Action Figure #783: Valaverse Dragon Prime

 Not quite Power Rangers, not quite Sentai.

 I was eyeing this two pack for quite a while, but just the day I managed to get the money.... it sold out. I even asked BigBadToystore if there were any chance it would restock, but they said it was nill... so I bit the bullet and slightly overpaid on Ebay for this Dragon Prime and White Dragon 2-Pack.

 I had kind of high hopes for these figures. Sadly, every Millenial's childhood hero, Jason David Frank, took his own life before this film celebrating Power Rangers and his Ranger Legacy got a release... but while we've been waiting for years, the figures have come out, and... Let's start with the villain, Dragon Prime. Admittedly, beyond one behind-the-scenes photo and a few quickshots from the trailer, we haven't seen enough of him... but it was enough to know that this figure isn't very faithful to the source material. For instance, his shield and gauntlets are painted in a light shade of grey... when in the BTS phot we can clearly see that these should be tinted red. Another thing, the bumps on the side of his torso... At leas the White Dragon has a different amount of them than his own figure and this one. Other than that, he is fine. He comes with two fists, two open palm hands, two grabby hands and... an alternate right bracelet with a red energy blade. It has to be said... I'm disappointed that only the right bracelet can be swapped, because in the trailer we can see the White Dragon using TWO blades. He also comes with a red base. Another thing, while we haven't seen Dragon Prime from the back, the are backshots from the White Dragon, and his chest shield, from behind, looks nothing like this.

 Also, there are not enough photos to be able to check, but this just can't be right. The front part of his side is painted silver, but the half of his back is pure black? I smell laziness.

 The articulation is top notch. Double jointed elbows and knees, swivels on his boots, thighs and biceps, with sturdy drop-down hips and a ball jointed ab-crunch and a ball jointed waist, as well as butterfly joints. You can definitely have fun with this guy.

 That said, his arms can't stay straight. In fact, the white Dragon figure, which uses the same sculpt, had his elbow piece come off the joint and I had to super glue it back in. He is taller than your average Lightning collection figure, but, shorter than Bucky Cap.

 This figure is... it's fine as an action figure, but sadly, if he really is just a color swap of the White Dragon, the accuracy isn't all there. Maybe these figures were based on concept art? Either way... fine figures, but disappointing merch.

5.5