Legacy MMPR Zords found at Target
 

In NY by @salcipriano on Twitter

Why does it look cheap or like a figure for younger kids?

I was thinking the same thing. I'm down with the idea of a highly-articulated version of the zords that can't transform, but in practice it looks like an overpriced kids toy.

I swear the original pictures looked better than this.

Is anyone really that surprised?

Kinda yeah.

it does have a certain Dollar Store Knock-Off quality to it.

Honestly, guys? Blame the retailers.

I talked about this on my Twitter/Thanks Tokunation staff for confirming this - But Bandai is honestly not to blame here as it's the retailers who continually ask for more MMPR products to sell as they don't have faith in other seasons selling barring the current season of the TV show & Bandai can't really say no on the matter so, it's a catch-22 "damned if you do, damned if you don't" scenario here.

If you ask me, all the major retailers need to have a sit-down & watch some In Space, Lightspeed Rescue, Time Force, DinoThunder, SPD & the other seasons to understand that despite MMPR being the most iconic, it's not the best season of the show.

Now onto the toys at hand? I don't hate them. I don't have the cash for the SOC Daizyujin and I certainly can't find the Imaginext Sabertooth anymore/eBay isn't an option for me. I know it's not the same thing, but I don't think people went nuts & demanded the Revoltech Transformers figures not be made because they couldn't transform or anything.

I don't think it's the retailers we have to worry about, it's the people that buy the toys.

Nostalgia rides high with folks and since geek culture is becoming a thing, they'll rely more and more on that nostalgia when they make purchase decisions.

While I don't really like it, I can't fault BoA for trying to cater to the masses.

Same here. Also, MnemonicSyntax? It's been AGES since I've heard from you/I remember you on RangerBoard & DeviantArt.

But yeah, I honestly don't hate these things. Just give me a few hours and I'll turn these things into museum-worthy pieces.

Sorry but no, retailers ask for more MMPR because it sells.

Corporations don't give a rat's ass about a kid show's supposed quality they just want to make money.

It's the same reason why Hasbro added an Iron Man toy to a Black Panther toyline.

After the travesty that is the Gold Ranger, I’ve decided not to continue purchasing Legacy figs. I know I woulda been all over these Zord figures, but I’m done with the line.

Would retailers even know the difference? Just stick an MMPR logo on the box and they'll probably let it go. I'm sick of Bandai's excuses.

Yes, because people are complete retards who can't tell the difference between two totally different costumes. /sarcasm

Retailers don't care about Power Rangers as a show they only care about what isn't clogging up their shelves.

It's the same reason why you had Iron Man shoehorned into a Black Panther toyline.

Call me when Legacy Shogun Megazord finally gets announced.

From what I have heard -

Originally was planned for Holiday 2017 but got shelved and pushed to Holiday 2018 to be one of the final "# of 25" special anniversary items. I do not have 100% confirmation on that which is why I don't run with it as a news story. That would mean the Lion Fire Megazord was pry pushed forward from Spring 2018 or Summer 2018 to Holiday 2018 to ensure there was a $100 item available for Power Rangers during the holiday season. What's even stranger - Lion Fire Megazord was originally supposed to be a Wal-Mart exclusive (I do have confirmation on that), but as to why it moved to Toys'R'Us? Anyone's guess.

As to everyone's comments on Bandai/retailers/etc.

It's important that everyone understand how the toy industry works before we get up in arms at anyone for anything.

1) Bandai creates toy line pitch, with mock-ups of product
2) Retailers decide whether or not to "buy in" to the product at their stores and give feedback on everything from gimmick, to line-up of characters, to packaging
3) If yes - Bandai begins production
4) If no - Bandai goes back to the drawing board

Certain companies have more pull and power than others. Hasbro, for example, hardly gets a "no" anymore. But back in the day? I remember speaking with Aaron Archer over the course of WEEKS on how much of a pain in the ass it was to get the Robots in Disguise Scourge toy, with the chrome trailer, released in the US. No one wanted it. The price point was a weird one (like $35 or something) and retailers were afraid it wouldn't succeed.

What happened? It went on to be one of the more successful Toys'R'Us exclusives and Transformers now has a firm grip on Toys'R'Us for exclusives (ie: the Masterpiece line).

So why do all the expensive toys end up at Toys'R'Us? Think demographics. Who shops at Wal-Mart and Target? Everyone. Especially people on a budget. Who shops at Toys'R'Us? People looking to drop cash on expensive toys. Therefore, put the expensive toys at Toys'R'Us.

As for the Legacy 6.5" figure line ... the real reason Bandai wants to keep the "Build a Figure" aspect of it is because it makes it easier to sell to retailers. The downside? We may see more and more MMPR related figures as "Build a Figure" in future assortments (ie: The Psycho Rangers). Why? Because retailers WANT more MMPR. But these figures are NOT selling with Build a Figure, and if you put weapons instead of figure pieces, you remove any chance that someone is collecting to build a Megazord.

Not that it matters without the girls (who needs legs for their Megazord?).

In short - the blame is 50/50. Retailers have the power and can easily influence a company to produce what they want (who wouldn't? I don't want to sell your toy if it doesn't sell, I want to move that toy and get my profit, if I don't then I don't want it in the future). But Bandai in the end manufactures the product and continues to cheapen out. They will give you a variety of reasons (cost, demographics, testing, blah blah blah) ... but in the end, the less they spend the happier their shareholders are, especially with product line(s) that have dropped considerably in sales since Dino Charge hit the shelves.

Kyuranger adaptation will reverse the trend - I'll guarantee it. With a better show as well, you can expect the toys to be pretty popular. No more "recolored Megazords for auxiliary zords" ... I can promise you that. And if I'm wrong, then oh well ... chances are I'll buy it (as long as it's not too horrible looking) as I love me my Kyuranger.

My eyes say, "Yes.", but my SOC Megazord says, "No."

It's just so ridiculous that retailers are stuck on MMPR. Not even MMPR as a whole but season 1.

Hey man, what's up.

I just sorta lurk now. PR/Sentai/Kamen Rider hasn't really interested me since OOO and I've been into Transformers and bigly robots for a minute or two.

Retailers aren't stuck on MMPR the general public is.

If Zeo,In Space etc were flying off store shelves they'd be asking for more, heck if MM Pink was the top selling Legacy figure they'd want more of her too.


And it isn't just PR notice how the last two TMNT shows both ended with a big crossover with the 80s cartoon turtles?

I honestly wonder how Hasbro has made both Marvel Legends and the Star Wars Black Series successful when both Bandai and Mattel have tried and failed with the collector figure market. *The Thundercats line barely lasted a year, MOTUC went online only and disappeared from retail and still got canceled same with DCUC and now both the PR Legacy and DC Multiverse lines aren't doing too well from what I've heard. *

What's their secret Black Magic?

Yeah I still remember buying MP Skywarp on clearance for 30$ from Walmart just wish child me had had the foresight to snag the original MP Optimus Prime when he went on clearance there years ago.

Because unlike PR, Hasbro actually gives a shit.

But really, it's because PR does not have the adult following those two brands do. Rangers is not fondly remembered for its broad age appeal. It is almost always targetted twords children nearly exclusively. Star Wars and comics (not just Marvel but it was the biggest of the industry for a good while) have not been so limited to Saturday morning cartoons as the main source of memories. Star Wars and Marvel are older, have told more sophisticated stories, have reach a broader audience. It's not hard to appeal to them. They're ingrained in culture in ways PR can not and likely will not ever be.

It certainly doesn't hurt Hasbro that they offer a great variety of characters and appeal to more history. Bandai only really does Rangers. Then again it's hard to be diverse and offer multiple "doses' of PR's history when people wnat full teams. A wave of Marvel Legends can be Spider-man, Iron Man, Wolverine, and Punisher, but a wave of PR needs to be a whole team.

You'd think that but from what I've heard Mattel's DC Multiverse line isn't doing too well ethier.

And DC is just as big as Marvel.

And, despite in many cases both fandoms having characters wearing brightly colored spandex or skin-tight suits, the Power Ranger/Sentai fandom is the laughing stock compared to the superhero fandom.

Also, I saw the Saber-tooth Tigerzord today at Target and it looks much smaller than I thought, in addition to appearing to be quite "kiddy" in appearance, and the paint didn't really look all that hot either.

Yeah I'd be impressed if Imagenix or Lego made this for kids.

But as an intended adult collectible it's just weird.

MMPR does cast an abnormally large shadow in the US. I know people that wont even begin to try and watch Ultraman or Kamen Rider or any Tokusatsu because they're like, "I don't like that Power Rangers sh*t."

..it's like, not everything Toku is Power Rangers. Only Power Rangers is Power Rangers.

But they cast that impossibly large shadow over everything.

Yep. Alternative facts, fake information... not all spandex wearing heroes are Power Rangers.

Sad!

Amen, TokuChris. I hope Kyuranger's adaptation is good. I actually want RyuuVoyager in Serpentera colors thanks to you.

Arguably.

But really, DC has always had its collector safety in DCC. Marvel is a juggernaut as far as toys (and merch in general) go. Thanks largely in part to the MCU. DC's films however are not only often unpopular, but are hard as hell to market as far as toys go. What kid would want figures of the Suicide Squad? Marvel has this insanely broad appeal with fantasty and sci-fi and "grounded" characters to choose from. DC has... Batman and Superman, and maybe the Justice League.

DC has DC Collectibles for its bread and butter as far as collector-focused toys go. Because it kinda has to with its characters.

I was watching Kamen Rider Kiva on an airplane and the lady next to me asked me why I was watching Power Rangers. I wasn't really sure how to respond.

DC has a lot of good characters to choose from, it just seems like they're only focusing on stuff that has been in movies.

Well this is definitely a skip

In fairness a good chunk of Marvel Legends are movie based too.

The secret to Marvel Legends is that they pump wave after wave out to the shelves. One wave barely has time to marinate before the next wave is fighting for peg space. So you end up with 3 or 4 different waves sometimes on the shelf together.

THAT - or they tie it in to movie releases. So you have two waves of "Marvel Legends", along with "Black Panther - Marvel Legends", and then the next Marvel movie has it's Marvel Legends assortment knocking on the door. The movies are runaway successes, every single time, and for the most part, it's reflected in toy sales (except Guardians of the Galaxy, I don't think ANYONE bought those).

Mattel has a piss poor reputation when it comes to distribution. Anyone who bothered to collect the 2003 MOTU line can tell you the days of half an aisle clogged with nothing but He-Man and Skeletor figures, because the distribution was like 4 He-Man, 3 Skeletor, and 1 of the figure everyone wanted.