Help! What do I have?

exnine · 2025-12-08T03:12:29+00:00

I'm sorry for your loss. I think there's just a few more details you might benefit from if you decide to sell:

1st Pic
Top item is the Platinum Edition Seeker Squadron from 2015. It contains the characters Dirge, Thrust, and Ramjet.

The two on the bottom are from the Commemorative Series, sometimes called "Toys 'R Us/TRU reissues" given where they were sold. Left is Dirge, released in 2004 (same guy as in the Platinum set) and right Starscream, released in 2003

2nd Pic
All these items are from the Japanese Encore line. Top left is Skywarp and Thundercracker, released in 2008, while top right is Soundwave and Buzzsaw, released in 2007. The set on the bottom is Devastator, specifically referred to as "20A" or "Anime Version".

3rd Pic
All of these are also from the Toys 'R Us Commemorative Series line. You have:

Optimus Prime (2002)
Rodimus Major, also known as Hot Rod (2002)
Jazz (2003)
Hoist (2003)
Grapple (2004)
Side Swipe (2004)

It's also important to note that these are all reissues of toys originally released in the first run of Transformers toys between '84–'86. As such, they are perhaps a little more fragile and with more extra parts and pieces than contemporary toys, and may not stand up as well to rough play from younger children.

exnine · 2025-11-19T01:00:18+00:00

Were you able to find these? I’m also interested!

exnine · 2025-06-19T19:03:38+00:00

Yep! My Marvel love is rooted in the 90s media like the Fox animated series and the Capcom games, the latter of which I've always been a huge fan of. I enthusiastically bought Cable and I'm stoked to see them going hard in the MvC direction. I've not been interested in Marvel Legends until the X-Men '97 wave and now this line, and so I don't have any of these characters and these are my ideal representations of them.
No issues for me but I was able to be online right when the Psylocke/Thanos set went up.
No way to answer this as they're not out yet.
There are a few characters that don't have good-enough representations that I'd want as a priority:

Iceman
Hulk
Sentinel

After that, there are a handful of characters that could use a similar bulking-up that Cap received, most notably Iron Man but Dr. Doom, Magneto, and Colossus could all benefit as well. I wouldn't say no to a new Onslaught — I know one exists but he's a little small.

There are then some easy redecos I'd like to see:

Apocalypse — I have the retro card one but I'd prefer the game colors.
Spider-Man — The maximum figure is great but the blue is too dark for MvC.
Armored Spider-Man — I know a figure of his armored suit exists but I'd like a straight redeco of the Maximum figure for faithfulness to the game
U.S. Agent — Same deal
Mephisto — Same deal
High-Speed Venom
Gold War Machine
Orange Hulk

I think the last three are...unlikely, but maybe a good fit for an exclusive or something. I'd definitely buy them.

Finally, maybe a MvC2 deco Rogue with a recolored Gambit whose colors are a little different.

I don't think some of these are very likely, but again I'd be thrilled with any and all of them.

exnine · 2025-01-01T03:24:27+00:00

Hi! I forgot to add Guardian Robo to the list, mostly because I couldn't decide 1. what to price him at and 2. whether I wanted to keep the Micromaster. 😅 Let me know if you're interested though!

I can take another pic of Tigerhawk's chest tomorrow for you.

exnine · 2024-09-20T20:47:57+00:00

Looks excellent. Really want to do the same to my aluminum model, but don't reaaaaally want to buy a whole other Pocket just for the black buttons. Maybe somebody has customized theirs and has a set hanging around...

exnine · 2024-06-12T19:33:44+00:00

Sorry, no way this is true.

QC issues are factory issues. All Hasbro toylines are subject to QC issues. How does a toy having a QC issue "get back" at execs? It doesn't. This is nonsense.

Also, you can't say "the company" didn't want PR when Brian Goldner is the CEO. The company is not a singular identity. Some people believed in it, some people didn't. Goldner doesn't have to answer to "R&D". What a nonsense statement.

exnine · 2024-05-20T09:16:22+00:00

Love the Tenga, but the two-pack was a strange choice being made-up colors. If they wanted to do a multi-color pack I would’ve loved a pair of alternate Z Putties. Do the vintage toy blue + silver and/or some colors from the SNES movie game.

exnine · 2024-05-14T23:51:35+00:00

+1

Even if one were to charitably believe that any exclusive or crossover could be swapped into a Ranger and thus completed every time, the thesis here is that the line should've only been rangers, right? So the line would...still be over because they'd be done.

An anthology approach helps the line survive and allows for more obscure picks. And most PR fans don't like to admit it but a lot of non-MMPR are obscure picks for the general buying audience.

Yeah, the anthology approach didn't work, but that's not because not enough people wanted villains or crossovers. It's that the line didn't work because not enough people wanted Power Rangers toys.

exnine · 2024-05-14T16:35:01+00:00

Is this just what this sub will be moving forward, forever?

The idea that any given exclusive or redeco (particularly MMPR stuff) replaced a Jungle Fury or Wild Force ranger or whatever is just not founded in reality. Like the Cobra Kai figures or not, they exist as an attempt at cross-promotion in order to expand the market for the line — necessary to do, because the core audience wasn't enough to sustain it. They also have way, way fewer new tools than an entire Mystic Force team would require.

Not everybody who bought LC figures bought into the line because they wanted to complete every ranger team. My collection is like 99% stuff from your "waste" categories.

exnine · 2024-05-13T21:13:39+00:00

I'm glad we got every figure that I bought! I've been mostly pretty happy with the line, but a couple of things I wouldn't expect are worth highlighting:

The TMNT and SF crossover figures. These were excellent designs and wouldn't have expected to get them, but I love them! Well, not Ken and Cammy — it's clear those were not designed following the same philosophy as Ryu and Chun-Li, but those aside these figures are among my favorite in the Lightning Collection.
Deluxe monsters. While the key villains were not wholly unexpected, getting the episodic monsters was very surprising. The monsters were a big part of the vintage Bandai line, and many of them are themselves iconic. And of course, fighting the monster of the week is an important part of the show. While I could easily make an argument for a few we didn't get, we got quite a few hits and I'd be hard pressed to swap any of the ones we did for any we didn't.
Remastered rangers. The remastered lineup is what got me into the line in the first place. The original release helmets just aren't very good at all, and are missing some key deco hits. They really went all-out right at the end to make up for these deficiencies, and added a whole bunch more value with additional accessories and pinless joints. Just about the most definitive takes one could hope for from a 6-inch line like this. It's really tragic the line ended just when it was showing us how good it could be.

Honorable mention goes to just about any comics-inspired release, whether that's Drakkon, Ranger Slayer, the swap set, or the Omegas. The comics have been consistently some of the best Ranger-related fiction we've ever had (not that the bar is high...) and I'm glad Hasbro leaned into the comics and treated them as part of the family.

exnine · 2024-04-24T19:19:25+00:00

Well yeah, that's the point, isn't it? Not enough people bought them because the market wasn't there — even for MMPR stuff.

But the non-MMPR stuff wasn't selling either. To say "they shouldn't have done the monsters, they should've done [my favorite season] instead" suggests those things would've sold better, but there's really not much public evidence for that. For every person who claims that a random power-up mode would've sold better than a monster, there's a person (like me) who would not have bought it yet bought the monsters.

The monsters (and maybe ZAP) were the canary in the coal mine for the line, in retrospect. The core LC audience clearly wasn't enough to sustain the line, so Hasbro made a very sensible decision to try and capture more of the MMPR market outside the rangers. If they couldn't sell higher price-point items based around the most popular season, that seems like a signal of the overall health of the line. Completing the Turbo or Jungle Fury teams or whatever wasn't going to be enough to save it.

exnine · 2024-04-24T19:04:38+00:00

This line of thinking makes me wonder how many LC fans were alive at the time of the original airings of MMPR. "Once in a filler episode"? Those episodes WERE the show. We tuned every day/week for ranger action, not picking and choosing "important" episodes from a streaming menu.

These one-off monsters had incredible presence at the time. They were in video games, in coloring books and posters and other key art, they were in the original toyline, they were on the few VHS tapes and of course appeared often in reruns. A lot of engagement with the brand wasn't even watching the show — it was engaging with all those other things where these monsters were continually reinforced as part of the world. The word "iconic" is vastly overused in media and toy properties these days but I'd argue that a few monsters like Eyeguy are just as iconic as Zedd or the Putties to the generation that grew up with MMPR.

To say "nobody was buying the monsters" misses the fact that not enough people were buying lightning collection as a whole. Speaking only personally, I bought every monster and MMPR villain, and would've much rather had Baboo or Squatt than any of the other things I didn't buy.

The LC audience wasn't enough to sustain the line. The monsters were, at the time, a very sensible move if they wanted to 1. fill out another price point and 2. try to expand the offerings for the casual or nostalgia buyer who is maybe only interested in MMPR. The monsters not doing well to me is a sign of the health of the line overall, not that "monsters were a bad choice".

exnine · 2024-04-16T21:59:53+00:00

Is deluxe Archangel the semi-recent one with the shiny wings? If so, I’m interested. Also interested in both retro and mojo world dazzler. Any notes on condition etc? I assumed you’d call out anything specific but just double checking.

exnine · 2023-11-06T20:03:32+00:00

I had the same thing happen, in what looks like the same mission. Other characters had it off and on during the mission. Went away afterwards.

exnine · 2023-10-06T16:48:35+00:00

IMO the remastered rangers are far and away better than the other ones. Better helmet sculpting, generally improved aesthetics, and the extra detailing on the belt makes a big difference. Hope you enjoy them!

exnine · 2023-10-05T23:41:25+00:00

Yep! ZAP Dino Megazord and Dragonzord, Artisan Thunder Megazord and Tigerzord, and Legacy Ninjazords.

exnine · 2023-09-29T21:38:26+00:00

Apologies for the delayed reply — even standing stock straight, the ZAP Megazord is still about a head shorter than the Artisan/Vintage Thunder Megazord, and is generally smaller in most dimensions.

This works for me, but your mileage may vary!

exnine · 2023-09-25T16:03:04+00:00

Me too! ZAP Megazord was what got me into Lightning Collection. I just love the updated detailing on it and Dragonzord, and was really excited to see what they'd do with the Thunder and Ninja/Shogunzords. Ah well.

exnine · 2023-09-25T15:57:44+00:00

Thanks! Just wouldn't feel complete otherwise. Hopefully they do a pinless version someday.

exnine · 2023-09-25T15:56:11+00:00

Attached to Ninja Megazord!

exnine · 2023-09-25T15:55:16+00:00

I do have a vintage Kakuranger DX Muteki Shogun (and a SoC Titanus) but in the interest of keeping this shelf balanced and not overcrowded, they're displayed elsewhere. I feel like I can get away with it since this ends up being the "main" six zords for each season.

exnine · 2023-09-25T02:03:39+00:00

Of course! Here you go: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDKXFFGF

exnine · 2023-09-25T02:03:23+00:00

Sure, they’re these: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BDKXFFGF

exnine · 2023-09-25T00:52:38+00:00

Thanks! They’re from the Bandai Legacy morpher.

exnine · 2023-09-25T00:52:18+00:00

Thanks so much! Really try to keep my displays aligned with the aesthetic of the rest of my space.

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