Yeah, I was never a Zord fa, but it boggles my mind that Hasbro, the folks who make Transformers, did absolutly nothing of note with the zords. Keep it its own sub-line if you need to. Or, F-it, make it a subline of Transformers.
@spongyblue to ke, the problem with their first set of zords was that they went with a stylized look that was way too busy. It's why I didn't buy them even when the prices dropped. Meanwhile, I got the zeo megazord figure because it was mostly accurate (though the helmets were off).
I think the problem is that Hasbro gave the Megazord the same treatment they give their transformers. Unnecessary panel lines and sculpted detail to add "realism" when all I wanted was so accuracy.
the problem with their first set of zords was that they went with a stylized look that was way too busy.
For me, I like additional detailing, even if it's not show-accurate. A toy that size with no added detail just exaggerates that it's a toy.
No, the big mistake to my eye was the weirdly long legs of the Megazord. Like, they made the sabretooth and the tricera too big, and that made for a really ungainly looking combined robot mode. I can't even imagine why they did it.
I never went with the ZAP Zords. For those I stuck with the original Bandai versions from the 90s. I found the vast majority of what I have---the Megazord, the Dragonzord, the White Tigerzord---for free at a neighborhood put-your-unwanted-stuff-on-the-curb event. Went to ebay for the missing pieces. I have them all ALMOST 100% complete. To top it off, I bought TV-accurate decals for all of them at toyhax.com. They look great. I love displaying them with my LC Rangers.
Yea the LC Megazord has pretty long legs. If I had to guess it's to accommodate the neck joints for the leg zords. But they still probably could've gotten those joints in with smaller zords anyway.
Guess the odds of the ZAP Dragonzord being rereleased is now close to 0. Kinda sucks, I still wanted that one. But I have the Legacy one from Toys R Us so I'm not "needing" it. Just "wanting" it. Lol.
Was just putting some figures back on my shelves after some furniture moving, and re-displaying all my Lightning Collection dudes made me really miss the line.
They're really poseable, come with a bunch of hand options, some signature weapons, and unhelmeted heads just because. I must've been lucky with the quality control, because I never had any problems with defects, just a wish that someone cared enough to make sure paint apps were consistent across teams. I also wish I lived in a world where more people cared about the teams that weren't Mighty Morphin'. There are so many teams and villains I want from its 30-year history, but once the MMPR teat dried up, so did the customers.
I was also remembering my excitement about the Zord Ascension Project. The promise of a consistent line of assembleable but still articulated Megazords was heady, even if I knew that doing one season's worth of zords per year would put me in my 80s by the time they got them all done.
PREACH. There are much better seasons than MMPR. I do appreciate that it was the first iteration and that it launched the property into the zeitgeist, but the true draw of Power Rangers is the fact that they can change the theme up every year into something new and exciting. It's malleable in that regard. I don't want to keep watching variations of MMPR over and over. Give me tech Rangers. Animal Rangers. Pirates. Etc.
As for ZAP, I only bought the Black and Gold Megazord as well as the Astro Megazord. The latter is my favorite, so it was an easy buy. I have the Soul of Chogokin Dino Megazord, Dragonzord, and Titanus. Those are perfect for show representation and I don't need anything more. I have the Legacy B&G Dino Megazord, Dragonzord, and Titanus because I wanted a full B&G set. I don't own the 93 originals because they just don't stack up to the newer iterations.
Would've loved to see more ZAP releases (a Delta Megazord that combined with Astro would've been incredible), but things didn't turn out the way fans hoped.
Hasbro squandered all opportunity they had with Power Rangers by doubling down on releasing their versions of items we've seen dozens of times before...as well as never taking the brand seriously.
Yeah, I was never a Zord fa, but it boggles my mind that Hasbro, the folks who make Transformers, did absolutly nothing of note with the zords. Keep it its own sub-line if you need to. Or, F-it, make it a subline of Transformers.
They cannot mix IPs like that. Toei has a say in product and would definitely not take to Zords/Mecha being a subline of a competing brand. It is bewildering that they never made a crossover Transformer though. A TF inspired by the Dino Megazord would be pretty cool.
but the true draw of Power Rangers is the fact that they can change the theme up every year into something new and exciting. It's malleable in that regard. I don't want to keep watching variations of MMPR over and over.
I'm an MMPR guy, and I agree with all of this. I liked the formula of getting new teams every year. It sustained the brand for thirty years. I don't know why they had a big 30th anniversary celebration for PR only to end it immediately after.
I was very excited for the Once and Always special, but honestly, it left me a little cold. Knowing two of the original six cast members are no longer with us.....I honestly just want to leave that original team that I love in the past. I don't want a story about why Trini and Tommy are dead. Move forward.
MMPR is kinda stuck in the same gear as Star Trek - it is refusing to move forward. Dwelling and living and revisiting the past instead of just boldly going and telling new stories and creating new characters.
Now overall, Power Rangers was creating new characters all the time - until they just stopped doing that. I have not watched Power Rangers since Zeo so I'm uneducated on the franchise beyond what I learned from the Lightning Collection, but where Trek and PR are very similar - fans and collectors want the full cast/team/crew.
Hasbro's LC strategy worked pretty well for awhile but once retail really pulled out, they should have tried a few full teams as boxsets via Pulse. This solves the problems of mismatching paint apps for team members, missing weapons, etc. If there is a sixth member, he or she can always be released special. But the reason it really works - aside from those that only collect a certain color Ranger - is because the fan/collector will want the whole team and would love getting it all at once.
The whole team is the hero and needs to be represented.
But I typed all that and the Amazon Alien Rangers team set is still available at the end of the day for $54.99. But I did buy the Omega Rangers one!
MMPR is kinda stuck in the same gear as Star Trek - it is refusing to move forward. Dwelling and living and revisiting the past instead of just boldly going and telling new stories and creating new characters.
where Trek and PR are very similar - fans and collectors want the full cast/team/crew.
they should have tried a few full teams as boxsets via Pulse.
I agree with the comparison to Star Trek. More than any other franchise, that should be the one to boldly go FORWARD and they are terrified of leaving the orbit of Kirk and Picard. Instead of cutting the umbilical and going another 100 years into the future, they want to stay in the past, recast the OT crew again and again or bring out the 90's Trek actors who are all in their 70's or older (Although I did like and appreciate Picard season 3 just for the fact that it was needed. The TNG crew was done dirty since their show ended and it gave them the good ending they needed). Star Trek does not want to give up that crutch of things the audience knows and tell truly all-new stories. It's too bad.
Power Rangers, in their defense, did what Star Trek did not and spent all of the 2000's giving us new characters and going forward. Until they just stopped.
Selling complete teams as a box set definitely should have been explored more. Especially considering this is their license and they were using all the same bucks. The cost to them would have been minimal.
I don't know if they do, but I think Hasbro needs a James Gunn/Kevin Feige for the Power Rangers brand. Not just for the toys, but they entire property. It's getting harder for PR to stand out in the US (not sure how the Sentai genre is doing in Japan), so in order to do so, it would seem in my opinion, to have a cross media strategy on what is being presented. At times is seems the comics, the show, the figures are all just doing their own thing and not syncing up like they probably could. I'm not a business guy so not sure if its an easier said the done situation, especially since the driving factor of your IP is importing and adapting from another source.
I know there were rumors a few years back of PR dropping live action and going animated, which may not be a bad idea. You can incorporate some grander ideas a set pieces instead of always fighting monsters in a rock quarry or office plaza. You can rotate casts and locations whenever you want. One episode follow MMPR, the next episode In Space, the next Ninja Storm then finish it off with a team up and then start over with a new story.
I don't know man. I just sad I can't get the different Ranger Sentries from Shattered Grid. Great designs.
I'd think Power Rangers is the one toy line that actually rewards parts re-use. On a standard team, you've got 3-4 identical dudes, 1-2 identical chicks, and a 6th ranger that's just a slightly modified dude body. And that just gets better across the whole franchise. You're probably eating up all the savings with the unique sculpting that goes into the bad guys, but that's at least break even, yeah?
Whenever I try to think of how a box set model would work, though, I just come up with a lot of exceptions that make the idea less optimum.
Honestly, the way they were doing it from the start seemed the best model: rangers and villains from all eras in all colors, anchored by an MMPR (or at least Zordon era) character. I think the only thing I would've done differently is ensure there was a villain in each wave. I feel like it's just more inviting to kids and casuals to see a complete action scene in each wave.
Right now I'm only hoping Disney-era kids will eventually get disposable cash and Hasbro will re-start the line to get some of their nostalgia money.
@spongyblue I think what works against Power Rangers in the US is that it was always thought of as cheap, but highly profitable. They're just licensing a complete show and shooting around existing footage with replaceable, inexpensive, actors. The formula stopped working though, kids today aren't the same as the kids of 5 years ago let alone 30, and Hasbro doesn't want to sink money into doing something different. Saban was the only one happy owning Power Rangers because he operated the franchise as cheaply as possible and made a bunch of money doing so. Disney and Hasbro have never been able to figure out how Power Rangers works in their business model and it shows.
I saw Super 7 Bulk and Skull in person for the first time yesterday and they both turned out really well. It was tough passing seeing as how this is likely the only shot we'll get, but they will be over $100 for two figures that won't scale with anything I have. Really tempting though.
I wonder if they will end up being worth anything. Sometimes characters like that are later, especially for limited runs.
I was also debating on getting rid of some of my PR Legacy figures from Bandai. Most of them I have hasbro upgraded versions of. Not sure if I'd keep the ones I dont, but there aren't alot of those. Ninja Storm maybe. But those don't scale with Hasbro so...
I know it's probably pointless to resurrect this thread, but i was debating on getting some of the last figures I never got, the 4 Street Fighter crossover figures. I was wondering if anyone had them and if they're any good? They look cool, and they got that deluxe pricing. But the aftermarket on them is fairly cheap so I was debating on getting them, if they were any good. And maybe if there were any good alternate non helmet heads that would fit on them as well.
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