Articles no image

Published on February 5th, 2012 | by Sharp-O

2

Mint in Box Preview: TMNT w/ Colin Hill

Another week, another preview of upcoming toys but I’m out of my depth this time. I could spend hours talking about anything other than Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Sure, I liked the cartoons and two of the movies but I never really owned any of the toys so I’m not really in any position to give my thoughts on these upcoming figures in relation to what has come before. Luckily, we have someone on staff that can and will.Before I unleash him upon you though, I’ll give my initial thoughts and some basic info. Nickolodeon picked up the rights to create a TMNT show a while ago and Playmates (Who have produced the toys before) are taking another crack at the Heroes in a Half-Shell. What they’ve shown thus far has been very impressive. A nice variety of figures, vehicles and playsets, as well as a line specifically catering towards older fans of the show with Classic designs (A move that’s been quite popular in the Thundercats line).  So without  further ado, let’s fire up the Balls-Signal and welcome TMNT-aficionado, Colin Hill!

Sharp-O: Thanks for doing this, sir. Let’s start with the 4-5” figures and go from there.

Colin: Okay, the basic figures look amazing.  I’m so happy the Turtles each have their own unique sculpt, and these are without a doubt the most detailed basic figures we’ve ever got out of Playmates. I’m especially fond of the Michelangelo figure, no surprise there.

Sharp-O: Not at all. I like that Mikey comes with actual chains with his nunchucks, it’s a nice addition. Each of the figures does have an individual sculpt to differentiate them more and articulation-wise, they appear to move at the head, shoulders, elbow swivel, wrist swivel, ball-jointed hips and double-jointed knees.  Shredder looks alright, a mix of first movie and his more recent animated counterparts.

Colin: Shredder looks great; he’s bulky, but well-articulated. I like the Foot Soldier, but from the look of it he won’t be as poseable as the others, which is disappointing, same with April but it’s more expected there.  The Krang figure looks decent, a nice hybrid of Krang from the original series and the Utroms from the comics, his accessories look pretty sweet, though I’m still waiting for more info articulation wise.  Splinter is the biggest surprise, with a very unique re-design that’s a far cry from Splinter in the past, but I’ll wait to see him in motion before I pass judgment.  His figure looks fine, but limited.

Sharp-O: The Foot Soldier’s elbow swivels suuuuuck! April has this weird bulbous head thing going on, like she’s the grown-up version of that girl from Bolt. Splinter looks terrible, I have to be honest. It’s the head sculpt that bothers me most. He looks less like a rat and more like a badger and the paint doesn’t help that either.

Colin: All in all, a very strong assortment. I can’t wait to see what else they have in store.  Casey Jones, Bebop, Rocksteady, Leatherhead maybe, I’m hyped.
The vehicles are all fine, though I’ve never been that much of a vehicle guy, that said, I’ll still get the new Party Wagon/Battle Shell; the Shellraiser (great name, by the way).  And I’ll possibly pick up a couple of the bikes.

Sharp-O: I agree, I’m not really one for vehicles. Which is odd for someone who collects robots who turn into vehicles but yes, they’re your typical vehicle assortment. The new Party Wagon looks like a nice update but there’s one thing I feel is missing from all these; Disc launchers that shoot pizzas!

Colin: That said, the most impressive toy in this assortment is no doubt the Secret Sewer Lair playset.

Sharp-O: Oh, hells yeah! It looks sweet.

Colin: 44 inches tall, zip line, elevator to the top, a design that’s half New York alleyway, half sewer lair, this thing is tits.  I have no room for it right now but that’s not going to stop me from buying this no doubt expensive behemoth.

Sharp-O: It’s a great looking playset  and I’m glad that we seem to be returning to massive playsets for proper figures. If I had one complaint it would be the odd perspective of the NY building backdrop. It messes with my OCD something chronic because it’s flat.

Colin: No surprises from the role playing gear.  It’s not bad, but we’ve seen it before.  But one thing we haven’t seen before is the Leonardo Stealth Sword, which is going to be a must own for my collection.  I’m going to play the hell out of it, unashamed.

Sharp-O: I don’t know if it’s been seen before but I really like the padded eye-pieces on the bandanas. I don’t know why but I like that.

Colin: I’ve known about the Classic TMNT line for months now and I’ve been anxious to see what they would look like.  Now that I have, I am not disappointed.  The facial sculpts are spot on, the articulation looks great, these look like the figures we’ve been waiting 25 years for.  If I had any minor nitpicks, it would be the paint schemes, I wish they kept all the Turtles the same shade of green, if they wanted them to be cartoon accurate, but that’s moot compared to what we got.

Sharp-O: Yeah, I can see these doing really well because even a non-fan like me gets a nostalgic kick from seeing these.

Colin: So yeah, if it’s not obvious by now, I’m very, very ecstatic right now.  By the end of this year, I’ll be broke, but happy.

Sharp-O: Yeah, it’s shaping up to be a good line. Not that I’ll buy any but I do like it when there’s more kick-ass product on the shelves.

Colin: And yes, I need to close with this…

COWABUNGA!

Sharp-O: Ha-Ha, you made a funny!

Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,


About the Author