Toybox REVIEW: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Pudgy Pig

Release Date: December 2021

RRP: $57.99/£58.99 (PulseCon Exclusive Edition), $33.99/£35.99 (Standard Edition)

The first wave of Power Rangers Lightning Collection deluxe figures with met with cheers from fans – finally we were getting larger, more articulated figures of classic Mighty Morphin Power Rangers monsters with (Hasbro's words) premium paintwork. Then their release came and we soon found that they were far from perfect, suffering from being a little TOO big and sporting not-so-premium paintwork. The fact poor old King Sphinx and Pumpkin Rapper (who is actually still a VERY good figure) ended up discounted everywhere speaks for itself. However Hasbro persevered, diversifying the deluxe range with ranger/vehicle sets as well as more familiar monsters. And as far as iconic Power Rangers monsters go, a Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Pudgy Pig was inevitable. This figure was initially available in a special Hasbro PulseCon set before being made available at general retail, the latter of which is what is reviewed below.

Whereas the PulseCon exclusive version of Lightning Collection Pudgy Pig comes in lavish, lunchbox-style packaging that'll take you on a nostalgia trip back to your childhood, the standard edition comes in the regular Lightning Collection packaging that we're all familiar with. Due to the figure's size the box is considerably larger than normal (and thick even for a deluxe release), but sports the usual white colour scheme with red accents and artwork from Tom Whalen. Whalen's artwork has been a staple of the line since day one, but with the line now moving toward plastic-free packaging we're about to lose it so savour it while you can. The back of the box features the usual CGI render of the toy, which looks largely the same as the end product save for the weapons being the same silver colouring as the helmet. Inside Pudgy Pig and his accessories are neatly spread out on a moulded plastic tray, tied down with a number of ties for extra security. Note that the crest of the helmet is packaged separate from the main figure and needs attaching.

Credit where its due, when Hasbro tell you that something is a deluxe figure they certainly mean that when it comes to plastic content, as the Pudgy Pig exactly what his name suggest – a pudgy ball of a solid plastic. Once again it might be a little too big in terms of scaling with the standard figures, but when it's a less humanoid body like this it doesn't look quite as noticeable. The sculpt work on the figure is great, with lots of wrinkle detailing over the body to give it a suitably pig-flesh look. There isn't a whole lot of paintwork, but what the figure does have (the eyes, nostrils, tusks and hooves) is nicely applied. Little details like the soft(er) plastic ears and tiny tail poking out of the bottom haven't gone unnoticed either.

As you can probably tell just from looking at it the Pudgy Pig suit wasn't designed for a great deal of moving around, so articulation and poseability isn't really one of its main selling points. Nevertheless the figure has some of the staples we've come to expect from Lightning Collection by now, including; 

- Hinged jaw 

- Butterfly shoulders 

- Swivel hinge shoulders, elbows, wrists and ankles 

- Ball jointed hips 

- Double hinged knees

- Thigh swivels 

So truth be told there's actually quite a bit of articulation packed into the arms and legs. The butterfly joint shoulders were a particularly pleasant surprise, giving the arms way more movement than you'd expect given that the design technically doesn't have "shoulders" as such. But the crowing glory here is definitely that hinged jaw, with the Pudgy Pig able to open up and (rather impressively) gobble up everything in sight. The teeth and tongue are nicely moulded to match the body sculpt, and with his mouth open the Pudgy Pig really looks like it means business. Meanwhile there's plenty of articulation in the legs, but it's no so much what's there that's the problem – it's how little you can really do with it. It doesn't take a genius to see that given the figure's bulbous shape that balancing can be a real problem, and those (comparatively) spindly legs don't offer a whole lot of support outside a few rather vanilla poses. It's just as well this is a figure where the sculpt can do most of the talking, because opening wide and arms flailing is about all it has for posing.

Accessories for the standard release of the figure include two alternate hands (a right fist and open left hand), oversized knife and fork weapon pieces and a translucent green lightning effect part which can be used on either of the weapons. Unlike the weapons that appear on the back of the box these are unpainted grey plastic rather than silver like the helmet, which is a shame because some point would detract from how minimally detailed they are. Honestly it's surprising they've been included at all really, given that they only appeared in Pudgy Pig's initial creation and then weren't seen again in any of the Zyuranger footage Power Rangers used. Both weapons fit into the hands, but the right hand's grip is a little loose while the left's is a little tight. The lightning effect is serviceable but unremarkable given how many of these the line has churned out by now.

The PulseCon version of the figure also comes with some miniature food pieces that can be swallowed up by the monster, and honestly I'd have preferred those over the knife and fork. I get wanting to make the PulseCon version more desirable (especially with how quickly after the standard version was released), but food pieces are far more identifiable with the Pudgy Pig than the weapons are. Then again, there are plenty of similarly scaled food pieces on the market that would do the job just as well.

After paying full price for both first wave deluxe monsters I swore to myself I'd treat any future releases with more caution, particularly since the price tag of this figures has only gone up since then. But with the Pudgy Pig being as iconic as he is, there was no way I could say no to the Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Pudgy Pig. Honestly my opinion of the deluxe monsters hasn't really changed in that their still overpriced and a little on the large side, and the Pudgy Pig design definitely has some issues when it comes to making an articulated/poseable figure. Had I paid full price for this I'd definitely feel short-changed, but once again these figures are quickly hitting discount and I managed to snag it for just under a third of the price. And for that, it's actually rather fun. Sure the accessories are bit dull and it's limited when it comes to posing, but that articulated mouth really gives the figure a (pun intended) bite. Of course it's nothing my old 1994 figure couldn't do, and while that was certainly less detailed and articulated the gimmick made it a lot more memorable.