The Ranger Legacy Tests The Waters At Toy Fair

Bandai’s new format of excluding all but a handful of press this year has made getting any information on the upcoming Power Rangers lines harder to come by, but not impossible.

2017 will be a monumentally important year for Bandai’s Legacy line, as fans will finally have a chance to purchase power ranger figures not of the Mighty Morphin variety. 2017 will see both the Zeo and Dino Thunder Rangers coming to stores. It’s a sort of put up or shut up moment for a fandom that has become increasingly vocal against Bandai’s heavy focus on the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers.

While Bandai has dipped their toe into the non-MMPR waters by including the popular Rangers from “Ninja Storm” in wave 1 and “In Space” in Waves 2 and 3, the real test begins as the Mighty Morphin rangers will be completely absent.

This isn’t to say that Bandai won’t be representing the Original Power Rangers in 2017, oh no.

In a somewhat controversial move, Bandai will be re-releasing the MMPR Legacy figures in a translucent “metallic” paint. This wave will not come with a Build a Figure but rather the long requested power weapons. Fandom is decidedly mixed on this release with some viewing it as a naked attempt at a cash grab by Bandai, while others are more understanding of the cost of doing business in the toy market. The report is that the power weapons will not be able to combine to form the power blaster, another move that has split the fandom.

Bandai has also continued their odd need to rerelease zords in a black paint scheme, with Titanus getting the honors this year. I can say, that with the Legacy Titanus going for astronomical prices on the secondary market I would have much rather had a straight reissue of the Legacy Brachio-zord much in the way that the Dragonzord is seeing a reissue, but that’s neither here nor there.

I could murder a curry by the way.

The power sword was on display and is looking amazing. The blade is a soft plastic due to safety concerns and while there is some criticism on that front it doesn’t detract from it’s beauty. However, the buyer should beware that the blade will bend so be careful when you set up your display. The Power Sword is online at a $75 price tag but will actually be $150 at retail, so expect Big Bad Toy Store to contact you about the price of your pre-order going up.

Fans of the original MMPR movie and Season 3 will be happy that the ninja power coins will be seeing release as well. Though not on display this release has been talked about and should see stores later in the year.

The Legacy figures will see Wave 3 releasing sometime this spring with the Metallic Mighty Morphin wave coming early to mid-summer. The Legacy Zeo and Dino Thunder Rangers will be mixed together and released according to Power Rangers Now as follows:
Wave 4 (Releasing Fall 2017)
Power Rangers Zeo – Green
Power Rangers Zeo – Yellow
Power Rangers Zeo – Gold
Power Rangers Dino Thunder – Red
Power Rangers Dino Thunder – Blue

Wave 5 (Releasing Late Fall 2017)
Power Rangers Zeo – Red
Power Rangers Zeo – Blue
Power Rangers Zeo – Pink
Power Rangers Dino Thunder – Yellow
Power Rangers Dino Thunder – Black

The interesting thing is Wave 5 will be the first time you can purchase two different Tommy Oliver figures. It’s the Tommy Wave. The Legacy figures will continue to be $20.

2017 will be a very important year for Bandai as they test the market to see if other Power Ranger teams will sell. They are hedging their bet by using the two teams with the ever popular Tommy Oliver but it’s nice to see them move beyond their Mighty Morphin comfort zone.

The fandom will need to show up and show up big time in order for this Legacy series to continue and maybe even show Bandai that there is a market need for other Power Ranger teams. If Zeo and Dino thunder sell well, we should start to see more diversity in the overall Legacy line and with the rumor that Bandai will be reissuing the original 93 Power Ranger toys, the Legacy series will need to be able to distinguish itself even more.

Thanks to The Toy Room, Tokunation, Morphin Legacy, and Power Rangers Now for the pictures.