Tuesday 24 January 2017

Bandai UK at London Toy Fair 2017


Tuesday 24th - Thursday 26th January marks the annual UK Toy Fair in London and for the first time My Shiny Toy Robots was in attendance! With Power Rangers marketing in full-swing with both the forthcoming movie and Power Rangers Ninja Steel Bandai UK's booth was the place to be, and although it featured a strict "no photos" policy here's a full run-down of everything Bandai had to show.

Power Rangers 2017 Movie Figures
Naturally the movie received the biggest focus of the booth, featuring as soon as guests walked in with the newest trailer and toy ads running on a loop. While there wasn't anything new on display, there were a couple of things that (to my knowledge - I could be wrong as I'm not completely up to date with what's already hit the US) are yet to hit shelves. Seen at the event was:
- The full range of 12cm action figures currently available, including the five rangers and Alpha 5
- The 17.5cm "feature" figures, which included both the rangers with light-up chests and the "morphin" red ranger figure. Also seen was the action feature Putty Patroller, which had been previously revealed via a Toys R Us listing.
- The 30cm "nutcracker" style Ranger figures, along with a 20cm Alpha 5 figure to fit in neatly with them.
- All five DX movie zords, along with the combined form. The Bandai rep mentioned the boxset of all five zords, and said she believed it to be a Toys R Us exclusive.
- The Interactive Megazord
- The 40cm Goldar figure revealed via the toy advert, which features swinging arms and a chest cavity to hold the tiny Rita figure
- The morpher, Power Sword and Mask roleplay toys.

Power Rangers Ninja Steel
However the movie isn't the only new kid on the block in 2017, and arguably the Power Rangers Ninja Steel range was the star of the show as it included the one big reveal of the event. Ninja Steel also had its own dedicated screen, playing a general advert for the series, a couple of toy ads and the Ninja Steel series opening.
- This was the Lion Fire Fortress Megazord, which of course Sentai fans will know as Lion Ha-Oh from Shuriken Sentai Ninninger. The Lion Fortress had its own dedicated advert on the screen, made up of some Ninninger footage (complete with TV Asashi timestamp!) to the tune of Metallica's "For Whom the Bell Tolls" and the tagline "Catch the Fire". Just looking at this toy was enough to get an impression of how big it is (roughly standing as tall in robot mode as the movie Megazord, but with far more bulk), but the ad confirmed it being over two feet long in lion mode. Jason Bischoff (@shadowpiper) also confirmed over on Twitter that in-show the zord will simply be the "Lion Fire Megazord", and the addition of "Fortress" was to show off the range of features this guy has.
- Bandai touted it as "the biggest zord playset of all time", and the ad really emphasised the playset element. Gimmicks included lights and sounds, a helipad for the Mega Morph Copter vehicle, a prison cell for villain figures and what looked to be a hidden compartment to launch the Mega Morph bike vehicles. It also featured Zord Builder ports on the arms. Sculpt-wise it was pretty impressive, sporting less paint apps than its Japanese equivalent but everything looked to be present and correct (I don't own Lion Ha-Oh so can't 100% clarify). Colours were duller than the Japanese version but this could just be down to being a prototype. Due for release around July and retailing for £119.99.
- Also on show was the DX Megazord both combined and in its individual components.
- The roleplay toys, including the Ninja Star Launcher, Morpher and Blade.
- The 12.5cm Ninja Steel figure assortment
- The Mega Morpher vehicles and battle station
- The 30cm "nutcracker style figures"
- Battle Gear, including the Star Shooter and Ninja Blaster
- A prototype of the Ultra Battle Gears Sword
- A display of the Ninja Stars featuring past Power Rangers

Power Rangers Dino Supercharge
With Dino Supercharge only just coming to an end in the UK now Bandai also had this range on display. Not much to say since it was all seen long ago, but what was here included:
- Dino Chargers display
- 12.5cm figure range
- Dino Drive Saber
- Ranger Training Set
- Titano Charge Megazord
- Plesio Charge Megazord

Legacy Collection
Rounding off the Bandai display was a handful of Legacy items, including:
- A prototype of the Red Ranger Power Sword
- The Red Ranger Helmet
- Legacy Collection figures (In Space Blue and Yellow, MMPR White)
- Legacy Morpher
- Power Coin Collection
- Ninja Megazord
- Black & Gold Dragonzord
- Black & Gold Titanus

And that about covers all of it! A lot of the questions I had to ask were predictably met with a "no comment", especially one concerning whether the Legacy Collection was likely to expand further than simply Mighty Morphin. If you have any questions I'm happy to answer them, as long as you bare in mind I might not have the answers!

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