Tag Archives: action figures

August 31, 2023

Super7 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Ultimate Dragonzord

By Joe
The mighty Dragonzord is here!

After a long delay, wave one of Super7’s Mighty Morphin Power Rangers line arrived earlier this year. And after a delay of basically just as long, wave two is now upon us. For the first wave, we took a look at three figures: Green Ranger, Goldar, and the Tyrannosaurus zord. For wave two, it’s just one: the Dragonzord. I’m not all-in on this line, clearly, because I’m a pretty casual fan of MMPR. I’m basically a Green Ranger guy, but where I see room to supplement the small collection I have, I’ll pounce. And being a Green Ranger guy, I had to get the Dragonzord.

You’re going to need a deep shelf for this guy as this is as far as the tail will bend.
He’s got fists, but no reach.

Super7’s take on the Dragonzord should feel pretty familiar to those who purchased the Tyrannosaurus zord. This is a line where the zords are non-combining so it’s strictly an action figure. Super7 seems to see this as an opportunity to make their figures look more like the actual suit costumes in the show. It’s a freeing approach and it allows Super7 to make these things big and chunky. No need for hollow plastic to hide parts or anything like that. The figure comes in a massive version of the Super7 Ultimates! box that’s probably close to the same size as the T-Rex zord’s box. I’d tell you how it compares, but I didn’t keep that box and I don’t plan on keeping this one either. Unlike that figure though, this one was made in China as opposed to Vietnam. I’m not opposed to figures being produced in Vietnam, but we’ve seen a lower quality product out of that factory compared with the stuff out of China.

I wish the head/neck better matched this image from the box.

The Dragonzord stands at approximately 9″ in height. It’s a little fungible as this is one of those characters intended to stand with its legs bent, but 9″ is close enough. The tail is around the same length as the heigh of the figure so this guy takes up a lot of real estate on a shelf. In terms of likeness to the show, there’s good and bad here. There’s quite a bit of paint and the parts that should be shiny are, and the ones that should be more matte are as well. There are spots here and there where it could be better. The red lights on the chest are slightly off and there’s some scuff marks in various spots on my figure. They’re things only apparent when handling the figure and not the type of thing that will show on a shelf. The painted patterns on the figure match the show as opposed to the vintage Bandai figure which basically did its own thing when it came to decals. I like the big, chunky, feet on this guy and the segmented tail with drill tip. There aren’t any missing paint apps that I can see, which wasn’t the case with the Tyrannosaurus zord.

The new one is actually a little smaller than the vintage release.

The big thing people are likely to note with this figure is the head. It’s just not accurate to the show. It’s much too wide and stocky with the black frame around the face too thick. The head should taper in towards the top, but here it’s more like a square. The brow also extends further down than it should basically touching the snout. And if you’re not sure how off it is, Super7 included a handy-dandy image of the actual Dragonzord on the back of the box for you to compare it to. Probably not the best idea. From the side, it looks fine, but it’s bizarre to see it look so obviously off when viewing the figure from the front. With this line, I sometimes get the feeling that Super7 is trying to match the show while also being an homage to the old toyline. If that’s the case, they still missed the mark as the original Bandai Dragonzord has a completely different head shape than this. Am I nitpicking? Perhaps, but it’s a pretty important detail and this isn’t a $25 figure, after all. Whether or not it matters to you is more subjective.

The old one may be taller, but it’s probably going to have some tail envy.

It’s important for this figure to nail the likeness because it’s not going to articulate well. I wasn’t expecting much out of it, because the suit from the show doesn’t offer a whole lot in that department, but even with those low expectations I was still let down a bit. The torso, which includes the head, neck, shoudlers, and diaphragm, is one solid piece. You get nothing except jaw articulation. The waist is on a ball peg so the figure can roll around on that part. You won’t get much forward and back, but you get plenty of rotation and tilt. The arms are essentially just forearms which attach to the torso via hinged ball pegs. They do next to nothing. You get maybe 45 degrees of up and down via that hinge, but rotation is basically nil. If you’ve seen the solicitation images for this figure, there’s one image where the Dragonzord’s arms are out to the side a bit firing missiles from its hands. This figure cannot do that which is a bummer because it should. At the hands, we get more hinged pegs. They rotate fine, but they’re recessed pretty far into the wrist area so the hinge is of little use. You can pull them out a bit though to get better range there.

Probably the comparison people are going to care about most. The two are about the same, though the Dragonzord should be taller.

Below the waist there isn’t a whole lot to speak of. The legs connect via big hinged ball pegs. They can kick out to the side a little bit, but there’s basically no forward and back range. The thigh twist there works okay though and below that is another hinged peg for the knee. The range on that hinge is maybe 25 degrees, it’s basically just enough to give the figure that crouched stance. You can rotate there, though it’s more like a pivot. The ankles work okay though as they hinge forward and back a reasonable amount and there is an ankle rocker. For the tail, we get a segmented approach just the like the Tyrannosaurus zord before it. I think it’s a bunch of hinged pegs so you get some play throughout. It’s not as robust as a bendy tail, but it at least looks good. It’s just not terribly functional. The drill tip at least rotates.

These two have a very similar feel, though I think the Dragonzord turned out just a tiny bit better as the black plastic just looks nicer than the red.

The figure is severely limited when it comes to articulation and that largely can be attributed to the design of the suit from the show. What’s more of a Super7 problem is the looseness. This is a heavy figure with heavy limbs and some of the joints just aren’t up to task. The waist and hips especially are pretty floppy. The heavy tail is constantly pulling back on the torso so it can be hard to get the figure in a forward hunch. The joint where the tail meets the body is also pretty loose further limiting how you can pose the tail. It’s a consistent problem with Super7, but the saving grace here is the big feet and that tail mean this figure is easy to stand. No shelf diving here unless you do something crazy, but it should be better.

Careful, it’s loaded!
The clear best accessory in the box. And obviously I’m talking about the tiny Green Ranger on its shoulder.

The Dragonzord isn’t a character that really cries out for accessories, but it does come with a few. Mainly, they’re alternate hands. The figure comes with open hands, but it also has a set of fists, flat hands with the missiles poking out of the fingers, and the missile firing effect hands. The open hands are the only ones with horizontal hinges while the rest have vertical ones, which is fine. I’m not sure the fists needed vertical hinges, but I don’t think it really matters. The red tips on the missile-ready hands could be better, but they’re fine. The effect hands are probably the ones most are likely to use because they are pretty damn fun. It looks like the smoke trails are done with translucent, yellow, plastic that’s been airbrushed. The only other accessories is a tiny, in-scale, Green Ranger playing his flute and an actual power coin with the Dragonzord logo on one side and the zord symbol on the reverse. The little Green Ranger is okay, the painted shield makes it looks better than the Red Ranger that came with the Tyrannosaurus zord, but it’s nothing special. The coin is what it is. As far as novelty coins go, it’s well done, but I don’t know that it’s really necessary. On the other hand, we’re not missing anything. Maybe some arms that could swap in that are angled so it can fake some better range there?

There’s also a coin, if that’s something you value.
A less important comparison, but why not?

Super7’s take on the Dragonzord is not without its flaws, but it’s also pretty much as expected. This is a what you see is what you get, as long as you’re not looking at that image where the arms are going out to the side. It’s a chunky, solid, beast of an action figure. It won’t do much on your shelf, but it’s default look isn’t really lacking in shelf presence as it is. The effect hands really help sell the figure as it allows for something a bit more dynamic. Is it a package that’s worth $55 though? If you can overlook the inaccuracies with the head, I think so. The market has come towards Super7 making the price tag not as egregious as it was when this figure went up for preorder more than 2 years ago. If it were solicited today, I bet Super7 would have charged $65 for it like they did with the gold and black variant recently sold at San Diego Comic Con. I’m not saying that makes this one a bargain, but it’s definitely a better value than a lot of Super7 releases. If you’re all-in on this line, then you likely already have this. If you’re picking and choosing I think this is a solid addition to your zord shelf provided you have room. I’m curious to see if Super7 comes back and does a Battle Mode or Fighting Mode Dragonzord in the next wave (the White Tigerzord failed to get enough orders to go into production – ouch!). That one isn’t as fun looking as the standard version, but it would probably move better. They’d also get to recycle the Megazord legs so why not do it?

Suck it, Goldar!

Interested in reading about more Super7 offerings from the world of Power Rangers?

Super7 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Ultimate Goldar

Last week, when we took a look at the first Power Ranger in Super7’s line of Ultimates! action figures based on Mighty Morphin Power Rangers I expressed some surprise that Hasbro would license out this brand since it competes with their own Lighting Collection. I do feel like the actual Rangers are pretty safe. People…

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by Joe

Super7 Mighty Morphin Power Rangers Ultimate Green Ranger

We continue to finally offload some long standing preorders this year and up next is Mighty Morphin Power Rangers from Super7. It was June 2021 when these figures were announced to the surprise of many. Why? Because Power Rangers are now owned by Hasbro, probably the biggest toy producer in the world who has its…

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by Joe

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August 29, 2023

Saurozoic Warriors Range Brakhion

By Joe
A new toyline has entered the game!

These days, the buzz word in the entertainment industry is “content.” Everyone wants content, especially streamers. It all goes back to the value of intellectual property. It’s costly and difficult to turn a new product into a popular one. It’s far easier, and less risky, to just throw money at an existing brand and create new content off of that. It’s true even in the world of action figures where the big companies with the deepest pockets shell out money for the likes of Marvel, DC, and whatever movie is looking hot these days. It’s almost rare to browse an action figure aisle at a big box store and find figures of something that never existed before, even though several beloved toy properties today began life as such.

Boss Fight Studio is a small, independent, toy producer based in Massachusetts. It got started largely doing its own thing creating its own products, though they were steeped in mythology and not entirely unfamiliar to toy buyers. Boss Fight would branch out to licensed products, first with Bucky O’Hare and later adding the likes of Popeye, Strawberry Shortcake, and many others. Unfortunately, the company lost the Bucky O’Hare license when the licensor decided it didn’t want to remain in the toy business. I’m not sure if it’s related to the toy we’re looking at today, but that 90s throwback line’s exit did create a gap in the release calendar and perhaps that was the opening that allowed the Saurozoic Warriors to rise.

I’m not sure what the official scale is for this line, so here he is with a variety of stuff both old and new.

Saurozoic Warriors is Boss Fight’s own, internal, IP turned action figure. The series is based around anthropomorphic dinosaurs which naturally has invited comparisons to Dinosaucers, one of the few 80s properties to not get a second chance at life in this day and age. The aesthetic is a one part barbarian, but also one part cyberpunk as characters are armed with melee weapons, but also sport blasters and other interesting accessories. What really caught my eye though was the color palette in play. These guys look ripped from a late 80s/early 90s guidebook to what’s cool. Neon blues and greens, hot pink, leather jackets – there’s attitude to spare here and it comes across as both earnest and charming. This is just a line of cool designs for people who lived through that era and I was pretty smitten upon the reveal.

This guy has weapon storage for the knife and axe, but the axe is so heavy that it doesn’t work especially well. You can also finagle the rifle into this same slot if you just want a place to store it.

Wave 1 of Saurozoic Warriors has recently landed and I knew it was only a matter of time until I ended up with one, or all four, of my own. Toy collecting is expensive and I’ve been trying to figure out where these would fit in my collection which is why I didn’t jump on a preorder. I was also hoping to buy them from Boss Fight in person since I reside in the same state, but COVID forced them to convert their retail space into office space so that was no longer an option. I planned to order them from their website at some point, but recently I went into my local comic book store to grab some new issues and there they were on the shelf. Well, three of them, but the one I coveted most was among the three. I wanted to buy direct from Boss Fight because I assume they make more money off of direct sales, but buying it off of a local comic book shop has plenty of benefit too as that’s a business I want to support so I pivoted from my plan and grabbed a figure: Range Brakhion.

If you want to know more about the IP, Boss Fight does have a free digital comic on its website. I haven’t checked it out, because I mostly don’t care. This just looks cool and I am here for it. The figure comes in a large window box with original artwork by Robert Wilson IV. And when I say large window box, I mean the window itself is basically the entire front of the box. If you want packaging to give you a good look at the figure you’re buying then Boss Fight should please you. It’s almost too big as the figure looks pretty small in it, but it certainly showcases it well.

“So…you’re what Boss Fight Studio is up to these days.”

Range Brakhion is a bipedal brachiosaurus with a barbarian motif. He stands a shade under 6.5″ making him one of the tallest figures from Boss Fight I own. The neck is bent like an inverted “L” with his face forward while the rest of the body is basically that of a well-muscled dude who wouldn’t look out of place among the folks in Masters of the Universe. The sculpt is well done as the skin has a cracked texture to it with the occasional wart-like bump. He has flat teeth, befitting his species, and the head has a plated quality to it on the top which I like. The armor he sports is mostly done with separate pieces. He has this harness that criss-crosses his chest and back and includes the large shoulder pad over his left shoulder. The loincloth is a separate piece which floats and also doubles as a way to hide the crotch articulation without the need for a cumbersome “diaper” overlay. The wrist gauntlets look to be separate pieces that might be keyed in or even glued. The boots are sculpted pieces.

“I should have never played around with super-science!”

What makes Range Brakhion shine though, is with the choice of colors. There’s not a ton of paint, but there doesn’t need to be. The body is done in a bright blue, an electric blue, with a hit of purple airbrush that’s mostly concentrated on the front of the neck. The armor bits are done with hot pink and a fluorescent orangey-pink that play well off of each other. The rest of the paint is mostly reserved for the facial details, the pink rim on the top of the head, and the gauntlets. And those applications are just okay. He has a little skull on his left wrist and the straps holding it on are a little messy in places. There’s a stripe of pink on his snout that could be darker, the paint around the teeth could be sharper, and there’s some paint slop on the back of his belt. If this were a $60 figure, I might be harder on the paint, but at $30 from a small toy company I think it’s okay. The color combo is what’s going to make him pop on your shelf and the paint issues aren’t enough to dampen that.

“Hmm…I like the cut of your jib, long-neck.”

Range Brakhion also comes with a trio of weapons. He has what Boss Fight calls a rocket axe, which is just a giant axe that has some machinery fastened to the end of it. It’s bound to the blade with straps through a skull. The only paint is on the axe blade itself and the skull which is an off-white. The rest is sculpted in hot pink which matches his armor rather well. The detail on all of the machine bits is really well done so I’m a little disappointed that it’s not fully painted, but I also think Boss Fight is intentionally going for a bit of an old school aesthetic with the weapons. It’s a big, heavy, weapon though that’s best held with two hands when posing the figure. There is a slot on the back of his harness for it when it’s not in use, but the heft of the weapon can make it tricky to keep it in there.

Range Brakhion also has a blaster rifle which is also molded in hot pink and has a touch of silver on the muzzle. It’s another great sculpt as the rifle looks to be held together in places by tape. There’s etchings indicating the character’s kills (13, if you’re curious) and there’s a scope, bullet ribbon, and what looks to be a collapsible stand on the front which is non-functioning. The handle of the weapon is a bit thin so the figure doesn’t get as tight a grip on it as I’d like. It also has a loop at the back end that almost looks like it’s intended to go somewhere, but I don’t see anywhere to store it on the figure. You can kind of shove it into the same holster as the axe, or you could try to sneak it under the straps if you were willing to risk breaking them. Lastly, there’s his poison-tipped knife which is just a big ole knife with spiked handguard. It utilizes the same silver and hot pink combo and has a sheath to slide into when not in use that’s on the front of the chest harness and looks pretty cool. Those are the only accessories. If you were hoping for extra hands there are none to be found. I would have liked a trigger finger hand, but the gun doesn’t really have a trigger on it anyway so it’s not a huge loss.

“At long last, the Triceratons have a new leader!”

Articulation for a Boss Fight figure is usually on the basic side by modern toy standards and this figure seems to embody that. The head is on a double ball peg so it can rotate around, tilt, and look down. There’s no range up. You get an articulated jaw as well which can get a little a loose if you’re manipulating the head a lot, but that’s just because the head is working it’s way off of the ball peg so you just have to push it back to tighten it up. The base of the neck is on a ball joint so that rotates fine and allows the character to look down further, but it has no range going back. It might have been fun to get an interchangeable neck that was in a different shape, but this bend they went with is probably the best move absent that.

I thought he might look cool with two bladed weapons. Thankfully, Super7’s Slash has the same taste in colors as this fella.

The shoulders are on a hinged ball-peg and the figure can raise its arms out past horizontal and rotate around just fine. The elbows are single-hinged and will give you 90 degrees with swivel. The hands are hinged pegs and will mostly just rotate as the hinge is pretty well buried in the gauntlets. They are horizontal hinges, but you won’t get much movement out of them anyway. The waist is just a ball joint so the figure can rotate fine and gets some tilt in all directions. It’s not a tremendous amount of range, but it’s not nothing either. The hips are simple ball sockets and since the joint is all exposed under his loincloth you’ll get pretty good range out of them. He can do splits, kick forward, back, and gets a little swivel on the ball joint. The knees are single-hinged like the elbows, but they won’t give you a full 90 degree bend. They do swivel and at the ankle there’s a hinge and rocker which both work fine.

He certainly looks at home with Boss Fight’s Bucky O’Hare figures. He may just live here.

Range Brakhion has just enough articulation. Could it be better? Sure. I’d have loved usable wrist hinges and if he could get both hands on his rifle that would have been great too, but that would have required something more drastic. I understand Boss Fight not wanting to cut into the sculpt further for something like a butterfly joint. I like the chunky sculpt in the chest and wouldn’t want anything taken away from it. Since he is a character created to be a toy, maybe they could have designed the rifle to be held in two hands instead? Boss Fight definitely isn’t going for super-articulated here and I think they’ve done a good enough job.

That’s all of the objective things I can say about this release from Boss Fight Studio, so all that’s left is the subjective and I love this figure! He just looks so fun via the sculpt, design, and those wonderful colors. This is a fun IP from the folks at Boss Fight Studio and I plan on getting more. When? I’m not sure, but I don’t plan on being one and done with this line. I don’t know that I’ll be a completist, especially as I search for a place to put this guy, but I know that I like other figures in Wave 1 and some of the designs in Wave 2 look fantastic. Boss Fight is onto something here and I hope it pays off for them. If this looks like something you would be entertained by then I definitely encourage you to take the plunge and give this line a shot!

If you enjoyed this entry about a Boss Fight Studio project then maybe you will like one of these:

Boss Fight Studio Sam & Max

Sometimes a toy comes along that I just can’t ignore. There’s just something neat about it, or the aesthetic so on point, that I want to own it even if I have little or no attachment to the source material. Such is the case with the Boss Fight Studio release of Sam & Max. I…

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by Joe

Boss Fight Studio Corsair Canard Dead-Eye Duck

It’s been awhile since we’ve had some new Bucky O’Hare stuff to talk about from Boss Fight Studio, but the wait is over and BFS is setting us up for a nice exit to 2018. Up first, is the variant Corsair Canard Dead-Eye Duck. This action figure is a re-paint of the Series 2 Dead-Eye…

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by Joe

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August 24, 2023

Star Wars: The Vintage Collection Boba Fett (Vintage Comic Art)

By Joe
Make way for the Fett man!

I’ve been collecting action figures in some capacity for my whole life, and it occurred to me now that I’ve never owned the Fett man. That’s Boba Fett, who is one of the most iconic characters from Star Wars and also pretty noteworthy in the world of action figures. I am not the place for Star Wars history, but it’s my understanding that the original Boba Fett figure was hard to come by as safety standards prevented its release because of the missile firing action it possessed. Or it was released, then recalled, something like that. Needless to say, that original Boba Fett is a prized possession for vintage Star Wars collectors and the notoriety surrounding it has only added to the character’s popularity.

I didn’t collect the original Kenner line of Star Wars toys, but I did get into The Power of the Force which debuted in the 90s. My interest in it was somewhat of a passing one. I think I got a bunch of money for a birthday to do as I pleased and saw it as the right time to build up a Star Wars collection. Following that, it didn’t move much farther so I had plenty of gaps in my collection (the only Han Solo I had was the mail-away one in Storm Trooper armor you could get via Froot Loops), but the only one I was a little bothered by was my lack of Boba Fett. He just wasn’t in stock that day, and really, not a ton was as I ended up with quite a few figures from the Shadows of the Empire line. I would have opportunities to get Boba Fett later, and his spaceship, but when push came to shove I just didn’t want it enough.

I’m guessing a lot of folks leave these on card because it does display well.

As an adult, I don’t buy many Star Wars figures, but I do have a trio from The Vintage Collection. This is the Kenner homage line, but with more articulation and more paint. I liked the Mandalorian I picked up, but I really didn’t care for the Dark Trooper. I was so unimpressed with that figure that when I went to post my review I couldn’t be bothered to retake my photos which had come out rather blurry. I almost didn’t post it, but I took the time to write it so I let it slip through. I thought I was done with The Vintage Collection, but then I came across this Boba Fett the other day. I had previously considered getting the Kenner colors version of basically the same figure a few months back, but Hasbro wanted $26 for it so I wasn’t all that tempted. For some reason, $20 felt that much better when it came to this new one so let’s talk about it.

I just find the little guy charming and he does kind of fit in with the Christmas figures.

This Boba Fett is labeled as the Vintage Comic Art variant. As far as I know, the sculpt is 100% reuse from past Boba Fett figures and it’s part of a wave of Fett variants because the guy sells. This one is exclusive to Target which is where I found it. For some reason, it didn’t scan when I tried to buy it, but it wasn’t due to a register lock, so an associate just entered a price for me. I got it for $20, which is actually a buck cheaper than it’s supposed to be (thanks Target employee!) so I guess I have a tiny bit of surplus value in it. I’ve actually had that happen a couple of times at Target where I tell the associate the right price and they give it to me for less anyway. One older woman let me have a $4 Hot Wheel for a buck because I think she just felt that’s what it was worth which amused me.

Just look at that guy – such a bad ass!

Anyway, I don’t know where this look for Boba Fett comes from, but I’m going to assume it’s from a comic book adaptation of The Empire Strikes Back since that’s what’s listed on it. Again, other places could better inform you on the history of this thing, but what attracted me to it was the colors. This figure is cast mostly in a rich, dark, green with mostly red and white mixed in. Maybe it’s my love of Christmas influencing me a bit, but this color scheme works for me. It just pops, and I like where the red is utilized. What really works though is the helmet which has this blue shading on it between the black and white. And that little dot of white on the top of the helmet is just – chef’s kiss! It looks great! And I found myself taking it to the register against my better judgement. I think what also works in its favor is the size. As an homage line, we’re talking about a 3.75″ figure, give or take, where that colored plastic look comes off better. On the few Black Series figures I have, the red plastic in particular comes across as cheap, but it’s not as noticeable in a smaller scale.

I’m not in love with the soft goods or the appearance of the jetpack, but it’s not like they’re displayed prominently.

The presentation is rather lovely for this scale and the figure also comes with a couple of accessories. There’s a non-removable soft goods cape affixed to the back of the figure’s left shoulder. It has some holes in it so that it looks weathered, I suppose, though it does throw off the look of the figure a little bit. On the other hand, the plastic cape on the Din Djarin figure is a bit of a pain to deal with so I can’t say I mind too much. On the figure’s back is the jetpack with a non-removable missile, which is a little disappointing. The paint on it isn’t super detailed, but I’m guessing it wasn’t in the comic it’s based on too.

“Stick ’em up, unless you can tell me where I can stick this handgun then please help me!”

For weapons, Boba Fett gets a sidearm and a short rifle with a sling on it. The handgun is basically cast all in a light blue, while the rifle is solid purple. It’s an interesting look, for sure, and it works for me as a toy. There are no optional hands, but both hands are trigger-finger hands so he can hold a weapon in either hand. He can casually hold the rifle in two hands, the classic Boba Fett pose, though he can’t aim it with two hands. I like both, but I’m disappointed that he doesn’t have a holster for the sidearm. Now, he doesn’t have one on the card art, but maybe just give him one anyway? Or find a way to include one on his back or something. I feel like he has to be displayed holding the handgun or else it will get lost. The rifle at least has the sling so it can go over a shoulder, but the handgun has to be just shoved somewhere it’s not supposed to go if you want to store it.

Articulation is just okay. It’s a bit of a bummer that he can’t really do a two-handed, gun-firing, sort of pose.

The articulation on this guy is exactly the same as Din Djarin. I’m guessing some of the parts are the same, but there’s plenty that isn’t. This figure is going to pose much better than those old Kenner figures and really about as well as The Black Series. The limitations the Holiday Mandalorian I have possesses are pretty much the same here. It’s the torso that’s limiting since Fett wears armor so you don’t get anything in the diaphragm. The lack of butterfly joints at the shoulder prevent some of those gun holding poses you would like to have and the knees and elbows are single-hinged. The only joints I don’t like really are the hips, which are hinged ball pegs. Ball and socket joints would work better and I don’t see how they would cost anymore other than the expense of switching from one thing to another. The feet are a little on the small side so this guy might fall over here and there, but once you find a pose it seems to be fine.

The big thing with this series and figure is just the cost versus what you get. Should a 3.75″ figure cost over 20 bucks? I think in the minds of most the answer is “No.” I do wish we got a little more for our buck like maybe an effect part for the jetpack. This one doesn’t even have holes to accept the effect parts that came with the Dark Trooper which did bum me out a bit. A removable missile or a blasting missile effect would have been awesome too. I’d have taken that over the sidearm. My feeling with a lot of what Hasbro is doing (and it’s worse in the Marvel Legends line) with its prices is that they’re going up without the consumer feeling like they’re getting something extra. In fact, they seem to be cutting back on a lot of paint apps, accessories, etc. This one isn’t that bad as we at least get two guns and a fun paint job, but there’s no way to really downplay that the asking price is more than we’re used to.

At least he can handle this pose.

As someone who never owned a Boba Fett before, I’m happy with this being my first. I think he looks cool, he looks fun, and he adds something to my modest nook of Star Wars figures. It’s the appearance that sells this, so if you like it go out and grab one. If you’re not a completist though, maybe double-check and make sure you don’t prefer a different variant as there’s no shortage of Boba Fett these days. This figure is exclusive to Target in the US and my store at least got a whole bunch so I don’t think it will be super hard to find, but it might be the type of release where if you wait too long you could miss your chance.

If you would like to read more Star Wars toy reviews, I’ve got a few more you can check out:

Star Wars: The Vintage Collection Dark Trooper

I’m back with another Star Wars action figure review! Actually, I don’t do these very often. This is only the third such review out of me because I usually don’t collect Star Wars. Sure, I think the franchise is fine and I did collect figures as a kid, but it’s not something I’m drawn to…

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by Joe

Star Wars The Black Series Mandalorian Warrior (Holiday Edition)

We’re getting to Christmas coverage at The Nostalgia Spot one day early this year with this look at one of the latest in the Holiday Collection from Hasbro’s Star Wars line of action figures referred to as The Black Series. I have previously looked at a figure from the very popular streaming show The Mandalorian…

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by Joe

Leave a comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Comics, Film, toys

August 17, 2023

S.H.Figuarts Dragon Ball Z Super Saiyan Trunks – The Boy from the Future

By Joe
He didn’t exactly travel through time to get here, but he did have to cross an ocean.

The most captivating character in all of Dragon Ball Z for me back in the 90s was unquestionably Trunks. The offspring of Bulma and Vegeta who traveled back in time to warn the heroes of the day about impending doom on the horizon was unique for many reasons. For one, he actually looks like a normal person. Or rather, his hair does when compared with the likes of Goku and Vegeta. He wields a sword which is pretty different, and he sports some sort of half-jacket or 3/4 jacket that, while nothing I’d wear, he’s able to pull off. Mostly though, he was captivating to me because he was a character I knew was coming, but since the english dub of the show was stuck in Namek for so many years, he remained a mystery. And when FUNimation finally resumed dubbing DBZ when it became popular via Cartoon Network I finally got to see what all the fuss was about. It turns out Trunks is pretty okay. A tragic backstory, a determined will, and who is pure of heart – what’s not to like? Plus, he shows up and absolutely dominates Frieza, the enemy Goku spent somewhere in the neighborhood of 25 episodes fighting, dispatched in mere moments. Pretty bad ass stuff.

When it comes to Future Trunks, I definitely needed an upgrade. And Bandai, please, pretty please, re-issue the Dragon Ball Super Future Trunks!

Trunks, as one of the more involved character designs on the show, has always made for a rather desirable action figure. His figure in the old Bandai Super Battle Collection was, for me, one of the few worth getting. When Irwin Toys started making their own sculpts, a Trunks figure arrived before even Goku or Vegeta (actually, light praise since the same could be said of Yajirobe and King Kai) with a Super Saiyan version not far behind in their action feature subline. For a character with comparatively few episodes compared with the main cast, the show did get a lot of looks out of him which allows toy companies to do the same when it comes to figures.

We’re all in agreement, right? Trunks is cool because he has a sword.

When I got back into DBZ toy collecting, a Trunks figure was on my short list of figures I wanted. I almost picked up the battle armor version of Super Saiyan Trunks in the waning days of Toys R’ Us. A store near me had one with liquidation pricing, but it was still over 40 bucks and I just wasn’t that into the figure. It turns out, I was playing the long game as a better version of that figure is getting re-released later this year at the budget price of $35. I win again, universe! The real version of Trunks I wanted though was his first appearance. That’s the blue jacket, sword, short hair, look. Preferably, a Super Saiyan portrait, but it’s always nice to get both. My patience has paid off as recently released (okay, well, a few months ago because this sat in my Pile of Loot for a bit at Big Bad Toy Store) is a new version of Trunks from his debut episode. It is, as far as I know, an all new sculpt from an earlier version of the same which is why it doesn’t get the budget pricing (unlike Vegeta, who was released alongside him). That’s fine though as I don’t want a dated figure, just a good one. It’s a popular character we’re dealing with and did Bandai do Trunks justice?

Was this the last thing Frieza saw before he kicked the bucket?

Trunks arrives in the standard window box packaging for the S.H.Figuarts line. Out of the box, he stands approximately 5.25″ not counting the hair. As is often the case with this line, much of the figure is done with molded, colored, plastic with little in the way of paint hits. His jacket is a soft rubber with a very matte appearance while the sleeves are part of the arm’s sculpt. They’re a touch glossy when compared with the jacket so it’s not the most uniform look. The Capsule Corp. logo on the left bicep is more gray than white, but the opacity is at least appropriate. There’s a touch of paint at the ends of the sleeves where some gold buttons are featured, but that’s it for paint on the coat. The chest is painted flesh-color and it matches the neck, which is unpainted, better than some of the other figures I have. It’s not, however, especially clean as the left side is pretty rough looking where the flesh meets the shirt. There’s a little paint on the belt and boots and that is at least cleanly applied. The pants feature no shading that I can tell, and the plastic in his crotch region is more glossy than the pant legs which is a bit of a bummer.

Or maybe this was the last thing Frieza saw? He seems to be able to survive when in pieces.

What does look great though is the face. Bandai has really upped their game when it comes to their face-printing and Trunks is no exception. The linework around the eyes is sharp and clean and I like the little paint hits on the creases of his skin and at the ends of his eyebrows. The Super Saiyan hair is cast in a pale yellow, but with a kiss of light orange paint in the center. I honestly think they could have gone a touch heavier with the shading, but I’m glad to see it’s here. This is probably the approach to Super Saiyan hair I like the most. The translucent hair is a bit fun, but not really screen accurate, and the gold color they sometimes use is overkill. And then there’s the Super Saiyan Gohan head which is just pale yellow with no shading which was definitely lacking.

No energy effects, so I had to improvise.

In terms of the accessories, this is one of the most complete Bandai releases I can think of. Trunks comes with two heads and five faceplates. Four of the faceplates are for his Super Saiyan look. We get a neutral expression, yelling, teeth gritting, and a side eye. For that look, he also has two pieces for his bangs, one that’s basically neutral and another for when he’s powering up that’s pointed skyward. The second head is a base Trunks head with his very 90s haircut in molded, purple, plastic. He has one faceplate for this hair and it’s a neutral one. If you’re only going to have one, then it makes sense for it to be neutral. I’m a little disappointed that the upcoming Trunks in the battle armor doesn’t come with another base Trunks face as it would have been a clever way to expand both figures, but that’s not a shortcoming of this release. The base head is nice to have though, but it looks a bit off to me. The hair sits rather high, and while I’m happy the figure can be both super and non, I do wonder if I’ll ever really use this one. To go with the faces, Trunks has six sets of hands: fists, gripping, clenching, open, flat palm, and a more nuanced gripping hand. The extra gripping hands are kind of unnecessary, but I do like that his right hand and left can have a different grip which is kind of neat.

He looks pretty great with this aura effect. I’m going to have to make some room for it.

And Trunks needs those gripping hands because his signature accessory is his sword. The blade comes with its own scabbard which looks to be sculpted in a silver and then painted brown with light blue straps. I’m not sure if this brown is from the manga or something or just an error as it was more of a red-orange in the anime. The paint isn’t perfect on the straps, but it’s featured on the figure’s back so it’s not going to be displayed prominently in most cases. It slings over the figure’s shoulder via a strap done in a soft plastic. It’s painted well enough and seems to stay in place just fine. When posing the figure the strap might pop off and it is annoying, but it’s easy to work with, at least. The sword itself is sculpted in the same silver and the handle is painted brown. I like the shape of the blade and it comes to a nice point, something the old Irwin toy couldn’t do because of safety standards. The pommel of the sword is removable which is how you’re supposed to slide the handle into one of the gripping hands, which is a nice idea. The pommel does pop off rather easily though, so do be careful as it would be an easy thing to lose given its size.

Here comes the Burning Attack, or whatever he calls it.

Trunks comes with everything he needs (save for a blast effect), but does he have the articulation to wield it all properly? The head is on the usual double ball peg, though the hair covers the back of his neck enough to limit the figure’s ability to look up. Looking down isn’t a problem and the ball peg at the base of the neck enhances that range. Otherwise, you get rotation and plenty of nuance posing there. The shoulders are hinged ball pegs which fit into a socket attached to a butterfly joint. Trunks can raise his arms out to the side past a horizontal pose, rotate all around, and the butterfly has quite good range. It comes with a visual trade-off though in that Bandai did the rear of the jacket in segments. I don’t know that they needed to. On one hand, it’s on the rear of the figure and is also further obscured by the scabbard if that’s in place. On the other, it’s pretty ugly and visually unappealing. We also have a biceps swivel and the left one, for some reason, has a tendency to pop off. It’s easily popped back into place, but can be annoying. The double-jointed elbows bend well past 90 degrees and the wrists use the usual ball peg setup. They’re recessed quite deep in the cuffs of the jacket though so the range isn’t as robust as usual.

The figure also comes with a base head, if you want that.

In the torso, the usual ball-jointed diaphragm is present. There’s no hinge that I can see, and it mostly provides some lean to each side and rotation. The range back and forward is minimal, and if you turn too far you will expose some gaps on both the side of the torso or on the back and front. The waist is ball-jointed as well and it’s actually elevated more than usual. This is because the floating belt obscures the gap and it does let the figure bend forward and back quite a bit. Plus, it provides the customary swivel and a little tilt. The hips will allow the figure to do splits and also kick forward about 90 degrees. The range going back is minimal, and there’s a thigh swivel as well. The look of this joint is a little ugly though as they felt it necessary to have the paints continue up the side of the thigh all the way to the hip and I don’t know why. Or maybe they shouldn’t have the cut-out in the crotch, but it looks goofy. This is also the lone loose joint on my figure. It will hold a pose, but it’s a little floppy which is unusual for a S.H.Figuarts release. The knees are double-jointed and will go a bit past 90 degrees. There’s no boot swivel, and the ankle joint will bend back pretty far, but has almost zero range going forward. The ankle rocker is just okay and there’s a toe hinge, if you want it.

Trunks has great range in the shoulders, but it does come with this wonky setup with the jacket.

The articulation on Trunks is mostly good. I like the range in the shoulders and torso as he can hit a variety of sword poses. He can easily grip the sword with both hands or just one and he can also grip the handle while it’s sheathed, a favorite of mine. I don’t really like the hips though. The range there is great, but the looseness is unpleasant. This one was made in the Vietnam factory and it has that cheaper feel to it some of the figures out of that factory have possessed. Most of my nitpicks though are with the presentation. The jacket is over-engineered and the hips as well. I don’t like that there’s a sizable gap between the base of the neck and chest, but at least the strap on the scabbard can obscure that. The paint could also be better and the boots stick out to me as looking especially cheap. They need a wash or something to just class it up a bit. This is, after all, not one of the $35 efforts.

“Wait! Your dad’s Vegeta, and your mom is an inventor who knows me…?!”

Presentation nitpicks aside, where Trunks flourishes is with the display options. The faces all look so good that picking just one is a challenge. Maybe I would have traded the side-eye one for a smirk, but I also do like that one. The only accessories that could have made this release better is the usual blast effect, which most figures forego, or optional bare arms so he could have his end of arc look. That would have caused problems with the butterfly joint though which is done in blue. They would have had to include some caps or floating pieces to obscure that in addition to the arms, so I get why they didn’t pursue that further. Plus, I prefer the jacketed look more and I wouldn’t want that to be compromised at all to make way for such a thing.

These Super Saiyans practically grow on trees.

Trunks is one of the most popular characters in Dragon Ball Z and I think anyone who collects this line should probably grab this figure. It’s not perfect, but it looks nice on a shelf. I just hope we get more Trunks from Bandai down the road. We’re getting the battle armor reissue which features Trunks as a Super Saiyan with his hair tied back, but I’d really love a bulked-up Super Saiyan Trunks from when he challenges Cell. Yeah, it ended up being a bad form for fighting, but damn did it look cool!

Interested in more Dragon Ball action figure reviews? Here’s a few to check out:

SH Figuarts Super Saiyan Vegeta

He’s the Prince of all Saiyans. The last survivor to have laid eyes on Planet Vegeta, home world of the mighty warriors and birthplace of the legendary Goku. And he’s also a pretty fine toy. Vegeta, arguably the most popular character to emerge from Dragon Ball Z, has seen his likeness cast in numerous forms…

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by Joe

Bandai Dragon Stars Super Saiyan Trunks

Dragon Ball Super did to me what basically every cartoon/anime does:  it made me want toys based on it. It’s a compulsion I’ve never outgrown, apparently, and Bandai has made it fairly easy (but not cheap) to get what I want. Months ago I did an entry on the SH Figuarts Super Saiyan Vegeta. That…

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by Joe

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , | posted in Television, toys

August 15, 2023

NECA TMNT The Last Ronin Best Buy Exclusive Synja Patrol Bot

By Joe
He’s here to…patrol, and stuff.

I thought the string of Turtle Tuesday posts was going to end with last week’s item, but then I got a surprise email from Best Buy. The Synja Patrol Bot I had preordered months ago was actually getting moved up instead of bumped out, and to my surprise, it was going to be delivered in two days! I was pretty skeptical, but sure enough, two days later I had my action figure before I had even finished my morning coffee.

The Synja Patrol Bot is like the Foot ninja of The Last Ronin, the comic story about the very last Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle from IDW Publishing. These are the guys the titular character has to deal with upon his return to New York and they seem a bit more formidable than its predecessors. I read those books over a year ago at this point so my memory is a bit fuzzy, but I think they’re cybernetically enhanced humans. Either way, they have an aesthetic that I really like of the techy ninja. Think the Cyborg Ninja character from Metal Gear Solid. I’ve always liked that look, and since these guys have a blue and gray color scheme to them it makes me like them all the more.

Army builders need heads, and this figure has you covered. Plus it has this weird, white, robot, thing.

This figure is essentially an army builder and it’s the first release for this mold. There is a second on the way that’s mostly black and white and I’m not sure what the plan on that is as far as release goes. This one is exclusive to Best Buy and it’s one of three that went up in the spring. The other being Michelangelo as “The Wanderer” and a three-pack of IDW re-colored Shredder clones. I have never bought an action figure from Best Buy prior to today and I would have to say the experience is a bit mixed. On one hand, the order was fulfilled and in a very timely fashion which is better than some big box retailers. And then on the other hand, the box came smashed to shit. It was one oversized, empty, cardboard box and the figure was inside that without anything else. I am not an in-box collector, but if I was I’d be pretty unhappy because the figure box was beat up pretty well. If you are an in-box collector, I guess buyer beware.

Ninjas don’t always stick with swords.

The patrol bot was sculpted by Paul Harding and comes in NECA’s Ultimates packaging with artwork from IDW’s Ben Bishop. The box is numbered “6” though this is the third figure based on The Last Ronin to see release thus far. Out of the box, the figure stands at approximately 6.375″ in height. The sculpt is largely a mixture of turquoise and black plastic with gray and silver paint as needed. There’s also a lot of black paint to fill some of the gaps in the character’s circuitry and linework customary of NECA’s comic-inspired offerings. It’s a very nice sculpt all around with lots of detail and great proportioning. The paint is applied fairly well, though there’s some spots here and there that are imperfect. The only one that bothers me is this tiny dot of silver almost dead center on the figure’s chest. There’s also a little scuff mark on the front flap which covers the crotch, but overall it feels acceptable for a mass-produced item.

“He killed my buddy!”

The accessory load-out with this figure makes it clear that NECA wants you to buy more than one. The default head features a metallic visor with a red grill over the mouth. I’m not certain on the hierarchy of the patrol bots, but there’s another head that features a large, red, visor and antennae. Both look pretty nice and the paint is quite sharp. I love the lens flash on the antennae head, though that head is really hard to get onto the ball joint and will require heat. There’s also a third head that’s a battle-damaged version of the default head. It has an exposed, left, eye and the look of shock implies this guy has taken his last breath. Part of the skull is also missing exposing some wiring and what appears to be a socket of some kind. It comes in the box affixed to a stump of a neck with wiring hanging out of the bottom of it. Getting the head off of such a small piece was a little bit of a challenge, but do-able. And since it came on a ball socket of its own, getting it onto the figure is a piece of cake. To further differentiate any additional patrol bots you may add to your collection, NECA also included a small sticker sheet. It has just two stickers and they both appear to be a badge or symbol signifying rank. They go on the left breast, if you want to use them. I’m not sure that I will.

I don’t know if I’ll use the stickers, but this is from the back of the box and shows you where they go. Photo by Stephen Mazurek.

In addition to the heads and stickers, the patrol bot also comes with three sets of hands and a pair of weapons. For hands, we get these open, clenching, hands by default plus a pair of fists and trigger/gripping hands. The clenching hands are a bit odd as they don’t really work with anything. He can hold one of the extra heads with it to a point, but they’re mostly of the style-posed variety. The trigger hands are intended to be used with the included handgun and sword. The handgun is painted with a gun metal finish and looks pretty nice and slots into the hands easily or can be stored on the right thigh. The sword comes with a scabbard that plugs into a peg hole on the left shoulder blade. The blade has a metallic finish and the handle is done in gray with a little black paint on the design. The black isn’t the cleanest, but it’s not terribly applied either. Lastly, we get this creepy looking head that looks like an evil version of the Fugitoid. I don’t really remember it, but the Baxter Stockman of this universe made more than just Mousers so I think it’s something like that. It’s all white with red eyes and some black linework. There is a peg hole on the underside so maybe it will have a use down the road. I don’t know what to do with it though, and I imagine it’s the one accessory army-builders won’t be excited about.

He can kick high, though his slender feet mean you’ll probably need a stand of some kind to keep him upright in such a pose.

For articulation, the Synja does some things different, and some things as expected. The head is on a double-ball peg so you get plenty of range there, especially because the neck is on a ball peg as well. The shoulders are the standard hinged-ball pegs and they rotate fine, but can’t quite hit a horizontal pose out to the side without some help. That’s because the shoulder pads get in the way, but you can pop the arms off relatively easily and re-insert the peg so that the shoulder pad is tucked into the shoulder joint to get that full “T” pose, if you desire. There’s a biceps swivel and single jointed elbows, which is a bummer. You will get a 90 degree bend out of the joint, plus a swivel, but I don’t know why NECA felt like it couldn’t do a double-joint here. The wrists swivel and hinge and, unfortunately, all of the wrist hinges are of the horizontal variety. The gripping hands, at least, should have vertical hinges. This is a freaking ninja robot that also has a sidearm, it’s begging for vertical hinges!

The diaphragm joint allows for some nice nuance.

In the diaphragm, we have a double-ball peg setup. It allows the figure to rotate there as well as bend forward and back and get some side-to-side tilt as well. The amount it bends forward isn’t terrific, but it’s better than we’re used to with NECA. It does get gappy though. At the waist is a standard swivel joint which is a little bit of a bummer. Another ball peg here would probably give us that forward and back crunch we’re really looking for, but oh well. The hips are the ball and socket joints NECA is known for and since NECA decided to forego a “diaper” piece over the crotch we get some nice, unobstructed, range here. Full splits and the ability to kick forward and back. The little flap in the front hanging off of the belt as well as the butt cheeks on the rear are both soft plastic that don’t offer much resistance at all, a very wise decision on NECA’s part. There’s a full thigh swivel on this guy where the ball pegs into the thigh and double-jointed knees below that. The knees are a tad gummy though and getting both hinges to work is more challenging than it should be, but get them both going and you will get better than a 90 degree bend. Be warned, it looks like the hinge is turquoise plastic painted black so it will probably flake eventually, though it’s holding better than usual on my figure. It’s also possible the turquoise I’m seeing is paint rub from the kneecap. At the ankles, we have a hinged ball peg which pegs into the shin. This lets you rotate at the joint as well as make use of the hinge which has good range going forward and back. There’s also a rocker which works great.

A vertical wrist hinge would help a whole lot even with the sidearm.
Even with some of the figure’s limitations, two-handed sword poses are still possible.

You’re not going to confuse the Synja Patrol Bot with an S.H.Figuarts release, but it does articulate better than most NECA releases. I really like how the diaphragm joint turned out, and even though I wish it had double elbows, it is possible to get the figure to grip the sword with both hands. The lower half is pretty fantastic with my only issue there being the overall gummy feel to the knees. If this figure had a ball-jointed waist it would really take it up a notch, and the missing vertical hinges at the wrists continue to be a sore spot for me when it comes to NECA’s TMNT releases.

Sorry pal, but you’re on your own.

The Synja Patrol Bot is a nice release from NECA. It’s definitely going for that army builder crowd with the extra heads and even the added stickers to differentiate the figures from each other in your display. The only slip-up there might be with the included white, Mouser, thing, head as another battle-damaged part would have been more useful for the army builder crowd. For those who want even more variety though, the white version will provide for that. As for me, I don’t intend to get more than one. I sort of forgot I had even pre-ordered this figure and since doing so I’ve come to the decision that I’m likely not going to continue with The Last Ronin. The figures are great and all, it’s just an issue of resources. And it’s not just the money needed to acquire the whole collection, it’s the space. I’m not the type who wants to just buy stuff and toss it in a closet. I want it out and in the open, but that’s just not possible with so much TMNT coming from not just NECA, but other places as well. The figure of the Last Ronin is a great stand-alone piece and now it has a friend too. I still intend to continue buying the toon, Mirage, and even the Archie stuff so rest assured there will be no shortage of TMNT on this blog.

Interested in more Last Ronin coverage? Look no further:

NECA The Last Ronin (Armored)

When it comes to multimedia based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, we find ourselves in a rare dry spell when it comes to television and movies. The final episode of Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles aired in 2020 with no new television series announced since. The show did receive a long-delayed finale…

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by Joe

Playmates TMNT The Last Ronin PX Previews Exclusive (Chase)

A few years ago, Mattel launched a new subline of action figures based on their most famous IP: Masters of the Universe. The subline was titled Origins and it basically took the vintage toys of the 80s and updated them with more modern articulation while still preserving that vintage aesthetic. And ever since then, collectors…

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by Joe

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles – The Last Ronin

I don’t read a lot of comics these days. Actually, I suppose I never truly read a lot of comics even when I was very much into X-Men and Spider-Man. Back in the 90s, I received most of my comic lore from trading cards. They were cheaper and fun to collect. When it came to…

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by Joe

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August 8, 2023

NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III SDCC Four-Pack

By Joe
NECA did it. Those crazy, sons of bitches, actually did it.

2023 marked the 30th anniversary of the much maligned third entrant in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles film franchise and you just had to know that NECA Toys would mark the occasion. It was almost too obvious that I thought maybe the company would zig when everyone was expecting a zag, but they didn’t and for San Diego Comic Con we got yet another four-pack of action figures in an oversized, VHS, inspired package.

Not only did everyone expect this set, but we all expected it to arrive just like this too.

It’s amusing that we’re here, since back when NECA first dipped its toe into the TMNT film franchise the director of product development at NECA, Randy Falk, basically scoffed at the idea of doing figures based on the sequel films. I don’t say that to throw shade at him or anything, it was a totally defensible position as the only good movie of those three 90s films was the original. What Falk couldn’t have predicted was just how well TMNT would sell for NECA. The popularity made it too much to ignore and fans wanted figures based on the sequels so NECA delivered. Kudos to them for listening to their fans.

Just a turtle looking to migrate.

Now, the third movie is mostly shunned because it has little to do with the first two movies and New Line Cinema no longer employed the services of The Jim Henson Company. That meant lower quality suits that looked pretty terrible. Where I could believe that the turtles were real when I first saw the original film, come the third the illusion was shot. Their suits looked like rubber, the head flapped with little nuance, and the turtles had a far more uniform look now. What was really bad though were those eyes: giant, lifeless, sunken-in eyes. They looked off back in 1993, and now with HD you can really see how they had eyeholes right underneath the bandanas for the suit actors. All that said, I am on record as saying the third movie is actually a better watch than the second. The only thing the Secret of the Ooze has over the third film is Henson, everything else sucks. The third movie has some of that “So bad it’s good,” charm going for it. I still have no interest in revisiting either film these days, but if I had to pick one I’d pick the third. And I’d probably pre-game with a few beers before watching it.

“Man, you dudes are ugly!”
“Hah! You need to look in a mirror, dude!”

Because the third is so non-essential to me from a visual standpoint, I wasn’t sure if I was going to get the action figures when they were eventually announced. I would say that to anyone who asked, but in my heart I think I knew I’d cave the second they were made available. I have the first two therefore I need to complete the set. And since it’s another VHS box I basically had to do it – so I did. No, I did not attend San Diego Comic Con this year, instead, I bought this off of NECA’s website as they made the set available through there just as they have over the past several years. It wasn’t super hard to get, and their shipping was actually really cheap for a change, and they also sold more during the con both physically and online. I’m guessing they made a ton of these things so my guess is everyone who wanted one was able to get it. It was $150, basically the new standard for their four-packs, and it was also sold alongside a Keno from Secret of the Ooze. I passed on Keno, so apologies if you were looking for a review from me. NECA wanted $100 for Keno and his scooter and tossed in a bunch of “swag” to basically bring it up to that price. That’s too much for a Keno. If the set makes it to retail at a more manageable price I’ll reconsider it then.

I pretty much had to do this one.

Before we get to the toys, lets talk about that box. Just like the convention exclusives for the first two movies, this one comes in a box that looks almost exactly like the original home video release. That means we get the four turtles on the cover with their helmets from the film. There’s some shots on the back as well and even a flashy quote from the Yes, Have Some podcast group. Where this set is different though is that NECA had to “cheat” to do the cover. The figures on the front of the box are not the ones in it. That’s because the turtles were sans clothing on the VHS box, but these figures place them in their samurai costumes. NECA does have a disclaimer on the front of the box letting you know that you’re looking at the Secret of the Ooze figures with the movie three heads. Am I mad about that? No, but I felt it was warranted to point out in case anyone was hoping for maybe soft goods in the box that could strip-down for this look.

As usual, NECA’s sculpt and paint is exceptional. These figures were done by Brodie Perkins.

With that out of the way, lets get down to business. The turtles are all essentially the same figure with minor differences. They stand around 6.5″ in height which puts them pretty much on par with the past movie figures which exist in more of a 1:10 scale as opposed to 1:12. As mentioned previously, the clothing and armor is all part of the sculpt, and it’s pretty impressively done. There’s a ton of detail on the chest especially with a wash applied to the softer materials to bring out the sculpted folds. There’s some nice trim work on the shins and gloves, and if you spin the figure around you’ll see a bit of the shell poking through. Since they’re fully clothed, NECA didn’t actually sculpt and affix a shell to each figure which will pay off when we get to the articulation.

I’m less impressed by the soft goods. They’re just okay.

The heads on these guys are what will attract the most attention. They have that pretty dead-eye stare going with some deep recesses where those eyeholes would have been. There’s also a bit of green visible around their eyes and the expressions are fairly neutral. Donnie has a bit of an open mouth with a hint of a smile and Mikey’s mouth is a bit more relaxed as well. Leo and Raph look almost bored which is pretty on-model for the film. And if you don’t like these faces, they have their masks to cover them up. They slide on rather easily and fit snug enough. There’s some nice weathering applied via the paintjob and the sculpted mustache and beard is color-coded for each turtle. Leo and Don get blue and purple, respectively, while Mikey gets a light brown and Raph a darker one. I have no idea if they were like that in the movie, but this is NECA, so the answer is “probably.”

You can put the new heads on an older body if you want an unclothed look. On the left, is movie 1 Mikey and on the right is SotO Mikey’s body with the TMNT III head.

To complete the look, each turtle has a helmet and cloak. The helmets are all the same and they slot onto the bandana knot on the back of the figure’s head. They were pretty snug in the box and I haven’t been able to get them back on to that degree with the masks on, but they sit fine either way. The cloaks are soft goods with a wire running through the front. As far as soft goods go, they’re not NECA’s best. They feel thin and kind of cheap. If there was a bit more substance to them, and in turn more weight as a result, I would like them a lot more. Three of them are the same, while the fourth is for Leonardo and it has some slits cut into it to accommodate his sword holsters. It’s a little tricky getting his on as a result, and it looks kind of bunched up and messy once done. I’m left thinking just a pair of long slits would have worked better, but this is probably more film accurate. Regardless, it’s on the figure’s back so it’s not that big of an issue.

“Donnie, what are you doing?!” “What?! We need horses and Barbie is HUGE right now. We’d be stupid not to get in on this!”

Once you get everything on, the turtles do look pretty cool and like they stepped out of the film. All of the details I remember from the movie are present and I like the proportioning on these guys too. I agree that it was the right move to just sculpt all of the clothing because the samurai look is the one most associated with the movie. I know they did ditch the outfits fairly quickly, but if they had come with soft goods there’s no way I’d display them unclothed. Unless the soft goods turned out frumpy and bad, which is likely given they’re wearing armor over clothing. There is one subtle difference between the four and it’s the belt. Again, I’m not sure if it was different for each turtle in the movie or not, but it probably was and I’m glad NECA didn’t skimp on such a minor detail when they probably could have.

The accessories for this set are mostly as expected. In keeping with past four-packs, all four figures come equipped with gripping hands in the box and there are five additional sets of hands for the guys to share. This is actually better than the Mirage four-pack which only had four extra sets. And those extra sets are relaxed hands, wide open hands, pointing hands, fists, and a set of tighter gripping hands. The tighter hands work well with some of the thinner weapons in the set while the pointing hands also function well as specialty sai hands. The regular gripping hands can also manage to grip a sai with the center blade through them. All of the hands feature horizontal hinges which is a continued bummer for NECA and TMNT.

This thing had to be included.
“Ohh man, I’m never time-traveling again.”

To go with those hands, the turtles have their expected weapons. Raph has a pair of sai, Mikey his nunchaku, Donnie his bo staff, and Leo his set of katana. The sai, ‘chuks, and bo are the same as past versions of those weapons while Leo’s swords are new. I’m guessing they decided his swords were different enough onscreen to warrant a re-sculpt, but it may have also been to make them a bit more durable. The prior swords are thin and some have complained that they’re too brittle. I haven’t had an issue with them, but these new ones are fine too. The handle is pretty thick as well and they slot into the scabbards with ease. Mike and Raph can store their weapons by just fitting them between the belt and body. Donnie could too, but not really while wearing the cloak.

“Donnie, is this thing really going to work?” “Of course it is!”
Say what you want about the third movie, but at least it didn’t have Mikey running around with hot dogs for weapons.

We’ve got hands and the usual weapons so what else do we need from the movie? How about a time scepter? How about 3?! Yes, we get three versions of the magical, time-traveling, device: the standard version, the broken version, and the homemade version. All three look pretty damn great. There’s some nice, transparent, plastic used for glass and the sculpt and paint looks great, especially on the standard one. The busted one has sculpted breaks in the glass and a darker paint job as if it had a bunch of smoke just pour out. The homemade one is appropriately plain, but cool to have, I suppose. The little, hourglass shaped thing in the center doesn’t actually spin, but they look cool and obviously we had to get the scepter. I don’t know if we needed all three, but credit NECA for covering their bases. We also get a pair of sabers from the scene where Michelangelo finds them in a barn. I didn’t remember that they were actually two different swords in the movie, but of course NECA did. They look great as well and it’s a good pull from the film.

The extra heads are a nice idea, but they don’t really match the movie 1 bodies and bandana tails.
The blue on the new head is quite a bit different from the original with Leo.

Lastly, we get some interesting bonus parts in the form of four additional heads. These heads though are not for these figures, necessarily, but are actually based on the first movie. All four are basically angry, almost snarling, expressions and I think they’re from the scene where the turtles find Danny hiding in their old sewer lair. At least, the shape of Michelangelo’s mouth looks to be from that quick shot. It’s an interesting addition for this set though and tells me that maybe NECA was unsure of whether or not figures based on the third movie would sell so they sweetened the deal with these. And that’s fine, but the problem is that the paintjob doesn’t really match those figures. The color of the bandanas is a bit different and the shade of green of the skin is too. As a result, I can’t really see myself using any of these. There were some variations in those first four figures so maybe they’ll match other sets better than they do mine.

Raph and Donnie’s extra heads, if you’re interested.
Leo’s got some new swords.

That’s all that’s in the box, so how do these heroes on the half shell move? Well, not great. These figures are definitely going for aesthetic over function, but I do wish they could do a bit more. Especially considering we have some clothing to hide joints. The head is on a double ball peg and that’s fine. You will get plenty of range so long as the figure is without helmet. The shoulders are hinged ball pegs and they raise out to the side just fine and rotate easily. NECA also snuck a little butterfly joint into the shoulder which is uncharacteristic of them. I’m not sure why they did it, but that’s cool. It unfortunately doesn’t add a whole lot though, but it’s not useless. The elbows are hinged pegs as well so you get a swivel and a bend that goes about 90 degrees. I was surprised that NECA didn’t use their unique double-jointed elbow setup which I think would have worked fine here. The wrists swivel and hinge and all of the hinges are horizontal ones which sucks.

If there is a diaphragm joint, I can’t tell. It would be useless, if so. The waist is a ball joint so you get a little play forward, back, and to the side, but it’s quite minimal. No shell means you get full rotation, at least. The hips are ball-jointed and raise out to the side to almost a full split. They, unfortunately, don’t kick forward much at all due to the presence of a “diaper” piece. Given how the armor has these flaps that hang down, I wish NECA had not gone with the diaper over the hips or had cut away a bunch of it for more range. The thigh swivel is pretty non-existent as well. The knees are double-jointed with a pair of hinged pegs similar to some of the elbows NECA does. Unfortunately, the sculpt of the pants basically covers the top hinge and it can’t do anything. The bottom hinge and peg will let the figures bend about 90 degrees and also swivel. At the ankle, we have the usual hinge and rocker which work okay. Lastly, there’s the wire in the cloak. It’s more for positioning, but if you want your figure to look like it’s getting blasted in the face with a leaf blower it can do that too. The wire is only in the front though and doesn’t run through the entire hem.

The pizza from the Musical Mutagen Tour set was the closest thing I had to Mikey’s attempt at pizza in the film.

These figures aren’t going to bust out with the cool ninja moves, they’re intended to just look neat on your shelf with some minor degree of posing. I think they mostly look good enough to make up for that lack of articulation, but I also think NECA could have done a little better and sacrificed some of that aesthetic for better range, particularly in the hips and knees. It probably doesn’t matter that much though as if you have ever wanted figures based on the third Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie then you’re probably not passing on this set. I can see some folks out there wanting base turtles from that movie, maybe with different expressions, but for me this is perfect. It’s the turtles from the movie in their most recognizable look. The set isn’t the home run it could have been given how the extra heads turned out, but the figures look the part and that’s what is most important. And if you’re into the novelty packaging, then NECA has you covered there as well. Now, let’s all thank Moe for being such a good sport!

If you want to read about more turtle toys, I can’t imagine a more robust place on the internet than here:

NECA 1990 TMNT Movie SDCC Set

For the past several years, the folks over at NECA have been making San Diego Comic Con an annual event for fans of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. I mean, it’s always an event, but it’s been especially fun for TMNT fans because NECA has been able to release limited action figure sets based on…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Secret of the Ooze 4-Pack and Accessory Set

It’s that time of year when a lot of folks are reflecting on the past year and all of the things that happened. This usually coincides with list-making for favorites and worst of the year in basically every category you can dream of. And for action figure enthusiasts, there’s definitely a lot of list making.…

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by Joe

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III

When I was a child, going to the movies was a pretty big deal. It didn’t happen often so when it did it felt like a special occasion. Most of the Disney films of the late 80s and 90s were seen by me at home. Batman, Ghostbusters, every Back to the Future movie- all films…

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by Joe

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August 3, 2023

Medicom MAFEX Marvel No. 186 Scarlet Spider

By Joe
Wait! Why is Spider-Man wearing a hoodie? Answer: it was the 90s, baby!

When I was a kid, one of my favorite past times was drawing. Like most, I started really young with a box of crayons and coloring books. I’d eventually start keeping markers, colored pencils, and other instruments in a plastic McDonald’s case that came from a Happy Meal. It was blue and had a map of the United States on it, if you’re the curious type. As I got older I got into comic books and those characters became my inspiration for my drawing. I’d draw Marvel characters as well as my own, which usually looked an awful lot like an existing character because, hey, I was a kid!

One of my favorite subjects was Spider-Man. He’s a pretty popular guy and he certainly was with me. The problem with drawing Spider-Man is he has all of those web lines on his costume. Now, I’m not criticizing the man’s threads. That costume is iconic and one of, if not the, best superhero costumes of all-time. I just didn’t like to draw it because it was time consuming and definitely a little tedious. Enter the Scarlet Spider! Scarlet Spider debuted during the infamous Clone Saga in issue 52 of Spider-Man. I still remember seeing the cover to Web of Spider-Man #118 with Scarlet Spider on the cover. I took one look at that costume and said “Yeah, now that I can handle!” It was basically the same general idea as Spider-Man, only all red and no web lines. Easy! The clone of Peter Parker, Ben Reilly, had created his own persona and it had a bit of a D.I.Y. vibe to it with the exposed web shooters and blue hoodie, and it worked for me. The Clone Saga itself was a bit of a mess and probably ran too long. It also ended with the reveal that it was Reilly, and not Peter Parker, who was the REAL Peter Parker leading to Ben Reilly’s turn as Spider-Man that brought back the web lines and I personally didn’t know how to feel about it. Like Wolverine losing his adamantium, I wasn’t crazy about the guy I knew as Peter Parker being revealed to not be Peter Parker.

The figure comes with three different portraits, two of which I will never use.

Like most things in comics, eventually the status quo was restored. Ben Reilly was a clone after all, and then he died. Then he came back, because no one ever dies in comics. I honestly haven’t read much Spider-Man since the 90s so you’re better off heading to a wiki at this point if you want to know more, I’m just here for that costume. Scarlet Spider became a favorite of mine to draw and as a result I have a nostalgic attachment to the costume. The character was never done justice by Toy Biz back in day as his figures were always lame repaints. I had a 12″ version of the character with the hoodie painted on and some rubber overlays added to the wrists and ankles of what had previously been a Spider-Man figure. The inaugural line of Spider-Man Classics, the precursor line to Marvel Legends, also featured a Scarlet Spider repaint that I believe was exclusive to a retailer, possibly KB Toys. I never got it, or any other Scarlet Spider that followed. When I started getting Spider-Man figures here and there again starting with the Pulsecon exclusive Venom, my appetite for a Scarlet Spider came with it. Unfortunately, the Marvel Legends version (which actually looks pretty good from what I’ve seen) is a little old at this point and prohibitively expensive on the aftermarket. I’m not paying an inflated price for a Hasbro figure, but a Medicom one? Now that was intriguing.

I think the figure in the middle is unquestionably superior to the other two, but is it $70 better?

When Medicom unveiled their version of Scarlet Spider under their MAFEX branding, I decided to give it a go. The price is awful, as it was for the only other MAFEX figure I own, the Hush Batman, but I’d rather overpay for a boutique figure than something previously sold at Target. I had some nits to pick with that Batman figure and my overall attitude towards MAFEX is that it’s too expensive. The Marvel license probably doesn’t come cheap, but in general, I think Bandai makes better figures than Medicom and they’re usually at least in the $65 range. This figure will basically set you back about 100 bucks if you reside in the US, and I’ll tell you upfront it’s not a figure that justifies its price tag. That doesn’t mean it can’t be good as one could pay 50 bucks for a perfectly cooked steak and find it delicious, but overpriced compared with a chain restaurant’s $25 prime rib. It’s more a question of “Do you want to pay $75-$90 for a loose Marvel Legends figure, or $100 for a brand new MAFEX version of the character?”

Yeah, I wish the spider logo was bigger, but damn does he look cool or what?

Obviously, you know which option I chose and now I’m going to tell you how happy (or not) I am with that decision. Scarlet Spider comes in the MAFEX window box with artwork from the comic on the front and product shots of the figure on the sides and rear. This one is branded with The Amazing Spider-Man in the traditional font with the actual name of the character off to the side in a rather unglamorous and understated fashion. This isn’t the type of figure mothers at Toys R Us are going to be confused by, but it was somewhat amusing to me. Right off the bat though, Medicom is doing Medicom things which is namely using character art that doesn’t match the figure inside. The picture of Scarlet Spider on the top left looks to be from his early days. The red, or scarlet, of his costume is dark with lots of black shading and the hoodie has the big, spider, logo across the chest. The figure inside is a bright red, no shading, and has a small spider logo over the heart. It’s my understanding that this version is a later version of the character as he’s come and gone over the years. Why the person designing the packaging wouldn’t choose a better representation of the figure inside is beyond my understanding. And if Marvel dictated that this version of the character be featured on the box, why not make the figure match? It’s puzzling.

The hoodie is fine, certainly fine enough to not want to spend more money on a different one.

Right off the bat, we’re kind of off to a bad start. Not because the picture is wrong, but because the figure seems to be based on a version of Scarlet Spider that isn’t my favorite. And I don’t get the sense that I’m alone in that regard. Is it a deal breaker? Obviously not since I bought it anyway, but I wish he had the character’s original hoodie. The belt is also different with this one having a more traditional buckle instead of the red-buttoned belt. I’m honestly less irritated by that change, but felt it was worth pointing out. The shape of the eyes on the mask are also more of a traditional Spider-Man eye shape, but this is rendered moot by the inclusion of a head with more of a 1995 look to the eyes so I won’t count that as a knock. Still, I have encountered multiple collectors in the market for custom hoodies for their $100 figure to get the right logo on it. I can’t bring myself to drop another $30 on an already expensive figure in an attempt to improve it, but if it really bothers you there do appear to be some nice customs out there.

Is Scarlet Spider a little big or Venom a little small? Both things can be true. This looks okay to me though.

With that out of the way, let’s talk about the actual figure. Scarlet Spider stands at approximately 6.25″ tall making him a little oversized. The MAFEX line is a 1:12 scale line so that would make the character about 6’3″ which is on the tall side for a Spider-Man clone. At the same time, if you’re looking to fudge him into a Marvel Legends display this should work pretty well as most of those Spider-Man figures are around the same height, with a few exceptions. The figure is basically cast in all red plastic with very little paint. The paint is limited to the eyes, belt, and little pouches on his ankles. And at the ankles, it’s not as fine as it could be as the top of the straps wasn’t painted over leaving them red. A nitpick, perhaps, but this is a $100 figure, after all. I can’t tell if the web shooters are painted or not, but they’re a nice, lustrous, silver. They’re definitely separate pieces from the arms, but they may be painted over for added effect. On the body itself I’m not detecting any shading which is a bummer. I think some dark red over the bare plastic would have helped spruce this one up. Personally, I would have loved an ambitious paint job with a lot of black shading, but I’m not surprised we didn’t get that. Medicom did do a comic paint Spider-Man years ago so maybe we’ll get such a variant in the future (do I really want to be tempted by such), but for this release Medicom is definitely playing it safe. I also would have liked some outlining around the eyes, be it dark red or even black to add a little pop to the presentation. They are at least raised as part of the sculpt, which is better than nothing.

He’s got you now, Ben!

The overall sculpt is definitely going for a lean, but muscular, build suitable of Scarlet Spider. The soft goods hoodie is done well and I rather enjoy the almost metallic sheen it posseses. The logo is printed on, and despite being too small at least looks fine. There’s no logo on the back. The drawstrings are connected to the hood and don’t actually function, but respond a bit to posing despite lacking a wire. The hood itself is wired and the figure looks good with it on or off. I will say, the hoodie helps add a little extra bulk to the torso which is a good thing as without it I think he’d look too lean and shapeless. The torso doesn’t taper much from the chest to the abdomen so he would probably look stupid without the hoodie. Maybe that’s by design as we wouldn’t want him to look frumpy either, but if you’re someone with a lot of money looking to utilize this body for custom action figures you may be letdown. I do like that the hoodie fits tight enough that we can see some of the muscle definition showing through. If you did want to get a custom hoodie I’m not sure how difficult it would be to get this one off given its tightness, but the head is easily removed and he can raise his arms up to the heavens to it’s probably more than manageable.

The paint may be basic, but at least the figure makes up for it with a whole bunch of stuff.

The costume is a rather simple one, which is basically what drew me to it. Simple can be nice, and Medicom did a fine enough job capturing this particular version. I think his chest could be bulked out more and maybe even the abs to a degree. He looks fine from the front or back, but viewing the figure from the side makes him look rather thin. Aside from that, the proportioning looks good and while the paint doesn’t impress, what’s there at least isn’t sloppy. How much you enjoy the look of this figure will be determined by how much you like this particular version vs the original Scarlet Spider costume. Even if you’re someone who doesn’t like the over-articulated aesthetic of a MAFEX release, the hoodie, web shooters, and belt hide some of the seams on this guy and the only minor eyesore resulting from the articulation is that the knees and elbow pieces are an ever so slightly different shade of red from the rest of the figure. Under a white light, you’ll notice it more, but in natural lighting it blends fine.

This figure comes with too many web effects to make use of at once, which means your Hasbro offerings can finally get some decent webs!

For accessories, Medicom did what Hasbro don’t and loaded this guy up with plenty of hands and web effects. We do get three heads: standard eyes, wide eyes, and what I’ll call “classic” eyes. The classic eyes look more like the box art (even the image of the figure on the front of the box is using these ones) and those early first appearances of the character. The default eyes look like standard Spider-Man eyes to me and the third set are even larger and a bit more expressive without getting as stylized as some Spider-Man eyes tend to get. For hands, we get a set of fists, thwip, gripping, open, and relaxed hands. There’s also another set of open hands with magnets in the palms and a set of feet with magnets in the soles so he can scale a metal wall or refrigerator. All of the extra hands and feet come on little acrylic stands to I guess make sure the openings on them don’t warp in the package. The fists are what come on by default, and as such they slide off and on the easiest and actually won’t really fit on any of the little acrylic pieces when not in use. The extra hands, for their part, go on easily enough and at no point was I afraid of breaking anything. The heads require a bit more effort, but aren’t too bad either. I was a little apprehensive about the feet, but they too go on and off with little effort. Overall, a much better experience than the one I had with Batman.

He has magnetic hands and feet if you want him in a wall-crawling kind of pose provided you have some metal on your wall. It stayed in place for me, but I personally wouldn’t trust it longterm.

To go along with the extra bits are a whole bunch of web effects. We get two short “thwip” effects and two longer ones. These have a little loop on them and are meant to be slotted over the wrist peg and then the hand can be placed over them. It’s a simple, and effective effect made easier by the exposed web shooters this costume features. We also get two “L” shaped webs which basically feature handles for the gripping hands. I wish there was a little nuance to the handled part, but it works fine. We also get two additional “L” shaped webs where the handle portion is actually a spiral of web. There’s a loop where the long portion ends and the spiral begins that a hand can go through with the rest of the spiral portion riding up the forearm.

I really like these web lines that coil around the forearms, but I wish he could grip this figure 8 one better.

Lastly, we get another swinging web that basically ends in a figure eight. It has a lovely look, but the issue with this figure is that the gripping hands are lumps of plastic with a hole through them. The fingers are connected to the palms, so the only way for the figure to grip the webs is to start at one end and slide them through. I would like to have the figure grab an inner portion of the figure eight, but it’s essentially impossible without some modification to the figure or the accessory. You can try to use the relaxed hand instead like he’s in the process of letting go, but making the fingers flex on the gripping hands would have been the way to go. As for the effects themself, the web lines look the part. They’re just white plastic with some knots and such sculpted into them. I’m happy to have so many, as Hasbro is terrible about giving us web effects with its figures so the extra will be put to good use. Of course, Hasbro also doesn’t give us gripping hands so they’ll only go so far. Medicom also packs in a display stand so you can actually display your figure in mid-swing. It’s just a plain, acrylic, stand, but it gets the job done. It articulates at the base, the midway point, and at the “claw” where the figure slots in. There’s also a straight peg included and a second, narrower, claw that I believe is more for grabbing a thigh instead of a waist. There’s also yet another piece that’s basically a “J” shape with a peg above it. I don’t see how that peg plays a role in posing this figure, but the J piece acts like a seat if you want to try and balance the figure on it as opposed to having a claw piece grab it.

Some of these leg poses were tricky out of the box. I had to hit this one with some silicon spray to get them moving well enough that I wasn’t afraid of snapping anything.

Medicom’s major boast with its MAFEX line concerns articulation. This is a “super” articulated line that should blow away anything you’re likely to find at a brick and mortar retailer. With this guy, we get a double-ball peg setup at the head. Medicom likes to use this angled peg that I don’t think adds much, but combined with the ball-peg at the base of the neck means you get a figure that can look up, down, and packs some nuance as well. The shoulders are ball-hinges which peg into a socket inside the chest. You get some up and down play, and the arms raise out past a horizontal position. There’s a butterfly joint here as well which allows for some back and some forward range, but not a ton. At least with this figure, we’re not dealing with any aesthetic trade-off with the joint as the soft goods hide it. There’s a biceps swivel, double-jointed elbows that bend well past 90 degrees, and ball-hinged wrists. Either the hinges at the wrist are really tight, or the web shooter interfere with their range as I can’t get much out of them which is unfortunate.

Do I want to put this figure on a shelf or on the fridge? Shelf? Or fridge?

In the torso, we get ball joints in the diaphragm and the waist. This allows the figure to bend back rather far as well as crunch forward. There’s tilt and rotation at both joints and overall I would say this is a very well done torso. It also helps that we once again have the soft goods to hide any ugliness these joints might create. I’ve never been a big soft goods guy, but maybe this figure is winning me over? The hips are where I lose a little bit of my enthusiasm as Medicom loves the drop-down hinged joint with ball and sockets. They’re finicky, and they’re the only joints that scare me as sometimes I feel like they’re fighting me, especially the left hip which might actually be stuck. Kicking forward is a chore and he gets to about horizontal when you get everything in proper alignment. Drop the hip and you get just a little bit more range which is why I don’t really like the design. He can at least do splits and the thigh swivel at the socket works great. The double-jointed knees are fine and at the ankles we get more hinged ball pegs. They can bend forward and back plenty fine while the ankle rocker is a little more cumbersome, but functional. They’re also tight enough that the figure has no issues standing on its own.

Shelf, it is!

Aside from the hips, I mostly like what this figure does as far as articulation goes. I can’t quite get him into some of the deep crouches Spider-Man is known for, but part of that is the stuck left hip. I may try to hit it with oil to see if lubrication helps alleviate the issue. If it didn’t have the more delicate drop-down setup, I’d just pop the leg off and try to diagnose the issue that way. Or if it was 70 dollars cheaper, I’d be more aggressive with it. I can still basically get the figure into the poses I want, especially since I’m mostly interested in using the stand, but it’s never much fun to fear moving a part of an action figure like I do with the hips on this guy.

Is the MAFEX version of Scarlet Spider worth the $105 asking price some retailers have it listed for? Probably not, but what 1:12 figure could be? None really, this is an expensive commodity, but given the lack of alternatives I can’t say I blame anyone for just going for it. That’s what I did as I’m not a regular MAFEX buyer nor am I amassing a giant collection of Spider-Man stuff. I just get things here and there so for me I was able to rationalize the occasional splurge with this one. I certainly don’t blame those who can’t, and given the frequency of higher budget releases this year, one could easily argue that I should have passed on this one all-together since I don’t make any money off of this blog, so I’m collecting just for fun as opposed to content. At the same time, if you do grab this figure and can look past the price and the fact that it’s not based on first appearance Scarlet Spider, I think you’ll be plenty happy. There are things that could be better, but at the end of the day it has enough stuff to make sure it looks good on your shelf and it probably will get the attention of anyone who comes looking. And that’s definitely what you want from an expensive collectible.

Interested in more Spider-Man figures or maybe you’re curious about another MAFEX release?

Marvel Legends Spider-Man (Animated)

It was in 2021 that Hasbro released a PulseCon exclusive Venom figure on a Spider-Man retro card. The retro card series is meant to stir-up nostalgia for all of the adults who were buying toys and watching cartoons in the 90s as the retro card is a facsimile of the old cards Toy Biz used…

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by Joe

MAFEX No. 105 – Batman: Hush

You may have been wondering why I decided to devote an entry earlier this week to a nearly twenty year old action figure of mediocre quality, and if so, now you know why. I wanted to take a look at the DC Direct Batman based on his appearance in the Jeph Loeb written, Jim Lee…

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by Joe

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August 1, 2023

Playmates Toys TMNT Mutant Mayhem Leonardo, Michelangelo, Donatello, and Raphael

By Joe
A new set of turtles are ready to rock the town without being seen.

With a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie on the way this week that can only mean one thing: new action figures from Playmates Toys! With the license to produce toys based on TMNT becoming easier to obtain in recent years, Playmates has become a bit of a punching bag in the toy community. Some of that is justified, but some of it really isn’t as Playmates has primarily been a company making toys for kids to play with. Sure, they’ve made attempts at collector grade stuff over the years with varying levels of success, but the company’s bread and butter is making toys that kids can beat up and parents can acquire at an affordable price. There’s room in the world for such an approach, especially in light of the loosening licensing restrictions, and Playmates does it pretty well.

Because the company is focused on non-collector action figures, I’m usually able to ignore whatever Playmates is putting out. It’s stuff that’s just not for me. Even their vintage reissues aren’t really on my radar as I lived that already, but whenever a new version of the turtles shows up the temptation to add them to the ever growing collection is often there. I sometimes resist the pull as I did for the Bay turtles and the Rise ones, but when the toys come out and are pretty cheap it’s hard to ignore.

Playmates will apparently never get sick of the weapon sprue.

And that is the case with the new lineup of figures based on the upcoming Mutant Mayhem film. That movie features the four heroes with a newish look. They’re instantly recognizable as the four turtles, but they’ve been altered enough to have their own flavor. And overall I would say those designs are fine. Yeah, there are things I like and don’t like (which we’ll get into when we talk about the figures), but they’re not repulsive like some other versions of the turtles have been. They’re also not and likely never will be my favorite interpretation, but the 2012 turtles weren’t either and yet that show is one of the best TMNT things ever!

The sprues feature very similar accessories to what came with the 2012 turtles.

The inaugural wave of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for the new film started showing up at retail a few weeks ago. Because of my insistence on only posting TMNT stuff on Tuesdays, this post is a little dated, but I’m guessing these figures will be shipping all summer long. The figures come on blister cards with artwork from the film on the front and even on the cross-sell on the back. You still get a little I.D. card for each character that can be snipped from the back and really not much has changed when it comes to the approach. The inaugural wave contains the four turtles, Splinter, and some baddies, but I only went with the turtles. Maybe I’ll come back for more after seeing the film in August, but probably not.

Weapon storage is mostly the same as always, but Raph lost his pizza holder.

The line is basically a 5″ scale toy line where the characters really don’t even scale with each other. This is in keeping with what Playmates typically does so if you’re after a line with a true scale, this isn’t it. There also looks to be a little more effort put into the actual turtles, maybe because Playmates views them as the figures that will make or break the line, and they’re at least not all the exact same height. The shortest is Mikey who stands at a tick over 4.25″, next is Leo and Donnie at 4.5″, and finally Raph at 4.75″ is the tallest of the four. The main driver of their look would appear to be the classic animated series. All of the turtles wear colored bandanas and various pads and wraps. The belts are black with an initial on the buckle and weapon storage as well. Leonardo is the only one that gets a shoulder strap and each turtle is colored with a different shade of green with Donatello being the palest and Mikey the darkest.

These guys are pretty little.

Where things are changed is really the general shape and accents. These turtles are fairly lean and not as chunky as many of their predecessors. In terms of shape, they feel most like the 2007 turtles from the film TMNT, but with each turtle having a different head shape. Michelangelo’s is the most extreme, as the film’s trailer points out it looks like a watermelon. There are other little differences as well. Leo has some sculpted ninja stars on his belt while Donnie is adorned in “techy” stuff. He has a fanny pack and cell phone slung around his waist plus some glasses and headphones he can either wear or just have dangle around his neck. Raph has the full skull cap which is reminiscent of his Rise persona and he even gets some 90s inspired pouches on his belt. Mikey’s design is the most straight-forward as his only real embellishment is a painted belt buckle. He should have braces, but Playmates opted not to attempt them for some reason.

They’re little, but not much different from past Playmates offerings. That 2007 TMNT line sure stands out though.

The sculpts overall are pretty solid. There doesn’t appear to be much of any reuse between the four as there are lots of subtle differences. Raph is the most chunky which appears to be accurate to the film. His chunk is mostly in the torso, but the arms and lower legs are a bit thicker too. Playmates opted to outline the eyes and mouths on each figure in black which really helps to make them pop. Aside from that, paint hits are kept to a minimum and are limited to the various pads and painted details of the belt. Would these look better with fully-painted bodies? Sure, but it’s not what they’re going for. I do wish the plastron on each turtle had some paint, especially Raph’s with its scarred portion, but the presentation is solid. They might be the best looking set of turtles Playmates has done since the originals.

Articulation-wise, these guys are very similar to what Playmates has been doing since the 2012 toy line. It’s basic, but certainly better than the vintage line or the comparably more expensive Super7 ReAction brand. The head is on a ball peg and each turtle can look up, rotate, and tilt there with basically no room to look down. The shoulders are ball-hinged and can raise out to the side past horizontal and rotate around at an angle due to the shell. The elbows are also hinged-pegs so they swivel a bit and bend about 90 degrees. The wrists just peg in and swivel. At the hips, more ball-hinges which I really don’t like for hip joints, but they work okay. They swivel and will kick out to whatever the direction the hinge is facing. They don’t go very far though as the peg is too far up into the shell so no splits and no 90 degree kicks. The knees are hinged-pegs like the elbows so they swivel and bend pretty close to 90 degrees. At the ankles, just swivels like the wrists. In short, it’s decent for the price range, but ball-socket hips would have been better and likely would have cost the same. Hinges at the wrists and rockers at the ankles would be pretty nice to have as well, but again, it’s a budget line. It does make me wonder if just a ball-socket ankle would work better though, but maybe they’d be prone to separating too easily for a line aimed at children.

Four baby turtles!

The accessories for these guys should feel pretty similar to longtime TMNT fans. Each figure comes with his signature weapons: sai for Raph, katana for Leo, nunchaku for Mikey, and a bo staff for Donnie. Only Donnie gets one weapon with the others being dual-wielders and I’m happy to say we get some paint on all except Donnie’s staff. It’s not amazing, but it’s better than the often monochrome approach and it’s basically just to differentiate the metal and wooden portions of the weapons. The belts all have weapon storage as well that’s easy to use with only Mikey’s being tricky. That’s primarily due to the pre-posed nature of his ‘chuks which seem to work best if you alternate the slots on his back. Of the four, I do like the nunchaku the least and it’s just because the shape is not ideal.

There may be little “wow” factor here, but you can’t beat the price.

In addition to those weapons, each figure also comes with a classic weapons rack. They’re in two different shades as Mikey and Donnie’s are the wood color while Raph and Leo’s the metallic color. Raph, Mikey, and Leo have broken canisters of ooze on theirs with Donnie coming with the intact canister. Each figure gets a different throwable weapon and pizza slice and then a unique set of weapons. Mikey has some microphone ‘chuks and Donnie his bladed staff and some other stuff that’s pretty familiar compared with the 2012 line. It’s probably fun for kids, but for me I’ll probably just leave the sprues intact. Collectors interested in painting these things will probably have more fun with them though. Lastly, each figure comes with a pre-mutated version of himself. It’s a little slug figure colored all in the shade of green used for the character. To my surprise, the little turtles are all unique sculpts. It’s a fun little throw-in.

These turtles are pretty fun to look at and handle. They won’t blow anyone away, but I can’t imagine anyone declaring them trash. And I haven’t even mentioned the best part: they’re only 10 bucks! Yes, that’s right, for less than the cost of one Super7 turtle you can get all four. That’s an incredible deal in today’s market and hopefully it leads to good things for Playmates and the TMNT franchise. I’d love it if either of my kids threw these guys on their Christmas lists, though it’s probably not happening in my house, but not for lack of trying. There are some shortcomings with the figures: the articulation is so-so, the opacity on the whites could be better, and Mikey’s weapons also aren’t optimal. If you want better paint, there are special editions of each figure that are painted-up to look more like the film, but they’ll cost you triple what these do. The issues are easy to overlook at this price though and these guys will look great with your other Playmates figures. Hopefully the movie is just as good!

Interested in what else Playmates has put out there for TMNT?

Playmates TMNT The Last Ronin PX Previews Exclusive (Chase)

A few years ago, Mattel launched a new subline of action figures based on their most famous IP: Masters of the Universe. The subline was titled Origins and it basically took the vintage toys of the 80s and updated them with more modern articulation while still preserving that vintage aesthetic. And ever since then, collectors…

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by Joe

TMNT Classic Collection

I’ve been out of the toy collecting game for several years now.  I used to enjoy it as a hobby and it was a nice way to link my childhood to my adult life as I pursued action figures of characters I loved as a kid.  It became a compulsion eventually.  I started off just…

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by Joe

1 Comment   |  tags: , , , , , , , | posted in Film, toys

July 27, 2023

The 2023 San Diego Comic Con Reaction Post

By Joe
It’s the second most wonderful time of the year!

You probably heard, but Hollywood is essentially on strike right now. Two large unions are fighting for better pay, benefits, and assurances that they won’t be replaced by artificial intelligence while major studio heads like Bob Iger are tossing stones from their golden mansions. I am firmly on the side of labor when it comes to most strikes, but this isn’t a strike post. It’s a comic con one as the just recently wrapped San Diego Comic Con of 2023 had a decidedly different feel to it in light of the work stoppage. Unions frown upon any of their members even promoting their projects right now, and with good reason. Without the glitz of Hollywood, it meant Comic Con could go back to being about comics for at least one year. Though for me, every year is all about the toys!

I don’t know when it started, but Comic Con has become a huge spot for toy producers to show off what’s coming in the next few months to a year and 2023 was no exception. I sat glued to my phone once preview night started and fought with myself to put it down all weekend since I couldn’t be there in person. Now that it’s over, I’m going to tell you what I think because my opinions are very, very, important and the fate of the companies involved, nigh the entire industry, is dependent upon securing my approval.

NECA TMNT

That is one big ass Krang! Photo: Pixel Dan

Let’s start with the old standby – NECA and their many versions of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In some respects, this year’s display felt slightly subdued, but I think that’s because NECA has really branched out beyond just the cartoon and movies. They basically showed off a little bit of everything and undoubtedly they’ve held stuff back for the conventions to come. And that’s fine by me, I was kind of happy that I took one look at the new TMNT toon stuff and didn’t feel like I necessarily needed any of it. And some of that is tempered by the fact that I know I have a major expense in the sewer lair diorama to look forward to. On the toon side though, I’m definitely in for the street turtles. While I prefer the season one street looks to these, I’m still happy to have what they showed. That’s it though. I’m probably going to get more, and the giant Krang was certainly the show-stealer, but I’m definitely in more of a wait and see how I feel mode when some of this stuff starts becoming available.

These wrestling turtles so perfectly nail that Archie aesthetic I love. Photo: The Fwoosh

On the movie end, we just had some new Secret of the Ooze figures to look at. There was kick-boxing Keno, some new Foot, and two versions of Professor Jordan Perry. Is that too much of the professor? For me, yeah, and I can probably ignore all of these. Oh, and there was a pretty neat Shredder throne on display, but that’s another thing I don’t need. The comics end was far more exciting with a bunch of new figures based on The Last Ronin shown. They all look pretty damn good, but I may be out on that subline for the simple reason that I can’t buy, and display, everything TMNT from NECA. The Mirage line is getting some new figures as well, with the big one being Rat King who looked fantastic. That is definitely going on the “must buy” list. As for Archie, that may have stolen the show with a brand new Mondo Gecko unveiled and the much demanded Wrestling Turtles! Even if the models shown for the turtles were so early that they didn’t feature any articulation, I couldn’t have been more excited! I’ve wanted that black suit Raph ever since I was a kid and my dad bought me TMNT Adventures #10. I must have read that thing cover-to-cover at least a dozen times.

As for disappointments, there wasn’t much to be found. All of the new stuff looked good, so any disappointment was likely just the result of something not being shown. And the big one, for me, is Tempestra. I thought there was a very good chance we would see her from the toon line, especially after the profile boost given to the character thanks to Shredder’s Revenge, but she remains the elusive final member from the Night of the Rogues. I feel confident she’s coming though, so I’m not that broken up about it. I’d also like to see a new toon Shredder, or an Archie one, but again that’s probably coming, we just don’t know when. And hey, that Turtle Van is looking pretty sweet!

Super7

All right, when can I have them?! Photo: The Fwoosh

Super7 has cast such a wide net these days that maybe I should break their display up, but then again, there wasn’t a ton for me. The biggest though, by far, was the official unveiling of the new line of Misfits figures. These are being done in a retro, Masters of the Universe, style which is pretty cool. It means they won’t be as expensive as Ultimates, but definitely better than ReAction. I’ve felt for awhile that Super7 needed something in between those two lines, and maybe this is it. Would I like an Ultimate Glenn Danzig some day? Sure, as long as it’s good, and some of the figures Super7 has done of real people haven’t turned out so hot. This line, which features Skeleton Danzig, Jerry Only, The Fiend (aka Crimson Ghost), Samhain Danzig, and early 90s Danzig, already has hit on some great designs. We just need a Doyle to round things out. I’m also amused by how Super7 is basically just following the Medicom blueprint when it comes to Glenn Danzig.

On the disappointing side, well, there just wasn’t anything from the other lines I care about at Super7. Well, they did have TMNT Wave 8 on display and that’s looking fine, but there was nothing from the Disney or Simpsons Ultimates or even any new ReAction that I saw for either. Super7 usually doesn’t unveil new Ultimates at Comic Con, and they also don’t always go with a robust display. If they have something anticipated that they just got from the factory or something, they may bring that, but not always. I’m just concerned for both of those lines. The most recent Disney wave based on The Rescuers failed to secure enough preorders to go into production. Is the line in jeopardy? Sort of similar is that The Simpsons Wave 4 is still listed with an ambiguous “TBD” on the pre-order status page. It could be an oversight and they just haven’t updated it, or it could mean that no progress is being made and until it goes into production it should be considered as “in jeopardy,” as far as I’m concerned. It’s not exactly a star-studded wave and features two figures at $65 so nothing would surprise me.

Hasbro

Now that’s a figure worthy of the Master of Magnetism. Photo: The Fwoosh

I am certainly not the biggest Hasbro fan, but the company had my attention going into the convention because we knew that Marvel Legends based on the highly-anticipated X-Men ’97 were likely to be shown. And they were! Coming in Wave 1 is Wolverine, Rogue, Gambit, Storm, Bishop, and Magneto all with new sculpting to make them better resemble the upcoming show. For me, someone who collected the VHS line of X-Men based on the 1992 cartoon, I wanted to see if some of these could be fudged into that line. We have no assurances that Hasbro intends to come back and finish that team, so plucking Gambit and Rogue from this one might be our best option. And, for the most part, they look okay. Rogue has her green jacket and black headband and Gambit has a more “toon” appearance to his face. Neither face-sculpt looks truly like the ’92 show, but Hasbro was unlikely to give us that in the VHS line anyway. There is no cel-shading though, so that might throw off the display a bit, but given how half-assed Hasbro’s approach to that style was maybe it’s for the best? Wolverine is essentially the same as that release too, just now he has an unmasked portrait and pin-less limbs, so collectors waiting on a non-cel-shaded version of that figure should be happy. I personally don’t need it. And with Storm and Bishop featuring new hairstyles, I can pass on them as well. That Magneto though is a must have and I’m happy to see that Hasbro shaded his face. He could use some accessories, but this is Hasbro we’re talking about so that’s hardly a surprise.

I don’t know if I’m as happy as Pixel Dan is about this Crystar, but I’m definitely in “gimme gimme gimme” mode! Photo: Pixel Dan

Hasbro also gets credit for one of the biggest surprises as they showed off a figure of Crystar! Yes, Crystar The Crystal Warrior is coming to Marvel Legends and the figure looks pretty sweet. It’s all done in translucent plastic with a blue hue and he has his sword and shield to round things out. The comic he hails from is pretty forgettable, except for the fact that the iconic Danzig skull was lifted from the cover of issue 8. Naturally, this is one I need for the Danzig collection more than anything.

And that’s pretty much it for me. I did see other great stuff like Jada’s Mega Man line and NECA had some new Gargoyles to show, but the above stuff is what really stood out for me and got me excited. Mondo also unveiled an Omega Red in their sixth scale line based on the X-Men animated series and he looks unsurprisingly spectacular, I just wish they’d slow down a bit as that line is killing me financially. Special shout out to all of those working hard during the convention covering this stuff for people like me who can’t go. I’m talking about The Fwoosh, Pixel Dan, Toy Shiz, Toy Bro, and loads of others. The excitement is now over, we have lots to look forward to, and the next convention or show lurks on the horizon. This golden age of toy collecting appears to be going strong, weap for my wallet!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder’s Revenge

In the late 1980s the arcade scene in the US was still going strong. Classic style arcade games like Donkey Kong and Pac-Man were being overtaken by a new genre of quarter-munching pain: the brawler. Or the beat-em-up. If you’ve played one, then you can picture what I’m talking about. It was usually a one…

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by Joe

The Saga of Crystar – Crystal Warrior #8

There’s been a hole in my Danzig collection for quite some time. It was a hole that was easy to fill and actually quite cheap considering most Danzig records fetch well over $100 these days, but an important piece was missing. And that piece is not what one would necessarily expect, but I would assume…

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by Joe

Super7 is Heading to Springfield!

Wednesday, August 18th, ended up being quite an eventful little day in the world of toy collecting. There were some reveals from major toy companies, leaks, and even those long neglected Street Sharks fans got something to get excited about late in the day. Personally, it was a good day for me too as I…

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July 25, 2023

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Mutagen Ooze Leonardo (now with the rest!)

By Joe
Leo’s back, but in glow form.

If you’re into collecting action figures then you’re likely familiar with the concept of a variant. Tooling action figures, the process of cutting steel into molds in which plastic is inserted to create the figure, is the most expensive part of creating an action figure. That’s why it’s in the manufacturer’s best interest to get as much use out of those tools as possible. Many action figure lines are dependent upon sales of variants, usually identical action figures with minor differences, to help keep the costs down as a whole. Sometimes these variants are used to poor results. Anyone who walked into a Kay Bee Toys in the 90s may remember the X-Men and Marvel Comics exclusive figures which were just bad repaints. There was a savage Wolverine that was just a repainted Sabretooth, for instance. Those are bad variants, but a good variant can be plenty fun and when it comes to Super7 you can basically bank on the company having an assortment of color-changing and glow-in-the-dark variants ready to go at any moment.

For you in-box collectors, the packaging is pretty cool. And with the window box, I suppose you could make the figure glow without taking it out.

That’s what the Mutagen Ooze series is from Super7. It’s the four turtle figures they’ve already done, but cast in glow-in-the-dark plastic. They aren’t the first, nor are they the last, of Super7’s glow variants for TMNT. The first wave included a glow-in-the-dark Baxter Stockman as a convention exclusive and they have also done Mutagen Man, the Foot Soldier, Muckman, and have Slash on the way. Super7 loves glow-in-the-dark figures, and it’s easy to see why. They have their own, unique, aesthetic with the translucent plastic and often a different finish from a traditionally painted figure. And then, of course, there’s the glow which has been delighting kids and adults for decades. It’s silly, stupid, fun.

How do you prefer your Leonardo?
We probably shouldn’t forget about the samurai option.

Unfortunately, that fun comes with the downside of added cost. It wasn’t always the case as the first few glow variants were the same price as the non-glow options, but with the Mutagen Ooze series there came a hike. Where the turtles cost $45 a piece in their first run, the glow versions were $65 and exclusive to Super7’s webstore which meant payment upfront and no free shipping. I took a look at that solicitation and liked what I saw, but there was no way I was going to pony up that kind of dough for a fun, but also silly, gimmick. I considered getting just one, my favorite turtle Leonardo, but after shipping that was going to total over 80 bucks for one figure! Sorry, Super7, it just wasn’t worth it. The reason offered up by Super7 co-founder Brian Flynn was that the cost for the glow additive for the plastic had gone way up and so they had to up the price significantly. I’m not going to call the man a liar, I do believe what he said is true, but it’s still hard for me to wrap my head around how a figure that’s already been tooled can warrant such a markup just for the cost of materials. And if this glow situation was only temporary, maybe just don’t do it? Wait it out. See if the price comes down. Maybe the factory will want the business later on and be willing to negotiate. I don’t know, but at the end of the day it’s not my problem. As a consumer, we see the product and the price and have to decide on the subjective worth of it all and, for me, it just wasn’t working.

I love the use of blue with this figure.

Obviously, something had to change or else this post wouldn’t even exist. And that something was a sale. Super7 ran a Father’s Day sale that, for some reason, included the Mutagen Ooze Leonardo. Maybe they wanted to feature a glow-in-the-dark figure from this line, but since they have yet to do Splinter, they figured Leonardo made the next most sense for such a sale? I don’t know, but I was happy to see him included and happy to see him discounted to a little over 50 bucks. Throw in shipping, and he was still under the $65 MSRP. Perhaps still more than I wanted to pay, but at least at this level I could talk myself into it. And I’m glad I did because this figure is wonderful! It’s a real shame the wave wasn’t more affordable as I wouldn’t mind adding the rest, but not at the current asking price.

“Uhh, Leonardo, are you feeling all right?”

If you have the original Wave 2 Leonardo then you essentially have this figure. The sculpt is exactly the same which is a Playmates inspired mold, but with a modern approach. The default portrait is an almost exact recreation of the vintage figure except for the angle of Leo’s eyes. Where he once had a look of concern on his face he now has something a bit more intimidating. The same hands and the same swords are present and all of the same engineering is still in place. I’ll link to the original review at the bottom of this, but I’ll add that this figure is better engineered. The joints aren’t as loose, but nothing is overly tight either. What little paint was needed is applied well, and anything your old Leo can do this one can as well. The only new issue this figure presented for me was that swapping the heads is way harder than it should be. I couldn’t get the secondary head onto my figure, and since I didn’t plan on displaying him that way anyway, I gave up. If you get this figure and want to make use of the alternate portrait then I suggest heating it up first.

And glow he does.

The obvious selling point here is the glow and the minor deco changes made to accommodate that. The entire figure is cast in a slightly translucent, green, plastic. Even without the “glow” in effect, the figure has an almost glow quality about it because the green is practically neon. Stick him under some lights and then move to a dark area and the glow works without issue. The plastron is painted yellow and it’s a bright yellow which accommodates the green well. The pads and belt are all in Leo’s signature blue and I love the choice to make the belt blue. It’s an homage, intentional or not, to the storage shell series from Playmates and I always liked that aspect of the line. The blue just looks so good and it’s probably my favorite aspect of the figure. The eyes and nails are painted yellow and I think it works since they play off of the plastron. The shell is still painted a fairly dark green, but the rim around it is painted in a lighter shade of green and I really like that contrast to the point where I wouldn’t mind seeing it in use on the standard figures. This is a really fun looking figure and if you like glow stuff then you’ll probably fall in love with it.

“Two heads! I got two heads here!”

The accessories are mostly rehash from the prior release, but with a couple of differences. Leo has the following sets of hands: gripping with vertical hinge, gripping with horizontal hinge, style posed open hands, and fists. There’s an open and closed communicator and the pizza slice also returns. He has his trusty katanas, and the handles are painted blue to match his belt which looks nice, though do be careful not to scratch the paint when inserting them into his hands. He also has the same alternate portrait which is a very similar expression to his default one, but done in a more realistic style. The new accessories are an unmutated turtle which is from the Splinter release and a leaking canister of ooze. All of the accessories are cast in the same glow-in-the-dark green plastic as the figure with little in the way of paint hits. You basically just have the eyes of the baby turtle, the caution stripes on the canister, and the screen and buttons of the open communicator for paint apps. All of the paint apps are done in yellow.

Aww, look at the cute, baby, irradiated turtle!

This is a short post because this figure is what it is: the same figure released before, only now it glows in the dark! For what it is, I love it. I also like the Super7 turtles in this line so it should go without saying that if you do not then you won’t like this release. It’s just a shame that the MSRP had to be so high since Super7 is essentially asking us to pay 20 bucks a figure to make it glow-in-the-dark. Is that gimmick worth 20 bucks to you? It sure isn’t for me, but with a discount it was for at least my favorite turtle. Even if I could get the other 3 for the approximately $52 a piece price this one cost, I’m not sure if I’d jump in. That’s still over $150 to complete the set. If I could get them for $45 each then, yeah, I’d probably do it, but I don’t know if we’ll see such a steep discount.

“Hi, Donnie? You there? It’s going to cost me 65 bucks to get you here?! Never mind.”

If you would like to add this Leonardo to your collection, or any of the other glow-in-the-dark turtles, then you can head on over to Super7’s website where they’re still available. Big Bad Toy Store also has them on-hand, but they’re asking for $70 a turtle and I cannot recommend them at this price. BBTS does offer $4 shipping so it’s possible, maybe even likely, that a set from them would cost less in the end than a set from Super7 direct, but both are bad deals. My advice is to wait it out because if this is something you absolutely had to have then you probably already bought them when they went up for sale last year.

Four, glowing, brothers together at last!

UPDATE – Due to a combination of store credits and clearance events, I was able to complete my set of Mutagen Ooze Turtles by adding Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo. I considered doing a review for each, but since each figure is essentially the same (and is already just a variant of figures I already reviewed) I figured a simple update was warranted. In short, if you like one of these then you’ll like all four. They come with the same accessories and hands and the only thing separating the figures is the unique weapon, head sculpts, and colored belts and pads. Pretty standard stuff.

Let it glow!

Worth noting, all of my figures have tight heads and getting the secondary heads on will likely require heat. My Raphael has a stuck, left, knee joint as well which is interesting since my Wave 1 Raphael had the exact same issue. Michelangelo only comes with his plastic nunchaku, not the ones with real chain links, which I get, but is a bummer. Maybe they could have done a plastic chain in glow-in-the-dark plastic instead? The plastic ones are very rigid and don’t pose well. That’s really the only differences worth pointing out though. My only other gripe with these would be that Raph’s accents look more red-orange than red to me, but also see what they were going for with the shades used. At $75, these aren’t worth it, but absent the cost they do look pretty cool. If you can find some on-sale (I scored two of them at Macy’s, of all places) and you think they look cool then I say go for it. Big Bad Toy Store still has these and did not make them part of a huge clearance event in November 2023, but maybe that will happen eventually? Some other smaller shops (like ecollectibles) also were allowed to stock these and have them discounted so shop around, see what you can find, and grab ’em if you want ’em.

Looking for more Super7 TMNT reviews?

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Leonardo

If you ask me what my most cherished childhood toy was I won’t hesitate to answer Leonardo. My original Playmates Leonardo was a figure I adored and played with for years. I would get other Leonardo action figures, but they were always a temporary joy. When I sat down to act out and play with…

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by Joe

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Sewer Samurai Leonardo

Well, after looking at the Wave 6 Slash a couple of weeks ago we can now finally turn our attention to a Wave 5 release from Super7’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates! series of figures: Sewer Samurai Leonardo. The thing with TMNT is, you have the four good guys, a few core allies,…

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by Joe

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Slash

It’s been over 9 months since I last reviewed a figure from Super7’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures. That figure was Muckman, and I actually waited on that one a little while because I ordered through Big Bad Toy Store and wanted my pile of loot to fill up a bit. Had…

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by Joe

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