SHOKUGAN MODELING PROJECT TIME SHADOW | Figure Review

When one Megazord isn't enough, sometimes you need two. Especially if they can combine together.
After missing out on the pre-orders for this model kit, I began keeping an eye on various sites hoping to find one for a decent price, it took a while. Eventually I found one on Ebay that, while a bit over the original msrp, was still nowhere near the over $200+ that other sellers and third party sites were asking for. The box was opened but the contents were still brand new, so I was still able to have the pleasure of building the kit. There was no piece of gum to be seen though, so that's a tad disappointing. 
But with that out of the way, let's get to the Time Shadow. And yes, I was surprised to learn that the name of this mecha is the same in both the Sentai and Power Rangers. 

Once you complete the build, you'll have the Time Shadow in its big jet "Stealth Mode" or "Shadow Winger". You also get a big sword/gun weapon and 2 different head pieces, but those wont be relevant until later. 

But looking at the Shadow Winger, this thing looks amazing! The sculpt and paint are dead on to how it looked in the show, sometimes I feel like I might be holding the actual filming model, it looks that good!

Looking at the colors on this jet that aren't black or grey, I was initially worried that I might be entering sticker hell. Though surprisingly, sticker placement on this kit is mostly minimal. still I can't help but wonder what the point of some of them was if the pieces were going to be painted black anyway. 

These black pieces below the arch could have just been painted on, especially some of the smaller black ones you attach to the booster cannons feel unnecessary and at that point, I just colored them with a sharpie and called it a day. 

The top of the jet is where it shines the most. I love the color and details that went into this. 

The top also features an opening cockpit that you can place the Ranger pieces into. I'm not going to, because getting them into the Time Flyers was already a bit of a pain and I see no reason to do so for recreating a moment that, as far as I can tell, didn't even occur in Time Force. Maybe it happened in Timeranger? Let me know. 

The bottom of the jet looks pretty good though, despite the fact that you can see what will become the head and the legs later. But to be fair, that head does make a convincing enough front cannon and the legs are good at being the boosters/laser cannons.
The bottom also has a hole at the bottom that you can plug a Tamashii Nations stand into for flight poses

This thing is pretty big compared to the Time Flyers.

Before I move on, there's a part in the instructions that tells you to put the massive "Pro Divider" weapon and plug it into the top of the Time Shadow for some kind of weapon storage.
It doesn't work...

Now let's get into the Time Shadow Megazord. The transformation is pretty simple and matches how it occurred in the show, minus the jump cut, of course.
The wings on the back is gonna assure that this Zord will have some prominence on your shelf. Also, the gold rockets sticking out is a nice touch. 
I do really like how the Time Shadow Megazord looks, but if you put it against a picture from the show, it becomes plain to see where certain compromises had to be made. However that doesn't make the Megazord mode bad. As far as looks go anyway...

I think the less that's said about this, the better...

The head sculpt looks nice, I like the ninja motif the designers went with. The eyes are nicely painted, even though you can barely see them at times. The only thing I find kind of distracting about the head is the blue triangle, I can't help but look at it and think it looks like the Megazord is giving a big goofy smile. :D

The back of this figure looks...
-sigh-

Okay, now we get into my major problem with this model.
See, in the show, this Megazord is portrayed as being swift and quick on it's feet, like a big, robot ninja should. So you would expect that an action figure of it would be able to strike some appropriate action poses. 
But these back pieces make that all but impossible! They are attached to the back and legs of the figure, meaning: No Waist rotation or bend (not that it had any to begin with), no forward/backward movement, no bend at the knee, no possibility at all, outside of the head, arms and feet.

If you want to get any sort of leg movement, just go ahead and remove the rear leg pieces, as well as those yellow barrel parts inside the hips. If the show can do parts forming, so can I!

So problem solved right? Wrong! What you gain in movement, you'll lose in figure balance. The wings are heavy enough that it'll send the figure toppling over unless you have some kind of figure stand. Normally, I wouldn't be too upset, except I paid a lot for this inconvenience. 

With all that out of the way, the possibility is serviceable, but it could be so much better.

You also get some arm blade accessories which can be stored inside it's legs. Again, they don't exactly match up to how they looked in the show but they look alright. 

But wait, there's more! The Time Shadow can also combine with both of the original Time Force Megazord modes to form the Shadow Force Megazord! 

The original Megazord came with a few extra fold out tabs at it's "feet" that seemed extraneous at the time, but are now essential are the combination process.

Starting with the Mode Blue combination, this thing looks pretty cool, even though the combination process can be a bit of a hassle. The opening cockpit of Time Flyer 1 can be switched out with an alternate head piece for this Megazord. To complete the look, take the Pro-Divider or Shadow Force Megazord Saber with the blade part folded back for its Blaster Mode. 

But while the combined Zords looks amazing, the baggage that comes with both modes comes with it. The same back pieces restrict leg movement, and even if you remove them, you still have to deal with Mode Blue's fickle shin connection. 
And the wings on the back ensure that you're no longer getting shoulder rotation, making this essentially one big display piece in a static pose. 

The same pretty much applies for Mode Red (aka Best Mode), except his head piece simply plugs into the front of his regular head and the blade on the weapon folds forward to become a sword. And predictably, this is the best looking mode in my opinion, I'm especially fond of the shoulder cannons. 

Oh, and no matter which combination you do, the head of the Time Shadow is just gonna hang off the back, looking up at the sky. I find that pretty funny.

So overall: We have a fantastic vehicle mode, a nice robot mode (despite it's limited movement), and a couple of combinations that look good. The Time Shadow isn't a bad model kit, but I think it leaves a lot to be desired.
I can only recommend picking this up if you're a huge Time Force/Timeranger fan like I am.
I really hope the Q-Rex turns out better than this.

Till next time, I have been your host Gryphon 
and thank you for joining me here in my lair. 
So long...

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