Tis time to vanquish thy foes and to help you do so is none other than the Power Rangers Dino Charge Gold Ranger himself, Sir Ivan! In celebration of the premiere of the Gold Ranger this past weekend, we’ve uploaded our gallery (and review) of this awesome 5″ figure straight out of the main line of Power Rangers Dino Charge!
Check out over 30 images of this figure by clicking here! What do you think? Is this a must-buy for you? Join in the gallery discussion and share your thoughts! Go Go Power Rangers!
Tis morphin' time!
After 800 years of darkness, the Knight of Zandar Sir Ivan, has been released from his imprisonment inside the villainous Fury! With his freedom restored he becomes the Dino Charge Gold Ranger, using the power of the Gold Energem and from the Ptera Zord to vanquish his foes.
This 5" figure is the first major retail release of the character, aside from a vinyl figure in Japan. You can find the Kyoryu Gold S.H. Figuart figure on the aftermarket, but it was not available as a retail release, and instead was a web exclusive.
Right off the bat it should be noted that this figure is going to have the same quality issues you find in the other 5" figures from the Power Rangers Dino Charge line, because with the exception of a retooled head and chest, it is the same figure you've already purchased with the core four male Ranger figures. So ignoring those, we're going to focus particularly on this figure and what it brings to the table.
The Figure
First and foremost, Bandai America knocked it out of the park when they did the head sculpting. It looks incredible and the paint detail is outstanding. The metallic blue details on the helmet as well as remembering to add the red eyes are incredible.
The paint on the chest is also top notch. Obviously, there's no paint on the back but on this figure you don't really notice it. But the colors picked create a bright and glorious looking figure in the package and even more so when you put the lights on it to take pictures. It just pops - and that's awesome.
The Accessories
The Ptera Sword is very detailed and nice looking. Obviously, it isn't painted. But it still looks incredibly sculpted as most of the Bandai America accessories do. Again, it's just the lack of painting that ruins what was otherwise a glorious looking weapon. The Ptera Morpher on his wrist is also unpainted, and comes in what I'm calling the "800 years of rust" colors (kind of like when he first calls for it in the show!). Obviously, the morpher is supposed to be blue and silver, but this is more of a rust-brown. Either way, it has great detail to it. Just more paint please! Or any paint, really.
So let's break it down in bullet points, because bullet points are fun.
The Good!
The Bad!
Overall
I really love this figure. I know a lot of people like to crap all over the Bandai America releases but for $7.99 (or $9.99) you're getting a great representation of the figure. The dark days of poor toy releases are behind us because they're upping the quality each year. Obviously, this isn't a S.H. Figuart. And if you can manage to find yourself the Kyoryu Gold S.H. Figuart figure for a price that doesn't cost you part of your mortgage, go for it. But if you can't, this is an incredibly price efficient alternative. If you're on the fence, then hopefully this will push you over the side to go and grab this guy!
Small nitpick about the box. They have the years wrong. It says 900, when the story is actually 800.
I'm not one to usually be that nitpicky, but this is something I just happened to notice.
My only gripe with the figure is that the accessories should have been blue. I absolutely LOVE this figure, I know people say "it not figuart, it bad" but really it is meant as something for both kids and collectors. Also I personally don't think figuarts are that great.
For the kids or collectors who want fun toys instead of high-grade items the gimmick/main-line toys are always the best choice, because they offer the best playability.
I have some gimmick figures and aside from the sub-par paint and sculpting these guys are awesome. Articulation is also really good, at least on the Japanese ones.
The exact same things that make Figuarts great, intricate joints, shiney and even paint, small painted details, finely sculpted points and extremities, are all the first things that would go in the hands of a child. Hell, I'm a disgusting adult and I've had Figuarts break and damage on the thin details like helmet crests and horns.
Figuarts are far and away superior in terms of gimmicks, looks, articulation, etc, but not in child-friendly durability, but that's the only thing they don't excel at. I think it's an exaggeration to say Figuarts "aren't that great" especially in comparrison to a figure like this, and probably about as close to objectively wrong as you can get when making biased comparrisons. But this figure was designed for a child to play with, and it's better at that than a Figuart. Just imagine a Figuart in a sandbox. Imagine it and cry on behalf of it's designers. Figuarts are great fun to an adult who can appreciate the craft and design, and maybe great fun for a rowdy child... for the three seconds until they're smashed. (Unless the child's like really advanced and has understanding of higher-end collectibles and their value)
My end result is stating that if you're a casual fan or you're on the fence on whether or not to pick this figure up, it's a great substitute if you can't afford the Figuart. It will never match the detail on the accessories or the posability of a Figuart, but it still does a great job for what it is.
And I would be lying if I said in terms of looks AC Gaim is better than Figuarts Gaim.
After seeing him in the show. I will get this.
Keep reading: Power Rangers Dino Charge 5" Gold Ranger Gallery - Page 2
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