Deluxe Pyramidas The Carrier Zord
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Review by EVA_Unit_4A
Though Master Vile has retreated to the comforts (read: safety) of his own empire in the M51 Galaxy, at least the Power Rangers have at last been defeated! Severely drained of their own powers while defending Earth, the alien Aquitian Rangers return home. The loss of the Command Center has now left the Earth Rangers powerless and unable to defend their home planet. But, just as Lord Zedd and his wife Rita Repulsa are about to declare victory, an even darker cloud unexpectedly descends on Earth- the Machine Empire. Led by King Mondo and Queen Machina, their massive robot army makes even Zedd and Rita flee for their lives. Meanwhile, the Rangers fall into a deep tunnel which reunites them unexpectedly with Zordon and Alpha-5 in a new subterranean Power Chamber! Working in secret for months, the Power Coins of old have been cast aside, and they have created new armored suits, weapons, & Zords by using the Zeo sub-Crystal instead. As the Machine Empire begins landing its mechanized troops, a new team of Zeo Power Rangers are sent out to stop them!
The identity and allegiance of the Gold Ranger is one of the most infamous moments in Power Rangers history, which was filled with false leads and red herrings at every turn from the writers. It ultimately consumed seven episodes, and the story arc finally concluded with the surprise return of Jason Scott Lee ("Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" season-1’s Red Ranger) to wield the powers.
Regardless of this, the massive flying Pyramidas makes its first appearance in Episode 27, “The Power of Gold”, after the Zeo Mega-Battlezord is unable to take down the Wolfbane robot. It only appears in Pyramid Mode and fires one volley in this episode. (In Episode 28, “A Small Problem”, it is revealed that Pyramidas can instantly heal both the Zeo Megazord and Red Battlezord when it is on the battlefield.)
Pyramid Mode
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Because of the toy’s enormous size, there are several decals warning not to stand or sit on the toy! (These I humorously removed years ago.)
There are eight black ABS wheels underneath (two more are added in Carrier Mode). However, because they have treads on them, it will rattle on hard flat surfaces.
Carrier Mode
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Robot Mode
The arms have single-axis ratcheting joints in the shoulders & elbows, while the ratcheting wrists are able to turn due to the transformation process.
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While the Pyramid and Carrier Modes can freely roll about, Robot Mode has no wheels and so cannot be pushed across any surface in similar fashion.
Though the toy is certainly not restricted in such fashion, Pyramidas only appears in its Robot and Carrier Modes during the series when forming either Zeo Ultrazord mode. [While the Zeo Ultrazord (Robot Mode) regularly saw action, the Zeo Ultrazord (Carrier Mode) was rarely used. But one does not have any particular advantage or capability over the other in context of the series.]
For those of you wondering what the differences are between the Deluxe Pyramidas The Carrier Zord from “Power Rangers Zeo” (1996), and its original Japanese counterpart- the DX King Pyramider from “Chouriki Sentai OhRanger” (1995) - the answer is simple:
There are no differences. They are exactly the same. Because the paint applications were limited to just the face and chest crystal, that was not an issue. And there were only four decals, all on the legs. However, don’t be fooled by official photographs of Pyramidas, which have a distinct sand brown tone rather than the golden-orange actually used on the toy; all plastic coloring was the same between the two toys as well.
Sets required for these combinations:
- Deluxe Zeo Megazord
- Deluxe Red Battlezord
- Deluxe Pyramidas The Carrier Zord
Zeo Ultrazord (Robot Mode)
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Zeo Ultrazord (Carrier Mode)
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While Deluxe Tor The Shuttle Zord was our first experience with a large-yet-hollow carrier Zord, it is this set which set the standard for me. It was also far bigger and much less ugly! One of the biggest features is the outstanding level of surface detail across every panel. Not one panel doesn’t have machinery lines & details, save for perhaps the transparent-red crystal; the interior floor levels are also equally detailed. It is an unprecedented feature, other than the size and ability to transform into three modes.
Undeniably, all three modes are attention-grabbing regardless of whether it’s in your hands or on display. In fact, if there was one thing I could change, it would have been to add a simple light-and-sound feature to the red crystal so that it would activate when in any of the three modes; you kinda expect something to glow- and there’s certainly enough space inside!- but it just doesn’t happen.
While the Zeo Ultrazords take up a lot of space, I find that they are too similar to the Thunder Ultrazord from MMPR-2: things just get stacked on-and-in rather than any real transforming taking place. The first Ultrazord from MMPR-1 remains an awesome combination of seven Zords, and then stacking the motorized function on top of that. (The Ninja and Shogun Ultrazords were pathetic attempts at recreating this, in my opinion.) So when the Zeo Ultrazords are brought out, I just don’t feel that same jaw-dropping amazement that I did the first year.
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Deluxe Pyramidas The Carrier Zord is a massive triple-changing beast that cannot be avoided, and has become one of the favorite pieces in my collection. Highly recommended!
Author Information
| Posted 11 July, 2010 - 12:01 by EVA_Unit_4A |
