Post #4 - S.H. Figuarts Mighty Morphin Green Power Ranger by Bandai Tamashii Nations

The release of this figure was perfectly timed on account of this year being the 20th anniversary of the original Mighty Morphin Power Rangers series.

And while many of us in the west are more familiar with this particular character as Tommy, the Green Ranger, this figure is also serves as a representation of the Dragon Ranger from the Japanese show, Kyoryu Sentai Zyuranger.  

The American release is largely similar to that of the Japanese version.  The only differences being some minor changes in the packaging, as well as the omission of two accessories that many MMPR fans would find irrelevant since they were never used in the American show.

Being that this particular figure was intended for the American market, the front of the packaging dawns the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers logo along with an added exclamation of celebrating twenty years!

Packaging - The front, side and back also showcase a few posed images of the figure as well as some brief info about the design, options and accessories.  It's befitting of the usual style packaging from a S.H. Figuarts release.  Compact but clean.  It definitely does the job.

Packaging Score - 3 out of 5

Sculpting - Out of the packaging, the figure stands at a height just shy of 6", a standard scale of most Figuarts releases.

The figure is absolutely stunning in almost every respectable fashion.

The head-sculpt delivers an amazingly stunning likeness to it's on-screen counterpart.  The helmet offers a fully sculpted design that doesn't seem to overlook or dismiss any element.  Every little nook and cranny, isn't just painted but sculpted - well too, I might add!  This absolutely crucial attention to detail plays a huge role in the overall success of this figure.

 The Dragon Shield is completely independent from the figure's body.  While I have seen some images of the figure with the shield removed, I wouldn't recommend attempt this as it is not the figure's intent.  

Those who have tackled this venture almost are always sure to add how painstaking of a process it was. 

The arm bands are not removable, and so even if you were to successfully remove the shield, you would only be able to do a partial transfer to another figure.

Sculpting Score - 4.5 out of 5

Paint - The paint detail on the helmet is immaculate.  It's hard to find any real blemishes.  The only issue that I have observed is the shade of green chosen for the figure.  It's just a little too blue in my opinion.  It's very subtle, but when compared to images of the Green Ranger the difference is clear.  

With that being said, the glossy finish applied to the helmet helps provide a material differential between the helmet and suit.

 Like the helmet, the dragon shield was skillfully re-created with sculpted detail.  The metallic gold paint is perfect.  It's not too light or dark.  It achieves a happy medium, while additionally offering a subtle metallic flake.  

The metallic gold is re-used along the cuffs of the gloves…power morpher and tops of the boots.

One small gripe that I have is with the small circle on the buttocks.  Surely, there has to be a reason as to why they chose to leave behind such an obvious blemish.  I mean, right? 

Paint Score - 4 out of 5

Accessories - A detachable sheath for the dragon dagger accessory is included, leaving the option of displaying it with or without up to you.

The dragon dagger itself is nicely detailed.  The paint-work is very sharp, re-utilizing the green, gold and black from the suit. 

The sword of darkness is an accessory that fans of the Power Rangers series would recall during Tommy's introduction as the EVIL green ranger.  The red gem, rather than being just painted on is composed of a translucent plastic.  The red tassel is made from plastic.  In certain sword related poses it can look a little awkward as it reaches out defying gravity…

 Additionally, the Green Ranger includes five pairs of interchangeable hands.  For this many hands, I was slightly disappointed by the lack of variety in hand position.  There's just not enough justifiable difference from one pair to the next.  

But if we wanted to take a look at it from a positive perspective…one pair that I was particularly excited to see was the Dragon Dagger Flute playing hands….Without them, the iconic pose of the Green Ranger calling the Dragonzord just would not have been possible.

Now let's see just how well this figure stacks up in the articulation department..

Accessories Score - 3.5 out of 5

Articulation - The head operates on a ball joint allowing it get a lot of movement, up and down left and right.  A lot of that also has to do with the neck also operating on a ball joint, so we get a lot of movement on both ends.  The shoulders are ball jointed with a hinge.  The extra collar added around the shoulder joint does a nice job at covering up the joint.  The dragon shield does come into play when trying to extend the arms upwards, causing a bit of hindrance.  The elbow is doubled jointed.  This joint kind of ruined the aesthetics in the arm in my opinion by breaking up the gold trim across the inner arm.  The wrist has a hinged ball joint.  The upper and lower torso is ball jointed, which provides a decent range of motion.  It tends to lean back better than it does forward.  The hips have a hinged/ball joint for leg repositioning with a ball joint into the thigh.  The thigh can also swivel as well.  The knees are doubled jointed but leave behind some rather unsightly gap between the upper and lower leg.  The ankles are double ball jointed with a hinge, which allows it to also swivel really well.  And we finish off with a hinge for some toe articulation.

Articulation Score - 4.5 out of 5

Conclusion - Overall, what can I say?  This figure absolutely rocks.  As a longtime fan of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers this is the figure I've been waiting for… And yeah, sure I had a few minor gripes along the way but more often than not there's always room for improvement.

This figure by far exceeded by expectations in every way.  So if you're sitting out there on the fence about this one, STOP IT… do yourself a favor and pick this one up.  I don't get it to say it often but this is one you won't want to miss out on.

Overall Score - 3.9 out of 5