Tuesday 22 July 2014

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Tiger Ranger

S.H. Figuarts Tiger Ranger/MMPR Yellow

It's been a long year full of plenty of great S.H. Figuarts releases, but finally the time has come for the final member of Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger to join the rest in figure form. And although Tiger Ranger may not be the most popular of the six Zyurangers, this is certainly the most interesting release of them. Due to the character being repurposed as the female Yellow Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, two alternate versions of the figure have been produced. While Japan enjoy a male body version as a Tamashii web exclusive, Bluefin have brought a special female body over for a American buyers. Whichever version you're getting, the accessories remain the same. 

So without further ado, here is a look at the Japanese release of Tiger Ranger!

The finale is upon us

It's all male over hereYellow and black

Many have moaned about the lack of uniformity in the Zyuranger boxes, and to save me repeating myself again that's all I shall say on the matter here. Instead let's take a look at the box for what it is - a pretty basic yellow box featuring some rather fitting 'prehistoric pattern work'. The back swaps that yellow background for a darker colour scheme, featuring the text in yellow along with a few shots of the figure itself. Windowless Tamashii web exclusive boxes are still yet to prove themselves as being particularly exciting, and while not awful this isn't one that's going to do any favours for them either.

Oh, and the American Power Rangers release features more standardised window packaging, which most of you will probably already know by now. So if you're a MISB kind of guy that still likes to actually look at the figures you buy, that might be the better option to go for.

Tiger Ranger!

Trini?Boi Ass

Teleporting backMy weapon doesn't extend!

And here is Tiger Ranger himself, Daim Tribe Knight Boi! This figure uses the same shade of yellow as Deka Yellow did, and he looks just as fantastic in it as his space police successor. The helmet sculpting looks fantastic, with no obvious inaccuracies or colour problems (note that the female version of the figure has had reported issues of the helmet eyes not being painted, but I have no idea how widespread this is). These Figuarts have been the most articulated versions of the Zyurangers released so far, and naturally Tiger Ranger is no exception - featuring all the same joints and articulation as his team mates had. Chalk full of ball joints and hinges (both the double and single variety) in all of the right places, you won't be short of posing options with this figure.

Saber Daggers!

Imma cut youCrossing blades

Onto Tiger Ranger's accessories, which are pretty standard and relatively unchanged from the rest of the Zyurangers. Firstly we have four pairs of swappable hands, which include closed fists, open palms, grabbing hands and unique roll call pose hands. Next up is Tiger Ranger's signature weapons, the two Saber Daggers. These are relatively unchanged from the Howling Cannon versions previously included with Tricera Ranger, but lack the additional connector tabs and thus have a much cleaner look to them.

Ignoring this isn't the Ranger SwordRanger Slinger!

Then of course there's the standard weapons included with all the web exclusive Zyurangers, which is a measly offering of the Ranger Stick and Thunder Slinger. Predictable inclusions for anyone who's been collecting the whole team, but if you've been picking and choosing you might not have realised the Ranger Sword, Ranger Gun and Thunder Slinger were items only included with the mass release Tyranno Ranger. Shame, as having them all posed with their standard sidearms would probably have looked really good.

A special extraGun mode!

Rounding off Tiger Ranger's accessories is one that's not actually meant for him - the gun form of Mammoth Ranger's Moth Breaker. While this can obviously be used as a more accurate form of gun mode, the barrel section is noticeably thicker than the handle on the axe form. Why? Because that isn't the true purpose of this piece at all! This version of the Moth Breaker rounds off all the components needed to form the Zyurangers' combined weapon, the Howling Cannon (better known as the Power Blaster in Power Rangers). Seeing how this combined piece turns out has been something collectors have been looking forward to for quite a while, and so without further ado it's time to bring them together...

Moth Breaker (Power Axe)!Ptera Arrow (Power Bow)!

Saber Daggers (Power Daggers)!Tricera Lance (Power Lance)!

Ryugekiken (Power Sword)!

Say goodbye

With the bulk of the components previously available from the last few figures, we've had a pretty good idea how things slotted together for a while. The question was just how the bow and sword would attach the the axe, the final piece of the puzzle. So to take it one piece at a time, a piece of the axe lifts off so that the bow can be placed under it, while the lance and dagger sections are fixed to the underside of the bow via designated slots. Finally the sword is placed on the top of the whole thing, clamped at the hilt section and pegged in near the tip of the blade. For something made of so many pieces it keeps together really well, especially during the awkwardness of getting Tyranno Ranger to hold it properly and then have the rest of the rangers crowd around him. The above shot certainly isn't the best you can get out them, but it gives you a good idea of just how awesome this accessory is.

Kyoryu Sentai...ZYURANGER!

"Let's bring them together!"Go go Power Rangers!

You can look at Tiger Ranger in two ways really. As a standalone figure it's pretty great - by no means exceptional but just as good as most of the other Zyurangers. Alternatively you could look at the much bigger picture - as the last Zyuranger release, the team is finally complete. And boy do they look fantastic together. Whether you've gone for Tiger Ranger Boi or Yellow Ranger not a boy (couldn't resist) and are using Dragon Ranger or Kiba Ranger as your sixth, these guys look absolutely fantastic together. And if you decided to go for the Armoured Tyranno Ranger and/or are thinking of picking up the SDCC exclusive Armoured Black Ranger (a Power Rangers exclusive), there's even more awesome for your display. For many fans this was THE team to complete, regardless of whether your love for them lied in Sentai or Power Rangers, so let's just all take a moment to bask in the fact that another team has been ticked off that giant Tamashii Nations checklist.

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