Shift into Turbo!
It’s time for another vintaqe ranger gallery! This time we’re taking a trip down memory lane with Power Rangers Turbo and the Turbo Shifter Phantom Ranger figure! Based on VRV Master from Gekisou Sentai Carranger, Phantom Ranger has a much more significant role than his original counterpart. An ally to both the Turbo and In Space rangers he quested across the galaxy to find Zordon, fought the Alliance of evil, and all the while provided the rangers with new zords! VRV Master was much more of a support type character and as such when the time came for Gokaiger’s 35th sentai anniversary season, he was not counted among the sentai teams nor even 6th rangers or extra heroes, and thus a ranger key was never made for him.
But we can change that! Saban’s Morphin Madness is still ongoing and while Phantom Ranger has made it to round 2, it’s up to you the fans to make sure he makes it all the way to the end! The 5 winning rangers of the Morphin Madness bracket will in fact be turned into limited edition Ranger Keys! This bracket would appear to be the ONLY chance for the Titanium Ranger & Phantom Ranger to ever make it into key form! So check out our full gallery of Turbo Shifter Phantom Ranger by clicking “Discuss on the TokuNation Forums” at the bottom of this post, then head over to Morphin Madness and cast your vote for Phantom Ranger!
I should also mention that once again, this vintage piece of Power Rangers history was provided by the awesome people at Ranger Stop! If you’re looking for vintage and collectible Power Rangers merchandise they are your #1 stop! Head over to their site and check out their selection, and don’t forget the upcoming 2nd Annual Ranger Stop Superhero Toy & Comic Con in Orlando FL, November 7th-9th!
Shift into Turbo!
It's time for another awesome vintage Power Rangers gallery thanks to great people at Ranger Stop! Check them out for your vintage Power Rangers needs!
Today's subject is the Turbo Shifter Phantom Ranger figure! And this one is actually pretty unique. The Phantom Ranger is of course the mysterious ally of the Turbo & later In Space Rangers. He provided each team with support and aid in battle, going so far as to provide new zords and the information necessary to obtain them. A huge part of his ranger activity involved him flying across the galaxy in search of Zordon as well. And ultimately he helped unite the allies of the Power Rangers in a final stand against the Alliance of Evil, personally fighting side by side with the Blue Senturion!
In contrast his Sentai counterpart VRV Master was more of a support character and has never been officially recognized by Toei as either a Ranger or Extra Hero. As such he's never received a BOJ toy release or ranger key. We'd like to change that today though! Please go take part in Saban's Moprhin Madness, there you can vote on past Power Rangers to see which the fans demand the most. The 5 winning rangers will be produced as a limited Ranger Key set! This is literally the only opportunity that Phantom Ranger and his other US buddy Titanium Ranger will EVER have at becoming ranger keys. Vote Tianium & Vote Phantom Ranger!
On to the figure
The Turbo Shifter Phantom Ranger is uniqe. As I said there are no BOJ figures of the VRV Master. This figure and the larger 8" Phantom Ranger as well as a reissue of the Turbo Shifter under the Power Rangers Heroes subline are the ONLY representations of this character. This figure should appeal to both Power Rangers & Sentai collectors for that reason.
This figure is of course a bit limited in articulation, after all it's from 1997. But it does have full range hips, swivel/hinge knees/shins, and swivel elbows/shoulders. The hands themselves can't move but are molded open with pegs to hold the included weapons the Auto Blaster & Turbo Navigator (Defender Mode). There's also the added Turbo Shifter feature. To use this pull back on the lever on Phantom's back and the two chest panels swing up to reveal a spinning turbine. It will spin as long as the lever continues to be pulled. When not in use the panels spring back into place on the chest.
There's also the odd extra gimmick of opening hip panels. They're open when the figure is in package but their use isn't cited on the packaging at all. They can be used as make shift gun holsters but even that doesn't work very well. Perhaps they only exist to help lend credibility to the character of Phantom Ranger being an android. Also included is an accessory quintessential of the 90's. A cardboard credit card sized Turbo License! Kids could fill these out with their name and address for fun.
Don't forget to check out conundrum's gallery of the classic 8" Phantom Ranger as well!
Check back in a few days for another vintage Power Rangers gallery, and please go show your support for the two greates US Exclusive rangers out there, Tintanium Ranger & Phantom Ranger, at Morphin Madness!
His head is to tiny
It's not a bad looking figure but there's just something off about the proportions.
If I had to choose, I'd probably stick with he 8" figure.
It's a pretty neat gallery, but yeah, the proportions on the figure are off to fit the gimmick. Ahhh the joys of 90's toy lines
Oh yeah the proportions are all kinds of 90's wonky. But sadly it's the only figure in an even close to appropriate scale to work with my figuarts collection.
Why exactly doesn't gokaiger acknowledge this guy as even an extra hero?
He was left out in much the same way that heroes like Birdman, X1 Mask, Demon Hunter Zeek, Gunmazin, and other heroes were left out. They were either deemed insignificant enough not to bother or simply weren't present.
Keep reading: Power Rangers Turbo Shifter Phantom Ranger Gallery - Page 2
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