Tower Ranger

Over the last little while, I've been getting into bigger and bigger action figures.  I'm not talking about 12" "doll-ish" type figures or even large buildable sets (like Bionicle).  I mean big, giant sized, chunky pieces of plastic action figures.  And this is one of the biggest I've seen.  I give you:  THE BIG ONE.

I haven't really been into Power Rangers since I was kid.  When I was a kid, Mighty Morphin' Power Rangers was the show that everyone liked, but became the show that everyone ridiculed.  Who knows what the reasons were for that show to be singled out (it could be that it was live-action), but I'll admit to jumping on that bandwagon and I pretty much put them out of my head until I was an adult.  That's when my nostalgia for them came back, and when I visited the Power Ranger motherland that is Japan. We visited the Toei Kyoto Studio Park, and they have a whole section of costumes and props from Kamen Rider and Super Sentai (Power Rangers).  I gained a whole new appreciation for Power Rangers there!  I had no idea they've been around for so long!  The Power Rangers first appeared in the early 70's and they've been going strong ever since.  That deserves respect.

Various incarnations of the Red Ranger

When I visited Japan in 2010, the current incarnation of Super Sentai was Goseiger, which also happens to be the current Power Rangers here in North America for 2013 (Power Rangers Megaforce).  Most of the Power Rangers merchandise I saw in Japan was Goseiger themed, so I do have a special appreciation for the Megaforce rangers.  That's probably what did it for me with this Giant Size Red Ranger.  Well, that and the shear SIZE of it.

This guy has your standard figure articulation with swivel joints at the neck, shoulders, hips, wrists, and calves.  There's nothing fancy here figure-wise, but I kinda like that.  He's just a jumbo-sized action figure, and the size sells it.  I suppose an accessory would have been nice, but I can live without that.  Big Red here just towers over every other figure I have, nothing else is really needed for him.

I don't think there are too many other figures out there in this size.  There may have been a Batman like this.  I think it would be fun to have others in this scale, but I won't hold my breath.  He's the size of a small child.  I can't think of a whole lot to do with him, but that's not the point.  I just wanted him 'cuz he's big.

POW!

Wait a minute!  What's that green thing on the Red Ranger's foot in the picture below?  Did somebody sneeze on his boot?  Naw.  It's a Squinkies Zinkie.  It's nothing more than a speck next to this guy.

There's not really much more I can say about him.  He's fun.  He's big.  He's so big I had to dig out my old lo-tech photo set just to take pictures of him.  I'm sure he'll mostly be used as a decoration in my toy room, but that's okay.  All my other toys look like toys next to this guy.  It's almost creepy how big he is.  It's like having a little superhero standing around in your house.

I'll leave you with some more Power Ranger shots from the Toei Kyoto Studio Park, just because they're awesome and I love showing off pics from my Japan trip.

A hammerhead motorcycle!  How cool is that?