I would wager that when it comes to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles character Ace Duck most fans will immediately go to the Playmates figure as their first frame of reference. His creation is credited to the trio of Jim Lawson, Steve Murphy, and Ryan Brown, but I don’t know if any had a hand in his original look. That version of Ace, who was an anthropomorphic duck dressed like an old fighter pilot, made one appearance in the 1987 cartoon series as basically a show within a show. He flashed across the screen of the TV in the sewer lair in the episode “Attack of Big MACC.” That was it for old Ace as he never got to be a featured guest like many other characters who first appeared in the toy line. The character wouldn’t get a substantial look until he showed in the pages of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures published by Archie, only there he wasn’t a fighter pilot, but a pro wrestler.
He’s one big duck.
NECA’s TMNT Adventures line of action figures has been committed to giving fans basically everyone associated with the fictional Stump Wrestling. We have the turtles, Leatherhead, and Cryin’ Houn’, and now we have Ace Duck. This version of Ace is quite different from his Playmates counterpart. The only things the two share are the fact that they’re both ducks and they both have wings. While the original Ace is of average build for a human, this duck is massive. The phrase beefcake comes to mind, but also feels inappropriate for the massive mallard since he’s not a mammal. He’s a big boy and would have fit right in with the WWF of the early 90s. Even the whole duck thing probably could have worked in the promotion that introduced the Gobbledy Gooker. He also has a bit of a Buddy Rogers thing going on as he’s kind of a pretty boy. Part of me wonders if this design was influenced by Daffy Duck’s foil in the short Muscle Tussle because even the trunks are the same to go along with the physique. As a character, he’s neither friend nor foe to the turtles and even though he’s depicted as champion, he sure seems to lose a lot.
Ace Duck with the Ace Duck most know him as.
Ace Duck from NECA comes in the usual packaging with new artwork by Ken Mitchroney. He’s a big figure and comes courtesy of Walmart Collector Con which actually took place several months ago where he was available as a preorder. NECA is now finally shipping the figure and it’s expected that he’s just first run at Walmart and will eventually be available from other outlets. This chiseled sculpt was handled by Tomasz Rozejowski with paint by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo.
It might take two turtles to topple this guy.
Ace Duck stands right around the 7″ mark and as high as 7.25″ to the top of the curl of feathers on his head. I’m pretty sure the first impression most are likely to have when looking at this figure is that he sure is bulgy, in more ways than one. He is jacked as his shoulders are quite broad and his chest is puffed out like a man (or duck) of such musculature would be. He’s also quite bulgy down…there. It’s quite the comical look when compared with the old Ace and borders on ridiculous, but I mean that in a good way. Since this is just a big duck in a Speedo, there’s not much being asked of the paint department. He’s a pale yellow all over save for his beak and his feet, which are a light orange. There’s plenty of black linework on the figure to highlight the musculature and some of the feathers. He has a set of tiny wings on his back which are barely visible from the front. I guess he skips wing day when in the gym. The only other embellishments on the sculpt are the little feathers on his forearms.
I love this cocky expression.Itty, bitty, wings.
Ace is just a big muscle duck, but what helps sell the character in plastic form are the expressions. By default, Ace looks pretty angry and ready to get down to business in the ring. His teeth are showing and he’s got a legitimately intimidating glare. The head most (including me) are likely to find more enjoyable though is the cocky grin. For that, Ace’s eyes are partly closed and looking to his right and his beak is shaped in the form of a wry smile. This is him preening for the audience or just looking in a mirror. It just goes so well with the vibe of this figure. The third portrait features a squawking Ace. His mouth is open in a cartoonish shape with a big, red, tongue flopping out. His eyes are also all red with black circles in them indicating he’s dizzy. This is pulled straight from a panel in the comics where Leatherhead is swinging him around by the feet. This one also works for a punch drunk look or an impact which is definitely a worthwhile inclusion for a pro wrestler action figure.
This right hand is basically included just for this.
The rest of the items are in the box are reserved for hands and one accessory. For hands, Ace has a set of fists, relaxed, and gripping hands. He also has a left hand that’s somewhere in between a pointing gesture and a relaxed look and a right hand that’s puzzling to me. It’s almost like the start of a thumb’s up gesture or a guitar picking form. It looks so specific that I’m guessing it’s lifted from a panel, and sure enough, it is. There’s a panel where he’s basically posing after slamming Leatherhead and saying “later gator” where he’s making this gesture with his hand. The last item in the box is a folding chair. It’s the exact same accessory that came with the turtles and even the colors are the same. It’s a solid accessory to have for a wrestling figure and I like that we now have two in the collection instead of one.
He’s not above getting dirty.
The approach to articulation with Ace is pretty basic. While the turtles were used to show off NECA’s first attempts at traditional pinless double-joints, Ace is going more old school. There’s articulation at the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, diaphragm, hips, knees, ankles, and wings. Both the elbows and knees are single-jointed, but they will swivel at the point of entry as well. There is a thigh swivel, but it’s pretty limited and I was surprised by the lack of a waist twist. You will need to use the diaphragm joint for that and it’s pretty limited. Mostly, the figure is just so bulky that the range in a lot of places is hampered. The shoulders aren’t going to get much use out of the hinge and the elbow swivel isn’t as good as a proper bicep swivel. The hinge for the gripping hands is of the horizontal variety which is unfortunate. The legs have very little range kicking forward, though they actually kick backwards a decent amount.
You’re gonna need a bigger chair, Leo.
Ace isn’t going to do a whole lot on your shelf. In that, he’s a lot like Leatherhead and Cryin’ Houn’ who I also felt were really limited in the articulation department. Ace is probably a littler better than the hound, but a little worse than Leatherhead. None of them are going to be celebrated for their articulation and the best articulated figures in this line so far are probably the turtles. With Ace it’s just a little disappointing because there’s not much that NECA had to work around. He’s practically naked and it’s just the bulk of the sculpt that impedes things. And while I do like the sculpt, I do think there was a happy medium some where to make this guy more articulated without having to jeopardize the aesthetics. The hips, in particular, stand out as an area where there’s no real reason for why they’re as limited as they are.
Or not.
Ace Duck is another solid entry in NECA’s Archie Comics inspired toy line. The articulation shortcomings are basically a feature of the line at this point and collectors likely know what they’re in for with that. The sculpt is on point and this is a figure that just puts a smile on my face because he’s so damn fun to look at. The accessory count is suitable with three portraits and a folding chair to go along with 8 hands. The only other thing I failed to mention so far is the price. Ace Duck will set you back $50 if you can find him at Walmart (currently available for order as I type this) and may cost a little more when he makes his way to specialty retailers. That’s certainly a steep price and I guess it’s owing to his size and potential for reuse. The sculpt is such that maybe NECA can reuse it for other muscle guys though none in this particular line come to mind. He’s the same price as Cryin’ Houn’ who was a little bigger, but came with less stuff, so he doesn’t feel like a lesser release. I just wasn’t crazy about the price tag with that figure either. I do like this figure a bit more and if you’re okay with the price and its shortcomings then I can safely recommend it. It has a premium feel in-hand and it’s a musclebound space duck in trunks – what’s there not to like?
That duck has a family!
If you missed our look at the other Stump Wrestling figures from NECA then check these out:
I’ve said it before and I’ll probably say it again, but no toy collector enjoys hearing the phrase “Walmart Exclusive.” Such was the case for today’s figure, and many others, around the time of San Diego Comic Con. Walmart had their own collector con which is just a marketing way to say that a bunch…
We are rolling right along with more reviews of NECA’s TMNT Adventures line of action figures and we’re also staying within the realm of Stump Wrestling. When the turtles wound up in the intergalactic wrestling federation, they didn’t just encounter aliens, they also encountered an old foe. I don’t know how Leatherhead wound up as…
When I was a kid, I didn’t really get a lot of comic books. I most often would encounter them at the grocery store and I always hoped my mom would end up in the check-out aisle with the comics instead of candy so I could maybe convince her to get me one. And when…
What drives my decision to buy an action figure can take on many forms. The most boring reason to get something is for the sake of completion. If you collect anything then you’re probably familiar with that impulse: you have everything else and you don’t want your collection to be incomplete. That can be a hard thing to shake and can lead one to buy something they don’t really enjoy for any other reason. Then there’s also matters of price and availability which can be an influence, but I think the best reason to buy an action figure (or really anything) is because you simply like it. When it comes to JoyToy’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures, I don’t feel that compulsion to have a complete set so I’m picking my spots. The four turtles, April, Shredder, Bebop, Rocksteady, and Krang feels like a pretty complete set, but then along come Slash and Tokka.
These two bring more bulk to the line.
Slash and Tokka are two characters that I certainly have some degree of affection for. They’re not Tattoo or Hot Spot, but characters I actually like and have enjoyed across various takes on the franchise. Still, neither felt essential to me so when JoyToy originally solicited the pair I felt content to pass them over. Then people started getting them in-hand, I watched some reviews, poured over some visuals, and suddenly found myself placing an order for the pair. They just looked damn fun and with these figures retailing in the $30-$40 range they don’t feel as overpriced as they would have 3 or 4 years ago. And with this line being in a smaller scale, I can delude myself into thinking I have space for more turtle figures.
Left to right: Super7, JoyToy, NECA.L to R: Playmates, JoyToy, NECA .The theme here seems to be familiar, but new. Slash even has a secondary head to better match the cartoon version of the character.
Slash and Tokka, both being mutated or alien turtles, are able to share some parts which is why they were sold together. From a production standpoint, it makes perfect sense even though from a thematic one it’s pretty odd to get a Tokka without a Rahzar (don’t worry, he’s coming). JoyToy decided to lessen that notion and appear to have made these two work as a pair, if you like. They have a pirate theme between the two of them and one could easily envision them as a pair of deviants patrolling the high seas for whatever it is they desire most. And it works! I like what JoyToy has done here and even once more logical pairings arrive via future figures I’ll probably still keep this pair close to each other in my display.
Be they friend or foe? I guess that’s for you to decide.
Both Slash and Tokka are loosely based on their appearance in the classic animated series. This means they also draw some inspiration from the vintage figure line by Playmates since they were influenced by the cartoon as well (or vice versa). Both characters stand a tick over the 4″ mark making them a little taller than the turtles, but a little shorter than Bebop and Rocksteady. Compared with the turtles, they’re not so much taller than them, but chunkier. They’re bigger boys and a bit more intimidating as a result. Tokka does come with the Foot logo stand while Slash gets them sewer one – does that mean Slash is intended to be more of a good guy and Tokka a bad guy? Maybe, though your head canon is as good as any here.
JoyToy really packs the box full of stuff with this line.
Let’s talk Slash first. This is a Slash based on his original appearance in Archie comics which was loosely adapted by Playmates. He has the black bandana and the skull belt buckle we know from the Playmates version. A lot of the other embellishments resemble that figure, but with an added degree of realism. The shoulder pauldrons resemble steel now, but are still bound by rope and fully painted. The elbow and knee pads are black and spiked and his shell features numerous spikes as well in a similar pattern. What’s new are the chains wrapped around his forearms and a harness around the chest. On the backs of his hands are some armor plates, but what’s missing are his blades which is a bit unusual, but the animated design did the same thing. His shell also has some handles bolted onto them that serve as weapon storage, similar to the other turtles. He also added some belt loops for additional weapon storage which is going to come in handy because he has a lot of stuff.
Even the shells are different.
The overall aesthetic for Slash is to take that old design and up the detail and realism. His skin is heavily textured with thick scaling. There’s a a lot of knicks and grooves cut into the plastron and there’s just a lot of added texture to every surface of this guy. The belt has a softer texture befitting a leather belt and the tassels on it and the bandana are frozen in a windswept look. Paint is pretty clean and crisp on this guy and it looks like a paint wash was utilized to really bring out those details. Like the turtles, Slash does have a belt that doesn’t wrap around the back of the shell. This is just part of the design JoyToy is going for and while it doesn’t make sense for turtle anatomy, it doesn’t really bother me personally. Your mileage may vary.
Not to be out done, here’s all the stuff Tokka comes with.
Tokka, as expected, uses a lot of the same parts. Between the two, they share shoulders, biceps, abdomen, thighs, and feet. In addition to that, the elbow pads, knee pads, and belt appear to be shared between the two with the belt buckle and tassels swapped out for Tokka. That’s a lot of shared parts, but there’s also a lot of unique stuff. I was surprised that JoyToy opted to do a different shell since the Playmates figures shared the same. Tokka’s lacks spikes and instead is more plated in appearance like an actual snapping turtle. His calves are also different as he has spikes along the sides of them. And in keeping with past versions of the character, Tokka has five digits on his hand as opposed to three like Slash and the other turtles. JoyToy could have easily decided to just give him the same hands as Slash and I doubt anyone would have really cared, but it’s cool they decided to sink more money into this figure than they had to.
They have plenty of implements of destruction.
Tokka has a very similar look to Slash in terms of approach. There’s a lot of detail here and the paint is kept pretty clean. His head sits lower than Slash owing to the fact that his neck is more forward than straight up. His beak is colored black like the Playmates and toon design while his overall complexion is darker than his cartoon counterpart and basically the same as Slash. He has two hooks attached to his shell for some weapon storage and instead of chains around his forearms he has rope. His shoulder pads are spiked like the old design, but the shape is more square than round as previously depicted. Of the two, I enjoy the Slash design a bit more, but that’s merely a subjective take on my part. Tokka is of the same quality and he fits in well with the rest of the line.
Slash is one of the few figures in the line to come with an extra portrait.
Both Slash and Tokka come with a ton of stuff. Some of it is shared and some of it isn’t. We’ll start with Slash who comes with four sets of hands: fists, gripping, wider gripping, and trigger finger. He also has a second head which is not typical of the line, but it features his metal headband from the cartoon so if you want a more toon-like appearance you have the option. In terms of the usual stuff, Slash has the City Sewer disc stand and a chunk of the white, marble, diorama piece. He also comes with a pre-mutated version of himself which is just a little slug figure. It stands on two feet so maybe it’s supposed to have been just exposed to mutagen? I don’t know. He also has his “binky,” the little palm tree forever associated with the character.
Are these blades a good enough stand-in for Slash’s usual ones?
In terms of weapons Slash is pretty well-stocked. If you felt he was missing the blades on his hand then JoyToy has you sort of covered via two bladed weapons he can hold in his hands. They’re like oversized Wolverine attachments as each has three, large, blades extending from them. They’re not quite the same as the more traditional setup, but it suits the character. In terms of bladed weapons, Slash has a pair of daggers which can fit in the loops on his belt and a pair of katana which can be stored in his shell. The katana feel like a callback to the cartoon as that version of the character carried two swords. He also has a large bladed weapon mounted to a pole. I guess it’s like a glaive and probably has a proper name that I don’t know. The blade is almost as large as the staff it’s affixed to and it’s pretty nasty looking as it’s all chipped. I certainly would not want to be on the receiving end there.
I’m starting to think of these guys as food monsters.
If melee combat is not how you feel your Slash should approach things then he also has a firearm. A small, old-fashioned, pistol that probably runs off of black powder and has a knife affixed to it for extra stabbing power. To keep Slash protected while he fires on his foes (or reloads) is a large, spiked, shield that can fit over his forearm and also has a handle for added stability. Slash can easily hide much of his bulk behind this thing and fire from behind it if he wants to. For when things slow down, Slash also has a big old mug of beer and a lobster roll sandwich to snack on. The mug is again of an old-fashioned design of wood with banded steel. There’s a froth effect that’s removable. The sandwich is basically a giant lobster between two pieces of bread and is a bit funny. I’m guessing a turtle like Slash has no issue just biting through the shell when he’s hungry. The roll also has a slot on the bottom of it so you can stick it on the end of a dagger which is a nice touch. I kind of like the idea of Slash and Tokka as a pair of gluttonous pirates who like to kick ass then settle down for some chow.
Awe!
Tokka is just about as stacked as Slash and shares some of the same accessories. He too comes with the same piece of the diorama base while his disc stand is the Foot branded one. He also comes with the mug, shield, and pistol as well as the same spread of hands though via different sculpts. There’s a baby Tokka as well, but it’s a different sculpt from the little Slash as it’s in a more neutral pose and has its own unique shell. Those represent the shared parts, but for the actual melee weapons Tokka is all new. He has two, curved, daggers which can slot into his belt and he also has two, larger, curved swords. They have a handguard so, if you want, you can hang them off of the hooks on his shell. However, I think those hooks are intended to house his massive anchor weapon. It’s just a big anchor with some wrappings around it to form a handle and a piece of sculpted chain attached to the end. It can go across the hooks when not being held, though it is a little finicky, but not likely to fall out on its own. Tokka also has two handheld bladed weapons similar to Slash’s only his feature one, big, blade as opposed to three smaller ones. Lastly, he has some food of his own in the form of a turkey leg with a big bite taken out of it. I find it amusing since NECA opted for the same with its cartoon Tokka. I guess he just really likes turkey.
The gun and shield combos is pretty cool.
The two figures share enough parts that articulation is basically the same for both. The approach is also basically in-line with what we saw out of JoyToy when it came to the other turtles. We have ball pegs at the head and wrists with hinged balls at the shoulders, bicep swivel, single-hinged elbows that swivel, a ball joint in the diaphragm, ball-jointed hips, thigh swivel, double-jointed knees, ankle hinges, and rockers. Tokka also has the added benefit of a hinged jaw. They’re pretty chunky so the range in places isn’t the best. Heads are always a bit limited with these turtle designs, though if you swap to the toon head for Slash you get a little more range since you won’t have to deal with the bandana tassels. The ball-jointed wrists work fine, but the hands pop off pretty easily and it is a mild annoyance when posing. Elbow pads and knee pads are floating so they can get out of the way to a point, but you’re basically only getting 90 degrees of movement at both spots. The shoulders are a bit restricted because of the pauldrons and I do wish we could get better range there for convincing two-handed poses. They can kind of do it, but it’s a very limited window.
Well done, boys!
The articulation is probably going to be enough for most people. The numerous accessories and hand options help to make these two pretty expressive even if the range isn’t the best in some places. The overall is aesthetic is damn sharp though and I really like how this pair turned out. As I said in the intro, I wasn’t planning on getting either figure, but once I saw how well they turned out and how fun they were I was unable to resist. JoyToy TMNT figures are not sold in North America so if you want to add this pair to your collection you will need to go through an import store. I got mine via LT Cave and it probably only took about 10 days for them to arrive. The constantly evolving tariff situation in the U.S. makes getting these a little trickier each day so if you want them my suggestion is to get them sooner than later because who knows what tomorrow will bring?
If this review has you considering more JoyToy for your TMNT collection then look below:
It’s been said before and it will be said again: everyone is making Ninja Turtles. It feels like the list of companies not making Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is smaller than the list of those who are. Viacom has not been shy about licensing the brand out to toy makers and it’s reaching a point…
No, that is not a typo you see in the title of this entry. This is a review of the JoyToy versions of classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles henchmen Beebop and Rocksteady. I don’t know why it says Beebop on the box, but this is a Chinese company and English is probably not the primary…
The surprise line of the past year has unleashed perhaps its very best with Krang. Krang dates back to the 1987 cartoon series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Because that show became such a household name, it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of just how insane a character design Krang is. Krang was created by David…
The last Super7 review I did was for the wave of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles based on the 2003 cartoon and I concluded it by speculating it would be awhile before I found a reason to review another figure from Super7. That turned out to be a lie. With it being revealed that Super7 has put its TMNT action figure line “on pause” that references the vintage, Playmates, toy line it left me in a reflective mood. I have not been a completist with this line and I’d say I average about two figures per wave that comes out. Most of the figures I have I paid full price for, but I have a growing collection of those that I did not. I looked over my collection and the stuff I didn’t have and considered if there were any holes I wanted to fill, and there’s a couple of characters I had some interest in. One of them was the more recently released battle damaged Foot Soldier variant. It came as part of wave 11 with Rat King, Rapper Mike, and Ninja Nomad Leonardo. The figure looked good, but it wasn’t something I needed. Now that the line may be dead, it had me looking at current prices online. I found one for $40, and figured “Why not?”
He’s got some size to him.
The Foot Soldier figure from Super7 originally arrived as part of the very first wave back in 2020 alongside Raphael, Baxter Stockman, and Splinter. It was a very faithful recreation of the Playmates figure and its accessories with the much welcomed addition of modern articulation so the character wasn’t always in its weird gorilla pose. Working against it at the time was the asking price and the fact that most collectors will want more than one. I wasn’t interested in army-building $45 figures. Plus, I saw numerous accounts of quality control issues with this one where the elbow joints were snapping and I just didn’t want to bother. The figure was re-released along with the rest of wave 1 within a year and I don’t know if the quality control was improved or not. The memory of that issue was part of the reason why I was able to pass on this battle damaged variant (there has also been a glow-in-the-dark variant of the original figure) and did I really need a $55 Foot Soldier? I guess at $40 the answer is, “Yes.”
He’s pretty similar to the wave one figure (that I don’t own), just now charred and slashed.
The battle damaged Foot Soldier sources a lot of parts from the wave one figure as well as introduces a smattering of new ones. Some of this figure’s design can be credited to Super7, while a lot of it rests with the cartoon and Playmates. The figure stands right around that 7″ mark giving it some pretty decent size compared with the turtles. The figure is taller, but slighter, and the colors and designs are pulled right from that Playmates original. That means this is a Foot Soldier with a purple mask, gray tunic, and blue pants. It was a design the animated series carried over almost exactly except switching the colors to black and purple. The sculpt, which the original figure was handled by Four Horsemen, features some nice details with lots of creasing and folds in the material and texturing to the wraps on the shins and forearm straps.
Now your turtles have some Feet to trash.And trash them they shall.
When it comes to differences with the original release, Super7 sculpted some new parts here and there. The bottom of the cowl is now tattered at the edges while the right shoulder, torso, and left shin are new. For those, Super7 sculpted in the battle damage which consists of the material being torn and the bionic insides exposed. The metal innards are painted a nice, lustrous, silver with black detail work. The torso is really well-defined and I like the little screws present on the shin. The forearm piece for the left arm is also sculpted to be broken. The rest of the battle damage is done with paint with most of it reduced to a black overspray indicating this guy was in a firefight. I suppose it’s unusual considering the turtles fight with martial weapons, but maybe other Foot Soldiers were exploding around this one. There’s also some silver slashes painted on which look okay. From a shelf, this will get the job done, but in-hand it looks a little silly to not have these slashes sculpted in.
A sai is meant for this.Inferior Foot craftsmanship.
I maintain that army builder types should have alternate looks packaged into the box to encourage multiple purchases and here Super7 satisfies that request. The first Foot Soldier had just the one head while this one has three. It has a new neck joint, from what I understand, so I’m not sure if these new ones would work on the old release since I don’t have that one. The default head is the same portrait as the old one with just new paint effects to imply battle damage. The second one has been freed from the bonds of its hood. This sculpt is pulled from the Playmates mutating Foot Soldier action figure only now it’s presented in silver instead of gold. He has these evil looking eyes that are all red with yellow dots in the middle and the foot logo is raised on its forehead behind where it would appear on the hood. I like the look of this one which is decidedly far more frightening than the normal look. The wires sculpted in are all painted red and if I have one criticism it’s that the sculpt work on the neck is a bit soft. And if you want to nitpick this head it’s also a little bigger than the default one so it would never fit under that hood.
“Rise up, my brothers, and fight back against our oppressors!”These two are a lot closer in height than I would have guessed.
The third head is inspired by the cartoon series and the Alpha-1 character. That was a foot soldier that was damaged causing the face underneath the hood to be exposed. It gained sentience in the repair process and rose up to challenge Shredder’s authority over the Foot. Super7 also utilized this look for the ReAction version of this character. It looks fine and features some more silver paint which adds some color. If you have a bunch of Foot Soldiers already and want them to have a leader then this head will definitely have some appeal. I much prefer the other battle damaged head to this one so I can’t see myself using it, but as an alternate head it makes sense to include.
This portrait is by far the most menacing.“Whoa dude, I’m not Sara Connor!”
The other accessories include the usual alternate hands and weapons. Returning from the original release are gripping hands, fists, chop hands, and a two-finger point gesture. Other releases had some wide gripping hands which have been dropped in favor of two new ones: a right, gloveless hand and a left stump. The stump could actually be used on either side and it looks like a collection of wires and metal with some silver, red, and gold paint. It looks like his hand was bashed more than slashed, but it gets the job done and adds to the battle damaged theme. The right, gloveless hand is basically your typical Terminator style sculpt. It’s painted silver and looks okay, but the sculpt is a little soft. There should be spaces between the fingers, but they’re just filled with silver. I wish they had picked a different gesture if they didn’t want to carve out those gaps. It’s in a relaxed position with some of the fingers curled so it’s purely a style posed hand as it can’t handle anything.
This rifle is in need of more paint.
For weapons, the Foot has some reused ones and one that’s sort-of new. Returning from the first release are the rifle, pistol, and twin shurikens. The shurikens are painted silver while the pistol is just all black now (the old one is gray). It looks a lot like the pistol Shredder and his goons would wield in the show which was often white with black or gray detailing. I think this one is supposed to have been charred, though it’s just bare plastic. The rifle is gray, but the end of the barrel has been hit with a black spray like it was caught in a blast. It’s an okay effect, but the rest of the gun looks cheap since it’s unpainted. It’s basically not an improvement over what Playmates did over 30 years ago. The knife returns and that at least has some silver painted onto the blade while the end of the knife has also been charred. And borrowed from Leonardo (and I think Shredder) are two katana. For the Foot, the hilt is purple and black and the blade matches the knife in terms of paint job. The second katana is broken about halfway along the blade which is an economical way to incorporate more battle damage. Unfortunately, the figure only has gripping hands so no trigger hands and they’re very stiff so you may need to heat them up to get a good grip on anything.
“All right, robot, hit them toitles with that grenade!”
If you’ve handled a Super7 Ultimates! figure before, then you probably know the articulation is fairly basic for a modern toy line. Comparing it with Playmates, it’s a noticeable improvement and I think that’s what Super7 has always counted on. The head articulates above and below the neck, but the lower joint does the heavy lifting. Despite the hunched posture, the Foot Soldier can look up and down just fine and gets good range all around. Shoulders are ball-hinged and can raise out to a horizontal position and rotate just fine. There is a bicep swivel, hinged elbow, swivel at the elbow, and wrist swivel and hinge. All of the hands feature a horizontal hinge so no vertical hinges for the sword wielding Foot. Elbows seem fine this time around. In the torso is just a waist twist while the ball-hinged hips provide for full splits and a leg that can kick forward better than 90 degrees, but little back. There is a thigh twist, but it’s pretty limited. The knees are single-hinged and bend just shy of 90 degrees. There’s also a swivel at the knee and the ankles hinge forward and back and also rock side-to-side.
“You piece of junk! You’re supposed to throw it!”
It’s a satisfactory spread of articulation and by the standards of the line this is probably one of the better figures in that regard. I’m also happy to report that nothing is loose and floppy nor is anything overly tight. Whatever issues the original release may have had the factory ironed out. My only gripe is the lack of a forearm swivel. This design has exaggerated forearms that are really long and I’d like to be able to better position the armor present there. The straps on the forearms mean there was an easy place to sneak it in. The elbow swivel doesn’t function as a substitute, in this case. And, of course, the lack of the proper wrist hinge is annoying. It’s also surprising since they made sure to include such with the turtles so I don’t know why that didn’t extend that to the Foot. They also overlooked the same with Baxter back in the first wave. It’s just a shame they didn’t fix it with one of the re-releases or introduce proper trigger hands.
“Hmm…fascinating design, despite its ineffectiveness.”
This isn’t a perfect release, but the battle damaged Foot Soldier from Super7 is a pretty good one. I don’t know if it’s $55 good, but it is $40 good so if you can find a similar discount then I suggest grabbing it. And if price isn’t an issue and you were just concerned with the quality of the figure then I can safely recommend this one. Adding this figure to a collection of other Foot (Feet?) will help introduce some variety into your display and the different heads and hands will help set it apart. I’m glad I went back and picked this one up. I don’t know if I’ll get any other ones as nothing really stands out for me as a necessity. Or, in the case of a figure like Slam-Dunkin’ Don, I doubt the companion figures will ever happen and I don’t want an incomplete set. For now, I guess my Super7 TMNT collection is basically complete. Until I change my mind again.
If you’re interested in more Super7 or Foot Soldier action figures then check these out:
Who isn’t making Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures these days? It’s becoming a far easier thing to keep track of than just who is making them. For years, it was the domain of Playmates Toys and only Playmates Toys. NECA tried to get in on that TMNT action in 2008 and it ended prematurely…
When Super7 unveiled their tenth wave of Ultimates! action figures for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles they learned an important lesson: don’t mess with the classics. For years, Super7’s line of figures has essentially focused on remaking the vintage figures first released by Playmates Toys in a new scale with updated articulation, sculpting, and paint. Fans…
I’m back after a much needed break, and wouldn’t ya know, I’m back with another NECA toy review from its mega popular line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures! Today’s subject may not be the sexiest release from this line, but it’s one that is still worth talking about. The lowly Foot Soldier from…
The surprise line of the past year has unleashed perhaps its very best with Krang. Krang dates back to the 1987 cartoon series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Because that show became such a household name, it’s sometimes easy to lose sight of just how insane a character design Krang is. Krang was created by David Wise who, by far, wrote the most episodes of that cartoon series. I’ve seen some people share online in the TMNT community that Wise claims to have come up with Krang all on his own. If so, I’m calling bullshit on that claim because TMNT co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird came up with the Utrom, a race of aliens that basically resemble brains with faces who ride around in the abdominal cavities of android bodies. Krang (who was brought to life by Pat Fraley, who is integral to the character’s longevity) is an alien that resembles a brain with a face who also rides around in the abdominal cavity of an android body.
And that is a crazy concept for a character. An alien brain with tentacles and teeth from another dimension who needs a robot body to get around. He could have resided in the head, or maybe even in the chest like a Gundam, but no, Krang sits right in the belly of his body. In the cartoon, Vernon calls attention to the absurdity when he first lays eyes on the gargantuan Krang and, honestly, without that I may have never given it much thought. I was a kid, a lot of cartoons had weird looking characters in them, so I thought nothing of it. Now, I appreciate the lunacy of the whole thing. And the fact that his body looks like a bald, potato-headed, pasty man in red underwear and suspenders just makes it even more funny. This thing is goofy, to put it mildly. I wonder if Playmates first saw this concept and thought no way would any kid want such a figure?
JoyToy’s take on Krang is pretty big by the line’s standards, but comes up short against the NECA beast.
We’re almost 40 years removed from that debut so the design of Krang has been immortalized and normalized. He’s essential to the TMNT story especially if you’re referencing that original show so I wasn’t the least bit surprised to see that JoyToy was adding him to their assortment of 1:18 turtle figures. And the second I saw him I wanted him. JoyToy’s line has been a real joy to collect so far. It’s a bit of a pain to get ahold of, and the tariff situation in this country hasn’t made it any easier, but it’s been well worth it. The aesthetics of the line have been this mix of the ’87 show, the 2003 show, and a dash of realism and reimagining. Krang follows that same path, and since he basically only exists in the 1987show, the figure draws from that design quite liberally while adding a few new flourishes to the mix.
I do wonder what that handle is for. And that port.
The JoyToy line may be the smallest of the modern TMNT action figure lines, but that doesn’t mean Krang is a little guy. Krang, in his body, stands at a height of about 6.5″ making him by far the tallest figure in the line so far. This is a 1:18 scale line so that makes the character 9.75′ tall which is pretty damn massive. He was pretty damn big in the show, but probably not quite that big. Shredder, at 4.5″, is nearly 7′ himself so it’s probably safe to say that JoyToy is fudging things a bit, but there’s no getting around that this is a big figure amongst the rest.
I’m not trying to get the other Krang out of the NECA body, so here’s Archie Krang.Krang’s less popular mode of conveyance.
Before we dive into it, we should probably talk about the actual character that is Krang. Krang is obviously a little guy since he fits in the stomach of the body, but he’s hardly tiny. He’s about the size of Shredder’s torso and he’s been given an appropriately grumpy face sculpt. He’s molded in pink with a liberal amount of dry brushing over him to take off some of that plastic sheen and help him blend stylistically with the rest of the line. I love his expression and his little teeth and eyes are painted very well. He has his two tentacles which are ball-jointed so there’s a little bit of posing there, but otherwise it’s a slug figure which is about all anyone expected out of Krang. He’s quite possibly the most on-model character from the show, aside from maybe the Mousers, and that makes sense since there’s not a whole lot JoyToy could do with this design. And there isn’t really anything I’d personally want them to do. They could have tried to make him look grosser with veins or even a sheen like he’s wet, but considering he’s going to spend most of his days inside another figure I think this is plenty good.
JoyToy didn’t have to include the walker, but it’s cool that they did.
Krang actually comes with two modes of transportation. The less interesting of the two is what most refer to as Krang’s bubble walker. I think part of the reason why it earned such a name is because other versions had a dome on it, but this one does not. It’s basically a small, bipedal, mode of transportation. It has a very utilitarian look to it as it’s a brushed steel color with exposed rivets. There’s some piping of gold around the compartment and hits of red where I assume lights would be as well as a metallic blue for I guess more lights on the back. The sculpt is a little soft in the legs, but still detailed. The legs contain hinge joints at the top, the knee, and the ankle, sort of like the Mousers. There’s also a twin turret below the bubble portion that swivels. Krang just sits in this thing, there’s no little trick to make his tentacles poke out of it or any flourishes like that. The dangly bits on his chin make it so he needs to sit pretty far forward in the walker if you want him flush with the seat. It’s fine, but I’m guessing most won’t display the character in this fashion.
The turtles will have their hands full with this guy.
And that’s because we have the big boy for Krang to ride around in. We already mentioned the size of this guy, but now we get to talk about the sculpt. If you have some reference art from the show, or maybe the NECA figure of the same, you’ll notice that a lot of the details made it into the JoyToy version. He has the big shoulder pads, the suspenders, the red undies, the vents on his chest, the handle on his lower back, that oddly placed port in the middle of his ass, and even that tuning fork on his head. The flesh tone is rather warm in appearance while the metallic parts have been given a metallic coat of paint. The character on the show had a lot of black linework which would outline certain areas, like the knees and these patches on his thighs. For those, JoyToy decided to fill them in with silver paint to give the character a slightly more mechanical look. There’s also some sculpt work over his spine that looks like an external skeleton and they also added a little gray to the edges of his trunks, which I think looks pretty sharp. The proportions are also less humorous compared with the show design. He has appropriately long legs and there’s even some muscle tone there and with his arms. He’s still a big, mostly naked, guy in suspenders and trunks, but he’s ever so less dorky than his ’87 counterpart.
The head is where I see the most change with this look. The cartoon featured a head that was barely human. This version maintains that same, basic, potato shape, but the facial details are far more realistic. He has a pronounced nose and his mouth is curled into a sour expression like he’s either mad about something or just smelled a particularly ripe fart. It’s not the vacant expression of the old body as, even though his eyes are covered by the glasses, this one almost looks like it would have its own personality. The antenna on his head also doesn’t move or come off, so don’t try anything with it or else it will end like many a Playmates Krang back in the day.
He even makes Bebop and Rocksteady look small.
There’s quite a bit of paint here and even some shading. There’s warm tones on the arms and legs which helped evoke that realistic feeling while there also appears to be some black wash added to grime him up a little. On the chest, it borders a little bit on sloppy as it got a little heavy around those vents. There’s even a black dot on mine right beside the left suspenders. The compartment that Krang sits in is painted a metallic gold with green and red lights and it looks pretty clean. Most of the detail work is very sharp as well. If you get in real close you find an edge here and there that’s not as crisp as it could be, but nothing stands out as sloppy in that regard. The only real criticism I have for the paint is it feels like the shoes need a little something. They’re just red plastic with some design work sculpted in. The hands feature silver knuckles and it just feels like the feet needed something similar. Some silver trim would have looked nice, but maybe they blew the budget on the rest of the figure.
He may be as tall or taller than some figures in larger scales, but playing Krang beside such highlights that there’s more to scale than just height.
I’m going to jump to the articulation now as it does impact the accessories we have to talk about. Krang isn’t usually a character known for having great articulation, but JoyToy is apparently trying to change that perception. The head is fairly basic. As a man with no neck, this guy can only really turn, look down, and can only look up if turned to the side first. The shoulders are typical hinged balls, but they go up beyond your conventional T pose. The elbows are single-hinged with a swivel in place of a true bicep swivel. They’ll bend about 90 degrees. Wrists are ball-hinged so they’ll go in whatever direction you want, but he does have these big cuffs on his wrists that do limit things. They are removable, but he looks kind of dumb without them.
It’s too bad there wasn’t more tension at the arm end for swinging poses.
In the torso, the plate on the front is removable which allows Krang to be slotted inside with ease, but there’s no articulation there. The only joint is a ball joint at the waist which mostly allows for rotation, but there’s a little tilt in all directions as well. The hips are where things get really interesting. Krang has a double-ball peg setup for his hips which I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that before. Plenty of figures connect the to the thigh with a ball socket, but few then connect to the pelvis with another ball socket. Also of note, the double ball (or dumbbell joint) is metal. I don’t know why JoyToy felt the need to use metal here, but it does make for a really smooth joint. And by putting a double-ball peg here, it’s basically like creating a drop-down hinge function. I’ve never really liked drop-down hips because they can be both finicky and feel fragile. If you’re going to do one though, this is definitely the optimal way. It’s easy to work with and the hips don’t look ridiculous in the down position. If you just want a teeny bit more height out of your Krang you can certainly do so with this joint. He doesn’t kick that far forward no matter what you do though, but he can almost hit splits out to the side. The leg will also move on that ball like a swivel and given that it’s metal you’re not likely to ever break it.
This gun attachment might be my favorite.
Beyond the hips, we have a pretty standard allotment. There is a thigh cut if you feel you can’t get enough swivel at the ball joint. The sculpt does feature some sculpted-in linework down the outside of the leg so using the swivel breaks that up, but it’s there if you want it. The knees are double-jointed and will bend past 90 degrees. They get a little gappy, especially below the kneecap if you do push it past 90, but that maybe that can be excused since he is a robot. The ankle features a hinge and ankle rocker. The hinge goes forward a little and back almost all the way. The ankle rocker is a bit steep, but functional. I haven’t had any issues getting him to stand and stay standing and I’m glad he doesn’t have little tiny feet like the NECA version.
He’s a robot TMNT villain: gotta have a drill and axe!
The articulation on Krang isn’t amazing, but it’s better than I anticipated. His accessories are also pretty damn generous. In some way, the figure itself is an accessory since Krang is just the little guy inside. We already mentioned the walker, while the body comes with a whole bunch of hand attachments. For actual hands, there’s a set of fists and a set of open hands. They connect to a hinged ball peg which is connected to the arm via another straight peg. Normally, one of these would have a mushroomed end to keep them in place, either in the hand or the forearm, but Krang features neither. That’s because you need to pull the whole joint out if you want to use one of the other weapon attachments. This is thankfully not as hard as it could have been and removing the cuff makes it a lot easier to grab the ball and pull.
Watch out for the saw blade, Raph!
The weapon attachments should seem pretty familiar if you have the NECA figure. First up is an axe head that is surprisingly ornate. This looks like a ceremonial axe from a D&D game or something. It’s painted a metallic silver and it snaps into place easily. He also has a drill bit attachment, because everyone does with TMNT for some reason, and that looks fine. For something a bit more violent, there’s the circular saw attachment with actual spinning blade. There’s not a battery or anything so you have to manually spin it, but it still looks pretty neat and it’s very similar to the circular saw attachment the NECA Krang came with. There’s also a hit of blue paint on it which breaks up the all silver and gray look. There’s a laser canon, or minigun, attachment. It doesn’t move or feature any blast effects, but it can separate in the middle if you want, though there’s no real reason to do so that I can see. Lastly, there’s the old spiked ball and chain. JoyToy went with a solid plastic chain and it almost works really well. The ball just hooks onto the end and it’s nice and snug so you can kind of pose it. Unfortunately, the other end that hooks onto the peg is very loose. If it was as snug as the ball end then you’d be able to position this for more dynamic poses. Instead, it hangs there limp like an actual chain would which is a bummer.
Oof! I guess it’s time for a new strategy.
The somewhat limited articulation combined with the unique proportions of the character does make posing the weapons a little difficult. If you want Krang to look like he’s really swinging that axe it’s going to be rather hard. His arms are short for his body and there’s not enough range in the torso for him to be almost striking the ground, for instance. He can certainly jab at turtles with the drill bit or just stand there looking menacing with the circular saw. The arm cannon is easy to pose as well while the ball and chain is about as useful as similar accessories with other Krang figures. That’s not the end of what’s in the box though. Krang also has his own circular Foot stand with the 2003 symbol on it. And since he’s such a big fella, he comes with all four pieces of the villains diorama stand. That’s the white brick version with a manhole cover in the middle. JoyToy didn’t need to do that, but it’s pretty cool.
The only thing left to say is that this Krang figure from JoyToy is awesome. He looks great, moves about as well as he could, and he comes loaded with extra goodies. The fact that we got the walker and body in the same package is pretty incredible. As far as I know, that’s never happened with a Krang before. And he doesn’t have all that much of a markup compared with the rest of the figures in the line. I got this figure for $45 while the other figures are often available for $40, give or take a buck or two. That’s an incredible value. There’s also quite a few places with this one in stock that do ship to the US. I am not affiliated with any of them, but I have purchased JoyToy from both LT Cave and Cool Toys Club and had great experiences with both. I wasn’t hit with a surprise tariff charge or anything so at least, for now, you should be able to buy with relative confidence. This has become one of my favorite lines to collect. I enjoyed this Krang so much that I went back and grabbed Slash and Tokka. I was originally planning to be done at Krang, but they pulled me back in. Look for reviews on those turtle boys in the coming weeks!
Two words that are much hated in the toy collecting community are “Store Exclusive.” Add a “Walmart” in front of that phrase and you get something akin to a worst nightmare. The world of “collectibles” has always relied on same degree of scarcity. The 90s saw a collector boom across various mediums which created a…
We’re back for 2021, and right now it looks like a lot like 2020 as we have a new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figure to talk about – Android Krang! Hopefully, this doesn’t mean 2021 is a lot like 2020 going forward, but if it’s going to copy anything from 2020 then let it…
Every hero needs a villain, and for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that number one villain is The Shredder. Setup as a foil in his original appearance, Shredder really became the main guy when the cartoon series was put into development. That show needed a villain who was always around and Shredder was the best…
Technically a blast from the past, but these designs still feel new to me.
Who isn’t making Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures these days? It’s becoming a far easier thing to keep track of than just who is making them. For years, it was the domain of Playmates Toys and only Playmates Toys. NECA tried to get in on that TMNT action in 2008 and it ended prematurely either due to poor sales or because Playmates killed it. That is no longer the case as I sit in my toy room and look around I see TMNT figures made by Joy Toy, Bandai, Hasbro, Mattel, and Super7 to go along with an expansive collection of TMNT by NECA Toys. That, however, doesn’t mean the Playmates influence is dead.
There’s definitely some interesting stuff going on here.
When Super7 secured a license to produce TMNT toys around 2019, the company decided the brand would be a perfect fit for its young Ultimates! line of figures. These approximately 1:10 scale figures were created with a goal of mixing modern production methods with an old school aesthetic. For TMNT, that manifested as basically an upscaled recreation of the vintage Playmates line with more articulation, more paint, and more accessories (and more money). If you thought it seemed weird that Super7 could basically just recreate the work of another company then apparently your intuition was right. This business model worked for a time, but Playmates reportedly wasn’t crazy about it and as the master license holder for TMNT they have quite a bit of sway. For whatever reason, that influence didn’t really begin to manifest until somewhat recently, but it’s prevented Super7 from following the blueprint it crafted at the onset which is how we ended up where we are today.
The 2003 version of TMNT had previously only been brought to plastic by Playmates (right).
Perhaps Super7 saw just how many companies were getting in on the action where TMNT is concerned that they decided to be proactive. If the Playmates thing was going to create a significant barrier to creating more TMNT Ultimates!, then Super7 would need a new subject. In 2003, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as a brand was on life support. The fad so many adults predicted would be over in a year or so had finally come to an end. Co-creator Kevin Eastman had moved on leaving Peter Laird to carry the torch. For Laird, this wasn’t necessarily a bad thing as it presented an opportunity to start over. He was able to find some willing partners in 4kids Entertainment and the Fox Kids Network to craft a new entry point for the franchise in the form of a new cartoon series. The show, simply titled Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, had the freedom to be a little edgier than the silly former cartoon. It stayed much closer in spirit to the original comics by Eastman and Laird while also doing its own thing. The art style was more mature and more evocative of modern comics and really the only obvious step back was the bland theme song.
New line means new packaging.
The 2003 version of the show was a success. Maybe not the success of the ’87 series, but successful enough to run for years and 155 episodes plus a TV movie. For fans who had enjoyed the original cartoon series, it represented one of that generation’s earliest forms of nostalgia while new kids were able to start from the beginning. The show is remembered fondly in the TMNT fanbase and it’s no surprise that a company like Super7 would want to make action figures based on it. It’s one of the few eras of the turtles to not get a modern action figure as really the only plastic representation out there is the original Playmates companion line. And with Super7 simply basing their figures on the animation, there is basically nothing Playmates can do about it other than keep them out of the toy aisle at Walmart. The fact that Super7 landed this “license” and not NECA came as a bit of a surprise, but apparently it was Viacom that proposed the idea to Super7. Maybe they were sick of managing the Playmates/Super7 relationship and wanted to give Super7 something else to do. Plus it probably came about as the show turned 20.
I think of these as the more heroic of the turtles.
Super7’s inaugural wave of 2003 TMNT figures went up for preorder last spring and are just now making their way out to customers. The first wave is both a surprise and predictable as it contains the characters Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo, and Raphael. Yes, all four turtles are being offered right out of the gate as opposed to the one per wave approach Super7 initially took with the license. Perhaps with this aspect of the franchise being untested Super7 felt they needed to show fans that they would get all four turtles and have a complete set. They could have split them up, but maybe they feared customers would doubt their ability to deliver additional waves (and they’d be forgiven for such since Super7 has run into that problem a lot lately) and hold out until all four brothers were available. This approach undoubtedly worked to extract the maximum amount of interest they’re likely to see. Hopefully the drop-off for wave two (Splinter, Casey Jones, Shredder, and a Foot Ninja) wasn’t precipitous.
These new ones are just a touch smaller than the original turtles by Super7.
Lead designer at Super7 for the TMNT license is Kyle Wlodyga who explained in various interviews that these are the turtles he grew up with and thus some care has been taken to get these figures to match the visual style of the show. He gets into it in great detail in this interview posted by the show Turtle Tracks. And it appears that’s the approach as they look to be pretty screen accurate. This contrasts slightly with the companion art for the show and some of the more lavish sequences created for the show’s intro. In both, the turtles had a more traditional superhero shape to their body with a torso that tapers in towards the abdominal region and limbs that appear a bit longer than usual. The turtles of the show were more stocky, like most iterations of the characters, with rounded shells. They all have blank, white, eyes like the comics, but feature unique skin tones like the Playmates toys (though the colors aren’t the same) and their expected colored bandanas. The elbow and kneepads are brown like the turtles from the big screen, so we really do have a mix of influences coming together to create these new (old) look turtles.
The rear of each turtle features a hard, bulbous, green shell. It’s not super shiny, but it does cheapen the look.
Packaging for this wave is pretty typical of the Ultimates! brand with a big window box adorned with artwork of the characters and a bio on the back. The brown shipper also made its return to better protect the contents. It’s a bit evocative of the Playmates blister card, which may have been the one minor hurdle to getting these figures to market. The artwork across the front and back looks to be stock licensing art for the show. There’s also no longer any sort of bio on the back while the plastic for the window feels thinner than usual. The style for each box is the same from turtle to turtle while the insert is color-coded for each brother. If you’re an in-box collector then this is probably fine, though they still take up quite a bit of space. And if you’re an opener like me, these boxes aren’t so nice that you will feel compelled to keep them. Plus the blisters inside are so damn tight you’re likely to mangle them getting the figures and their accessories out.
As is commonplace these days, Michelangelo does have real chain link ‘chuks.
Once freed from their rather tight confines, the turtles will stand around 5.75″ on whatever surface you place them on. They’re actually a smidge shorter than the other Super7 turtles, but I have no idea how tall Super7 envisioned those characters to be. Super7 kind of did its own thing with that line. These new turtles do look a lot different though as they’re bulkier which makes them look stockier. They have smaller heads by comparison, but those older turtles have some pretty large domes. Aside from something very obvious that we’ll get to in a bit, the approach Super7 took is still pretty consistent. These new figures are mostly bare plastic with just a touch of shading applied to the green. It helps to cut down on that plastic sheen, but it also draws attention to the areas of the figures where no shading exists like the kneepads. The rear of the shell is the biggest offender as it’s just a light shade of green. It’s also very bulbous, but this is pretty screen accurate. It’s the most plastic looking of the figures and looks very cheap by comparison. It is on the rear of the figure, but these are premium collectibles and it’s definitely an eyesore. The figures at least appear to have a matte clear coat applied to the entirety of the figures. Strangely, it doesn’t come across as well in pictures. I tried going with a low light setup as harsh lighting can make them shine more than they will in natural light.
I don’t remember Donatello having a birth mark.
Even though paint is kept to a minimum, what little is there can still be messed up. My Donatello has a big, green, spot on the side of his face that I may reach out to Super7 about. That’s the worst looking part, but the paint around the bandanas on all of the heads leaves a little something to be desired. Michelangelo also has a speck of white on one of his cheeks. Normally, I’d get out the Magic Eraser to try to get rid of such, but I’m worried it will mess up the clear coat. Instead, I’ll either learn to live with the shortcomings or just go with the neatest head for each figure and call it a day.
Those who bought all four from Super7 got a bonus head pack on a blister card.
These versions of the turtles are quite chunky, more so than I remembered. It presents a tough order for a sculptor as there’s an inelegance to the silhouette that belies the fact that these characters are trained martial artists. It’s something that can thankfully be posed away, but just standing straight up and down they look awkward. The turtles do share the same body across all four figures with the only differences being the heads and belts. Leo has his scabbards and Donatello his loop for his bo staff while Raph and Mikey are just supposed to cram their weapons into the sides of their belts. These guys also dropped the belt buckles in favor of plain knots which makes it even easier on Super7 when it comes to molds.
None of these heads are bad, but there sure could have been more variety. Two of Leonardo’s you need to really look close to notice a difference.
The default portraits across the four are pretty typical for the characters and each comes with a secondary option. Leonardo has a smirk and a teeth-baring smirk that reminds me of the Playmates figure. Donatello has an old school TMNT expression with his teeth showing on both sides of his beak as well as a smiling portrait. Michelangelo has a very similar smile to Donnie as well as an open mouthed smile embodying his party boy nature. Raph is the only one who doesn’t get to be happy as he has a pair of angry portraits. One features him baring his teeth while the other is a yell. That one is one of the best of the bunch as one eye is noticeably larger, and rounder, than the other which adds some more personality to the mix. And if you purchased direct from Super7, you got a bonus pack of heads with the following expressions: Leonardo (smile), Raphael ( full teeth gritting), Michelangelo (winking and smiling), and Donatello (a side smile taken from when he mugs for the camera in the show’s intro, also very similar to his Playmates counterpart). The extras are all fine in their own way, but there’s a severe lack of imagination on display. Why does Leonardo have 3 smiling portraits? Raph is all angry, which I guess is on brand, while Michelangelo is also nothing but happy. I would have liked a grim expression for Leo and a smile for Raph, even if it was more of a sinister one. Donatello is the only turtle who gets a wide range of emotions.
The Shell Cell is a downgrade from the Turtle Com.
For additional accessories the turtles share a lot of stuff plus feature their own weapons. For hands we have a set of fists, gripping, and open hands. Each turtle also has a Turtle Com or “Shell Cell.” It’s a bit of a throwaway accessory as the turtles can’t hold it convincingly. It’s in an open state too and it would have been more interesting to get an opened and a closed one. Donatello also comes with a set of goggles. They’re a little tricky to get on either head, but they also look a bit cheap so I’m not sure it’s worth it. This was kind of the start of Donatello always getting headgear of some kind which I’ve never been a fan of.
Donatello comes with some headgear. It’s nothing special, but better than what Leo and Raph get (which is nothing).
The rest of the accessories are the weapons and they’re what you would expect: swords for Leo, sai for Raph, a bo staff for Donnie, and nunchaku for Michelangelo. These versions of the turtles may have ditched the initialed belt buckles, but they did like color-coded weapons. This means colored wraps for Leo, Raph, and Mikey on the handles of their weapons while Donatello has purple tape in the middle of his bo. Unfortunately, this represents most of the paint on the weapons as the steel portions for Leo and Raph were left as bare plastic. The plastic is a very pale gray with the the sais almost looking slightly transparent and milky. As a result, their weapons look very cheap especially compared with past offerings from Super7. Raph’s sais are also puny and I can’t find any art, be it key art or from the show itself, backing this up. When stored his sai in his belt they tended to shrink, but in hand they look to be much bigger. Mikey does have real chain on his ‘chuks so they look fine while the brown plastic of Donnie’s staff looks more convincing. Michelangelo apparently was the favorite turtle at Super7 because he also gets effect parts. Like the NECA Michelangelo, you can detach one handle of his nunchaku from the chain and replace it with a whirling effect. He gets one for each weapon and it looks great, I just wish the other turtles received a similar effect part for their weapons like we saw with JoyToy.
A gathering of RaphsA sai comparison (left to right): NECA ’08, NECA toon, Super7 2k3, JoyToy 1:18 scale, Super7 original, NECA Mirage (Lawson)Raph got short-changed when it comes to sai size.
When these figures were announced last year the big talking point was double knees and elbows. For the first time in the line, Super7 decided to give the turtles double-joints at both spots. In the past, Super7 co-founder Brian Flynn has expressed a dislike for the aesthetic qualities of such joints. His background seems to largely be in soft vinyl figures and retro stuff so it’s not that surprising he’d feel that way. I think most modern collectors are fine with the trade-off and have always been since we’ve had double joints since the Toy Biz Marvel days. Super7 decided to change things up here, either because they felt the kids who grew up on this version of the turtles wouldn’t accept single joints, or because they caved to pressure that was both internal and external. Whatever the reason, the joints are here and they’re fine. Both are pin-less, but both also need to contend with what all turtle figures have to contend with and that’s the knee and elbow pads. To combat this, Super7 used a style of joint similar to what NECA used to use on some figures where you have a hinge ball above and below the joint. This creates two additional pivot points as well as the double-hinged bend. It works okay and certainly better than what we had. The aesthetics are a downgrade, but probably worth the trade-off to most.
Sais does matter.
Aside from that, most of the articulation should seem familiar. The head is on a double-ball peg and there’s also a ball joint at the base of the neck. These turtles have good range, but the shell prevents them from looking up effortlessly. The shoulders feature ball hinges and we have bicep swivels, the double elbows, and wrists that hinge and swivel. The gripping hands feature the proper hinge orientation for melee wielders while the elbows will bend past 90 degrees, but not far beyond that. There is a waist joint under the shell that mostly works as a pivot point than a full rotation. Hips are still ball-hinges, but the hinge seems much bigger and sturdier than typical Ultimates! figures. There’s a thigh swivel, double knees, and ankles that hinge and rock side to side. The knees bend past 90 degrees and the hip range out to the side allows for full splits. Kicking forward is a little limited since the shell forces the leg out to the side, but the range is there.
We’ll have Mikey demonstrate the new elbow and knee range.
Perhaps most important to all who have interest in this line is that the joints are all nice and tight. That doesn’t mean it’s all sunshine and roses though. While I wouldn’t say any joints are too tight, there is an issue with binding and scraping. The hinges in both the shoulders and hips function like ratcheted joints. There’s no smoothness to them at all. Most of these figures are also composed of a very soft plastic, but at the joints we have hard plastic. This causes scraping, cutting, and scuffing even if you’re careful. You’re also bound to have a stuck joint or two across the four figures in either the elbows or knees. The rotation in these double knees can aid in posing, but also drive you nuts as they keep spinning out of position during handling and become misaligned for using the hinge. The design and approach isn’t terrible, and this is better than the often floppy hips we get from Super7, but it still needed another pass before going into production. It feels like Super7 just looks at a test shot once and thinks they don’t need to review anything again or something. Hinged shoulders and hips aren’t anything knee and lots of companies do them without issue, but Super7 would have you believe those toys are freakin’ miracles. Or they could just finally ditch the hinged hips and go with ball sockets. That would make me happy, though I’m sure there would be growing pains there as well.
Splits are also on the table.
Perhaps this is all coming to a head. I do not like to kick someone when they’re down, but things have not been great for Super7 of late. Some of their lines appear to be dead, licenses have been pulled, and a major release like the Cat’s Lair was plagued with quality control issues that Super7 had to rectify at some cost to the company. And now we have tariffs to deal with. This wave apparently arrived at port during that brief window when tariffs on products imported from China were at 140%. In response, Super7 laid off about half of its workforce including 75% of the designers they employed. Among them was Kyle Wlodyga who has been the head designer for Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and other licenses and was responsible for some really terrific stuff. I’ve always assumed TMNT was one of Super7’s best performing licenses so to see him laid off came as a shock. He also was vocally pushing for the company to tackle 2003 TMNT for awhile, but they didn’t do it until Viacom basically forced their hand. And what do you know, it was a big seller! At least, according to Super7. How shitty is that? The guy pushed for this, it finally happens, it’s a success, and he’s the one who gets shit-canned? Something smells there.
Thanks, Mikey – have a slice!
While I have sympathy for those at Super7 and I don’t want to see the company fold, as a reviewer, I’m not going to tell you to go out and buy an inferior product out of the kindness of your heart. I have to review these action figures as they are independent of the climate surrounding them and I’m forced to conclude that they’re just not worth the asking price. Super7 wants $55 each for these figures, perhaps more now that tariffs are involved, and they just don’t measure up to other figures in that price range. The appearance is too cheap in places and the articulation can literally damage your figures. They also don’t come with much and look especially light when compared with the other turtle figures Super7 has released over the years. If these were $35 then I could overlook most of that. The quality control would still be unacceptable to some degree, but also easier to swallow at that price.
These guys are a mixed bag, but if your standards are simply that you want something that looks like the show for your shelf then you’ll probably be content.
Objectively, I can say these figures aren’t worth the ask, but subjectively I can also say I don’t hate them. I don’t even dislike them. These are solid representations for an underserved era of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. If you want a set of 2k3 turtles for your shelf you’ll probably be content with these once they’re in place. I do wonder how deep Super7 can go with this line. Personally, I’m in for Shredder out of wave two, but no one else. If Super7 wants to give me Christmas variants I’d be interested in that, but I don’t plan on going deep at all on 2k3. Unfortunately, it sounds like Super7 is. In another interview with Turtle Tracks posted at the same time, Wlodyga said the vintage-inspired stuff was “on pause.” Rarely does “on pause” ever mean anything good. That’s really frustrating as we’re still missing key figures in that line, most notably Undercover Don and Heavy Metal Raph, two figures keeping collectors from a complete set of Playmates remakes. Even if Viacom is really pushing for Super7 to move away from that stuff, the company should go to bat for its consumer and tell Viacom that people really want and expect those figures from them. They basically did it for Rat King, they can do it again. I’m so irritated by that decision that it makes me want to boycott the 2003 subline. I guess don’t expect a ton of Super7 stuff from me going forward.
We may be light on Super7 coverage from here on out, but there’s no shortage of historical coverage:
Is Super7 going to finish a set of variant Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles?! Maybe, as we’re now three-fourths of the way through the rock n’ roll turtles as released by Playmates. Punker Don, Classic Rock Leo, and now Rapper Mike make 3 with only Heavy Metal Raph remaining. As of this writing, Raph hasn’t been…
It’s been awhile since we last took a look at a figure from a wave of Super7 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Ultimates! It was back in July 2024 that I gave a rather glowing review of the first of a presumed four turtle figures based on the old Playmates Rock n’ Roll Turtles – Classic…
When I was a kid, I had parents with divergent musical tastes. Dad likes oldies from the 50s and 60s while mom was more into modern rock (then 80s). One area where their tastes overlapped was Bruce Springsteen. We had several of his records in my house and I distinctly remember that cover to Born…
Remember Panda Khan? Well he’s back – in toon form!
I encounter the sentiment often that the majority of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles fans in my age group (the over 40 club) associate the property with the vintage toyline first and foremost. The cartoon was a big hit, but it could only appear for a half an hour at a time where as the toys were always there and always willing to go on adventures. That is why when it comes to characters in the TMNT universe, most seem to think of the toy first, toon second. NECA is well aware of this and has seen from afar that just making modern action figures based on the old toys is a tough road to travel if Super7 is any indication. And while many characters from the toyline did eventually make the jump to animation, not all of them did. To get around this technicality, NECA has decided to make toon versions of those characters as basically a What-if? homage and it’s how we got ourselves a NECA Panda Khan.
Panda Khan has a little bit of size to him.
Panda Khan is a character that exists outside of TMNT media. If all you knew of him was the old Playmates toy, then that was probably not something you were aware of. The character was created by Monica Sharp and Dave Garcia and appeared in his own comic as well as some published by Mirage Studios. The character is actually named Li Yang, but goes by Panda Khan and he was essentially setup for the same deal as Stan Sakai’s samurai rabbit, which turtle fans know as Usagi Yojimbo. For one reason or another, Panda Khan’s appearance in the cartoon never happened and he forever remained one of those characters who existed for TMNT fans in toy form, but no where else. The character is now owned by Gaelstone Media who cut a deal with NECA for Panda Khan to appear in their toyline. The figure was unveiled last summer and can now be found at Target as part of this spring’s edition of Haulathon.
Samurai troopers assemble!
Panda Khan in the Playmates line was basically a samurai Panda and not much has changed over the 30+ years. NECA has taken the same, basic, approach to the character, but livened it up with colors most would associate with the cartoon. The character is a solo release and comes in the same f.h.e. style packaging as other ultimate or deluxe releases in the line with artwork by Aaron Hazouri. There’s a rather elaborate (by modern toy packaging standards) bio on the back that’s basically a setup for an episode of the show that never came to be and is rather clever. The front fifth panel is held in place by Velcro and behind it is a nice window box to see the figure. If you wanted to keep this guy in-box, it would display pretty well, but this isn’t the sort of place that leaves a toy in its box.
One irksome paint defect with my figure is this black line on his teeth.
Panda Khan stands roughly 7″ to the tops of his ears giving him some decent size for NECA’s toon line. More so than the height is the heft. This is a chunky figure with a satisfying in-hand feel. The upper body is dominated by shades of blue as he’s sporting a light blue kimono with a dark blue vest over it. Clashing with that are the bright green pants, but with TMNT designs it often feels like the clashing is the point. On his shins, forearms, and shoulders are armored bits which are a darker shade of light blue rimmed with yellow and studded with red. He also has skirt armor with a similar approach and all of these panels are held in place by sculpted-in red straps which match nicely with the red bandana across his brow and sash around his waist. It’s a nice design and it pairs well with both Usagi and the samurai Michelangelo released previously. I do find the choice to have an armored skirt with no torso armor a little odd, but I guess they didn’t want to come too close in design to the Playmates release. The kimono looks like it should continue past the belt, but I guess he tucks it into his pants? I personally would not have gone with the green pants either, but I suppose it’s more interesting than black or blue.
If you want a more primal arsenal.
The cartoon styling for the face is very evocative of the Usagi Yojimbo design. The default portrait is a classic TMNT teeth gritting pose and he also has a more stern expression to swap to. I like the look of both, but the paint on the teeth of mine is sloppy on one side which is a bummer. For that reason, I’ll probably stick with the stern expression, but I also find it fits the look of the show a little better (the teeth-gritting expression is something I associate with the toys more than the show). The alternate head also has an added ponytail which is a bit interesting. I think it’s a NECA touch as I didn’t encounter any images online from the comics of Panda Khan with a ponytail. If you like it (or don’t) NECA has you covered too because the top of the head is removable and interchangeable between the two portraits so you can mix and match as you see fit. NECA is always doing small, clever, things like that which I really appreciate. The paint on the teeth is the only negative I can find with the presentation here as the rest is pretty clean and crisp. This is another Tomasz Rozejowski sculpt and he really nailed it.
You can fit the claws in here, but probably not much else.
In addition to the extra portrait, Panda Khan comes with the usual assortment of hands: fists, open, and two sets of gripping hands. I suppose that part is unusual as Panda Khan’s gripping hands are the same size, but one set features a horizontal hinge while the other features the melee appropriate vertical hinge, a practice I’m happy to see NECA start paying more attention to. For those gripping hands, Panda Khan has his trusty blade: the Morning Qi. The old Playmates figure featured a sword that resembled a rather conventional katana while this one has a bit more of a squared-off design to the blade. There’s a sculpted Yin Yang near the hilt and the weapon is painted very well. The hilt is pretty thick, but the figure can grip it just fine. There is a little give to the fingers of the gripping hand, but perhaps not enough to alleviate any fears of paint rub. If you miss the the old school katana of the original figure, you could always hand him one of Samurai Michelangelo’s blades, though it might look pretty small in his hands. If you have the Super7 Leonardo then you may prefer the look of one of his katana. As for me, I’m pretty content with Morning Qi here.
If you want something more like a katana, the Super7 Leonardo swords work all right.
The sword and the appropriate hands to wield it are probably all most would need, but NECA included a few more accessories in this package to better outfit this warrior panda. We have some optional equipment in the form of a bamboo hat and backpack. The hat plugs into the top of his in place of his ears and also includes a chin strap. It looks nice and the plug was a good choice to help keep the hat in place, though part of me feels like a toon version of the character would have impossibly had his ears poking through the hat. It might have looked kind of funny if NECA had done the same. The backpack can slide onto his arms pretty easily and even features a removable lid. The interior of the backpack isn’t very large, but it can store his other weapons which are two bladed instruments that slide over the fingers of either the gripping hands or the open ones. These claws give him a more primal method of attack since they’re reminiscent of actual panda claws. They’re neat, though probably too violent for a cartoon unless he’s being unleashed on robots. I do wish NECA had made the backpack just a little bit bigger so we could have fit the extra hands in it as well, but at least it’s not entirely useless. There’s no weapon storage for the sword though, but I guess you could wedge it between the backpack and the figure’s back or have it sticking out of the backpack itself.
And this brings us to the portion of the review that’s often the least fun to talk about: articulation. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again, the NECA toon TMNT toyline is an aesthetics forward line where articulation is not quite an afterthought, but certainly not a priority. Panda Khan for sure embodies this approach as the articulation present is super basic. The double-ball joint at the head allows for swivel and tilt, but no range looking up. Being a tall character, he can at least look down. The ball-hinged shoulders are basic while the pauldrons will impede range going out to the side. They and the other armored pieces do flex, but you probably wouldn’t want to push it and leave them in such a state. The double-jointed elbows are pin-less and the range is quite good, but the joint is not very aesthetically pleasing. There is a bicep swivel, but the range in the arms is not sufficient enough for a two-handed sword pose, unfortunately. The waist twist barely moves while the hips are severely restricted in all directions. The single-jointed knees can swivel, but they don’t bend 90 degrees. He’s one of those characters that also is always semi-crouched as his legs can’t be just straight. The hinge at the ankle is limited while the ankle rocker is fine.
Those robots sure do cut nice and clean.
Panda Khan is a figure that can’t do much. Even expecting that of a bigger and bulkier character, I still can’t stress enough how limited the figure is. There’s no reason for the head to not work better and I wish they had made it a priority to allow the figure to grip the sword convincingly with two hands. Especially since that’s how they chose to depict him on the box art. There’s just a lot of stuff getting in the way when it comes to the numerous overlays on the torso and in the hip area. No one expects anything too crazy out of a giant panda, but he is supposed to be a samurai and should be capable of more.
If you’re a regular NECA TMNT collector, none of that is a surprise. The figure at least does look pretty good and I continue to be impressed with how clean the paint job is given the abundance of it. The only visual things about this guy that let me down is the sloppy paint on the teeth of the default portrait and I don’t like how those elbows look. They have a very McFarlane appearance to them as a lot has been chopped out. NECA is still new to the pin-less approach so perhaps it’s something that needs more refinement. They can get away with it on the turtles who feature elbow pads, but figures like Panda Khan aren’t able to do the same. And as always, your enjoyment of this guy will come down to how you think it looks. If you like the look of this one and don’t think it needs to pose all that well then it’s actually a pretty easy recommend. At $35, it’s a bigger character with plenty of accessories that features a ton of paint. With prices expected to rise in the very near feature, Panda Khan may soon feel like a bargain. And it should be pretty easy to track down. The figure is available online at Target.com and also being stocked in-store. I got mine via the website and wish I had waited for an in-store figure so that I could have perhaps landed a better paint job. I’d encourage anyone else interested in Panda Khan to do the same.
We have plenty more NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for your to peruse:
I am back! If you’re a regular reader then you probably didn’t notice much as far as content goes, but I’ve been out of commission for weeks now due to my laptop crashing. I was able to fix it, but it took some time to get around to it and it’s been a really long…
I think most people understand that when it comes to a toy line the most popular figures are of the most popular characters. The problem is, what do you do when everyone has the most popular characters? You make them again, but different! That’s sort of the genesis of the variant action figure of a…
The early issues of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles released by Mirage Studios include a few guest stars here and there. One of them comes from the pages of Usagi Yojimbo, the samurai rabbit by the name of Miyamoto Usagi. The pairing of samurai rabbit and ninja turtles was a big enough success that it migrated…
Back in 2008, when NECA was planning out a line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures that they hoped would run for a long time, they turned to the turtles’ most trusted ally when it came time to do a fifth figure. The line wasn’t long for this world, and that figure of April O’Neil from issue two of the Mirage Studios run of comics ended up as a convention exclusive. She had a couple of variants, and came packaged with Mousers as well, but she was also the end of the line. Be it poor sales or issues with the master license holder, NECA’s Mirage run of turtles was brief, but has since been resurrected. We’re almost nearing a point where it feels like NECA, not Playmates, is releasing more unique sculpts per year when it comes to this franchise and it’s no surprise that in 2025, in the month of April no less, NECA has decided to return to the character once looked to as the most logical release after the turtles themselves.
An updated April for your updated turtles and newish Casey.
Version 2 of April is presently shipping as part of the Target Haulathon, that oh so expensive time of year for those who collect NECA TMNT. The old figure is one I never bought. April was a little rough in her debut appearance and creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird were not too proud to admit that it took them awhile to really learn how to draw April. That figure fits in well with those early TMNT figures NECA produced as they’re based on the first issue, but for those looking for an April that vibes with the more recent output from NECA a new figure was needed. For inspiration, NECA turned to issue #11 which has become somewhat infamous online over the years. Namely, for those who want to champion that April was originally conceived as being black or at least mixed race. While it was true that her name came from April Fisher, a woman who is of a mixed race, Eastman and Laird have always been pretty clear over the years they envisioned her as a white woman. In issue 4, she received a new hair style – a perm. Combine that with the name thing and the fact that Eastman and Laird often used people in their orbit to base April’s looks on and you can see why this became such a big thing.
April’s got a new look.The inspiration for this figure.
Apparently, Eastman has at least embraced this retcon of sorts as this new April from NECA depicts her as a black woman. And why not? NECA already did a white April (well, many if you count the cartoon and movie lines) and people seem to like this idea. Some don’t, which is often the case when you start talking about race because there are racist assholes out there, but this is Kevin and Peter’s baby and if they like this depiction of April then that’s good enough for me. We know Kevin at least does since he did the artwork for the box. I guess Peter could hate it, or he could be fine, or indifferent, it doesn’t matter. It’s an April action figure and all that really matters to most would be is it any good?
“You know, I’m something of an artist myself.”
April is a figure sculpted by Richard Force and Tim Miller. Or I should say, April and her boxmate are sculpted by the duo. I’m not sure if one sculpted April and one sculpted her pack-in, but at least we know they both contributed where as most toy companies don’t give us that much info. Paint is credited to Geoff Trapp, Mike Puzzo, and Holly Knevelbaard. April stands at around 6″ to the top of her hair. She’s depicted in her outfit from issue 4 of a pink shirt, blue jeans, sneakers, and a brown jacket. At least those were the colors in the earliest color versions I have seen, though for me I’m most accustomed to seeing April and everyone else in black and white.
Not a figure made for the classic (and probably sexist) female pose.
The presentation for April is fairly basic. That’s not necessarily a negative, it’s just the reality of an action figure based on a normal woman. There’s no crazy super powers to capture or outlandish costume, it’s just a woman in casual attire. She has her poofy hair which is done in brown with some light brown brushed over it. Her expression is serious, but fairly neutral. There’s some linework on her cheekbones and her lips are red and outlined in black. She has a simple gold necklace sculpted around her neck and some big hoop earrings which appear to be part of the sculpt for the hair. The jacket and shirt feel like they’re an overlay, but the material is more firm than usual. There’s a lot of black linework on the clothing and the paint job on the sneakers is pretty complex and mostly clean. The paint is sharp and the appearance of the figure is too. My only critiques would be it looks like they missed a paint app on the zipper of her coat as it’s just left brown. They also gave April a serious case of “flat butt,” why did you do her dirty like that NECA?
This little guy gets all the stuff.
April comes with three sets of hands: open, fists, and gripping. That’s it. I wish we got a second portrait from the panel where she shows off her new haircut as she just looks really happy in that shot and it would be nice to give her the option of being happy on the shelf. Her articulation is pretty basic for the line as well. If you have Kirby or Baxter then you should have a pretty good idea of how April moves. Her hair really limits the range at the head to basically a swivel. The shoulders, elbows, wrists, and knees all work well and as expected. The range at the hips is good, but she can’t quite hit a split. Ankles are a bit limited and for some reason the left ankle on mine doesn’t want to pivot (it’s gummy and just snaps back into a neutral position). The waist is a ball joint, but it just swivels for the most part because of the size of the overlay. The torso isn’t going to do anything and the gripping hands have the wrong hinge, not that she has anything to hold. Her feet being relatively small, she can be a deceptively difficult figure to stand. I’ve had her topple over numerous times already in the short while I’ve had her.
I think I’ll keep the hat on him.Plenty of Utroms these days, and I didn’t even bother with the little one from the robot.
That’s April, but she’s technically not alone. Joining her is Professor Obligado, an Utrom ally with a series of short stories by Stephen Murphy. He’s very similar to other Utrom characters we’ve received in that he’s a little more than a slug figure as he has two articulated tentacles. He also gets the bulk of the accessories as he has a fedora, pipe, pick axe, paint brush, can of ink, and two extra tentacles one of which has a can of some spray molded to it. He looks fine and the swapping features are fun, but I would have liked something for April. It’s almost like NECA saw doing another April as an obligation, but rather than make her as much fun as they could, they threw in another character after doing the bare minimum.
At least Casey has weapons to spare.
This review has taken on a negative tone, but I should stress that this figure of April isn’t a bad one. It’s just fine. There’s nothing special about it, it does what you would expect, and the execution when it comes to the sculpt and paint is up to NECA’s standards. The articulation isn’t great, but still what one would expect of the line. It just lacks imagination. Obligado is fine, and those who really dig the Utrom characters will enjoy adding him to the mix. That doesn’t shake the feeling that I only bought this figure because I want an April and I would have bought anything. At least she turned out far better than the cartoon one. If you’re feeling inclined to pick this one up, April sold out online, but can be found at Target. If you don’t want to shop there for any reason, know that she’ll eventually show up elsewhere, but with the current state of things who knows what she’ll cost? Right now, the MSRP is $35 and hopefully it stays that way.
There are plenty more heroes and villains from NECA’s TMNT line of figures based on the original comics:
Where do you take your heroic comic book franchise when you kill your main villain in the first issue? Well, you first undo that rash decision by bringing him back! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird famously killed The Shredder in the first issue of their comic. They never intended to…
Rats! Is what Charlie Brown would say at the sight of today’s subject, the almighty king of the rats himself, the Rat King. Rat King has always been a favorite of mine when it comes to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles villains. Like a great many, I was introduced to the character via the cartoon series…
Say the name “The King” to a comic book fan and they will immediately know of whom you speak. Jack Kirby is a titan in the world of comics. Creator or co-creator of a great many characters known throughout the world today, it’s hard to imagine what a comic book would look like without his…
We’ve got another April, is this one worth getting excited over?
The JoyToy line of 1:18 scale Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been a, well, joy to collect! We’ve talked about the turtles, their chief adversary the Shredder, and his two cronies Bebop and Rocksteady. Now, just in time for the month of April, is their friend and liaison to the human world April O’Neil herself. April has seemingly always had a bit of a rough go of things when it comes to toys. The old Playmates figures were a bad fit, stylistically speaking. Most of those sculpts were detailed and a bit gross where as April was basically a Fujiko style bombshell in the cartoon. Playmates tried a few different things including even taking something of a Barbie or She-Ra approach to the character, but few would cite an April figure as their favorite. To I think everyone’s surprise, even NECA’s entry in its toon line was kind of bad. I felt it was the worst figure in an otherwise stellar line when it dropped back in 2020 and it seemed like April was just a character that was always going to be snakebit.
She’s tiny, but feisty.
When I saw that JoyToy was turning its gaze towards the ravishing reporter I was a little skeptical of how it would turn out. April has been a tough nut to crack and it would seem a smaller scale would only add to the challenge. I’m happy to report my fears were unfounded as JoyToy’s take on the ’87 version of the character just might be the best April figure that’s ever been brought into being.
She seems to be sized okay when compared with the rest.
April is packaged in the same window box as all of the rest with a few product shots around the box. She also comes with the same sewer street scene base that the turtles came with as well as a logo disc stand. The direction of the character is clearly inspired by the 1987 cartoon series. This line, so far, has been an interesting mix of the 87 looks and the 2003 looks and if I had to predict what direction JoyToy was going to go with I would have probably thought 2k3. Or something all its own. This April is instead very much an ’87 version as she features the same haircut, the yellow jumpsuit, white boots, and comes packaged with Channel 6 equipment. The only deviation from the cartoon with this figure is that her jacket is open revealing a black t-shirt underneath which matches some black gloves she’s sporting as well. The ’87 look is probably the most iconic for April so it makes sense to see JoyToy adopt it here.
This April also works for Channel 6.
April also appears to be pretty true to her proportions from the cartoon as well. She’s fairly tall for a woman and the figure checks in at right around the 4″ mark. If you do the math, that would make April a 6′ tall woman. That might be a little overboard, but she is wearing healed boots. What’s more important is how she scales with the rest of the line. With the turtles, she’s about the same height, and if anything she’s just a touch taller. These turtles seem to exist in their own universe where they’re depicted as much taller than is typical for them. Against Shredder, she’s noticeably shorter, but not by a whole lot which basically conforms to the cartoon scaling. What is more noticeable is she’s far more slender than the very chunky turtles and muscular Shredder. She is long of leg and certainly has hips. Her sometimes much celebrated curves from the show have been toned down to a more realistic bust as well, but she’s hardly what I would call petite in that area so put down your pitchforks, fellas. If you consider the ’87 version to be the source material for this one then it’s pretty damn true to the source in terms of her shape and height.
She can handle a camera pretty well.This April is more of the investigative type than an on camera reporter.
The accurate proportions mean a pretty nice sculpt, all in all. The face has a hint of a smirk like she’s fearlessly pursuing a hot story with no regard for the danger it may be putting her in. The jumpsuit is loaded with detail in the form of seams and wrinkles. There’s a pack going around her torso which is a separate piece and the pocket on her right thigh is no longer a pocket, but a pouch held on by straps which could be slipped off if you so desired. Maybe JoyToy felt that yellow would clash too much on the shelf so they covered this one with a black wash. The jumpsuit has a dingy appearance as a result and even the boots are dirty. This is apparently a reporter who prefers to be behind the camera instead of in front of it. There’s also a wash applied to the hair which helps take away that plastic look. My only criticism would be that I think the boots would have popped rather nicely without the wash, but I understand why it’s here and I think it’s part of the character they’re trying to get across. The details on the face are handled well, though the printing for the eyes came out quite glossy. It almost looks like she has tears in her eyes. I found it distracting out of the box, but the longer I have this figure the less I notice it.
Remember 8mm cameras? I do.The Turtlecom looks nice, but it’s a shame it can’t open and close.
I very much like the look of this one and I’m happy to report that it moves perhaps better than any other figure in the line. The head may be the most limited as the collar of her coat plus the sculpt of her hair prevents the figure from looking up, but the range otherwise is solid. She has a butterfly joint at the shoulders which may be a first for the line (I skipped the Foot) and it gives her a little range going forward and back which will come in handy later. She has a bicep swivel plus a swivel at the elbow which can bend a little past 90 degrees. The ball hinges at the wrists work well, though they are more exposed than the wrists on the other figures in the line (but also move better). There’s a ball joint in the diaphragm and at the waist so she can bend forward and back and rotate at both places. Legs go out to the side almost to splits and kick forward just fine and there’s the usual thigh swivel. The double-jointed knees work as expected while the ankles hinge allow the feet to move forward and back a generous amount. The only spot that I’m less than satisfied with is the ankle rocker which barely moves. If you push the foot forward as far as it can go you can eek out a bit more from the rocker, but it definitely could be better.
Look out April!Oh, nice one!
Aside from those ankle rockers, April can basically do what most will probably want her to do. I don’t find myself fighting with this one as I pose her which I had to do to some degree with the other figures in the line. Nothing was stuck or loose and the figure can do cool ninja poses or reporter stuff – it’s your call. Some people may not like how exposed the wrist joints are, but they don’t bother me and since they work fine I’m not going to complain about them. Who would have predicted that an April figure would be the most fun to mess with in a TMNT action figure line?
She don’t need no stinkin’ turtles to save her.
April also comes with a generous selection of accessories. For hands, we have a set of gripping hands, open hands, a right trigger finger hand, a left wide gripping hand, and a left “peace” hand gesture. She also has a set of red boxing gloves if you want your April to mix it up or maybe just be trained by Splinter or the turtles. She has one alternate head, a first for the line, which features a surprised expression. It looks fine, but has the same glossy eyes of the default portrait. For her hands, she has an assortment of reporter equipment. There’s a microphone with a Channel 6 logo on it. The logo is fairly plain, but I suppose it gets the job done. She also has two cameras: a handheld 8mm and a larger camcorder. The camcorder works well with the trigger hand or she can carry it via the handle on top. Lastly, she has her Turtle-Com which is in an open position. Nothing on the accessories articulates so the handle on the camcorder can’t be folded in nor can the Turtle-Com be closed. They are pretty well painted though which is impressive for such a small scale.
These are our smallest Mousers yet (I think, maybe the 2k3 Playmates ones are smaller). Left to right: Mattel Mouse, JoyToy, NECA, JoyToy.
Lastly, April also comes with a pair of buddies. Or rather, a pair of foes. Joining April in what is a bit of a throwback to her Mirage origins are two Mousers. These little guys follow the same basic design as the comic and the cartoon of this almost bird-like posture with a big, chomping, head. The sculpt is on point while paint is kind of minimal. The main body is just white plastic with a few hits of black at the hips, toes, and the jaw hinge. There’s a red stripe where the “eye” is assumed to be as well. Articulation for these little guys is pretty much the same as the Mousers we got from NECA. The head rotates and can look up and down. The jaw opens and closes while there’s another joint at the base of the neck for added nuance. The hips are simple swivel joints while the knees and ankles are hinges. It’s literally the exact same setup as the NECA versions and the only real difference is the scale and the eye appears to be bigger relative to the rest of the body. And these little guys are great, it’s an awesome pack-in accessory and I love that we got two of them.
Now the turtles have someone to document their epic confrontations.
I can’t believe I’m saying this, but this April figure is my new favorite in this line. And I’ve really enjoyed the other figures to come out. It’s a terrific take on the 87 version of the character, and as much as I enjoy this scale, I do wish I could blow it up into a 1:12 version for my toon collection. The NECA April redo was better, but still hardly what I’d call perfect. This one gets all of the details right and she comes with plenty of stuff and can move pretty well. We in the toy collecting world call that the total package. The only real negative here is the same as the major one with the rest of the line: she’s not for sale in the US. That doesn’t mean she’s unobtainable for those in the west, but your options are limited. And with all of the tariff business going on these days, it may get harder to import this one before it gets easier. I purchased my figure from LT Cave for about 40 bucks. That’s fairly steep for this scale, but compared with a Star Wars Vintage Collection figure which may run you $25 these days it feels like a good deal. I’m also willing to spend a little extra on a toyline that has an endpoint for me. April was released alongside Splinter, but I wasn’t really into the look they came up with for the character. JoyToy has also shown a Slash, Tokka, and Casey, but I’m good. The one I do really want though is Krang and I placed a preorder for that one which may do it for me. I’m sure I’d be happy with the other figures as well, but I don’t need them and this is going to be an awesome little collection when all is said and done. If you do decide to undertake the hassle of importing these then I think you’ll come away impressed just like I have.
There’s plenty of stories out there.
Missed our coverage of the other JoyToy TMNT figures?
No, that is not a typo you see in the title of this entry. This is a review of the JoyToy versions of classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles henchmen Beebop and Rocksteady. I don’t know why it says Beebop on the box, but this is a Chinese company and English is probably not the primary…
Every hero needs a villain, and for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles that number one villain is The Shredder. Setup as a foil in his original appearance, Shredder really became the main guy when the cartoon series was put into development. That show needed a villain who was always around and Shredder was the best…
It’s been said before and it will be said again: everyone is making Ninja Turtles. It feels like the list of companies not making Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is smaller than the list of those who are. Viacom has not been shy about licensing the brand out to toy makers and it’s reaching a point…
I am back! If you’re a regular reader then you probably didn’t notice much as far as content goes, but I’ve been out of commission for weeks now due to my laptop crashing. I was able to fix it, but it took some time to get around to it and it’s been a really long time (for me) since I’ve talked about toys. I’ve been going a little crazy not being able to do so because it’s a compulsion – I like to voice my opinions on the stuff I buy. I wasn’t sure where to start when it came time to finally making a new entry, but I figured I should make it as topical as possible and talk about a new NECA drop from its mega popular Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line and that’s Ultimate Shredder.
Original NECA Shredder on the left with the new Archie Shredder on the right.
Shredder was included as part of the inaugural release for this line way back at San Diego Comic Con 2017. That Shredder was a reworked version of the original Mirage Shredder that was cancelled (but eventually released) and then repurposed for a set based on the 1989 arcade game. Because of that, the likeness to the cartoon version of the character wasn’t perfect, but it was still far and away the best representation of the character ever committed to plastic. Not that the competition was stiff. I didn’t go back and re-read my thoughts on the figure (I think I will after I write this), but I’m pretty sure I was pretty happy with it. It’s a very good representation of the character from the show and it was done with a level of quality we hadn’t seen before. In 2025, the figure is certainly showing some age, but it’s still not even close to being a bad figure. The thing that stands out the most to me when I look at it is just the torso. It’s lacking in articulation and the figure doesn’t have the same amount of paint figures in the line are prone to contain so it looks a little cheaper.
He scales pretty well with the good guys.
NECA seemed to think that was enough to warrant a redo. And since Shredder is THE villain from the show, it makes sense. Revealed last year is this “Ultimate” take on the character. It’s a noticeably chunkier Shredder that largely corrects all of the aspects of the original release that were inaccurate to the source material. And as I theorized when I looked at the recent Archie Shredder, it contains some of the parts used to craft that figure (but probably not as many as you would have expected). And by and large, it’s an improvement. If you opened this review wanting to know if this Shredder is better than the old one then the answer is yes, in almost every way. The real question when it concerns this figure is will most want to spend $35 on another Shredder?
And he fits in pretty well with his crew.
Shredder comes in the Ultimate style packaging designed to mimic the old f.h.e. home video releases. Titled “Start Shredding the News!”, this is a figure sculpted by Tomasz Rozejowski with a credit also going to Kushwara Studios. Paint was handled by the frequent duo of Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo and Susan Capone is credited with tailoring. The artwork for the box was done by Aaron Hazouri and it’s a fun image of Shredder in front of several villains from the show all of whom have been captured in plastic by NECA save for Mr. Ogg (and I’m fine if he never gets a figure). There are product shots of the figure and it’s all pretty nice. I will say that Shredder looks off model to me, but I also don’t save the packaging so it’s not something I care about. And if you enjoy reading the little blurbs they put on the boxes, then you’ll probably get a kick out of this one.
Many plots in 80s and 90s cartoons revolved around a very important floppy disc.
Shredder stands at approximately 6.875″ tall to the tip-top of his helmet. If we bring in the old Shredder, we find he’s closer to 6.5″ while Archie Shredder is basically right at 7″. I do like this height differential when we bring in a turtle. More than the height though, this Shredder is chunkier, thicker, and it fits in better with the turtles than the slender old one. The wraps on the forearms are now accurate to the show as are the spikes on the shoulder pauldrons. The sculpt is all new compared with the original so there’s not much else to compare aside from the paint job and overall approach. That original Shredder had some embellishments on it to give it a gritty feel. Maybe it was a holdover from the Mirage take, but he has little scuffs and marks on his armor. The blades are also painted gray where as they’re white on the new Shredder which is more in-line with the show.
“For book club this month, we have this diary by the Kojima brothers. No, Rocksteady, not the guy who created Metal Gear…”
The paint is what stands out the most as a change. The paint on the original Shredder has cel-shading with grays and blues on the armored parts. On this new Shredder it’s all light gray with white blades. There is no cel-shading. There’s black linework throughout, but not shading like we saw with most of the line. I’ve always been kind of torn when it comes to NECA’s cel-shading. I don’t think it’s bad, it’s just not that ambitious and the black outlines and such seem good enough to me. I do wish this new Shredder had some shading on the helmet, at least. Just a little hit of white in places would help to create that illusion of steel the cartoon often utilized. A black line in the center of the faceguard might have worked well too, but that’s something that may have been tried and was nixed because it didn’t look right. Both the old and new have a soft approach to the chest in contrast with the Archie Shredder which is pretty faithful to the show. NECA reused the abs from the Archie Shredder which isn’t accurate, but it doesn’t look bad. I would have preferred total accuracy, and maybe just not doing the black lines for the abs would have done it, but it’s not ruining my enjoyment of the figure or anything.
“Hah, Donatello, I have the device!”“Looks like you’re missing an important part, bucket head!” “Blast!”
What is not different across all three figures is the cape and this cape kind of sucks. It’s a very cheap looking material and it’s an almost shiny purple. The cartoon Shredder had a softer purple color to his cape and the way this one bunches up around the neck also doesn’t look great. We should be able to see his neck, but it’s all swallowed up by the cape. And there’s no wire in it. There’s some tailoring around the neck to keep it in control, but it’s nothing extravagant. Capes are a weak area for this line with only Dark Turtle having a good one. It’s a shame that the big villain of the series couldn’t get a comparable one to the Loot Crate figure.
“Mommy…”“Perhaps mother would enjoy this necklace?”
This Shredder comes with a whole bunch of new stuff as is befitting the Ultimate release model. For hands, we get fists, gripping, open, and a left hand with a tight grip. That hand is designed to hold some of his smaller accessories like a wad of bills which appear to be Shredder bucks and a little blue floppy disk. He also has an amulet which he can hold in that tighter hand or with basically any hand since it’s a necklace. The gripping hands are for use with the Medi-Laser, an item from the first episode of the third season. It’s a gun that heals things, so not exactly a dastardly villain weapon, but Shredder stole it in the episode so that’s why it’s here. And it’s a new sculpt. It’s painted really well and looks pretty nice. The gray piece in the handle is also removable which I think is intentional because it was pulled out in the episode as a way to deactivate the gun. It’s tiny, so don’t lose it, but that’s a cool touch. Shredder also has a yellow book which is the diary of the Kojima brothers. It’s from a season 5 episode and Shredder used the book to summon some dead guys. Shredder also comes with a picture of his mother (aww!) which is in the same style as other pictures in frames we’ve seen before. The image inside is a render of the character and it looks okay, but it’s obviously not a figure and I wouldn’t hold my breath on one coming in the future.
“At last! The power is mine!”Useful for when he has to shave.
Lastly, we’ve got some extra heads to talk about. Shredder’s default portrait is what you would expect, but it has the creative inclusion of being able to remove the crest. This is useful for the other helmeted head which doesn’t have a faceguard. but has the crest with the completed Eye of Sarnath from the season two episode “Curse of the Evil Eye.” The face sculpt and paint looks nice and the crests swap easily so you can power-up Shredder if you want. It unfortunately doesn’t swap with the Baxter Stockman head with Shredder’s helm and I’m surprised the Eye wasn’t on that Baxter head. Removing the crest on either head allows for the use of the included chef’s hat. I think this is from “Pizza by the Shred” and it’s the kind of silly, goofy, inclusion I like. We need a proper delivery boy Michelangelo now. Lastly, there’s a completely unhelmeted head which is very well done. Swapping heads is, unfortunately, just as difficult with this release as it was with the Archie Shredder. Use heat and I guess try to keep the cape dry if using water. If you wanted to, you could also probably use any of these heads with the Archie Shredder, but I can’t get the head off of mine and I don’t want to heat it up and find out. The hands, at least, are pretty painless to work with. One note with my figure is the right gripping hand is really loose. All of the other hands are find, save for that one. A little coating of super glue on the post could possibly remedy that.
“How ’bout some pizza, dudes?”“The only currency that matters! Shredder bucks!”
Shredder looks pretty good and he comes with a lot of stuff, but can the thing move? As is often the case with NECA, the answer is “Ehh, for the most part.” NECA never sells out for articulation and this Shredder is basically the same as the Archie one when it comes to articulation. It’s completely pinless and the elbows and knees were lubricated at the factory so they move pretty freely. Nothing is loose or overly tight. With Archie Shredder, I couldn’t get the waist to do anything, but this one has a waist swivel that is unencumbered and moves fine, but it’s just a swivel. There’s no ball peg so all of your crunch is going to come from the diaphragm joint, and like Archie Shredder, it’s not very effective. It rotates and tilts a bit, but it barely moves forward and back. The posing is very basic. It’s better than the original Shredder from 2017, but not by a lot. It did drop the toe joint though, but since that old Shredder has a bad toe joint I don’t consider it a loss.
He’s a pretty handsome devil.“Get back here with my helmet you imbecile!”
And that’s NECA’s “Ultimate” take on the Shredder. Does it live up to that name? For the most part. It looks like the character from the show which is what the line places the greatest amount of importance on. There’s no real quality control issues and it comes with a lot of stuff for $35. I have seen some people complaining that he doesn’t come with a sword and I suppose that’s valid. If you have been collecting this line for awhile then you probably have no shortage of swords laying around so I don’t personally care, but if you’re going to call a Shredder release the ultimate version then I don’t blame you for thinking it should have a sword. The same could be said of the lack of a communicator, but again, that’s another thing I personally don’t need more of. My only real complaint is just the cape. I don’t like this cape, I’ve never liked it, and I know NECA can do better.
The battle that will never end.
If this release is something that interests you then you can currently find this guy at Target stores. As of this writing, the first online drop has not happened and I don’t know when Shredder is going to be made available there. I found this guy in stores and there were a lot of them. It’s part of yet another Haulathon and this time the figures are being stocked in a cardboard display stand which, from my experience, could be literally anywhere. I nearly missed it in my store because it was in a little opening between sporting equipment and home lighting. Yeah, really odd placement. He was stocked with Dark Leonardo, Hunter Leonardo, and the Mirage Battle Damaged Shredder. This is the only release I personally wanted and I’m not sure how much I’ll be buying from this latest round of releases (a pair of two-packs are expected, Panda Khan, and more Mirage figures), but this is the one I had to have. And since it’s Shredder, I’m guessing it will be the most sought after, but also the most plentiful so don’t panic if you haven’t found it yet and keep looking out. And help each other out, if need be. Good luck!
If you’re interested in more Shredders and all things turtles, we got you covered:
Conventions are always a great time, even from home, because lots of toy companies use them to show off their latest and greatest. Last year had a number of surprises from NECA where Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were concerned. And some of those surprises were pretty damn big. When those conventions end, it’s always fun…
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is the franchise that won’t go away for me. I’ve been involved with it since the 80s when the cartoon series debuted and the first line of action figures started popping up in retail. I dropped the series when The Next Mutation came around, but picked it right back up when…
We’re well into the cold of winter and spring feels like it’s just around the corner which means it must be time for another NECA Haulathon. Haulathon, if you don’t recall from last year, is basically a tandem promotion between NECA and Target which was just an excuse to get NECA some more visibility in…
It was a little less than two years ago that NECA unveiled not one, but two, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles exclusive items for San Diego Comic Con. One of those, the four pack of turtles from the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles III, I purchased and reviewed in this space as I often do. The other, the first ever action figure of Ernie Reyes Jr. as Keno from the movie Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles II: The Secret of the Ooze, I passed on. Not because I disliked the release or was limiting myself to only one item, but because NECA wanted 100 bucks for it. I have said in this space before that I do not like the second movie in the TMNT film franchise. I found it enjoyable as a kid, but it’s a bad movie. Reyes Jr. gives a fine performance as Keno and he’s not the reason the movie is bad, it’s a lot of things. Still, I was interested in adding a Keno to my figure shelf because he was a part of it and a part of my childhood. And if I was going to add a Keno, a Keno from the beginning of the movie where he’s delivering pizzas is my ideal Keno. I’m just not willing to spend 100 bucks on it.
I guess two Kenos are better than one?
Driving the price of Keno was the inclusion of his scooter, but driving the price even higher was a bunch of swag being tossed in. If you ever purchased one of the NECA themed Loot Crates then you know what I’m talking about. You get an action figure that’s worth maybe half the value of the total package while the rest is made up of a t-shirt, keychain, and other assorted junk. It was all stuff I didn’t want and didn’t want to pay roughly 40 bucks for. The following summer, NECA released a Keno and Foot two-pack that I did end up getting. It depicted Keno from his test with the Foot Clan as he was trying to gain admission. Again, not my preferred Keno, but I figured why not? Maybe a month or so ago we found out that Keno and his scooter were coming back. NECA didn’t say how or when, just that it was happening. Fast forward another couple weeks, and he’s a surprise inclusion at Walmart Collector Con. Best of all, he retails for the now standard two-pack price of $60. Waiting almost two years got me the price I wanted, but it also got me to buy a different Keno set I might have passed on had I just spent the 100 bucks in the first place so I’m actually out $120, but I have two Kenos. And a scooter. And a plus-sized Foot ninja. Win?
“Hey! It’s that kid we’re friends with for one movie!”
The Keno and scooter set is exactly the same as the one sold for Comic Con. As far as I know, there was no stamp or sticker or anything put on the box of that release, it was just the extra stuff that ended up being exclusive. The figure, accessories, and the deco all appear to be identical. This is Keno from his first appearance as a delivery boy for Roy’s Pizza. He’s in his long-sleeved shirt and jeans and has the scooter and other equipment to make sure those pizzas arrive fast and hot. The figure is the exact same height as the training Keno at roughly 6.3″, but by default this one has a unique portrait with a very wide smile. He looks ready to laugh and it’s not a very good likeness. His forehead seems huge and there’s just these deep grooves around the mouth area that really makes it protrude almost like a feline. The sculpt for Keno’s signature mullet looks fine, but the paint around it is sloppy. It looks like they would have been better off doing the head in two pieces so the hair didn’t need to be painted as carefully. It’s not typical NECA quality.
I do not care for this portrait.
The sculpt for the rest of the body is mostly fine. The shirt is done with an overlay for the torso while the sleeves are molded as part of the arms. There is a disconnect between the painted red on the overlay and the rest plastic used for the arms with the sleeves being noticeably darker. Again, an unusual issue for NECA since they tend to just paint over everything anyway, but they apparently opted not to with the arms. The white portions of the shirt are covered in tiny spots to simulate dirt and grim, I suppose. I honestly didn’t notice it in the promo shots and thought my figure might be defective. I then thought that maybe these new splatters were an update to differentiate it from the first release, but nope, both have it and once I saw it on the figure I started noticing it in the photography. The shirt is greasy and gross in the movie, but it looks more authentic for someone handling greasy pizza. Here it looks more like he was riding his bike behind a truck in a rainstorm.
Back to work, kid!
I mentioned my dislike for the default portrait so it’s probably a good thing that Keno comes with an alternate head. This is the same head that’s included with the training Keno set and it’s a more subtle smile. This one looks like Reyes Jr. to me so it’s the one I’ll rock. And it also works out that I had the more intense head on my training Keno so I won’t have to display them with the same head (you can also use that head on this figure, if you were wondering). For hands, we get a set of fists, gripping, and open hands. And since he is a pizza delivery boy, he comes with the warming sleeve or whatever those things are called for the pizza box to go into. And yes, there is a pizza box as well. To my surprise, there’s no actual pizza in the box, but that’s probably because they would have had to sculpt a newer, smaller, pizza because this box is tiny compared to what came with the turtles. I think the thickness of the sleeve forced them to go smaller because the scale looks fine, but maybe it too is a little small. It’s hard to say. It’s also possible the pizza box that came with the turtles isn’t in proper scale.
“All right! Keno with the hook-up!”
Articulation for Keno is fairly basic. We get a double-ball peg at the head which works fine, but the hair will limit posing somewhat. Shoulders are ball-hinged, elbows are single hinges with a swivel, wrists rotate and there is a hinge. NECA gave Keno’s gripping hands a vertical hinge which is normally the preferred way to go, but since he has them to primarily grip handle bars, it’s actually not the best choice. I usually find myself complaining about the lack of vertical hinged gripping hands when it comes to NECA figures, but here we have the opposite. There is a diaphragm joint in this guy, but the overlay makes it functionally useless. Waist does rotate and there are ball-socket hips that swivel. He can kick forward all right and almost hit splits, but again, the overlay causes problems. If one were to cut the slits already present in the side of the shirt it might allow him to hit full splits, if you care. The knees are double-jointed and they’re the kind with the peg and hinge at the top and bottom so you get a little swivel out of the top of the knee as well, if you want. Ankles hinge forward and back and rock side-to-side.
“What the hell is this, man? You think this little thing is going to feed the four of us?! He’s holding out on us!”
Keno can hit some of his martial arts poses from the film, but nothing crazy. He does have one real flaw when it comes to articulation and it concerns the other half of this release: the scooter. The scooter is basically being priced like a stand-alone figure. It’s made up of a fairly hard plastic and has actual rubber tires. The handle bars rotate and rotating them does cause the front wheel to turn with them which is cool. There isn’t much detail on the dash, but the entire body of the scooter looks pretty convincing. The plastic has a little shine to it which works for a motor vehicle. The headlights are non-functioning, but they’re at least cast in translucent plastic. The scooter even has accessories of sorts, or you could just think of it as some assembly required. The carrying case for the pizza goes on the back and the frame for it has to be plugged into the scooter first. After that, it just tabs on and looks good. Best of all, it’s fairly lightweight and the scooter has no issues supporting the weight of the case with or without the pizza pocket inside it. There’s also a kickstand to keep the bike upright, though it’s a little loose and I found it giving out on me a lot when trying to pose Keno with the bike.
Looks good from the side…Looks good from the front…Hmm?Umm…I guess?
And that’s the inherent flaw with this set: Keno cannot sit on this thing convincingly. He just doesn’t have the range of motion in his torso to get hunched over properly. Or, the scale is messed up and he just can’t reach the handlebars in a normal, seated, position. He’s always going to look a little goofy and unnatural on this thing. The best pose is probably to have him in the process of getting on or off the bike or it’s to just have him stand beside it. It’s a real bummer because if you’re going to put out a figure and vehicle combo then you should make sure the two are truly compatible. If it’s the torso range that’s the cause, then NECA should have gone soft goods with the shirt. We see Batman figures come with cloth capes for that very reason when they’re being paired with a Batmobile. Or they should have gone back to the drawing board if it was a matter of scale and figured something out. Either way, it’s a bummer.
Maybe he’s just better suited to do martial arts stuff instead of deliver pizza?
To summarize, we have a figure of Keno with a sloppy paint job and iffy likeness with at least one of the heads. He comes with an out of scale pizza box, but at least it can be hidden in the pizza warmer thing. He also has a scooter that looks great, but doesn’t really work with the figure. And this package will set you back 60 bucks. Is it worth it? On the surface, a 1:10 scale action figure and vehicle combo at 60 bucks is a pretty good deal. There are not a lot of figure and vehicles out there in this scale for cheaper. On the other hand, it’s an imperfect figure that doesn’t work well with said vehicle. And it’s a part of NECA’s movie subline of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which actually has a pretty sterling reputation. These are some of the best figures NECA has ever done, but unfortunately, Keno lowers that bar. He doesn’t lower it as much as Danny did, but he’s not the equal of the turtles or even the other Keno which I enjoyed quite a bit. This is an underwhelming release and I’m glad I didn’t pay 100 bucks for it in 2023 because then I might have been kind of pissed. Now I’m just disappointed. I like that I have a Roy’s Pizza Keno in my collection, but that’s where my enthusiasm ends. If you want to pick this up and sort out your own feelings on the subject, Keno is currently exclusive to Walmart like most of the movie collection. As of this writing it is still in stock on Walmart’s website (fulfilled by NECA) and I assume it will start showing up in stores as well.
Did I mention I blog a lot about TMNT? Here’s a few other relevant reviews you might find interesting:
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