Power Rangers Lightning Collection Beast Morphers Gold Ranger Gallery

"The mantis DNA worked! I'm a ranger!"

As a child prodigy, it was a no brainer that Nate Silva would join Grid Battleforce. Discovering a way to access the Morphin Grid and harness it's very essence as Morph-X energy, Nate would go on to create a new generation of Power Rangers! But with the emergence of the viral villain Evox and his deadly avatars & Tronic soldiers, the world would need more than 3 Power Rangers. Abducted by Blaze & Roxy, Nate hatched an escape plan with some Morph-X and Mantis DNA. Now Nate, as the Beast Morphers Gold Ranger with his partner Steel the Silver Ranger, protects the real world from the digital armies of Evox!

Packaging
In creating this line, Hasbro was keen to make sure they appealed to collectors and fans of the franchise from throughout it's various eras. Given the aim to make this appeal to an older crowd, the packaging seems to have taken a page out of the Star Wars Black Series book. In similar collector style boxes, the Lightning collection figure's look a bit brighter thanks to a primarily white color scheme. But they also really pop thanks in no small part to some wonderful box art, lovingly crafted by artist Tom Whalen aka @strongstufftom on twitter. His artwork is breathtaking, and makes these figure's feel like just a bit more of a passion project from the folks at Hasbro. The artwork takes up a majority of the packaging, while the back of the box is relegated to a single stock photo of the figure. But that's not what we're here for anyway.

Main Figure
Things really have moved along pretty swiftly with this line. It was only a few months back that the first wave of Lightning Collection figures had even made it to retail. Now, we've had two full retail waves release, had a retail and con exclusive two-pack, and had several more store exclusive releases revealed. Today I finally had the chance to crack open and review one of the first figures from Wave 2. The Beast Morphers Gold Ranger! Of course this is a Power Rangers collector's line, but undoubtedly there may be a good number of people (like myself) who have been craving a figure of this design for years as Beet Buster. Whatever your collecting or franchise preference may be, we can all agree that this toyline has catered to us all, and this figure is a prime example of that.

The Gold Ranger is another new mold for the line, and we've already had quite a few unique molds already. This is probably one of the most interesting and well sculpted thus far in my opinion. Beast Morphers Gold has a pretty unique armored up design inherited from his Japanese counterpart and shared with their partner characters. The mechanical/armored look is something that works very well with this line, like with the simultaneously released Magna Defender. Gold's robotic style armor adds extra bulk to this figure making him look noticeably more imposing than others in the line. Paint details may obviously vary from figure to figure, but I'm really satisfied with the gold applications on mine, particularly on the legs. The legs themselves function in the same basic pattern as the rest of the line with minor caveats. For ankles, BM Gold has the same clicking and rocking joints we're used to, but thanks to his unique boot design you may lose a small bit of movement both forward and back. The ratchets on the ankles are also just a bit tighter so be sure to apply the right amount of force.

Like most of the rest of the line, BM Gold also has rotating boots below the knee joint giving him some bonus articulation. The knees themselves function more or less exactly like other releases in the line like Dragon Shield Red or Zeo Gold, even if the extra thigh armor bulk maybe shaves a few degrees off. I appreciate that the thigh armor is attached and not a loose fitting cuff around the legs, though some sliding mechanism would have been welcome. They can impact the waist joint a bit when posing. There is of course no side to side waist joint so you may miss that, but I find that the way the rest of the torso is articulated manages to make up for this. As with the rest of the line the ab crunch is solid and strong, and the ball jointed upper body flows very smoothly. Hasbro also didn't skimp on the paint job for these parts, with the gold paint stretching across the seen usable portion of the joints and extending below the belt. The whole torso has this great sort of ruffled fabric look to it that I love, adding an extra dimension of realism to these figures.

Around the Gold Ranger's chest is a gray shoulder strap harness features a molded in Transporter. Surprisingly this harness is made of a soft rubbery plastic and is entirely removable. You can slide it down off the arms and throw it on another figure if you so choose. Speaking of, the arms are of course more of the same that we've come to expect from the line. Solidly designed and constructed, they provide a really great range of expression for Gold and are totally uninhibited by the harness he wears. The hand pegs feel a little tighter on this release but still function just the same. And that beings us to the Gold Ranger's helmet which is done quite nicely. Some paint imperfections aside, it's a really great approximation of the show prop and thanks to it's ball joint can move in all the right directions. Perhaps the only drawback is the cuff around the back of the helmet which can impact the figure's back/shoulders.

Honestly this is an all around very solid figure. I've been really impressed by the entire line thus far. I know people have their qualms about some QC and design choices, I do too. But at the $20 price point of this line, I can look past some of that. It's still leaps and bounds better than what we had before. Can you imagine if Bandai America had taken a crack at this design? "Beast Morphers Cheese Ranger" doesn't have the same ring to it you know? As an avid fan of Go-Busters I'm beyond thrilled to finally own this figure. While Lightning Collection figures tend to be slightly larger than S.H. Figuarts, I'm happy to report that in this case, BM Gold is the near perfect Beet Buster you've been waiting 7 years for. He also scales wonderfully with the Hasbro 6" Basic Tronic & Blaze! And I also threw in a few pics with my Go-Busters DX Beet as I've yet to find the Beast Morphers equivalent at retail just yet. This figure fulfills alot of my hopes for this toyline already. If Hasbro can really keep up the pace and quality of this line and finally deliver on my dreams of Titanium and Phantom Rangers down the road, I'll be eternally grateful.

Accessories
The Beast Morphers Gold Ranger, like the rest of the line, comes with a treasure trove of great acccessories:

1 - Striker Morpher. Used by both the Gold & Silver Rangers, this US equivalent of Morphin Blaster is the perfect scale for this figure. Oddly enough the Figuarts Body-Kun I used it with for this gallery also has a gun holding hand that is literally the perfect size to wield it as well. My one gripe with it however, is that a rotating scope/visor was not implemented. Without that bit you do miss a bit of the Gold Ranger's Morphing sequence. And since it cant collapse into it's phones mode you do lose a bit more playability. But as a sidearm accessory is still works just fine.

1 - Striker Saber. Traditionally the steering wheel for both the Wrecker & Jet Zords, the LC figure includes it only in it's Sword Mode. Pretty decently detailed on one side, it a decent representation of the on screen weapon. Though I do feel like the blade could be slightly longer.

1 - Striker Effect Part. Primarily meant for use with the Striker Saber, like all the other effects in this line, it can be used pretty much however you wish.

2 - additional hands. BM Gold comes with open "holding hands" attached in box. The right hand for the Striker Morpher, the left for the Striker Sword. The alternate right hand is a standard closed fist, while the alternate left is a signature pose hand. The "beet horns hand" is a wonderful inclusion and one I totally didn't expect. Molded like a Spider-Man "thwip" it's the sort of trademark pose of Beet Buster actor Hiroya Matsumoto and has been carried over to his american counterpart.

1 - Nate Silva Civilian head. Another hallmark of this line has been the inclusion of civilian heads. Even going so far as to include one with Shadow Ranger. In this case we get a Nate Silve civilian identity head modeled after actor Abraham Rodriguez. I really appreciate the inclusion of accessories like this and I'm really happy to see this actor get the chance to shine in toy form. A small number of pretty hateful fans were incredibly vocal about disliking him and saying some pretty nasty things earlier this year. This franchise is all about inclusion and positive power, and seeing Abraham become a Power Ranger was a wonderful moment. Being able to recreate his likeness this way is a welcome gift.

Like I said, BM Gold comes with practically everything you need. Now if Hasbro can just give us the Steel & Silver Ranger figures we want, it'll be the perfect display.

Final Thoughts
As my first experience with Wave 2, I'm beyond thrilled. A near decade long desire to have more Go-Busters has been fulfilled. But more than that, it's really fantastic to be excited by a Power Rangers toyline again. When Super Sentai Figuarts died I was massively disappointed. And whether Hasbro ever intended it or not, Lightning Collection has begun to carry that torch for many collectors myself included. The Beast Morphers Gold Ranger is an absolutely stellar addition to the line and I can't wait to have my Beast Morphers Red Ranger in hand later today! Keep an eye out for Wave 2 as it's hitting shelves now!

Part 2

Oh sweet, I was wondering if you were gonna get on these! He looks so, -so- good with the other Go-Busters. Stag Buster can't come soon enough with how much justice Hasbro is doing these figures!

... will admit though, I would have liked the visors to be shinier

Beyond thrilled with his scale. He fits with the Figuarts Go-Busters perfectly given Jin is older than the others. Just tall enough to look like the adult while not towering over the others. Can't wait to get him.

Weirdly, the civilian heads are one of the things keeping me from being tempted by these. I imagine they're awesome for Power Rangers fans, but since I'm not one, all I can think about when I see it is what paint/accessories we could've gotten instead for the cost of that head.

Aw fuck I actually want this. Though I don't like the orange on the packaging

Yeah, this guy looks good. Both as a suit, and the translation of that to figure. I always wondered if we'd ever get Beet and Stag Buster figuarts back in the day, and while that looks like it's never gonna happen, getting this guy (as well as, you know, things like Magna Defender and Shadow Ranger that Figuarts probably wouldn't do) is wonderful.

I'd complain that he might be a little overpriced over here, what with the UK standard being $20=£20, but it turns out $20=£16.75 or so... so I guess I might actually get him after all. After Shadow Ranger, though.

As the figure I was most looking forward too in this line so far, I am not dissapointed by what I see. Definitely going to order this as soon as possible.

Sentai fans whining, and I mean whining, about the Power Rangers toys coming with Power Rangers parts is already the most insufferable thing. Please stop. Please do not let this become a trend.

It's not exactly an unfair criticism, though -- especially since I've seen many PR fans say the same thing; that they would have preferred something instead of an alternate head. I personally appreciate the work that went into them, but they still feel too uncanny valley to me and I still would have much preferred an extra set of hands or maybe even another effect part.

This isn't complaining about getting, say, a Titanium Ranger or a Boom Comics-exclusive design in LC; or even a PR exclusive weapon or transformation device. It's just saying that they would have preferred something else to a head, and I don't think that's whining.