Kaiju Ranger Red Rodan [Godzilla VS Mighty Morphin Power Rangers]

This year, the stars have really aligned. For whatever reason, Zone Base’s 10th year feels like the universe decided, “yeah, let’s just give this guy everything he likes.”

Case in point: these new Playmates Toys figures based on Godzilla vs. Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

I’ve talked about the bag clips before, but now that there are actual figures of these designs? It’s a little mind-blowing.

Like I said before, I haven’t even read the comics yet. I’m tempted, but I’ve been holding off. Still, as a fan of this stuff, this hits some very specific part of my brain I can’t quite explain.

Pure euphoria?
Yeah… something like that.

I’ve always had a huge soft spot for Rodan, going all the way back to my old Shogun Warriors toy as a kid. So seeing him reimagined as a Ranger—and of course as the Red Ranger—is just incredible.

And it works.

The design is such a perfect blend. The Rodan-inspired helmet is full-on monster and packed with character. The scaled body armor looks natural, and those wings coming off his back just sell the whole thing.

This feels like something that should have always existed.

Alright, let’s talk accessories so I’m not just saying “this is awesome” over and over again… even though it is.

He comes with the Red Ranger’s Power Sword and the Blade Blaster, which can be displayed in both blaster and blade modes. There’s also a display stand shaped like his Morpher Medallion, embossed with the Rodan symbol that Toho uses for the classic character.

That detail is so cool. I tried to show it off in the photos—and I was probably more impressed by it than any reasonable person should be.

I… love this thing.

Like, seriously love it.

This isn’t a constructive post.
It’s me fawning over a toy.

Pterodactyl [Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Re-Ignition]

Zordon needed Five Teenagers with Attitude (which still feels like a wildly irresponsible recruitment strategy), but for the Re-Ignition Combinable Megazord, we needed five Zords with slightly larger proportions.

Closing out the team is the Pink Ranger’s Pterodactyl — a word I cannot spell correctly without spellcheck threatening to go full Skynet. From here on out, we’re calling her the Pink Bird.

Partially to troll Angry Birds searches.

Pink Bird completes the Dino Megazord/Daizyujin by forming the chest. She’s also proven to be one of the trickier Zords to find. I lucked into mine during a random Walmart trip where it was just… sitting there. A label on the back made it clear it had been an online order that got stocked instead. Even better, whatever barcode they slapped on it rang up a few dollars cheaper than retail.

Unfortunately (or maybe predictably), Pink Bird is the most basic of the five Zords. She’s essentially the chest plate with fold-out wings and a head. The head does have some articulation — you can perch her or put her in a flying pose, and the mouth opens. Included are two missile launchers that mount to the Megazord’s back but can also attach to Pink Bird’s tail. They fire pink energy blast rockets, because of course they do.

Most interestingly, Pink Bird includes the Ranger team in mini form. Playmates will be launching a blind box line featuring mini Rangers, Monsters, Zords, and Megazords in the coming months, and in a way this set quietly debuts that format by including Rangers scaled to their Zords. It’s a neat bonus and honestly something I’ve been looking forward to since it was announced.

One thing I’ve always liked about the Pterodactyl design is its slight resemblance to Windstorm from Starriors — something I’ve mentioned in a prior post about another Pink Pterodactyl release. Funnily enough, that post pops up in Google Image results when searching Windstorm, which is the kind of niche internet victory I appreciate more than I probably should.

Like most combining team toys, though, the individual mode often takes a back seat to the combined form, and Pink Bird is a prime example. On her own, she’s solid and sharp-looking, but clearly designed to become something greater.

With that, we’ve wrapped up our look at the individual Zords from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Re-Ignition — at least until the Thunder Megazord team arrives. But now it’s time to do what these were built to do.

Because we need Megazord Power.

Fire beats wood, Monday beats everything

It's Monday yet again... bleah. However It's the Monday before a holiday weekend. That's right, next weekend is a 3 day holiday weekend. Meaning this will be a pretty hard week, but don't worry, Zone Base will be here to help you navigate your way through the next few days. I hope everyone is enjoying the Halloween posts. It's a lot of fun to post them and this year looks like it'll be quite the spooky season. I was happy to see my local Target, Walmart, and Dollar Tree stores starting to stock for the season. 

Speaking of the season, I can't wait for the weather to cool down. It's been a very hot summer and these 100 degree days are the worst! I picked up a new light hoodie to wear when the weather cools down in anticipation of the joyous event. My light hoodie is something I'll wear almost all year, even in the summer on a rainy day, so getting a new one every so often is a big deal to me. As far as toys go I got a few cool ones.

There was still no new Toxitron collection Transformers to be found this week. I found ones I already have, but not the ones needed. Ggrrr. I did manage to find new Beast Alliance! Beast Combiner Scourge with Scorponok! Hooray! I'm honestly sad to see Beast Alliance wind down, hopefully the rest of the figures will be easy to find. I also completed my Mutant Mayhem TMNT figures with Leonardo. Super cool. I got some great blind bag figures. A Sonic Prime Knuckles and Demon Slayer Hashira whose name I've currently forgotten. I got a Bakugan 3.0 Dragonoid in a wonderful translucent white. 

Target had some great Halloween wind up figures that I was excited to find as well as a cool vampire skeleton purchased at Kroger. That Demon Slayer gatcha I talked about earlier was bought at Party City. We were checking out the incoming Halloween stock and picked up some spooky paper plates. They had a specifically awesome set of Disney Villains paperware in black light colors. Guys, it has the Horned King on them. This is truly going to be an epic Halloween. 

A lot of time at home was spent playing old video games while watching Transformers and Super Sentai. I almost forgot to mention the Star Wars Micro Galaxy Squadron Razorcrest I picked up for $15. I hadn't gotten one yet and there it was on clearance. Awesome. There's new multi packs coming in Micro Galaxy Squadron for your Inchman needs and mine. Oh hey... it's Monday. Thanks for reading Zone Base. I've got a fun week planned full of robots and spooky stuff. Did everyone like the new episode of Transform Squadron? Speaking of liking what I'm doing, if you do, please share with your friends!

Once & Always

Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: Once & Always premiers today on Netflix and I was happy to watch it while doing my morning exercises. The special is meant to serve as a 30th anniversary of the series reunion... and it's exactly that. Without going into spoilers, the special reunites much of the MMPR cast in a new adventure to stop Robo Rita Repulsa's newest plan. What's that? Rita is a robot? Go watch the show... you'll love it. I did.

I'd say it's hard to believe it's been 30 years since Power Rangers debuted... but no, it's totally been a long time. For me, I was a kid who liked Godzilla and Transformers when discovering Dynaman late one Friday night on the USA Network. A few years later, MMPR started airing on Fox Kids... and I kinda wondered why they weren't playing Cheap Trick during the fights. Regardless, I loved the cheesy jokes and super hero action. All these years later and I still love classic MMPR better than the series that followed (not knocking those either, mind you).

It's a little bittersweet with the recent passing of Jason David Frank that the series got such a perfect love letter. However even with his and Thuy Trang's unfortunately leaving us much too early, the special honors their memory and treats the cast lovingly. I'm admittedly in post show glow still, but that was great. While playing to nostalgia, it still feels like a brand new episode of MMPR and I guess that's what it really is. I also appreciate how it's very much a modern tokusatsu production. I'd almost have expected this to have been airing on Tokushoutsu during a special event. I'm gushing, it was really that great.

Weekly Halloween- Ghost Army

Kyuukyuu Sentai GogoFive S1 E23- The Ghost Resuce Mission

Tomb Profanation Psyma Beast Zombeast or Zombeast as his friends call him (he has friends?) is a very unique monster. He takes control of a cemetery and uses the dead as his own personal army. Before long the town is overrun with murderous ghosts attacking citizens. The Rangers come to stop Zombeast only to meet a young boy who's recently deceased Grandfather is among the Ghost Army. Things are not what they seem in this spooky edition of Weekly Halloween.

Mobile Doozy Gobot

I recently got the Mobile Change Haro toys that I've talked about earlier. This lead me down a weird rabbit hole that I thought would make a good post here. I might be wrong about that, it might be a terrible post. Either way, it's a post and it's here. I've talked about Doozy Bots before, but just in case you're not in the know- Doozy Bots was an early 90's attempt to bring Gundam to the US. It would have used SD Gundam designs and had a new cartoon that was pretty similar to cartoons like Captain N that were popular at the time. Let's watch the pitch reel again.

I've said it before and I'll say it again. I would have loved this. I know me, and I remember the me I was then. Doozy Bots would have and likely still be my jam. I like Gundam, but I'm not super invested in the fiction. It's mostly thinking the robots are cool. I'll buy a toy or Gunpla and play the occasional game because I like the robots. I don't follow the cartoons super heavy though. I did really like SD Gundam and can tell I would have loved Doozy Bots. I would still love Doozy Bots. So, what if Doozy Bots would have actually happened? Like... say there was a timeline or there's an alternate timeline going on right now... and these way cool Mobile Change Haro figures are newer Doozy Bots toys... whoa...

Retro Zords

 

Hasbro has started releasing these super cool figures of the Megazords from Power Rangers and I'm loving it. They're exclusive to Walmart here in the states (not sure about elsewhere) and I was interested when they were first announced. Now that I have a few, I'm ecstatic with this line. They may seem simple. That's because they are simple and THAT'S the best part. You guys know me, not everything has to be super articulated for my enjoyment. However, the simplicity of these leads to what makes them great. They match up perfectly with my Godzilla toys.

While the Megazords are made from a harder material. They're also very similar in build, sculpt, and style to Godzilla and other kaiju vinyl figures. Which is a lot of kaiju fans preferred way to have giant monsters in toy form. At around the same scale as your general kaiju vinyl toy, and with similar articulation, this is a great way to pit the Thunder Megazord against Hedorah.

Considering the Playmates Godzilla toys are just a few feet away from these at my local Walmart (at one point they were right next to each other), and that many people like one series because they like the other (I was a kid who liked Godzilla movies when I discovered Dynaman one night on USA). It's all to perfect. The line consists of various Megazords throughout the history of Power Rangers packaged in VHS style boxes. The boxes are a fun little touch that allows for neat storage when they're not on a shelf themselves. Or even on a shelf in those neat boxes in a way that's easy to organize and look cool at the same time.

T-Rex wins the Belt

Last weekend I found the T-Rex Champion Zord after what felt like looking forever. I hope to get the accompanying Zord sets soon to build the various Dino Fury Megazord formations. In the meantime I'm appreciating the big red guy who's the main component needed for all of the forms. He's a pretty cool toy on his own. A big Tyrannosaurus Rex with laser guns and drills that transforms into a robot. You can add other Zords onto the robot to form the various Megazord formations. It's pretty cool.

Not only that, but there's different heads for each formation. This is a holdover from Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger, the series Dino Fury was made from. I didn't watch that show, but enjoying Dino Fury is making it more tempting. These heads are an enlarged Ryusoul form in the Sentai series. That's not elaborated into on Dino Fury. There's just this random Ranger that turns into the Megazord's head during the sequence. I understand that they're working with reused footage, but you'd think they'd have an explanation. Regardless, the heads transform into the random Rangers. The back of the head even pops off to reveal a Ranger piloting the Megaord. That's a neat little detail. I wish they explained it more fictionally. I'm still enjoying the weird little mini figure regardless. You guys know I love partner figures.

If you don't like part-formers, you'll probably not care for this toy. Due to the various Zord formations (I am using that word so much today), transformation by parts swapping is how everything is done. Speaking of, that green crotch piece in the pic is for one of those formations, I just forgot to take it off when I took the picture. I just noticed it, and the dinosaurs big tail isn't visible either. I never claimed to be an expert photographer. Or a good photographer even... damn cropped off robot toes. It's a fun toy and you can give him a sword via parts from other Zords. I plan to get those eventually. 

Dino Fury, The Idea Was To Bring Together a Group Of Teenagers With Attitude

Dino Fury has pretty much taken me by surprise. It didn't seem to have the buildup Beast Morphers got, so it was a little off my radar. I knew it was coming, but that was it. I went in with no expectations and ended up really liking it. Maybe more than Beast Morphers. I was aware of Kishiryu Sentai Ryusoulger (the Super Sentai series Dino Fury was adapted from), but didn't get a chance to watch any of it. Kinda glad about that as that allows me to go into Dino Fury fresh and just enjoy it on the surface level. 

As far as the toys go, so far I've gotten the Red and Blue Rangers as well as Boomtower (one of the monsters). Like Beast Morphers before it, the standard Power Ranger figures by Hasbro have a surprising amount of articulation. When Hasbro first took over, I initially thought the basic toys would be similar to the basic Marvel figures they produce and was glad to be wrong. These are some pretty dang nice toys. Boomtower doesn't have the wide range of movement that the Rangers have, but he's much bulkier. I mainly got him because I love his weird design.

Each figure comes with a Dino Fury Key. These little keys look like basic mini figures of the character it comes with that inserts into the Dino Fury Morpher role play toy. Doing so unlocks extra sounds exclusive to each key. Fictionally these allow the Rangers to morph into their Power Ranger forms. There's also Boost Keys that give the Rangers power ups. While I don't plan to get the Morpher, I do like the little mini figures. I'm mainly bidding my time until the Megazord comes out, it looks pretty awesome.

Guardian Beast Formation

This is the Tyrannosaurus Rex Zord from the new Hasbro Dino Megazord set. Today's post was going to be all about him as a companion to my prior Zord post. Somewhere in between then and now I went to Target and got the missing set of Zords to complete the Megazord. 

This is now a post about the set. Which is probably going to be more interesting than just a few words about a toy robot dinosaur. Now it's a few words about five toy robot dinosaurs. Much better.

I already talked about the Mastodon and Pterodactyl, so I'm going to focus on the other three and the finished Megazord. I've linked to the prior post twice and it's like maybe three posts down anyway. It should be easy to find.

Of the five Zords, the T-Rex is definitely the nicest. He comes packaged by himself with the the power sword. Forming the bulk of the Megazord, he has the most articulation and is the biggest boi in the crew. His mouth opens to take a bite. Duh.

The legs feature a range of motion with points of articulation at the hips, knees, and ankles. This comes from the combination, but also makes for a reasonably nice toy.  His tiny arms have a small range of movement as well. If you noticed the pegs on his knees, you've probably figured out those are connector ports for the other two Zords.

Saber Tooth Tiger and Triceratops come together. The two are of similar size as they form lower legs for the Megazord. I said in the prior post that these figures are building blocks for the combined mode and it's very clear with these two. The tiger is the more elaborate in the pack. The toy has pretty limited articulation, the tail moves as does it's legs. Though they are only jointed at the hips with the actual legs being static. It's still pretty serviceable.

The Triceratops is practically a solid block. His tail/cannon can raise. That's pretty accurate for the Zord honestly. 

When converting the two into their leg modes, heads can move into place as do other extremities. The Saber Tooth Tigers sabers also adjust to move out of the way. I don't know if this counts as articulation, unless you intend to pose them looking to the stars. Full of wonder.

The t-rex moves into combined formation pretty easily. Just straighten him a out, fold in a few parts. His chest opens for dino head storage.

Mirroring the transformation on the show, I went for the Dino Tank first. It forms pretty naturally as it's basically the Megazord 80% transformed. I had a little trouble getting the Pterodactyl to stay in it's proper place. There's a place it tabs into on the Mastodons legs which didn't fit together well. Your mileage may vary. It's a pretty good representation of the tank.

The Megazord itself is pretty cool. A decent representation of the classic design, he almost feels a little lost in time. Like they found some toy design from 1993 and put it into production. As you can see, he can hold the power sword and Mastodon head as a shield. It's an overall good looking toy based on a good looking robot. 

I want to point out that in Zyuranger, the power sword is called 'God Horn'. That's the best name ever.

I've been looking forward to this all year after it was shown off at NYCC. Of course with the pandemic, this year has felt like an eternity. I guess that's why having it now feels like such an accomplishment. I swear I've aged 6 years since March. 

I don't know what the goal is with this toy. It's this random classic toy made anew and sold alongside the other kid aimed Power Rangers toys. Is there more planned? I hope so, but there's no word yet. Except this one.

I'm happy with my new Megazord toy. It's nice and relatively inexpensive. I had fun getting all the sets, even if it only took two trips to Target on different days. I dig it.

Pink and Black Zords

I was pretty happy to luck up on a few of the Zords for the new Hasbro Dino Megazord toy. From what I understand, the set is available this way through Target with a gift set through Amazon coming soon. 

I picked up the T-Rex and Mastodon/Pterodactyl two pack. I'll still need the Triceratops/Saber Tooth Tiger two pack to complete the Megazord. Hopefully they'll have that restocked soon. 

I'm talking about that Mastodon/Pterodactyl set today. I got the two Zords together for $14.99. The Mastodon is pretty big and it'd be pretty easy to overlook the Pink Ranger's Zord on a first glance. Make no mistake about these new toys, they're not high end collectors pieces. These are comparable to the Beast Morphers standard toy line and in similar packaging.

It's weird to see a nearly 30 year old Megazord next to this years model, but I'm not complaining. I can appreciate having older characters available at a lower price. I hope other older Megazords follow in this format. I'd love a Dragonzord to combine with this set. A Titanus or Thunder Megazord would be great.

By themselves, these are pretty basic toys. The pterodactyl has always felt a little shoehorned to me. It's the Megazord's chest piece with wings and a head and there's no hiding that here. It's a serviceable toy of that without any bells or whistles. 

The mastodon is a bulky robot with plug in cannons. These two may seem pretty limited and by themselves they are. They're building blocks for a combined form and don't make any apologies about it. Being pretty faithful recreations of the original design, there's a lot to love about holding such an old school robot toy. If that's your thing.

The mastodon forms the arms of the Megazord and and turrets for the combiners tank mode. Unfolding him for this is easy enough, but be careful. I found myself nervous that I was about to tear the toy apart due to parts not opening up. A pesky connector just didn't want to let go, so don't go yanking on yours carelessly. You could end up breaking your robot elephant.

In all they're pretty faithful new toy of an old robot. I've seen complaints about how basic the toy is, which I guess is fair. Most would assume a vintage design would get a more premium toy. It's not a very elaborate set. Like I said, I'm all for a lower cost version. Toys are overpriced enough as is, and I like the simplicity of older robot toys. So picking up some new old toys is fun for me. 

 

Beast Morphers, Unleash The Wacky Wall Beast

Hey, know how I was at the Dollar Tree the other day? Well, I also got some more Wall Walkers. I had been getting the Transformers variety and if I liked current WWE performers (I don't) I'd probably grab some of those. They're a silly fun blind bag toy for a buck each. I didn't expect to see Beast Morphers in the selection and the surprise of it made me shit my pants. Not literally, I'm joking. You gave to spell things out for people sometimes.

I grabbed four packs. These aren't the kind of blind bag I go crazy over and try to complete the set. These are the kind I'll grab a couple of and hope I don't get too many doubles. Speaking off, I'm like 4 ghosts away from completing the Scooby-Doo Playmobil series and each new shelf box has new codes... it's pretty frustrating. Dammit. Just like the others in the Wall Walker toys at Dollar Tree, the Beast Morpher versions are colored plastic with decals to distinguish each character. The body shape of the walker doesn't look too silly on the Power Rangers as they're people in spandex normally. In fact they make for pretty good representations.

I got two Blaze's, one Roxy, and one Blue Ranger. Not bad. If I were to get two of a Beast Morpher, I'd rather it be Blaze. I like him the most out of the characters. His bat armor looks cool. Just like the Transformers versions, I'll be grabbing a few of these on trips in the Dollar Tree. I've really liked Beast Morphers, it's in it's mid-season break of it's last season. I'm sure I'll enjoy Dino Fury next year, but currently I'm just not as excited for it as I've been for Beast Morphers. Guess I'll just have to throw it to the wall and see if it sticks.

Turboranger Sausage

I don't understand my fascination with licensed character meat snack commercials, but fortunately there's an abundance of them to be fascinated by. I've also learned that without spell check, I cannot spell fortunately. This commercial for said meat snack features the heroes of Kousoku Sentai Turboranger selling snack sausages. It's pretty standard fair as far as these things go. Action footage with voice over with a shot of the Red Ranger holding a box.  

It's the very end of the commercial that really grabs my attention. Inside each box is a randomly packed Turboranger keshi toy! I don't know if they were the same from capsule machines or brand new figures for this promotion, but that's the kind of thing I go nuts for. I do wonder just how tasty the sausages are? I like meat snacks as is, but the ones here look more like Vienna sausages compared to the Jack Links jerky sticks I normally buy.

Deluxe Daizujin

I'm pretty eager for the upcoming MMPR Megazord from Hasbro.

Kaitō Sentai Lupinranger VS Keisatsu Sentai Patranger Happy Meal

You kids need to settle down. 

Settle down.

TokuSHOUTsu Starts Now!

It's midnight here in Georgia as I'm posting this, I'm not sure about where you're at, but work with me here. Shout Factory and Pluto TV's brand new all Tokusatsu channel (681) launches at 12am Tuesday March 17th! Following up on Shout Factory making Kamen Rider available for streaming on Tubi (after last weeks early launch), now fans can enjoy crazy monsters and super heroes fight it out as easy as looking at their phones to pass the time. It's pretty awesome. I hope to see more crazy cool shows and movies join the line up in the future, but for now, I'm pretty happy with the launch line up.

Press Enter To Start Blaze

Beast Morphers has came back for it's second season and boy are my arms tired. Wait, what? Anyway, the gangs back for a new season and it's a welcome one. Beast Morphers has been really fun so far and something I like to see continue. One of my favorite characters of the first season was Blaze. Blaze was far from the first 'bad guy' Ranger, but it's a trope I've always enjoyed. Admittedly what I liked best was his costume. Using Enter's Dark Buster suit from Go Busters, Blaze looked like some futuristic vampire from a 16 bit Konami game.

I'd put a spoiler warning here, but the information's been spread far and wide since the end of season one. Blaze returns in season two as Robo Blaze using Enter's regular outfit. The costume is absolutely awesome, and now he matches Roxy's use of the Escape costume. Frankly, I prefer the season one costume. My love of spooky shit is no secret and the bat theme made for a great Halloween themed ranger. Robo Blaze does look cool though. Instead of that great bat theme, he looks more at home in the King's Musketeers under the lead of Luis the XIII. Not to mention, I like the goggles he and Roxy sport.

Ryusoulger To Kiramager Red Ranger Handoff

Part of me wishes they did this with Power Rangers. The other part notices the McDonald's logo and wishes his McDonald's was awesome. For the record, it's not.

Mashin Sentai Kiramager trailer!

Pretty neat!

Cheap Super Heroes

I've mentioned before my love for capsule toy machines. Probably one of the reasons I love blind bag toys so much and wish I had access to the gashapon haven that exists in Asian countries. As a kid and even now I can't pass one by without checking out what they have inside. Sometimes it's just those crappy rings (pass) and sometimes it's gold (dammit, I need quarters!). Before I go any further, this is one of those posts where all the images came from screen shooting Google image search results from shady auction sites. Bootleg Voltron figures sold in gumball machines don't exactly always pop up on Amazon, gnaw meen brah?

I didn't know what a keshi or a bootleg was when I was 8. But I did know these neat little rubber monsters and super heroes I'd get from the machines at the grocery store looked like Godzilla and guys from video games. Later in life when learning more about such things... turns out they were from Godzilla type productions and video games originally. Or hey, when my childhood arcade got prize redemption counters. That little bucket of colorful dudes have tiny Masters of the Universe mixed in with the dinosaurs. Luckily those always were the cheapest options, so a few dollars worth of skeeball really paid off. Or man, these little robot model kits in the Kroger machines look like the guys from Robotech. Some reason that one Kroger had those model kits on lock down.

One of the more odd outlets for these toys was party supplies. Thanks to curiosity getting the best of me on a faithful trip to the store, I noticed the party supply section had more than just balloons and birthday candles. Baggies of cheap toys intended for goodie bags usually contain those crappy race cars and planes with the wheels that fall off. Or those stupid little games where you have to make the ball bearings fit into the clowns eyes by rolling them around. But sometimes... dude are those Madballs?

Next thing I knew I had a bag full of tiny rubber Madball rip offs for a dollar. This is still a common occurrence. Next time your around a party supply section or store (the more ratchet the store, the better) check those out. Usually it's just crappy kazoos, but on occasion you'll find M.U.S.C.L.E rip offs or whatever. One time I saw some Street Fighter figures. They were from a gashapon series originally, bootlegged in weird plastic that kinda smelled like fish. That's the gambit you run with el cheapo bootleg toys. They're usually pretty sketchy and might be made in a facility next to bathtub meth. So uh... be careful mang.