Power Rangers Dino Charge Dino Cycle & Blue Ranger Gallery – Toku Toy Box Entry!

Engage! Energize!

TokuNation's back with another in our series of complete, in depth, hi-res galleries for Power Rangers Dino Charge! Today we take a look at the mode of transportation for this years prehistoric heroes, the Dino Cycle complete with 5" Blue Ranger!

**Note - This cycle and figure are nearly identical to the previously release standard Dino Cycle with Red Ranger & Dino Cycle with Black Ranger. A Majority of this review will be exactly the same for this item. Word for word. Aside from a few new comments on packaging and paint apps.

Packaging
New to this year's line is this scale of vehicle, and with that comes some new packaging. This time around we get an open window box style for the Dino Cycle with Blue Ranger. Held in by just a few plastic straps it's not the most reliable or sturdy box but it gets the job done. The outer packaging is decked out with the usual stock photography and screen shots from the source footage, including a CG image of the Cycle in it's separated Deinonychus components. Though since this Cycle is a variety not seen in the show, an entirely toy exclusive coloration, the CG shot has been recolored to match the figure. Which is great.

Until you look at the back of the box and see the stock footage shot plastered across the back, showing Dino Charge/Kyoryu Blue riding a normal Dino Cycle/Deinochaser. They took the time to recolor the CG art on the front but not the image on the back? Why even bother to change one if not the other? It's a simple task as well. We're also given a quick look at how the cycle functions as well as several other figures in the line. There are two other simultaneously released versions of the Dino Cycle in slightly altered colors with other ranger figures included

Dino Cycle with Red Ranger
Dino Cycle with Black Ranger

These images also give us a good look at how the Dino Cycle is meant to interact with the Dino Charge Megazord and how the Megazord interacts with the yet to be released Zord Armors.

Dino Cycle
The main event of this review is of course the Dino Cycle itself. The first thing to know about this vehicle is that it's BOA's version of the Deinochaser from Zyuden Sentai Kyoryuger's toyline. A vehicle which itself is quite sought after for it's compatibility with 5" & 6" figure lines. Much of what can be said about the Dino Cycle is in part in comparison to the Deinochaser. But it should be stated first that this vehicle is a vast improvement over the last several years worth of generic repainted bikes. In quality and functionality it far exceeds the Cycles of the past several years.

As you can see the Dino Cycle opts out of having quite a few paint apps compared to Deinochaser, which isn't entirely odd for BOA releases. This color variation with Blue Ranger is also quite different though since it's an original color scheme. There's some excellent detail on this vehicle that could really be brought out with paint though, when you look at it side by side with Deinochaser it's apparent some important details were overlooked, such as the eyes on the front half of the bike being unpainted. But again you can handicap this one since it's a unique color scheme.

There are also significant physical differences between the two bikes. Gone is the Zyudenchi or Dino Charger gimmick from the original figure. Odd considering the Dino Charger gimmick is the central element of the Dino Charge toyline. This appears to be one of the few primary Zords or Zord like vehicles that has forgone it's inclusion. Aside from scaling the Cycle down a bit to compensate this lack of functionality it doesn't actually alter the physical look of it by much. Aside from this mostly all functionality in the figure has been lost. Where the original Deinochaser could separate into it's components at the Zyudenchi connection and then transform into proper dinosaurs, the Dino Cycle instead separates with no transformation at all at a Zord Builder connection. The silver half need only be flipped over to stand on the handlebars, the rear gray half does absolutely nothing. Sadly the two have just been far too simplified, the entire transformation gimmick has been removed meaning the look of both the combined and individual modes is compromised. As you can see in the comparisons it's a stark contrast.

Now that's not to say the Dino Cycle isn't without it's merits. As with the Deinochaser before it, it's actually scaled quite well with 5" & 6" figures. The ranger included with it is of course made to fit right onto it, but it accommodates S.H. Figuarts Kyoryugers quite well too! Though the Dino Cycle is a tad smaller overall it still works just fine with figures in this scale.

This figure also features a limited amount of Zord Builder compatibility. 2 female ports on the red half, & 1 each of male & female on the silver half. They're a bit hard to utilize though. While I don't have a Dino Charge Megazord I made due with the some other parts I had and had some fun, the female port on the back half of the cycle are particularly difficult to make use of.

Blue Ranger
Included with the Dino Cycle is a rather plain 5" Dino Charge Black Ranger. No one expects these type of figures to be extraordinary, even when compared to the mainline 5" figures. But this one is quite simple. Very few paint apps and severely limited articulation. It has the typical BOA bulkiness and muscles, but has only a few silver paint apps, and only basic articulation. So basic in fact the wrists cannot be rotated from the holding handlebars position. But the standard Dino Charge 5" figures should be much nicer than this one.

Final Thoughts
Rounding out the set of 3 initial Dino Cycles I have to say I'm both impressed and not. These vehicles are far better than just about any original vehicles created for Power Rangers at least since before the 2010 MMPR line. Power Rangers Dino Charge is on track to be a great toyline which I did not expect from Bandai of America. While it's clear to me personally that the Deinochaser released for Kyoryuger is a far better toy it's also become exceedingly rare & expensive. As a budget alternative the Dino Cycle is actually fairly nice. It retains at least the basic functionality of the real deal and makes for a great bike that's far and above better than what we've gotten used to.

As the final of the 3 Dino Cycle galleries I had a bit of fun with this one and took some extra shots I hadn't done with the others. Enjoy the images below and who knows, I may be back to review Zord Armors eventually if this shocking level of quality holds true for the rest of the line.

Myabe my least favorite of the color schemes, it still looks nice, and good combo.

And here I thought I would like it in this color scheme...maybe I was wrong...

I completely understand. At a glance it looks cool, but after looking at it a bit more it starts to look bland (color-wise).

I feel like it looks at least better than the red and gray one. That one just looks so cheap in person. Granted the muted colors on this one don't do it any big favors, but I like it more than the red one for sure.

And as expected the unholy zord builder abomination at the end. I shall call it the Dino Charge Jetdrill cycle!!!

I might get one of them

The bikes really don't seem that bad. A cheap alternative that looks decent with figuarts. Just wish they'd do all the colors....

This has to be my second favorite out of the 3 with yellow and black being my first. This one I like mostly because it has a nice, industrial feel. If they come out with a Deathryuger figure, I'd use this for him.

What I personally like is that the bikes for each ranger are colored differently, and this allows those who can paint a free reign over how to paint the plastic.
I love the packaging. The gallery is great.