Release Date: August 2019
RRP: $19.99/£19.99
While its variety and attention to the 27 year history of Power Rangers has attributed to the success of Hasbro's Lightning Collection, for the brand to survive it's important that the line pay as much attention to the new as it does the old. While naturally a brand new range is almost always going to focus on the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers first and foremost, the currently airing Power Rangers Beast Morphers has also seen fair representation in this collector-orientated line on top of its own series-specific range. This all kicked off in wave two of the line, which didn't just include the obligatory Red Ranger but also a Lightning Collection Beast Morphers Gold Ranger figure. Coming some months after Nate Silva's debut as the Gold Hercules Beetle Mantis Ranger on the show itself, this particular release also helps fill a significant void left by the now-defunct S.H. Figuarts Super Sentai line. Though the core trio of Tokumei Sentai Go-Busters (and their respective Buddyroids) may have also received figure, Beet Buster/Jin Masato and Beet J Stag/Stag Buster sadly did not.
From its very first wave it was clear that the Lightning Collection packaging was going to be something special, and that brilliance carries on into wave two and beyond. As usual the focal point of the box isn't actually the figure but rather @strongstufftom's brilliant artwork, which perfectly captures the Gold Ranger in his distinct style. Going for a deeper near-orange yellow was also a great colour choice for getting the gold across without compromising the flat colours these boxes use, and that particular shade goes beautifully with the base white background these mainline release boxes have. Also unchanged is the back of the box, which features a single image of the figure in a suitably dynamic pose. It's a typical Hasbro render rather than the figure itself so there's a little more paint here than there is on the actual figure, but thankfully it's mostly relegated to the sword and just a case of silver being unpainted grey plastic. Inside the figure, along with the accessories, are housed on a moulded tray with a striking Power Rangers lightning bolt backing card just behind it.
The Lightning Collection's approach to the rangers themselves has been quite interesting, opting to mould multiple folds into the sculpt to make them look like actual suits rather than simply toys. Given how skintight a lot of the Power Rangers suits are the effect works better on some characters than others, but there's no doubt that it's perfectly suited to the leather-based Beast Morphers/Go-Busters suits. All the crinkles and folds convey exactly the kind of material these suits are made of, giving the Gold Ranger an excellent base body right from the start. But immediately more eye-catching than that is the paintwork, because Hasbro have made sure they take this ranger's colour designation seriously. The treatment of primarily-gold characters in the line has generally been hit or miss (and remains a particularly sore point with fans since Bandai of America's days), but the Gold Ranger is exactly what his name suggests and covered in metallic gold paint. The only traces of that yellowish unpainted gold plastic is on the joints, and it blends in well enough with the paint to be barely noticeable at all. Without the correct colours, even the most perfect sculpt can be ruined and thankfully that isn't the case here. The sculpting also makes sure to catch all the smaller details of the suit too - such as the armoured pieces on the legs and boots, the GB logo on the belt buckle and the transporter on the harness (which even has a spot of gold paint too!). Surprisingly the harness is actually fitted loosely around the figure rather than attached, so can be removed should you so wish. Throw in a great helmet sculpt on top of that which even uses a different shade of gold for the visor as it does the body, and you have the makings of one of the best figures this line has put out yet.
And if the figure looking gorgeous with all that glistening gold paint, it also really shows off just how good the level of articulation Hasbro are cramming into them as well. Altogether the Beast Morphers Gold Ranger features a ball jointed head, hinged neck, swivel hinge/butterfly shoulders, bicep swivels, double hinge elbows, swivel hinge wrists, a ball jointed torso, hinged waist, ball joint hips, double hinge knees, boot swivels and swivel hinge ankles. Although much like paint the joint QC can vary from copy to copy, generally everything works exactly as it should and there aren't any obvious design flaws that would result in stiff joints/restrictions etc. The shoulders have an especially good range of motion thanks to those butterfly joints, and when you see them at work it suddenly makes sense why that harness loose rather than fixed to the torso. But perhaps best of all is that the joints for the most part don't have any real bearing on the paintwork either, which means the gold should remain intact even through all that play, posing and rearranging. Even with the slight reduction in forward/backward foot movement you get from the boot design, the Gold Ranger has the balance and poseability to serve your play needs.
Beast Morphers Gold's accessories include two additional hands, Striker Morpher, Striker Saber and also an energy spark effect part that can slot over the top of the sword. Now the Lightning Collection doesn't always deal in matching pairs of hands which can lead to figures having some odd combinations, but thankfully Gold's come out with a pretty good set of four - a pair of weapon holding hands, a closed right fist and then an additional left hand in the Gold Ranger's signature pose (which itself was carried over from Go-Busters). Given that it's identical to Spider-Man's web-shooting hands, Hasbro must have felt right at home with this one. Moving on to the weapons, the Striker Morpher is small but very nicely detailed for its size, and the fact it's painted gold like the figure itself goes a long, long way. Hasbro missed a bit of a trick not having the visor piece fold out from the side to simulate the morph sequence (especially since a civilian head is included here as well), but given its size omitting that feature is understandable. Meanwhile the Striker Saber also sports a splash of gold, but despite it making that unpainted grey plastic stand out all the more it's still a simple but effective accessory. And it looks even better with the effect part added, which sheathes over the blade perfectly. A lot of these effect parts tend to compatible with multiple figures but this one definitely feels tailor specifically to the Striker Saber, given how perfectly it fits the relatively thin blade.
The final accessory included here is, as it usually tends to be with the Ranger figures, an unmorphed civilian head of Nate Silva. Much like the QC of the figures themselves the overall quality of the unmorphed heads has varied wildly between releases – with some looking just like their respective characters/actors and others about as far from them as you can possibly get. Just how much of a sore point it is will depend on how much use you're getting out of them, but for me as long as the resemblance is passable then it does the job. That said, Nate's head is definitely one of the better ones out there. Although the head would have looked much better and far more like Nate if it had included his glasses, the likeness to actor Abraham Rodriguez is certainly there. Given some of the comments and unwarranted negativity Rodriguez got following his reveal, it's great that his figure has turned out just as well as his appearance on the show itself.
Despite wave two featuring some firm fan favourites, the Lightning Collection Beast Morphers Gold Ranger being its stand out figure just goes to show how the newcomers can easily stand up against the classics. Whereas other ranger figures might have lacked that extra spark to make them truly fantastic figures, the Gold Ranger seemingly has it all – great sculpting, impressive articulation, varied accessories and above all else it's also properly painted gold. This isn't just one for Power Rangers collectors, Go-Busters fans should definitely seek him out to give Jin the plastic representation he's always deserved. Hopefully a Silver Ranger figure will be coming in a future wave soon, because my only real complaint is that one should never be without the other.
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