Mint in Box Preview: Power Rangers 20th Anniversary
Power Rangers is twenty years old this year. I’m going to let that sink in. Feeling old? Yeah, me too… But that won’t stop me loving the franchise. Granted I don’t religiously watch every season or buy stuff as readily as I do with Transformers (Which celebrates its 30th Anniversary next year. Yeah, feeling real old right now) but I will always have a fondness for Power Rangers because they were my first superheroes, long before I got into comics. Myself and fellow contributor Colin will be doing a number of Ranger-related articles in the near future to celebrate the franchise as a whole but for now, this is just a sneak peak at what fans young and old can expect this year!
First up, the 4-inch figures! You may have seen me review some of the MMPR 2010 and Samurai figures last year but this year we can expect a lot more figures that span the entire franchise! These will be Limited Edition figures with a metallic finish and while I think that’d look pretty goofy alongside the regular figures, it’ll be great to see brand new figures of older Rangers in the 4-inch scale.
Limited Edition Metallic Figures
Tokyo Vinyl are in the business of stylised “chibi” interpretations of pop culture characters, in much the same way Pop! Vinyl are and both will be releasing chibi Ranger figures in the near future. Depending on your fetish, you might go for these or not but personally, they’re not for me but I do find them fun in their own way.
Tokyo Vinyl Red Ranger
Want a Megazord but don’t have space for massive chunks of plastic? Then the Retrofire line is for you! The Retrofire line has been around for a few years but with varying degrees of success. They tend to have a weird asymmetrical articulation thing going on where not all the joints can move like it’s opposite though there are a few figures that have regular articulation (both arms and legs move the same way) but if you’re just planning on putting them on a shelf to display, they are generally designed for poses so it’s not too bad. As well as the Megaforce Megazords, they seem to be re-releasing the Dino Megazord as well.
Retrofire Megazords
Want a Megazord and have a sturdy shelf to place heavy objects on? Then the Die-cast Legacy Megazord is for you! It’s the same old Megazord, but it’s heavy as FFFUUUUUU– A lot of grey plastic has been replaced by shiny die-cast metal, notably on the arms and legs (maybe even the sword) and it even comes in a retro stule package that homages the original. I can see these appealing to both fans and 90’s nostalgia buffs.
Legacy Dino Megazord
Rounding out the Megazords and stepping into the realm of Japanese awesomesauce are the Super Robot Chogokin figures. Taking the idea of Retrofires and dialing up the awesome to 11, the SRC Megazords are Japanese die-cast collector figures and so far, there’s been a fair few released. At NYTF, only the Dino Megazord, SPD Delta Squad Megazord and the Samurai Megazord were on display (Alongside some excellent S.H. Figuarts, highly articulated collector figures which I lust after like you wouldn’t believe) but SRC have also create a figure for the Mystic Force Titan Megazord as well so we can probably expect more down the road. I know the SRC Daizyujin (Dino Megazord) is available for pre-order on the US Toys ‘R’ Us site (Due out on the 15th Feb).
SRC Megazords and S.H. Figuarts
Going to a slightly smaller, but no less awesome scale, are the Mighty Morphin’ Legacy Mask Collection. Based on a similar line the Japanese do for all the Sentai Red Rangers, this set is purely for the original Mighty Morphin’ team and it looks glorious! I don’t know whether the full production run will have the Metallic finish like those in the package or there’ll be two variations but either way, I’ll be glad to have them in my display cabinet.
Mighty Morphin’ Legacy Mask Collection
And now, the crown jewel of this entire line-up, the most requested and desired of anything PR-related… The Legacy Power Morpher.
*Squeeeeeeeee*
Yeah, drink it in, friends. This is flavour country. Coming with 5 coins and chock full of lights, sounds and die-cast, the Legacy Power Morpher is the must-have item of this selection and guaranteed to get any fan or nostalgia buff pumped! I don’t have to say anymore, now do I?
That’s all I really have to show you for now, folks! The images I’ve used were gathered by Tokunation and they have more extensive galleries you can check out. I can say for certainty that the Americans and Canadians amongst you will have little to no trouble finding these out in the wild on your side of the pond but for us UK fans, the availability of ANY of these products is up in the air. I guess the 4-inch figures and Retrofires will make it but as for the high-end collectibles? No clue. No word. Only hope that we will not be forgotten in the coming year. Be on the look-out for more Power Ranger articles coming from the DOOM Towers in the coming months and may the Power protect you, always.