Tag Archives: teenage mutant ninja turtles

November 26, 2024

NECA TMNT Dimension X-Mas Vacation

By Joe
Oh God, they’re back!

If you know anything about me then you probably know that I like collecting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures and I like Christmas. Strangely, those two things have not come together all that often. Most of the television shows featuring the famed four opted not to feature the holiday in an episode. And without much Christmas stuff to go off of, the toys have not broached the subject all that often. There have been a few instances though and one infamous example is the 1994 release We Wish You a Turtle Christmas. Utilizing assets from the stage show that had been touring the country, the direct-to-video special saw the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles prepare for the holiday while seeking out a gift for Splinter. It was a musical event and one I never watched as a kid. Sure, I saw the tape available for rent, but those hideous costumes were a huge turn-off. Plus, by 1994 I had moved off of TMNT and onto Marvel and video games. There was no going back.

It’s a logical way to reuse these ugly, old, turtles.

In 2020, NECA Toys released a set of action figures based on the old stage show. They called the Musical Mutagen Tour and it brought those ugly ass turtles to the world of plastic in a rather convincing manner. It was a convention exclusive that was also made available at Target since it was the summer of 2020 and conventions weren’t happening. Ever since that release though I had wondered if a set of figures based on that terrible Christmas special were in the cards. NECA likes to do holiday themed releases and we’ve seen Gremlins get more than a couple. They’ve also done Misfits and Elvira and there’s probably more I’m forgetting or choosing not to remember. TMNT is their biggest seller these days and it was dying for a Christmas release of some kind and 2024 ended up being the time for it.

“Hey dudes! You wanna sing carols about pizza?!”

The Dimension X-Mas Vacation is that set. It may not say it on the box due to licensing, but this is basically We Wish You a Turtle Christmas the action figures. It’s NECA repurposing assets from its movie line of TMNT figures along with the heads of those Musical Mutagen Tour figures. Joining the package are some accessories pulled from that special and it’s all presented in a very lovely package meant to simulate a VHS release. There’s even a new story created for this non-existent special that’s summarized on the box itself and it sounds rather plausible for a TMNT release of that era. The set was kept under wraps until San Diego Comic Con of this year and has been made available through Walmart for the not so low price of $150. Because of that price and the niche appeal here, this is probably going to appeal to a smaller audience than usual, but I am most definitely that audience.

The packaging is pretty cool.

This set features figures of the turtles: Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael, and Michelangelo, as they were depicted in We Wish You a Turtle Christmas. It’s basically four identical figures where the only difference is the color of the bandanas. They’re all “naked” as compared with the tour turtles save for their usual belts, pads, and shoes. Yes, shoes, as these costumes decided making turtle feet was way too hard so they have black sneakers and leg warmers. It’s ridiculous. They also each come with a Santa hat which gently rests on the bandana knot on the back of their head. There are two styles of Santa hats between the four turtles and the only difference is which way the pom pom is going: 2 left and 2 right.

“Leo! You’re supposed to put the lights on the tree! On the tree!”

Most of the components of the bodies are reused from the prior tour set which means this is the dated 1990 movie body. The hips are the old pin joints, which is the main tell. The elbows are NECA’s own double-jointed setup and these ones were clearly cut to accommodate the much larger elbow pads of the Musical Mutagen Tour set. Here, they cut for the pad is too generous resulting in uglier looking elbows. The shell and plastron are new though and a better match for the source material compared with the other releases of these bodies. I’m not sure why we couldn’t get updated hips, but it is what it is. Paint across the board is mostly fine. The white of the Santa hats features numerous blemishes across the four while the bodies themselves are pretty clean. There is an overall harder plastic feel to these guys compared with other movie figures. Making use of the gripping hands is going to be harder than usual and there’s some flashing in the elbow joints. It gives the figures a slightly cheaper feel. These costumes are supposed to look cheap, but the figures don’t need to be. The paint around the teeth is at least an improvement over the tour turtles I have with less bleeding of the pink paint onto the teeth.

“Check it out – a tree stand!” “Donnie, this ain’t your best work.”

Articulation for these guys is essentially the same as the tour turtles, which is to say it’s basic. The articulated jaw is a welcomed edition and one of the aspects of these designs that stands out the most in my memory. They’re so ugly and NECA really captured that. Most of the joints are pretty stiff, some almost to a worrisome degree. These guys aren’t going to pose all that well to begin with so I’d advise not forcing anything if it’s fighting you. A hair dryer or hot water will be your friend. The shoulders and hips are especially tight for me while the elbows varied from figure to figure. The elbow joint almost looks like it wants to split which obviously isn’t good, but I haven’t had any breaks. I’ve also been pretty gentile. The ankles are also pretty useless so it’s too bad they didn’t figure out a better way to do the sneakers. The ankle joint really just needs to be visible with this design and it’s not the case. I’m sure the soft goods leg warmers aren’t helping.

“Come on, Mikey, no peeking!”

These turtles aren’t intended to mix it up with the Foot and instead are supposed to just look ugly and festive on your shelf. And to do so NECA included a bunch of Christmas themed accessories. In addition to the hats, each turtle also has a scarf. It’s a soft goods, white, fabric with a wire running through it so it can be posed rather well. One of the four in my set is frayed a bit, which sucks. There’s also a string of Christmas lights to drape over the head of one turtle. They’re sculpted in a soft plastic so it works reasonably well and makes your chosen turtle look like some sort of hideous Christmas tree. There’s also the framed pizza from the special which is just a plastic square with a pizza in the center. The lack of a glass pane means it’s also pretty easy to have a turtle hold it even with the really tight hands. There’s a little hand bell and also a manhole cover, because every TMNT universe needs one, I guess. There’s a skateboard with moving wheels and a nice deco on it and then we also get a whole bunch of presents. They all feature different wrapping paper and help fill out the display. To round out the release there’s also the customary set of optional hands. Each turtle comes with gripping hands, then we get a set of open, thumbs up, pointing, and loose gripping hands for the four to share. I wish we could get a full complement of at least the open and loose hands for the turtles, but this selection is pretty standard at this point.

“Check it out dude, the perfect gift for Splinter!”

Since these are the singing and dancing turtles from a Christmas special, we definitely did not need the usual weapons so NECA did not include them. What I think we definitely did need though is a tree! No Christmas tree in the set makes it feel pretty light. For my pics, I used the Figura Obscura tree, but since it’s not decorated it only works so well. And at $150, that’s unfortunate. There’s a lot of reuse here as well as some reuse potential with the gifts considering all of the Christmas stuff NECA does. For all I know, some of these gifts could even be from other sets, just not ones I have. I like the hats and I like the scarves. I’m a bit torn on if I would have preferred soft goods Santa hats to the molded ones we got. Normally, I’m for molded stuff, but since these were live action characters I think soft goods might have worked. We could have also got a stocking for each turtle. It feels like we should have got more and I question how well this thing will sell because it’s already pretty niche and the price won’t attract many impulse purchases.

“Whoa! No way! He does exist!”
“Huh? I thought I heard something…”

Criticisms aside, if you want some Christmas themed TMNT figures your options are pretty slim. It’s basically the ReAction figures Super7 did a few years back (which I have, but kept on card) or the Christmas plush of Raphael from back in the day. Maybe we’ll get a figure in the future from NECA based on the Michelangelo one-shot which took place at Christmas. And since Super7 is going down the 2k3 rabbit hole, maybe we can get Christmas turtles from the episode of the show based on that one-shot. What I’m saying is this set is fine, but we need more Christmas turtles! And while I think this set is too expensive for what it is, I am glad it exists. Figures based on an obscure and pretty terrible Christmas special is something I find fun and action figures should be fun. Now, if you’ll excuse me Christmas is coming and I need to deck the halls with pepperoni.

“Check it out Santa-dude, something way better than milk and cookies!”

Do ugly turtles and Christmas interest you? Perhaps you’ll enjoy reading these:

NECA TMNT Musical Mutagen Tour SDCC Set

Awhile back, I decided to rank the various incarnations of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles from worst to best. Occupying that dubious last place spot were the Turtles featured in The Coming Out of Their Shells tour. That may sound like the title of a TMNT sex tape, but it was something else entirely. If…

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by Joe

Dec. 11 – We Wish You a Turtle Christmas

Several months ago, I reviewed a product called The Musical Mutagen Tour Action Figure Set. It was a set of toys based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles stage show, Coming Out of Their Shells, from 1990. Back then, the Turtles were so unbelievably hot that they could sell out a terrible stage show in…

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by Joe

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (4Kids): The Christmas Aliens

In 2003, Fox and 4Kids Entertainment launched a brand new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series.  This series was the first re-launch for the TMNT after a long hiatus from both film and television and was an attempt at introducing the Turtles to a whole new generation.  One of the consultants for the show was…

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by Joe

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November 19, 2024

NECA TMNT Movie NYCC ’24 Exclusive Kevin Eastman

By Joe
An unexpected addition to the 1990 TMNT movie collection from NECA Toys.

2024 marks 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and several companies have been marking the occasion in their own way. NECA, who has been flooding the market with TMNT action figures for several years now, celebrated the milestone with a San Diego Comic Con exclusive two-pack of The First Turtles. Based on the original sketches from co-creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird, the action figure set made a lot of sense as a 40th anniversary tie-in and as a Comic Con Exclusive. San Diego Comic Con may be the biggest convention in the world each year, but New York Comic Con is a pretty big deal too and since NYC is where the turtles call home, it made sense for NECA to have something special cooked up for that convention too. And they did and I think it caught everyone by surprise.

Eastman is obviously not the first human character in the line.

When the 1990 film Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was shot, there was a planned cameo from co-creator and current NECA collaborator Kevin Eastman. He was to play a garbage man and I assume he would be present in the aftermath of the battle with Shredder (and I think he is in the background). The scene was supposedly shot, but cut, highlighting the need for a better physical media release of the film that actually includes some of the shelved content. Even though the cameo may have been cut, NECA felt the need to celebrate it with a Kevin Eastman action figure as he would have appeared in that movie. It’s a great idea, and since it’s coming from the movie subline it means Eastman can be shown as he would have appeared in 1990. While it would be fun to see his comic book caricature turned into a figure (along with Laird), it’s definitely cool to get just a regular old Kevin first.

“April O’Neil here with the only eyewitness to tonight’s melee in the Bronx who has generously offered to provide a sketch of the strange creatures he saw tonight.”
You may want to watch your back, Kevin.

NECA sold the Eastman figure at NYCC and also on its website beforehand. And he sold out fast. It caught me and probably many others by surprise as it felt like the old days when the only way to get NECA’s TMNT product was through quick-selling online drops. The figure comes in a standard NECA Ultimates box designed by Chris Raimo. The figure was sculpted by Kyle Windrix and Trevor Grove with paint by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo and some fabrication elements by Anthony Minichino and Brodie Perkins.

“Make sure you get my good side, dude.”

Eastman stands at roughly the 7″ mark putting him on more or less equal footing with April and Casey in the line. He’s clad in the black jumpsuit of a garbage man with a flannel shirt underneath and brown work boots. He has an almost amused look on his face, like he’s just happy to be here, and his trademark curly hair and moustache are in place. It’s a simple look and the paint turned out well. There’s a subtle sheen to the folds on the jumpsuit that makes it seem like it may have been nylon. The name tag is very legible on the chest and the flannel pattern is pretty sharp. The only negative is the paint on the hairline, particularly the figure’s right side, is not as sharp as it should be.

The most important accessory.
And I thought it was going to be just another boring manhole accessory.

Accessories for Kevin are sparse, but he probably has enough. Since he’s a garbage man he has a garbage bag. It’s a shiny, black, plastic, bag that’s tied off and likely stuffed with a sponge-like material to give it shape. It is what it is. Kevin has one gripping left hand and a pencil gripping right hand plus four pencils to go with it. The pencils, or pens, are just gray which is a little disappointing. Maybe they match the scene, but a more traditional orange #2 pencil would have looked a little nicer. He also has a clipboard with doodles of the turtles on it. They are done in an Eastman style and I’m guessing these are actual Kevin Eastman drawings shrunk down. It’s the accessory most are likely to display the figure with. Lastly, there’s a manhole cover which seems kind of dull at first. It reads “Lairdman Island,” a reference to the film and a portmanteau of Laird and Eastman. Flip it over though and you’ll find a recreation of the actual manhole cover that was placed in Dover, NH, birthplace of the TMNT, earlier this year. It has the address sculpted in and there’s a silhouette of the four turtles from their debut issue. I still need to get up there to see it for myself (my sister even lives in Dover) to properly compare, but this is a neat little accessory.

“I’m not sure you really captured the likeness here, pal.”

Articulation for Kevin is pretty bad. The hair keeps his head from doing a whole lot, but he can look down at his clipboard at least. Arms are basic and the elbows are single-hinged and the hinges on both hands are the standard type which I suppose is fine. There is a waist twist, but it has minimal range and the hips do almost nothing. They’re the old pin style too which I have a strong dislike for. I’m guessing these legs are reused from another figure, but I have no idea what. I assumed he was going to share parts with the jumpsuit Professor Perry (which I passed on), but that doesn’t appear to be the case. Knees are single-jointed and they’re fine. Ankles don’t really do anything.

“The results are in, Mr. Eastman: you ARE the father!”

The sculpt is pretty good and it’s executed well enough when it comes to the paint, but as an action figure this is a pretty bad release. Does that matter? Probably not. A Kevin Eastman Comic Con Exclusive action figure based on a cut scene from a 34 year old movie fits squarely in the novelty category. And as a novelty and a tribute to the franchise it’s fine. I’ll try to find something to do with the manhole cover while the trash bag will just live in the box. Kevin will be able to stand among my movie figures happily doodling on his clipboard and that’s good enough for me. Hopefully he’s joined by Peter some day. Unfortunately, if you weren’t able to get this guy he’s sold out. He was slightly expensive for a NECA release at 40 bucks not including shipping. If you missed it and absolutely must have it as part of your collection, I personally wouldn’t go beyond 60 bucks. And that’s just for someone who feels like their collection would be incomplete without it. If you only had a passing interest, or were hoping to do more with the figure from a posing perspective, I wouldn’t go nuts trying to track this down as I don’t think it will be worth it for you.

Just a guy and his kids.

If you feel like celebrating 40 years of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles then you have come to the right place:

NECA TMNT Mirage Studios Kirby

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…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Movie Ultimate April O’Neil – Signature Edition

NECA’s Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line has so been so successful that it’s allowed the company to branch out. It wasn’t that long ago that Playmates was the only game in town when it came to TMNT action figures and the company showed little to no interest in releasing anything other than the turtles themselves.…

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by Joe

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November 12, 2024

NECA TMNT Adventures Bellybomb

By Joe
Hello daddy. Hello mom. I’m your buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-buh-Bellybomb!

Sometimes, a character design so fun and outrageous can be enough to motivate one into dropping $35 on an action figure. Such was the case with NECA Toys’ Bellybomb figure from its subline of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures based on the characters from the Archie Comics series. Of course, in this case it helps that I’ve been collecting most of the TMNT figures put out by NECA so I was predisposed to getting this guy when he dropped, but mostly I wanted him because he just looks so weird. I know next to nothing about the character. He’s some kind of alien or Dimension X creature and he’s a bad guy for the most part. Mostly though, he’s a dude with his mouth in his stomach and eyeballs in his palms – he’s a freak!

You might think he only has one eye at first, but he actually has three.

Bellybomb, to me, looks like a character that belongs in The Real Ghostbusters toy line from Kenner back in the day. A big eye, sharp teeth, and a wacky design. I remember having a football player in that line and his entire back lifted to exposed a monstrous mouth. Bellybomb can never pass as human or anything, but his anatomy is so very Ghostbusters. I wish I knew who created him so I could properly credit the artist responsible for this design, but I wasn’t able to find anything online. Maybe it was Chris Allen? Ryan Brown? I don’t know, whoever did though my hat is off to you. The character has been brough to life by sculptors Brodie Perkins and Tomasz Rozejowski. I believe it was Perkins who did the main figure and I’m guessing Rozejowski either did the gun or his little buddy (we’ll get to that). Paint is done by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo and once again Ken Mitchroney is on hand to do the artwork on the box.

“Hey man, how’s it going?”

Bellybomb is a figure that gets by on this outrageous design. He stands around 6.375″ to the top of his…head, and is closer to 6.75″ if you factor in the horns. He’s a bit of a chunker since the torso is just a giant mouth with an eyeball rising out of it. His skin is a very fleshy color with numerous wrinkles and if you want to compare him to a certain piece of male anatomy there’s little I can say to dissuade you. It’s a valid comparison and just adds to the grotesqueness of the character. There’s lots of black linework while his clothing is pretty basic, but also bright colored. He has a blue dress shirt which is obviously unbuttoned to expose that massive maw. The hot pink pants and blue boots make him look like a creature out of the 80s, though he’s technically a 90s invention as far as I know.

“What the heck are you?!”

The two things that stand out with this sculpt are the mouth and the eye. The mouth is full of sharp, white, teeth while the interior is painted black with a big, red, tongue. The teeth are legitimately sharp so if you want to open the mouth try to push on the lip instead. He has a big, blue, eye at the top of his head that’s well-painted and sits cleanly in the socket. It’s moveable as well. It feels quite loose, but it stays where it’s supposed to as long as you’re not shaking the figure. Each of his hands also has an eyeball sculpted and painted on the palm which is done very well. Even the fist hands leave the eyeballs exposed which is a nice touch.

“What is this greasy concoction?”
“Oh my god! Pizza, where have you been my whole life?!”

And aside from that, there isn’t much else to talk about with Bellybomb. His neck, I guess, which the eyeball sits on is articulated at the base and at the top. It can be positioned very well with plenty of room for nuance. The mouth opens and closes and it looks pretty good in both positions. The rest of the figure does very little, The shoulders are standard ball-hinges while I can’t get the elbow hinges to do anything. There’s rotation there, but that’s all. Hands swivel and hinge with the trigger hand being vertically hinged so that’s a plus. There is a waist twist while the hips and knees, despite being double-jointed, are pretty limited. The ankles hinge forward and back a bit with an ankle rocker, though the right ankle on mine is pretty loose.

New Krang is so cute!
And now Slash gets a buddy.

Bellybomb is mostly going to just stand there and look at stuff with his big eye or maybe stuff things in his mouth. He also doesn’t come with much. He has a pair of fists, gripping hands, open hands, and a trigger finger right hand. He has a big rifle that’s nicely painted and appears to be accurate to the comic, but he can only hold it with one hand and there are no effects for it or anything. The only other thing he comes with is his little buddy and accomplice in crime, Krang. Krang in the Archie books features the same, general, design as the Krang from the cartoon except he’s a whole lot more adorable. He’s a cute little blob, and I love the very toon-like eyes. His tentacles can be posed a little bit and the underside of the figure is sculpted to be curved so he can sit in Bellybomb’s hand or on Slash’s shoulder, which is how he got around for a time in the comics.

Bang! Bang!

Bellybomb is basically a slam dunk of you’re into this design. He looks awesome, I’m smitten with it, so it’s an easy recommend. He’s not going to pose as well as some of the other figures in your collection, but I think the figure more than makes up for it. Maybe the package is a little light on stuff, but the included Krang is a nice touch. And if you’re turned off by the coloring, NECA has a blue variant of this figure on the way based on his look from one of the covers. I was able to track this guy down at Target. He wasn’t advertised as being part of the Cowabunga Collection from August, but he arrived at basically the same time. I never did encounter this one in-store though and had to stalk the online listing where he’s been going in and out of stock since August. It’s likely a wider release will follow at some point so if you’ve been having a hard time tracking this one down just be patient as he’ll likely wind up on online retail outlets soon enough.

Check out more from NECA’s line of action figures from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures:

NECA TMNT Adventures Mondo Gecko

.The NECA Cowbunga Collection is a content creator’s dream. Here we are deep into October still talking about figures that dropped in August. This time it’s another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures action figure and it’s fan-favorite Mondo Gecko. Most TMNT fans probably know Mondo from the Playmates action figure line. He also made the…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Adventures Stump Wrestling Leatherhead

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…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Adventures Man Ray

Back when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ruled the world, there was a lot of brand synergy between all of the various media being generated by this one mega popular piece of intellectual property. The comics came first followed by a toyline which necessitated the creation of an animated mini series to basically serve as a…

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by Joe

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November 5, 2024

NECA TMNT Toon Vacation Bebop and Vacation Rocksteady

By Joe
It’s vacation time, fellas!

Pack your bags and grab the sunscreen because today we’re heading to Florida! It’s vacation time folks, and even the bad guys deserve a little fun in the sun sometimes. Coming from NECA Toys we have another fun variant of the duo Bebop and Rocksteady. Always more comic relief than true threat, the boys come dressed for the theme park as they accompanied the boss man down to Florida in an episode of the classic cartoon series which resulted in the further mutation of the punk frog Napoleon. As this line has gone on, I’ve become more and more drawn to the silly offshoots and Bebop and Rocksteady have provided ample opportunities for such. We’ve had them as rabbits, robots, and superheroes and now we have them as tourists. The only question is does anyone need a couple of dimwitted mutants in floral patterns?

Seems like with each subsequent release, Bebop and Rocksteady shrink a little more.

Bebop and Rocksteady come courtesy of the duo Tony Cipriano and Tomasz Rozejowski with contributions from Kushwara Studios. Paint is handled by the frequent pairing of Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo. If there are any reused parts from past versions of these two, it’s not apparent. Even the hands look like they’re new. They do share parts between each other, but for the most part this is an all new set. Not that they don’t feel familiar as the construction of these two is pretty consistent. They’re more visual than poseable, but the very loud outfits will help to boost their shelf presence even if they aren’t the most dynamic figures in your collection.

This smaller scale for the duo probably is more accurate to the source material.

Rocksteady stands at around 6″ while Bebop is closer to 6.5″ which adheres to their presentation in the show. The two have similar, but different, outfits. Rocksteady is rocking the Hawaiin shirt in shades of purple and orange while Bebop went with a more bold choice with a yellow polo and red suspenders. Bebop brings in the floral print with the light blue shorts with orange flowers while Rocksteady seems to be wearing jeans with the cuffs rolled up. Bebop retains his usual style of kicks, opting for a matching yellow while Rocksteady has traded in his boots for flip flops. Bebop has more traditional sunglasses than his usual ones and Rocksteady has old man sunglasses with the strap going around his head. Neither are removable, nor is Bebops very fashionable “Not Donald Duck” hat with propeller. The propeller does not spin, unfortunately. Rocksteady actually has two hats: a blue visor or a yellow cabby hat which he switched to in the show.

“This is no vacation!”

These two look great for what they are. I feel like the Bebop and Rocksteady portraits keep getting better (well, except for Rhino-Man who was a little weird) and more aligned with how they looked in the show. There’s tons of paint and it’s pretty cleanly applied, but there will be some variation from figure to figure. My Bebop has an ugly spot near his suspenders on the back of his shirt, but it’s otherwise the only real paint defect. These figures are not pin-less, which is apparently something being rolled out by NECA slowly. It’s not that big of an issue on its own, but does create an eyesore with Bebop’s high socks. The factory went with a flesh colored pin even though the hole is cut through the socks. Gray would have been the more appropriate choice, or they could have painted them. There is also no cel-shading on these figures which continues to be something that NECA utilizes inconsistently. I’m not really bothered by it, but I would prefer NECA to just pick a lane with this stuff and stick to it.

It’s sort of like his son?
One ugly bug.

These two come with an assortment of hands and vacation accessories. For both, we get a set of fists, gripping, and open hands. Rocksteady comes with a lei around his neck while Bebop has a satchel. Both also have a camera with a strap on it. Rocksteady’s features a large flash while Bebop’s is more compact. Unfortunately, neither can really be held as they’re too chunky for the gripping hands. You could heat them to wedge it in, but then you risk rubbing the paint. Plus, it’s unlikely they’d be able to hold the cameras in front of their face like they’re using it. There’s a large, blue, canister that looks like a water jug, but it might be some mutagen thing from the episode. I didn’t rewatch it. Unlike the cameras, the pair have no issues holding this thing by the handle. Lastly, we get a little rhino-fly. In the episode, a dragonfly has contact with Rocksteady and then contact with the mutagen to become this gross, little, abomination. It’s a fun little inclusion, though I wish he had a little acrylic stand or something because he really can’t do anything by himself. He basically needs to be held.

They can handle waving, but not much else.

Articulation for these guys is pretty basic stuff for a NECA figure. All of the cuts and joints you would expect are there, but they’re kind of limited. You have the ball joint at the head, but they mostly just rotate because there’s a lot of stuff in the way. The jaws are articulated, but the range is poor. The shoulders are ball-hinged and we get a bicep swivel as well. Double-jointed elbows are really limited by the fact that the neutral position for the arm is slightly bent. They’re also really tight and I can’t get better than a 90 degree bend out of them. Wrists rotate with a horizontal hinge. The shirts are basically overlays with not much inside them but a ball joint. They’ll rotate, but they won’t bend forward or back much. Ball-socket hips kick forward an okay amount but not back. They’ll go out to the side a solid amount though. There is a thigh swivel and double-jointed knees. Like the arms, the neutral pose is somewhat of a squat so the legs can’t go perfectly straight. Knee joints are tight, but even if you get both hinges working in tandem it won’t get you more than 90 degrees. The feet hinge forward and back a bit with an okay ankle rocker. Bebop’s is better than Rocksteady’s, but for the most part the pair move the same which is to say not very well.

“It’s more beautiful than I ever imagined!”

If you’re a collector of this line though from NECA Toys then that’s probably not a surprise. This line always favors aesthetics over articulation and Bebop and Rocksteady are no different. They are a little too far in one direction for my personal taste, but given that they’re goofy variants I’m more fine with it than normally. If these were the more evergreen interpretations of the characters I’d want more out of the torso and head, especially. And, come on, the propeller doesn’t whirl? Missed opportunity, NECA. A second one that’s sculpted like it’s spinning would have been fun too. And I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that the box art features Rocksteady holding a little, red, flag from the episode which is not included. That’s just odd since that’s probably a pretty inexpensive accessory, but it’s also not some great loss.

“Do I know you?” “No, but I’m a big fan of your work!”

When it comes to variants of figures, I think more falls on how one perceives that look for the character. With Vacation Bebop and Rocksteady, that is very much the case. I can critique and praise aspects of these figures all I want, but at the end of the day the only people buying this set are those who are amused by these looks. I think they’re fun. I love the bright colors and I especially love how Bebop looks practically giddy to be heading out to an amusement park. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was a silly, stupid, show and I want the toy line I’m collecting to reflet that so I didn’t hesitate to grab these. For $60, I can also understand how someone might look at these and conclude “I don’t need them.” If you’re not one of those folks though, then you can find this set at Target. It was part of the Cowabunga Collection released back in August, but it was stocked in generous quantities and is still pretty easy to track down well into November. It probably won’t last forever though and I wouldn’t guarantee on another production run so if it’s something you like you probably don’t want to wait too long.

If you like figures of Bebop and Rocksteady then you have no shortage of options these days:

NECA TMNT Cartoon Super Bebop and Mighty Rocksteady

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

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Bebop and Rocksteady Target Exclusive Series

I have been rather fortunate when it comes to toy collecting in recent years. When I was a kid, toy collecting meant going to Toys R Us or a similar store and seeing what was on the shelf. Catalogs, commercials, and card backs were my main source of information. I assume there were newsletters and…

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by Joe

NECA Cartoon TMNT Mighty Hog and Rhino-Man

We did it! We finally made it to the end of the Haulathon releases from NECA Toys and we may have saved the best for last. Back in early 2020, I made a wish list for what I wanted from NECA and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. It was only 10 deep, though there were some…

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by Joe

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October 29, 2024

NECA TMNT X Universal Monsters Raphael as The Wolfman and Leonardo as The Creature

By Joe
Time to get spooky with a couple of turtles.

It’s the last Turtle Tuesday before Halloween, so this calls for something a bit spooky and what better way than to take a look at two figures from NECA Toys’ line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles x Universal Monsters figure line? I haven’t been collecting this one because one; I have tons of TMNT stuff already to collect and two; I’m not a fan of the Universal Monsters. I think they’re fine, but I’ve just never been drawn to those movies or really cared about them. I didn’t even get a single release from the vintage Playmates line when they started this whole business that NECA has continued. I did get the Michelangelo as The Mummy because I just thought he looked cool so I have always been at least open to adding more to my Halloween TMNT display. It was just a matter of waiting for the right figure and at the right price.

Raphael and Leonardo have the honor of being the only turtles so far in this line to get a second figure. Both had a figure debut before these two with Raph cosplaying as Frankenstein’s monster and Leo going as Ygor from the same film. I don’t think anyone was complaining about Raph getting the Frankie treatment, but I definitely saw more than a few people who felt perplexed by the first Leo. Maybe this one makes up for that? For these figures, NECA has turned to two more recognizable monsters: The Wolfman and The Creature from the Black Lagoon. Interestingly, Leonardo already portrayed The Creature for Playmates making him the first repeat pairing in this line (for a turtle, April got to be The Bride in both as well) as it felt like NECA was actively avoiding the same pairings as Playmates. Leo also got to portray The Wolfman in that line so we’re looking at two characters who have been played by Leonardo in the past and now the present which is something that might be of interest only to me, noted Leonardo super fan.

The shells on these guys are pretty gnarly.

If you’re new to this line, this is basically what you expect. The only wrinkle that NECA has tossed into the gimmick is that the turtles are based on their look from the 1990 movie making this like an offshoot of NECA’s movie line. I feel that aspect is quite evident in the portrayal of Raph, but less so Leonardo, but that has more to do with the Creature’s facial features than anything. The line is definitely going for that NECA realism they like to put on a lot of their figures. These figures possess intricate sculpts and a lot of paint while making some sacrifices where articulation is concerned. Both come in the standard Ultimates style of packaging NECA is known for with new artwork on the front by Daniel Horne. The sculpts on both are by Tony Cipriano with contributions from Kushwara Studios and the paint is provided by Geoffrey Trapp and Mike Puzzo.

The sound of a wolf howling in New York is strange enough, but what’s really odd is some claim the wolf is howling, “DAAAAAAAMN!”

We’ll talk Raph first since he came out first. Raph as The Wolfman is about what you would expect. He’s clad in the familiar olive green shirt, but it’s been torn up along with his trousers. The head very much looks like Raph, but just covered in fur. He still has his pads and bandana and his hands and feet follow turtle anatomy rules, they’re just combined with a canine aesthetic. He has two portraits, one that’s neutral and one that’s in a yell. The yell is certainly the more fearsome of the two with the teeth prominent and well painted. The neutral expression is a lot of fun because it has an undeniable Muppet quality to it which I very much like since it was the Jim Henson Company that designed these original suits for the film. The most interesting part of the sculpt for me was the shell. NECA opted to cover even that in fur which certainly makes a statement. I suppose I never gave much thought to how the shell would be represented, but I was a bit surprised and amused by the decision. The detailing is all very nice though and the paint exceptional. The only downer with the presentation was the very sticky texture my figure possessed out of the box. In particular, the hands and belt. I’ve had this figure for months actually just letting it air out and it’s now finally reached the point where most of the tackiness is gone, but it was certainly unpleasant at first and I considered returning it.

I don’t think a mother could even love that face. Now, a giant sewer rat? Maybe.

Raph’s sculpt and paint are certainly nice, but the aesthetic of The Wolfman feels almost basic compared with The Creature. This is a true overhaul for Leonardo and one of the busiest sculpts I can recall ever owning. Every millimeter on this guy is textured. The scales form plates all over the figure’s body with lots of bony protusions on the limbs. The hands are webbed, there’s gills and fins aplenty, the weird fish lips, and the TMNT stuff like elbow pads and knee pads. Leonardo forgoes the belt in favor of netting which is done with soft plastic and draped over his torso. There’s also an extra rope with optional hooks and bobbers that he can wear. There’s a little shine to portions of the paint giving the figure a glistening quality like it’s an actual fish-man, err, turtle. There’s a gradient to the paint with dark green in the crevices giving way to a more yellow-green while the fins are almost bronze. The fins are very rigid so do take care to make sure this guy doesn’t take any shelf dives on you since I fear they’d chip easily. This figure is beautifully ugly. It’s an amazing sculpt and paint job, but also an off-putting one which I’m assuming is exactly what they were going for.

Raph has some bone sai and a fun “Muppet” head.

While these figures may carry a double licensing fee, NECA still finds a way to include enough stuff in the box to make them feel like a complete release. I already mentioned the second portrait for Raph, but both figures come with three sets of hands. For Raph, they’re gripping, fists, and open hands. For Leo, he has gripping, somewhat relaxed hands, and splayed open hands. Both figures also come with their signature weapons. For Raph, he has a pair of sai made from bone and the remnants of Talbot’s cane in the film. They look appropriately feral and Raph has storage for them on his belt. For Leonardo, he has two harpoons that are fashioned to resemble his katana. There’s rope wrapped around them in places and there’s a nice wood grain texture here. One harpoon also features a speared piranha which looks neat, though it would have been better if it was removable. He also lacks any weapon storage which is a bummer. I suppose you could thread the “swords” through his netting, and there are even some larger openings in it that may be intended for just that, but it’s awkward and I’d worry about it stretching over time.

That looks like it would hurt.

After the weapons and extra parts, Raph has just one more accessory in the form of a bear trap. It’s sculpted and painted really well to create the illusion of a rusted, steel, contraption and it does have real chain affixed to it. The trap can open and close as well. As for Leonardo, he has a bone forearm attachment which the box labels as a “fossil.” It clips onto the wrist and extends beyond his hand like a weapon. It’s very rigid though and a little hard to get in place, but it looks cool. He also has the necklace I mentioned with the optional hooks and bobbers, but no secondary portrait which might be a bummer for some. Lastly, Leonardo comes with a little tortoise buddy. It’s a slug figure that’s well textured and the paint is solid. He’s got a bit of a smile to his beak which makes him almost appear cartoony. It’s kind of a weird inclusion considering we didn’t get an extra portrait.

Leo comes with a friend.

Articulation for both figures is pretty basic and also limited. Both figures feature a ball-jointed head and neck with ball-hinges at the shoulders. They have the NECA double-jointed elbows that swivel above and below the elbow and they’ll struggle to hit a 90 degree bend because of the elbow pads. Wrists swivel and all hinge horizontally. There is a ball joint in the torso, but it’s pretty much worthless because of the shells. The hips are ball sockets and they go out to the side almost for splits, but forward and back is almost nonexistent. Especially for Leo who has fins on the back of his thighs that get in the way. The knees are double-jointed, and like the elbows, the kneepads will interfere. Raph has digitigrade feet so he gets an extra hinge joint in the ankle and one in the toe region while Leo’s feet are the usual hinge and rocker which offer little because of the sculpt.

He’s a happy little tortoise.

Of the two, Raph articulates a little bit better, but his digitigrade feet make him harder to stand. Leo’s sculpt is a massive hindrance to almost everything he can do. The shoulders and wrists are about the only things not impacted by the sculpt or an accessory. His hips and ankles are almost worthless. I’m surprised he didn’t get an articulated mouth, especially in light of the fact that he doesn’t have an extra head, but I’m not particularly bothered by it. Raph may move better, but he doesn’t articulate well. Both figures are very statue-like and aren’t going to be posed doing anything crazy. The sculpt and paint is what’s being counted on to sell these so if you’re a fan of the look that’s going to really be the determining factor on if you like these or not.

The best thing about this line is it creates a way for the turtles to hang around your Halloween decorations.

Raph and Leo are both sold in various places for around $35 a piece. I got Raph over the summer and held off on reviewing him until the timing made more sense while Leo is a figure I only acquired recently. I was leaning towards passing on him since I know even less about The Creature than I do The Wolfman, but Walmart had him on sale for $25 which was low enough to get me to bite. Hopefully he’s still on sale for those also interested in such a price. NECA is also doing black and white releases of all of the Universal Monster Turtles if that’s more to your liking. There’s a two-pack of Leo and Raph (Ygor and Wolfman) and a four-pack featuring the remaining four turtles which is a clever way to get both versions of Leo and Raph out there in black and white. Or it’s a terrible way to do it if you only want one. According to NECA, these repaints are also a bit of a stalling tactic as they work on more new sculpts for the line. With Leo and Raph getting two figures, it would stand to reason that Mikey and Donnie will follow suit and we still haven’t seen a Dracula in the line yet. Surely, NECA would not let the line end before getting to such a heavy hitter, it’s just a question of who is the most appropriate for such a prestigious character? And since I have three of the four turtles now, I suppose I’ll need to add Donatello. While I have actually been tempted by his Invisible Man mash-up, I might as well wait and see what his other figure turns out to be in case I prefer it. Maybe by next Halloween we’ll know what direction I went in.

Looking to add more action figures to your Halloween decorating? Here’s a few suggestions:

NECA TMNT x Universal Monsters Michelangelo as The Mummy

As the toyline and cartoon series started to go long, Playmates Toys turned to other ideas to keep the good times rolling on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Long thought to just be some quick fad, the turtles outlived all expectations into the 90s spawning multiple films and video games and a cartoon series that…

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by Joe

NECA Misfits Ultimate Fiend Action Figure

When Glenn Danzig and Jerry Only reached a settlement over who owned the rights to The Misfits in the mid 90s (resolution: they both did), it set off a wave of new merchandise plus a new version of the band. What had once been a logo found mostly at punk and metal shows, the visage…

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by Joe

Super7 Ultimates! – The Worst – Robot Reaper

Happy Halloween, my fellow action figure enthusiasts! It’s a day for mischief, a day for candy, and a day to laugh at Death. Today, we’re laughing at a special kind of death, a robot death, and it comes courtesy of Super7’s in-house brand The Worst. The Worst is a line of action figures that’s basically…

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by Joe

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October 22, 2024

NECA TMNT Adventures Mondo Gecko

By Joe
Whoa man, it’s like a lizard dude

.The NECA Cowbunga Collection is a content creator’s dream. Here we are deep into October still talking about figures that dropped in August. This time it’s another Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures action figure and it’s fan-favorite Mondo Gecko. Most TMNT fans probably know Mondo from the Playmates action figure line. He also made the jump to the cartoon series and he’s shown up quite a bit in other TMNT media ever since. Like a lot of those old toys though, Mondo is a Mirage Studios creation. Ryan Brown is the credited creator and Mondo would go on to appear in the Archie Comics Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures books where he would be an ally of the turtles. He would then go on to become a member of the Mighty Mutanimals alongside the likes of Man Ray, Dreadmon, and others.

When it comes to NECA’s subline of figures based on TMNT Adventures, it would seem they have two priorities: Stump wrestling and Mighty Mutanimals. The first few figures started building out the Mutanimals before pivoting to the wrestling stuff. Mondo is a reminder that more Mutanimals are needed and likely coming. First unveiled at San Diego Comic Con 2023, Mondo arrives in the standard TMNT Adventures packaging with new artwork by artist Ken Mitchroney. He’s a sculpt by Tomasz Rozejowski and Kushwara Studios with paint by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo. Because Mondo’s appearance in the comics is so close to his vintage toy, which also inspired his cartoon design, this figure is perhaps the least exciting one in the line so far. That’s just because he’s so familiar, but that doesn’t mean this isn’t a worthwhile release.

This is NECA’s second run at Mondo. As you can see, there’s a lot of similarities between his Archie and toon design, though no parts are shared.

Mondo stands at around 5.5″ to the top of his head and tack on another quarter of an inch for the hat. His design is almost exactly like the old Playmates toy with one obvious exception. He has the torn yellow shirt with skull emblem on the chest, the asymmetrical gloves and knee pads, high top shoes, and purple shorts and hat. The main difference is the long, black, hair. The old toy had it tied back in a ponytail while this Mondo just lets his hair down. His eyes are partially closed and his mouth is in an open position with a big smile which helps to expose those braces. It gives him a bit of a stoner look and there’s a toon quality to the face that’s appropriate for the line. I know some who aren’t crazy about the expression, but it works for me.

The little guy partly responsible for why Mondo looks the way he does.

Paint on Mondo is a little sparse compared with some releases, but I’d stop short at calling it lacking. The body is a rather bright, almost neon, green textured like a basketball to impart scaling. There’s some black curves painted on to highlight the scales as well and a lot of linework on the figure’s face. The teeth, eyes, and tongue are painted cleanly as are the gloves and shoes. The shirt is an overlay and the print on that is clean. The bare plastic in use for the green is not glossy or cheap, but the figure doesn’t pop as much as say Man Ray. The only area I don’t love are the hands. He has sculpted claws, but everything is green. His nails weren’t painted in the books from what I’ve seen, but this could be an odd spot where the sculpt should have been a little softer to make for pointed fingers as opposed to fingers with claws. In another deviation from the Playmates/toon design, there’s no blue on the character’s belly or the underside of the tail. The bright green also doesn’t match the box art nor does it match the comic. He should be a more olive green, very close to the turtles, and I’m guessing this was a creative choice by NECA to brighten the figure up. Perhaps to differentiate him from Slash too.

What do you think is in the cup? My guess is Mountain Dew.

Mondo comes with an assortment of accessories, most of which are expected. For hands, he has a set of gripping hands and open ones. He comes with a right hand in a devil horns gesture and a left in a hang 10 one. There’s also another right gripping hand that’s wider which is for holding his soft drink. It’s an all white cup with a straw that has a red diamond on it. There’s some black linework on it as well and it’s sharp looking. There’s also a microphone which is done all in black and is taken right from the books as he was a human musician who got mutated into this gecko man. There’s also an included gecko who is pretty cute and has his little tongue sticking out. He’s mostly green with some linework and yellow eyes. I wish they had painted the inner mouth black rather than leaving it green as it looks a little funky with the red tongue poking out, but it’s fine.

A guitar strap or microphone stand would have gone a long way here.

The two big accessories are Mondo’s instrument of choice and mode of transportation. Mondo has his trusty six string which is mostly teal with white accents. The paint on the fretboard is really clean and there’s volume and tone knobs sculpted in as well. I do have to point out that there are only five strings sculpted onto it even though there are six knobs at the end clearly indicating that this should be a typical guitar. It’s also lacking a strap so Mondo is forced to hold it if you want to display him with it which seems like an odd oversight. Mondo also has his skateboard which is all purple with a sting ray on the underside. It’s not as flashy as the cartoon board and it’s also not equipped with a motor. The wheels do turn and it has a single peg on the rear. My board did come with the front truck not glued on. There’s a sculpted tab on the underside for it that it slides onto and I’ll have to glue it myself if I want it to stay in place. Otherwise, it’s a skateboard and it does what it’s supposed to, we’ve just received a lot of boards from NECA at this point so it’s a little hard to be impressed by it.

Looks like the factory missed a spot of glue.

Articulation for Mondo is pretty much the norm for the line. We have a ball joint at the head, but the presence of the hair and open jaw is going to severely limit what he can do there. It’s primarily a swivel point and even that is limited. Shoudlers are ball-hinged and he has a biceps swivel past that. The bicep on the left arm of my figure doesn’t want to seat properly on the peg for the joint. I’ll have to try heating it to see if that works as right now the joint is basically working itself out when I mess with it. Elbows are double-jointed and this figure does feature pins. They don’t create much of an eyesore, but your mileage may vary. Hands rotate and hinge horizontally on all hands. No vertical hinges anywhere. The gloves are painted on, so repeated use of these hinges may expose the green plastic underneath so do be mindful.

It’s an easy fix.

In the torso is a ball joint in the diaphragm which rotates and tilts in all directions. Nothing crazy, but it’s there. There doesn’t appear to be anything at the waist while the hips are ball sockets that go out to the side for splits, but will be limited by the crotch overlay kicking forward and back as the legs will want to go off to the side. Forcing the issue will likely just result in the leg popping off. There is a thigh pivot built into that joint which works fine and the double-jointed knees bend a little past 90 degrees. The ankles feature the customary hinge and rocker setup and NECA wisely put the hinge right in the middle of the sneaker so it’s not really hindered by anything. It also appears to be smartly engineered so that paint rub or flaking won’t present an issue. Mondo is also rocking a tail and that’s connected via a ball hinge. There are no segments in the tail or a wire or anything so it’s pretty basic, but can be posed a bit. It’s also fairly short so it’s not the most useful third leg, but it can be utilized for added stability in certain poses.

The Mighty Mutanimals are nearly assembled with the addition of Mondo and it’s a natural way to display him, but…

Mondo Gecko is a solid release. The figure doesn’t possess much of a wow factor and part of that is due to it just being so similar to the toon figure and the vintage one, which has in recent years received an update via Super7. The articulation is okay and most of the accessories are solid. He’s not really the right shade of green, but I don’t think that’s really impacting my enjoyment of the figure at all. I do think he should have at least another head for those who aren’t crazy about the expression. I’m also surprised that the jaw isn’t hinged. This is definitely a figure for those who want to assemble the Mighty Mutanimals on their shelf. If you’re a more casual TMNT toy collector then you may feel like you’re covered when it comes to Mondo with one of the other releases.

…this also kind of rocks!

If this figure is to your liking and you want to add it to your TMNT Adventures collection then head to Target. There Mondo will run you $37. The figure is likely to see release at other retailers in the not too distant future as well. Adding Mondo means we’re just missing a proper Mutanimals Leatherhead as well as Wingnut. Once they’re out, the team is basically complete (some will claim they need Ninjara as well, but I don’t think of her as part of the core team) and I would imagine that NECA is already planning on a release for both. They may string us along a bit first, but I have faith that the full team will at long last be immortalized in plastic.

If TMNT Adventures is your thing then check out some of these reviews:

NECA TMNT Adventures Man Ray

Back when Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ruled the world, there was a lot of brand synergy between all of the various media being generated by this one mega popular piece of intellectual property. The comics came first followed by a toyline which necessitated the creation of an animated mini series to basically serve as a…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Adventures Jagwar

The next figure in NECA’s line based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures comic series is a much anticipated one for fans of those books and its spin-off The Mighty Mutanimals. And that’s because this character is making his debut in plastic. Previously, we looked at Slash who has been pretty well-represented in some…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Adventures Dreadmon

We’re almost done with all of these NECA Haulathon drops from March and up today is the last of the single-packed figures, the Mighty Mutanimal Dreadmon! Technically, he’s the third figure in NECA’s line of figures from the pages of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures since he’s listed as number 3 on the box. However,…

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by Joe

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October 15, 2024

NECA TMNT Toon “Binky’s Day Out” Slash V2

By Joe
Here comes Slash…again!

In the far off time of 2020, NECA Toys released the Slash and Leatherhead two-pack as part of its line of action figures based on the 1987 cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. That two-pack was just the third two-pack that I would review here at The Nostalgia Spot. It wasn’t the third two-pack released as the turtles, Shredder, Foot, and Krang were all released before it, but they were re-releases of the figures previously released at San Diego Comic Con. The first all new two-pack was Bebop and Rocksteady followed by variants of the turtles and a Foot two-pack for those who wanted to army build. Slash and Leatherhead were basically part of the first wave of all new figures as that set was released alongside the Casey Jones and Slashed Foot and April O’Neil and Bashed Foot. Coincidentally, or perhaps by design, almost all of those figures have received updates over the past calendar year. April was retooled and released solo while Casey got a new variant in his business attire. Leatherhead got a release in the Archie line (with a Mirage one to follow soon) and now it’s Slash’s turn with the deluxe release Binky’s Day Out.

A gathering of Slash.

A Slash redo is something fans have wanted basically ever since the first one came out. It wasn’t a terrible figure, but it was a compromised one. NECA opted to repurpose the same body it used for the turtles and just tool a new shell, hands, feet, and head to go along with the accessories it devised for the set. The result was a Slash that had a solid headsculpt and some fun weapons, but he was way too small. When we got the Archie version of the character years later that reused the Tokka sculpt it drove the point home how most really wanted to see a new toon Slash. Well, we now have what we wanted as that Tokka sculpt has been repurposed once again to create a brand new cartoon Slash.

Even his gun is bigger!

Slash comes in the deluxe style packaging featuring some wonderful artwork by Tim Lattie and Aaron Hazouri. Like past solo releases in this line, the box art is meant to mimic the old f.h.e. VHS releases of the cartoon from back in the day. The sculpt for this figure is credited to Paul Harding and Tony Cipriano. If I’m not mistaken, Harding sculpted Tokka so I’m assuming that’s his contribution to this release with Cipriano sculpting the new bits. Paint is once again handled by the dynamic duo of Geoff Trapp (who NECA sometimes credits as Geoffrey so apologies to him if that’s his preferred name) and Mike Puzzo.

Backpack too.

Slash, being largely composed of reuse, stands as tall as Tokka and the Archie Slash at about 5.75″. The old Slash is around 5.325″ so there is a little added size here, but mostly we’re talking about added bulk. Slash is much thicker and his head is wider and sits lower on his body as it did in the show. I was pretty happy with the old headsculpt, but this one is undeniably better to my eye. He has the same kind of stupid grin with ugly teeth poking out. It’s the width of the head that really makes it look more like Slash as the previous one was pretty narrow relative to the source material. What really stands out though about this new figure is the paint. Slash is a much brighter green than his previous figure and is thus much brighter than the turtles. I’m not really sure why as he was the same shade of green as the turtles in the show. Artistic choice? Or maybe a factory screw up? I’m not sure, but it might annoy some.

Slash with his “daddy” and Raph, because why not?

Aside from that, the sculpt and overall presentation is quite nice with this new Slash. I’m a big fan of this chunky sculpt so I’m not surprised to see that it works fine here as well. The paint is clean and applied liberally. Oddly, he doesn’t feature the toon shading on the rear of the figure which has become one of those things NECA is really inconsistent about. I’m not sure how they determine which figures get it and which don’t. The shell on the rear of the figure is new sculpt and it’s this lumpy shell that matches the source material rather well. Arms and legs are basically the same as the past Slash save for the fact that the elbow pads lack spikes with this version. The hands are all new and Slash wears fingerless gloves and the paint is applied well there. He has his shoulder pads which are done in a soft plastic which might arrive a little warped. All of the metallic parts are painted a light blue which I kind of like, but is something I have to point out as inaccurate once again as they’re all gray in the cartoon.

Guns and toys. Okay, it’s not a toy rocket ship, but it sure looks like one to me.

Slash comes loaded up with a sizable selection of accessories. For optional parts, we get three sets of hands: fists, gripping, and trigger finger. I am happy to report that, like the Mirage Karai, the gripping and trigger hands feature a vertical hinge. Hopefully that’s a trend that continues. For heads, we get the default smile and a second one where his tongue is poking out. I think he made this face right after he went back to being dumb in the smart Slash episode. It’s fun though and I like it, though I understand those who think the two portraits are too similar. The hands are easy enough to swap, but the heads were a pain for me. I couldn’t get the default head off without heating it first, and once I did it was the ball joint in the neck that came free and not the socket in the head. I basically had to just keep trying to only heat the head and not any part of the neck, but since he has one those heads that juts forward rather than up, it was quite the trying experience. I did get it off eventually, and I would suggest maybe not pushing the heads all the way down if you want to be able to swap easily.

And if you don’t like the weapons this one comes with, the swords from the old Slash look pretty nice.
The old pizza works fine too.

Slash also has some weapons and accessories to properly outfit his person. He comes with a larger version of the backpack the old Slash came with. It’s a little cumbersome, but works well enough if you want it on him. I did not have to remove his head to get it on and off. For weapons, Slash has a handheld gun that’s mostly white and looks nice. It’s not the same pistol the old Slash came with so it’s nice to get a new gun. He also has this massive, two-handed, double-barreled gun that rests against his abdomen. One of these guns is a freeze ray and one is an anti-gravitational beam. I have no idea which is which as I haven’t watched the cartoon in years. There’s also a little, handheld, missile that kind of looks like a toy rocket ship. I think it’s the shield projector which is listed on the box. He also has his trusty Binky, the little, green, palm tree which comes with a plastic bowl and a little unmutated Slash to go with it. These are all new too as the old Slash came with a slightly different Binky and a much larger pre-mutated Slash. And if you’re curious, the weapons from the first Slash work just fine with this one too so if you want him to wield swords he can do that or make use of the other guns.

Let’s not forget about Binky!
The comparison you’ve been waiting for: Binky and “baby” Slash. New on the left, old on the right.

Articulation for Slash is exactly the same as Tokka and Archie Slash, so I won’t do a full rundown here (those reviews are linked at the bottom of this entry). I will say that Slash is a little loose. The Archie one was too and it’s mostly in the hips. They’re not floppy, but they’re pretty close. The figure has stood fine for me ever since I got him and only when I pushed it did he fall over. He is a little rear heavy, but should stand okay. Some joints are also pretty tight, like the knees and elbows, and the bicep swivels were stuck on mine. I actually never got the left one to work, but the right came free without any help.

“I’m gonna pulverize you do-gooders!” “Hey Slash, I hear they’re giving out free pizza a few blocks away.”
“Pizza!”

Is this new Slash an improvement over the previous one? Without question the answer is “Yes.” Still, if you have been content with that Slash all this time then maybe you’ll be fine to stick with it. There are also plenty of fans who do not like the cartoon’s portrayal of Slash and this probably won’t change their mind. It is not without its problems. I wish the articulation was tighter at the hips and the head swapping thing is really annoying. The bright green skin tone is a bit off-putting. I presently have my Slash amongst the villains from the “Night of the Rogues” episode where it’s not much of a bother for me, but when beside the turtles he does look off. And if you want to nitpick this guy further, he’s also probably a little too big now compared to the turtles. The same is true of Tokka, Bebop, Rocksteady, and probably other villains that don’t immediately spring to mind. That’s not something I take issue with, but if we’re discussing this as a review then it needs to be said.

“I wuv you, son.”

If you want to add this Slash to your collection you will have to turn to Target. He’s been in stock on the website for a bit, but might not be when this goes live because of my adherence to Turtle Tuesdays. Target is charging $37 for the figure, which it lists as Ultimate Slash, which is pretty much the going rate for a NECA solo release in this line. Since this figure does come with a fair amount of accessories, I think it’s a better value than some of the other recent releases. It’s not a perfect Slash action figure, but I think most will be happy with it and we shouldn’t need a version 3 in the future.

As promised, here’s out look at the figures this Slash is built off of as well as NECA’s first attempt at the character:

NECA TMNT Cartoon Slash and Leatherhead

NECA’s incredibly popular and white hot action figure line based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon series of the late 80s/early 90s has slowly rolled out its third wave. The wave consists of three two-packs and a single-packed deluxe figure, but perhaps to increase the numbers of individual items it can ship at once,…

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NECA Cartoon TMNT Tokka and Rahzar

There is certainly a lot of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles product flying around these days, but I would guess collectors and fans of the property are paying the most attention to two toy makers in particular: NECA and Super7. One search for “NECA” on this blog will reveal that the company has produced a ton…

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NECA TMNT Adventures Series Slash

As NECA continues to find success with its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lines of action figures, the company has sought to branch out beyond the usual source material in an effort to give collectors more of what they want and also likely to just keep the hype train rolling. NECA started first with doing figures…

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October 8, 2024

NECA TMNT Mirage Studios Karai as The Shredder

By Joe
There’s a new Shredder in town.

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 do a second so there wasn’t much thought given to the character, but it was The Shredder that would be selected to be the main foe for the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as they made the leap to other forms of media. The comics basically followed suit by bringing Shredder back first as a clone, or rather, various clones. Once that was exhausted, the two had a new solution: offspring.

The daughter is a little more trim, but nearly as tall as daddy.

Credit to Eastman and Laird for selecting Karai as the successor to The Shredder. Most creators would probably turn to the son, but they decided to go with a daughter. Karai entered the picture during the City at War arc, a sort of grand finale to the Mirage era of TMNT. She, not surprisingly, set out to avenge her father who was murdered by the turtles. She decked herself out in traditional Foot ninja garb while also taking on the armor of her father, including his rather famous helm. Karai has since made the leap to other TMNT media and is pretty well known at this point, but for a time, she was basically only known to fans of the comic books.

Karai slots in pretty well with other figures in the line.

NECA’s take on Karai, dubbed Karai as The Shredder, depicts her as she first appeared as basically the new Shredder. She comes in the standard Mirage Studios box with brand new artwork by Kevin Eastman. The figure is a sculpt by May Thamtarana with paint by the usual duo of Geoffrey (no longer Geoff?) Trapp and Mike Puzzo. The figure is currently shipping to Target as part of the latest TMNT promotion there, but it’s expected this figure will see a wide release in the not too distant future.

Karai is depicted in her Shredder disguise which is not much different from the Foot ninja or the other versions of Shredder we’ve seen from NECA. She stands about 6.5″ tall and out of the box she comes unhelmed. She is understandably more slight than those Foot ninja or her father, but she does feature comic style muscle tone on her bare arms. The figure is predominantly a dark red with sculpted linework and painted details in black. Her skin has a slight olive tone to it which adds to the overall darker presentation of the figure versus the old Shredder. She features a pretty angry looking face with a somewhat messy head of hair like she’s either in battle or perhaps just discarded her helm. The painted details are all quite sharp and the armored portions of her attire are painted a lustrous silver with black detailing.

Realize your destiny, Karai.

Karai’s appearance gets kicked up a notch when the standard head is swapped with the helmed one. Not because there is anything wrong with the default look, but because the helmed head is just done so well. It’s the same silvery color as the bladed bits, but with a liberal use of black shading. Her eyes are just white slits in blackness and I love the shading on the mouthguard portion. The black around her eyes almost looks like it doesn’t quite fill the entire area though, but I think it’s intentional and not a defect of my figure. She absolutely looks like someone who would emerge from the darkness and take your life before you even knew what happened. Standing her beside NECA’s original Mirage Shredder also highlights how far the company has come with its paint applications. The old figure looks downright bland by comparison as there’s a lot of bare plastic and less shading. I suspect we’ll eventually get a new Shredder on an all new body (like we are with the cartoon line) to replace this one some day because it’s definitely fallen behind the newer releases when it comes to shelf presence.

If she doesn’t want to wear it she could always use it as a trick or treat bucket.

Karai also features an assortment of hands and weapons. For hands, she has a set of fists, gripping hands, and open hands. The gripping hands feature the much preferred vertical hinge, a change I’ve been calling for with NECA figures for awhile now, though unfortunately the hinge on my left hand is stuck. No amount of heat or messing with a blade has been able to get it to budge for me and it looks like the disc portion is protruding ever so slightly more than it is with the right hand so I’m thinking it’s a factory defect. The hands in general did feature tight hinges because they’re painted silver so you may need to break the seal, so to speak, to get them moving.

That’s a pretty nasty looking weapon.

While I love the vertical hinge, I do have to say that the gripping hands could have been executed better. Or maybe it’s the fault of the weapons, but Karai struggles to get a tight grip on most of them. She has a long, bladed, staff which features a shaft that’s just a little too thick for how her hands are molded. She can hold it, but it will fall out a lot and probably drive you nuts as you work her into a pose. Her long sword is basically the same and I believe it’s a weapon we’ve seen with the Foot Enforcer. She does have two, smaller, swords which both feature knuckle-guards. These work much better with her hands and maybe it’s because they’re the only newly tooled weapons in the set? She also has an empty mask she can hold or have placed on a shelf beside her. It’s all one piece and, no, it won’t fit over her unmasked portrait. It’s a fun inclusion and will probably be appreciated by toy photographers.

You can kind of see how chunky that sword handle is even in this shot.

Articulation for Karai is pretty much standard for the line. The head is on a double-ball peg and moves around pretty well. The helmeted head actually has better range as the hair of the standard portrait limits the range looking up. Shoulders are your standard ball hinge and the shoulder pauldrons will get in the way a bit when rotating or trying to raise the arms out all the way to the side. There is a biceps swivel, double-jointed elbows, and the wrists swivel and hinge. This figure is not pin-less, which ordinarily wouldn’t bother me, but her arms are so thin that I do find myself wishing they were pin-less. There is no forearm swivel with the armor that I can find which does disappoint me. I like being able to line them up with the hand blades, but the only way to do so is via the bicep swivel.

She wields these a lot better than the larger weapons.

In the torso there’s a ball joint just under her bust. This provides for a little back, a little forward, and a generous amount of tilt as well as rotation. There’s a ball joint in the waist as well, though her sash comes up pretty high over her abdomen and will limit the forward and back movement there making it mostly just a swivel point. The ball-jointed hips will allow the figure to hit full splits out to the side and swivel at the inner thigh. She does have a “diaper” covering on the crotch which limits her forward kicking. She can be forced into a 90 degree kick forward while kicking back is minimal. Double-jointed knees follow and the ankles feature the standard hinge and rocker. Because of the shin guards, I would have welcomed a boot cut, but NECA declined to give us one. Karai also has pretty small feet so she can be a little challenging to stand, but overall her articulation is fine and she’s likely more dynamic than most of the figures in the line given that she’s not nearly as bulky as most.

Karai was basically a no-brainer for the Mirage line and presenting her in her Shredder attire made the most sense. She does feature some other looks in the comics, but this is really the only one I need. I’m curious if NECA will do more variants of her to get more out of these molds. It seems like they’re committed to doing IDW color variants of all of the figures so it certainly wouldn’t shock me to see the same take place with Karai. I do think she turned out well, I just wish she could wield her weapons a bit better. It’s also a shame I have a seized wrist hinge, but hopefully that’s not a widespread issue. At approximately $37, she’s not a cheap figure, but a bit better value than some of the others currently out there by NECA. Karai should make for a nice addition to your TMNT Mirage Studios display, now hopefully we can get a better Shredder to join her.

We have plenty more from NECA and Mirage Studios Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles:

NECA TMNT Mirage Foot Enforcer

When a regular Foot Ninja just won’t cut it, The Shredder has to turn to the Foot Enforcer. This brute of a specimen is bigger, stronger, and comes packed to the gills with an assortment of weapons designed to reduce the turtles into a pile of flesh and shell. And they’re needed, because how often…

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by Joe

NECA Mirage Shredder and Foot Clan NYCC Exclusive Set

The Shredder had a rough go at things for awhile when it came to plastic. He was featured rather prominently in the old Playmates line, though perhaps not as prominently as one would expect. Playmates never did do a movie version of him, aside from Super Shredder, and his figure was arguably the worst from…

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by Joe

NECA Mirage Studios Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 4-Pack

When it comes to the popularity of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles a lot of the credit goes to Playmates Toys. Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird created the characters born out of a joke. Credit them for having the vision to think this joke had appeal beyond their small circle as they self-published Teenage Mutant Ninja…

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October 1, 2024

NECA TMNT Mirage Studios Rat King

By Joe
RATS! Ahh-ooo-ahhh!

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 and the tie-in toy line, but like a lot of characters in the world of TMNT, Rat King has existed in many forms. When it comes to the original Mirage Studios line of comics, he was a bit more abstract than he was in the show. He’s basically shown to be a hallucination of Master Splinter – is he even real? Kind of, sort of. He first appeared in Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles which seemed to have an on again/off again relationship with what was canon in TMNT. Tales was a series not written by creators Kevin Eastman and Peter Laird and it basically meant that the two could use it or not when doing the main comic line. Splinter, after his hallucinations have passed, stumbles upon a shuriken-filled corpse that sure looks like Rat King from his appearance in Tales so I guess he was canon all along.

Make some room on your shelf for the king of rats!

Regardless of all of that, Rat King is a fun design and it’s no surprise that NECA opted to include him in their line of action figures. First unveiled at San Diego Comic Con 2023, Rat King has started showing up in both Target and Walmart over the past few weeks and should be readily attainable for most. And if not, expect him to show up at other outlets in the not too distance future. NECA’s take on the monstrous character mostly follows his initial appearance in the Tales story, but also with a nod to his later appearance during the City at War arc of the main comic.

The monster who lurks in the sewers.

Rat King is a figure sculpted by Brodie Perkins with paint by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo. The box art was handled by TMNT co-creator himself, Kevin Eastman, and is of the standard size and design for the line. His character is credited as a co-creation of Jim Lawson, Eastman, and Laird which probably explains why he was included in the City at War arc. The figure itself stands a tick under 7″ giving him some nice size relative to other figures in the line. His default portrait is the monstrous one from his debut which is a head wrapped in bandages with only the eyes and mouth visible. The rest of his flesh is mostly black save for the bridge of his nose. A tangled mess of red hair pokes through the gaps in the wraps with some of the spots of his scalp featuring hair that’s cropped close to the head. Either he shaved it or he’s fond of pulling his hair out..

The design of the comic Rat King is similar to that of the cartoon, just a whole lot grimier.

The body of the Rat King is a patchwork of green and black. There’s a rough texture to the clothing, like that of a burlap sack, with patches and stitch marks all over. The yellow-orange wraps are found in various places like the biceps, waist, and forearms. The suit covers his entire body save for the hands and there’s a black paint wash over everything giving this guy a real grime to the presentation. He actually looks like a creature that emerged from a sewer. The wraps on the upper body and arms are sculpted-in while the legs are separate, floating, pieces. I assume this was done because the placement of said wraps changed with his appearances in the comics, but they come across as more annoying than anything since they’re prone to falling down. This figure, unlike some recent additions, is not pin-less at the knees and elbows. Normally, this isn’t something I bother pointing out, but with Rat King it’s a bit of a shame because the pin on the left arm goes through the wraps and NECA opted not to paint it. Instead, he has green circles in the wraps which is unsightly in a similar manner to how Hasbro used to make Spider-Man figures in its Marvel Legends line.

“Sorry little buddy.”

Aside from that blemish, the figure is quite a sight to behold. It’s large and gangly in the limbs and really evokes the source material well. I love the broad shoulders and chest which gives him a presence beyond just scary, smelly, guy. He actually looks like he’d stand a chance in a brawl with our heroes, though he’s probably better off relying on his clever tricks and such because the only weapon he’s bringing to the fight is a stick. It’s shaped similar to a baseball bat and it will have to do. He also has an assortment of rats, but I don’t see how they’ll be of much use. They’re all brown rats and he has three of them: sitting, crawling, and grasping. As best I can tell, the grasping rat is intended to grab onto the end of the bat while the other two can be balanced on the figure as you see fit.

Someone felt we needed two styles of fists with this guy.

For optional parts, Rat King has an assortment of hands and a secondary portrait. With the hands, NECA made at least one curious choice. We get two sets of gripping hands with one being tighter than the other. The bat seems to work fine with both, so it’s a little odd, but not as odd as the fists. For those, we have two sets once again. One has the thumb coming over the fingers and the other features the thumb tucked under the fingers. Why two sets? I have no idea. It feels like they had room in the budget and didn’t know what to do with it or something. I’d have taken more rats, personally. He also has a set of open, clawing, hands. These are the most monstrous looking as they’re covered in warts and don’t have any wrappings on them. The alternate portrait is what I’d call handsome Rat King. It more resembles his City at War appearance as his jaw is visible and he has a smile. The eyes are also all white and more of his scalp is visible. It’s a more confident Rat King and it really gives this guy two worthwhile display options: as a monster of the sewers or the more cool and calculating villain he’s sometimes shown to be.

Seems like a bit of a mismatch, but looks can be deceiving.

Articulation for Rat King is pretty standard for the line. A double-ball peg in the neck gives his head nice range in all directions with the exception of range looking up as he has one of those necks that’s angled forward instead of straight up. There are ball-hinges at the shoulder, bicep swivels, double-jointed elbows, and hinges at the wrist. The bulkiness of the arms means the elbows won’t bend much past 90 degrees and even though he comes with two sets of gripping hands, none feature the preferred vertical hinge for melee weapon wielding. There’s a ball in the diaphragm that allows for some forward and back as well as rotation and tilt. There’s a basic waist cut, ball-jointed thighs that swivel and kick forward 90 degrees and go out to the side for splits. Knees are double-jointed, but like the biceps, won’t go much past 90 because of the thigh meat. Ankles swivel and hinge and they work just fine.

Get him, boys!

Rat King should do what Rat King needs to. The wrist hinges are unfortunate, but expected with NECA these days. Finding poses is no trouble, with or without the rats, and the only thing I don’t like about moving this guy around are those damn bandages on his legs. They’ll almost never stay where you want them to and I’m tempted to either glue them or take them off all together. I suppose once he’s on a shelf it won’t matter, but they really needed to be tighter.

Rat King is a great addition to the Mirage line of TMNT from NECA. While I find myself really drawn to the bright colors and cartoony nature of the toon and Archie lines more and more, these gritty Mirage figures feel like they’re more in NECA’s wheelhouse. I’ve always associated NECA with horror stuff and Rat King is a character that plays to NECA’s strengths. He’s also a great design from the books and a well-executed action figure with only a few nitpicks to draw attention to. Should you wish to add him to your collection, he’ll set you back about $37. It’s not cheap, but it feels like a better value than some of the other recent figures we’ve looked at so you won’t hear me complaining.

If you like Rat Kings and comic turtles then we’ve got you covered:

NECA TMNT Mirage Studios Splinter

When NECA started down the path of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with the 2008 release of the four titular characters, it didn’t go very far. After the turtles came April, but as a convention exclusive, and then nothing else. It would be years before their Shredder, which was shown off at the very same convention…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Mirage Foot Enforcer

When a regular Foot Ninja just won’t cut it, The Shredder has to turn to the Foot Enforcer. This brute of a specimen is bigger, stronger, and comes packed to the gills with an assortment of weapons designed to reduce the turtles into a pile of flesh and shell. And they’re needed, because how often…

Keep reading
by Joe

NECA TMNT Cartoon Rat King vs Vernon

When I last reviewed a NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles two-pack it was the Splinter vs Baxter Stockman set and I referred to it as potentially the last essential set for some. The key word there being “some” as I am not “some” and didn’t consider myself “some” when I wrote that, for there are…

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by Joe

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September 24, 2024

NECA TMNT Adventures Stump Wrestling Leatherhead

By Joe
I reckon he’s here to open a can of Whoop Ass!

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 a wrestler in space when he debuted in the pages of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures as just another Earth dwelling mutant, and I’m not sure I want to know. It’s more fun to imagine how such a thing happened, though I’m guessing it’s more or less in-line with how the turtles ended up doing the same. Either way, if you ever watched the old cartoon and thought that Leatherhead would make for a good pro wrestler then consider your wish granted.

“I’m tagging in, brother!”

Leatherhead comes via the new, massive, TMNT drop that NECA unleashed upon Target. I believe it was dubbed the Cowabunga Collection, but think of it as basically another Haulathon type of deal where a lot of stuff was released in a small window of time. Leatherhead was shipped in pretty substantial quantities and may even still be available online when this post goes live. If not, worry not as it’s expected that all of these Archie figures will see release across online retail spots at some point. It just may mean having to wait for a second production run or something. I think the figure has already been spotted at Walmart as well, along with some of the other non-toon releases that hit Target.

Here comes the fallaway slam!

Leatherhead is packaged in the standard Archie box with new artwork by comic artist Ken Mitchroney. The sculpt was handled by Tomasz Rozejowski and Kushwara Studios with paint by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo. And right off the bat, I am confused. The artwork depicts Leatherhead with a bandana style black mask on. The figure features some black paint around the eyes, but there’s clearly no mask as there’s nothing wrapping around his head. Most of the interior artwork I’ve been able to find from the comics seems to include the mask. I found one cover, issue #13, which takes place a little later, but seems to include Leatherhead in his wrestling attire without a mask. I’m not enough of an expert to know what is correct, but if they’re commissioning artwork that includes a mask then I think the figure should as well. Maybe this is a cost saving measure to make it easier to do a Mutanimals Leatherhead later? Or maybe the factory was supposed to do a mask, either via paint or some sort of overlay, and it got missed? The top of his head is almost squared-off like you could put something there, but I don’t know.

Leatherhead stands at right around 6.25″ to the top of his head. This is a much shorter, squatter, Leatherhead than we’re used to seeing. The toon Leatherhead, by comparison, is around 7″ tall. This guy is really not much taller than the turtles with only a little more girth. Again, I don’t have comics to compare so I’m just going to assume that NECA got it right when it comes to scale for the Archie line. His attire is pretty simple compared with his usual getup. We have just some purple trunks with white stripes and wrestling boots that are in the same style as what we saw with Cryin’ Houn’. The exposed flesh is all textured with lots of little bumps and such and like most Leatherhead figures the tail comes detached in the box.

If a snake can master the DDT, then so can a gator!

Paint for Leatherhead is a little less intense than it may be on some other characters, but no less effective. Most of the body is a dark green with a slight blue hue to it. The chest and neck region is painted more of a lime green. There’s lots of black linework on the throat to highlight the scales and additional linework for some of the muscles and random scales here and there. The interior of the mouth is painted really well including black outlines at the base of the teeth. There’s a hit of orange for his big, bushy, eyebrows and the trunks and boots are all painted very cleanly. I basically have to hunt for paint blemishes on this figure and even then the only things I can find are a black line here and there that’s maybe just a bit too thick. It’s really an impressive paint application for a mass-produced figure like this.

Or perhaps you prefer the vertical suplex?
Wait! This gator can fly?!

And maybe that’s what makes him expensive, because it’s certainly not the plastic. Leatherhead doesn’t come with much in the box, just two extra sets of hands leaving us with fists, gripping, and open. Why does he have gripping hands? I don’t know because it’s certainly not to hold any included items because there are none. He only has the one portrait, which is a bit of a bummer since he seems to have a pretty expressive few panels in the comics. My criticism of this release is basically the same as Cryin’ Houn’ which is to say I think NECA could do better. They already have tooled some wrestling weapons, so why not stick them here? We could always use more chairs. A break-away table would have been pretty rad, even if no such thing took place in the books. Wrestling figures should be fun to design because of all or the shenanigans that can go on in and out of the squared-circle so it’s disappointing to not see NECA take advantage of suck.

At least he can manage a big boot.

Articulation for Leatherhead is not particularly impressive, though it’s not really a strength of the line either. He does have a double-ball peg for the head, but since it sits so low on the chest there’s not a lot he can do with it. He can look side to side okay as well as down. There’s a little range looking up, but the head has a tendency to pop off of the ball peg when doing so. The mouth does open and close which helps to make the figure a bit more expressive. Shoulders are simple ball hinges which rotate fine, but can’t quite raise out to a “T” pose or come all the way down at the sides of the figure. There is a biceps swivel as well as a swivel and single hinge at the elbow. Leatherhead can straighten his arms out there and just about hit a 90 degree bend. Wrists swivel and hinge horizontally.

Let’s get hardcore!
Oh! That’s gotta hurt!

In the torso, we get a big ball jointed diaphragm. It really doesn’t offer a whole lot. There’s a little tilt there and rotation, but forward and back articulation is so minimal that it’s hardly worth counting. There’s a standard waist twist below that and ball-jointed hips. There’s a little play on the hips as far as a thigh swivel goes, but mostly they kick forward pretty well, back a little, and out to the side. The crotch does feature a “diaper” overlay which will limit the range and keep Leatherhead from hitting a full split, but if you wanted to force the issue you could probably do so. The knees are poor, they’re pegged into the thighs and feature a hinge that maybe bends 45 degrees. The ankle hinges aren’t much better as he can’t go forward and back very far. The ankle rocker is fine. The tail connects via a peg and hinge so it will move up and down and rotate. It also has a heavy gauge wire running through it for a little extra poseability, but it’s a thick tail so don’t expect much.

“And the crowd, angered at the victory, rains debris upon the champ.”

Leatherhead, by virtue of NECA knocking it out of the park with some of their other figures in the line, comes across a little ho-hum. This is a figure for those who have an attachment to the character from this era or for those who just really want to fill out their wrestling TMNT display. The character design isn’t particularly eye-catching and the subpar articulation and lack of accessories reduces the potential fun factor here. Aside from the mask component, the figure is a nice representation of this version of Leatherhead and it’s not the fault of the figure that the design isn’t more elaborate. I am curious to hear what dedicated TMNT Adventures fans think of this release and how well it represents the source material, particularly when it comes to scale. For me, I waffled on weather or not to get this one ultimately deciding to just because there figures to only be a handful of wrestling characters (Ace Duck is coming in 2025) and I want my wrestling turtles to have some foes. At the MSRP of $37, I definitely wouldn’t blame those who just don’t see enough value in the box to take the plunge on Leatherhead.

We have more from NECA’s line of TMNT Adventures if you’re looking at starting a collection or adding to one:

NECA TMNT Adventures Cryin’ Houn’

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…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Adventures Stump Wrestling Four-Pack

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…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Adventures Series Slash

As NECA continues to find success with its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lines of action figures, the company has sought to branch out beyond the usual source material in an effort to give collectors more of what they want and also likely to just keep the hype train rolling. NECA started first with doing figures…

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by Joe

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