Gold Ranger

Power ranger figures have never been known or their articulation, detail or collectability. In fact, most collectors seem to ignore them in general. Since their debut in 1993, The actual Power ranger figures have been aimed squarely at kids, forgoing accuracy for play value. This is fine for kids, but collectors have never really pursued them.

Then a funny thing happened at Bandai America a few years ago. Someone in a board meeting must have realized that there is an untapped collector market, and slowly, quietly, Bandai rolled out the 15th anniversary red ranger series. Unfortunately, the line was terribly misguided, as these figures were ridiculously over-muscled, like some crazy he-man offspring.

I’m not sure what became of the line, but apparently Bandai America learned their lesson. With the release of the Jungle Fury action figures, Bandai began packing in chase “Super Legends” figures, two per case, of classic Power Rangers characters.

I’m glad to say that they ALMOST got it right. The Super Legends are really good figures, but they fall just short of being “great” figures.

On the plus side, these figures have excellent, realistic proportions. The Gold Ranger features removable armor, a club like weapon, and a very detailed, unique sculpt. The articulation is very good compared to the usual MMPR figure, but it misses some key points of articulation.

For example, the arms are articulated at the shoulder, elbow and wrist, but there is no swivel joint at the bicep. The legs have fantastic ball joints at the hips, and then a great swivel joint just below that in addition to the knee articulation. But there’s no articulation at the ankles, and in an even more glaring omission, no waist joint.

Still, these are minor gripes – the Gold Ranger and the other Super Legends figures are the best Power Rangers figures to date.