Ranger Key Set Metal Hero Edition Gallery

Gokai Change!

Packaging
As with all Premium Bandai Ranger Key sets the Metal Hero Edition comes in a very familiar slipcase style box. A sleeve covers a standard 2-piece box with a foam insert tray, and each key is sealed in a small plastic bag. Aside from the Metal Hero emblems used on the outside of the packaging, not much has changed in regards to this box type.

Keys
Included in this set are representations of 10 of the iconic Metal Hero's who've headlined the franchise from 1983's Uchuu Keiji Gavan to 2012's Uchuu Keiji Gavan The Movie. Previously a Ranger Key Set inspired by the film Superhero Taisen Z was released which included 6 other central Metal Hero characters. With the release of this latest set, nearly every main Metal Hero will have seen release as a Ranger Key at this point.

The Ranger Key Metal Hero Edition set includes:

Gavan (Uchuu Keiji Gavan-1982)
Sharivan (Uchuu Keiji Sharivan-1983)
Shaider (Uchuu Keiji Shaider-1984)
Juspion (Kyoju Tokusou Juspion-1985)
Spielban (Jikuu Senshi Spielban-1986)
Metalder (Chojinki Metalder-1987)
Fire (Tokkei Winspector-1990)
Sol Braver (Tokkyu Shirei Solbrain-1991)
SWAT Sho (Blue SWAT-1994)
Gavan Type G (Uchuu Keiji Gavan The Movie-2012)

The gaps you see in this timeline are again mostly filled out by the previously released Superhero Taisen Z "Ranger Key Complete Edition" set. This included the Ranger Keys of Jiraya, Jiban, Draft Redder, Janperson, Blue Beet, & B-Fighter Kabuto. Now that set presented buyers with 2 options as it included both chrome painted and metallic painted keys of these heroes. A surprise at the time that no one expected. However this newest set opts to offer only one version of the keys done in nice metallic paint schemes. Since you just get one kind of key in this set with no chromes, if you decided to display your Metal Hero keys together, it's best to do so with the metallic painted ones. The chrome keys just don't fit in with this set. But 2 sets of stickers are included just in case you mess up the first application of them.

Each key is of course based on that same, tried & true, mostly generic Ranger Key body. The difference here is the lavishly intricate paint job that each key features. Sentai Ranger Keys are one thing, but traditionally Metal Heroes have had very complex mechanical "techy" designs to their costumes. So these involve quite a few more paint apps than the usual Ranger Key would. These paint apps are nice and crisp as well with very little overspray. Each key of course also features a brand new headsculpt! Again these are some pretty wild helmet designs compared to your average Ranger Key so they're all rather intricate and mostly well painted. The outlines on several visors could be done much better but overall these heads just look glorious, if just a tad bit oversized for their bodies. Several keys (Juspion, Fire, Sol Braver, SWAT Sho) feature soft rubber parts to more accurately replicate parts of their suits. Antennae, tubes, etc. While a nice touch these parts can be severely warped straight out of the box as mine were.

But hey these are Ranger Keys. If you've owned one you've essentially owned them all. At the end of the day these little figure all function just the same as the others. This premium set just includes a set of characters that I absolutely could not live without. Check out tons of closeups of each key as well as some side by side shots with figures matching these keys below. And a healthy does of the additional keys released in the previous set.

Final Thoughts
The only disappointing thing about this set? It doesn't truly complete all the lead Metal Heroes. Now obviously a majority of these shows featured multiple heroes and armored characters that could easily undergo the Key treatment. However even between these 2 sets what we still lack are Kabutack from B-Robo Kabutack and Robotack from Tetsuwan Tantei Robotack..... and one more. You see when the Taisen Z key set was released Toei also released an official Metal Hero timeline which stated the beginning and end point of the franchise. Included in that timeline was none other than Moero Robocon, a reboot of 1974's Ganbare Robocon. Moero Robocon indeed aired the year after Robotack, and similarly featured comical robots interacting with humans, and the lead Robocon even had a Super Mode of sorts like his predecessors. Toei hasn't really spoken much on the subject since but they apparently consider Robocon a Metal Hero by association. So that's yet another Ranger Key that doesn't exist either, yet.

If you told me 3 years ago there was not only 1 Metal Hero Ranger set coming soon, but that eventually another even larger set would be released as well, I would have laughed at you. But here we are in 2016 with a group of 16 Metal Hero keys having seen release now. Anything is possible at this point. Will we see at least Kabutack & Robotack at some point? I think yes. Beyond that? Who knows! But it's more likely than ever. As Bandai exhausts Sentai Ranger Keys year in and out, Metal Heroes seem like the next gold mine. For now.

Post #2 contains:

- Ranger Keys Fire through Gavan Type G
- Group shots with other Metal Hero collectibles
- Group shots with previously released keys

Ranger Keys are like gold; it's great to have them and it's cool when new ones come out, but darn if collecting them gets silly at times.

All things considered this is still a nice set. Bummer about the last three Metal Heroes, but it's still a neato set.

VR TROOPERS RANGER KEYS!

Naturally the girl (Kaitlin) doesn't get one, but we get Keys of Ryan (Seasons 1 & 2) and JB.

Or ya know, it has nothing to do with that at all. Since these aren't "VR Troopers" anyway. These keys are the lead characters of Metal Hero seasons. No secondary metal hero has yet to be made in key form. They haven't even finished all of the lead/titular heroes yet. So of course there isn't a key of Dianna Lady AKA Kaitlin for a US fan. They haven't even done keys for Soldozer, Draft Keace, B-Fighter Kuwaga, Bikel, Water, etc etc. So no they didn't do her, but it has nothing to do with a female character not having a key made vs the male ones in the slightest. She's a secondary hero and none of them exist yet.

OK I can understand that, but since I still recognize them as their US counterparts (VR Troopers), I still like to refer to them as such.

Two things that really bother me about this set (not that I collect keys - but I do enjoy reviews about them and their colour charges):

1) Why are Juspion and Spielban considered Red Charge Keys? I mean between the five Space Metal Heroes, I've always considered Juspion as the White one and Spielban as the Black one; so why couldn't they have Special and Black Charges respectively?

2) Metalder... the problem here, at least for me, is the back sticker. Why couldn't he just have a half-blue and half-red sticker like Gokai Christmas and Go-On Wings?!

Other than that, everything else looks perfectly fine.

It is kind of annoying that the more premium these keys get, the less attention to detail Bandai is doing. They're trying to shoehorn these in to a now 5 year old toyline and the teeth and numbers don't match up.

Consistency and accuracy are the key for me, and while it's a shame we didn't get the metallic set, it wouldn't really fit in with the rest. I do think the premium keys should be DX keys. It kind of bugs me with the Dobutsu Sentai Go-Busters keys that the back sticker is the same as the regular Go-Busters team. Some of the super details make them stick out as well.