Toybox REVIEW: Power Rangers Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Ninja Blue Ranger

Release Date: January 2022

RRP: $26.99/£32.99

No matter what anyone says, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers is always going to be Hasbro's priority when it comes to the Lightning Collection – especially with the show's 30th anniversary right around the corner. However when it involves also getting throwbacks to season three and Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, the repeated release of the original Power Rangers team(s) might not be such a bad thing. Continuing on with Hasbro's journey through the Rangers' ninja powers is the Lightning Collection Mighty Morphin Ninja Blue Ranger, where original Blue Ranger Billy Cranston took on the powers of the wolf – cunning and swift.

Immediately upon release the Ninja Rangers gained notoriety for their woefully bad QC, with many collectors receiving figures even completely missing parts in their boxes. With the Blue Ninja Ranger being among the worst affected, be sure to check your copy to ensure it has everything before opening. Mine was complete, but one of the hands had fallen out of the tray and was rattling around loose in the box. The figure comes in the usual white packaging adorned with character artwork across the front and sides, with a CGI render of the figure in an action posed printed on the back. Here we see Hasbro getting back into old habits, as the effect part in the render is a completely different colour to the one that's actually included in the box. Inside, the figure and accessories SHOULD be neatly laid out on their moulded plastic tray.

The Ninja Blue Ranger shares the same body as the other three male Ninja Rangers, featuring a thick hard plastic moulded outfit with a soft plastic "vest" piece added over the torso. Overall the sculpting on the figure is very good, making up for the lack of detailing on the bulk of the outfit with plenty of moulded billows to give the impression of baggy fabric. Unfortunately quality control on this release is to Hasbro's usually spotty standard. While the shade of blue plastic used on some of the parts doesn't quite match up, this is an extremely minor complaint compared to the quality of the joints on my copy of the figure. Both the elbow and knee joints on this release don't look like they've been cut properly – not only jagged in their appearance but also covered in all manner of lighter coloured marks and mould flesh. While they still work perfectly as intended, it gives the figure a really rough look to it that shouldn't have really made the cut. On the other hand, what few paint apps the figure has are also nicely done – the wolf coin looking especially good even if it's a flat gold/black tampo rather than a raised shiny gold piece look it should be.

But amongst the questionable QC what sets the Ninja Rangers apart are the multiple head options, giving collectors the ability to display them how they appeared in either season three of the series or Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie. In addition to the completely masked head are both an uncovered civilian head (complete with blue bandana) and a partially masked/hooded head which is how they appeared in the movie (and as a mid-transformation step in the series). Previously David Yost hasn't had the best luck when it comes to Billy's likeness on these figures and it's debatable how much that's changed here, though it's certainly a step up from some of Hasbro's previous efforts. The sculpt is good enough that the

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