Toybox REVIEW: Power Rangers Lightning Collection SPD Omega Ranger & Uniforce Cycle

Release Date: August 2020

RRP: $29.99/£29.99

With how prominent motorcycles and other vehicles have been in the Power Rangers franchise, it was only a matter of time before Hasbro introduced them into the Lightning Collection. While for many shows these vehicles had more prominence as toys than they did in the series itself, instalments like Power Rangers SPD (as well as its Super Sentai counterpart Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger) featured them quite heavily on-screen too. After all, this was the series where even it’s main villain rode around on a motorcycle. With that in mind, what better place to start than with the Lightning Collection SPD Omega Ranger and Uniforce Cycle set? Arriving to the year 2025 from further in the future to assist Space Patrol Delta’s B Squad Rangers, Sam joins the team as it’s sixth main team member. This set was released exclusively through Amazon.

Toybox REVIEW: Power Rangers Lightning Collection SPD Shadow Ranger

Release Date: April 2019 

RRP: £20/$20 

Collector-orientated Power Rangers figures have been something of a sore point for some time now. Over in Japan Tamashii Nations' S.H. Figuarts range died a much-talked about death, and even when Bandai of America stepped up to the plate it was the same kind of disproportioned, minimally painted figures they offered in their standard ranges. But with Hasbro's surprised purchase of the franchise from Saban came hope, and now that hope has materialised in the form of the Power Rangers Lightning Collection! This 6" collectors' line is cut from the same stock as Hasbro's Marvel Legends and Star Wars Black Series figures, and will offer a range of characters from across the franchise's long and illustrious history. Among this first wave of figures are the Mighty Morphin White Ranger, Dino Charge Red Ranger, Lord Zedd and the subject of this review – the SPD Shadow Ranger. As a long demanded figure, especially in the wake of Tamashii Nations completing the core Power Rangers SPD (Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger) team in the S.H. Figuarts line, the inclusion of Shadow Ranger was a sign that Hasbro planned to kick this line off with a bang.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Deka Pink

"Five! And with immediate speed, exterminate them!"

Finally we come to the last of the core five Dekaranger reviews, but hopefully one day we might see a Deka Break and Deka Master (maybe even Deka Swan? Please Bandai?) joining them. The fifth and final member of the S.H. Figuarts Dekaranger team is none other than Deka Pink, aka Koume "Umeko" Kodou. Deka Pink was released alongside Deka Yellow as a Tamashii Web Exclusive back at the end of May.

Much like my thoughts over in the Deka Yellow review, there's something about Pink that really makes the details of the box stand out. The hot shade of pink works really well against the black spines and gunmetal grey/silver backdrop, with all the writing bold and clear. Like her teammate the back of the box only makes reference to a handful of accessories, but there are plenty more waiting inside to be opened up and messed about with.

As another female Deka Pink shares the same body type as Yellow, both lacking the skirt accessory you see on most female Sentai members. The absence of the skirt does make some poses come across as more masculine than you might expect, but the shorter stature and build make sure it retains a good level of femininity. Deka Pink also serves as further proof that the female body type is noticeably better than the male when it comes to this team, with the joints nice and tight. The often-tricky shoulders of these figures are the perfect balance of not too tight that you fear you'll break the arm moving it, and not so loose that the separate piece just rattles all over the place.

Finally just look at the colours. That hot pink is perfection contrasting against the white and black segments of the uniform.

Umeko shares an identical accessory count (save for one minor thing) to Jasmine, so if you've bought them together you won't be seeing a whole lot of variety between the two (not that there's much variety between the Dekarangers' equipment anyway). Included are 12 swappable hands, an SP License, D-Shot, D-Knuckle, D-Stick (in folded and extended forms), SP Shooter and finally a pair of D-Wappers. The bomb holding hand included with Deka Yellow is also present among the selection.

So what's the one differing accessory from Deka Yellow? Naturally it's something that doesn't even belong to the character! Much like how Deka Yellow came with Blue's "2" gesture for the roll call, Pink comes with the "3" hand for Deka Green. Why the original figures didn't come with these instead of EXACTLY the same hands as Deka Red is anyone's guess, but at least Bandai have put that option out there for those displaying all five members together. (Note: I'm an idiot and didn't use the "3" hand in my picture below, the proper one does it with three fingers and not a thumb)

Once again the License holding hand isn't included, so you'll have to borrow one from the guys if you want Umeko in the "judgement" pose. There's also no Murphy included, as Bandai take misleading promo pictures and Pink was never actually advertised to come with him. Maybe one day Bandai will provide fans with a robotic dog cannon? Only time will tell...

While admittedly I'm slightly biased in thinking that Deka Yellow is the best figure among the five Dekarangers, that's mainly due to both a character and colour preference. The truth is the Deka Pink is every bit as good a figure as Deka Yellow, and one that'll look great alone, with her four teammates or even in a "Girls in Trouble! Dekaranger" display with Yellow. With the way aftermarket prices seem to go on Sentai girls, if you plan to one day buy Deka Pink it might be worth investigating now in case prices shoot up in the near future.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Deka Yellow

"Four! Fighting malicious intergalactic evil!"

It's been quite a few months since the release of Deka Green back in December, but at the end of May Tamashii Nations pulled through and finally completed the core Dekaranger team in S.H. Figuarts form. Deka Yellow, aka Jasmine (or Marika Reimon if you prefer her almost never mentioned real name), was released alongside Deka Pink as Tamashii Web Exclusives, so if you're planning to pick her up be aware she'll fetch you more than the usual Figuart would.

I've described the layout of the Dekaranger-style packaging three times already on previous reviews, but I have to say there's something about it in yellow that really makes it stand out above the previous red, blue and green versions. The "4" admittedly does look a little on the squished side, but the yellow writing stands out brilliantly on the window of the box. The back sports the usual action pictures and list of contents, but interestingly doesn't have everything included in the box on show. Open it up and you'll see a few more bonus accessories sitting in the single plastic tray.

If you own or have handled the male Dekarangers before, the first thing you're going to notice is the considerably smaller build the Deka girls have. Not only is this reasonably accurate to how Deka Yellow appeared on the show itself, but helps convey the feminine nature of the character. After all, the Deka girls don't have skirts like most other female Sentai members, so the hints of femininity have to be hinted elsewhere. Not only are the little sculpting details are as sharp as they were on the previous TWE releases (poor old mass release Red), but the joints and articulation also feel so much tighter. You also won't have to worry about any of the holsters falling off, but they're as snug as they possibly could be.

So onto Jasmine's impressive array of accessories! Included with this release are a total of 12 different hands, SP License, D-Shot, D-Knuckle, D-Stick (Folded and extended), SP Shooter and a pair of D-Wappers. While the inclusion of the D-Wappers is an excellent touch, the SP Shooter is a very surprising addition given they were primarily used when the team were untransformed. Pretty good of Bandai to include something this figure (as it looks) rarely used. The hands are the usual array of things you'd expect, but the unique addition is one holding bombs between the fingertips. It looks great and perfect for any action poses you may have in mind.

That being said, there are two things not included with this release that I probably should mention. The first is the absence of an SP license holding hand, something that came with all three male Dekarangers. It's not a massive deal breaker as the male hands can quite easily be put on her if you want that pose so badly, but unfortunately it means if you had plans to display all five with licenses outstretched it's not going to happen.

Secondly there's Murphy, the robot dog who was seen in many early promotional pics with the girls. Many assumed this meant he'd be released between the two, but the Tamashii order page no reference to it and so these rumours were obviously false. I don't consider it a deal breaker by any stretch (after all, if he's been made there's always a chance he could come with someone else one day), but like I say it's probably worth mentioning.

However not all of Deka Yellow's accessories are for Deka Yellow! Much like how Gokai Pink came with a second wired sword for Gokai Yellow, Deka Yellow comes packaged with an alternate right hand for Deka Blue. This hand is the "2" gesture he makes during the roll call sequence in the show, which was strangely omitted from his release.

*License hand NOT included*

While Deka Yellow might not be your first choice if it came to buying a single Dekaranger (her status as a TWE suggests she's one for team completists, or Jasmine/Z/Sentai girls fans) but she's definitely worth considering. Although the build is much smaller than the male Dekarangers, she's of far better quality and pretty much a flawless release (no hindering skirt either!). The lack of a license holding hand is a little disappointing, but the trade off is a very impressive collection of accessories which are unique to both her and Deka Pink. By far the best Dekaranger figure so far, and worth picking up before those aftermarket prices go up.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Deka Green

"Three! For the future of scientific investigation!"

Hot on the heels of the Tamashii Web exclusive Deka Blue was S.H. Figuarts Deka Green, the third release from Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger. Like Blue, Deka Green is also a web exclusive leaving Red as the only mass release member of the team (unless Deka Break or Deka Master are potentially announced at some stage...but that's unlikely) and was originally released back in December 2012. Bandai's methods aren't ideal if you're someone planning to buy the whole team, but this is a much better option than not getting the figures at all.

Once again we have the standard Dekaranger packaging, only this time in green and sporting a "3" like the ranger inside. The green on the clear window is a brighter shade than the box itself, making the name of the character probably stand out the most on the whole thing. The box is standard Figuarts size, with just one plastic tray to house all of the components.

If you've been buying the Dekarangers as they come out (which is likely unless a particular exclusive one is your favourite), you'll probably be quite familiar with the body by now - only this time its in green! Much like Deka Blue the little silver SPD details seem that much sharper than the mass release Deka Red, and the weird shoulder style of Sentai Figuarts has clearly evolved from being a potentially scary break area. Sure you'll probably find yourself poking them around by hand in order to cover up the inner mechanics, but the fact they move so freely when posing the arms is a very fair trade off. The articulation is superb as usual, with  a fully poseable head, shoulders, waist, (swing-down) thighs, ankles, double jointed elbows/knees and a hinged toe area to top it all off.

Deka Green comes with three weapon holsters that can be plugged into the belt, all of which fit very firmly and don't move about even when getting the figure into the more dynamic poses it can pull off.

Deka Green features a wide number of accessories including 13 alternate hands, flip-open SP license, D-Knuckle and D-Rod (both folded and extended). Admittedly these are also the accessories included with Deka Blue, however this is accurate to the show as they did indeed use the same weaponry. The only unique accessory is the combined D-Knuckle and D-Rod, which forms the D-Blaster (as opposed to Blue, who comes with the D-Sniper).

Out of the three Dekarangers released so far, I have to say that Green is probably my favourite. There aren't any big differences between him and Deka Blue (other than the colour obviously) aside from the combined weapon piece, but Deka Green feels like a much tighter figure overall. He's easy to get into good poses, and the holsters stay securely locked into the belt even when you're handling the figure trying to get it into a good pose. It's status as a (rather rare at the moment) Tamashii Web exclusive may put a few people off, but if you can actually track one down they go for a quite reasonable price. Deka Green isn't a perfect figure since it's still the same mould as the other two, but rest assured if you're picking him up or planning to get the whole set you may find yourself pleasantly surprised with Deka number 3.

Toybox REVIEW: S.H. Figuarts Deka Blue

Even if you weren't a fan of the series, it can't be denied that Akibaranger's lifeline with Tamashii Nations has opened the doors for far more Super Sentai S.H. Figuarts then we may have gotten otherwise. While the releases haven't been particularly fast, fans are safe in the knowledge that they have the complete Dekaranger and Boukenger teams to look forward to (and maybe one day the remaining Jetman too). Following on from the mass release Deka Red is second in command of the Special Police Dekaranger - Deka Blue. Blue, much like his other three team mates (none other than the initial five have been confirmed thus far) are Tamashii Web exclusives.

In-keeping with the style begun with Deka Red, Deka Blue is packaged in a predominantly blue and black box featuring the SPD logo on the window and a bold black "2" to match the character's designation. The box is of standard Figuart width, as Blue does not feature any Akibaranger related accessories like his hot-headed teammate.

When I reviewed Deka Red I pointed out the simplified detailing of the SPD logos on the suit, however here they all seem much sharper. The fact the figure is predominantly blue also means detailing such as the lights on the helmet pop out at you more. While Deka Blue isn't the first example of this, he is further proof that the shoulder design for Super Sentai figures has been somewhat perfected, and the arms can be moved about freely without the feeling you're about the snap the arm off. Still no bicep swivel (although it would look strange if Blue had one and Red didn't) but what articulation that is there is considerably dynamic and more than enough to get him in a range of badass poses. That being said my Deka Blue does suffer from a few assembly problems. Straight out of packaging the next wasn't connected the right way around, making his head permanently at an angle until I went about fixing it. While this was easily done, what isn't is that his right angle has a more exposed joint, giving the illusion that one leg is longer than the other when the figure is standing straight.

Deka Blue's belt contains three sockets where his various holsters can be plugged in - one for the SP license at the back and then weapon ones at either side. This may be an issue that varies from figure to figure however mine (especially the license holster) just didn't want to stay plugged in and fell off if I so breathed on the figure.

As a man of the law Deka Blue comes armed with a considerable accessory account. As well as the obligatory selection of alternate hands (13 in total) and SP license, Blue's remaining weapons are completely different to the ones that came with Deka Red. Replacing the D-Magnums are a D-Knuckle, a D-Rod (in compacted and extended forms) and Hoji's personal combination of the two - the D-Sniper.

While Deka Blue does improve on a few areas that were lacking with Deka Red (such as overall presentation and paint application), the Dekaranger body itself still has its own little problems that prevent it from being a perfect figure. The fact that Deka Blue includes an almost entirely different accessory set sets him apart nicely and even as a Tamashii Web exclusive his price isn't too bad if you shop around. With Deka Green also currently released and Yellow and Pink to follow in May, now is a great time to snap up this team before the aftermarket prices inflate.