NECA Turtles in Time Slash (TMNT)

Ever since NECA forced the hand of Nickelodeon to grant them an expanded license for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles the toy company has been killing it with its releases. We don’t know if Nickelodeon found a loophole to exploit with the master license that has been held by Playmates since the mid 80s or if the company had to sign off on it. Either way, I like to think this is all a result of NECA just making a product that could not be ignored. And if everyone is making money, then everyone is probably happy.

With the expansion of the license it meant NECA could move from small batch, convention exclusives and market its product direct to consumers via more conventional means. NECA quickly secured distribution arrangements with Target and GameStop. Target would sell two-packs of figures based on the classic 87 cartoon while GameStop was handed single-packed figures based on the 1990 movie (a deal that is expiring soon and shifting to Wal-Mart). NECA would be the first to admit though that it wasn’t places like GameStop and Target that supported and grew the business when it got started. No, it was smaller, collector-oriented shops and online vendors that first carried NECA product and helped the company become what it is today. As a way of saying “Thanks,” to those businesses, NECA wanted to include them on this newfound TMNT craze and devoted a new line of product just for them:  the Turtles in Time line.

Back in the late 80s and early 90s, the TMNT could be found in arcades and home consoles about as often as they were on broadcast television or movie theaters. Anyone who had a love for the Turtles and a game console probably had at least one video game based on the property. While they were of varying quality and some were more popular than others, it’s hard to argue that the one that has endured over the years as a particular favorite has been Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:  Turtles in Time (alternatively known on the Super Nintendo as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles IV:  Turtles in Time).

Check out that classic, old school, logo!

Turtles in Time was essentially the true sequel to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which was known as Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II:  The Arcade Game on the Nintendo Entertainment System. Both games were fairly straight-forward beat-em-ups by Konami, a company known for creating such titles for the arcade. Players could play as one of the four turtles and bash their way through many a Foot Soldier in a quest to stop Shredder and save April. The games were simple and fun and also a great way to gobble quarters and turn a profit for anyone who plugged one into their establishment. Turtles in Time was the better of the two largely by way of arriving later. It looked better, featured more boss characters, and even gave the Turtles some additional moves to make use of. Surprisingly, it was made even better when it came to Super Nintendo as it looked largely the same while adding new levels and new bosses.

Slash in the comics vs Slash in the cartoon. One is definitely cooler than the other, though fret not fans of the dim cartoon Slash, he’ll be in stores soon.

One of those new bosses was Slash. Added to the end of the fifth level, Prehistoric Turtlesaurus, Slash attacked the Turtles with his twisted sword while rolling in a ball back and forth. He was depicted in his Mighty Mutanimals attire which is what the Playmates action figure was based on as well as opposed to the cartoon which had its own unique look. Slash was a favorite boss of mine when playing two-player mode (the only way to play the game, really) as two well-positioned players could just bash Slash back and forth between the two of them in a comical scene. Failure to do so actually left players with a formidable foe. I’d even go as far as to say Slash is the most difficult solo boss aside from Super Shredder due to his propensity to block most attacks.

NECA likely saw this version of Slash as a good opportunity to create a figure based on his comic look which could explain why Slash is part of the first wave of Turtles in Time figures which just hit shelves. Slash and all of the other figures in this inaugural wave (Leonardo, Donatello, and a purple Foot Soldier) comes in a box designed to mimic the original arcade cabinet, which is slightly amusing for Slash since he did not appear in the actual arcade game. These figures are largely just updated versions of the arcade figures NECA released as convention exclusives a few years ago. Slash is the only all new of the bunch, though even he is fairly familiar as he uses the same body as the other turtles. The main difference being he has spikes added to his shell and obviously has a new headsculpt. His belt is unique as well, as are the blades on his hands. He comes with his crooked sword as well, his weapon of choice in the game. And for added mayhem, he also has a grenade.

Our source material.

Like the other figures in this line, Slash has a pixel-like deco applied to his body. This is designed to mimic the video game appearance of the character right down to the resolution. When placed on a shelf, the effect mostly works. It’s not very extreme with Slash which is partly due to his darker skin tone when compared with the Turtles. For those two, I think the effect works a bit better though it actually works really well with the Foot Soldier, based on what I have seen anyways. I chose to only get Slash as I’m rapidly running out of room for all of my TMNT figures and the upcoming figures in the cartoon and film lines are going to do a number on my wallet as is. With Slash being unique to this line, I wanted to grab him. I loved my old Playmates version and I do confess this is what I think of when I hear the name Slash, as opposed to what the cartoon did with the character.

Since Slash has the same body as the other turtle characters, he has the same range of motion as well. None of the additions made to the sculpt impact that at all allowing for Slash to be a pretty expressive character. He has a nice weight to him, though his shell adds additional bulk making him a bit heavy in the rear. He can stand well enough, but it isn’t a bad idea to add an optional stand to the display for more dynamic posing and peace of mind. About the only thing he can’t do is mimic his pose from the game in which he’s doubled-over in pain. My figure was mostly free and easy out of the package, though his right elbow and knee required a bit of hot water to loosen. Even after that, the knee still doesn’t want to bend much so I backed off, not wanting to damage my new toy. He does seem a bit light on the accessory front, considering the other figures all come with giant surfboards, but really what else could he have? An alternate head depicting his pained expression would have been neat, I suppose. More realistically, additional bandana tails might have been fun like NECA does with the movie figures. Slash’s bandana just sticks straight out, but one that jutted out to the side would have been pretty cool. Again though, it’s hardly essential and realistically I would have just picked one and then forgot about the other.

The sculpt for Slash looks quite nice. Since he uses the same body as the Turtles he’s the same height. He appears a little more squat in the game, but that’s nit-picking. His shell looks great and reminds me a lot of the old Playmates toy, but with more extreme spikes. And unlike that old toy, his belt is glued on so you need not worry about it falling off. Slash has a maniacal grin on his face that suits the character. There’s a bit of glue or something stuck above the right cheek on mine, but it’s not very noticeable. Aside from that, the paint application is quite clean, save for the insides of his hands. His claws and toenails also aren’t painted, but that’s also accurate to the game. The blades on his hands are nice and long and look rather wicked. In comparing him closer with the game it’s hard to find fault.

Slash is a great addition to a fun line of TMNT product. I quite like this series and even though I’m mostly sitting it out, don’t confuse that with me disliking any of the figures here. It’s just an issue of resources as I’m really tempted to go all-in and create a separate video game display to go along with my movie and cartoon ones. Maybe an eventual sale will entice me, but if I’m being honest, these TMNT NECA figures are selling far too well to count on a future sale. If you like what you see and have the means, I say go for it. I see a lot of concern from collectors online about mixing video game figures in with their cartoon series, but to that I say “Who cares?” Slash looks great and fits in anywhere. The video game pixel deco is not particularly extreme and I have no qualms about placing him among the other villains from the cartoon.

As for the future of the line, we know wave 2 will comprise of Raph, Mikey, Leatherhead, and Shredder. They’re all basically repaints of existing figures (though in the case of Leatherhead, a soon to be released figure) from the cartoon line. Shredder appears to have some new tooling to give his spikes some added menace and he comes with new effects pieces. He’s in his normal form from the arcade game, but since NECA showed off a Super Shredder for its movie line recently at Toy Fair, don’t be surprised if a video game version follows. Additionally, NECA unveiled multi-colored Foot Soldiers as well which was a given. Other characters that cross-over with the other lines include Tokka, Rahzar, Metalhead, Krang, and Baxter. In the case of Baxter, his cartoon figure wouldn’t be in-scale with his much larger video game depiction so it’s unknown if NECA would do a different sculpt, or if they’d just use a larger mold based on the same figure. Bebop and Rocksteady also appeared in the home version of the game, but in pirate attire that basically would necessitate all new figures from what was already released. Either way, there’s room to grow and other games as well to pick from should they cross-over with the cartoon line so expect at least a few more waves. There’s also a TMNT branded Loot Crate coming this summer with an arcade theme so expect a figure in there as well. These figures can be found at specialty shops, and online at popular toy retail sites, and best of all, you can preorder them without too much hassle!