Release Date: April 2022
RRP: $24.99/£24.99
When it comes to both Power Rangers and Super Sentai toys, logic tends to dictate that if a company is going to only release one member of a team it's going to be the Red Ranger. They are largely considered to be the mascot of the series, and it's certainly the route Bandai Tamashii Nations have taken with the revived S.H. Figuarts range. But to their credit Hasbro have bucked this trend quite a few time with the Lightning Collection, only only jumping between teams but also colours as well. Wave 10 saw the debut of Power Rangers Wild Force in the line, kicking things off with the Lightning Collection Wild Force Lunar Wolf Ranger. If you're not starting with the Red, then sixth is always a solid place to start as well.
The Wild Force Lunar Wolf Ranger comes in the standard windowed packaging the Lightning Collection retained for most of its run, the white backdrop identifying it as a standard wave retail release. The blue accents and boxed off sections work particularly well with the white background and silver lighting bolts on the back to mirror the suit's colour scheme. Props to Hasbro for (correctly) going with "Wild Force Lunar Wolf Ranger" too, rather than a blander name like "Wild Force Silver Ranger". Next to the window showing off the figure inside is the usual gorgeous bust artwork, which stretches onto one side of the box and repeated on the other (where it is joined by the Power Rangers Wild Force series logo). On the back of the box you'll find a CG render image showing the figure off in an action pose with all its accessories, and then it can all be found neatly stored on a moulded plastic tray.
If there's one thing that the Lightning Collection will truly be remembered for among the Power Rangers fandom, it won't be being the "most accurate collection of figures ever" that Hasbro boasted it would be. Instead it will be for the ridiculous number of inaccuracies and QC errors the line suffered from, the latter of which only seemed to get worse as time went on. The Wild Force Lunar Wolf Ranger might hold the record for having the most number of variants, with Hasbro getting multiple things wrong on the suit before finally getting it right. Some copies have white boots instead of silver, while others have the incorrect number of gold stripes on the torso - presumably some will have both as well! Thankfully I managed to get a correct version, which is pretty lucky considering it was an online order so couldn't see the figure beforehand. So ignoring all the hoops you might have to jump through to get a screen-accurate version, the figure itself doesn't look too bad. Silver paint clearly wasn't in the budget so instead the figure predominantly uses silver (or rather very very light swirly grey) plastic, which doesn't quite capture the shine of the suit but does the job well enough on a $25 action figure. The dark blue compliments the silver areas quite nicely, and the gold paint used on the torso, belt and glove/boot cuffs gives a nice bit of shine to the release. The helmet is rather nice too, again lacking the shine that proper silver paint could have given it (and if the figure was going to use it anywhere, it should have been here), but the shape and sculpt is spot on.
Articulation is the same as what's been seen right across the Lightning Collection for the most part, altogether consisting of;
- 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
As I've noted with previous figures in the line, the swirly coloured plastic used particularly on Gold and Silver Rangers can be a little stiff at first, but after carefully working the joints there shouldn't be any major issues and the figure will be just as poseable as any other. Whether the joints themselves can stand the test of time is another question entirely, but for now at least there doesn't seem to be a problem. The Wild Force Rangers are a particularly good example of why good articulation is important for the line, as without it they wouldn't be able to get into all those great feral poses that were a big part of the show's iconography. What the figure has is more than enough to pull that off, and together with the overall design of the suit honestly it's been one of my favourite Lighting Collection Rangers to pose in a while.
The Lunar Wolf Ranger's accessories include a pair of alternate clawed hands (giving him a choice between clawed and weapon-holding hands altogether), the Lunar Cue in both Saber and Sniper modes and a translucent red effect part which can slot onto the tip of either weapon. Of all the hand variants the Wild Force Rangers could have come with clawed ones were undoubtedly the most important, so it's good to see Hasbro realised this as well. While the claws themselves aren't painted they are at least sculpted, giving them a visibly different look to other posed open hands to truly capture those iconic Wild Force poses. It's also nice to see the Lunar Cue represented in two of its different modes, but slightly disappointing that the Break Mode was omitted given that it's the most unique of the three. Sculpting is good on both accessories but the paint apps are fairly light, featuring just the blue and gold parts of the hilt/pommel. The bronze grip being missing isn't all that surprising, but it would be nice to get a bit more silver paint on a silver range. The included effect part is one of the regulars of the Lightning Collection, having appeared with multiple releases in a variety of colours. It isn't one of the best, but the tiny slot it has to plug into a weapon does work quite well with the thin Lunar Cue.
Rounding off the accessories is of course the alternate civilian head and to be honest, this isn't one of Hasbro's best offerings. In fact the more you look at it, the worse it gets really. Is there a vague likeness to actor Phillip Andrew? Yes, kind of. Is it a good one though? The face details look very soft and almost widened, giving poor Merrick a puffy caricature-like face. But while I was lucky enough to get a copy of the figure with an accurate suit, looks like I wasn't so lucky with the alternate head sculpt. Arguably one of Merrick's key facial features is his very prominent beard, which the QC on my figure decided to skip out entirely. Thankfully the beard is present on most copies of the figure, but it's yet another thing to look out for on a figure that already has enough variants out there. The blonde streaks in the hair are a little sloppy, but at least they're there - without the beard this sculpt looks HILARIOUSLY bad.
Overall the way I feel about the Lightning Collection Wild Force Lunar Wolf Ranger is the same way I felt about the Dino Thunder White Ranger. This is a figure that could (and should) have been among the best in the entire line, but Hasbro screwed it up enough that it sucks a lot of the enjoyment out of it. While the swirly silver plastic and mostly unpainted weapons aren't quite enough to convey how great this suit looks, they are minuscule complaints compared to the fact getting a screen-accurate version is down to careful toy hunting and/or luck of the draw. Missing paint apps here and there is to be expected on a toy line that has to meet a specific budget/price-point, but it isn't much to ask that Hasbro do the bare minimum and just get things right to begin with.
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