The Batmobile. The Time Machine. Ecto-1. The Turtle Van! Yes, I am placing the iconic vehicle of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the same category as those unforgettable franchise vehicles. And the crazy thing is that of those four, only one of them has never existed in live-action and it’s, of course, the Turtle Van. The Turtle Van was created for the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mini series. I suspect, since that whole production was overseen by toymaker Playmates, it was a directive from the toy company to include a themed vehicle because they knew getting a vehicle to market for the kids to place their action figures inside was a priority. When the van made its debut in plastic it was as the Party Wagon. The more bus-like design was still recognizable, but not exact, to what was seen in the cartoon. As a kid, I honestly don’t remember that ever being a point of contention for me and I was the sort of kid who wanted his toys to resemble what I was seeing on TV. The undersized Technodrome with its purple eye topper bugged me, but not the boxy van. I think it’s because both designs got the major details right: the grimacing front bumper, the logo on the nose, the spoiler on the top, the shell pattern to the roof, the twin canons. Those were all the hallmarks of the Van/Party Wagon and it was great to have a toy of it. I got it as an Easter present from my grandmother (she loved any excuse to give her grandkids presents) and she can be heard boasting on camera how hard it was to get ahold of and that she really wanted to deliver it for Christmas the prior year (don’t weep for me, I got the sewer lair). I loved that toy and would get a lot of use out of it, but I didn’t get a show accurate Turtle Van until NECA made one in 2023. And now, thanks to JoyToy, I have another.
JoyToy’s 1:18 scale line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been a blast to collect. It was last fall we found out that JoyToy wasn’t content to just do figures, but vehicles as well. Or at least one vehicle, the mighty Turtle Van. Clearly based on the look of the vehicle in the original series, this 1:18 scale vehicle measures approximately 10.5″ long, 7″ wide, and 7.5″ to the top of the spoiler. If the NECA one is in 1:12 scale, that puts this one from JoyToy in approximately the same ballpark. The front of this design is rounded so it translates to about a 15′ long vehicle while the NECA one with its more stubby front would be 14′. The other measurements also translate pretty well. The JoyToy approach is to take the look of the vehicle on television, and dirty it up. Add some realism and incorporate as many display options as possible. The box it comes in is a big window and it’s very similar to the figure boxes we see. Some assembly is required out of the box as the spoiler needs to be attached. It comes in three pieces plus two covers for each side. It’s very easy to snap together and it’s configured in such a way that it would be extremely hard to mess up. It also requires two AAA batteries for what I think were unadvertised lights on the front and rear of the vehicle. After you get that stuff together you’re basically good to go.
The Turtle Van is a plastic vehicle that does utilize rubber for the tires. There appears to be suspension in each tire as there’s a nice, springy, quality, but I can’t see an actual spring to know that for certain. Most of the vehicle is a pale yellow with a pretty heavy paint wash applied to give the vehicle a grimy appearance. They do park it in a sewer, after all. There’s the logo across the spoiler as well as on the front tire cover. The printing on the spoiler is very crisp and clean while the painted logo on the front (which is sculpted into the tire cover) is a little less crisp, but acceptable. There’s translucent, red, plastic in use on the top lights as well as the radar dish over the cabin. Unfortunately, those lights (as well as the dome light inside) do not light up. The side mirrors look like they may be a decal which, unfortunately, is not mirrored. There’s some nice black linework in parts and the wash is applied basically everywhere as well as on the interior.
And for the interior, we get a nice bench seat up front with seatbelts sculpted into the bench, but are otherwise non-functional. There’s sculpted details in the dash for the radio and clear plastic is utilized for the windows and windshield. If you were ever wondering, the Turtle Van has crank windows. I do wish the glass for the windows could pop off easily to simulate an open window, but at least I don’t have to worry about losing them. The rear of the van is accessible by opening the top of the van. The front of the roof can also pop off. Back there is a computer and some more equipment sculpted into the side walls. The center ladder can fold down into the floor allowing those in the back to see and communicate with those riding up front. As for other parts that open, we have the sides of the van with the driver’s side having the fold down platform and the right side swings open and has the laser canon mounted on it. The rear doors also open. They’re all easily accessible, though I do find it easiest to push from the inside of the vehicle. The rear doors feel sturdy while the front doors are slightly flimsy as the connection point is pretty small. If you have the NECA van the doors are very similar to that one in terms of feel.
As for play and accessories, well there’s a lot to talk about. We’ll start with the canons on top which can pivot up and down. The barrel also pulls out to resemble the look of the guns in the show, but if you like the more compact look that’s there for you as well. The side turret is collaspable and once unfolded can accommodate a character sitting in it and firing away. Like the top canons, the barrel for this one can also be pulled out to better resemble the show and the two bombs underneath it are also removable. The front spare tire cover pops off to not reveal a spare tire, but a spot for the included pizza slice. Everyone needs an emergency stash. The panel is hard to remove the first time as it has a little gap at the bottom, but it’s quite close to the bumper so getting a fingernail in there can be a challenge. There’s a toolbox affixed to the exterior of the rear door and we get a litany of tools to put in it: hammer, two wrenches, two screwdrivers. If you don’t like it though you can pop that off and replace it with a spare tire which has a mount that holds it in place. Those rear doors are also a little on the flimsy side so you do want to exercise caution when trying to pry the tool box open or off when it’s on the door. For the guns, we do get effect parts. The two canons on top can accept a spiral blast done with translucent red plastic. There’s also two smaller blast effects that are red translucent plastic with some metallic orange paint sprayed over the base. There are also two smoke trail effects that are gray with a black wash. You can actually use all of these in three places: top canons, side canon, and the exhaust ports on the back. If you want a gun to look like it’s smoking from use you can do that. If you want the exhaust to look like it’s backfiring with a blast effect then go for it.
Inside the van we also get a few options. There’s a port in the middle of the floor which can accept a stool. It can also accept this big, mechanical, pillar which has two options for it. Option one is another turret that has three canons intended to be utilized with the three included grappling hooks. These hooks come on a wired piece to look like they’re being fire, but you can also remove the hook and insert that into the turret like it’s loaded as opposed to firing. What these turrets can’t do is accept any of the other effect parts unless you tip it up and let gravity keep such in place since the fit is too loose. And it is articulated so you can adjust the pitch of the turret. If you don’t want to use that though then you also have a platform. Yes, the very one from the classic TV intro that launches the turtles is finally realized in toy form. It has four peg holes on as well as four slots for an articulated armature which is also included. The armature can swivel and has three articulation points plus a grabby claw at the end so at least one of your turtles can be in mid-leap. It does get crowded if you want all four turtles on there and the pillar is a bit wobbly, but if you’re determined it can be done. There’s also a trio of included traffic cones and two fire extinguishers, with slots for them by the side panel of the van. There’s also a hazard marker for when the van gets a flat and the turtles need to pull over to swap out a tire.
This sucker has a lot of function to it, but what most likely care about beyond the aesthetics is just how does it do with the figures? Overall, pretty good, but it does become apparent quickly that these turtle figures from JoyToy were never really meant to sit down. They have a lot of stuff on their thighs and belts that gets in the way, but you can certainly do it. The steering wheel is removable so you can place that in the hands of a figure before sticking them in the cabin if you find that easier. The characters sit pretty far forward on the bench seat, but it’s only really noticeable with the doors open. With a figure like April, she too sits forward and it looks a little silly from the side as there’s a gap of about 3/4ths of an inch between her and the seat back. I think this is a result of having to make sure the turtles and their bulky shells can fit. They fit more easily into the side turret, though basically all of the turtles should go without holstered weapons if being placed in said turret or in the cabin. In light of that, it would have been neat if JoyToy had built in storage for their weapons. The rear of the van is a little short in height for the turtles to stand up straight, but anyone who has been in a work van probably knows the feeling. It mostly only becomes awkward if you want someone at the computer. Could they have gone a little bigger with the design? Of course, but I don’t really fault the design here. It’s plenty big as it is when it comes to shelf real estate.
To probably the surprise of no one who has experience with JoyToy, I think this van turned out fantastic. I just don’t have many complaints with this thing. The tool box and front cover are a bit stubborn. The hubcap on the passenger side front tire keeps popping off on me. I wish the interior light worked, but I get why it doesn’t since that portion of the roof is removable. One of my canon blasts is a little warped, but I bet I can fix that with a little hot water pretty easily. Aside from that – nothing. This thing looks fantastic. I think it’s easily the best Turtle Van ever released. Now, I don’t have Super7’s very expensive take on the Party Wagon, but I don’t feel like I need to have that in my hands to know I like this one better. This design is great. I like the rounded off front and it has all of the details that I think matter most. I love the inclusion of the platform and it’s great to get all of the extra stuff we got which is something that was really lacking with the NECA van. I like that one too and it’s great for my NECA turtles, but if I could only keep one I think I’d have to side with JoyToy. And that’s before I even get to the price which for me, shipped, was $153. I may have been on the high side too as some people are getting this for closer to $135. That’s a hell of a good deal in today’s market for a vehicle in this scale and at this level of quality. Of course, the drawback is you do have to buy it from an import shop as JoyToy isn’t licensed to sell TMNT product to North America. It hasn’t been much of an issue though and there are plenty of reputable shops to buy from. If you think this thing looks great, then I say go for it. I have no idea where I’m going to put it, but it’s a good problem to have.
If you want my thoughts on other Turtle Vans or wish to see more from JoyToy then check these out:
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