Toybox REVIEW: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Putty Patrollers

Release Date: August 2020

RRP: $29.99/£29.99

While the Power Rangers Lightning Collection might be fairly lacking on the villain side right now, at least Hasbro are getting some of the more obvious ones out of the way quickly. And if “Monster of the Week” figures are off the table right now, there’s nothing like a good army builder to swell up those ranks - and what better army builder than the original Mighty Morphin Putty Patroller? While first released as a set with the Fighting Spirit Green Ranger, the Putties are now returning to the line as a Hasbro Pulse exclusive two-pack, giving collectors the chance to pick up two at a slightly discounted price.

The Putty Patroller set takes a slightly different approach to packaging that the rest of the Lightning Collection, forgoing the window style box for something much more environmentally friendly. And since the set is an online exclusive anyway, a window to see the figures themselves isn't really needed. Instead the front of the completely cardboard box is a nice big splash image of Tom Whalen's front-facing Putty Patroller artwork, repeated twice since there's of course two figures inside. Actual shots of the figures themselves have been relegated to the top corner, and these images are used once again on the back of their box. The shots look a lot more dynamic than the usual Hasbro renders we see on these boxes, and do a good job of showing off both the figures themselves and their accessories. The two spines feature more of Whalen's art - this time a sideward shot identical to the ones you'd see on the individual boxes. Does this perhaps mean that we'll get a single-boxed Putty somewhere down the line? Given the way the line seems to be recycling exclusives I certainly wouldn't discount it. One spine features a full size image that takes up the whole surface area of the spine, while the other has the same image slightly shrunken down so it can also fit the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers logo in. Inside, the figures and accessories are neatly stored on a moulded plastic tray.

The set contains two virtually identical Putties, with the only difference between them being the black patterning on their torsos and their respective arm weapons (which are removable parts anyway). Note that the torso patterns on these two Putties are both different to the one included with the Green Ranger set, meaning that there are currently three different Putty variants available. The Putty Patrollers have a really basic design with little sculpted detailing so there isn’t much Hasbro could have gotten wrong here, but the figures look fantastic nonetheless. Nice clean bodies with some sculpted fabric detailing, and then all the real detail packed into those grotesque head sculpted. A light black wash would have really made them pop, but even without it you can see all the lines and wrinkles that made those masks so monstrous. 

While the figures are primarily cast in light grey the arms and boots are a much darker shade, and in the case of the arms you have some great rocky detailing on them as well. Out of the package each of the Putties has their own unique arm weapon - one with a long blade and the other a wrecking ball. As well as showing some love to the Putties’ interchangeable weapons (something that’s very easy to forget they had), it’s nice that it gives the two figures a little more visual separation.

If you’ve ever wanted a good look at what the male Lightning Collection body is capable of when it comes to articulation, the Putty Patroller is a pretty excellent choice. Other than a couple of removals in the hands/wrists, this figure has all the joints we’ve come to expect from Hasbro at this point and no additional sculpting or shields to get in the way of it all. Altogether these figures feature:

- Ball jointed head and upper torso

- Swivel hinge neck, shoulders, hips and ankles

- Butterfly joint shoulders/pecs

- Hinged ab crunch

- Double hinged elbows and knees

- Bicep, forearm and thigh swivels

Basically you can get a lot out of these lumps of clay, making them perfect sparring partners for your Ranger figures. Even though these aren’t newly sculpted parts, they fit the build and physique of the Putties perfectly.

The Putties also come with a nice little selection of accessories, all of which are compatible with both figures since they’re identical other than deco. First up are two additional hands, which can replace the weapon hands on either Putty to give them a more balanced look. It’s worth noting that while standard Lightning Collection alternate hands connect at the wrist, the Putty hands connect via a mushroom peg just below the elbow. While this sadly means they don’t have wrist movement of the standard figures, their thick rocky hands don’t make it feel like that much of a loss. Of course, if you can have a Putty with two normal hands you can also have one with two weapon hands as well. All of these aforementioned pieces were also included with the Green Ranger/Putty set, but there are also two effect pieces exclusive to the set. The first is simply a recolour of the original release’s spark effect for the blade arm, changing the blue to a much more eye catching orange. The second piece is an all new effect, and arguably the best one with the Lightning Collection has ever produced. This is a blast effect that fits around the figure’s torso, simulating the effect that happens when a character is struck. This doesn’t just fit on the Putty either - it works with nearly all of the Lightning Collection figures, as well as figures from other toy lines as well. Given how difficult getting a convincing strike effect can be in toy photography, an effect part like this has so much potential. It’s so good that one just doesn’t feel like enough, and I really hope that Hasbro repackage it with a few more figures down the line as well.

With Putty Patrollers being the most obvious army builder in the whole of the Lightning Collection, Hasbro were wise to release them as a two-pack fairly early on into the line so that collectors wouldn’t be waiting to long to fill their ranks. But while it might have been an obvious release, the Lightning Collection Putty Patrollers set being one of the best releases so far was much less expected. $30 (or your equivalent currency) is great value for two Lightning Collection figures even if they are virtually identical, and on top of that the Putty is an excellent figure that really shows off what these figures’ base mould can do. Throw in all the accessories of the previous set AND the best effect part in the line so far, and you have yourself a set that’s really hard to find any fault in. Even the most resistant to army building will find themselves wanting more, and I can’t wait to see this figure crop up again in future releases - both in standard variety and the upgraded Zedd versions.