Release Date: June 2023
RRP: $24.99/£24.99
Wave 14 is the second in the Lightning Collection to feature Hasbro's brief foray into plastic-free packaging – something that was eventually dropped for certain lines but continued with Power Rangers until its end. As such Dino Thunder Black comes in a windowless box which features a very different design to the majority of Lightning Collection releases, mostly notably losing that signature artwork from Tom Whalen. Instead the box features a CG render of the figure front and centre, with new artwork of the Black Ranger in the top corner alongside the Power Rangers Lightning Collection logo. This artwork is also featured on the side of the box together with the Dino Thunder logo, and adopts a more realistic and detailed approach as opposed to Whalen's stylised art. The other side of the box features the Dino Thunder logo once more alongside the character name and Black's helmet, and the back that CG render is repeated alongside a further render at the top breaking down the box's contents. Inside the figure and accessories are both stored on a cardboard tray wrapped in Lightning Collection-branded tissue paper – one bag for the figure and the other for the accessories. Interestingly, in this packaging the figure is packaged with the civilian head attached to the figure rather than the helmet.
For the most part the Dino Thunder Rangers have been a nice little collection of figures, but there's always been something that holds them back from perfection – and that something is usually paint apps. For the White Ranger it was the whole debacle of the visor trim being unpainted (leading Hasbro to have to send out replacement heads), and then for the main team it was the less serious (but still confusing) issue of them each having slightly different paint apps instead of being uniform. The Dino Thunder Black Ranger doesn't appear to have any of the issues though, and on first glance looks exactly as it should. It probably helps that the majority of the figure is black and gold, with only a little bit of silver added for the belt buckle and then some metallic purple accents on the helmet. The morpher remains unpainted as it did on the other figures, but blends in well with the suit. No doubt it's a fantastic looking figure, but even this one isn't without its issues. It's hard to explain, but Dino Thunder Black feels of a lesser quality than previous releases in the Lighting Collection – the joints are looser, but even the plastic feels a bit lighter too. Previously I had never experienced this with any Lightning Collection figures before, so it made me wonder if anything had changed around the time Hasbro started using the plastic-free packaging for these figures (of which this is my first). Briefly speaking with other collectors, this does indeed seem to be the case. Whether it was a factory or materials change I'm not 100% sure, but something definitely feels slightly off about this release. Not so much that spoils the figure, but enough for anyone who's handled previous releases in the Lighting Collection to notice.
As the figure is using the standard Lightning Collection male body that's been used since the very beginning of the line there's nothing unique in the way of articulation, but the reason that body was used for so many years is because it has plenty to offer to begin with. Altogether Dino Thunder Black features; - Ball jointed head, torso and hips
- Single hinge neck and ab crunch
- Swivel hinge shoulders, wrists and ankles
- Butterfly joint shoulders
- Double hinge elbows and knees
- Bicep, thigh and boot swivels
The shoulder pads are made from softer plastic and connected via a small tab to the torso, which means they are quite comfortably able to bend out of the way of the arms when they are fully raised. It's simple, but surprisingly effective. Although everything else on paper is to the usual high standard of the Lightning Collection – nice double-jointed elbows/knees, great butterfly movement in the arms etc., that slightly cheaper feel the figure has does have a notable impact on the articulation. The joints here feel a lot looser than they do on most Lightning Collection releases, with the head, shoulders and hips the most notably affected areas. While the figure is still more than capable of holding a decent action pose, the right arm would just fall down every so often on my copy while the head just kind of rattles about on its ball joint. I don't quite know what went on with these last few waves of figures, but it's really disappointing to see when loose joints had never been a significant issue across the Lightning Collection before.
Dino Thunder Black's accessories include an alternate open right hand and closed fist left hand (complimenting his default matching pair of weapon-holding hands), Brachio Staff and a translucent orange spark/clash effect part that can be attached to the staff. While this is much less than comes with the main Dino Thunder trio, it does mean the Brachio Staff looks really good as a result. It might not have all of the paint apps that are on the full-scale prop, but it has more than enough gold to ensure that it looks good enough for a figure accessory. Unfortunately the tip of the staff is made from extremely soft plastic though, and may come bent inside the packaging (mine did). A little bit of heat treatment will straighten it out in no time, but it is something to keep in mind – especially as the effect part can be a little fiddly to plug onto it. Said effect part is from the usual range of Lightning Collection pieces so isn't especially remarkable, but does look rather nice in that deep orange colouring. Interestingly the hand selection isn't quite the same as what is advertised on the box – the CG render quite clearly has an open left hand (the parts breakdown on the back is however correct). While not a major issue by any stretch, an open left hand would have complimented the figure much better given Tommy is right-handed. But then, the Lightning Collection advertising something that isn't quite the same as you find inside the box is nothing new either.
Rounding off the accessories is of course an alternate Tommy Oliver head, debuting the short hair/bearded look he was rocking in Dino Thunder. Although the likeness to Jason David Frank looks far better on the box's CG render, the actual head itself is still pretty good – the features are a little softer and less defined but it's still very much recognisable as Tommy. Interestingly this head also fits far better on the neck joint – possibly because it's the default one attached in the packaging? It looks great on the figure, and a superb addition to the wide collection of Tommy Oliver heads (all sporting slightly different looks no less) available in the Lightning Collection.
As part of one of the last few waves of the line the Lightning Collection Dino Thunder Black Ranger is a fantastic character choice – not only finally rounding off the Dino Thunder team but also giving fans another beloved Tommy Oliver appearance. However as was the case with all of the other Dino Thunder figures, what should have been a near-perfect release is marred by easily avoidable issues. But in Black's case it isn't missing paint apps, it's the floppy joints and the sense that it just feels lesser quality than previous figures in the Lightning Collection. Still a recommended purchase if you can still find one for a good price (good luck), but its sad that quality control issues meant that the Lightning Collection didn't go out on the high it should have.
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