Review: Dino Charger Ultimate Power Packs 1 and 2
Toys R Us Exclusive – $24.99 Each
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Toys R Us is the go to home for Power Rangers exclusives, and the Dino Charge exclusives are starting to hit stores everywhere. In terms of Dino Chargers, Toys R Us delivering two Dino Charger Ultimate Power Packs. Each Ultimate Power Pack includes five dinosaurs as well as their respective Dino Charger. What sets these apart is that not only are the dinosaurs are molded in a new color plastic, the Dino Chargers are all glow in the dark, with all four panels having some sort of glow in the dark feature. The Dino Chargers are cool, but the stars of these sets are definitely the dinosaurs, and what they represent. Each Ultimate Power Pack retails for $24.99, and as mentioned, are Toys R Us exclusive releases.
The Dino Chargers all feature varying degrees of glow in the dark. The blank panel features the glow in the dark dinosaur, while the fully charged panel features a glow in the dark stripe behind the dinosaur. The two half panels will feature a combination of the two, as expected. Other than that, they’re all very much the same as what we are used to. Like I said, they are nothing absolutely special.
The dinosaurs however are the gems of the set. While they’re nothing really new (outside of if you don’t own any of these molds yet), it’s the color choices that make this set worthwhile. A large portion of these dinosaurs are all colored to match their coloration as seen in Power Rangers Dino Thunder. A few others are other small references to Kyoryuger or events that might take place in Dino Charge at a later date. Let’s do a quick run down.
Black Tyrannosaurus Rex – This is a reference to Gabutyra’s black form seen in the Kyoryuger vs. Go-Busters film. We got wind that Bandai plans to be releasing a black Tyrannosaurus Rex alongside the Spino Zord, so that footage might actually make its way into the show in some capacity. We shall have to see.
Pink/Maroon Stegosaurus – This is a reference to the Stego Zord in Power Rangers Dino Thunder. The zord on the show was a much deeper magenta, but this attempt isn’t too bad.
Blue Triceratops – This is a reference to the Tricera Zord in Power Rangers Dino Thunder that belonged to the Blue Ranger. I guess you could argue it’s a reference to Mighty Morphin’s Triceratops too.
Purple Pachycephalosaurus – This is a reference to the Cephalo Zord in Power Rangers Dino Thunder. I think this is actually that Zord’s first US toy, since it never got a release in Dino Thunder.
Orange Kentrosaurus – The Anklyo Zord in Power Rangers Dino Thunder was orange! Due to the fact that the Ankylosaurus isn’t made yet for these Power Pack releases, they substituted the Kentrosaurus instead. Hopefully we get an actual one next year.
Green Parasaurolophus – This is a reference to the Para Zord in Power Rangers Dino Thunder.
Red Velociraptor – This is one of the tricky ones. You could argue that this is a reference to the Raptor Riders seen in Power Rangers Dino Thunder. You could also argue that it’s meant to represent the Tyranno Zord from the show that had a drill on its tail, this one having a blade for a tail. It’s hard to say for sure with this one.
Gray Deinonychus – This one also has a few possibilities. To go with Power Rangers Dino Thunder, you could say this is meant to represent the Raptor Cycles seen in the show. It’s easier to go with the actual Dino Charge route, since the Dino Cycles in the show are made up of two Deinonychus, one yellow and one black. This dark gray color could be meant to represent the back Deinonychus of the bike.
Blue Deinosuchus – Like the Kentrosaurus, Bandai was trying to represent the Dimetro Zord from Power Rangers Dino Thunder, but there are no Dimetrodon releases for Dino Charge’s toy line. They decided to go with an alternate low legged dinosaur they have access to, even if it’s all sorts of not correct. Additionally, Dimetro was a cyan color in Dino Thunder, not a darker blue as seen here. A for effort I guess.
Overall, the dinosaur toys are the real winners here. I love the Dino Thunder references, even if some are a bit of a miss. Regardless, I like the effort and thought put into this release, and if you’re a fan of these little guys, and like Dino Thunder, you should definitely seek them out for your collection. I wish the Chargers were a little bit different to add some incentive, but not much you can do. Buy for the dinos, not for the Chargers.
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CollectorShuki.com