Wednesday 7 September 2022

Toybox REVIEW: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin 'Metallic' White Ranger

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Release Date: July 2022
RRP: $27.99/£26.99

Another team in the Power Rangers Lightning Collection comes to completion, although admittedly it is one that has already been completed a few times over already. Fans of the divisive Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season three power up rejoice as the Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin 'Metallic' White Ranger arrives to complete the original team of Power Rangers in metallic armour form. Like the rest of the team, leader Tommy Oliver is an exclusive release to Hasbro Pulse (where available).

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As the last of the metallic armour figures to be released, the Mighty Morphin Metallic White Ranger may be the last time we see this glittery variant of the Lightning Collection packaging. Sadly Tommy's box is a little less glittery than the rest of his teammates, but it still stands out nicely from the standard releases and makes a nice little endcap to the team. The design of the box remains the same as the standard White Ranger release though, with of course the exception of the CGI figure render printed on the back of the box. Inside you'll find the figure, along with accessories both old and new, neatly stored on their plastic tray.

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As with the rest of the metallic armour rangers, the White Ranger is a re-release of the standard figure – revitalised in glitter-injected white plastic. The translucency of the white plastic is considerably more noticeable on this than any of the other rangers, with the colouring also making the glitter that much more visible. The shield piece remains opaque black, albeit with a glossy finish. The gold paint on the figure is extremely vibrant, glistening in the light and really bringing out all of the detail – particularly on the helmet and shield. Admittedly the gold isn't 100% accurate to the onscreen suit (which had a much duller tone to it), but it does look good nonetheless. Maybe it's just that the details of the White Ranger are much easier to replicate on a six-inch figure than the core MMPR team, but this one definitely stands out as the best looking of the team. Again not necessarily as screen accurate as it could be, but definitely the best attempt at the metallic armour we've ever had in a Power Rangers toy line.

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The White Ranger shares the same body as the other male MMPR rangers, which feature the following articulation; 
- Ball jointed head, upper torso and hips 
- Single hinge neck and ab crunch 
- Swivel hinge shoulders, wrists and ankles 
- Butterfly joint shoulders/pecs 
- Double hinge elbows and knees 
- Bicep, thigh and boot swivels 
While there is an initial bit of stickiness that seems to come from the use of translucent plastic on the figure, overall the articulation is very good – easily meeting the expectations one should have of the Lightning Collection by now. Given the White Ranger's sizeable chest shield one might expect the torso and shoulder articulation to be hindered somewhat, but while the shoulders might have a little bit of restriction the torso doesn't seem to have any problems whatsoever. Even though that ball jointed upper torso is completely covered, you can still get the full range of motion out of it for more expressive poses. The standard White Ranger was the first figure to be revealed in the Lightning Collection and in turn part of the first wave, so there was a lot riding on it to impress fans and convince them to continue buying into the line. A few years later and it's still a fantastic figure.

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Hailing from a different Super Sentai series the White Ranger has different accessories than the rest of his team, but for the most part it's still exactly the kind of things you'd expect. For starters he comes with two additional hands (a right fist and knife-strike left hand), Saba and a translucent yellow effect part. Like the figure itself Saba has been moulded in translucent white plastic, but has been very nicely decorated with all the various paint apps. In addition to being able to be comfortably held in the designated right hand, the sword can also be stored in the holster on the left side of Tommy's belt. The effect part is the same spark-like sword clash part that's been seen with numerous Lightning Collection releases now, clipping on the blade tip to create an awkward looking effect. Truthfully it's exactly the same pieces included with the standard White Ranger, right down to the choice of hands.

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There are a couple of new bits that have been thrown into the mix though, including a brand-new Tommy head based on his appearance in season three. Much like the one included with the Ninja White Ranger it isn't the best likeness of Jason David Frank they've done (and they've done quite a few by now so it's surprising that the last couple have slightly missed the mark), but it gets the job done nicely. The long hair restricts the neck articulation a fair bit, but that's pretty much to be expected at this point.

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But it's the last of Tommy's accessories that's the best of all. After each of the five "core" rangers came with a segment of the Zeo Crystal, it was hoped that the White Ranger would come packaged with the combined version. Thankfully that is indeed the case, and here we have a completed Zeo Crystal in all its glory. Moulded in milky white translucent plastic, the crystal's unusual shape has been recreated brilliantly – complete with all five symbols visible on the top. As a massive Zeo fan this is genuinely one of my favourite accessory pieces the line has done, but regardless of that it's a piece that'll look fantastic with so many figures. The MMPR Rangers, the Zeo Rangers, Lord Zedd – the list goes on.

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Much like the rest of the team the Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin 'Metallic' White Ranger is a figure squarely aimed at either completists or fans of the metallic armour (there aren't many of us, but we do exist), but boy is it a good one to bow out on. Though the Tommy head could use some work, the metallic effect looks particularly good on this and the inclusion of the completed Zeo Crystal really makes it feel like a release that's gone the extra mile. While nobody wants the Lightning Collection to become too Mighty Morphin heavy, hopefully these metallic armour releases have given Hasbro the confidence to dabble in similarly themed releases from the many other series that make up the Power Rangers universe.

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