When 2025 came to an end and it was time to reflect on the year in action figures there wasn’t much hesitation in my mind what the toyline of the year should be. It was easy – JoyToy’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The 1:18 scale collector line came out of no where at the tail end of 2024 and it’s been full steam ahead for JoyToy ever since. The amount of releases has been staggering, but what’s even more impressive is just how good they keep turning out. One would expect a letdown here and there, and I suppose there are some figures I’m not as high on as others, but for the most part they’ve all been really good. We’re even at that point where the latest releases have been so good that it’s making the first release, the actual turtles, look kind of bad by comparison. And as crazy as this sounds, JoyToy may have saved the best for last when it comes 2025 with its release of Metalhead.
I have held a soft spot for Metalhead going back to his original release in the Playmates toyline. A robotic version of the turtles just seemed like a fun idea and as an action figure he was quite fun. Metalhead was the first figure I ever encountered with swappable hands, though with him the hands included the entire forearm. It’s a staple of the modern figure, but back in the 80s it wasn’t common probably because of the target demographic. He had that shiny, vac-metal, plastron and light-piped head which made him an instant favorite. When Super7 announced they were doing Metalhead for their Ultimates! line it became my most wanted, though sadly it didn’t live up to expectations. NECA’s Metalhead, based on the character’s appearance in the original cartoon series, is still one of my favorite releases in their toon line of TMNT figures and I hunted high and low for that guy. My kids even got used to me coming and going and always returning home empty-handed. When I did finally secure a figure of my own, they were excited for me and kind of impressed. I still remember my kids having a playdate not long after and my daughter (who was probably 4 at the time) enthusiastically telling her friend “My dad has Metalhead!” I’m sure the kid had no idea what she was talking about.
JoyToy’s Metalhead borrows liberally from that 80s design. It’s essentially the same approach as the toon right down to the yellow “bandana” and chest compartments. The only real difference is the shape as Metalhead has a more rounded design that’s still boxy and tank-like and the shell is now green instead of brown. There’s more detail to the body compared with the toon look and NECA figure which just makes him feel a bit more like the old toy. The metallic portions have been given a shiny coat of paint. Mostly though, he’s just plain huge. I have Metalhead at right around 5.5″ making him the tallest figure other than Krang in the collection that I personally have. I don’t have the Triceratons, but based on what I’m seeing online he is at worst the same size as them, if not a smidge taller. And he is chunky. He has almost an egg-shaped torso with a giant shell attached to the back. You can pop the shell off if you want as it just plugs in, but no matter what he’s going to be big. He’s about the same size as a NECA toon turtle and the size of his hands and feet actually makes him look like he’s in scale with them so if you don’t have or don’t like the toon Metalhead, I guess you could fudge this one in. He’s a little guy in the 2012 series so it would track.
This figure just looks awesome. I love what JoyToy has done here in making Metalhead look like some sort of siege weapon for the turtles (or maid, if you prefer). This is what they bring when they’re looking to blast their way into the Technodrome or whatever headquarters the JoyToy Foot clan utilizes. He has some angry looking eyes and one of the more notable changes with this design are the squared-off “teeth” in his mouth which makes me think of a digger or some other excavation equipment. I really like that they kept the green and yellow feet as I always liked that about the old design. He even still has the grenades on his belt, only now they have a different shape to them and they’re actually removable.
I’m getting ahead of myself, but this figure is fantastic and it comes fully loaded. One thing it does kind of lack are hand options as he only has two sets: fists and gripping. The gripping hands are a little more style-posed so they’re not as boring as traditional gripping hands, but that’s obviously fewer than we’re accustomed to receiving. And yet, I think it’s enough as I don’t really know of any other gestures we need for this guy. The gripping hands work to grip the one accessory he might need to grip – his fuel canister with straw. It’s a green canister so it would appear that this contains oil which he looks adorable sipping from. I suppose if you don’t like the cutesy side of Metalhead you could just pose one of the turtles oiling up his joints or something.
Metalhead also has some familiar accessories if you have the NECA version in the form of a drill hand and vacuum cleaner attachment. This is actually one of the only issues I have with this figure as these optional attachments have their own ball-joint while the hands have a ball socket. The joint in the arms is the standard double ball peg we see with JoyToy so to utilize these optional parts you have to get the joint out of the arm. I couldn’t do it with just my fingers and had to remove the hand first and then heat up the forearm. Then I was able to pry it out with my fingers, though it of course went sailing on me. Thankfully, anticipating that might happen I did this in a relatively safe area so I was able to recover the tiny, black, double-ball peg, but it’s something to be careful with. Once it’s out attaching either the drill or the vacuum is pretty easy. The vacuum is a reference to the cartoon and it’s a suitable accessory if you don’t want your Metalhead to be an instrument of war. The drill attachment is also pretty fun because it has a surprising function. It can either be a drill bit, or it can open up to reveal a machinegun barrel inside. This barrel can accept one of the two burst effect parts included adding some considerable firepower to your robot.
And that’s certainly a theme as there’s plenty more firepower to come. Metalhead also has his chest gun like the cartoon version and it plugs into the right pectoral area once the chest is opened up via the two hinged pieces. There are two wires trailing from the gun which also plug into two holes on the figures left side and it can also accept one of the burst effect parts. And it’s supposed to as JoyToy sculpted some shell casings being discharged from the gun which is pretty cool. It would have been nice if that part was removable for static displays, but I don’t mind all that much. That’s not the last of the firepower though as Metalhead also comes with six rockets, a plume effect for each, and a smoke trail for each as well. These connect to the shell as all around a central socket on the back are hinged pieces. Move them out of the way and you will find a port for the smoke trails. There are two short trails, two medium, and two long ones. They’re all done with soft, white, plastic, with a bendy wire inside so you can pose them as you like. Each rocket affixes to the other end and you get six of the same rocket plus four small plumes and two larger ones. Put all of these in place and your Metalhead will really look like a tool of destruction. The last accessory is a little less violent as it’s a turtle shell shaped drone. It has four whirling propellers and it connects via a black wire that plugs into the center port on Metalhead’s shell. There is what appears to be a hinge on the rear of the drone, but it’s non-functioning. It’s a fun inclusion that I find myself really liking. You also get the standard City Sewer disc stand and a chunk of the white base which we’ve seen before.
That’s a whole lot of stuff and finding a way to display your figure is going to be somewhat of a challenge given all of the options. Aiding in the display is the articulation which is pretty decent for such a chunky design. We have pretty much the standard, large, JoyToy joints in place: head, jaw, shoulders, double-elbows, biceps, wrists, waist, metal double-ball peg hips, thighs, double knees, ankle hinge and rocker. The shoulders have the traditional hinge, but connect via a ball peg so there is some up and down play at the joint. The double-ball peg hips basically function as drop-down hips and the waist is a ball joint. Because the shell is affixed to the back, it doesn’t get in the way of the hip rotation and there’s a little bend forward too. If you want the figure to bend back you’ll have to remove the shell. There isn’t a ton of room around the head because he has such a short neck, but the jaw is useable. He can’t really look up, and if I have one complaint it’s that the ankle rockers are fairly useless. They just didn’t cut out enough room for them to function.
Limitations and all, this Metalhead is most likely going to do what you need it to do. He can point and aim his weapons, get into wide stances, and even get down on one knee. The many effect parts make this guy a ton of fun to pose and mess around with and the only true drawback is just how un-fun it is to swap from his hands to the drill and vacuum cleaner. It’s also a bit of a bummer that his effect parts have little utility when it comes to past figures. It would have been neat if they worked with Leatherhead’s weaponry since he didn’t come with any effect parts, but you’ll have to get creative or utilize some blue tack to make that happen. It would be awesome if JoyToy could strive to make such parts more universal. I should add that I like that they went with translucent plastic this time as opposed to painted like the blast effects included with Groundchuck. My criticisms are all pretty minor in the long run and what matters most is that this is probably my new favorite in the line. Metalhead is now the one to beat, but given JoyToy’s track record up until now I think there’s a good chance they top this one. I just have no idea what character possibly could?
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