What drives my decision to buy an action figure can take on many forms. The most boring reason to get something is for the sake of completion. If you collect anything then you’re probably familiar with that impulse: you have everything else and you don’t want your collection to be incomplete. That can be a hard thing to shake and can lead one to buy something they don’t really enjoy for any other reason. Then there’s also matters of price and availability which can be an influence, but I think the best reason to buy an action figure (or really anything) is because you simply like it. When it comes to JoyToy’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures, I don’t feel that compulsion to have a complete set so I’m picking my spots. The four turtles, April, Shredder, Bebop, Rocksteady, and Krang feels like a pretty complete set, but then along come Slash and Tokka.
Slash and Tokka are two characters that I certainly have some degree of affection for. They’re not Tattoo or Hot Spot, but characters I actually like and have enjoyed across various takes on the franchise. Still, neither felt essential to me so when JoyToy originally solicited the pair I felt content to pass them over. Then people started getting them in-hand, I watched some reviews, poured over some visuals, and suddenly found myself placing an order for the pair. They just looked damn fun and with these figures retailing in the $30-$40 range they don’t feel as overpriced as they would have 3 or 4 years ago. And with this line being in a smaller scale, I can delude myself into thinking I have space for more turtle figures.
Slash and Tokka, both being mutated or alien turtles, are able to share some parts which is why they were sold together. From a production standpoint, it makes perfect sense even though from a thematic one it’s pretty odd to get a Tokka without a Rahzar (don’t worry, he’s coming). JoyToy decided to lessen that notion and appear to have made these two work as a pair, if you like. They have a pirate theme between the two of them and one could easily envision them as a pair of deviants patrolling the high seas for whatever it is they desire most. And it works! I like what JoyToy has done here and even once more logical pairings arrive via future figures I’ll probably still keep this pair close to each other in my display.
Both Slash and Tokka are loosely based on their appearance in the classic animated series. This means they also draw some inspiration from the vintage figure line by Playmates since they were influenced by the cartoon as well (or vice versa). Both characters stand a tick over the 4″ mark making them a little taller than the turtles, but a little shorter than Bebop and Rocksteady. Compared with the turtles, they’re not so much taller than them, but chunkier. They’re bigger boys and a bit more intimidating as a result. Tokka does come with the Foot logo stand while Slash gets them sewer one – does that mean Slash is intended to be more of a good guy and Tokka a bad guy? Maybe, though your head canon is as good as any here.
Let’s talk Slash first. This is a Slash based on his original appearance in Archie comics which was loosely adapted by Playmates. He has the black bandana and the skull belt buckle we know from the Playmates version. A lot of the other embellishments resemble that figure, but with an added degree of realism. The shoulder pauldrons resemble steel now, but are still bound by rope and fully painted. The elbow and knee pads are black and spiked and his shell features numerous spikes as well in a similar pattern. What’s new are the chains wrapped around his forearms and a harness around the chest. On the backs of his hands are some armor plates, but what’s missing are his blades which is a bit unusual, but the animated design did the same thing. His shell also has some handles bolted onto them that serve as weapon storage, similar to the other turtles. He also added some belt loops for additional weapon storage which is going to come in handy because he has a lot of stuff.
The overall aesthetic for Slash is to take that old design and up the detail and realism. His skin is heavily textured with thick scaling. There’s a a lot of knicks and grooves cut into the plastron and there’s just a lot of added texture to every surface of this guy. The belt has a softer texture befitting a leather belt and the tassels on it and the bandana are frozen in a windswept look. Paint is pretty clean and crisp on this guy and it looks like a paint wash was utilized to really bring out those details. Like the turtles, Slash does have a belt that doesn’t wrap around the back of the shell. This is just part of the design JoyToy is going for and while it doesn’t make sense for turtle anatomy, it doesn’t really bother me personally. Your mileage may vary.
Tokka, as expected, uses a lot of the same parts. Between the two, they share shoulders, biceps, abdomen, thighs, and feet. In addition to that, the elbow pads, knee pads, and belt appear to be shared between the two with the belt buckle and tassels swapped out for Tokka. That’s a lot of shared parts, but there’s also a lot of unique stuff. I was surprised that JoyToy opted to do a different shell since the Playmates figures shared the same. Tokka’s lacks spikes and instead is more plated in appearance like an actual snapping turtle. His calves are also different as he has spikes along the sides of them. And in keeping with past versions of the character, Tokka has five digits on his hand as opposed to three like Slash and the other turtles. JoyToy could have easily decided to just give him the same hands as Slash and I doubt anyone would have really cared, but it’s cool they decided to sink more money into this figure than they had to.
Tokka has a very similar look to Slash in terms of approach. There’s a lot of detail here and the paint is kept pretty clean. His head sits lower than Slash owing to the fact that his neck is more forward than straight up. His beak is colored black like the Playmates and toon design while his overall complexion is darker than his cartoon counterpart and basically the same as Slash. He has two hooks attached to his shell for some weapon storage and instead of chains around his forearms he has rope. His shoulder pads are spiked like the old design, but the shape is more square than round as previously depicted. Of the two, I enjoy the Slash design a bit more, but that’s merely a subjective take on my part. Tokka is of the same quality and he fits in well with the rest of the line.
Both Slash and Tokka come with a ton of stuff. Some of it is shared and some of it isn’t. We’ll start with Slash who comes with four sets of hands: fists, gripping, wider gripping, and trigger finger. He also has a second head which is not typical of the line, but it features his metal headband from the cartoon so if you want a more toon-like appearance you have the option. In terms of the usual stuff, Slash has the City Sewer disc stand and a chunk of the white, marble, diorama piece. He also comes with a pre-mutated version of himself which is just a little slug figure. It stands on two feet so maybe it’s supposed to have been just exposed to mutagen? I don’t know. He also has his “binky,” the little palm tree forever associated with the character.
In terms of weapons Slash is pretty well-stocked. If you felt he was missing the blades on his hand then JoyToy has you sort of covered via two bladed weapons he can hold in his hands. They’re like oversized Wolverine attachments as each has three, large, blades extending from them. They’re not quite the same as the more traditional setup, but it suits the character. In terms of bladed weapons, Slash has a pair of daggers which can fit in the loops on his belt and a pair of katana which can be stored in his shell. The katana feel like a callback to the cartoon as that version of the character carried two swords. He also has a large bladed weapon mounted to a pole. I guess it’s like a glaive and probably has a proper name that I don’t know. The blade is almost as large as the staff it’s affixed to and it’s pretty nasty looking as it’s all chipped. I certainly would not want to be on the receiving end there.
If melee combat is not how you feel your Slash should approach things then he also has a firearm. A small, old-fashioned, pistol that probably runs off of black powder and has a knife affixed to it for extra stabbing power. To keep Slash protected while he fires on his foes (or reloads) is a large, spiked, shield that can fit over his forearm and also has a handle for added stability. Slash can easily hide much of his bulk behind this thing and fire from behind it if he wants to. For when things slow down, Slash also has a big old mug of beer and a lobster roll sandwich to snack on. The mug is again of an old-fashioned design of wood with banded steel. There’s a froth effect that’s removable. The sandwich is basically a giant lobster between two pieces of bread and is a bit funny. I’m guessing a turtle like Slash has no issue just biting through the shell when he’s hungry. The roll also has a slot on the bottom of it so you can stick it on the end of a dagger which is a nice touch. I kind of like the idea of Slash and Tokka as a pair of gluttonous pirates who like to kick ass then settle down for some chow.
Tokka is just about as stacked as Slash and shares some of the same accessories. He too comes with the same piece of the diorama base while his disc stand is the Foot branded one. He also comes with the mug, shield, and pistol as well as the same spread of hands though via different sculpts. There’s a baby Tokka as well, but it’s a different sculpt from the little Slash as it’s in a more neutral pose and has its own unique shell. Those represent the shared parts, but for the actual melee weapons Tokka is all new. He has two, curved, daggers which can slot into his belt and he also has two, larger, curved swords. They have a handguard so, if you want, you can hang them off of the hooks on his shell. However, I think those hooks are intended to house his massive anchor weapon. It’s just a big anchor with some wrappings around it to form a handle and a piece of sculpted chain attached to the end. It can go across the hooks when not being held, though it is a little finicky, but not likely to fall out on its own. Tokka also has two handheld bladed weapons similar to Slash’s only his feature one, big, blade as opposed to three smaller ones. Lastly, he has some food of his own in the form of a turkey leg with a big bite taken out of it. I find it amusing since NECA opted for the same with its cartoon Tokka. I guess he just really likes turkey.
The two figures share enough parts that articulation is basically the same for both. The approach is also basically in-line with what we saw out of JoyToy when it came to the other turtles. We have ball pegs at the head and wrists with hinged balls at the shoulders, bicep swivel, single-hinged elbows that swivel, a ball joint in the diaphragm, ball-jointed hips, thigh swivel, double-jointed knees, ankle hinges, and rockers. Tokka also has the added benefit of a hinged jaw. They’re pretty chunky so the range in places isn’t the best. Heads are always a bit limited with these turtle designs, though if you swap to the toon head for Slash you get a little more range since you won’t have to deal with the bandana tassels. The ball-jointed wrists work fine, but the hands pop off pretty easily and it is a mild annoyance when posing. Elbow pads and knee pads are floating so they can get out of the way to a point, but you’re basically only getting 90 degrees of movement at both spots. The shoulders are a bit restricted because of the pauldrons and I do wish we could get better range there for convincing two-handed poses. They can kind of do it, but it’s a very limited window.
The articulation is probably going to be enough for most people. The numerous accessories and hand options help to make these two pretty expressive even if the range isn’t the best in some places. The overall is aesthetic is damn sharp though and I really like how this pair turned out. As I said in the intro, I wasn’t planning on getting either figure, but once I saw how well they turned out and how fun they were I was unable to resist. JoyToy TMNT figures are not sold in North America so if you want to add this pair to your collection you will need to go through an import store. I got mine via LT Cave and it probably only took about 10 days for them to arrive. The constantly evolving tariff situation in the U.S. makes getting these a little trickier each day so if you want them my suggestion is to get them sooner than later because who knows what tomorrow will bring?
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