#63: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Usagi Yojimbo

Here we are, the last of my birthday gifts for the year. This Usagi Yojimbo figure is one I've been waiting nearly 30 years for. The original Usagi figure was wearing armor, and the more recent version was in an awkward pose due to an action feature. At last, there is an Usagi Yojimbo figure that is articulated and is wearing his standard outfit. I haven't been keeping up with the Ninja Turtles cartoon, but now that it's been responsible for this figure, it has achieved its purpose and can now be rebooted.

#116: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Minimates - Leonardo & Foot Soldier

For the Ninja Turtles Minimates line, the Minimates are figures with a twist. They're actually keychains. I'm assuming this is a way to use a licensing loophole, because these are pretty terrible at being keychains. The keychain is attached to the figure by a string loop around the neck. It's pretty easy to remove. In fact, in Leonardo's case the head is really easy to pop off due to the chest piece preventing the head from firmly attaching. But after you get past that, they are regular Minimates. Leonardo has new forearms, lower legs, and a chest piece, so I'm kind of surprised that he doesn't get a new head piece as well, instead getting a headband that fits over the head. The Foot soldier gets what may be new biceps and thighs (they are definitely not standard). Both of them have weapons that can be stowed on their backs. Leo gets his two trusty swords while the Foot soldier gets a sword, a dagger, and a sickle. Leonardo gets a sewer cover base while the Foot soldier's is clear plastic.

#76: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - M.O.U.S.E.R.S.

Finally, I get some antagonist figures for the turtles to fight. The M.O.U.S.E.R.S. come in a pack of seven, and they are pretty cool. There are three grey Mousers, two in a darker grey, and two in black, which helps give some variety to the otherwise almost identical figures. They all have a red spot for their optical sensors, and the black Mousers have a bit of red on the ridges inside of their mouths, which is the only other way they are different from the others. Their legs are on swivels, their necks are ball joints, and their jaws are swivels as well. You can get a surprisingly good amount of posing out of them. The Mousers are pretty simple toys, but they're fun, and it's good to have them in numbers to swarm the turtles. I'm definitely thinking about picking up a second pack if I run across them again soon.

#75: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Ninjas In Training Raphael & Michelangelo

After being surprised to find the young Leonardo and Donatello set I've been keeping an eye out for the companion Raphael and Michelangelo set. They are basically the same style, with four points of articulation and wooden weapons. I still wish the figures had at least swivel wrists, as that would give posing their arms a lot more options. They do have good personality. Raphael looks aggressive, and Michelangelo looks high. Interestingly, the notch on Raphael's chest is present, indicating that he received it a young age.

Group shot

#64: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Ninjas in Training Leonardo and Donatello

The toyline for the previous Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon had a four pack of the turtles as children in training. I missed out on that one, unfortunately. The latest has a similar release, but splits the boys into two releases. That is a little disappointing, but toys aren't getting cheaper, so at least they aren't single packed releases. Leo and Don are both downsized and have corresponding kiddie styled versions of their trademark weapons. With their downsizing comes a marked reduction in articulation as well. They only have swivel necks and hips, as well as swivel-hinge shoulders. Elbows or wrist swivels would have been a welcome addition for posing their weapons, but at least the shoulders aren't merely swivels. I haven't seen the other two pack yet, but Leo and Don maintain their distinctive shades of green, matching up with their teenaged counterparts. I remember seeing these figures announced a while back, but I completely forgot about them. It was a nice surprise randomly seeing them in the TMNT section, so now I am keeping an eye out for the set with Michelangelo and Raphael.

#117: LEGO Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Shredder's Dragon Bike (79101)

Here it is, the final toy of the year, a Christmas gift from James. I'm not sure why, but Toys R Us seems to get new LEGO before other stores, or perhaps they just put them out on shelves first. So here's my first TMNT LEGO set, Shredder's Dragon Bike. It's basically a monster truck version of a motorcycle, with tires that are taller than its rider. It's ridiculous and ostentatious in the best villain manner. With pointy bits all over, it's a nice fit for Shredder. With its flame spewing double exhaust and fangs up front, calling it a dragon bike seems like a good fit. There's also a smaller powered skateboard for Donatello to ride. I think there's a version of this available to buy for the regular sized figures as well. As for minifigures, the set includes Donatello, Shredder, and a Foot Soldier. The Foot Soldier is pretty basic and looks how you would expect him to look. He gets a sword. Shredder looks pretty cool, he's got a shoulder piece to represent the blades there, and the blades for his hands are hand held pieces. I'm glad they didn't re-use the claws from the Wolverine/werewolf minifigures. Donatello gets a backpack piece for his back shell (there is a shell painted on his back if you prefer to leave it off), and the head is a completely new head. It's all one piece, there's no standard LEGO head underneath a mask here. This is a pretty cool set, and now I have to decide whether I want to complete the four turtles.

Twins!

#103: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Metalhead

One of the coolest figures of the original TMNT line was Metalhead. I never had one, but when I saw that there was a new version coming out based on the current cartoon, I was looking forward to it. Unfortunately, it didn't make it to production fully intact. There was supposed to be some sort of interchangeable weapon arm, and he's missing the antenna on his head. Also, although it looks fine from the front, there are no paint apps on the back half of the figure that really should be there. The yellow "bandana" is only painted on the front side of the head, the sides are just grey plastic. See the wires on the stomach? They're only painted on the front, the sides are grey plastic as well. Also the back shell is entirely unpainted, which is too bad because it is a really cool design (it's a sewer lid cover, neat). Compared to the Turtle figures, he's not as well articulated, but he does fare better than the other non-Turtle figures. The shoulders and elbows are only swivels, which is fairly limiting for posing options. As for accessories, he gets one missile which plugs into his arm. There's no spring loaded launching action, so it's limited to how fast you can flick it with your finger. So, that's it for the bad. It sounds like a lot of complaining, but I really do like the figure. It's a great design, so I can overlook a lot of that. Oddly enough, this figure it out of scale by being too large. Not that I'm going to complain about that, it helps make him feel a better value. If the toy line sticks around long enough and/or he shows up again on the cartoon so that Playmates makes an improved version of Metalhead, I'll probably buy it too. I'm not holding my breath, though.

Putting the finishing touches on

#88: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Donatello

The new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon premiered last week, and I quite liked it. With the impending end of Target's Ninja Turtle sale, I figured it was a good time to finally round out my collection of the cartoon turtles with Donatello. He seemed to be the most plentiful turtle on the shelves, so I was able to take time comparing samples to find one with the best paint job. Like his brothers, Donatello is done well, and he stands out by being the tallest. He's got this really serious expression on his face which works for fighting, but I could go for something a little less serious. He's the only turtle not showing any teeth, which is too bad as he's the only one with a distinguishing gap in them. Like the other turtles, he gets a bunch of extra weapons as well as being able to stow his main weapon, the bo, on his back. Now that the second wave of figures is starting to show up, I'm keeping my eyes peeled for Metalhead!

The inevitable group shot

#77: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Leonardo

Since the new toon Ninja Turtles figures have been plentiful since they showed up, I figured I would wait for them to go on sale to round out the team. Since the cartoon premieres later this month, Target has at last put them on sale for the next month or so. Sure, it's only 50 cents off, but it's still cheaper, and they're not terribly overpriced anyway. And yeah, Walmart had them on sale for a lower price a few weeks ago, but I didn't make it to any Walmarts during that window. So hey, Leonardo! He's about the same height as Raph, with lighter skin. Naturally, he comes with his twin katanas. Well, one is longer than the other. I think in the past they have usually been the same size, so this is new. Like all the other Turtles, he comes with a rack of extra weapons, including another, longer sword.

For comparison, here's Leonardo from the early 2000s cartoon toy line.

#69: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Raphael

As predicted, I'm going to be picking up all four of the Ninja Turtles in the new cartoon style as well. So, here's Raphael! One thing that is definitely cooler than the classics turtles is that the cartoon turtles all get unique sculpts. Raph has a big gouge on his chest, and is noticeably taller than Mikey. His rack of spare weapons is also different. Also, he's a darker green.

It makes sense that they are different colors and sizes, as it helps to distinguish them as individuals visually aside from their bandanas and weapons. This raises a question, are the Turtles actually brothers by blood? Clearly, they were all raised together and look to Splinter as their father, but I'm not sure if it has been addressed as to whether they are all related by blood or just a random collection of four turtles. Anybody more familiar with the TMNT mythos know about this?

#68: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Michelangelo

So after getting all four of the classics style Turtles last month, I'm now setting my sights on the most modern version of them, based on the upcoming cartoon. They may be smaller than the classics figures, but they are very cool too (and cheaper!). Michelangelo has historically been my favorite, so he's the figure I decided to pick up first. It is interesting that, in contrast with the classics figures, that the figures have white eyes while they have visible pupils in the cartoon and even on the packaging. I suppose it does make them look more fierce. While the articulation isn't quite as extensive on these smaller figures, it is still very good, although some ankles would have been nice. Even swivels at the top of the wraps would help with posing. Fortunately, the feet are large enough that they are easy to balance on and provide stability. Which brings us to the issue that the Turtles now have three toes. I actually think this is a change that makes sense. They have three digits on their hands, so having the same amount on their feet works for me. I think nature tends to favor symmetry like that, although anything like that kind of goes out the window when you're dealing with mutants. Also, the lower part of the shell is made from a softer plastic, so it doesn't hinder the leg movement too much.

Another throwback to the original toys is that the weapons are all unpainted plastic of a single color. There is even a rack with some extra weapons included. Mikey's nunchucks do stow away on the back of his belt, as well. These toon based Turtles seem really cool so far, and I think I'm going to end up getting all four of them. Then I'll have three complete sets of Ninja Turtles!

#66: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Donatello (Classic Collection)

Here we are at the final turtle, Donatello. Like the others, he is differentiated by his head, belt, and weapon (which can stow on his back, of course). I think his skin tone is slightly different as well.

Normally I don't bother talking about the packaging because I open all my toys, but it's something to talk about, and I do like the design here. This isn't an exact copy of the original packaging design from back in the 80s, but it is strongly reminiscent of it. Very nice work. The top of the bubble is textured like a sewer cover, which is a cool touch.

Group shot!

#65: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Michelangelo (Classic Collection)

When I was a kid, Michaelangelo was my favorite. On the show, he was the character most obviously designed for character identification to the kids in the audience, what with his general immaturity and his catchphrases and whatnot. But when it came to video games, Donatello was my favorite because he had the longest reach with his weapon. These days, his name has been slightly altered to Michelangelo. Judging by the look on his face, he's not quite as goofy. He shares most of his body with his brothers, but his head, belt, and weapons set him apart. Also, he is a different shade of green, which is good to see.

Mikey's nunchucks stow away on the back side of his belt.

#64: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Raphael (Classic Collection)

After yesterday's post about Leonardo, here's Raphael. He's exactly the same, but with a different head, a different belt, and different weapons. Raph's sai can be stowed away in his belt.

Staring contest

The NECA Raph with the new classics version. Quite a diference in styles! The NECA version has articulation at both ends of the neck. Crazy!

#63: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Leonardo (Classic Collection)

In recent years, we've had various action figure lines hearkening back to the original golden age of action figure collecting, the 80s. GI Joe had its 25th anniversary collection, Transformers has had various throwback sub-lines, there have been many direct remakes of Super Powers figures in DCUC, and perhaps the most notorious has been Masters of the Universe Classics. Now in conjunction with the upcoming Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon, Playmates is getting in on the classics action with a subline of figures based on the original animated turtles. I never got around to buying any TMNT figures from the early 2000s cartoon series, or the later animated movie, but these just looked way too cool to pass up. These have apparently been showing up at Toys R Us stores, but I haven't seen them in the wild yet. I pre-ordered mine online and they recently arrived.

Basically they have taken the old cartoon designs, upsized them, and thrown in all the articulation they could think of, and come up with awesomeness. These are ostensibly six inch figures, but they don't exactly fit in with other six inch scale figures.

See? Here's Leo standing toe to toe with Mattel's Catman figure, and he's almost the same height. But because he's got proportions more suiting a cartoon character, he doesn't look to be in the same scale. I think they would be a better fit with 7 or 8 inch scale figures. I'm not complaining about the size, I dig that they are a good size. And about the articulation? They have gone all out and come up with Toy Biz Marvel Legends style super articulation. Each finger is articulated, and so is each toe! Granted, the turtles only have two toes on each foot, but I think that a figure having all its toes articulated is a pretty unusual thing. Let's run it down: a ball shoulder for the head, a swivel/hinge for the shoulders, a bicep swivel, double hinged elbows, swivel/hinge wrists, hinges for each finger, a torso joint, ball hips, a thigh swivel, double hinged knees, swivel/hinge ankles, and hinges for each toe. The package advertises 34 points of articulation. There's not a whole lot of paint, but what there is looks good on mine.

For accessories, there's not a whole lot, but the turtles come with what's necessary. Leo has his twin katana blades with a detachable scabbard on his back. Unlike the original figures which had weapons made of brown plastic, the new figures have weapons that are more appropriately colored. The other accessory is a display stand that looks like a manhole cover.

I think these classics style ninja turtles are some of the coolest figures to come out in a while. Since they're all basically the same figure, you might not feel the need to collect all four, but I think it would be a good idea to get at least one of them. These are really cool looking figures, and fun to play with.