As this year comes to a close, might be fun to look back at all the LC releases we've gotten.
I posted this on another board.
Here's my
Top 15 LC Figures of 2020.
Considering QC, pricepoint, availability, articulation, sculpt, character significance, accessories and overall presentation.
Honorable Mentions: Psycho Pink and Psycho Yellow. These were the first female Psycho Ranger releases on the female Psycho Ranger mold. They were really well done, and maintained relatively consistent articulation with the male Psycho Ranger mold from 2019. The only caveat is these figures must be purchased with the entire set of 5, including the rebuying of Psycho-Red for some. That may be a downside for some. At the current reduced sales price on Amazon, it may be worth it for those who want them.
Zeo Gold Ranger (Trey): Excellent figure with one of the best civilian headsculpts in the line. However, it is a straight-up re-release of the 2019 Zeo Gold. If you already have that one, it isn't worth getting this.
Zeo Red Ranger (Tommy): Solid figure. Great effort with the accessories and signature weapon. I would have preferred a dark shade of Red paint on him (like the MMPR Red figure). They went with a lighter red here for some reason. The civilian head...err probably not one you'd want to use.
15) Lord Drakkon EVO 3: Solid figure, with enjoyable accessories and paint. They did enough to make this different from the W3 release. The biggest downside with this release is the pricepoint. It's a ripoff. The 2019 SDCC exclusive gave you 2 great figures and a massive set of accessories. Evo3 is priced the same with one figure and a lot of accessories. It's a downgrade in value. Perhaps if they had included the Drakkon Throne. Between the retail price on this and shipping, the price is out of alignment with the product itself.
14) Z-Putty: Excellent figure. Very flexible with soft plastic articulation. The blast effect accessory is quite fun for photography. Could have used a bit more paint on the mouth, and perhaps a darker wash... but overall solid. It's also easily available through online purchase, which was surprising for a 1x packed figure. Great potential army builder.
13) Rita Repulsa: The facesculpt and the cloth goods design of this figure are really well done. Some may say the dress limits the articulation, but the slips on the side allow for good leg movement;
The biggest downside with this figure is it's only available through purchasing the set with Zedd. Great if you didn't have him already or you can get the set on clearance like I did.
12) Metallic Pink Ranger (Kat): A significant improvement over the disappointing W2 MMPR Pink release. The Kat face is nicely done, unlike how they massacred Kimberly. The translucent plastic may be hit or miss with some, depending on your tastes. Great effort put into the sparkly packaging and shiny accessories. It may be worth it if you didn't get W2 MMPR Pink. If you did, keep in mind it's basically just a repaint with a new (better) civilian head.
11) Alpha 5: Great sculpt. Great paintwork. Fun figure, but unfortunately can only be purchased with the Zordon statue, and the Zordon with it's barely functioning light effect will be divisive to some.
10) SPD Blue (A-Squad): They did a great job with this one. Lots of detail in the sculpt. The gun looks great. Only downside is a few early released versions have QC issues with the visor paint, so watch out for that. I'm fine with no civilian head here, since the character was only seen for a minute or so, and wasn't even officially named. Regardless you can get some really badass poses out of this one, and the novelty of having a motocross armored ranger is definitely something. Looks good on a shelf.
9) TF Red (Wes): Excellent Faunt headsculpt, but painted strangely. Great accessories with this one. Great painted details, but they did goof up on the chest arrow. It also loses points though for the awkward thin torso, that makes the figure look feminine compared to the other bulkier male sculpts. Not sure why they did that. You can get around it by posing him in a sideways action pose.
8) SPD Red (Jack): Great civilian head. Excellent accessories. Generally good paintwork. Would be higher if it had the proper white visor paint. It makes a difference in the overall look. You'll see that when compared to SPD Blue's helmet.
7) MMPR Yellow (Trini): They nailed the civilian head here. That's the highlight of this one. Probably the best female civilian head. Figure loses some points for weak joints, the limited female articulation mold, and many QC issues I've heard regarding joint breakage, especially on the neck.
6) W8 MMPR Green (Tommy): The badass Tommy civilian head with this is the highlight of this release. This figure is made to be posed with that civilian head. The helmet could be better though, with more striking White paint instead of the more muted silver. You can see the difference it makes when compared to the FS version. The missing diamonds can be a deal-breaker for some. It really depends how you are posing this figure. It's very easy to conceal that area with certain poses so the missing diamonds aren't evident.
5) Cybervillain Blaze: This figure is as perfect as it could have possibly gotten. Excellent civilian head and accessories. You can great some incredible poses out of this figure. It doesn't rank higher because.... who cares about Blaze, lol. The character was a dud and sadly the figure is pegwarming over here with the rest of the BM LCs. Hasbro deserves some blame in that, since they also own the show itself.
4) SPD Blue (Sky): Perfect figure. Excellent, accurate paint. As great of a civilian head as you could get. Solid accessories. There may be paint/QC issues with some of these, so I'd recommend buying the figure in person if possible.
3) Red Space Ranger (Andros): Excellent figure! I love the CKL headsculpt considering its a show from 23 years ago.. they did a fantastic job with him. Love the spiral sabre accessory. Might have even ranked higher if it didn't require purchasing the Astronema figure as well.. which was far less impressive.
2) DT White (Trent): This figure could have been the #1 of the year, if not for the failure with the helmet paint and the missing paint on the weapon, gloves and morpher. The sculpt is excellent. The civilian head is well done. I appreciate Hasbro did the replacement helmets, but consumers really shouldn't have to go through that hassle...and realistically most won't.
1) Ranger Slayer: I haven't read the Boom Comics and I never will... but even I must admit that the design for this is totally badass. I generally find Pink action figures lame, but this completely changes the narrative. Great accessories as well. Lots of potentially great poses with this one. Great paint. And this figure is readily available on Amazon now for those that missed it during the first run earlier this yr. The helmet design reminds me of MMPR:TM and gives me some hope we'll see those armored suits as figures someday.
It doesn't come with a civilian head since there wasn't a live action version of this character for frame of reference, but there are customization possibilities. Personally, I've used this head on it.
Reminds me of the Naomi Scott's Kimberly who is also in the multiverse, so it works;
So that's my Top 15.
I'm glad there were enough solid figures to even do a Top 15, that's a good sign for things to come in 2021.
I'll be doing a Top Disappointing LCs of 2020 as well.
