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June 20, 2023

NECA TMNT Toon “Colossus of the Swamps!” Deluxe Napoleon Bonafrog

By Joe
Napoleon smash!

NECA’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures based on the animated series which debuted in 1987 has had some big figures. Most of these are what NECA terms “deluxe” releases and have included the likes of Krang in his android body, Chrome Dome, and the more recently released REX-1. The latest addition to this cast of characters is the one that caught me by surprise the most. Napoleon Bonafrog had the misfortune of getting mutated into a rampaging beast in a one-off episode of the show. A version of this character was unveiled last year at San Diego Comic Con. I saw the images, but for whatever reason I didn’t truly process his size. Then my lovely wife, who found this figure along with the other latest toon releases, handed me the box and I was aghast at how heavy it was and at just how much real estate the figure took up inside it.

That’s one big frog.

Napoleon is not the tallest figure in the line, but I think he’s the new heaviest. And prior to him, that honor probably went to REX-1 who was released earlier in the spring, but Napoleon is like a brick. This is a figure you can keep by your bedside and use to scare prowlers in the night who are foolish enough to invade your home. I don’t have a scale suitable for weighing this guy, but height-wise he stands at 8.25″. This makes him rather close in height to REX-1, but a lot shorter than Chrome Dome who gets to continue its reign as tallest in the line. That weight though is something, and the circumference of the shoulders is quite massive. Picking him up, he feels most similar to one of the quarter scale figures in the line as opposed to any of the standard or deluxe figures. It’s certainly an experience and adds an undeniable “fun” factor to the package.

“Looks like frog legs are on the menu tonight!”

And that package comes at a cost. Napoleon rang-up a shocking $55 at Target. I had not given it much thought prior to release, but with REX-1 being $50 I certainly wouldn’t have been surprised at that, but another 5 bucks? That was unexpected. And sure, 5 bucks isn’t exactly a lot in a vacuum, but it does suck to keep seeing the price go up with this line. And this one may not even be the worst offender, but we’ll get to that when we do. At any rate, is this guy really worth it? That’s a tall ask especially for a very obscure version of an already reasonably obscure character. If it weren’t for the fact that Napoleon did get a figure in the Playmates line (albeit, a totally different interpretation of the character) few would likely remember him by name.

“WHAT?! You’re just in time – looks like I’m makin’ my mama a new luggage set!”

We already covered the size, but the sculpt overall for this one is also pretty damn fun. Even though he’s a hell of a lot bigger than his previous figure, he actually has the same basic construction and outfit. The skin is a very dark green with some freckles done in black outlines in places. He still has the toon shading so his skin is lighter on the front, and darker on the back. The shirt is a soft plastic overlay that basically floats on him. If you were to pull out his arms from the socket, you could easily remove it as it’s not glued down anywhere. It’s yellow on the front, and an ever so more saturated yellow on the back that’s barely noticeable. The single orange strip runs around the shirt and it’s painted fairly well. Rather than make it a darker orange on the rear of the figure, NECA painted it red which looks a bit off. Dark orange and bright red aren’t exactly interchangeable. The necklace is glued in place and the shorts are painted a light purple on the front, dark on the rear. The edges are tattered and I wonder if Napoleon was chosen by the show for this mutation because he wore shorts that reminded the writers of the Hulk? Where the shorts separate at the fly is painted purple, which looks a bit odd. Even the smaller figure got that detail right as it’s painted green. There’s some sloppy paint on the left bracelet as well, and a smudge or scuff on the back of the shirt on my figure. Nothing that will show on a shelf, but worth mentioning.

“Rocksteady! Use that muta ray to make me a colossal frog!”

There’s not a whole lot of room with this guy for the paint to truly “wow” the holder, so it’s going to have to do that with the overall sculpt. And in that respect, it’s got a good argument as being a “wow” piece for the shelf. The default portrait is this angry, snarling, expression. The eyes are set a bit deep in his skull with black rings around them to give off an enraged vibe. He’s got this massive underbite with his teeth jutting out. They’re huge, chunky, blocky, cartoon teeth and they’re outlined in black and it all came out very clean. NECA sculpted and painted a pink tongue within the mouth and it’s a head with a lot of personality. The biceps on Napoleon are just plain massive and I love the exaggerated proportions of his upper body vs his abdomen. Sculptor Brodie Perkins did a tremendous job here. He’s going to command attention no matter where he’s placed in your collection and I think that’s what most want out of these deluxe releases.

“Put me down you idiot!”

Because the figure’s anatomy is essentially the same as his smaller counterpart, so is the articulation. There’s really only one difference between the two. The head is on a double-ball peg which lets the figure look up and rotate. Because it sits so deep in his shoulders, he can’t really look down and there’s little room for tilt. He also has a hinged jaw, but it’s range is very limited. It basically goes from closed to just open enough to see his tongue. The shoulders are standard hinged ball-pegs and the figure can raise its arms out just past horizontal. Rotation is fine and there’s a biceps swivel past that. The big change from the smaller frogs is the introduction of double-jointed elbows. Because his biceps are so massive, he can only bend there a little past 90 degrees. The wrists swivel and hinge horizontally.

“Gee Napoleon, what happened to you?!”

In the diaphragm we get a ball joint of some kind. It’s probably a double as he can lean back a solid amount, forward a little, and he gets good tilt to either side plus rotation. There is a standard waist twist below that and then the hips are connected via the ball and socket setup so many NECA figures utilize. There is a little bit of pivot action at the joint, but mostly it’s for kicking forward and back which he can do very well. The leg will go out to the front all the way and back pretty far. They also go out to the side almost to the point of full splits. Plus, they’re not loose which is definitely important for such a large figure. My regular Napoleon’s hips were so loose that he couldn’t even stand without sliding into a split. I had to apply super glue to the joints to finally fix that. The knees on this guy are double-jointed and will bend past 90 degrees. The ankles feature a hinge and rocker combo. The range forward and back on the hinge isn’t great, but it should be enough. The rocker works fine. And also, it’s very snug which is, again, super important for such a heavy figure.

He’s also capable of being a gentle soul.

So far so good, but where this figure does start to come up short rests with the accessories. There just isn’t much a colossal frog needs so there isn’t much he gets. For hands, he comes with a set of fists in the box plus a set of open hands and a set of gripping hands. He also has a second head which features a calm, almost befuddled, expression. It’s sort of cute, I suppose, but I’m guessing most will want their giant, hulking, frog to look a little more angry. The second head also drops the articulated jaw.

He has a gun, but it isn’t really for him, or anyone for that matter.

And that’s it! Well, that’s it for the main figure. NECA did throw a couple of other items into the box to try and sweeten the package. There’s the included muta-shooter which is the weapon that did this to Napoleon. It’s mostly gray with some linework and darker bits painted on, but the most striking aspect is the green “liquid” inside the barrel. It’s basically transparent plastic with a semi-transparent green insert. It looks fine, but only from certain angles because the green piece inside isn’t solid. From the top, the illusion of it being an actual liquid is ruined and it’s kind of crummy looking. I don’t know why they didn’t just make it a solid piece of green plastic, but oh well. It’s also not really conducive to being properly held. It’s a very weird shape and I couldn’t really get anyone with a trigger hand to properly hold it. I was able to basically balance it in Rocksteady’s hands to fake it for a pic, but it’s probably getting the bin treatment after this is done.

I do like these extra heads for Napoleon and Genghis. The Napoleon head has a shape more representative of how the frogs were actually drawn for the show while the Genghis head is just outrageous.

The last accessories are two new heads for the previously released Napoleon and Genghis figures. The new Napoleon head features a scared, or concerned, expression like he’s about to shit a brick. It’s very similar to the box art expression and I like it well enough. The Genghis head is a more exagerrated, screaming in terror expression that makes me think of the video game Battletoads. It’s pretty silly looking, but I confess that I do love it. Mostly, it’s nice to be able to break up the expressions of the Punk Frogs as they all had the same two expressions to choose from. Now they can all have a different expression, so I do like that.

“We just love our new, giant, brother!”

That’s all though. It definitely doesn’t feel as substantial as past deluxe releases. We just looked at April who came with a ton of stuff and REX-1 before this release also had quite a bit. One could argue that this figure didn’t need anymore than what it comes with, but for added cost it’s a bit of a tough pill to swallow. If he came with additional heads for the other two frogs that would have gone a long way to sweetening the package. I also wish he had another set of gripping hands, something wider, for grabbing other figures around the waist. His existing ones are too tight for that, and they’re way too big to handle really any of the weapons in the whole line. I’m surprised NECA didn’t toss-in the rhin-bug that was featured in the episode as a gag and also appears on the back of the box. Napoleon also shot his tongue out in the episode and that could have been a fun extra head or accessory. I definitely feel a bit short-changed as is which isn’t typical of NECA.

Is Napoleon “The Colossus of the Swamps” Bonafrog worth the pretty steep asking price of $55? It’s hard to say. It’s definitely a case where I look at the figure, then consider the price, and my immediate reaction is, “No.” On the other hand, now that I have him and that money is gone, I do like him. He’s a really cool figure and I like that his existence makes my Genghis and smaller Napoleon a little more interesting, but I do hate that I gave NECA $55 for it as I’m endorsing the price at that point. He’s an obscure character, and if you never cared about getting this version of Napoleon in figure from then maybe continue living your Napoleon-free life. On the other hand, I never really desired this character in figure from, but it does make me happy so it’s not the end of the world that I overpaid for it. I would suggest finding this one in store and seeing what your reaction to holding it in hand is. If it makes you giddy like a little kid and losing $55 won’t hurt you, then go for it. If it doesn’t stir anything within you and you’d only be buying it because it’s new, then don’t be afraid to put it back on the shelf. Chances are, if you reconsider you’ll see it again.

Want some more frog content or are you just into big action figures?

NECA TMNT Cartoon Napoleon and Attila

It took almost five months, but the Punk Frogs are now complete. NECA, recognizing that they were about to release the same sculpt four times, decided to space out the frog two-packs in its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line of cartoon action figures. Genghis and Rasputin arrived back in May, while Napoleon and Attila started…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Cartoon Rasputin and Genghis

During Season Two of the classic cartoon, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the world was introduced to the Punk Frogs. Despite their name, there was nothing particularly punk about these mutated amphibians as they all dressed like they were going to a Jimmy Buffett concert. They make a few return appearances in the show, and given…

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by Joe

NECA Cartoon TMNT From the Files of Pizza Squad (Deluxe Rex-1)

When you’re doing a syndicated cartoon expected to air basically every day, you need to pull story ideas from anywhere you can. I think that’s why parodies are so popular in the cartoons of the 80s to the point where it didn’t matter if the show was parodying something kids would actually know. Take REX-1,…

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by Joe

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October 5, 2021

NECA TMNT Cartoon Napoleon and Attila

By Joe
Time to hang loose with a couple of frogs!

It took almost five months, but the Punk Frogs are now complete. NECA, recognizing that they were about to release the same sculpt four times, decided to space out the frog two-packs in its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line of cartoon action figures. Genghis and Rasputin arrived back in May, while Napoleon and Attila started showing up in Target stores across the US about a week ago. NECA also made the new set available on its website for an in-stock sale, but if it’s anything like the first two-pack, it should be a fairly painless set to track down at retail.

No surprises with the packaging here, your standard turtle van inspired box.

When I reviewed the first two-pack, I was mostly satisfied, but not really blown away. In the months since I’ve grown a bit more dissatisfied with the set due to one flaw we’ll get to in the articulation portion of the review, and as a result I wasn’t really that excited to find this set at retail. I can’t just have two frogs though, so of course I bought it, and it’s mostly what I expected which is both good and bad.

Just like with the first set, the factory head is much easier to work with than the second one

If you have the first set, then this one offers no surprises. The frogs were all basically the same character model in the show with only minor differences. Each one was a different shade of green and the shirts they wore were distinguishable via the pattern on them. Two feature stripes, and two feature polka dots, and the colors are just the inverse of one another. They also have a different shape to the medallion on their necklace, and like the turtles, each features a different weapon of choice. The two prior frogs, Genghis and Rasputin, had polka dots on their shirts and triangular medallions. Napoleon and Attila feature stripes and a circular medallion. Napoleon’s dominant color is yellow with red-orange stripes while Attila has red-orange as his dominant color with yellow stripes. The stripes also aren’t too intense as it’s basically relegated to one large stripe around the abdomen and at the cuffs of the sleeves. Napoleon also has lilac colored shorts while Atilla’s are a more pale shade of blue. They both feature NECA’s toon shading which features light shades on the front and a darker paint on the back. The shirts are very understated, but it’s more pronounced on the skin and shorts. It’s fine, but after seeing the more elaborate Chrome Dome paint job this certainly feels a lot more “ho-hum.”

“We were setup! Honest!”

Adding to the visual display are the optional parts NECA included. Like the prior two frogs, Napoleon and Attila come with a pair of portraits: smiling and scared. It would have been nice if NECA could have offered different headsculpts with this release, or at least one unique one instead of the same two. They both work fine, the frogs often featured this dopey grin and the scared look works as well, it’s just a bit bland for a display. I assume most will display all four together and you’re not going to have two be happy and two scared as that wouldn’t make sense if you like to have some drama to your display and when they all look the same it’s just boring. I get it, as it keeps costs down, but it’s still something I can gripe about. As for the hands, that’s where NECA offered something unique. Each frog is packaged with standard gripping hands that hinge horizontally. Attila gets Rasputin’s recycled loose gripping hands which made sense for Rasputin’s bow, but doesn’t serve a tremendous purpose here. His unique hands though are thumb’s up hands while Napoleon gets the same fists as Genghis plus some “Hang Loose” hands. Since the cartoon decided to make the frogs all different shades of green, the hands really aren’t interchangeable like they are with the turtles, which is a bummer. That’s not NECA’s fault though.

“Who took this picture of us in our birthday suits?!”
Okay, I lied, NECA didn’t actually sculpt nude frogs to recreate that scene from the toon.

What is NECA’s fault though rests with the articulation on these guys. Again, if you have the prior set you know what you’re getting, but to run it down quickly these guys have: ball-jointed heads, ball-hinge shoulders, single-hinge elbows, elbow swivels, wrist swivels, wrist hinges, diaphragm joint, waist twist, ball hips, double-jointed knees, ankle hinges and rockers. Nothing was stuck on mine and the hinges are cast in the proper color so even though you’re likely to experience some paint flaking it won’t leave behind the eyesores some of the other figures possess. What isn’t good, are the wrists and hips. None of the included hands feature the proper hinge. Both frogs wield melee weapons, but don’t have vertical hinges. It really should have been the default choice for the gripping hands, but that wasn’t the case. And the other shortcoming concerns the looseness of the hips. I touched upon it in my review of the first two frogs, but those two only got worse over the months. Genghis is the only figure in my display to take a shelf dive this summer and it’s largely due to his hips just getting weaker. When you try to stand these guys, they have a tendency to want to do a split. It’s frustrating, and the problem persists here too. It can be easily remedied by the consumer, just pop the legs off (they come off fairly easily and the ball peg is quite durable) and apply a small coat of super glue. Wait for it to dry (I can’t stress the importance enough of that step) and then re-attach the legs and the added layer of glue should help to tighten things up. Should we have to do that as consumers? No, but at least the remedy is an easy one.

These frogs are nude though.
Something Playmates never gave us: all four frog together at last!

Napoleon and Attila have some unique accessories, and some familiar ones. Napoleon’s weapon of choice is a whip and NECA opted to cast it in rubber with a wire running through it like an old bendy figure. The end result is it functions, though it doesn’t look particularly great, especially the split ends on the whip. And with this weapon, the vertical hinges are really missed. Attila’s weapon is a spiked ball and chain flail. It’s not the same as what we saw with Android Krang as the ball is smaller and so are the chain links. Like those though, the chain is real which is cool, but obviously limits posing. The other accessories are two, un-mutated, frogs and two bags of loot. The loot sacks are the same as the one Mondo came with, only now they have a dollar sign painted on them. The only new item is the photo album they come with. It has three pictures inside and all are of NECA action figures. One is all four frogs, one is Rocksteady and a turtle, and the third is Bebop and I think Slash? It’s a cute accessory though and I’m largely okay with what we have here. I do wish we could have received a second version of each weapon, a frozen in place flail and the same for the whip with a more finely-sculpted end.

Unlike turtles, these frogs are not known to eat pizza.
It’s four against one, and yet I still like Leatherhead’s chances.

If you buy this set then you know what you’re getting, assuming you have the first one. The figures look good, but are limited in terms of their expressions and ability to properly wield their weapons. They’re held back further by the looseness in the hips which is going to vary from set-to-set. I assume the best-case scenario is they’re just loose, but tolerable, where as I know some have frogs that basically can’t stand without some modification or assistance. The only other difference this set has with its predecessor is in the price. It would appear the two-packs are getting a slight markup at Target as this one cost me $55 as opposed to the usual $52. I honestly didn’t even notice until someone else pointed it out and had to check my receipt for confirmation. Sure, I don’t like paying more for what is essentially the same set as what I got five months ago, but I also get it. The shipping industry has gone bananas and we’re setting new records on a weekly basis for the amount of container ships stranded at sea because there’s no room at the ports. It’s just something we’re going to have to deal with over the coming months because it’s costing companies like NECA more money to deliver product to us, so naturally, some of those cost increases are coming our way. As for what’s next for this line, I’m actually not sure. I think the next two-pack to come to retail is supposed to be Groundchuck and Dirt Bag, but it could also be any one of the solicited two-packs NECA sold through its store earlier this spring or even the Pizza Monster deluxe figure. With the state of the industry as it is, there’s really no telling when stuff will arrive, but I don’t think this is it for the line for 2021. And if the next release is that Groundchuck and Dirt Bag set, it figures to be a lot more exciting than this one.

Space is an issue.

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