Oh, man, are these toys awesome or what?
In fact, you can just stop reading right now and go out and
find these things online (they’re not available at retail locally). Seriously.
Close this window, jump on over to one of those online shops and add this set
to your cart immediately.
Me, I got these four figures from Nikki
W.G.B’s USGroup Buy over at Cybertron Philippines
(same place I got the 4”
Nickelodeon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles) on pre-order at Php 900.00 each.
I’m not sure if he’s still got them available (they’re pretty popular), but
it’s worth a shot, especially since these are awesome.
Considering that they are bigger than I expected (both in
height and width), the price doesn’t seem that bad. They’re the same as what I
paid for the new
Punisher figure and the other 2012 Marvel Legends. They’re comparable in height
to the Hasbro figures, and far wider, almost like the Masters of the Universe
figures that Mattel makes. With the extra articulation available on them, and
the nostalgia factor thrown in, it makes for a good buy.
The actual cards themselves are all the same, however, which kind of sucks. I mean, I love the artwork, but I always like reading the blurb about each of the characters and how they fit into the team, universe, etc. There's now SWOT analysis on these. It's basically just a couple of short paragraphs about the 1988 series and a picture of all 4 turtles (do these even see retail? I figured they were a specialty item) so that you can "Look for all the Classic Collection Turtle figures!"
Another nice touch though is that they molded the top of the bubble to look like a manhole cover. It's like each of the Turtles is about to pop out of the sewer and scream "COWABUNGA!" at you. Gnarly! Anyway, as you can tell, I decided to break them out of that sewer and start playing with them after about 5 minutes of admiring the packaging.
Let's start with an overview.
There is only one mold for the body of the Turtles, unlike the smaller Modern versions. That means there's no size differential between any of them and no variation in the look of their hands, feet, etc.. While that does suck in it's own way, it barely mars the fun that infuses these toys. They each do get a unique head, weapons, and belt set up, as well as their own signature colors and weapons. Plus their super articulation that you can give them lots of character just by posing them in different ways with different gestures.
They also come with these great manhole cover stands that have two pegs that hold their feet in place fairly securely. You can even have them do round house kicks. What's even better, they work just as well with the holes on the feet of the Modern Turtles!
Like I said, the figures are bigger than I expected. I had thought that they'd be smaller than the 6" human action figures in my collection. As it is, they can see eye to eye with any of the Marvel Legends figures, or DC Universe Classics. They are far more bulkier than expected as well, with shells that feel fairly substantial, instead of being flat.
Sculpting is fair. It's not really bad in any particular way, but they do kind of look saggy around certain places (hands and feet being the big areas), and far too smooth over the rest of their bodies. Both the Nickelodeon Turtles and the NECA Turtles had a lot of texture to their skin, as proper turtles should. Then again, I doubt that would have jived with the cartoon's aesthetic.
I also am kind of disappointed that they're all scowling. It would have been nice if Donny was stoic, and Mike had a goofy grin on his face, while Leo had a smirk of confidence. The only one that ought to have been scowling is Raph, y'know, 'cause he's Raph.
Articulation is excellent.
- Ball-jointed head
- Swivel-hinged shoulder x2
- Swivel bicep x2
- Double-hinged elbows x2
- Swivel-hinged wrists x2
- Swivel-hinged thumbs x2
- Hinged fingers x4
- Compound Torso joint (something like a double ball-joint with a post between)
- Swivel-hinged hips x2
- Swivel thighs x2
- Double-hinged knees x2
- Swivel-hinged ankles x2
- Hinged toes x4
I think I might be missing a couple, but you get the idea. It's a lot of joints. I think he might have a rocker in his ankle as well. I love the torso joint. His shell is actually connected to his upper torso, so it moves around when you twist him. Looks very nice.
Because of the number of joints however, they do tend to be fiddly. For instance, it's hard as hell to get Michelangelo to hold his nun-chucks properly. Still, when you do get them in line, the view is sweet indeed.
Donatello shares the same problem. The palms of their hands have been sculpted with a slight curve to accommodated the hafts of their weapons, but the fingers that hold the weapons flush against it don't lock very securely. It's kind of a chore trying to get the bo to stay there.
It does fit nicely into the slot that they placed on his harness in the back, and holds there securely. Again, I'm bothered by the fact that he's so angry looking.
Again, it's hard to get Mikey here to hold the nun-chucks he carries and make them stay there when you have shaky hands like mine. One wrong move and a finger moves out of place and you're under the bed trying to find where his weapons rolled off to. Again, while the hands aren't that secure, the accommodations they've made for storage are. He's got four holes in his belt in the back where the nun-chuck batons can fit in.
And hey, they've got real chains! For that, I'll forgive a lot.
Raphael is the rebel of the group and stores his sais up front in two angled holes in his belt. Because of the shape of the truncheons, he's able to hold them fairly well compared to the other Turtles, and with his articulated figures, he can manage a hold bunch of different poses with them.
This is one figure that would have benefited a lot from the kind of wrist articulation that Pursuit of Cobra Commando Snake Eyes had. The vertical orientated hinge would have allowed him to "point" the sais forward, or twist them back towards his forearm, making the pose more realistic. Oh, well.
And finally, Leo.
Leo stores his swords on his back in a removable set of scabbards. They connect to his shell via a small, irregularly-shaped peg in the middle. The swords make for an excellent fit, but they are easily removable and rather flexible. They looked a bit warped in the package, but they evened out quickly once I got the out.
Again, he would have benefited a ton from better wrist articulation. I would love to have him pointing a sword at someone as a challenge or something, but because of the way he's set up, it's just not possible. Still, he's an awesome figure.
All in all, I think the pros far outweigh the cons in this run down, but let me enumerate them for the lazy:
Cons:
- Shiny, dull-looking plastic with no texture.
- Same body repeated with few unique parts.
- Inappropriately angry facial expressions.
- Super-articulation affects the grip.
- Out of scale
Pros:
- Awesome buck, unique or not.
- True to the cartoon's aesthetic.
- Huge nostalgia factor for 80's and 90's babies
- Super-articulation allows for many display options.
- Great packaging.
- Great figure stands.
- Appropriate accessories.
- Nice size, despite scale issues.
- Weapon storage.
- They're just plain bodacious.
Seriously, these toys are fantastic, and well worth the price to any fan of the Turtles.
Now if only I could get a REAL Turtle Van.
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