Power Rangers S.P.D. was one of the few seasons I remember watching from beginning to end. I loved the theme songs and the designs of the helmets and suits. It used footage from the
Tokusou Sentai Dekaranger, the 28th season of Super Sentai. I also thought that Anubis "Doggie" Cruger had a pretty cool design, and he actually had a much better design over his Sentai counterpart, Doggie Kruger, whose design I'm getting more and more used to. It was also the first season I actively tried to complete a team... and that never happened. I did get the S.W.A.T. mode of the Shadow Ranger and I still have him somewhere over there. Seeing that he was going to be a part of the Lightning Collection I was excited especially after all of the Dekarangers were released as Figuarts and the S.W.A.T modes were revealed but never released which was very sad. This was one of the two figures I was able to find in stores along with the White Ranger. While Shadow Ranger is a pretty cool name I think Dekamaster is much cooler.
The box is basic, the picture of the new logo with the logo of the line.
The left side of the box has the helmet of the Shadow Ranger.
The right side doesn't have much, a different angle of the helmet.
No bio but there is a picture of the prototype which does look better than the final product.
The sculpted details here are amazing, with S.P.D. being one of my favorite seasons I might have a preference towards this figure. The base is different than the White Ranger, the shoulders have the logo and the forearms have the sculpted detail. There are a couple overlays, the chest piece is different but the red and blue-ish silver doesn't go up until the upper part of the torso.
The boots have an overlay as well although I think it's a little too large. The boot is also not the signature "Sentai" boots aren't there. The belt is also a separate piece and has a red center and silver outline with the S.P.D. buckle and buckle. The back has the holder for the Patrol Morpher but it doesn't actually clip in which is a shame. I'm sure there could have been a separate part but not in this case. You can also see some wrinkles sculpted in.
The head is also nicely detailed and the visor shape looks amazing. I always liked the "ears" on the helmet, they didn't really look doberman-like but more bat-like. It also has the badge on the forehead which also has an outline of a police dog which could also double as him. The lights on the side of the helmet are painted red but I just wish they had been made out of a translucent plastic.
The badge is nicely detailed, the "police" is a little faded and only the one on the forehead is kind of painted. The prototype had silver painted on these.
The S.P.D. also shows up on the belt buckle and on the badge or bar on the right shoulder.
His accessories include his gesturing hand which are shaped like a gun and a fist to recreate his signature pose from S.P.D. and Dekaranger.
He comes with a gripping hand that is meant for the Patrol Morpher, it has a decent grip and it works as another gesturing hand.
The Patrol Morpher is nicely sculpted and has painted or printed detail with the S.P.D. logo and some additional text. I also wish he came with an opened one.
He comes with a gripping hand that holds the sword with no problem.
The Shadow Saber or the D-Sword Vega as it's known in Japan is incredible, unfortunately the jaw isn't hinged or an interchangeable piece but I'm asking for too much especially for a $20 figure.
He also comes with the effect that appears when the sword "activates." It does look cool and it wraps around the sword nicely. It won't slip out since it's held by friction pretty well.
It's also not too heavy that it'll weight down the arm over time.
You can kind of sort of get him do dual wield but the left hand isn't a grabby hand and the vest gets in the way, it's not super hard but it's not too soft either. The butterfly shoulders don't really get to shine with this figure.
As for the real gem, the Anubis "Doggie" Cruger unmasked head is amazing. Seriously, the amount of detail that went into this is amazing, the hair does look a little short. The colors are really accurate, I like the shades of blue that they used for the top of the head and the muzzle.
They got really creative here since no one knew how they'd make the neck piece, they make a little cover to go over the neck in order to make it look as if he had a different neck piece and I love it.
I'm trying to figure out what body to use in order to make a custom body but maybe Hasbro will give us that later down the line. I hope and I'm sure they will.
In the end, Shadow Ranger is my least favorite in the line but that doesn't mean much, I love every single figure in the first wave but this one in particular had the least wow factor. Don't get me wrong...
The amount of accessories and engineering for the head are incredible but the articulation suffers a little bit and some parts feel clunky, such as the overlays on the chest and the boots.
I also wish he came with two grabby hands instead of one but c'est la vie.
As for scaling, he does scale well with other "6th" Ranger types, his buddy the White Ranger from the same line and the Black Dino Ranger from the Legacy Collection, although he is shorter by half a head, that's not too bad.
Still the same size as the average Marvel Legends and Black Series figures.
Finding him won't be too hard, he seems to be pretty easy to find, the only hard one seems to be Lord Zedd which is understandable. I'm a little concerned as to how much these figures have been shelf-warming in my area. I hope the line doesn't die too prematurely because these definitely have a lot of potential. I have one more figure to review and then I'll get to some of the other sets. This figure is your average $18.95-$19.99 at Wal-Mart and Target but $22.99 at GameStop. Amazon also has them but the price changes often. I say he's a good find so if you see him, I'd recommend him. Happy hunting!
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