Toybox REVIEW: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Ninja Pink Ranger (Kimberly Hart)

Release Date: January 2022

RRP: $26.99/£32.99

While Hasbro have for the most part made a point of stretching out completing teams in the Lightning Collection for as long as possible to ensure its longevity, sometimes they do throw Power Rangers fans a bone and finish them up in one fell swoop. One such example are the Ninja (or for Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie fans, Ninjetti) Rangers of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers season three, who all came as single pack releases within a few months of each other. In fact, Hasbro were so keen that they even released two versions of the Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Ninja Pink Ranger! While this review looks at the initial Kimberly Hart variant, a second based on second Pink Ranger Katherine Hillard was released shortly afterward on Hasbro Pulse.

A retail release despite not conforming to any established "wave" as such, the Mighty Morphin Ninja Pink Ranger comes in the standard white box adorned with StrongStuffTom's superb artwork. Going forwards the Lightning Collection packaging will not be using any of this artwork which is a huge shame, but it was definitely good while it lasted. On the back of the box you'll find the usual CGI render of the figure showing it off in an action pose (complete with included effect part), and then inside the figure (along with its numerous extra parts) is neatly stored on a moulded plastic tray.

An all-new pinless sculpt representing the rangers' new pre-morph form, Kimberly is the first of the female characters to be released in this form and rather impressively the mould doesn't appear to be all that different from its male counterpart. Sure it's a little shorter, but there isn't such a huge difference when it comes to mass or articulation (more on that further down) thanks to the baggy ninja uniform. The shade of pink is really vibrant and immediately makes the figure stand out, with the white belt and jewels offering a good contrast. There really is some excellent sculpting on this figure - while a lot of it may just seem like clothing folds and such elements like the moulded straps on the gloves and boots haven't gone unnoticed. As tends to be the case with the Lightning Collection though there's a few QC gripes, and given that many people received Ninja Rangers with missing parts I'm getting off lightly. With my copy it's simply a case of presentation, with a lot of the joints looking pretty rough with specks of mould flash covering them. Not all of the pink plastic matches up perfectly either, with the butt plate particularly standing out as a darker shade. It doesn't show up on a camera as well as it does in person, and while it doesn't spoil the figure it does feel like something that could have been avoided given the figure is only dealing with a handful of colours.

The Ninja Rangers are particularly special in that they all include two additional head sculpts, giving each figure a total of three display options. In addition to the fully masked head (which is how the Ninja Rangers appeared in the show) there is also a partially masked/hooded head and the usual fully uncovered civilian one (with the addition of a coloured headband). A larger, alternate neck covering has also been included for use with both heads. While in-show the partially masked head is largely just a middle step in the transformation sequence, its inclusion is a big deal because this is how the Ninjetti Rangers appear in the movie. It also helps that the Kimberly likeness on the heads are both very good, with the unmasked head showing a bit of personality but at the same time not going so overboard that it takes it into uncanny valley territory.

On paper the articulation for this figure is very good, and in some areas beyond what the line usually graces female figures. Altogether the Ninja Pink Ranger features; 

- Ball jointed head, neck and waist 

- Double hinge elbows and knees 

- Single hinge ab crunch 

- Swivel hinge shoulders, wrists and ankles 

- Butterfly joint shoulders 

- "Pull down" ball jointed hips 

- Bicep and thigh swivels 

Double hinged elbows on a female Lightning Collection figure? Say it isn't so! This is something Hasbro have begun implementing on their pinless joint figures, and it's been a long time coming. The Ninja Pink Ranger shows off just as much poseability as her male teammates, though there is some resistance coming from both the soft plastic vest piece and the "skirt" section hanging down under the belt. But a much bigger problem with this figure are the joint tolerances, which are sadly all over the place. The elbows and knees on my copy were unbelievably tight, while the hips were so tight that it genuinely felt like the legs could snap off when moving them. Implementing the same pull-down hips as the ones on the G.I. Joe Classified Series figures is amazing, but not when it makes the figure feel fragile as a result. On the other side of the spectrum, the neck joint is so loose that it's nearly impossible for me to pop the heads off my copy without pulling out the whole neck joint with it. Things like these might not outright ruin the figure (until it breaks that is), but it doesn't make them any less frustrating to deal with.

In addition to the alternate heads the figure also comes with two alternate hands (a knife-strike left hand and stance pose right hand) as well as a kick effect part. This effect part isn't completely identical to the one included with the Ninja White Ranger but works in exactly the same way, slotting on to either foot to create a sort of "swoosh" effect. It's made of a milky translucent white plastic which stands out well against the bold pink plastic of the figure, but much like Tommy's is a little unwieldy and doesn't have quite the same wide appeal as the usual effect parts. It's good for one-legged (admittedly not the easiest to pull off, but very effective with the ninja Rangers) and flying kick poses, but not really anything else outside of that. The alternate hands included are pretty good however, and together with the standard closed fists give Kim a good variety of options for proper ninja posing.

As I previously hinted at in the White Ranger review, the Mighty Morphin Ninja Rangers have the potential to be some of the best figures the Lightning Collection have put out. Between the great sculpts and alternate head selection Hasbro really went out on figures which admittedly aren't your standard Power Ranger suits. That said, the QC on these releases really makes them fall just short of perfect and the Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Ninja Pink Ranger is no exception. Between the slightly mismatching areas of pink and the loose/tight joints there are elements of frustration with this release that easily could have been avoided. It's still a very good figure (particularly for those looking for something in the line to represent Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie), but hopefully 2023 will be the year the line gets out of its current rut of bad QC.