Power Rangers Legacy Thunder Megazord Gallery

Let's show him the power of thunder!

Easily the most anticipated release yet in the Legacy line from Bandai America, the Legacy Thunder Megazord first premiered at San Diego Comic Con 2015 to the awe of thousands of fans across the world. We were FINALLY getting the one item that so many fans had begged for, hoped for, and probably even prayed for.

So roughly 8 months after its debut, the Legacy Thunder Megazord is now available on store shelves at Toys'R'Us (well, for the most part). The price tag is massive - a whopping $200 - and for many people it's been a major turn off to a trend of what seems like over-priced Legacy items.

So how does the Legacy Thunder Megazord stack up? Let's take a look!

NOTE: For this gallery and review, we did NOT include images of the Legacy Tigerzord. That review is scheduled at a later date to showcase its compatibility with the Legacy Thunder Megazord.

The Box
Not shown in our gallery is the box because, well, it's everywhere. And the thing is big - not Legacy Titanus big, but still big! There's plenty of gold chrome on "LEGACY" and the Thunder Megazord is center stage. Opening up the box reveals multiple pieces that will eventually become zords and, of course, the Legacy Thunder Megazord.

The Four Smaller Zords & Sled
This release comes with the accessory to make the "attack sled" or "attack sleigh", depending on what you want to call it. This was featured a few times on the actual Mighty Morphin Power Rangers show and you can re-create the magic (for the most part) with these!

The Lion Thunderzord is, in my opinion, the most impressive of the bunch. The only downside to it is that it doesn't want to stick together very much. Looking at it wrong can cause it to fall apart on you. These pieces also feature the most diecast metal on the release, meaning it's a heavy Lion Thunderzord. The head of the Thunder Megazord is actually the tail of the Lion Thunderzord.

Also of note - they kept the green in the Lion Thunderzord for the Legacy line, while in the original release it was more "black".

The Griffin and Unicron Thunderzords are nearly identical in terms of what they do - they share the same articulation (moving the head back and forth), and serve the same purpose (becoming legs). However, everything here is painted on - no stickers - which allows it to be easily photographed and pops so much more than stickers do.

The Firebird Thunderzord is also a favorite of mine - articulated wings! A foreshadow of the Legacy Falconzord, the Firebird Thunderzord manages to be quite impressive but also quite fragile - sneezing may cause the wings to fall apart on you.

Finally - the Red Dragon Thunderzord, easily the most anticipated part of the entire release. Featuring an articulated neck and tail using the same type of joint system found in the Legacy Dragonzord's tail and the Legacy Titanus neck, this allows you (albeit not much) to pose your Red Dragon Thunderzord's neck and tail, allowing you to twist and turn it, so it looks much more like the mythological Chinese dragon that it's based upon.

The robot mode is pretty spectacular as well - featuring some extra articulation by moving the arms around a bit.

The transformation from Red Dragon to Robot is pretty simplistic but also more complicated than you think - I actually had to read the instructions to get it right so I didn't break anything.

The Legacy Thunder Megazord

Wow. This thing is MASSIVE and it LOOKS INCREDIBLE! There's, as expected, very limited posability (move the arms up and down, hooray!), however you do get some unexpected head-turning capabilities. Score. The thing is HEAVY as well - which causes the dreaded and well-documented Legacy Lean effect - where your figure ends up leaning forward when standing upright. This can be fixed by trying to anticipate the lead by trying to snap the figure's stance back just a bit with the legs, although you might end up with a Legacy Backward Lean, which would be just as bad.

The Accessories

A lot of people are complaining about the sword - however I love it! I didn't expect them to make the sword diecast metal, but I guess some people did, but the chroming effect does the necessary bit of making the sword LOOK metallic without being metallic.

The holster for the sword is the real magic - there's so much fine-detailed sculpting on it and the gold chain that it comes with for you to attach adds even more "omfg yes!" feelings when you put the whole thing together.

The staff that the Red Dragon Thunderzord utilizes can obviously be used by the Legacy Thunder Megazord, along with the tail of the Firebird Thunderzord, so you get a halberd type of weapon. The detailing on the fin of the Firebird is also very well done and isn't the dreaded "soft plastic" you see in the regular toy line's 5" figures. It's still semi-soft though.

The Good!

• This thing looks INCREDIBLE!!!!!
• Red Dragon Thunderzord steals the release for how cool it is with what it can do and the added dragon articulation
• The detail is out of this world
• It was worth the wait

The Bad!

• Legacy Lean is in full effect for a lot of people
• The shoulders of the Megazord mode can fall off if you move it too quickly, as they are not held in place very well
• The price tag ... this is a solid $149.99 item, and $200 feels like you're paying for nostalgia
• It's large ... to the point that, when you combine it with the Tigerzord (not shown), it doesn't look right

The Overall Conclusion
I absolutely love this thing. The price tag is a little off-putting, but the overall end result makes me feel like I didn't over-pay, I just paid for a high-end collectible that delivers everything I wanted - updated versions of classic toys with enough added bonuses to make it feel like this is a NEW toy and not just a re-done version of an OLD toy. Where some companies focus on making an all new toy that kind of looks like the original, Bandai America is focusing on making a show-accurate toy with the functionality of the original. And somehow sneak in Zord Builder ports because Marketing.

If you're a fan of the Legacy line, you have to buy this. I'd say wait until it went on sale but there's a good chance you won't find it at the regular price OR at the discounted price. If you're able to cheat and get this thing for less than $200, please do so, but the end game here is to pick this thing up.

The Legacy line is by no means equivalent to the Masterpiece line by Hasbro and Takaratomy - but this release makes it pretty damn close. Kudos Bandai America!

More pictures!

And a few more pictures!

Man, I so so want this, but that price tag is terrifying to think of...
I think it looks great, despite the constant shit talking everyone does on it

This really isn't for me, but it sure does look good.

I love this figure. I just wish it didn't lean. I managed to tighten the dragon legs a bit, but it only slightly fixes it.

Despite that, I have no complaints.

BTW, you placed the dragon's hind legs incorrectly.

This looks great. Not surprised the lean is in full effect, but I can forgive that just because it looks so amazing. Still, I'm just not willing to pay full price for it. I'll hope for a sale, but if that never happens or it just becomes impossible to find I can live without it.

Really glad they were able to make the zord builder crap so unobtrusive in this one.

Absolutely beautiful figure, even if it does have its flaws. Looking forward to when they, hopefully, eventually get to the Zeo and Super Zeo Megazords, those have always been a favorite. The Ninja Zords will be cool too.

I love how the transformation is an accurate representation of the Thunder Megazord. It's not held back by "Zord Builder" gimmick. The Tigerzord on the other hand......

To have him stand up straight, I hold him so he's straight, then I push the silver leg coverings (the pieces you have to remove for the Tiger Megazord) back as far as possible. It seems to work.

How can I tell which version mine is? Mine doesn't lean, but I don't think it's the fixed version.