Power Rangers Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin White Ranger Gallery

"Tigerzord!"

The time has finally come! After years of hoping for a proper collector oriented Power Rangers line of figures, Hasbro has delivered. The first wave of Lighting Collection figures has begun hitting retail in the last few weeks, and so far, the consensus is very positive. Wave 1 consists of SPD Shadow Ranger, Dino Charge Red Ranger, Mighty Morphin White Ranger, and Lord Zedd. To kick off our look at wave 1, we're starting today with the White Ranger!

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 Wards 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. Also the cardboard insert for the White Ranger has a pretty sweet gold Power Rangers thunderbolt on it that you can use almost like a diorama if you so choose.

Main Figure
We're finally here. It's been a long time coming, and fan's hopes are quite high. But having most of the first wave of Lightning Collection figures in hand myself, it's safe to say, they won't be disappointed.

Straight out of the box, the Lightning Collection White Ranger has more personality and presence than literally any figure of the character Bandai America ever produced. No crazy roided muscles, no silly lanky proportions, just a solidly designed and executed figure. This figure features realistic proportions and sculpted details, it just looks like an actual person wearing a spandex suit, and that really is carried through to the sculpted details of the figure. But the articulation is undoubtedly what will sell many people on this figure above all other things. And it should because Hasbro nailed it with this one.

For starters the White Ranger features full rotating rocker ankles as well as a clicking swivel joint for them to go back and forth. It's a tight joint but the combination of the two provides so much range and stability for the figure. Above this is a shin swivel as well, just above the gold leg cuff, allowing you to rotate that portion of the leg 360 degrees. Then we get a double jointed knee which allows you to fully bend the leg back in on itself. This is already fantastic but we also get a 360 thigh swivel as well as full hips with back/forth and outward motion. Going backward you will impact the sculpted, um, butt plate? But it hardly kills the articulation. All of this articulation is executed in the same fashion as Hasbro's Marvel Legends & Star Wars Black lines. They've had years to perfect the way they articulate figures and their now standardized joint designs translate perfectly here too. As I mentioned above the figure features a ton of sculpted in fabric folds to give it some extra realism. The subtle way this is executed around the thighs, knees, etc is really quite something and just adds to the collector nature of this release.

The upper body is also very well done. While there's a large Tiger armor chest plate covering the upper body, it doesn't impact the ab joint at all. In fact the chest plate is made of a really welcome soft plastic that moves and folds as needed. Despite the soft material the chest plate has some greatly defined details and paint apps. And no this figure doesn't have the MMPR/Zyu chest diamonds under the shield as a number of Bandai figures did through the years. The ab crunch joint itself works about as well as any Marvel Legend or Star Wars Black type figure. It moves easily but locks in at each click securely. The arms are also in that Marvel/Star Wars family of design. Nice tight ratcheting and rotating shoulders? Check. Bicep swivel? Check. Double joint elbow? Certainly. And thanks to the exchangeable hand designs, we get full 360 wrists. The hands by the way are on a similar peg system to most Marvel Legends so they stay in securely but are quite easy swap out too.

Finally that brings us to the White Ranger's helmet. As with nearly all other Hasbro 6" scale figures, the head is on a ball joint with forward and back swivel. This gives it a full 360 spin and enough room to arch back and forth for almost anything. A standardized design that continues to work. While many figures they produce in this scale have different size ball joints they all work the same and many can be swapped back and forth. The helmet itself is executed perfectly. All the right details are sculpted and painted and the head is proportionate to the body as it should be. Allllll of this articulation and design choice adds up to one heck of a nice figure which pushes the limits of what can be done at the $20 price point. It makes the Lightning Collection White Ranger an incredibly dynamic display piece.

If you're interested in a size comparison to see just how well this figure will fit into your collection, I've provided several examples below. The obvious comparison people will seek is the S.H. Figuarts one. Older style Sentai figuarts, are quite small compared to Lightning Collection. As you can see compared to Tyranno Ranger (MMPR Red), the LC White Ranger stands about a head taller. Standing next to SHF Kiba Ranger, the difference is even more stark. That figure was intentionally slightly shorter because in Dairanger, Kou was a younger and shorter character. Although he gained some height when transformed he was still a bit smaller. So his Figuart was a bit smaller as well when compared to say Dragon Ranger or even Ryuu Ranger. And speaking of Ryuu Ranger, if you were looking for a cheaper alternative to the Kiba Ranger SHF to display with him, the LC is going to be a bit oversized. But it will still look pretty snazzy with him.

However, if you compare White Ranger to one of the tail end Sentai Figuarts like Akaranger, then you find it's quite on par. Sadly only a handful of Sentai figuarts came out in that size range before the line ended entirely, but for display purposes these LC figures will mix in perfectly. Likewise these figures appear to line up perfectly with modern Kamen Rider figuarts like Shinkocchou Seihou Wizard. They should mix quite well with Marvel Legends even, White Ranger stands almost evenly with a recent release like Endgame Captain America. In fact, you'll find some part swapping possible as I did my own little "Endgame White Ranger" for this shoot. And finally, I threw in an odd one with a Bandai Figurise SS4 Goku model kit, which is a bit taller, but again this figure really mixes quite well with most lines.

Truthfully, I wasn't originally inclined to give up my Sentai figuarts in favor of the Lightning Collection before handling the White Ranger. But I have come around to more of a "best of both worlds" approach to collecting LC's. I originally saw this line as a gap filler when it was announced. Particularly with a release like Shadow Ranger. I've needed a Dekamaster to go with my SHF Dekarangers for years. But with the White Ranger, I already had the Kiba Ranger Figuart, so what then? Well, the SHF is much smaller and doesn't really fit in the same way with other toylines or even later stage Sentai Figuarts. Certainly not modern Kamen Rider Ones at all. And for me I'm really all about synergy in my collecting. I want as much of my collection to be the same rough scale when and where it's possible.

So at this point I've swapped out the chest emblem on my Kiba Ranger SHF and stuck him back in my Akibaranger display, while I've put the LC White Ranger into on of my general sentai/ranger cabinets. And that works for me. I know plenty of people make the argument that comparing the $20 Lightning Collection figures to (in this case) Kiba Ranger which retailed for a mere 3675 yen way back when, is unfair. Which it kind of is, but I can see both sides of the argument. If you're looking to finally own a nice affordable domestic action figure of the White Ranger/Kiba Ranger design, then this is 100% for you . You will not be disappointed. If you like that S.H. Figuart you already have and don't want to replace it with something cheaper, or even compliment it in this case like I have, then I understand. But I'd encourage you to give this line a look. It's a quality toyline that's sure to produce far more of your favorite ranger suits in figure form than any other before it.

Accessories
One of the biggest issues collectors had over the years with Bandai America, was lack of accessories. Or in the case where accessories were included, they either weren't the right ones, weren't painted correctly (or at all!), or they simply weren't very good. Their attempt at a collector's line with the Legacy Collection 6.5" was widely derided for missing a number of relevant accessories for characters, and still being $20 per figure. Thankfully Hasbro has done right by the patient fans of this franchise. The Lighting Collection White Ranger includes:

1 - Tommy Oliver head. If you're looking for some alternate display options, Hasbro has you covered. As promised when the Lightning Collection was first announced, we have a civilian head! In fact, of the 4 figures released in Wave 1, three have alternate heads. Tommy's utilizes some of that nice face printing technology that Hasbro has been relying on for Star Wars Black series in recent releases. And it honestly looks pretty good. Any photo realistic human likeness at this scale will undoubtedly be hard to perfect. But this is a pretty great likeness of Jason David Frank from when he sported the pony tail more often. It's a nice snug fit on the neck so no issues there, the head may be just a tad bit undersized for the body depending on how picky you want to be. But I think it looks pretty solid. It even looks pretty good resting on the neck joint of an S.H. Figuart.

2 - alternate hands. In box, White Ranger already has a right hand intended to hold Saba, plugged on. His left hand is a flat palmed "Karate chop" style one as well. The extra hands are proper closed fists for good old fashioned brawls. The pegs used to swap hands are of course lifted directly from Hasbro's other lines, Marvel Legends & Star Wars Black Series. So they swap easily and fit securely.

1 - Saba. As he is also known, the "Talking Tiger Saber" is a must have to compliment any White Ranger figure. Remember what I said about Bandai and paint apps? Hasbro has really done a fantastic job on Saba. With vibrant gold and crisp silver paint applications, the only thing really missing is maybe red eyes for Saba. Honestly this one isn't a big deal though. Numerous toys have depicted Saba with either Red or Black eyes over the decades. In fact the show prop alternated between the two as well, most of the time the red eyes are associated with Saba when he's speaking anyway. Regardless, Saba is made of nice strong plastic that doesn't come warped straight out of the package the way an old Bandai weapon would. It's proportionate to Tommy's body as well which is one of the best things I could ask for. It doesn't have an extending blade like the Legacy prop replica or an alternate longer blade piece like the S.H. Figuart, but it's not something that's a necessity either. The blade extension is a very minor feature of this weapon in it's appearances on television anyway.

1 - Saba Effect Part. Hasbro has really been going to great lengths for collector's with effect parts this year. Their Transformers Siege line has started including them with Battlemasters and people really like them. Now, Lighting Collection is including a unique one for every singled figure in the line, even the bad guys! So if you want to recreate battles or just have some crazy fun, you totally can now thanks to these effect parts. Tamashii nations could learn a thing or two in this department, their sparse inclusion of effect parts among many S.H. Figuarts is a real detriment. In this case the effect is a blue explosion that can peg onto the tip of Saba's blade. It's a snug (almost too snug) fit but it works quite well, and doesn't way the sword itself down.

This figure is really fantastic in it's own right, but the accessories it comes with really hammer home how this line is aimed at collectors. It's got everything you need, and still all at this really very reasonable $20 price point.

Final Thoughts
The wait was worth it. We as collectors have suffered for years accepting mediocre figures from Bandai America. Even their supposed offerings for collectors were underwhelming and poorly executed. Right out of the gate with this license, Hasbro has knocked it way way out of the park. The Lightning Collection will become another one of the great collector oriented lines for this company that has enough character variety to give it the same kind of indefinite longevity as the Marvel Legends or Star Wars Black Series lines have had. As the first figure from this wave I've handled, the White Ranger is a stellar example of how to do this the right way. I look forward to anything else Hasbro throws our way for this line.

Part 2

This is making me super excited for MMPR, RPM and Beast Morphers -- and makes me really hope for a Toqger adaption!

The Tommy Rangers ultimately aren't my thing but by god is this a good look at the line. Like I said, it's getting me excited! Bring on Kimberly!

Great start! This is definitely leagues better than the old Legacy figures.

And knowing Hasbro's history of releasing obscure characters (obscure to the general public anyways), I wouldn't be surprised if they released a LC Ninjor or Blue Senturion.

Now I await the Vergil Ranger LC figure... Good signs all around

Which Ranger?

I was probably going to ignore MMPR White...until I saw this and now I have to think a little more heavily!

I must be dumb...cause I don't immediately recognize the "villain" Tommy is attacking! Who is?

It's Marvel Legends Death's Head II. The closest thing I had to a properly in scale monster for him to fight. And since it's also Hasbro it works pretty much perfectly.

*Commence-Face-Palm-Of-Face-For-Missing-Blatantly-Obvious*

I feel like an idiot now.

Death's Head is something I should've caught...especially since he had encounters with the original UK-continuity of Transformers back in his heyday!

https://tfwiki.net/wiki/Death's_Head

He has since had tangles with various Marvel characters and apparently even Doctor Who!

Maybe one day the guy will (officially) engage the Heroes of the Morphin Grid, yes? We can certainly hope, right?

The Transformers have fought Solid Snake who fought Ryu and Ken who fought the Rangers... so...

You can get there in a few less steps. Ryu literally is both a Transformer and a Power Ranger. Street Fighter/TF crossover figure from last year, then in the Shattered Grid movie, Ryu literally became Ryu Ranger.