which also means making his hair look like it's also rendered in that form. I feel it goes well for his design, and the haircut also fits his character-type, being a strong man and all. His articulation is par for the course with the Legends line, so you should be familiar with it if you've seen my past reviews on Legends figures; I should mention that he has single-jointed elbows, which is not common for the a character of his build. He has alternate hands that make render his hands in a more gestural manner fitting for his battles against giant foes before he makes a fist.

And up next, it's the Juggernaut, bitch! This guy is probably familiar to you if you've been a fan of the Legends line before this set came out; as a repaint of the 2016 BAF, this guy gets a more saturated paint job that better matches the 90s animated series. He ditches the belt in addition, but he is otherwise functionally the same. New to the BAF are open hands for alternate poses.

His head sculpt is retooled to feature a newer helmet that, while smoother on the surface area, is at least more proportionate to his body. That gnarly shit-eating grin is still under his face, being just as creepy as it always is. His articulation is the same despite the bulkier body frame, meaning he can easily be posed unstoppable.

You can display him with an alternate head that renders him bruised with a damaged helmet to boot. Interestingly, those arm pieces are removable if you want a Juggernaut without those add-ons, and it helps for customizing, too.

For a size comparison, both appropriately tower over their teammates whose heights average between 5-6 feet. Juggs is especially appropriate for his height. And I can't have it any other way...yaay.

Overall, this 2-pack is badass. It brings a new Colossus and adds a repainted Juggernaut to better fit in with the 90s cast. They're generally good figures, and I was happy to get them at a cheaper price than what they normally went for. I should mention that Juggernaut, being originally a BAF, is easy to disassemble. Thankfully, you can put him back together, but you might feel annoyed that Hasbro didn't modify him to be more secure in his parts.

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

Transformers Evolution Beachcomber review

Beachcomber is a famous pacifist in Transformers history. He prefers observing nature and wishes to not see the beauty of the new planet go nonexistent. He especially showed this in the Golden Lagoon episode, where he felt sad over the destruction of the countryside while everyone else was happy they won. Regarding modern toys, Beachcomber has had the Universe 2008 Legends and a more articulated and slightly bigger toy for Power of the Primes. Still, now it's time to see how the Legacy Evolution line updates our blue Autobot.

Here is Beachcomber in his dune buggy mode. It's a generally faithful recreation of the one he transformed into back in G1, and it does just about everything one would expect from a figure like this: recrreating many details of the cartoon and old toy, include a rollbar over the seats, and make the wheels oversized yet easy to roll on. in this case, the tires are made of a PVC material, which is great for better rolling, but it makes me worried they'll crack like the ones on MP-10. At the very least, this does what I'd expect a modern Beachcomber to do, though the hands might be slightly exposed, and the feet do block any normal view from the seats. His gun can peg on the front if you want a different display option that the normal G1 media does by not putting it there. The Paradise Parakeet might make a decent scale when put next to this guy, though the stand makes it look a little bigger.

In general, it captures the same kind of off-road look while also aiming to be a bit-less toyish than it normally is. I do wish that there'd be some silver paint applied onto the gray parts, especially on the rollbar and headlights, just so it can be less-bland.

For a size comparison, here he is next to some of the other Minibots we're familiar with back in the first two years of G1 Minibots. With Bumblebee, Cosmos, Huffer, and Warpath surrounding our peace-loving boy in blue, the scale may be wack, but the main priority is completing the cast in a way not possible with either the Classics-Thrilling 30 era or the Prime Wars era of toys. And yes, I do have Cliffjumper while I'm stoked to get Brawn while awaiting Gears, Windcharger, Seaspray, and Powerglide.

Transformation is a case of where it doesn't need too much added when the step count it already has does more than enough to keep people satisfied. The rollbar splitting in half does mean that one part of it is stuck on the back and the rest on the heels, but it is tolerable, especially when the rest of the transformation continues working as planned, from the front flipping down as the legs to the body collapsing down for the head reveal. Not much is needed for a guy like this. And the resulting robot mode is generally solid from what we normally expect from this guy. Blocky proportions, blue and gray color combo, simple torso details, not much else is needed. Well, on my copy, he could use a slightly better-aligned faction symbol. At the very least, the paint apps on the torso for the mechanical detailing does pop amongst the flat gray plastic, which is appreciative, and the same goes for his primary color belly buttons below that.

Head sculpt is very basic, capturing the silver under a mostly blue head with a helmet that vaguely resembles Motormaster's hood. At least he has a nose and a mouth. His general articulation is a ball-jointed head, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, elbow bends, wrist swivels, a waist swivel, hips that move front and back as well in and out, thigh swivels, knee bends, and ankle pivots. Oh, and his evo-fusion gimmick has him holding his gun. Nothing more, honestly.

The Paradise Parakeet can per on the 3mm pegs so it can recreate that scene where it meets Beachcomber in the Golden Lagoon episode. A nice accessory to include for a guy like this, as it makes him a bit more unique and easier to remember than a lot of other G1 characters, to be honest.Itis also very rubbery, as I felt it back when I first got it.

For a robot mode size comparison, he is about the same height as the Year 2 Minobots, with Huffer and then soon Bumblebee both, with a scale that you'd expect to find in the G1 days. So yeah, I do recommend you get this guy, especially like me where you headcanon a version of G1 where he is played by JonTron because both people have pet birds.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

Marvel Legends Retro Apocalypse & 2018 Psylocke review

It's very common to see bulky brutes in comic universes that are antagonists to our heroes and even our main villains. Marvel has two examples of this, with our (chronologically) first-ever mutant in the form of Apocalypse and Thanos as a mad-titan well-known for thriving in chaos across the stars while going against the Avengers. It's no surprise to see that they've been given prominence outside of the comics, as Apocalypse was a reoccurring threat in the X-Men animated series as well as a boss in the earlier Capcom-produced X-Men fighting games. Thanos, on the other hand, was shown in the short-lived Silver Surfer cartoon, in addition to having a role in some pre-Disney cartoons before he made a larger presence in the MCU up until Endgame. Well, Apocalypse did pop up as a villain, but it was for one movie in the FoX-Men universe. Let's review these two!

Here is Apocalypse in-hand. While fans of the previously made BAF and some of ToyBiz's efforts of the character may make this deco jar, it is meant to represent how the character appeared in the 90s animated series. Why he's colored differently from the norm, I can't say, but this was set in the same universe where War Machine's color scheme was inconsistent between his X-Men cameos, his full appearance in the Iron Man series, and his guest appearance in Spider-Man. The purple and normal blue do contrast the two-tone blue and black/dark blue color scheme, resulting in a more toyetic design for the character. The figure also has tubes on the back of the forearms that connect to his waist, likely being used for his celestial armor as well as when he takes control of the four horsemen. It's something that will win fans over if they always wanted stuff that'd better match the 90s animated series, and while I do like the 90s animated series a lot, I have to admit that Apocalypse would probably benefit if his colors were darker and probably more metallic.

His head sculpt certainly stands out compared to the flat blue and purple on him. It is a well-detailed face with an appropriately used wash, but it looks so out of place if the rest of his body doesn't have the same level of paint work that went into the face, which I should mention has some really good detailing for the eyes. His articulation consists of a ball for the head and a neck hinge, shoulders that move front and back as well as in and out, bicep swivels, nearly 90 degree elbow bends, wrist swivels and hinges, an ab-crunch, a waist swivel, hips that move front and back as well as in and out, thigh swivels, double-jointed knees, ankle hinges as well as pivots.

As seen above, Apocalypse's head can be swapped for a face with his teeth gritted, but you can either swap his open hands with clenched fists or give him his arm cannon, which is also able to connect to his hoses. Apocalypse has an effect piece, but I am missing the smaller ones, sorry.

For a size comparison, Apocalypse is the height of an average BAF/Deluxe figure, an appropriate size for him. If you compare this mold to the original ToyBiz Legends, this guy has the better proportions one would want from a half-giant/half-intellect. ToyBiz's BAF, on the other hand, does beat this guy.

And for a size comparison with Rogue, who is recreating a certain pose and scene for all the perverts 90s animated series fans. And yes, it is spot-on to the show. So despite my gripes with the lack of synergy between Apocalypse's head and his body, this is still a good figure and is worth getting if you just want him only.

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

And here we have Psylocke. This is a 2018 release that was part of the Apocalypse BAF wave, which is sort of a bit of a 2-year late tie-in to the fact that X-Men Apocalypse was released. I mean, 2016's X-Men wave could be a bit of a way to celebrate the 10th anniversary of The Last Stand. But anyways, this figure uses the standard female buck that is mostly still around. It captures her sexy physique better than ToyBiz version, but the biggest issue with figures like this are that the costume details are tampographed. The leotard she wears along with her boots, bicep and thigh guards, could benefit from being slightly raised in relief rather than just having the paint apps do the job. It makes those parts that go on her skin stand out less without that extra dimension. I remember the Walgreens Namor had a bit of extra work put into his costume to make it look layered, and this figure needed that level of treatment. Her sash could also benefit from being glued in place rather than simply resting there loosely.

This is the purple hair variant of the figure, which replaces the black hair that was initially present. Some say that the likeness isn't Asian enough, and I can see that; it looks like an Americanized take of Misato Katsuragi in some ways. Nonetheless, I was lucky to get her purple hair variant. Her articulation is the same as with various female Legends in the past, including the diaphragm joint and the elbow-swivels. Her accessories, apart from a BAF part of Apocalypse that is missing (not that it hurts me because I already have an Apocalypse). She has her translucent pink arsenal in the form of a psychic sword, an effect piece for it, a psychic knife for her left hand, and a mask for her to represent her powers. Overall, Psylocke is probably the best version of the character we got in Legends form, but I know there is a bit more room for improvement if you ask me.

Final ranking: ⭐⭐⭐⭐ out of ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐