Tag Archives: Lightning Collection

#3047: Mighty Morphin & Zeo Pink Rangers

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

MIGHTY MORPHIN & ZEO PINK RANGERS

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“Originally under an evil spell that allowed her to transform into a white cat to spy on the Power Rangers, Kat Hillard becomes the second Mighty Morphin Pink Ranger and, later, Zeo Ranger Pink”

Okay, we did a week of Marvel, and two weeks of Star Wars before that, how about doing more of a mixed week this time around?  I’m still sticking to the Hasbro side of things, because, honestly, it’s a bit hard not to these days.  I’m setting my sites on one of their less frequent ones around here, Power Rangers: Lightning Collection.  My last several Lightning Collection reviews have been centered on my favorite Rangers incarnation, Power Rangers In Space, but today I’m looking at my second favorite incarnation, Power Rangers Zeo…well, partly, anyway.  For the backstory on this one, it’s important to bring up the mid-show replacements for half of the MMPR Rangers, Rocky, Adam, and Aisha, who replaced Jason, Zach, and Trini.  Initially, Amy Jo Johnson’s Kimberly remained with the team through the change over, but she was still replaced a bit later by Kar Hillard, who would serve as the Pink Ranger for the last batch of MMPR, carrying over into Zeo.  Today’s focus covers *both* of those incarnations, in one convenient set…well, for Hasbro, anyway, since it means we have to buy the MMPR Pink Ranger again.  Alas.  Such is the way for us.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

This pair of Pink Rangers is a GameStop-exclusive Lightning Collection two-pack, with limited quantities available through Hasbro Pulse as well.  They were part of a larger celebration of the Pink Ranger specifically, all of which were made available for order last summer.

MIGHTY MORPHIN

With the base versions of all of the Mighty Morphin Rangers released, Hasbro’s doubling back for some variants, just to get some extra mileage out of them.  All of the replacement Rangers got the metallic/translucent variants, but now they’re following up with some more straight forward releases for them as well.  This figure follows up on Aisha’s standard release getting packed in with Scorpina, giving us a standard MMPR Pink, but with Kat under the helmet instead of Kimberly.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and has 30 points of articulation.  Her sculpt is the same as the prior release of Mighty Morphin Pink (and, by extension, the Mighty Morphin Yellow figures).  Since it was the same suit (and a good chunk of the same footage), the shared sculpt makes sense.  It’s a pretty okay offering, with a decent articulation set-up, which is pretty well worked into the sculpt.  The color work is alright, though there’s some notable clashing in the molded colors of the pink plastic, which seems to be worse on this release than the prior one.  The application is at least pretty cleanly applied.  The figure is packed with her power bow, an arrow, the blade blaster, and two sets of hands.  The bow and blaster are notably sporting slightly inferior paint work, compared to the single release, which is a bit of a bummer.  Also included with this release are an unmasked Kat head, as well as Kat in her cat form from before her time as a Ranger.

ZEO

The real selling point of this set, of course, isn’t a re-pack of MMPR Pink, but is actually Zeo Pink, our fifth of the six Zeo Rangers.  She brings us just one figure away from completing the team (Tanya will be rounding things up in the next assortment of the main line), and gives our first female Zeo Ranger.  The figure stands 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  Her articulation scheme is essentially the same as the Morphin body, with the one notable exception being a slightly more restricted range of motion on the elbow joints.  Given all the advancements we’ve been seeing with the elbow joints on Hasbro’s other lines, it’s a bit of a shame that we’re still seeing things this restricted over on the Power Rangers side.  The sculpt is largely new, though she shares the upper arms and most of the legs with the standard Morphin body.  The new parts match up with the male Zeo bodies, and she gets a unique helmet sculpt sporting her character-specific helmet, with the oval visor, the second most sensible visor shape, after Adam, of course.  The color work on this figure is a little bit better than her Mighty Morphin counterpart.  There’s still a slight mismatch on the pinks, but it’s not quite as bad here.  The paint application is pretty sharp and all of the major elements are properly detailed.  Zeo Pink is packed with her Zeonier, capsule sword, disc shield, two sets of hands, and another unmasked Kat head, this time sporting a truly ’90s-tastic pink scrunchy.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Zeo is one of the two line-ups I’m looking to complete in this line, so I’ve been eagerly awaiting each successive release for the team.  I was less than thrilled by Zeo Pink being stuck in a two-pack with another MMPR Pink.  I was even less thrilled by this two-pack being a GameStop-exclusive, as I’d really prefer to pretty much never give that company any money ever again.  Thankfully, I was able to get in on the Pulse quantities when they went up for order.  I’m still not thrilled by the set-up here, but Zeo Pink is at least a pretty nice figure, and I look forward to getting to complete the set shortly.

#3022: In Space Blue Ranger Vs Silver Psycho Ranger

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

IN SPACE BLUE RANGER VS SILVER PSYCHO RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Hey, the Power Rangers In Space-themed reviews are getting closer together!  This is something that I can definitely get behind, my guys.  Have I mentioned that I really like that show?  I definitely have, but is it really possible for me to say it too much?  Probably, but it’s my site and I set the rules around here.  So, you know, there it is.  Slowly but surely, we’ve been assembling the main team from the show, as well as a few of the foes they faced.  Thus far, we’ve gotten four of the six team members, as well as all five of the evil Psycho Rangers.  The remaining two main rangers are both slotted for release, quite soon.  So soon, that I’ve in fact already got one.  And also, there’s a sixth Psycho Ranger.  Bet you didn’t see that coming!  Especially because it’s actually the seventh!  I’m bad at counting, you guys.

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

In Space Blue Ranger and Silver Psycho Ranger are one half of the third assortment of Power Rangers: Lightning Collection two-packs, with the other half being MMPR Yellow and Scorpina.  This pack specifically calls out being based on the episode “Five of a Kind,” the fourth episode in In Space‘s Psycho Ranger arc. That’s mostly in regards to the presence of Psycho Silver, but the Blue Ranger is also really central to that particular episode as well, making for a pretty natural choice pairing him off with Silver for the set.

IN SPACE BLUE RANGER

TJ Johnson, aka the Blue Space Ranger, is another entry in my list of “Red Rangers being way cooler when they’re not Red Rangers.”  As Turbo Red, I didn’t care, but as Space Blue, I’m quite a fan.  Of course, I guess I’m just a little bit biased towards Blue Rangers.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  As expected, TJ shares his construction with Andros, Carlos, and Zhane.  All of the male Rangers have the same approximate build, and have classically shared their parts when it comes to toy form, so this is all fairly sensible.  It helps that it continues to be a rather serviceable sculpt on its own, so there’s not really anything that warrants changing.  The paint work is the same as the others, but, of course, with blue in place of the other main colors.  The application is nice and clean, with no notable slop or bleed over, and they’ve made the appropriate adjustments to the shaping on the edge of the visor, so as to give him that extra bit of uniqueness.  TJ is packed with two sets of hands (gripping and a fist/flat combo), his Astro Axe, Astro Blaster, an effects piece for the axe, and an unmasked head.  The unmasked head has an okay likeness of actor Selwyn Ward, but he does seem a little bit serious and dour for how TJ tended to be portrayed.

PSYCHO SILVER RANGER

Rather amusingly, the Psycho Rangers are one of the two most thoroughly-explored Rangers teams in the line thus far, down to even getting both of their add-on members.  The first was Psycho Green, a later addition from the comics, while the second is today’s other focus, Psycho Silver.  In “Five of a Kind,” as part of a ploy to defeat the Psycho Rangers, the whole team disguises themselves as Space Blue, while Zhane pretends to be an all-new Psycho Ranger, his own evil counterpart of Psycho Silver.  Originally, it seemed that Psycho Silver was going to follow the trend of all of the Psychos barring Yellow, in being released prior to his main team counterpart.  However, regular Space Silver snuck in under the wire, and they wound up showing up at about the same time.  That’s pretty cool, I guess.  The figure is 6 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s identical to all of the male Psycho Rangers, again as expected.  It’s a good sculpt, probably even a bit better than the main Space sculpt, and all of the costumes on the show were the same, so it makes sense.  The paint is the main change-up, as he gets silver in place of the accent color seen on the others.  Psycho Silver gets the same alternate effects hand as the other Psychos, as well as a new Psycho Silverizer piece, and an unmasked Zhane head.  The unmasked head is unique from the one included with the standard Silver.  The hair is sculpted to the head this time, rather than being a separate piece, and the expression is just generally a more stern one.  While the hair seems a little better on this one, the face’s likeness seems a little too angular for Justin Nimmo.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I’m slowly chipping away at the In Space team here, so there was never any doubt that I was picking up this pairing.  Both figures here are, admittedly, rather by-the-numbers in terms of construction and such, but that’s also exactly what they’re supposed to be, so I can certainly dig it.  They do what they need to, and they do it well, so I’m very happy to have them.  And, hey, I’m only one Ranger away from the whole team!

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this set to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#2999: In Space Silver Ranger

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

IN SPACE SILVER RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Okay, when I reviewed Zeo Gold, I may have been a little overzealous in calling him the greatest Power Ranger ever.  And why is that?  Because I may have been overlooking this guy, Zhane, aka the In Space Silver Ranger, Power Rangers In Space‘s resident Sixth Ranger.  Because, the thing is, Zhane?  He’s pretty darn cool.  Possibly the coolest.  And I’m down for that.  And now he’s got this brand new figure from Hasbro’s current run, which I definitely a win as far as I’m concerned.  So, let’s explore this win just a little bit further, shall we?

THE FIGURE ITSELF

In Space Silver Ranger is a Walgreens-exclusive release from Power Rangers: The Lightning Collection, with limited quantities available through Hasbro Pulse as well.  Thus far, only the Pulse quantities have shown up.  As with yesterday’s Andros, this figure’s release is a bit wonky, since we saw him before Hasbro had officially announced him, and then he showed up on Pulse with no actual quantities, before finally being put up for order, with an actual in-stock status.  Zhane is either the fourth or fifth of the Space Rangers to make it to release, depending on if you count the small quantities of Blue that have made it out as an actual release.  Whatever the case, it’s notable because it’s the first time Zhane hasn’t been the last member of team by a large margin.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  He’s using the same construction as the other male Space Rangers.  It’s a consistency thing, really, and at this point, if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it, right?  He does get a new belt piece, which has been tweaked to remove the holster.  Otherwise, it’s the same basic piece.  The colors are where the real changes occur, since he’s now, well, silver.  Unlike the others, it’s more than just swapping silver for the main color, since Silver gets a whole different selection of accent colors as well.  They’ve gone for more of a toy style to the colors, since his suit is actually silver, rather than a flatter shade than the helmet as it was in the show.  It’s a slightly more intriguing design in toy form, so I get the choice.  The silver is molded plastic, rather than paint.  It doesn’t look quite as slick, but it will probably hold up better over time.  Zhane is packed with an unmasked head (which looks a lot better in person than I’d expected), two sets of hands, his Super Silverizer in both blaster and blade configurations, and an effects piece.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

In Space Silver is at the very least tied with Zeo Gold for my favorite Ranger, so I was very anxious to see him show up in this line, especially after he got left out of Bandai’s Legacy Collection.  When he was shown off in-hand with no announcement, I was worried about him being an exclusive, and sure enough, there he was.  Fortunately, I had Max in my corner on this one, and he was able to help me snag one through the Pulse order window.  I’m very thrilled to have this figure in-hand, and I’m very happy to have a decent In Space Silver.

#2998: Andros

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , , ,

ANDROS

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

The continuing narrative of the first six years of Power Rangers, and its conclusion in Power Rangers In Space allowed for a slightly different structure to the show’s first episode.  Since most of the team had already been introduced in the preceding season, the show places its main focus on the one new member of the team, Andros, the season’s Red Ranger.  We first encounter him on a recon mission spying on a gathering of villains from prior seasons, which requires him to have a more incognito appearance, at least at first.  It’s a design that has as of yet not gotten any toy coverage, but Hasbro’s addressing that here, with the figure I’m taking a look at today.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Andros in Disguise is a Target-exclusive one-off release for Power Rangers: The Lightning Collection.  Or he’s at the very least an exclusive to Target for now.  It’s a slightly confusing situation, as has been the case with a handful of releases from Hasbro recently.  Photos of him showed up with no official announcement, and then Hasbro themselves showed him off, but with no actual mention of release plan, and no mention of any exclusive status.  And then he just showed up on Target’s website, and was very quickly in-stock, making the whole thing a rather surprisingly quick turn around.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Structurally, his actual sculpt is identical to Andros in his Red Ranger gear (and all of the other male Space Rangers, for that matter).  It’s a sculpt that gets the job done, and it matches up with the other Andros, so it makes sense.  The main structural change up is the addition of a cloth robe piece for him.  It kind of looks like a bath robe, which I don’t really think is the intended appearance.  It’s a little goofy looking, especially in the photos, but I’ll admit it looks a fair bit better in person than I’d expected it to, and actually holds shape pretty well.  Even the velcro on the front stays secure, which isn’t always a guarantee.  The color work on this guy is another notable change up. Technically, in the show, he’s just wearing his usual Red Ranger gear under the cloak, but it’s shot in a way that hides it in the shadows.  To simulate this, Andros is wearing all black this time.  It’s an interesting look, and the presence of extra gold accenting, especially the insignia on the front, makes it feel like this is an established design from elsewhere.  That being said, I don’t know specifically where, and my brief searching on the internet hasn’t turned anything up.  So, I guess it’ll just remain a mystery.  It certainly looks cool, though.  Andros is packed with two heads, one helmeted (and in all-black to match the main figure), and one unhelmeted (re-used from the prior release), as well as two sets of hands, his Spiral Saber, Astro Blaster, and effects pieces for both weapons.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This is an odd release, and certainly not one I really thought I would need.  That said, In Space is my favorite incarnation, and there’s very little I wouldn’t buy from it.  So, this guy was certainly on my radar, not that I was in a rush or anything.  Max actually wound up ordering one online, before managing to find one in store.  Since he didn’t need two, he was kind enough to set me up with the spare.  He’s not essential, and it’s not like he really does anything new, but he’s a rather fun one-off variant.

#2922: Lost Galaxy Blue Ranger

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

LOST GALAXY BLUE RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

I go back and forth on my favorite Rangers from a given season of Power Rangers, generally finding myself most enjoying the changes of dynamic that the sixth ranger brings along.  Of the core team, however, my initial connection to Billy, the original team’s Blue Ranger, has always given me a little bit of affinity for the Blue Ranger of any given line-up.  The Blue Rangers do have a tendency to be the unsung heroes of any given season, being pretty central most of the time, but also just shy of being the most central.  What I’m getting at is, really, where’s my “Forever Blue” crossover?  Seems like a missed opportunity.  Well, I’ll just build my own crossover.  With blackjack!  And….okay, actually, forget all that.  I guess I’ll just stick purely with the Rangers.  Anyway, while we’re on the topic of Blue Rangers, let’s look at another one, specifically Kai Chen from In Space‘s follow-up, Lost Galaxy!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Lost Galaxy Blue Ranger is another figure from the ninth standard assortment of Lightning Collection.  He’s the third Galaxy Ranger in the line, and the second of the core team members, following Red back in late 2019.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Structurally, he’s, unsurprisingly, largely the same as the Red Galaxy Ranger.  Kai’s another rather average sized person, and the elements were shared between the Ranger costumes in the show, so it makes a degree of sense.  Kai does get a brand new helmet sculpt, which does a nice job capturing his gorilla-themed helmet from the show.  Otherwise, it’s pretty standard issue stuff, and it all works just as well as it has all of the other times.  Kai’s paint work more or less matches up with the Red Ranger in terms of how it works, just with blue in place of the red.  He does get a fair bit more detailing on his helmet design, which is cool, but he’s also still got the slight fuzziness on the transitions from white to blue, like Galaxy Red.  Galaxy Blue is packed with an unmasked head for Kai (sporting a pretty strong likeness), two sets of hands (one set gripping, the other fist/flat combo), the Quasar Saber in both forms, his Transdagger in Cosma Claw form, and a lightning effect for the saber.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I do really like Blue Rangers, and I was still kind of in on the Power Rangers thing for Lost Galaxy, but I didn’t really ever have much of an attachment to Kai, for whatever reason.  I think I was just distracted by the awesomeness that was Magna Defender.  But, if I’m game on this whole Forever Blue thing, Kai’s kind of necessary.  He’s honestly not bad.  Pretty straight forward and by the numbers, but I do like him just a bit more than Galaxy Red, so that’s cool.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#2921: In Space Black Ranger

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

IN SPACE BLACK RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

When it comes to Power Rangers, there’s not much I love more than Power Rangers In Space, the show’s sixth season.  It hit at just the right time for me to catch most of it first run as a kid, and it’s also just genuinely one of the show’s best seasons, all things considered.  As a kid, I never did get the whole line-up in toy form, but I’ve always wanted them, and now, as an adult, that’s something I can more genuinely work on.  Lightning Collection has been doing a pretty alright job for the team, with three members already released, two more already in the pipeline for release, and the sixth showing up somewhere as of yet unrevealed.  Boy, I do sure hope he’s not an exclusive.  That sure wouldn’t make me so happy.  Don’t make me not happy, Hasbro.  Before I descend into madness anymore, let’s look at the latest addition to the In Space line-up, Carlos Vallerte, aka the Black Space Ranger!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

In Space Black Ranger was released in the 9th standard assortment of Hasbro’s Power Rangers: Lightning Collection.  He’s the third Space Ranger to join the line, and is one of two Zordon Era figures in this particular assortment, the other being the Tenga Warrior from Mighty Morphin’.  Carlos follows in his predecessor Adam’s footsteps, with his first figure in the line being his second Ranger incarnation, and also his second Ranger color, since, in a reverse of Adam, Carlos began as a Green Ranger and switched to black in his second season, when the Japanese footage changed over.  The figure stands about 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Carlos’s mold is a total re-use of the one that we saw used for Andros, which makes total sense, since the male rangers were all pretty close in build, and this was one of the few seasons where the only differences on the helmets were painted.  It was a good mold the first time around, and it’s still a good mold here.  The paint obviously changes things up, swapping the red of the first figure for black, as well as changing the shaping on his visor, and adding the extra lining around the black dome on the helmet, since, well, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to see it.  Carlos is packed with an alternate unmasked head, as well as two sets of hands (gripping and a fist/open gesture combo), his Lunar Lance, Astro Blaster, and an effects piece for the lance.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Completing the In Space team is pretty much the top of my list when it comes to this line, so I’ve been mad hype about each successive figure announced.  I’ve always had something of a soft spot for Carlos in particular, so him being a relatively early addition to the line-up was very cool.  Sure, there’s not a ton of new going on here, but he still works very well, and each additional figure just really makes the whole team dynamic work just a little bit better.  Have I mentioned that I can’t wait to get the rest of the team?

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for cool toys both old and new, please check out their website.

#2920: Lord Zedd & Rita Repulsa

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

LORD ZEDD & RITA REPULSA

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

The central villain of the first three seasons of Power Rangers, and perhaps the franchise’s foe with the most iron-clad name recognition is Rita Repulsa.  Unfortunately, despite the franchise being as toy-driven as it is, Rita’s never been quite so lucky in the world of toys.  During the show’s original run, her figure never made it past the prototype stage, and when she finally did get a figure in one of the legacy sets many years later, it was a rather infamously bad offering.  Even in the Lightning Collection, a line generally kinder to villains, she’s stuck in an exclusive two-pack with a figure a lot of people already grabbed.  No respect…

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

Rita Repulsa and Lord Zedd are a GameStop-exclusive Power Rangers: Lightning Collection two-pack, released last fall.  Rita is an all-new figure who has as of yet not been planned for another release, while Zedd is almost identical to his single release.

RITA REPULSA

Let’s at least give Rita the courtesy of reviewing her first, shall we?  I mean, she is kind of the star attraction here.  It’s not like anyone was buying the set for Zedd.  No, it’s all about Rita.  Rita was originally completely sourced from Power Rangers‘ re-used Zyuranger footage’s Witch Bandora, portrayed by actress Machiko Soga, and overdubbed by Barbara Goodson.  When they ran out of Zyuranger footage in Season 2, Carla Perez was cast in the part for the new footage (still overdubbed by Goodson), with the reasoning in-universe being an attempt on Rita’s part to try and woo Zedd.  For the purposes of this figure, they’ve chosed to base her on Soga, which is probably the more distinctive of the two actresses, but is also amusing from a standpoint of Soga’s Rita never actually interacting with Zedd, since he was himself a wholly American creation.  All that said, the two looks really aren’t that drastically different, and really, it does make sense to go with the more commonly associated actress.  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and she has 34 points of articulation.  Rita breaks the traditions of what we’ve seen from this line so far and goes for a mixed media set-up for her outfit.  The dress is all cloth, presumably because it allows them to got the slightly cheaper route of re-using one of the female Ranger bodies underneath of it.  Beyond that, she gets a new head, chest piece, feet, hands, and bracelets.  The head is nice because it’s a properly expressive face for the character.  She’s very angry and is gritting her teeth, as she was quite prone to do on the show.  It’s a shame there’s not an extra head with a mad cackling grin, but I suppose that’s an option for perhaps a non-exclusive release down the line.  Rita’s paint work is generally alright.  There’s quite a lot of detailing on the face, which works out surprisingly well, and there’s some extra embroidering on the dress, which gets the proper patterning.  Rita gets quite an involved selection of accessories.  There are two sets of hands, as well as her staff, which make up the more general stuff.  Since the set is *technically* based on “The Wedding” (ignoring the whole “it’s the wrong actress” thing), she also gets her bouquet of flowers, the love potion she uses on Zedd, their wedding cake, and what I believe are supposed to be the Zeo crystals.  That’s actually quite a bit of stuff.

LORD ZEDD

Remember when getting a Lord Zedd was a cool novelty?  Boy, how’d they suck the joy out of this one?  Okay, I guess it’s not all bad. This figure is largely the same as the Series 1 release, just with a touch of extra paint on his hands and accessories.  Probably should have just included those details the first time around, right?  Maybe they could have tried actually chroming the armor.  Or even making it so the armor sits a little more securely.  As it stands, it feels kind of weak and lacking.  I mean, the new paint on the hands does look better and all, but still.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

This set being announced as a GameStop-exclusive came not too long after me officially swearing off supporting GameStop as a company, so I was definitely not about rushing out to buy this one.  Likewise, I wasn’t really in a hurry to drop a bunch of money just to get another Lord Zedd, since I already felt rather content with the first one.  I opted to play the waiting game, and it worked out, since one got traded into All Time just a few weeks ago, giving me an easier excuse to pick it up.  Zedd’s improvements are minor, but between the two, this is the one I’ll keep.  Rita’s certainly the star here, and while she’s not perfect, she is honestly pretty good.  Certainly the best Rita figure out there, and I do appreciate them giving her all the extras to help offset the cost.  Ultimately, I feel this set shouldn’t have been an exclusive, I think it should have been earlier in the line, and I think it should have been a debut for both characters contained, because that would have generally made it a little more appealing.  There are drawbacks to that, too, of course, but it just seems more sensible than what we ended up with.  Hopefully, Hasbro’s planning to give Rita another release on her own, so that fans aren’t forced to pay a premium and wind up with an extra Zedd.

#2741: Zeo Green Ranger

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , ,

ZEO GREEN RANGER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

The color thematics of the core Power Rangers teams for the show’s early run (and, in turn the runs of the Sentai shows that Power Rangers was adapting) generally followed a pretty established pattern.  The starting team of five always included red, blue, yellow, and pink, but the fifth color would typically bounce back and forth between either black or green (and early on, the sixth ranger would frequently sport a costume predominately made up of whichever of those two wasn’t already in play).  When the show was still attempting to keep a running narrative and share some of the same rangers between seasons, this meant that we wound up with situations like Adam Park, the second MMPR Black Ranger, becoming the Zeo Green when the footage switched over.  Pretty nifty!

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Zeo Green is part of the 8th main line assortment of Hasbro’s Power Rangers: Lightning Collection.  He marks our fourth of the Zeo Rangers, following Red, Blue, and Gold.  Just waiting on the girls now.  This figure also marks our first non-Tommy Green Ranger, as well as our first non-sixth ranger Green Ranger.  The figure stands 6 1/4 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Surprising no one, Zeo Green is predominately made up of the same parts as both Zeo Red and Zeo Blue.  I did note that this time around, the arms seem to have an easier time sitting flush with his sides, as opposed to their slight tendency to stick out on prior versions.  He gets a new helmeted head sculpt, which follows the same general set-up as the prior ones, but swaps out their respective visor shapes for Adam’s rectangular visor.  Truly his was by far the most sensible of all the Zeo visors.  Zeo Green’s paint work follows the trend set by Zeo Red, being rather clean, even given some of the more lax paint on a few other Hasbro figures recently.  The colors are nice and bright, and that green really pops.  Zeo Green is packed with two sets of hands (one gripping, one in fists), his pod sword, laser pistol, an unmasked Adam Park head, a blast effect for the pistol, and his Zeo IV Power Axes.  At this point, I’ve accepted that we’re not going to be getting the collapsed version of the pod sword, at least with the standard releases of these figures, so I’m deciding to not let that bug me.  Beyond that, the Adam Park head is probably the best of the Zeo-era likenesses we’ve gotten so far, so that’s nice.  It’s also nice that he included his Power Axes, though it does make it more glaringly obvious that Rocky didn’t get his own power weapon, now that both Tommy and Adam have gotten theirs.  Perhaps Rocky’s weapon can get packed in with someone else?

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Adam, specifically as the Zeo Green Ranger, is a rather important piece of Power Rangers for me, less because of anything to do with the show directly, and more because Zeo Green was my very first Power Rangers toy, back in the day.  The summer Zeo came out, my grandmother bought a batch of figures for the each of the grand children to have one while we were on vacation together.  My cousins had already claimed Red and Blue by the time I got there, so Green was the one waiting for me.  At the time, I wanted blue more, but I was honestly happy with anything.  Over the years, I’ve come to have an appreciation for Adam as a character, and I was definitely looking forward to this guy.  He’s probably my favorite of the basic Zeo Rangers so far.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for Lightning Collection, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2689: Pumpkin Rapper

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , ,

PUMPKIN RAPPER

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

“Ooh, you Rangers make me mad, waking me up with a rap that bad!”

Hey, did you know that Power Rangers launched in the ’90s?  I know, that’s crazy.  It’s so easy to forget, what with there being no notable clues about the decade contained within the show, in any way that might date it and make it really zany and hokey when you look back on it.  None at all.  Just devoid of that sort of thing, right?  Now, let’s discuss this action figure of a rapping pumpkin monster, so wonderfully named “Pumpkin Rapper.”  Truly a timeless creation, this one.

THE FIGURE ITSELF

Pumpkin Rapper is part of the inaugural assortment of the “Monsters” spin-off line of Hasbro’s Lightning Collection line, alongside fellow MMPR monster King Sphynx.  Since he was a Zyu2 creation, Pumkin Rapper wasn’t privy to a toy tie-ins at the time of the show’s airing, since no molds already existed for him.  Because of this, this guy’s the first proper figure treatment Pumpkin Rapper has gotten, which is pretty nifty.  The figure stands 7 1/2 inches tall and he has 33 points of articulation.  The articulation scheme for this guy is essentially the same as the standard Rangers, with the exception of the neck joint, which is a balljoint connected to a cut joint.  It’s a kind of odd design, and means the head has a tendency to come off a lot, but it does give him a good range of motion on the head.  So, it’s ultimately a decent trade off all things considered.  His sculpt is an all-new one, and it’s a pretty solid translation of the suit from the show.  The head sculpt is definitely the coolest part, and really does the mask from the show justice.  The body suit gets the proper quilted pattern as well, and adds a nice bit of variety and texture to the sculpt.  When it comes to the paint, Hasbro definitely put in some effort on this guy, but still does wind up coming up a bit short on some elements.  They’ve added some accenting to both the head and the collar, in order to bring out some of the sculpted details.  Largely, this works out okay, but on the head in particular, it feels like he could really use some darker detailing on the eyes, because they have a tendency to get a little lost as is.  It’s also a little jarring that there’s accenting on the head and collar, but nowhere else.  It makes him look a touch uneven.  Pumpkin Rapper has a decent selection of accessories, including two sets of hands (gripping and an open/fist combo), two different vine whips, an effects piece, and three smaller pumpkins.  The pumpkins are definitely a lot of fun, thanks to the inclusion of a socket compatible with the standard Ranger neck joints.  It makes for some amusing display options to be sure!

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

I only caught the occasional episode of MMPR when they were airing, and mostly in the syndication re-runs or the odd VHS copy from Blockbuster, so I didn’t see Pumpkin Rapper’s debut episode as a kid, but he’s one of those designs that just really feels very classic MMPR, and as I’ve gotten back into Power Rangers stuff as an adult, he’s very definitely one of those Monsters that I’ve really come to appreciate.  So, when they announced they would be doing some monsters, and that he’d be in the first round, I was definitely on board for it.  Ultimately, he’d benefit from a slightly improved paint job, but overall this is a very fun release.  I look forward to other figures in this set.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with this figure to review.  If you’re looking for Lightning Collection, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.

#2688: In Space Red Ranger vs Astronema

Posted by Ethan Wilson in Reviews and tagged with , , , , , ,

IN SPACE RED RANGER VS ASTRONEMA

POWER RANGERS: LIGHTNING COLLECTION (HASBRO)

Hitting the airwaves in 1998, Power Rangers In Space was, as noted previously on this site, kind of my jam.  I was six at the time, and that made me very much in the right target audience at the right time.  With the show being my jam and all, I had some of the toys as a kid, but I’ve been waiting to get some proper updates for a good while now.  I’m still kind of waiting, but at leas there’s been *some* progress made, because Hasbro is slowly feeding the show’s cast into their Lightning Collection line.  We’ve already gotten the whole Psycho Rangers line-up, as well as our first member of the main cast, the Yellow Ranger, Ashley Hammond, but now we’re getting both the team leader and Red Ranger Andros and the show’s main villain (who is also secretly Andros’ long-lost sister…spoilers) Astronema, in one convenient two-pack!

THE FIGURES THEMSELVES

The In Space Red Ranger and Astronema make up one half of the second assortment of two-packs for The Lightning Collection, the other being the SPD A and B Squad Blues.  It follows the thus far established versus trend of the two-packs (well, the main release ones, anyway).

IN SPACE RED RANGER

Andros is clearly following in the footsteps of Galaxy Red, placing the team’s leader in a two-pack shortly after getting another team member in the main line.  It’s admittedly mildly surprising for him to show up in a two-pack first, but given Galaxy Red’s also getting a single release later this year, I’d imagine we’ll see a single release Andros sooner than later.  Hopefully they’ll at least give us a few other members of the team first.  The figure stands about 6 inches tall and he has 34 points of articulation.  Structurally, there’s not a ton of new stuff here, which I suppose isn’t a huge shock.  He’s using the basic core Ranger body, with his own helmet and belt pieces added in.  Andros is definitely one of those times that I feel the standard body is just a touch too bulky for the character, but it’s not terribly far off, I suppose.  The new helmet piece matches up nicely with Ashley’s in terms of design, and is likewise a pretty good match for the helmets as seen on the show.  The belt is likewise a pretty decent piece, and one I’m certain will be seeing re-use for the rest of the male Space Rangers.  The paint work on this guy is pretty basic, but also pretty straight forward.  The application’s pretty cleanly rendered, following the overall improved trend of the last two main line assortments.  Andros is packed with two sets of hands (pointing/fist combo, and gipping), his Spiral Saber, Astro Blaster, and an alternate unmasked head.  The unmasked head’s definitely one of the better ones we’ve gotten, with a more than passable likeness of Christopher Khayman Lee.  Notably, Andros includes no effects pieces for himself, a first for one of the Rangers in this line.  I can’t say I miss it *that much* but still notable.

ASTRONEMA

Oh wow!  Is that a non-Ranger antagonist from one of the non-MMPR shows?  That’s certainly a first!  …Okay, yes, I do know that she eventually served as a Ranger later down the line, but she’s not one here.  Don’t take this from me.  Everybody be cool.  Astronema is a character that kind of does a little bit of everything available for the Power Rangers mythos.  She’s the main villain for In Space, but ultimately follows the path of redemption, and even becomes a Ranger proper in the following incarnation of the the show, albeit for a brief time.  She’s also got that whole “sister of the Red Ranger” angle going on, and even gets to be brainwashed and crazy for a bit.  Astronema really just liked checking off all of the possible boxes, huh?  The figure stands just shy of 6 inches tall and she has 30 points of articulation.  She’s using some of the parts from Ranger Slayer, with the upper torso, abdomen, upper arms, and lower legs overlapping between the two figures.  I had some issues with the ankle joints on Ranger Slayer, but on this release, they seem a lot more solid, and Astronema has far less issue staying standing.  She gets a new head, forearms, and add-ons for her torso armor and the strap on her leg.  The new head is definitely the star piece; it’s got a great likeness of Melody Perkins in the role, and specifically is based on her blue-haired appearance from episodes 26-29 of the show.  I sums up her general look from the show quite nicely.  The new forearm pieces have a lot of really great detail work going into them as well, and the torso armor is designed so that it can be removed, adding some variety to her potential appearances.  Astronema’s paint work is generally pretty decent, but has a few drawbacks.  The biggest issue is on the face; they’ve attempted to emulate some blush on her cheeks, but they’ve gone just a touch too intense with the coverage, making her look a little too clown-esque for my taste.  It’s not the worst thing ever, and it’s better than it looked on some of the prototype shots, but it could definitely look a bit better.  Otherwise, things aren’t too bad.  The edge of the silver on her waist is a little fuzzy, and there are a few spots on the armor that would certainly benefit from some extra accenting, but for the most part it looks pretty decent.  In terms of accessories, Astronema is packed with two sets of hands (fists and gripping), her Wrath Staff, the boomerang looking thing she has on her leg, and an effects piece for her staff.  It’s a shame there aren’t any alternate heads with her differing hair.  We even saw a cyborg Astronema head when this figure was originally shown off, so clearly they planned for it.  Ultimately, I guess it just didn’t cost out.

THE ME HALF OF THE EQUATION

Given how much of an In Space fan I am, it’s surely no surprise that I’ve been waiting to get more of them since this line launched.  Obviously, I was all in for an Andros, since I definitely want the main team, but I was also holding out at least a little bit of hope for an Astronema, given that she’s always been left out previously.  Getting both of them together?  That was bliss, honestly.  Sure, Andros is rather by the numbers, and Astronema could stand to have a couple of improvements, but ultimately I really like this set, and I look forward to a deeper In Space component for the line.

Thanks to my sponsors over at All Time Toys for setting me up with these figures to review.  If you’re looking for Lightning Collection, or other toys both old and new, please check out their website and their eBay storefront.