So a while ago, back when the 40th anniversary Super Sentai season was airing, I went out and bought the main robo and the sixth ranger robo, but I couldn’t afford any of the auxiliary mecha at the time. I definitely didn’t get the carrier either, the whale, which forms the final combination. For Power Rangers fans, that would be the equivalent of the Ultra Zord, the final mech of the season.

Fast forward a few years, and of course the whale became extremely overpriced. I was seeing it for $150 to $200, sometimes even higher, so I just accepted that I was probably never going to get it.

Over the years, whenever I had extra money and a new season came out, I would pick up a mech here and there. For example, I got the Ninninger set, or Ninja Steel for those more familiar with Power Rangers. Then when King-Ohger came out, I bought everything as it released. That season became one of my favorites in a long time, and I wasn’t going to miss out again. I wanted the full set, and I wanted to be able to build the ultimate combination this time.

Then Boonboomger came out, and that one was a little rough for me. I had taken a break from watching Sentai, and I had also stopped buying toys for a while. Luckily, I was still able to get most of the set.

After that, the current season came out, and of course I jumped in again. I picked up the main TegaSword mech and most of the additional releases. As of writing this, I own everything except a few color variations and one movie version that hasn’t even released yet.

That’s when I went down the rabbit hole.

The eBay Rabbit Hole

I was browsing eBay and found a seller who had the whale for about $100. Shipping was $35, which put it at $135 total. Considering it used to go for $200 or more, that actually didn’t seem bad at all.

I kept looking through his store and noticed he also had all the auxiliary sets, plus the Condor and the Octopus. At that point I said to myself, alright, let’s just do it.

I ordered everything in one go, and it ended up being around $200 total. The seller contacted me afterward and said I should have messaged him first because he could combine shipping. In the end I paid about $55 shipping instead of over $100, which worked out great.

That’s when the real rabbit hole started.

Discovering Tokucollectibles

While looking for older Sentai mecha, I realized there were a lot of seasons I completely missed. Back when those shows were airing, I didn’t have the money to buy anything. Most of the time I only ordered from Amazon, and if Amazon didn’t have it, or the price was too high, I just didn’t buy it.

That’s when I discovered Tokucollectibles, and honestly that site has been a lifesaver. Their prices are fair, shipping is low, and everything arrives pretty quickly. Paying a little extra to get something fast is worth it to me.

Because of that, I started filling in the gaps.

As of right now, I either own or have on the way the full anniversary sets, including the 30th, 35th, 40th, 45th, and 50th seasons. I also have the full King-Ohger set, most of Kyuranger, all of Donbrothers, and almost everything from Boonboomger.

At this point the seller I buy from so often even started giving me discounts and better parts when he had them, which is always nice.

The Modern Mecha Lines and Missing Pieces

I also picked up some of the newer articulated versions of the Kyoryuger mecha. These are the smaller, more poseable versions, but they don’t have all the original gimmicks. They still look good on display, but some of the later sets are extremely expensive now, so I’m not sure if I’ll complete that line.

At this point, my Super Sentai collection is basically complete.

Ironically, the only thing that isn’t finished is Mighty Morphin Power Rangers. I have the ZAP Megazord, but it yellowed, which really annoys me considering how expensive it was. I also have the Astro Megazord, the Delta Megazord, and a few others, but that shelf still needs work.

I even found some old pieces from my childhood while digging through storage, which was kind of fun.

What’s Left To Get

There are still a few Megazords I might pick up, like Mystic Force, and maybe a couple from seasons I haven’t fully watched yet. Since I plan on rewatching Super Sentai from the beginning, I’m sure there will be a few more that I decide I want later.

But for the most part, this collection happened very fast. In just a few months, I went from having a handful of random Sentai toys to having almost every major anniversary set completed.

Right now my main display has three shelves of Transformers and two shelves of Super Sentai, which is funny because for a long time Transformers was my main focus.

I’ll probably write another post about my Transformers collection later, but for now I can say this.

My Super Sentai collection is almost finished, and by the end of April my core display should be complete. I’ll have the 30th, 35th, 40th, 45th, and 50th anniversary season sets all together, and as a long-time fan, that feels pretty awesome.