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01-05-2012, 07:53 PM | #1 |
Master of Water
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 6,246
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In celebration of the opening of TokuNation, here's a review I've been meaning to do for quite some time now: The Power Rangers in Space Astro Megazord!
The Astro Megazord, also known as the Megarangers' Galaxy Mega, was unique in that it consisted of only two components, a first for a Power Rangers main Megazord and at that time, something, I believe, that has not been seen for some time for a main Sentai mecha. This design aspect alone got me intrigued and it helped that I found Power Rangers in Space one of the best seasons in the series. Let's not waste time and get to the photos! Shown here is everything plastic you get in the box. There's the large Astro Megaship, the smaller Astro Mega Shuttle with an attached booster shuttle, and his sword. A closer look at the Mega Shuttle. I really like how it somewhat resembles a real-life Space Shuttle, and the booster assembly really adds to the effect. It's a pity that it can't stand upright. It's the Megaship's turn for a close-up. In my opinion, this is a really attractive ship design. Sleek, yet powerful, it evokes iconic ships such as the Millennium Falcon, the USS Defiant and even, in some bizarre way, the USS Enterprise. It certainly served as a sort of Enterprise for the Space Rangers. Look at all that chrome, shiny and gorgeous. It's good chrome too, having survived all these years! A ship this beautiful needs a closer look! Observe the twin blaster cannons on each side, which can be turned in their spots. The ship also has a ton of molded detail which a model kit enthusiast can possibly bring out with some painting. A look at the back of the ship. The hands are visible, yes, but it's not too conspicuous. I really like the turbine engines at the back, they look great. Finally, a look at the ship's underside. Very symmetrical, with wheels for extra playability. As can be seen, this is where the shield is stored, and it blends in very well. The booster assembly from the Mega Shuttle can be disassembled and made into armament for the Megaship. The two rockets attach to the side to form cannons of some sort, and the main component forms a sort of underside cannon. That's quite a nice touch of playability, especially since the show didn't utilize it (not sure whether its Sentai counterpart, Megaranger, did). As seen in the show, the Mega Shuttle fits inside the Megaship. It's a great way to store all the parts in a compact manner. Here's a closer look at the disassembled booster assembly. There's also the sword, which is massive! Truly a sword worthy of this mighty robot. Now it's time to transform! Here, the transformation sequence is almost complete. All that remains is for the Mega Shuttle to form the head. “Initiate docking sequence!” “Astro Megazord, online!” The Megazord's chest lights up when the head is put in place and a transformation sound plays. It's a pretty cool effect. Pressing either of two buttons on its chest gives off one of two sounds, while the chest light flickers. The sound effects are loud and clear, and they're a fun feature. Here's the Astro Megazord in its full glory. It's one gorgeous, coherent robot. I definitely feel that this is one of the best Sentai mecha designs of all time. A look at his back. Pretty spartan, but does the job. The Mega Shuttle's booster assembly can be transformed into a blaster. More playability! Apparently the twin blaster cannons of the Megaship can combine with the booster assembly, but since I only learned about it recently, I didn't get to try it out. The articulation on this Megazord is pretty good, especially considering its age! It surely beats a lot of action figures of the time. Admittedly much of the articulation is a result of the transformation, but as long as it works, I'm fine with it. The joints are satisfyingly ratcheted. Compared to current mecha, the ratchets feel more solid, strong and clicky, and overall feel a lot better. The arms are typical Sentai mecha. No elbows, just cut shoulders and sadly, no wrists, which I felt would have been easy to do. The legs however, are great. We get thighs that swivel, knees and ankles. The only real shame is that the thighs don't go forwards or backwards, as those would have really given this guy complete, serviceable leg articulation. What we got is still pretty good however, especially in comparison to mecha of recent years. There are still some great poses you can get out of this guy. As said before, there are some decent poses to be gotten from this guy! It's a really solid and stable figure. Here's a comparison with the GoZyuJin and GokaiRed Ranger Key. I had hoped that anyone reading this might have either one of these two to compare the Astro Megazord's size with. He's smaller than recent main mecha. Time for fun photos! It was fun having two of my more articulated mecha “fight” each other. Who knew you could do this with Sentai DX mecha? Are there any cons? It would be nitpicking, but I guess I could name a few if I try hard enough. Firstly, this is a toy of the sticker era. As expected, some of the stickers don't hold up very well over such a long time, and they're peeling. Not to worry, the figure looks just as great without them, but it's still a slight pity. The plastic of the booster assembly's cannons is also a bit weak. Make no mistake, the sword, blaster, and the rest of the figure are excellent and solid (more so than many modern toys, in fact), but those two rockets have deteriorated a bit at their connectors. If you're afraid of it, I suggest not disassembling the assembly too often. Still, in comparison to the cons, there are a lot of pros! It's a solid, stable robot, with greater stability, durability and construction than many modern toys. It looks amazing, and has a great, ingenious transformation sequence. The individual ships modes are a delight to anyone who's a fan of sci-fi alt modes. It has great weapons, namely a huge sword, a blaster that can transform in a variety of ways, and a shield. Better yet, with the exception of the sword, these weapons can all be stored in the Zords' alt modes in one way or another. It has very good articulation for a Sentai DX mecha, especially one of its age. Finally, the electronics are a nice touch and work well. In short, I would definitely recommend the Astro Megazord to any fan of Power Rangers or Super Sentai, or to any toy collector who enjoys good solid robots. It may sound clichéd but I have to say that they don't make them like this anymore. Thanks for reading! Last edited by ComicGuy89; 01-05-2012 at 09:06 PM.. |
01-05-2012, 07:58 PM | #2 |
Space Ninja
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Baltan Star (or Maryland)
Posts: 1,193
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Your pics are enormous! I mean that in a good way - if I so choose, I can expand them and really appreciate the figure itself and the great lighting and focus.
Glad to have you aboard.
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01-05-2012, 08:01 PM | #3 |
Master of Water
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 6,246
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I hope the images are resized right! I don't want this to kill the bandwidth of users with slower connections, so please let me know if they're taking too long to load. Thanks!
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01-05-2012, 08:17 PM | #4 |
Miss Tokunation
Join Date: Oct 2011
Location: Austin, TX
Posts: 1,630
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Aaagh stop making me want him!
Also, could you please resize those pictures to 1000 pixels in width or less? That many pictures of that size on one page can really slow down some people. |
01-05-2012, 08:21 PM | #5 |
Master of Water
Join Date: Jan 2012
Posts: 6,246
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Quote:
EDIT: Resized them accordingly. Last edited by ComicGuy89; 01-05-2012 at 09:06 PM.. |
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