The last release from Bandai of America for the Legacy Collection line, the Armored Red Ranger, and honestly, it wasn't very expected. Especially since a bunch of figures were cancelled like the other remaining Psycho Rangers, the Thunder Rangers from
Power Rangers Ninja Storm, the Silver Space Ranger, and all of the Ninja Steel Rangers. I guess it wasn't that surprising since all of these parts are re-used but it's not a bad figure considering that the two figures used to make this were pretty good on their own. The two being the Red and Green Mighty Morphin Rangers from the first wave. I had pre-ordered, him on the GameStop website when he was listed,
thanks to Tokunation for letting me know (I just check the website regularly). I didn't end up getting the online order but I did buy it in store since I saw it there before my pre-order shipped so that's lame when you pay extra to get the figure shipping when it re-releases. Either way, let's get to the figure.
The packaging is basic, and very different from the first couple waves. The Psycho Rangers and the White Dino Ranger share this packaging. It has a nice graphic of the Armored Red Ranger up on the lightning bolt, it does look pretty cool.
The figure itself is the same as the Mighty Morphin' male rangers, Same janky shoulders but the biceps and upper torso are from the Green Ranger. Unfortunately the diamond in the middle isn't painted. The diamond pattern is the standard diamond rather than the spikes which is accurate. The shield is a separate piece and it's very nicely painted, it's fairly solid so it does get in the way of articulation. The outline of the shield is painted black, for some reason the shield on any of the Rangers is so nostalgic to me since I did have the full set of the auto-morphin' figures, although they were probably bootlegs. Gloves are the iconic Sentai gloves and the boots are Sentai boots, the seam in the center goes up to where the diamonds are so that's accurate.
The belt is the same as the Red Ranger, except it's painted gold so that's also accurate. The belt is white and with holes on both sides for the Dragon Dagger holsters and the Blade Blaster in stick mode. They fit in there nicely, I did forget to take a picture of the Dagger in the holster but take my word for it.
The helmet is identical to the previous releases of the Red Ranger. It's not the best sculpt, it doesn't look accurate, the brows on the helmet bulge out too much and it has a much more angular look than the original helmet had.
The lines around the visor are silver instead of white this time but there it doesn't connect at the bottom. The outline is supposed to go all the way around, the most accurate helmet in my opinion would go to the 5" figure from the 2010 line or the Armored Might figure.
The ranger stick is pretty much identical, the amount of silver paint applied to the tip is a lot less. It goes in the holster with no problem but it's a little loose so be careful, it's one of those pieces that you'll loose very easily if you're not careful.
The Dragon Dagger is identical to the one with the Green Ranger although he doesn't come with special hands to play it but the regular grabby hand works well. Paint applications are really good, but on one side, the other side is a little dull. The gold that they used is shiny and it matches the one from the shield and the bands. The Dragon coin is nicely detailed and the keys have the gold tips.
The sword is my favorite part since it isn't translucent plastic and it looks amazing. This one is also a lot less warped but it's still the same plastic so be careful. Thankfully with the articulations on the arms,
The red also matches the other Red Ranger, the individual weapon is just another accessory I wish they had included with all of the Rangers. I would have definitely preferred that over the Megazords.
What is interesting to me is that Hasbro decided to make the Armored Red and Gold Ranger San Diego Comic Con exclusives. A couple people saw this as a jab to Bandai since the Armored Red Ranger was the last figure released and the Gold Ranger being the most controversial since the gold wasn't up to par. Was it a coincidence? I don't know, a lot of figures that are being released or going to be released were part of the Legacy Collection such as the Green Ranger (the Fighting Spirit version was another exclusive figure), the Red and Blue Psycho Rangers, the Pink Ranger, and the Armored Red and Gold Rangers.
Jason scales up nicely with his other Jason friend, this is the better of the two figures.
He looks a little taller than the Green Ranger, I don't know who rocks the shield better. I think Jason does, the red just goes so much better with the gold.
And he looks great with the other Red Ranger, the shading does look a little different, I'm not sure if it's just the lighting.
All of the articulation is pretty basic, the double elbows and knees, swivel boots and at the cuffs. Hinge and swivel at the wrist and ball jointed hand. Swivel on the bicep and thigh, the hinge and swivel on the shoulders and hips. Ankle hinge and swivel. The hinge and swivel at the head. Ab crunch and waist swivel. The only limited articulation is on the shoulders due to the armor and a little on the thighs since it's just a weird cut.
Personally, I love this figure, it's one of my favorite from the Legacy Collection. This one doesn't have most of the problems the later waves suffered. No loose joints, no warped legs, he's just a solid figure.
He should be easy-ish to find, maybe not so much anymore since it's after the $5 sale and most of the Red Rangers were on clearance. He sold for $22.99 initially, and the only place to find him since it's a GameStop exclusive. I'll get some of the other exclusives at some point since I did genuinely like this line of figures. I will say that Hasbro is doing an exceptional job, and I'm excited to see what's to come. Happy hunting!
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