Tag Archives: robot rocksteady

November 14, 2023

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Robotic Rocksteady

By Joe
Looks like old Rocksteady got an upgrade.

Last week, it was Space Cadet Raphael’s turn to be put through the ringer by me. Super7 didn’t really impress with that offering, but I did tease at the end of that lukewarm review that a more positive one was on the horizon. This is that more positive review. Robotic Rocksteady is the latest villain from Super7’s line of TMNT Ultimates!. It’s another figure that’s essentially a scaled-up reproduction of a toy originally released by Playmates Toys, but given a new coat of paint, a bunch of accessories, and some beefed up articulation. And, spoiler warning, it may be the best in the line.

The robotic version is roughly the same size as its biological counterpart.

Robotic Rocksteady was originally released in 1993 which was year 6 for the vintage toyline. By the time this figure arrived, I had moved on. 1992 saw the release of X-Men on Fox and by 1993 it had totally sunk its teeth into me. I think I bought only one TMNT action figure that year, Ninja Action Raphael, which was the last figure I purchased in the toyline I once loved as much as life itself. I did also get the TMNT Turtle Trolls, but they felt like a whole other line to me. Robotic Rocksteady was one I missed, though I do recall seeing it on the pegs. I remembered the character from the cartoon, which I was still watching on Saturday mornings, and because of that there was a desire to pick him up. I never did though, but now Super7 is giving me another chance at the figure I let pass me by.

They very nearly see eye-to-eye.
Even from the back he looks pretty nice.

Rocksteady stands right at the 8″ mark to the top of his head. Being a robot, he’s predominantly a metallic silver with hits of black, red, and purple sprinkled throughout the sculpt. Just about every bit of this guy is textured to some degree. There’s wires and rivets to be found throughout and in true Playmates fashion there is some asymmetry at play. Surpsingly, not with the feet, but with the hands as the right hand has wires that arc over the back and onto the fingers while the left hand appears to have guns built into them. They look like the channels on Wolverine’s gloves and there’s even three of them. There’s definitely a heft to this guy that wasn’t present with Raph and he’s pretty similar to Bebop in that department. The top of the head and the eyes inside are handled with translucent, orange, plastic to give the figure a light piping feature similar to what we saw with Metalhead. The paint is handled well and pretty clean. It’s not some incredible, super-detailed, approach, but it feels appropriate for this subject matter.

The turtles, on the other hand, will be looking up to this guy.

Robotic Rocksteady is just a fun figure to look at. The size, sculpt, and colors really give it the shelf presence that I felt the Wave 3 Rocksteady lacked. That wasn’t really the fault of Super7 (though they could have taken some steps to mitigate that), but a reflection of what I always felt was a pretty bland character design. This figure is definitely not that and I really love how this guy turned out. When it comes to the actual sculpt and paint, the only thing I don’t like is the panel in the middle of his torso. It looks like it’s supposed to be a screen of some kind with a soundwave on it, but it’s entirely cast in silver like most of the body so it just looks kind of odd. It’s reminiscent of the many unpainted details that were found in the vintage line. It’s a minor quibble, but it is unfortunate that this one deficiency that I find with the figure is right, smack, dab, in the center where it can’t hide.

I do wish this canon could be rotated in a straight-away manner as opposed to off to the side.
NECA’s version of the character taken from the cartoon series can position its forearm canon the way I want this one to.

Super7 loaded Rocksteady up with a bunch of suitable accessories, most of which could be found with the vintage release. He has two, shoulder-mounted canons which are non-removable, but come with optional blast effects. They’re a cloudy, translucent, orange, plastic and they slide in and out easily and look pretty good. He also has his forearm canon intended for his left arm. It might not be clear to those who don’t recall the vintage figure because it doesn’t really snap on. It just fits over this coil piece that’s part of the sculpt. It’s not the most secure attachment, but it seems to stay on well enough. And since it doesn’t peg into anything really, the arm looks like it’s not missing anything if you opt not to display the figure with it. My one real grip with the accessory is that the fin on mine is warped. I don’t know if it’s supposed to be, I don’t think it is, but it looks off and I may try to straighten it out. The canon also can’t accept the blast effects that the shoulder canons make use of which feels like a missed opportunity. Or it could have just included its own – that would have been better.

Not all of the accessories are offensive in nature.

Rocksteady also has a pair of weapon attachments in place of hands and the usual assortment of extra hands as well. For said hands, we get fists, gripping, and open hands. They go on and off easy enough and look pretty good too. If you find traditional hands too boring, Rocksteady also has a chainsaw sword attachment. This is from the original figure (which I think held it) and it’s a rather nasty looking weapon. The main blade of the sword looks like a chainsaw and there are two circular saw blades on either side. They don’t spin, unfortunately, but it’s still fun looking. The other hand attachment is a fire, or beam sword which just pegs in (same with the chainsaw sword, neither has a hinge or anything) and is made of the same translucent orange plastic as the blast effects. It’s a cool thing to have, but I think I prefer it as an attachment to the forearm canon. It’s a tight fit which is why I don’t necessarily think it was intentional, but once inserted it makes that weapon look like a flamethrower. The final accessory is a defensive one and unique to Super7’s version. It’s a futuristic take on Rocksteady’s manhole cover shield. Like the wave 2 Rocksteady, the manhole cover has a reverse side that’s more like Bebop’s trashcan lid shield, but otherwise it’s a translucent, purple, device with some silver accents. He kind of grips it awkwardly since it has a full handle as opposed to being one he could strap to his forearm. It has a channel in the underside of the handle that you can fit his fingertips into which helps him to hold it in a more defensive position, though it also slides around. I find it’s easier to just use the open hands instead and slide them through the handle.

You’re in trouble now, toitle!

Articulation is never Super7’s strong suit and it’s probably not going to be for a chunky, robotic, rhinoceros. Even so, Rocksteady moves well enough. His head feels like it’s on a ball joint of some kind so there’s some tilt and rotation is fine. Like the original Rocksteady figure, his “neck” is positioned forward a bit so it limits the practical up and down range, but you get some. The hinged ball pegs for the shoulders work find and he can raise his arms out to the side and rotate. The biceps swivel isn’t great though due to how the arm is shaped. The bicep sits inside the outline of the shoulder so it butts against it and limits the range, which is unfortunate and avoidable. The elbows though bend a full 90 degrees, but the way the forearms are shaped limits the swivel there as well. It’s really only an issue because with the left arm he can’t position the canon as well as I’d like. It can never be perpendicular with the ground, it’s always at an angle due to the limitations of the swivels at the bicep and elbow. The wrists rotate fine and all of the hinges are horizontal. The shoulder canons also swivel.

Flame swords – ignite!

In the torso, we do have a waist twist. Because the black piece in the middle of the abdomen hangs over the waist, the range is limited. The crotch area is done with a softer overlay so there’s less worry about scratching the plastic when rotating at this joint. This hips are hinged ball pegs and this robot can essentially do a full split. He kicks forward better than 45 degrees. At that point, the sculpted wires start to hit the hips, but if you rotate at the thigh joint that’s there to clear it, he can raise his leg out a full 90 degrees. He kicks back a bit, and the knee joint is the typical Super7 single hinge with rotation. It bends just about 90 degrees, though like the biceps, the pointed kneecap limits the swivel. If you bend the knee first, you can swivel a bit more. At the ankle is a hinge which works pretty well forward and back and there is the usual ankle rocker. It’s a bit more limited than some, but you still get some usable range there.

I think I prefer the flame sword as a flame-thrower.

This action figure of Robotic Rocksteady is not exactly “super” articulated, but it works well enough for the character. I think it’s better than Space Cadet Raph in that department which is something I would not have guessed going in. It has limitations, but they’re limitations that can be worked around. If the left bicep could rotate far enough to better position the forearm canon, I’d be more than happy with what this figure can do. That’s really the only blemish for me when it comes to the articulation. The only way to get that canon as level and forward-facing as I’d like it to be is to basically pose him like he has a bird sitting on his forearm. That means the arm all the way out to the side and elbow bent 90 degrees. It’s not perfect, but at least he can indeed bend his elbows. None of the joints are loose and few were overly tight. No heat was needed to get every joint working.. The only other critique I have is I wish he had a hinged jaw. It’s sculpted like he has one, so why not go the extra mile? It would just make him a touch more expressive, which is my main critique of both Bebop and Rocksteady figures we’ve received thus far.

Your turtles will have their hands full with this foe.

Robotic Rocksteady might be my new favorite figure in this line. He looks awesome and he’s pretty damn fun to mess around with, something I can’t say for many figures in this line. All of his accessories have purpose and I like displaying him with everything. I even like how the hands look which makes it hard to decide if I want to use the chainsaw sword or something else. This is just a cool looking figure that I’m quite happy with and the only true negative is the $65 MSRP. Yeah, he’s even more expensive than usual which is a bummer. Robotic Bebop, who is part of Wave 7 which is somehow arriving after both Waves 8 and 9, was $55 and apparently that was an error or something they felt needed revision. At $55, this figure would be a no brainer for me and even at $65 it’s pretty close. Sixty-five bucks is just a lot for an action figure, even a good one. We’re basically at S.H.Figuarts prices here, but the quality of this figure is also pretty damn high. I think it’s the rare Super7 figure that earns it’s original price so I’m going to give it a recommend. The more savvy shoppers probably will benefit from being patient, but the early adopters will also get to enjoy a pretty cool figure while those ones wait it out.

There’s plenty more Super7 and Rocksteady content to be found on this blog if that’s your thing:

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Rocksteady

We saved the big boy for last! The lone villain of wave 3 of Super7’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates! line is the mutant rhino, Rocksteady. He follows in the footsteps of the monstrous Bebop who was released in wave 2 and is the crown jewel of the young line for many collectors so far.…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Cartoon Super Bebop and Mighty Rocksteady

2021 introduced a lot of good things for collectors of NECA’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line of action figures based on the classic cartoon. The toy maker still kept the line a Target exclusive when it came to brick and mortar, but it also started selling a lot of it online to coincide with each…

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by Joe

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Metalhead

This post marks number 800 for this blog! Now, when I hit a nice, round, number like that I usually try to find a special topic of some kind, but also one representative of the content on this blog. Well, we certainly look at a lot of toys on this space, and there have definitely…

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by Joe

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March 29, 2022

NECA TMNT Cartoon Super Bebop and Mighty Rocksteady

By Joe
The moronic duo gets an upgrade in every place except the one that matters most: the brain.

2021 introduced a lot of good things for collectors of NECA’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line of action figures based on the classic cartoon. The toy maker still kept the line a Target exclusive when it came to brick and mortar, but it also started selling a lot of it online to coincide with each new release. Sure, you still had some folks out there complaining about having to pay NECA’s $15 shipping charge, but to skip the aggravation of the hunt seemed like a worthwhile trade-off for me!

2022 has not started off that way. Well, it has and it hasn’t. The past few weeks have seen NECA post several products on their site as preorders to be delivered later this year, and some of those look pretty damn awesome. At the same time, they’ve also launched Haulathon – a “collector” event in coordination with Target that sees a lot of the first run of sought after items (as well as restocks of past items, so it’s not all bad) head to either Target’s stores, website, or both. And one of those exclusives is the two-pack of Super Bebop and Mighty Rocksteady. Or, is it Super Rocksteady and Mighty Bebop? The box and the episode title from which these two came say one thing, but Shredder and Krang say another in episode. I suppose it doesn’t matter as most just likely remember them as the robot versions of everyone’s favorite pair of dim-witted mutants.

Robot Rocksteady is packing a lot of heat.

Like a lot of characters from this era, Bebop and Rocksteady had toy versions that depicted them as robots, but they looked nothing like the characters from the show. For that reason, I consider these the first true depictions in classic for the robotic duo. They’ve been high on my own personal “Wants” list when it comes to this line for awhile, so I was thrilled to see the images leak online of the pair and even more thrilled to get them in-hand. Special thanks are reserved for a fellow local collector, @JoePoppingOn, who helped me in finding a set. Without his help, I’d still be on the hunt for these rad dudes.

These shoulder turrets are pretty cool, but sadly are non-articulated.

We’ve had three iterations of Bebop and Rocksteady from NECA at this point, but unlike those previous sets, these two are all new sculpts. There’s really nothing one can salvage from the other figures when trying to create the robot versions as they have an all-together different shape and the show made sure to put some kind of robot detailing on basically every surface. In addition to that, the two are pretty different from each other so NECA couldn’t even have them share too many parts. From what I can tell, the only parts shared between the two are the shoulders, biceps, hands, thighs, and lower leg. The forearms, torso, head, and feet are unique to each character and both feature extra additions like Rocksteady’s forearm mounted laser and Bebop’s shoulder guns. More importantly, they look just as they do in the show from the colors to the individual details. I love that Rocksteady appears to have a tape deck in his stomach while the Play and Stop buttons appear to be on Bebop’s belt. There’s little to no paint slop on my set and everything just looks terrific.

The parking meter will likely be the favorite accessory of many collectors who pick this set up.

These are big, chunky, boys that come in at around 6.5″ with Bebop’s mohawk and overall higher sitting head pushing him slightly beyond that. They basically articulate in the same manner as well. Both articulate at the head where they can swivel with some slight tilt. Rocksteady can look up pretty well, but Bebop not so well, and neither can really look down. Both have hinged jaws which work fine. At the shoulders are standard ball hinges, but both figures have stuff to maneuver around. For Bebop, it’s the shoulder pads which are connected to his vest. If you bring his arms up too quickly or forcefully you could risk popping them off so it’s best to be gentle. Rocksteady has these coils extending over his shoulders which creates a similar impediment, with more limitations on raising the arms out to the side. The biceps swivel and the double-jointed elbows work fine, as do the hands which swivel and feature a horizontal hinge. I’ll add that every joint is on these guys is tight, but not too tight, with none that I’d describe as loose. I did not have to heat up anything to get it working.

“What do you suppose this is for?” “I don’t know. Bowling?”

In the torso, we have the usual diaphragm joint. And as per usual with this line, it offers very little. With Bebop, he has a bandolier and a vest layered over it which makes it hard to get at. With Rocksteady, there’s really nothing in the way so you get good rotation there, but very little in terms of the ability to crunch forward and back. You also need to be mindful of the paint on his torso as I would hate to see anyone scratch it. Below the abdomen is a waist twist and below that is something we’ve all long been waiting for with a Bebop and Rocksteady set: ball-jointed hips! Yes, the old design which was a pin and ratchet combo is gone and these ball joints work great. They can’t do full splits, but the joint has solid tolerance and you get a thigh twist out of it too. The knees are double-jointed, and at the ankles we get a hinge and rocker which work great. The boxy design of their feet also makes standing these guys pretty painless, which is necessary because a lot of the accents on their sculpts (in particular Rocksteady) are made of hard plastic and likely wouldn’t handle a shelf dive too well. Overall, the pair don’t articulate all that well, but that’s par for the course with this line which prioritizes the aesthetics of the figure over pose-ability. I’d argue they have enough, but your mileage may vary.

More handheld gizmos to add to the collection.

In true NECA fashion we also get a generous assortment of “stuff” with this pair. There are two sets of the following styles of hands: fists, open hands, and gripping hands. For the gripping hands, the left hand is a standard “C” grip while the right hand has a trigger finger grip. A small nitpick for me is I wish we got a left and right trigger hand just to make the two look different, but it’s a minor complaint. We also get two new guns: a long rifle machine gun and a shorter machine gun with drill tip. They’re all new and are basically chunkier versions of the other guns we’ve seen for the duo. I love the sculpting on both of them, especially the long rifle, which has a scope and sight at the end. There’s also a busted parking meter for one to smash turtles with, and a pair of cartoon specific accessories to round things out. There’s the polarity deflector from “Return of the Technodrome”, and a cartoony, round, bomb with red and yellow wires sculpted on. Surprisingly, the bomb is here and not the Mezmerizer, which is a similar item from the episode they’re in, but I always enjoy a good bomb accessory. It’s from the episode “Mister Ogg Goes to Town,” Mister Ogg being one of the few characters I have zero interest in NECA tackling. The weapons are painted, and the hands pretty stiff, so you do need to take care when wedging the items in there because there probably will be some paint rub. The open hands are suitable for holding both the polarity thing and bomb, the latter of which has a flat, bottom, so it sits just fine on a surface. I personally wouldn’t try to get them to hold the polarity deflector with their gripping hands as I’m pretty sure that will lead to paint rub, but it’s your call. As always, if you’re nervous about it just run the hand under hot tap water for a few seconds and that should make them more pliable.

“At last! I have henchmen worthy of my stature!”

These guys are just great. They both look fine right out of the box as Rocksteady has his forearm blaster and a pair of guns on his shoulders as well. If I have a minor critique, it’s that those two guns on his back aren’t articulated at all as it would have been neat if they were on ball joints. Bebop also has his two “stock” guns in his shoulder pads, but they appear more decorative than anything as I can’t imagine it’s easy to aim a gun attached to the top of one’s shoulder. That’s what the accessories are for though and I’m torn on how to display them. I kind of wish I could just stick the parking meter into a slot on the street diorama, but sadly, there appears to be no way to do that.

“Hey, can you play this?”

These are good problems to have when it comes to toys, and this is a set that I hope all collectors have an easy time tracking down. Very few sets in this line have remained exclusive to Target stores, so once this Haulathon event is over there’s a reasonable chance that NECA makes them available directly through their store. It might be in the form of a preorder, so there would be a lengthy wait attached to it, but it’s better than not getting them. They were available on Target.com last Friday, but I assume by the time this goes live they will have sold out. The set retails for $60 too, which is becoming the standard for two-packs in this line that feature a lot of new sculpting that won’t likely translate to other figures. For now, we only have the hunt so keep an eye on your local Targets and coordinate with other collectors out there. Together, we can beat the scalpers!

Here’s a photo dump to end on:

“I don’t see what’s so great about this guy? He doesn’t even have a TV!”
“You call that a mohawk?”
“Well, at least it isn’t the meter maid.”
“Foul robot! Prepare to be destroyed!”

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