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Tuesday, August 20, 2019

Review: Power Rangers Ninja Storm - Bandai of America Legacy Collection Build-a-Megazord Storm Megazord // Red, Yellow, Blue Wind Rangers

Power Rangers Ninja Storm was the last season I saw before I moved to the United States and every other season I watched was in English. It was right after Wild Force had come out and I loved that season, especially since Lions and Red were two of my favorite things so you know it is. I did think that the theme song was a little strange and different from what came before. It was also an interesting season in which the wirework and CG was funky but I didn't care, I was 7. I did have a couple toys that my dad had sent from the U.S. but no transforming mecha, I had a big zord where you could put a Red Ranger that came with it and I loved it! Unfortunately, earlier this year Pua Magasiva passed away. This was also the first full team to be released by Bandai in the Lightning Collection line and the only set of three rangers to build a Megazord. Although Dino Thunder was a team of three they used all five of the rangers to build that Megazord. Power Rangers Ninja Storm was based off of Ninpuu Sentai Hurricaneger from the Super Sentai Series in Japan.

Wing Rangers 

The Wind Rangers all share a similar motif and that's Ninja fashion! They have their Wind Morphers attached to their left wrists, they're all painted a nice gold color.
They also have the Ninja Sword in the scabbard, they don't have the option to use it as the Laser Blaster which is sad but still, it's nicely detailed. The sword itself is a completely different accessory but no separate scabbard was included so if you have him wielding the Ninja Sword, he won't have an empty scabbard on his back. It's nicely detailed and it has a good shade of silver and gold.
The male bodies are identical, the only difference is the head, I did have the Red Wind Ranger's Ninja Sword positioned incorrectly.
They have the funky shoulder sculpt, the chainmail sleeves, the forearms have the cuffs, the pads on the gloves as well as the cuffed boots.
The belt is nicely done and it all comes together pretty well.

Shane Clarke the Red Wind Ranger

So I haven't watched the show in over a decade so I can't tell you much about Shane, I also haven't watched much of Hurricaneger but they did get a 10 years later movie which is neat.
The character also appeared alongside the Gokaigers, Ninningers, and Akibarangers.
I've always liked the helmet design for shane, keeping the Hawk wings for the gold outline of the visor. The wings of the Hawk are also used on the chest logo.

Dustin Brooks the Yellow Wind Ranger

Although his name is the Yellow "Wind" Ranger, he is more of an Earthy kind of Ranger. I did like the Yellow Lion motif but I like my Lions a little more Red. 
The helmet has the more jaw-like kind of visor much like the Zyurangers or Gaorangers (MMPR or Wild Force Rangers) had. It has a more sharp, angular shape to it. The gold is different enough from the yellow plastic they used.
The Lion also looks pretty cool, a lion with an open mouth and with the way it's positioned on the figure, the ab crunch can make it look as if it opens and closes its mouth. 

Tori Hanson the Blue Wind Ranger

Tori is the only girl of the team, she keeps the very Kunoichi design that most female Ninja have in media. She still has the weird shoulders which is different than all of the other female figures. The chainmail is used on her arms and legs which is show accurate.
The skirt has slits on the sides and the Sentai Boots are fairly accurate. She's a little too well endowed and it messes with her crest. The visor is heart shaped although the tail of a dolphin is much more accurate. Her crest has the same theme. 
Unfortunately, due to the skirt, she's incredibly limited in her leg articulation which is a shame seeing how much range she could get.
Her hands are also incredibly small but they do the job, no issues holding the sword.
Shoulders do get a good range and her crest is the only one that's sculpted in, which makes sense since she doesn't share the sculpt with any other character.
As a team, they're great. I love every single one of them but their personal weapons would have been a good accessory to have.
Same basic articulation as most of the Legacy Collection figures. They can pull off a lot of good poses, the ab crunch could be better, I prefer the Blue Wind Ranger's ball jointed diaphragm.
Red is a head taller then the S.H. Figuarts.
Same thing with Yellow, of course you can see the difference if proportions and general quality.
The female figure is also a head smaller than her counterpart. The coloring is also quite different, the Figuarts being a lot darker making the Legacy figure much more accurate.
And just because here's the Yellow Ranger.
Again, as a team of the primary colors, pretty good. Good design and general quality, I wish the skirt wasn't so restrictive and maybe a couple more accessories would have worked.
If you look online they can pull of most of the poses, the way the wrists are designed are a big help.
Unfortunately for the Blue Wind Ranger, double elbows aren't a thing, she would benefit a lot from them but the guys are the only ones that have them.
The swords do warp easily so be careful, besides that I didn't have a major QC issue with these figures. The Blue's knees are a little clunky in the way they articulate.
Admittedly the guys, but also most of the figures on the Legacy Line, have really loose joints.
It's mostly on the lower torso, the hips tend to loosen up and collapse under the weight of the rest of the figure which isn't a lot.
Same general height as the Red Ranger, the elbows do look a little different. 
Significantly taller than the Action Hero figure from the Super Megaforce line which were roughly 5", the helmet looks significantly better.
Still taller than most Hasbro figures such as the Marvel Legends.

BAM Storm Megazord

This figure has a lot of little details that I didn't expect, the torso is the nicest part. However, despite how detailed it is it follows the trend of no paint. Especially on the dolphin, it just looks sad. Knees are still ball jointed so they're pretty wonky and still no bicep joints.
The head is probably the best part of the figure, it's nicely painted and detailed, it just swivels though.
If you get the right pose, he'll look incredible and I'm sure after more paint details he'd be perfect.
I'm also surprised the wrist on the right side can move as well as it does.
The Storm Megazord is about the same size as the MMPR Dino Megazord.
So, this team might be pretty tricky to get, I don't remember seeing Red that often but Yellow and Blue are fairly common. I had to get my Red through eBay and he wasn't cheap. Blue and Yellow I got from a Wal-Mart that was closing so I spent about $10 per figure.
With the Lightning Collection on their second wave the Lightning Collection is hitting the clearance shelves which is pretty sad considering how poorly they did even after they-re-released. Even the newest figure, the Armored Red Ranger hit clearance, and it was a bunch of figures! If you get lucky enough to find the set, I recommend it, especially now that they're on sale. Generally speaking they're in the $19.99-$22.99 range but on clearance they're good $12 or less, so good luck and happy hunting!

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