Tuesday 18 January 2022

Toybox REVIEW: Power Rangers Lightning Collection In Space Silver Ranger

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Release Date:
October 2021
RRP: $22.99/£24.99

Hasbro's surprising love for Power Rangers in Space continues as the team draws one step nearer to completion with the release of the Lightning Collection In Space Silver Ranger! One of the final members of the team to make it to the line, Zhane was released through Hasbro Pulse in very limited quantities with plans for a wider Walgreens-exclusive release in US at some point this year. For the rest of the world, the figure was available via the fan channel in similarly limited fashion - making the Silver Ranger a particularly scarce item in this time of uncertain release times and quantities.

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Despite being labelled as an exclusive release, the In Space Silver Ranger's packaging doesn't look all that different to a main wave release - and with other figures coming out as a Hasbro Pulse/fan channel waves (the MMPR Ninja Rangers or SPD A-Squad for example) the lines between "standard packaging" and "exclusives" are getting a lot more blurred. The white background design works well with the Silver Ranger's colour scheme anyway, not to mention the gold border used for the character name. As usual you'll find that distinct Lightning Collection character artwork on the front and sides of the box, with a single Hasbro render on the back showing off the figure in a cool action pose (making use of some of the accessories included). Inside, you'll find all these pieces and more neatly laid out on a moulded plastic tray.

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Whereas many sixth rangers take the base design of the standard team and add additional parts to it, the changes made for the In Space Silver Ranger are purely colouring. On top of the obvious silver all of the white sections in the In Space Suit (save for the gloves and boots) are changed to silver, adding an extra level of cohesion to the design. In the place of the five coloured squares across the chest there are now five black squares with a green grid pattern (a product of source Super Sentai series Megaranger's computer-motif), rendered on the figure as simply solid green squares. While it is a key element of the Silver Ranger's design I'm sad to see missed out on this release, given the size and price point of the figure I'm also not surprised to see Hasbro opt for a simpler option that's similarly effective. The silver colouring of the figure is all pearlescent plastic, which looks spectacular under light but I can't help wonder about it's long-term durability. While not clear plastic by any means, it has that similar sort of softer feel you don't get quite as much with solid colours - something particularly noticeable when you bend the joints. It's not a shade of silver that would work for all the silver rangers, but works well enough for In Space. The helmet looks particularly good with the pearlescent silver and gold trim, but it's a shame the mouthpiece gets lost in the design somewhat - nothing a bit of panel lining couldn't fix though. Other than all of that though, this is an identical mould to the other male Space Rangers figure - a buck that continued to be solid throughout all four characters.

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Another use of the In Space Ranger body means identical articulation to the Red and Black Rangers, which we know by now is more than enough for some fantastic posing. Altogether the figure features,
- Ball jointed head, torso and hips 
- Single hinge neck and ab crunch 
- Swivel hinge shoulders, wrists and ankles 
- Butterfly shoulders/pecs 
- Double hinge elbows and knees 
- Bicep, thigh and boot swivels
Given the overall stiffness present on my Black Ranger all that pearlescent plastic was a bit of a worry to begin with, but as it turns out the Silver Ranger is much more flexible toy that didn't have any of those prior joint worries. The top halves of the elbows and knees were a little stiff to begin with, but after a tiny bit of working they move just as well as every other joint on the body. Which is great, because I really do like what Lightning Collection does with the articulation of these figures. They may have their flaws when it comes to accessories/paint apps/head sculpts/whatever, but the articulation remains both consistently good and (for the most part anyway) sturdy enough that there isn't any fear of breakage.

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As the sixth member of the team, the Silver Ranger gets to enjoy an arsenal a bit unique than the rest of his fellow Space Rangers. Altogether he comes packaged with two alternate hands (a closed right fist and knifestrike left hand, nicely complimenting the default accessory holding pair), his Super Silverizer in both sword and blaster modes as well as a translucent yellow energy spiral effect part. The effect part is a regular within the Lightning Collection, it's first use dating all the way back to the first wave and the SPD Shadow Ranger. Still, you can't deny how well it works with the Super Silverizer - comfortably slotting over the blade as if it were specifically designed for it. The yellow colouring is also a nice contrast to the weapon's blue blade, as well as just gelling well with the Silver Ranger's colour scheme in general. The Super Silverizer is an interesting weapon, held like a standard firearm but with an additional brace that slots around the wrist. It can be a little fiddly to hold at first because the grip on the hands is moulded so tight, but after doing it once there shouldn't be any problems afterward. And even though it's been painted with a thick coat of glossy black paint, there aren't any immediate signs of it rubbing off in the hands too.

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Rounding off the Silver Ranger's accessories is the alternate Zhane head, which certainly is something. It would be wrong to say that it does somewhat resemble actor Justin Nimmo, but the extremely chiselled looks and smug grin Hasbro have given him come off as looking extremely cartoonish. Given that Hasbro own Stretch Armstrong these days, they could easily slap this head on it with little to no change and it wouldn't look out of place. With the In Space Blue Ranger vs Psycho Silver two-pack currently available too at least there's already the option of an alternate Zhane head on the market if you're not a fan of this one, but arguably the expression on that one isn't a whole lot better either. Don't get me wrong I continue to appreciate that Hasbro are including these alternate civilian heads with the Lightning Collection, but they do seem to make me laugh a lot more than they seem to wow me. On the upside, at least swapping the heads wasn't a problem on this In Space release. No overly stiff joints like there was on my In Space Black Ranger, just the simple swap one hopes for.

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Like most figures in the line there's a few little niggles here and there, but overall the Lightning Collection In Space Silver Ranger is another solid release from this rapidly growing range. It's not just great to see the Power Rangers in Space team nearing completion (or completed depending on where you live and what order these things are getting released), but also to get another ranger colour in the line as silver goes into the spotlight. It's just a shame that Hasbro distribution is so up in the air at the moment that so many people are missing out on such a notable release. A sixth ranger from a fan favourite series that also debuted a new colour in the franchise, Zhane is one that ticks an awful lot of boxes.

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