Once I moved to the states I started watching Power Rangers Dino Thunder and I was excited, another Dinosaur team which I thought had better and more streamlined designs for their suits. It was based of
Bakuryuu Sentai Abaranger which was the 27th season for the
Super Sentai Series. They kept the diamond motif, they kept the main three dinosaurs that they had in
Zyuranger and two kept the same color. I really liked the white outline for the visor and the more stylized "jaws" that the visor shape kept. The lack of silver lip piece is much appreciated. I did find it interesting that they decided to reuse the white diamond pattern that
Zyuranger had. I thought the dino footprint design on the chest was pretty cool and back then I did think that this was the superior dinosaur design but now it's pretty hard to choose. I'm not sure which one I like more, both are so similar yet so different. Initially, the Red, Blue, and Black Dino Rangers were released before Hasbro acquired the rights to Power Rangers. They weren't hard to find, I found them easily along with all of the male Zeo Rangers. White and Yellow... didn't have the same luck. The female Zeo Rangers shipped in August of last year and there was almost no trace of the Yellow or White Dino Rangers. At one point the White Dino Ranger did show up at Walgreens so Yellow was left... that was until the Legacy Collection had a very sudden re-release of all of the previous, current, and remaining waves so I nabbed it!
Core Dino Rangers
All of the core Dino Rangers have the Thundermax Blaster, this is one of two different modes that it has but it's the only one included. It's paintjob is alright with the black, dark blue, silver, and gold. After looking at how the prop looks like, this looks very plain. The amount of detail is incredible and fits in the holster, or at least it's supposed to. The holster has no grip and tends to fall out of the holster very easily which can be very frustrating.
All of the Dino Rangers have a fairly basic belt buckle which is a nice silver but they suffer with the butterscotch gold.
Red Dino Ranger
This one is my favorite, I remember always drawing this specific suit because of how the visor was shaped, it gives it a lot of personality. From what I remember, Connor McKnight was the athletic character, he played soccer and was pretty good at it.
Looking at the design it keeps most of the detail except for the pads on the back of the hands where it should be painted white, it wouldn't have been very hard especially since they did that with the Wind Rangers.
Like I said, the helmet is my favorite part, the eyes on the top kind of make it look as if they're the actual eyes of a anthropomorphic dinosaur. It lives up to the design of the first Red Tyrannosaurus Ranger.
The morpher is present and it looks like it's a separate piece. It's nicely sculpted but it's just a solid black color. Another thing to note is the pegs for the joints are an eyesore, they could have just painted them but now they make themselves very present.
Another thing is the joints on the wrist being white, I don't understand why they decided to do that.
The logo also is nicely done but it breaks constantly because of the ab crunch but it doesn't bother me.
I still prefer the MMPR Red Ranger over the Red Dino Range, mainly because of how the figure was constructed, the joints on the Red Ranger are much more solid and the holster isn't a mess.
Blue Dino Ranger
The Blue Dino Ranger is another one of my favorite Ranger designs in general. Ethan James was the Billy of the Dinor Rangers, which means he was a nerd and that's pretty much all I remember.
I do think that this design, the team one, looks better in Blue than it does in Red.
It's pretty much identical to the Red Dino Ranger minus the helmet. I like the angular design of the helmet with the beak and two additional fangs on the side. The horns also look amazing and pretty much the same as the Zyuranger helmet.
The Triceratops Dino Morpher doesn't look as sharp as the Tyrannosaurus one but that's okay.
It's the only other figure to use the basic male body but I think it looks better than the previous ones they used for other teams. They did however remove the boot swivel which limits the articulation by a lot.
The blue is also a darker blue, I can't tell if it's the darkest blue out of all of the rangers but it looks good.
They have very similar helmet designs but I think I like the Abaranger one more.
Yellow Dino Ranger
The only girl out of the whole team again, Kira Ford was the singer of the group. She was also the only one to return in
Power Rangers Operation Overdrive's "
Once A Ranger" out of the whole team along with Tori, the Blue Wind Ranger.
The body looks like the basic female body that they've been using. She does keep the belt buckle for the team along with a gold trim at the bottom of the skirt. The diamonds are also a lot more uniform since she doesn't have the weird thigh swivel.
The helmet is the most basic out of the bunch, the heart shaped visor, but unlike the Pink Mighty Morphin' Ranger whose helmet was the Pterodactyl with its wings around for the visor, this one is the mouth of the Pterodactyl which matches the rest of the team.
The Dino Morpher is okay, I think it's hard to tell the shape in pictures but it's not as clean as the Tyrannosaurus one.
She can barely hold the Blaster which is sad since it's her only accessory.
She still suffers from the same issue that the guys have, the blaster doesn't stay in the holster well. She also has since jointed elbows which is unfortunate and a recurring trend with the female figures.
The shade of Yellow matches the other Yellow Rangers in the line. Same white joint for the hands.
You can see the difference in the helmet, her's is also a single color instead of two.
She also looks good next to Tori, the skirt also looks different than the one Tori has, Tori was the first female figure in the line and Kira was the last.
Dino Rangers
As a whole, the main team is amazing. The primary colors in shades that stand out.
Unfortunately for the Red and Blue Dino Rangers, their joints are horrendous, they're such a paint to stand up and the slightest movement will have them topple over.
Having Bandai of America do a team that was right after one they already released prior was a treat. Even for the Zordon Saga they were missing a couple seasons in between each team. But in order to build this particular team you need another two rangers.
Black Dino Ranger
Tommy Oliver returning to the life of a Ranger. I remember at some point he got trapped in the suit so all of his appearances would be him in the suit, I think it was due to some issues they had with his contract but I don't fully remember. He serves as a mentor for the other rangers as well as a teacher at their school.
While he does use the main base there are a couple new things, the shoulder pads are new and the diamonds have a different pattern. The belt buckle is identical but the holster is on the other side.
The helmet has a hole on the crest which is accurate. I like the gold outline along the visor but I don't know why a herbivore would have sharp teeth. There's also the red line as well as the purple eyes.
The morpher is done in a butterscotch color and is pretty well detailed. The wrist joint is done in black so it matches the rest of the suit.
The Brachio Staff is really disappointing, it's stuck in its holster form so it's incredibly short and doesn't look right. The head is also poorly painted and nothing like the prototype.
He doesn't have an issue holding it, It does seem to be missing some detail on the guard.
I really like this figure but I just wish the sword was longer.
While he doesn't have a shield he has the shoulder pads which have a similar shape.
He fits right in with the other Rangers, he keeps the logo on the chest like the rest of the Rangers.
White Dino Ranger
This is easily the best out of all of the figures and that's great but also very sad.
The base body is pretty standard but the pattern is different. The boots and shield make him look very different than the rest. The shield looks amazing but it's not painted all the way.
The helmet also looks incredibly accurate but it's missing a little line at the top of the visor. I love the red visor with the black outline. This helmet matches the Pink Rangers look with the head of the Pterodactyl at the top. The visor shape makes him look crazy which is what Mikoto was. Trent on the other hand, was very similar to Tommy which would make sense why they'd write him like that considering the theme of the season and having Jason David Frank.
The buckle is fancier and much more stylized which I prefer. I don't know why the other rangers didn't have this design.
The morpher is white and nicely detailed like the others.
The holster here is also much fancier and holds the Drago Sword well. It's not a loose fit but it's held by friction. The Drago Sword itself is well detailed and it looks more like a pen than a sword and I always thought that was pretty cool. Unfortunately for the final release, the prototype had better paint applications but I understand why it wasn't fully painted.
He holds it but with a loose grip, it's kind of annoying but this is still the best figure.
You can see the similarities in design with the Dragonranger, the shield and the very similar looking Sword to the Zyusouken or Dragon Dagger.
He keeps the same articulation as the other male figures including the boot cuffs which help with a lot of poses that have wider stances.
The shield does get in the way but you can work around it.
He is a nice addition, while he is a part of the team, he isn't initially so it gives the other Rangers a villain to fight against.
As a whole, the figures are okay, the loose joints are a very big quality control issue.
But they are pretty impressive especially with things that could be the same pieces but aren't.
The amount of attention to detail for little things such as the morphers is pretty impressive.
The lack of boot swivels is pretty annoying especially since the ankle joint is a terrible design. I'll be the first one to admit that I hate this rocker ankle design but the boot swivel always makes it much better because it accommodates the weird ankle of the foot. However once you have all of the 5 Rangers, you can build the Thundersaurus Megazord.
Thundersaurus Rex
I was probably the most excited about Megazord out of the bunch especially with how much I love the design. Although he has giant feet, the detail on the rest of the figure makes up for it. It does have very limited paint applications but it's enough to make the Megazord look good and accurate.
There could definitely be more that could be painted such as the drill arm but as it is, it's perfect. The head looks pretty accurate as well, the butterscotch gold doesn't stand out as much here but if you look hard enough you'll notice it.
Articulation is basic, single elbow joints with no bicep swivel is lame but it's an articulated Megazord figure so...
It also keeps the ball jointed knees but the way the upper shin is sculpted allow for a natural bend to the knee.
He looks good next to the other Megazord figures and it's my favorite of the bunch. I think it has to do with all of the dinosaur heads being visible in the combined form. My favorite part is the Tyrannosaurs head on the center of the chest with the wings acting as a crest.
I wish the line kept going but honestly, the Lightning Collection from Hasbro is very promising, especially with the accessories, paint applications, detail, and more human proportions. As the last full team, it is a pretty good one.
I'm not sure what the deal is now but they were easier to find in the first half of the year, now you might find a couple on clearance and the White Dino Ranger at Walgreens. The price range is from $19.85-$22.99 with GameStop being the most expensive at full price but you might be able to get them for about $10 or less. Happy hunting!
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