Tag Archives: TMNT

May 12, 2026

NECA TMNT Garfello

By Joe

Before they teamed up with the likes of Batman and the Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles had an encounter with an orange cat with a love for Italian food. I am speaking of none other than Garfield, the Jim Davis creation who was everywhere in the 1980s. The two franchises came together for a one page comic in the pages of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magazine in 1992 in which Garfield, disguised as fellow ninja turtle Garfello, tries to dupe the turtles into letting him guard their precious pizza while they go do crime-fighting stuff only for Odie to blow his cover when he can’t get his turtle costume on right. The comic was written by Garfield creator Jim Davis with inks by TMNT co-creator Peter Laird. Art was handled by Gary Barker and Larry Fentz with color by Steve Lavigne and letters by Mary Kelleher. This little comic was apparently popular enough to attract the attention of not one, but two toy companies 23 years later. It was at San Diego Comic Con in 2025 that NECA unveiled their take on Garfello with Odie along as well. The reveal was perhaps the highlight of NECA’s booth for the convention and something that seemed to attract a lot of attention online. Shortly after, Boss Fight Studio (who has a whole line of Garfield action figures) revealed its own Garfello and Odie two-pack that is so similar to what NECA showed that I honestly felt bad for them. Did Garfield rights owner Paramount even alert either toy company to the plans each had? Most licensors won’t greenlight the same thing across licensees because they would just be competing with each other, but evidently Paramount wasn’t too concerned. Both sets look fine from a sculpting standpoint, but the NECA approach of painting all of the little details and the fact that I’m well into their TMNT collection sold that set for me, but I’m guessing those who already have Boss Fight’s Garfield figures would opt for that version.

“We can be ninjas Odie. How hard can it be?”

NECA’s take on Garfello is sold as an “ultimate” release with new box art by Jason Yang. It features all TMNT branding putting it squarely in the turtle toy line. The figures inside are based on sculpts by Tomasz Rozejowski and Kushwara Studios with paints by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo. Even though it’s an ultimate style release, the price tag is a bit elevated which could have something to do with the dual license or perhaps the lack of reuse potential contained within. Or at least that seems to be the case everywhere but Target who prices the set at $38. Many specialty shops are $45 and up which is a bit of a tough sell for such small figures. Is there even enough in the box to make consumers happy at $38? We’ll try to answer that one today.

The two smallest turtles around.

Garfello stands at a miniscule 2.75″ to the top of his head and right around the 3″ mark to the tip of his ears. He’s a little guy, but he’s also a house cat and meant to be in-scale with the turtles. Just which turtles is a legitimate question as the ones from the one-shot are kind of their own thing. Stylistically, they probably most resemble the Jim Lawson turtles, but with colored bandanas. They even look a little like the recently made Stan Sakai turtles, but it’s funny that my memory of the brief comic seems to always insert the Archie turtles into the page and only viewing the actual source gets them out. There’s only one group shot in the comic which puts Garfield at a little past the mid-thigh point of the turtles which does make the figure scale best with the Lawson turtles. With the toon, he’s closer to the belt area, but I think the scale is close enough that he’ll work for whatever turtles you prefer to place him with. And since this is Garfello as opposed to Garfield, he is clad in his turtle costume which is non-removable. The black bandana is part of the sculpt and he features a belt, plastron, and shell. He’s also sporting brown elbow and knee pads and his belt has a big “G” in the middle of it as that was the style at the time.

The shell continuity between the two is pretty nice.

The sculpt for Garfello is quite good and on-model for the comic. The head has that oval shape to it and the eyes dominate the space available on the front. The ears are situated close together and the black markings of the fur are visible from all angles. NECA did take some liberties with the design as they included the little pieces of fur that are often found sticking up and out from the sides of Garfield’s head, something the comic omitted. Here they’re coming out of the bandana which is a little odd, but honestly feels right and I was actually surprised to see that detail wasn’t present on the page. The figure has a very matte appearance as everything is painted over. There’s black linework throughout the shell and plastron which really helps to capture that comic style and helps give the figure a striking appearance. Perhaps the best part of the paint job is reserved for Garfello’s lone weapon: the pizza cutter! It features a brown handle and real working cutter wheel (not sharp, likely terrible for cutting actual pizza) that’s painted a combination of white, blue, and black. The blue helps to give it that comic shading which we see often in NECA’s comic figures while the black lines add detail and create the illusion of a whirling pizza cutter. Painting metal objects as they appear in comic books is honestly one of NECA’s biggest strengths and it really puts to shame other companies that go with just one color or swirly plastic.

“Is there a prettier sight?”

The majority of Garfello’s accessories are reserved for altering his expression or hands. The comic is brief which allowed NECA to literally recreate every expression Garfello is responsible for in five of the six panels. The only one he can’t do is his final, disgraced, posed where he’s smushed on the road and glaring at Odie – a pose the figure had no prayer of recreating so why bother with a portrait of the same? The three heads are smiling, smiling with teeth exposed, and smiling with the ears flattened. To swap between the three are three sets of eyes: half-lidded, open, and open with tiny pupils. You can find all three in the comic so it’s hard to argue that anything is missing, even if it would have been fun to get an open-mouthed expression for devouring pizza. To remove the eyes, NECA included a little, plastic, tool that resembles a railroad spike or flooring clete. You can use it to push the eyes out from behind, or just carefully use a fingernail from the front. The pegs that hold them in place are pretty short so they’re fairly easy to remove and replace. For hands, Garfello has a set of fists, gripping, open, and open with claws. They too have fairly short pegs which makes taking them off and on fairly painless. The only danger is that his arms are so short that it’s a little tricky getting leverage, but not impossible. Heads are a little more stubborn, but there’s just a big old ball joint under them so there’s not much risk in damaging anything when removing or seating one. The bandana tails are shared between all three portraits so it’s a good idea to remove that part first. If you do get into any trouble then just turn to some hot water and that will likely cure what ails you. To complete the look, NECA included a stack of pizzas for Garfello to drool over. They have a nice, messy, gooey, quality that makes them appear both delicious and gross. Seriosuly, who removes their pizza from the box to stack like this?

“Stand back, Odie. I don’t want you to see what I’m about to do.”

The other accessory of sorts is Odie himself. Unlike Garfield, Odie can appear on your shelf as his costumed version or just as a garden variety Odie as NECA included two portraits. By default, he’s just Odie with a closed mouth portrait that looks pretty cute. He’s just a tick over 2″ to the top of his head with the ears bringing him to about 2.75″. If you remove that head you can swap it with Odie’s turtle costume which is just a shell with his tongue sticking out of the neck hole. It’s a bit tough to get on, but the figure is pretty sturdy. As always, use heat if it’s being stubborn. Odie’s head connects via a double ball peg so it’s not quite as durable as Garfello’s connection, but hardly weak. Paint for Odie follows the same style as Garfello with lots of linework, especially on the shell head. His soft yellow fur does seem to be a magnet for dirt as he came out of the box looking slightly dingey when viewed up close. Mine also has a black dot on the lower part of the right eye that’s a bit annoying. He looks like Odie though with the only caveat being that I tend to always picture Odie in my head with his mouth open and tongue hanging out. He never actually appears unmasked in the comic so it’s hard to quibble with what is essentially a bonus head. I suspect other Garfield fans will be more disappointed in the fact that Odie can appear as just regular Odie while Garfield is forever in his Garfello attire. There would have been no easy way to make him a two-way figure. It would have been cool if NECA had devised a way to do so, but since we’re already dealing with a full-priced offering I don’t think I’d have wanted to spend more just to make Garfield be able to take the costume off. Especially since I would be unlikely to ever do so.

“Oh, the heck with it – I’ll just use my claws.”

Garfello and Odie are little guys. They’re also NECA figures so it’s a given the articulation is going to be underwhelming with the pair and that much is true. Garfello is articulated at the head, shoulders, elbows, wrists, hips, knees, and ankles which includes both a hinge and a rocker. As I mentioned before, the head is just a big ball socket so it rotates and has a minimal amount of tilt. The shoulders, elbows, knees, wrists, and ankles are standard hinged-peg joints. They’re small, so they have a delicate feel to them and range is fairly limited. The gripping hands do not have a vertical hinge which would have actually served the pizza cutter accessory far better than the standard horizontal hinge. The ankles were tight on mine at the hinge, but other joints were fine. His tail is also articulated, but it just swivels and is best served as a third leg to help balance the figure. The hips are the oddest part as I think they’re just ball-socket connections, but they appear to connect to a ball-pin that’s angled down as opposed to a standard horizontal angle. This limited the movement at the hips to mostly a swivel, a shame if you want your Garfello to kick Odie in the butt for messing up his plan. As for Odie, he has the double ball-jointed head while each leg barely moves. I think they’re all ball joints with the rear legs having slightly more range than the front. The feet feature hinges and rockers which really only exist to get his feet flat on the ground. That’s all Odie is capable of and I’m honestly surprised they didn’t trim the budget and just make his body static. He’s basically articulated just for the sake of saying that he is articulated. Functionally, it’s mostly useless.

“Bon appetit”

Likely no one was buying these figures for their posing ability. It doesn’t meant we can’t expect a little better, but if you just want a silly looking Garfield and Odie for your TMNT display then this will get the job done. The only real question is how much is that worth for you? On a purely value level, I don’t think this set is equivalent to a typical NECA ultimate release. It would have been awesome as a $30 item, but this is a world in which Super7 and Mezco are charging over $20 for figures with five points of articulation. Garfello is like a step up from such and I do wonder how I would have reacted if he was by himself for $30? Would I consider that a good deal? If so, doesn’t that make Odie worth the extra $8? That’s, of course, if you can find him for $38 at Target. NECA did offer Garfello on their website, but with a steep shipping cost. Big Bad Toy Store is charging $47 for this release which does feel steep and I can’t fault the person who looks at that price and decides to pass. This is a novelty figure and the price for that novelty is going to vary from person to person. For what it is, it’s pretty nice. The sculpts are on-model and the paint is great. I’m guessing if you’re a big Garfield fan that this set makes you wish NECA was doing more Garfield if it’s going to look this good. Unless you’re looking at the price tag and feeling thankful your toy budget doesn’t need to make room for more stuff.

I don’t have any other Garfield toys to link to below, but I do have some other stuff:

Dec. 5 – A Garfield Christmas

This year, I’m bringing back a feature from last year where I take another look at, what I consider to be, the greatest Christmas specials ever made. I explained my reasoning for doing this in prior posts, but in short, the first time I looked at some of these specials I did just a short…

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by Joe

Dec. 20 – The Garfield Show – “Caroling Capers”

Back in the 1980s, Garfield was pretty damn popular. His presence was pervasive in pop culture, so much so that younger people today would probably be surprised. He originated as a comic strip by Jim Davis, but his popularity grew enough to pave the way for some prime time animation specials. These proved popular, and…

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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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by Joe

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March 24, 2026

JoyToy TMNT Turtle Van

By Joe
Apparently, I needed another Turtle Van.

The Batmobile. The Time Machine. Ecto-1. The Turtle Van! Yes, I am placing the iconic vehicle of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in the same category as those unforgettable franchise vehicles. And the crazy thing is that of those four, only one of them has never existed in live-action and it’s, of course, the Turtle Van. The Turtle Van was created for the 1987 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles mini series. I suspect, since that whole production was overseen by toymaker Playmates, it was a directive from the toy company to include a themed vehicle because they knew getting a vehicle to market for the kids to place their action figures inside was a priority. When the van made its debut in plastic it was as the Party Wagon. The more bus-like design was still recognizable, but not exact, to what was seen in the cartoon. As a kid, I honestly don’t remember that ever being a point of contention for me and I was the sort of kid who wanted his toys to resemble what I was seeing on TV. The undersized Technodrome with its purple eye topper bugged me, but not the boxy van. I think it’s because both designs got the major details right: the grimacing front bumper, the logo on the nose, the spoiler on the top, the shell pattern to the roof, the twin canons. Those were all the hallmarks of the Van/Party Wagon and it was great to have a toy of it. I got it as an Easter present from my grandmother (she loved any excuse to give her grandkids presents) and she can be heard boasting on camera how hard it was to get ahold of and that she really wanted to deliver it for Christmas the prior year (don’t weep for me, I got the sewer lair). I loved that toy and would get a lot of use out of it, but I didn’t get a show accurate Turtle Van until NECA made one in 2023. And now, thanks to JoyToy, I have another.

Let’s get things started with what you all came for: comparisons to NECA, Hasbro (Transformers), and Mattel (Hot Wheels)

JoyToy’s 1:18 scale line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has been a blast to collect. It was last fall we found out that JoyToy wasn’t content to just do figures, but vehicles as well. Or at least one vehicle, the mighty Turtle Van. Clearly based on the look of the vehicle in the original series, this 1:18 scale vehicle measures approximately 10.5″ long, 7″ wide, and 7.5″ to the top of the spoiler. If the NECA one is in 1:12 scale, that puts this one from JoyToy in approximately the same ballpark. The front of this design is rounded so it translates to about a 15′ long vehicle while the NECA one with its more stubby front would be 14′. The other measurements also translate pretty well. The JoyToy approach is to take the look of the vehicle on television, and dirty it up. Add some realism and incorporate as many display options as possible. The box it comes in is a big window and it’s very similar to the figure boxes we see. Some assembly is required out of the box as the spoiler needs to be attached. It comes in three pieces plus two covers for each side. It’s very easy to snap together and it’s configured in such a way that it would be extremely hard to mess up. It also requires two AAA batteries for what I think were unadvertised lights on the front and rear of the vehicle. After you get that stuff together you’re basically good to go.

We’ve got working lights, folks.

The Turtle Van is a plastic vehicle that does utilize rubber for the tires. There appears to be suspension in each tire as there’s a nice, springy, quality, but I can’t see an actual spring to know that for certain. Most of the vehicle is a pale yellow with a pretty heavy paint wash applied to give the vehicle a grimy appearance. They do park it in a sewer, after all. There’s the logo across the spoiler as well as on the front tire cover. The printing on the spoiler is very crisp and clean while the painted logo on the front (which is sculpted into the tire cover) is a little less crisp, but acceptable. There’s translucent, red, plastic in use on the top lights as well as the radar dish over the cabin. Unfortunately, those lights (as well as the dome light inside) do not light up. The side mirrors look like they may be a decal which, unfortunately, is not mirrored. There’s some nice black linework in parts and the wash is applied basically everywhere as well as on the interior.

In addition to the doors opening, the top of the cabin also comes off to make placing figures much easier.

And for the interior, we get a nice bench seat up front with seatbelts sculpted into the bench, but are otherwise non-functional. There’s sculpted details in the dash for the radio and clear plastic is utilized for the windows and windshield. If you were ever wondering, the Turtle Van has crank windows. I do wish the glass for the windows could pop off easily to simulate an open window, but at least I don’t have to worry about losing them. The rear of the van is accessible by opening the top of the van. The front of the roof can also pop off. Back there is a computer and some more equipment sculpted into the side walls. The center ladder can fold down into the floor allowing those in the back to see and communicate with those riding up front. As for other parts that open, we have the sides of the van with the driver’s side having the fold down platform and the right side swings open and has the laser canon mounted on it. The rear doors also open. They’re all easily accessible, though I do find it easiest to push from the inside of the vehicle. The rear doors feel sturdy while the front doors are slightly flimsy as the connection point is pretty small. If you have the NECA van the doors are very similar to that one in terms of feel.

The ladder can be pulled down and of course the rear doors open.

As for play and accessories, well there’s a lot to talk about. We’ll start with the canons on top which can pivot up and down. The barrel also pulls out to resemble the look of the guns in the show, but if you like the more compact look that’s there for you as well. The side turret is collaspable and once unfolded can accommodate a character sitting in it and firing away. Like the top canons, the barrel for this one can also be pulled out to better resemble the show and the two bombs underneath it are also removable. The front spare tire cover pops off to not reveal a spare tire, but a spot for the included pizza slice. Everyone needs an emergency stash. The panel is hard to remove the first time as it has a little gap at the bottom, but it’s quite close to the bumper so getting a fingernail in there can be a challenge. There’s a toolbox affixed to the exterior of the rear door and we get a litany of tools to put in it: hammer, two wrenches, two screwdrivers. If you don’t like it though you can pop that off and replace it with a spare tire which has a mount that holds it in place. Those rear doors are also a little on the flimsy side so you do want to exercise caution when trying to pry the tool box open or off when it’s on the door. For the guns, we do get effect parts. The two canons on top can accept a spiral blast done with translucent red plastic. There’s also two smaller blast effects that are red translucent plastic with some metallic orange paint sprayed over the base. There are also two smoke trail effects that are gray with a black wash. You can actually use all of these in three places: top canons, side canon, and the exhaust ports on the back. If you want a gun to look like it’s smoking from use you can do that. If you want the exhaust to look like it’s backfiring with a blast effect then go for it.

Just like in the show, the driver’s side has a platform for a turtle to attack from while the passenger side has a pop-out turret for when the turtles would rather use firepower than martial arts.

Inside the van we also get a few options. There’s a port in the middle of the floor which can accept a stool. It can also accept this big, mechanical, pillar which has two options for it. Option one is another turret that has three canons intended to be utilized with the three included grappling hooks. These hooks come on a wired piece to look like they’re being fire, but you can also remove the hook and insert that into the turret like it’s loaded as opposed to firing. What these turrets can’t do is accept any of the other effect parts unless you tip it up and let gravity keep such in place since the fit is too loose. And it is articulated so you can adjust the pitch of the turret. If you don’t want to use that though then you also have a platform. Yes, the very one from the classic TV intro that launches the turtles is finally realized in toy form. It has four peg holes on as well as four slots for an articulated armature which is also included. The armature can swivel and has three articulation points plus a grabby claw at the end so at least one of your turtles can be in mid-leap. It does get crowded if you want all four turtles on there and the pillar is a bit wobbly, but if you’re determined it can be done. There’s also a trio of included traffic cones and two fire extinguishers, with slots for them by the side panel of the van. There’s also a hazard marker for when the van gets a flat and the turtles need to pull over to swap out a tire.

Tool box, hidden pizza, safety first traffic cones – they have it all!

This sucker has a lot of function to it, but what most likely care about beyond the aesthetics is just how does it do with the figures? Overall, pretty good, but it does become apparent quickly that these turtle figures from JoyToy were never really meant to sit down. They have a lot of stuff on their thighs and belts that gets in the way, but you can certainly do it. The steering wheel is removable so you can place that in the hands of a figure before sticking them in the cabin if you find that easier. The characters sit pretty far forward on the bench seat, but it’s only really noticeable with the doors open. With a figure like April, she too sits forward and it looks a little silly from the side as there’s a gap of about 3/4ths of an inch between her and the seat back. I think this is a result of having to make sure the turtles and their bulky shells can fit. They fit more easily into the side turret, though basically all of the turtles should go without holstered weapons if being placed in said turret or in the cabin. In light of that, it would have been neat if JoyToy had built in storage for their weapons. The rear of the van is a little short in height for the turtles to stand up straight, but anyone who has been in a work van probably knows the feeling. It mostly only becomes awkward if you want someone at the computer. Could they have gone a little bigger with the design? Of course, but I don’t really fault the design here. It’s plenty big as it is when it comes to shelf real estate.

Grappling hooks, laser canons, and the ever popular turtle launcher!

To probably the surprise of no one who has experience with JoyToy, I think this van turned out fantastic. I just don’t have many complaints with this thing. The tool box and front cover are a bit stubborn. The hubcap on the passenger side front tire keeps popping off on me. I wish the interior light worked, but I get why it doesn’t since that portion of the roof is removable. One of my canon blasts is a little warped, but I bet I can fix that with a little hot water pretty easily. Aside from that – nothing. This thing looks fantastic. I think it’s easily the best Turtle Van ever released. Now, I don’t have Super7’s very expensive take on the Party Wagon, but I don’t feel like I need to have that in my hands to know I like this one better. This design is great. I like the rounded off front and it has all of the details that I think matter most. I love the inclusion of the platform and it’s great to get all of the extra stuff we got which is something that was really lacking with the NECA van. I like that one too and it’s great for my NECA turtles, but if I could only keep one I think I’d have to side with JoyToy. And that’s before I even get to the price which for me, shipped, was $153. I may have been on the high side too as some people are getting this for closer to $135. That’s a hell of a good deal in today’s market for a vehicle in this scale and at this level of quality. Of course, the drawback is you do have to buy it from an import shop as JoyToy isn’t licensed to sell TMNT product to North America. It hasn’t been much of an issue though and there are plenty of reputable shops to buy from. If you think this thing looks great, then I say go for it. I have no idea where I’m going to put it, but it’s a good problem to have.

If you want my thoughts on other Turtle Vans or wish to see more from JoyToy then check these out:

NECA TMNT Toon Turtle Van

It’s our last Turtle Tuesday before Christmas, though probably not of the year, and it’s a pretty big one: The Turtle Van! NECA solicited its version of the Turtle Van based on the same from the animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles back in April of 2022. It was originally scheduled to be released before…

by Joe

JoyToy Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

It’s been said before and it will be said again: everyone is making Ninja Turtles. It feels like the list of companies not making Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles is smaller than the list of those who are. Viacom has not been shy about licensing the brand out to toy makers and it’s reaching a point…

by Joe

Transformers x Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Party Wallop

The list of properties the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles haven’t crossed over with gets shorter by the day. When I look back to the 1980s, I view the big action figure lines as Star Wars, Masters of the Universe, Transformers, The Real Ghostbusters, and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. TMNT has crossed over with Ghostbusters in…

by Joe

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January 27, 2026

JoyToy TMNT Leatherhead

By Joe
I can think of few things more terrifying than an alligator with a shotgun.

It was in my year-end wrap-up post on 2025 where I mentioned how awful the tariffs instituted by the US during the year made action figure collecting. The added cost is a given, but also the shipping. Importing a figure from overseas became a bigger issue as understaffed sorting centers were ill-equipped for figuring out what needed to face an additional charge and what did not. Some shippers just made it the problem for the one doing the importing (i.e. – the buyer) while most paid it upfront and either baked it into the price of the item or broke it out separately. Some retailers basically suspended all shipments or gave consumers the option to store their wares for free with them until a cheaper option presented itself reflecting the idea that no one knows how long these things are going to last. I bring this up because my JoyToy Leatherhead had himself a heck of a journey in getting to me. This is an import-only line as JoyToy isn’t licensed to sell TMNT products to the US. My first order made it all the way to my local sorting center the week of Thanksgiving, then got rerouted across the country where it went to die. Thankfully, the store I bought it from sent me another free of charge which did eventually get to me on Christmas Eve. I don’t really care how long it takes something to get to me, it is what it is, but the anxiety of not knowing if it ever will certainly isn’t any fun.

He is quite large.

Leatherhead did indeed arrive so now I can tell you how I feel about this action figure from JoyToy. If you saw that wrap-up post, I selected JoyToy’s line of 1:18 scale Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles figures as my line of the year. It’s truly been exceptional and the company was busy pumping out figures as well with relative quickness. Maybe they don’t envision having the license for very long or something because they are moving at quite a clip. After Leatherhead, I still have another 2025 release to review and there’s a Turtle Van on the way as well. A Turtle Van already? That’s more than a little impressive and the pace hasn’t appeared to impact quality either as these releases have been free of quality control issues. Does that trend continue with Leatherhead?

Maybe all he wants to do is go fishing?

First off, Leatherhead is yet another addition to the line that immediately tries to grab the title of biggest so far. I skipped the Triceratons so I can’t speak for them, but Leatherhead comfortably fits in with the likes of Groundchuck and Rahzar. I have him at 5.325″, but he’s also just very bulky and has a rather large tail taking up shelf space as well. JoyToy seems to source various iterations of the franchise for its designs, but with Leatherhead they seemed to have gone to their most frequented source in the ’87 cartoon series. Leatherhead is basically in the same getup as that version of the character sporting a hunting vest with blue pants and boots. He even has the lobsters dangling from his belt. Where he differs is in the absence of a hat and the presence of a little more tactical gear. He has a harness which provides some weapon storage and his belt extends to enwrap his thigh almost like a brace, but there’s no holster or anything on it so I don’t know what it’s true purpose is supposed to be.

Weapon storage is always a plus.

The other main difference separating this Leatherhead from the toon is with the added detail as well as the added realism. There are pockets and seams added to his clothing and boots giving them a more natural appearance. His skin is a paler, yellow-green, with deep scaling. Most of all, the head is very realistic looking. He basically looks like an actual alligator with almost no presence of anthropomorphizing present. I’m a little down on this one as a result. There’s a slight toonish quality to all of the other figures in this line which just isn’t present with Leatherhead. I wish he had slightly enlarged eyes and maybe a hint of a smile. Something to just bring him more in-line with the others. If JoyToy was looking to make a realistic interpretation of the character then they absolutely nailed it, I just question the appropriateness of such a design choice for the line they’re constructing.

I think we found something more terrifying than an alligator with a shotgun.

Leatherhead does come with a whole bunch of accessories which is typical of the line. He has the same white base which can combine with 3 other portions to form a larger base as well as a city sewer disc stand. For hands, he has a set of trigger hands, tight gripping hands, a wider right gripping hand, and an even wider left one. The trigger hands are designed to work with both the pump-action shotgun and the rocket launcher. The shotgun is the short body design favored by the police with a brown pump. The action, sadly, does not work, but the gun can fit into the holster on the harness he wears. The rocket launcher is obviously much bigger and includes a removable rocket. The rocket has this metallic, red, tip that makes me think of a Christmas light or something. It’s pretty cool though and it’s nice and light weight so the figure has no issues holding it. The wide, left, gripping hand works well for two-handed shotgun poses while the tighter right hand can wield his fishing rod. The even tighter hands appear to be intended to go along with the lobster accessory, but the shape of the gesture looks more like what one might utilize when gripping a rod. His hands are soft enough that you can fit that very thick handle of the rod into them, though his range at the shoulders won’t let him have one hand on the base and one on the reel – which does spin!

Aww, shucks.

Which does take us to the articulation and it’s a spot where folks have experienced some quality control issues with this figure. First of all, his articulation is pretty consistent with the rest of the line. He does have extra joints in the neck area to accommodate his alligator form. He can almost look all the way up like a gator in the water, but not quite. He doesn’t get much rotation at the head, but the neck joint helps him to look to his left and right. The jaw does open, but it’s restricted by the sculpt so it doesn’t open quite as wide as I’d like. From there, we get shoulder, bicep, elbow, wrists, diaphragm, waist, hips, thighs, knees, ankles, and toes. He does have double joints at the knees and elbows and the tail has a bendy wire in it. The hips are those steel, double-ball peg joints which are always nice. Where I’ve run into some quality control is with the right foot which keeps popping off. It’s more of a nuisance than anything, but worth mentioning. Where others have experienced issues is with the attached lobsters on the belt. Basically, basic articulation at the hips can cause these suckers to pop off. I’m aware of it, so I’ve been able to avoid it, but they feel like ticking time bombs. An issue I had personally is the bear trap on the back of his belt arrived detached in the box. When I’m done with my review I’ll glue it back on as it’s not articulated and serves no purpose as an accessory.

Is he friend or foe? For this particular version of the character I’m going with foe.

The usefulness of the articulation is mostly okay. He can pull-off the two-handed shotgun pose and he’s a relatively easy figure to stand. The ankle rocker isn’t great though nor is the bendy tail. The wire doesn’t run all the way to the end so you have to be mindful not to cause it to poke through the rubbery material. He’s also just really bulky and the stuff on his belt makes handling the figure a little less fun than it could be. I do also find the very limited jaw articulation disappointing while posing him as having that open maw would just add so much to the vibe the figure gives off. The joints at least look fine, save for the knees which are a bit ugly and gappy when bent. As a result, I’m a little down on Leatherhead. He’s not as good as the best we’ve seen from this line, but a subpar release for JoyToy is still a worthwhile one to have. I also find myself really missing his hat. I would say if you like the approach JoyToy took with the aesthetics of Leatherhead then you’ll probably enjoy this release more than I do. The lobsters and trap are going to be an issue, but one that a little glue can also remedy. I kind of only bought him because he went up with Metalhead and had he gone up all by his lonesome I may have passed. I don’t regret getting the figure though, it’s just not my preferred take on the character.

If you want to check out some JoyToy releases I was more enthusiastic about then take a look at these:

JoyToy TMNT Groundchuck

Last week we had ourselves a look at Dirtbag from JoyToy’s line of 1:18 scale Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures. As most probably expected, we’re back this week with a look at his buddy Groundchuck, the mutant bull that could have very easily been named Bull’s Eye, but maybe Playmates felt that was too…

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by Joe

JoyToy TMNT Dirtbag

Today for Turtle Tuesday we continue our look at Wave 6 (I think?) of JoyToy’s 1:18 scale Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles line of action figures with a character who should be familiar to long-time fans of the franchise: Dirtbag. Dirtbag first showed up as part of the Playmates toyline in 1991 before making the leap…

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by Joe

JoyToy TMNT Rahzar

JoyToy is back with their latest wave of 1/18 scale action figures based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and with a character I think we all assumed was on the way. You don’t do a figure of Tokka, the mutated snapping turtle, and not also do a figure of his best buddy, Rahzar. The two…

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by Joe

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January 20, 2026

NECA TMNT Adventures April – The Fifth Turtle

By Joe
Is this the turtle you’re looking for?

NECA’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures based on the pages Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures by Archie Comics is like the little engine that could. It’s not a fast-moving line, the releases aren’t always heavy hitters, but when they land they’re usually pretty damn good. And NECA appears to be slow-walking this line since they have yet to release the actual turtles in the line. We got wrestling variants of the boys, and now we’re getting a version of their ally April O’Neil, only she’s in her seldom seen look as the fifth turtle.

Or maybe it’s the April you’re looking for?

In the pages of TMNT Adventures there was a one-shot winter special where April O’Neil was mutated into a turtle. It didn’t last very long, but for at least a few pages she was essentially the fifth ninja turtle. And she looked how you might expect in that she has the same mask and pads, a belt, she’s armed with a single katana, and she has a big “A” on her belt. You may have expected her to go with yellow for her color of choice, but she actually had to settle for white instead. This figure was teased quite a while ago in April of 2023, but it didn’t actually see release until fall 2025. She is basically the first basic turtle in the Archie subline and one imagines that whenever NECA gets around to doing standard versions of the boys this is the buck they’ll be on. In that, it’s like a preview of things to come so even if you’re not interested in this obscure version of April this figure might be of some interest to you.

With Archie Raph and toon Raph.

April comes in the standard Archie packaging with new artwork by series regular Ken Mitchroney. I like his very stylized take on the character with the accentuated beak and angled eyes. The figure dials that down a little, but a lot of those traits are still present. April stands at about 5.625″ to the top of her head. I have her as slightly shorter than Archie Raph and it appears to be due to her head sitting lower on the neck. Her head and plastron are actually wider which gives her a slightly stockier look compared with Raph, who is basically a blank turtle body. April has new forearms which are slightly thicker as well and her shell is different, having a more angled approach to the different panels. It’s hard to tell if anything below the waist is new. The knee pads create a thicker look, but it might just be an optical illusion. If I get out my grandfather’s old machinist gauge for measuring thickness it tells me their legs are the same, but confirms what I suspected with the forearms.

I don’t think this is how April wanted to present herself.

The stylization with April might be different from what some might expect. If you’re primary frame of reference for a female ninja turtle is Venus DeMilo from The Next Mutation then this April will look pretty different. That’s because they didn’t give her those odd plastron boobs that character had and instead she pretty much just looks like a turtle – kind of like how male and female turtles in the wild pretty much look the same. Her only embellishment is a slightly curvier plastron silhouette and clawed fingers. I thought at first the fingers might be reuse from the Archie Slash, but they are unique to April. Her portraits have that pronounced beak though, and while her eyes aren’t comically feminine, they have that Archie personality we’ve grown accustomed to with NECA’s figures. I love the little “t” shape they paint onto the beaks as that is pulled right from the books. The figure is a very matte yellowish green that is accentuated very nicely by the white wraps that have a touch of light blue shading. The shell is deep green and all of the grooves are filled with clean, black, paint. There’s black linework to accentuate the muscles and overall this is another homerun from NECA in the aesthetics department for this line.

“Where do you get off calling yourself the fifth turtle?!”

April’s accessories are quite numerous for a general release in this line. She has four distinct portraits: unmasked, grin, yelling, and a classic TMNT angry side sneer. The bandana knot is transferable between the masked portraits and while it’s a little snug, it works fine. The unmasked portrait features a sad expression and there’s even some tears painted on which helps to make it quite scene specific. For hands, April has gripping, fists, and open clawing hands. She comes with a single katana which is what she utilized in the book which features a brown hilt and blue pommel and guard. The blade itself is white which I love because metal is often done in white in comic books. I’m a little surprised they didn’t hit it with a touch of blue shading like the weapons that came with the Mirage turtles, but it looks pretty good as-is. To store it she has a large, white, scabbard that is shaded with blue that simply slots onto her belt. It’s not a super secure connection, but it will stay in place once she’s posed. Just expect it to fall out a lot when posing her. The sword does store effortlessly in the scabbard which is nice to see after my experience with the 2012 Leonardo and his stubborn blades.

She’s got the look, but does she have the skill to take on the Shredder?

April’s articulation is basically the same as the Archie wrestling turtles only she has some elbow and knee pads to obstruct things. She has joints at the head, base of the neck, shoulders, biceps, elbows, wrists, waist, hips, knees, and ankles. There are built-in thigh swivels into the ball-joints at the hips and her gripping hands have the proper vertical hinge for wielding a sword. She has the pinless knee and elbow joints, but the presence of the pads will limit the range. Her elbows are pretty much only good for a 90 degree bend while the knees extend a little past that. They’re also very tight at both spots and I haven’t noticed any lubricating oil in those places like I did with the wrestling turtles. The shell will limit her hip range, but the plastron is soft so she can kick forward about 90 degrees if you want to push it. Going out to the side for splits is no problem and the oversized feet with solid ankle rockers make getting her to stand pretty easy. The waist isn’t going to do much owing to the turtle anatomy and range at the shoulders is not good enough for two-handed sword poses. It would be nice to see NECA integrate a butterfly joint there since one would think the shell would hide some of the ugliness of said joint, but I don’t know if they’ve ever done such with any release, turtle or otherwise.

“Geez April, think you might reconsider going back to the news reporter look?”

Perhaps the best thing about April is she should retail for the reasonable price of $35. Some places have her as high as $41 but she is shipping to big box retail which is likely to have the cheapest price on her. She comes with plenty of stuff and the sculpt and paint are fantastic. Yes, the articulation is just okay, though it is better than some of NECA’s other TMNT figures. That’s what they’re known for though and if your primary interest is in the figure’s presentation then this April should please you, provided you ever felt the need to own a figure of April as the Fifth Turtle.

If you’re looking for more Archie inspired TMNT figures or more April then check these out:

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 Toon “Mutant Interest Story” – Deluxe April O’Neil

Whenever I approach my rankings for NECA’s now long-running action figure series based on the 1987 cartoon Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, I don’t always just pick the objectively best or worst toy in the line to slot them into the rankings. It’s a combination of the figure’s quality and the character’s importance. A great figure…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Cartoon Channel 6 Newsroom SDCC Exclusive Set

Remember San Diego Comic Con? You would be forgiven if you did not since, like last year’s edition, the event was a virtual one once again. Only unlike the 2020 version, this one came with the expectation it would be virtual. It also coincided with a global shipping crisis, so combine that with the expectation…

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by Joe

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January 6, 2026

NECA TMNT 2012 The Shredder

By Joe
Every hero needs a villain.

Just about every iteration of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles has its own Shredder. He’s the big bad villain of the franchise despite having the dubious honor of being killed off in the very first issue of the comic book series. For the 2012 series, Shredder was back as the head of a crime syndicate and portrayed as a brutal, ruthless, threat to the good guys. Gone are the days of the Shredder surrounded by moronic henchmen entrusted with far too much responsibility. This Shredder is violent and enjoys inflicting harm upon his adversaries, both physical and psychological. There is no redeeming quality to him and he’s quite good at what he does. And if you’re going to have a figure line based on this version of the franchise, you have to do him justice.

This Shredder is not the screwball these other two are.

The Shredder is the sixth figure in NECA’s line based on the 2012 animated series Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. Despite that distinction, he’s the fifth release and I suspect the only reason why he’s numbered six is because it worked better for the mural that’s being displayed via the spine of the box art. This is a sculpt attributed to a trio of individuals/entities: Daniel Katcher, Richard Force, and Kushwara Studios. Nicole Falk is credited with tailoring the soft goods cape and Ciro Nieli handled the box art. Paint is credited to Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo.

That’s a lot worse than a rat scratch.

Shredder towers over the turtles in this line coming in at approximately 7.125″ to the top of the dome of his helmet. He’s a broad shouldered, but somewhat slender, Shredder perhaps having more in common with the Mirage portrayals of the character than appears at first blush. He’s still adorned with armor and lots of bladed features. The blades of his shoulders jut out from his body as opposed to vertically and his gauntlets are almost ludicrously large. The garment he wears beneath his armor is a dark magenta while the armored bits are done with a shiny silver. Those spikes are all rigid and sharp. He looks pretty on-model, though as one of those characters often obscured by shadows in the show it can make it a touch hard to determine just how on-model he is without pulling out numerous stills and production art. If anything, his arms and chest might be a little larger in figure form than it is in the show, but since it adds to his presence I’m not considering that a negative.

He can also get angry. And stabby.

The paint on Shredder is fairly rudimentary not calling for a lot of pizzazz, with one exception. Underneath the removable helmet is the burned visage of Oroku Saki. He’s pretty ugly looking and NECA did a good job of capturing that. He has an alternate portrait which portrays him as more angry and it’s every bit as good, though won’t really change the look of the figure once the helmet is put back on. The colors all match well whether they’re painted or not and there’s no obvious paint slop anywhere on my figure. Some of the finer details are less than perfect, but certainly acceptable for a mass-produced item. The cape is pretty plain as most NECA capes tend to be. It’s just a thin, black, material though there is a wire through it, just probably not where you want it to be. The wire is merely at the top of the cape and used to hook the cape under the pauldrons. It’s easy to take on and off, but it’s a shame NECA won’t do fully wired capes for posing.

They have no chance one-on-one with Shredder.

Aside from the alternate portrait, Shredder comes with three sets of hands: fists, gripping, and relaxed. For weapons, he has six blades to make use of. In the show, Shredder had retractable blades built into his gauntlets which were his weapons of choice. He has two long ones and one central blade with a diamond-shaped point. You get four of the long blades and two of the center blades which just plug into his gauntlets. You can fit all three into each hand at once, but it is a little busy looking and I don’t think he ever went into battle in such a manner. He also comes with a lone Kraang alien. The little guy looks the part and is well-sculpted as well as well-painted, but not articulated. One set of tentacles is shaped into a curve while the other set is more flat which makes it a challenge to do much with if it’s not being held. I’m guessing we’ll be seeing this guy, or variations on him, quite a bit if this line endures.

I don’t like the B Team’s chances here.

Shredder’s articulation is fairly basic and likely what someone familiar with NECA would expect. The head is on a double ball peg, though it’s limited a bit by the helmet. The arms feature joints at the shoulders, biceps, elbows, and wrists while the torso just has a waist joint. That waist joint is a ball joint, but because of the shape of his breastplate it can’t do much. Range rotating is extremely limited and he can’t crunch forward much and only tilt back a little bit. The bicep swivels are a little odd looking, like his shoulders are a touch too small, which may limit their range as well if you don’t like how they look. Hips are standard ball-joints with a thigh swivel and they work fine. Knees are double-jointed and the ankles hinge and rock. My figure does have some stuck and stubborn joints. The top elbow hinge on both arms doesn’t want to do much while the left ankle was also problematic. The gauntlets can rotate which is nice and the boots swivel too so you can keep the armor lined up with your posing.

Shredder is proof that the good guys don’t always win.

Shredder is going to be pretty limited when it comes to posing. Mine also seems to have a loose right ankle and he’s a challenge to stand sometimes. He also already took a shelf dive and his right pauldron broke off which is irksome. I had him in a pretty vanilla pose too. The torso is aggravating because NECA could have tweaked his design just a little bit to keep that breastplate from causing a problem, but opted to just plow forward with it the way it is. I always make it a point to mention that NECA prioritizes the aesthetics over articulation as I think that’s their right as action figure makers, but sometimes they go too far. There are very minor sacrifices they could be making to improve the experience, but they choose not to do so. I have probably over a hundred NECA figures at this point and I suppose some NECA fatigue is setting in. Rarely am I impressed with what I get because so often the figures just meet my expectations as opposed to exceeding them. I don’t think it’s a requirement that every figure need to blow me away or anything, but it would be nice to be pleasantly surprised once in awhile.

Thankfully, Shredder doesn’t need incredible articulation to have shelf presence.

Shredder is a B+ entry in the line. He looks like the character and is pretty menacing, he’s just not at all fun to mess around with. Some of that is the character design as there are lots of sharp things to avoid and the blades have a tendency to fall out. And then some of that is just on the engineering for a figure that can’t do a whole lot. Most will likely just have him stand there on their shelf and that will be that. And that’s what I plan to do with him. I have no plans on going too deep with this line, but I knew I wanted a Shredder to go with the turtles. This mostly gets the job done.

If you missed the rest of the 2012 NECA TMNT toy line coverage then check these out:

NECA TMNT 2012 Michelangelo

After a bit of a hiatus due to the Christmas holiday, we have reached the last of the four brothers from NECA Toys’ line of action figures based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the 2012 animated series that aired on Nickelodeon. And who better to save for last than the party dude himself: Michelangelo. Mikey…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT 2012 Raphael

We are onto the third member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its everyone’s favorite hot head. Raphael got softened for the 1987 cartoon series to make him sarcastic and a bit of a goof-off. He didn’t take anything too seriously and had a certain dry wit about him. It’s quite different from his…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT 2012 Donatello

We were able to get through some of the logistics of this line with Leonardo, so for this second review we can just get right to it. One of the best decisions the 2012 iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made was bringing back veteran voice actor Rob Paulsen. He’s voiced countless characters over the…

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by Joe

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December 30, 2025

NECA TMNT 2012 Michelangelo

By Joe
If Michelangelo is here then you know what time it is!

After a bit of a hiatus due to the Christmas holiday, we have reached the last of the four brothers from NECA Toys’ line of action figures based on Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, the 2012 animated series that aired on Nickelodeon. And who better to save for last than the party dude himself: Michelangelo. Mikey has always been the more carefree, happy-go-lucky, turtle. He doesn’t take anything too seriously and just wants to have a good time. He does have a big heart though and the 2012 version of the character was perhaps the most childlike one we’ve seen yet. He is a teenager like his brothers, but he is the smallest of the four and kind of the baby of the bunch. Maybe there’s a bit of arrested development there, growing up in a sewer probably isn’t the best for emotional growth, but he can throw down when he has to and proved himself shockingly competent when stranded in Dimension X.

Michelangelo is the only one Raph has bragging rights over when it comes to height.

Michelangelo is another sculpt by May Thamtarana with paint by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo. He’s number two in the series and with four turtles you can almost complete the mural on the side of the boxes which was done by Ciro Nieli. Michelangelo stands at 5.25″ making him the shortest of the four, as he should be. He has a smiling, almost cherubic, portrait by default which suits the character. Like his brothers, he also has a battle portrait with whited-out eyes and a yelling expression. As perhaps the most expressive of the turtles in the show, it’s a shame we only get the two heads. I’d love a pizza scarfing head, an excited yell, or something even more cartoonish. NECA likely plans on selling us more Michelangelo figures though so they don’t want to give it all up on the first go even if the box does say “ultimate.”

All of the turtles come with a slice, but Michelangelo is the only one who definitely needs one.

Michelangelo’s proportions and coloring looks pretty accurate to the show. He has thin arms and a pear shape to his body as it widens the further down you go. The plastron and belt have some nice distress effects sculpted and painted in while the pouches for his weapons are also present. Paint is mostly clean and NECA made sure to capture the freckles on Mikey’s cheeks. I do have one bit of paint slop near the left knee where it looks like some of the brown from the kneepad transferred to the leg. He’s very pleasing to look at overall and he might be my second favorite in the aesthetics department behind Donatello.

Mikey’s weapons got an upgrade in 2012.
Old reliable.
I feel like he needs a board to make proper use of these hands.

Michelangelo comes with a fairly substantial assortment of accessories. I already mentioned the second portrait, and for hands we have a set a gripping, pointing, hang loose, a relaxed left, and a C-grip right hand. The hang loose gesture is the same that came with Leo and it’s a much better fit here with Michelangelo. The C-grip hand continues to confound me to some degree as I’m not sure what accessory it’s intended to be used with. I guess the T-Phone, though you will have to heat the hand up first as it’s not quite wide enough to accommodate it. Which, yes, Mikey has a T-Phone as well as a slice of pizza and stink bomb, same as the other turtles. He also has his trusty nunchaku which are painted plastic handles joined by real chain link. The handles come apart where the chain meets them like the toon Michelangelo’s nunchaku, only here we’re not swapping to a spinning effect. Instead, Mikey comes with the longer chain with bladed weapon at the other end. In the show, Mikey’s ‘chuks could basically extend somehow and had a pop-out blade to make them just a little more formidable.

Aww, Icecream Kitty!

The last accessory is probably everyone’s favorite: Icecream Kitty. The mutated cat that lives in the freezer is included and she’s pretty well done. The figure doesn’t move, but it doesn’t really have to. It’s a nice spread of stuff, but with Mikey it feels like more could have been included. Some soft goods, pizza-stained, briefs would have been pretty funny. Some spinning effects would have also been much appreciated. I love the real chain look, but they don’t display well since gravity is always going to do its own thing. Like the other turtles, Mikey’s gripping hands are all really stiff so you may want to heat them up in order to get him to hold anything. With the handles of his weapons coming apart at the chain, they are easier to slip into his hands than some others. His second head also would not go on for me without heat, but your mileage may vary there.

Since we’ve looked at all of the turtles now feels like a good time to bust out the Playmates originals.

Michelangelo’s articulation is the same as the others, but with him the range is a little less. His upper body is so much smaller that getting much range out of the shoulders can be a challenge. The right shoulder on mine is a bit stubborn as well at the hinge. It’s not stuck, but it also doesn’t appear to enjoy being articulated. The hips seem more restrictive as well. The rest are fine and nothing required heat in order to function. He’s going to get into some basic poses, but likely won’t impress in that department.

Ninjas on the prowl.

Michelangelo is about as good as the rest of his brothers. In my book, that makes him pretty solid. This is a line that does a good job of capturing the aesthetics of the show in a very generic way. The characters are unmistakable for what they are, but the available portraits and articulation are limited enough that you likely won’t be able to recreate your favorite scene. That’s pretty par for the course with NECA though which is very much an aesthetics forward approach with articulation and accessory count secondary. Aside from the hands, there is no reuse between the turtles so this isn’t as cheap a line to produce as some which is also probably why a lot of accessories are repeated. NECA was able to keep the MSRP at $38, which while not exactly cheap, is also not horrendously overpriced. These are a much better likeness at a far friendlier price than what Super7 did with its 2003 line. All that is to say if you liked the other 2012 offerings from NECA then you’ll like Michelangelo. And if you bought the other brothers you’re probably not skipping this one anyway. They are the best looking figures based on the show thus far and likely will remain that way for a long time to come. We may be done with the turtles, but we’re not done with wave one just yet as we have one final figure to look at: the Shredder!

If you missed the other reviews of NECA’s 2012 turtles then look no further:

NECA TMNT 2012 Raphael

We are onto the third member of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and its everyone’s favorite hot head. Raphael got softened for the 1987 cartoon series to make him sarcastic and a bit of a goof-off. He didn’t take anything too seriously and had a certain dry wit about him. It’s quite different from his…

Keep reading
by Joe

NECA TMNT 2012 Donatello

We were able to get through some of the logistics of this line with Leonardo, so for this second review we can just get right to it. One of the best decisions the 2012 iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made was bringing back veteran voice actor Rob Paulsen. He’s voiced countless characters over the…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT 2012 Leonardo

We’re going to start this one off with a question: When you order directly from a producer, do you expect to be first in line for product? NECA’s recent launch of its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figure line based on the 2012 Nickelodeon series raised this question. On September 16, NECA launched the line…

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by Joe

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November 18, 2025

NECA TMNT 2012 Donatello

By Joe
He has a way with machines.

We were able to get through some of the logistics of this line with Leonardo, so for this second review we can just get right to it. One of the best decisions the 2012 iteration of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles made was bringing back veteran voice actor Rob Paulsen. He’s voiced countless characters over the years, but many know him as Raphael from the original TMNT cartoon. For the 2012 show, the decision was made to have Paulsen play a different turtle: Donatello. It made sense to move him off Raph who is almost never portrayed in the same manner as he was in that cartoon. He’s more aggressive, frequently angry, and not the wise-cracking fellow from the old show. Not that Paulsen couldn’t adapt to a different style, but hearing his take on another turtle was an opportunity for something different.

It felt like it made sense to show Donnie with the shortest and tallest figures from wave one.

Donatello in the 2012 show is similar to past versions of the character. He’s the brains, able to come up with clever gadgets and such, but he’s also pretty introspective, insecure, and about as confused about his place in the world as most teenagers. It was fun seeing an episode where Donatello questions the worth of his bo staff. As a kid, I always saw that weapon as decidedly lame compared with what the other turtles had. Combine that with the more feminine purple of his bandana and it made Donatello the lamest turtle to my six-year-old brain. This Donatello is one I can appreciate and he has more nuance than perhaps any of his brothers. His affection for April is a long-running story and a bit tragic in some ways.

This thing can be fiddly.
“All right, a real weapon!”

NECA’s interpretation of Donatello comes courtesy of sculptor May Thamtarana with paint by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo. Ciro Nieli did the illustrations on the box just as they did for Leonardo. Donatello stands a tick under 5.875″ giving him considerable height over his brothers, but leaving him shorter than Shredder. As the tallest turtle in the show, this strikes me as appropriate. His sculpt is almost entirely different from Leonardo’s and that’s going to be true of his brothers as well. From what I can tell, the only parts shared between the turtles are the hands. Everything else is unique which is pretty impressive and can also be a sign of variants to come.

You know Donatello is always going to have gadgets.

Donatello is very well built for not only is he taller his proportions are pretty on-model. His limbs are longer and compared to some of his brothers thicker, or thinner, depending on the turtle. His belt and plastron have the same weathered approach as Leonardo and by default he’s sporting his battle portrait. NECA and Thamtarana really nailed the shape of Donnie’s head which is smaller and rounder than the others and sits pretty high. Like Leo, he’s the most on-model interpretation of this character we have seen yet cast in plastic. He also comes with some minor assembly required. The holster for his bo is a separate piece which plugs into his shell. There’s a hole in the shoulder strap to accommodate this. The actual part is a softer plastic than basically everything else in the box and I saw some people express frustration with getting it in place. Mine went in without issue, but I also got to it shortly after it was delivered in a fairly cool climate which may have helped. If it were warm and more pliable it might have been a different story.

“Having a chicken around really pays off!”

Donatello comes with gripping hands by default as well as a set of open hands and a set of pointing hands. The right open hand is more of a C-grip hand and I assume it’s for his other accessories. He does have an alternate portrait with his pupils visible and a big, open-mouthed, smile which exposes the gap between his front teeth, a hallmark of the character. It’s a great likeness and it’s exactly the kind of portrait we want to see with these figures. He also has his trusty bo staff which can separate at the tape. This makes it a little easier to slot into his holster, but also allows for it to be switched with the included bladed end creating a naginata. Donnie’s lame weapon got a little upgrade in the show. He also has more unique accessories in the form of his microscope goggles and a homemade tracking device that appears to be made out of a Game Boy and egg beater. The goggles don’t get a snug fit on either head, but will probably stay if placed on a shelf. Donnie also has the same T-phone, smoke bomb, and pizza slice as the rest. His last accessory is Dr. Cluckenstein, the big-brained chicken. She looks good, though is just a slug figure with no articulation. Mine also came with one of the toes broken off which is a bummer. It’s the only real quality control issue I had with the wave.

Poor little fella has a broken toe.

Donatello has the same articulation as Leonardo with the only difference being his shape provides for more range in places. He can look up much better than Leo and his shoulders are easier to engage with. He’s also the figure I had the least amount of issues with out of the box as far as stuck joints are concerned. Knees and elbows all worked fine as well as the ankles. He has the same horizontal wrist hinges as Leonardo, though it’s less of an issue with his chosen melee weapon. His gripping hands are just as rigid though so you’ll want to heat them up before trying to get him to hold his staff. Even the C-grip hand isn’t particularly good for anything without some heat if you want him to actually grip something with any authority. I did have issues swapping heads again, though in this case the default portrait came off fine, it’s just the alternate didn’t want to go on. I just heated it up and that was that.

They’re a lovable bunch.

Donatello is an overall better release than Leonardo and might be the best in the line. I’ll reserve judgement for that until I’ve spent more time with the rest of wave one, but I think he just comes together in a nicer package. His articulation is slightly more forgiving, his accessories more purposeful, and best of all he has two worthy portraits for your display. He’s still not as articulated as he could be, but if you just want an on-model Donatello from the 2012 series you’ll be hard pressed to do better than this.

We have plenty more from Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to refer you to:

NECA TMNT 2012 Leonardo

We’re going to start this one off with a question: When you order directly from a producer, do you expect to be first in line for product? NECA’s recent launch of its Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figure line based on the 2012 Nickelodeon series raised this question. On September 16, NECA launched the line…

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by Joe

NECA TMNT Toon Donatello’s Portable Portal Generator

Is this it? Have I finally hit the point where my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle toy collecting is out of control? It just might be, for today we have Donatello’s Portable Portal Generator, the latest piece from NECA’s line of toys based on the vintage cartoon series. And it’s not that this is a bad…

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by Joe

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November 4, 2025

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Guerrilla Gorilla

By Joe
Pictured: Not Sergeant Bananas, but also Sergeant Bananas.

It feels like the last few times I’ve made a Super7 Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles post I’ve wondered if it’s my last one so I’m going to stop trying to predict that. This one comes courtesy of Big Bad Toy Store and their generous summer of deals. I wasn’t going to pick up this particular action figure because it came at a pretty large MSRP, but when it was slashed nearly 50% I decided to bite so here we are to talk about Guerilla Gorilla.

Someone at Super7 must have loved Sergeant Bananas. Their love for that ape in a banana-print onesie apparently was so vast that they could not take “No” for an answer. It’s pretty surprising. I’ve never met a TMNT fan who loved Sgt. Bananas. I had the figure as a kid and he was fine. I liked his little buddy, Larry the Lemur, quite a bit, but Sgt. Bananas was one of those characters who never made the leap from figure to cartoon. He never even showed up in the Archie books. And therein lies the problem for Super7. Looking back on it, this figure is where we should have been clued into the fact that Super7 was having some issues getting stuff approved because of Playmates Toys. Originally, some just thought Sgt. Bananas must be independently owned, but he was likely created by the team at Mirage Studios for the toy line which means he’s owned by Paramount as they got everything with the purchase of the franchise. The problem for Super7 is that Playmates was able to exercise control over the characters that only appeared in their toyline when it comes to Super7’s. Making a series of vinyl blind box toys? Sgt. Bananas is on the table! Making a Playmates homage toyline though, well, you’re going to have to do without.

Between height and heft, the addition of Guerilla Gorilla is the largest one yet to the line.

And that’s how Super7 landed on Guerrilla Gorilla. The company so badly wanted to make Sgt. Bananas that it instead pivoted to this similar character who appeared in an issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Magazine. I was pretty tapped into TMNT during this time, but I had no idea there was a magazine. I’m not surprised since pretty much everything that was popular had a magazine. Guerrilla Gorilla debuted in issue number 4 titled Bungle in the Jungle. The issue is by Ryan Brown with art by Jim Lawson. In it, the turtles meet Guerrilla who is basically a freedom fighter out to protect the jungle from deforestation. According to Turtlepedia, he and Sgt. Bananas are the same character and there is some sort of legal distinction needed. They’re both mutant gorillas with an army motif, but they don’t look all that similar aside from that. Sgt. Bananas had the pretty goofy banana print uniform while Guerrilla is more understated, generic, army ape with an olive vest and camo pants. If you’re asking me to pick a design then, yeah, I’ll take Guerrilla Gorilla, but I’m not married to either one.

He even makes Bebop and Rocksteady look slight.

The whole thing becomes a little crazy to me when we start talking price. Despite the character looking to be only slightly larger than the turtles in the magazine, Super7 decided Guerrilla Gorilla needed to be massive in comparison. And that uptick in size meant an uptick in price all the way up to an MSRP of $75. That seems nuts to me for Super7 to essentially ask TMNT fans to pay that kind of dough for a character they’ve probably never even heard of. That seems to be part of the Super7 brand though – we make the stuff no one else would, or something like that. I think they like to be perceived as a little “out there” and their co-founder Brian Flynn is quite fond of tossing around the word “bonkers” to describe a lot of what they do. I just don’t think it makes much business sense, and if the quality isn’t there then people start to get pissed. It doesn’t seem like a company on great footing these days, but what do I know? I’m just a dude with a blog.

He comes with a ton of stuff, and each banana in the bandolier is removable, but how useable is it all?

Guerrilla Gorilla comes in the standard Ultimates! style packaging including the now discarded slipcover. It’s probably the biggest box yet in the TMNT line, though it’s not as big as some of the Power Rangers stuff I’ve received. Out of the box, our ape friend stands around 8.5″ to the top of his crew cut. More than just the height though is the sheer mass of this thing. This is a heavy toy. You could probably really hurt someone with this thing if wielding it like a club. And it might even hold up pretty well too because it’s quite solid. For more dimensions, each arm on this guy is about 6″ long. His wingspan is around 15″ – this is a big, freaking, action figure for 1:10 scale. Stick a turtle next to him and they’re going to look puny. Even the bigger characters in the line look a little small when they’re next to this guy. Of the figures I have, the only one similar in terms of height and mass is the Triceraton, but Guerrilla has him beat. If you’re of the opinion that size matters then you’ll probably be pleased with this one.

He’s a big guy so he needs a big knife.

Size is but one aspect of presentation, the rest is devoted to sculpt and paint. As far as sculpt goes, this guy seems fine. I like his portrait and there’s solid texture on the furry parts without being too overdone or realistic for the line. He’s mostly molded in brown plastic, but there’s paint applied to give it some definition. The skin portions are a little bland by comparison and come across as a little plasticky, but it’s not bad. Super7 continues to do a solid job with jackets as his vest looks really nice and I like the shade of green in use here. The gold of the zipper is painted well. The camo pants are just okay. There’s nothing wrong with them, the pattern is just a little on the minimal side. If they were fully painted I think they’d look a lot better and it’s the unpainted stuff that just brings this one down a smidge because the area is just so damn big. There’s no hiding it.

He can get down into some gorilla type poses, but don’t expect too much beyond that.

The articulation, on the other hand, is a bit of a stumbling block. It tends to always be the case with Super7 and I’m at least happy to report this guy isn’t a floppy mess. Loose joints would absolutely sink him at this size and weight so Super7 seemed to take extra care to make sure everything is tight. The factory applied shock oil in places to help lubricate joints including the elbows and wrists and it does help, but he’s also really stiff. Swapping parts is not fun. As of this writing, I haven’t been able to get his right hand removed though I’m assuming I’ll be able to with some heat. I was able to remove the left and it takes some effort to insert another one. The default head came off, but I had to kind of snap it back. There’s a chip missing from the double ball peg inside and I don’t know if I did that or if it’s just a factory thing. I could not get his alternate head on, but I’m assuming some heat will do the trick as the opening doesn’t look any smaller with the naked eye. It’s just that this plastic has zero give. There’s no flex at all.

I mentioned the double ball head already, but you also get ball-hinged shoulders, biceps, single elbows, wrist hinge and swivel, diaphragm joint, waist cut, ball-hinge hips, thigh swivel, single knees, ankle hinge and rocker. The head sits real low so it’s not going to do a ton while the shoulders are extremely tight. They’ll move, but it takes some force and there’s no smoothness to the hinge so it basically behaves like a ratcheted joint. The bicep swivel appears to be like a sleeve over a post so it moves independent of the forearm. Most import toys do something similar and we saw the same with the recently released Gamerverse Wolverine by Hasbro. The elbows swivel too and the range is fine. I’ve found the wrists and ankles to work pretty well as do the hips. The knees start off slightly bent, but will form a 90 degree angle when bent all the way. The diaphragm joint has really no forward and back range and is basically another swivel point. He can stand upright, or be pitched forward with knuckles on the ground. He’s stable, but obviously he’s not going to do a whole heck of a lot. With all of the plastic here, and the jacket overlay, I do wish they tried working a butterfly joint into this guy as that would have helped with the weapons, but that’s also not Super7’s style.

He comes with two ammo options for the bazooka: banana and coconut.

Super7 could have just stopped at “Giant Monkey Man,” but they decided he also needed to come with a ton of stuff. I guess they really took the whole “Ultimates!” moniker to heart here as there’s not much else Guerrilla Gorilla could come with. For starters, he has 10 available hands. I don’t even know how to describe most of them as they’re just different levels of gripping hands plus the customary fists and open variety. There is one that’s an obvious trigger finger hand and it has the preferred vertical hinge. There’s an opposite hand with a less pronounced trigger finger that also has the proper hinge. He also has the yelling head as an alternate portrait and it looks good. The helmet also fits on it just fine. He has a set of sunglasses and they fit the standard, smiling, portrait better than the yelling one, but you can fudge it if you’re determined. He comes wearing an empty bandolier and there are seven bananas to slot into the openings on it. In case he gets hungry, or maybe they’re ammo? I don’t know with this guy. He also has three grenades, a big ass knife, a machine gun, and a bazooka.

I don’t know if you can get a trigger finger into there. If so, it’s going to take a lot of heat.

The machinegun is painted silver with a plain, black, painted handle and it has sculpted vines on it that basically serve as a sling. He can wear the gun over his shoulder if he wants and it will stay in place rather well. The bazooka has no potential for weapon storage (you can slide the knife and grenades under the bandolier if you so desire) and he basically has to hold that one. It comes with a gigantic banana sticking out of the end which can be removed and replaced with a coconut. A coconut makes more sense as a projectile, but when have TMNT weapons ever made sense? The issue with basically all of the weapons, and especially the guns, is that the hands offer zero give. If you want him to hold anything, you’re going to have to heat these hands up to get them nice and pliable. Otherwise you’re just going to strip paint or worse. He can hold the grenades and bananas just fine while you should probably heat up a gripping hand if you want him to hold the knife.

You can finagle some weapon storage out of this guy.

Posing him with the weapons is another story. I kind of hate how they designed this bazooka. It looks fine, the silly premise suits the line, but it has a handle and trigger on it set way back. If your ape holds it as intended it looks more like he’s holding a small gun. It doesn’t rest on his shoulder. I tried using an open hand to just balance it on his shoulder with the hand on top, but that didn’t really work either. The machine gun works only slightly better. The hard plastic vines sculpted to it means it looks a little ridiculous. I wish he could hold it in a firing pose with the vine around his shoulder. The vine really needed to be a separate piece like a true strap so it could be soft and pliable. Then it probably would work the way I want it to. I also can’t envision getting a trigger finger onto the actual trigger with it. It, like everything, is super rigid with no pliability so the end result would probably be a busted trigger guard or worse if I tried to force the issue.

The rare sergeant who can boast he takes bigger turds than the size of the private before him and actually mean it.

Guerrilla Gorilla is, in many ways, a great encapsulation of the Super7 experience. They got so excited and gung-ho about making a massive gorilla figure that they didn’t really stop and take the time to envision a more practical build. It’s great that the figure is so big and has this shelf presence about it by virtue of its size, but it doesn’t do a lot of the little things well as a result. And it never needed to be this big. Would anyone care if he was the same size or even a little smaller than Bebop? I know I wouldn’t. The incredibly tight hands and some of the joints suck a lot of the fun out of handling this thing. I’ve seen many people who claim Super7 is really a company for in-box collectors and this Guerrilla Gorilla figure makes them look right. That said, it’s not an awful release. If you’re the one weirdo out there who wanted this character as a figure then you’re probably really happy. And you may have even been happy to drop $75 on it. I did not care one bit about the character or his more famous version so it was a nonstarter at that price. Given the size and amount of stuff in the box, the MSRP really isn’t all that bad. For $40? Yeah, I went in on that to see how it was and to add a unique piece to the Turtle shelf. I’m content with him, warts and all, at that price provided I don’t shear his hand off trying to swap stuff. I have a feeling we’ll never see another Guerrilla Gorilla from anyone else so if you ever had an interest in the character now is probably the time to get on it. Even though the figure is just okay, I would not be shocked if a couple of years from now he’s a bit expensive on the aftermarket because he’s such an oddball character. That’s a dumb reason to buy a toy, but all I’m saying is if you think you may want him in your collection best to do it now while you can score one on clearance rather than later when $75 might look like a good deal.

The Super7 Ultimates! line may be winding down for TMNT, but we’ve already taken a look at quite a few here:

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Triceraton

My summer of discounts continues today with yet another Super7 Ultimates! release. Back when wave 7 of Super7’s line of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles was unveiled I quickly locked in a preorder for three figures: Punker Don, Robotic Bebop, and Triceraton. By the time the line released way, way, late, I only ended up with…

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by Joe

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Foot Soldier (Battle Damaged)

The last Super7 review I did was for the wave of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles based on the 2003 cartoon and I concluded it by speculating it would be awhile before I found a reason to review another figure from Super7. That turned out to be a lie. With it being revealed that Super7 has…

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by Joe

Super7 TMNT Ultimates! Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)

Who isn’t making Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures these days? It’s becoming a far easier thing to keep track of than just who is making them. For years, it was the domain of Playmates Toys and only Playmates Toys. NECA tried to get in on that TMNT action in 2008 and it ended prematurely…

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by Joe

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October 28, 2025

NECA TMNT Adventures Wingnut and Screwloose

By Joe
More characters for your Mighty Mutanimals display have arrived courtesy of NECA Toys.

NECA started down the Archie-verse of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles in 2022 with the Mighty Mutanimals-adjacent Slash. For most, The Mighty Mutanimals team of heroes consists of Man-Ray, Jagwar, Leatherhead, Dreadmon, Mondo Gecko, Wingnut, and Screwloose. For those folks, NECA began that team in 2023 releasing the trio of Man-Ray, Jagwar, and Dreadmon all within about a month of each other. Following that, the team has been slow to complete as 2024 saw only the release of Mondo Gecko and 2025 will only be adding the subject of today’s post, Wingnut and Screwloose.

Wingnut has some decent size to him. As for Screwloose, well he’s a little guy.

Wingnut had an inglorious debut in the companion comic to the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cereal. At least, it feels like an inglorious debut, but how many kids bought a box of cereal and saw him vs how many may have picked up the Playmates toy or an issue of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Adventures? I’m willing to bet Ralston-Purina sold a whole bunch of cereal boxes that year. Wingnut was a villain there and he’d be a villain (along with Screwloose) in the cartoon series, but in the Archie books he and Screwloose are heroes with an obvious Batman and Robin motif. They’re aliens and hail from a world that Krang has destroyed making them both the last of their kind. Their creation is credited to Ryan Brown, and like a lot of the Archie versions of toyline characters, their appearance here is stylistically pretty different from other sources even if the same, general, vibe remains the same.

I never thought I’d have this many versions of this duo.

NECA’s version of Wingnut and Screwloose comes courtesy of sculptors Tomasz Rozejowski and Brodie Perkins. Paint, as always, is credited to the duo of Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo and the box art is by TMNT veteran artist Ken Mitchroney. The duo has that Batman and Robin vibe most are looking for, but the dominant color with Wingnut is purple. Most of his body is a dark purple while his gloves, boots, and thigh straps are a lighter, more red, purple. He has some gray armor on his chest and shoulders and the ever-present Not Batman logo in yellow on the chest. The combo of yellow and purple makes me think of ’66 Batgirl more than Batman. He has a big, yellow, utility, belt and his mechanical wings. Unlike every other Wingnut figure I own or have owned, there are no tiny, organic, wings present in the mechanical ones. I don’t know if he lacked them or if they’re inside these ones. These wings do give him even more of a Batman silhouette because of the shape.

That is some nose you’ve got there, Wingnut.

The sculpt and the paint is the star of the show here. Wingnut has a wild expression on his face with his saliva-coated tongue flailing about. There’s some black on the top of his head which plays off of the deep purple and the pink of his inner ears very well. The sculpt is very much reminiscent of an actual bat, but there’s a slight softening to it via the more cartoonish approach of the design vs what Playmates did with the vintage figure. He does retain that…unfortunate…nose shape and it’s big, veiny, and gross. There’s some nice details sculpted and painted into the shoulder pauldrons as well as the wings. There’s the usual abundance of black linework that helps make the figure “pop” with nary a touch of paint slop.

“I got a guitar!” “I got a gun!” “I got a rock…”

The accessory load-out for Wingnut is a bit on the minimal side, especially if you’re used to this character coming with a bunch of Batman-like gadgets. There is no alternate portrait, but we do get three sets of hands: fists, gripping, and open. There’s also an extra right hand with a much wider grip so he can hold his lone weapon: a rock. It is a pretty big rock. I’m sure it would hurt, especially if thrown from above. Wingnut’s number one accessory though is Screwloose. Sculpt and paint-wise, Screwloose is every bit as good as Wingnut just much smaller. He stands a little over 3″ which feels about right and has a maroon and green color scheme with his usual black mask. He’s minimally articulated with a swivel at the head, ball-hinge shoulders, wrist swivels, ball-jointed waist, ball-socket hips, ankle hinge, ankle rocker, and ball-jointed wings. He also has his own accessory in the form of a swappable lower half. It’s permanently molded in a sitting position so he can sit in the little seat built into the back of Wingnut’s wings. His tail pokes through the seat and kind of locks him in place. Separating him at the waist is a bit tricky and required some heat to accomplish. I may have been able to force it without heating, but there’s not a lot of room to grip this little guy and I was worried about breaking the wings in the process.

Screwloose is the rare character who can smell his own ass.

Wingnut’s articulation is fairly standard for the line. You get a ball-jointed head, ball-hinge shoulders, bicep, double-elbows, wrist hinge and swivel, diaphragm joint, waist swivel, ball-socket hips, thigh swivel, double-jointed knees, and ankle hinge and rocker. The pain points continue to pretty much be the same from release-to-release with NECA. The range at the head looking up is only okay, but the diaphragm joint doesn’t help the situation really at all as it doesn’t go forward and back much. At least with this figure, the point of the armor stops it form going forward so there’s an obvious obstruction one can see that would have been hard to work around where as Archie Shredder just kind of sucked at that joint “just because.” With Wingnut, it’s just unfortunate because if you want to have him flying parallel with the ground he won’t be able to look forward. He just doesn’t have the required range to do it. He can grip the handles on his wings, though it’s a little tricky since the wings don’t always want to stay in place. The right handle popped off on mine trying to get him in place, but it appears to be engineered to do. Though I think it’s supposed to be glued. The elbows and knees were pretty tight out of the box, but I didn’t have to heat anything. And the joints are pin-less, if that’s something you value.

I wish NECA made better flight stands.

With Wingnut and Screwloose it’s pretty simple: NECA is killing it with the sculpt and overall presentation. We miss out a little when it comes to articulation as a result, and while I’d like to see them make more of an effort in that area, Wingnut is not their biggest offender. He does come at an inflated price-point of $45 currently. Thus far, he’s only been solicited at Walmart so he may even go up when offered by online retailers. It’s not a great price, but we’re also entering a world of $30 Marvel Legends figures so at least from that standpoint it certainly could be worse. I’d have liked to see NECA include a flight stand with this release since he so clearly needs it, but aside from that I’m largely okay with what we got. This release features all unique and purposeful tooling with no obvious reuse potential available. Maybe there are different colorways they can do? Perhaps a Tournament Fighters edition? NECA has mostly abandoned the video game stuff, but that would be an easy re-release. He certainly looks good on the shelf along with Screwloose and the rest of the Mutanimals. Now we just need Leatherhead and the team will largely be complete. Perhaps in 2026?

Just missing Leatherhead now.

Looking to assemble your own Mighty Mutanimals shelf? Here’s a few reviews you may have missed:

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 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

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

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October 14, 2025

NECA TMNT Toon Granny Bebop and Baby Rocksteady

By Joe
So it’s come to this…

When 2025 is all said and done I think we’ll look back on it in the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles collector sphere as the year the NECA toon toyline started showing its age. For some, that probably already happened. Jersey Red, Chakahachi, Lotus Blossom – who the heck are these characters? They are pretty deep cuts, but they are unique characters with unique sculpts, at least. This year, there have been new deep cuts like Creepy Eddie and Tattoo, but also a what-if Leonardo and beach variations on the turtles – twice! And now we have maybe the silliest release of all: Granny Bebop and Baby Rocksteady.

NECA tends to scale these guys up. I don’t think Shredder was shorter than them in the show.

Bebop and Rocksteady have been NECA’s go-to characters when they want to do something offbeat. And it’s easy to see why as the pair were comic relief in the cartoon series. They did a lot of dumb stuff and had different looks. We’ve seen them as superheroes, rabbits, vacationers, and robots. Now, we have Bebop in drag and Rocksteady in a giant diaper. It’s ludicrous, but when I look back on the original TMNT cartoon it’s the silly stuff that I recall most easily. The show was dumb, and if I’m being honest, kind of bad, but I loved it! I don’t know how many hours I spent watching it as a kid, but it never felt like enough in the moment. A lot of the silly looks from the show I actually wanted to see in the companion toyline and now NECA is making that a reality.

Light accessory load-out for this pair.

Bebop and Rocksteady, being a mutated warthog and rhinoceros, couldn’t just walk into a public place and not freak people out so they needed disguises. One such disguise was Bebop as a grandmother and Rocksteady as his baby. It obviously made no sense since it’s pretty obvious that they’re still a warthog and rhinoceros, but that was the show. And now it’s immortalized in plastic. These two guys are pretty familiar if you’ve purchased others in the past, but there’s new stuff here. Rocksteady stands about 6.5″ to the top of his head while Bebop is about 6.75″ to about where the top of his head should be under that wig.

“Hey, big boy!”

The pair share a lot of the same parts with only slight modifications. They have the same arms and legs as far as I can tell with Rocksteady just having ruffled socks and Bebop open sleeves by his wrists. The torso on both is done with an overlay, NECA’s modus operandi when it comes to this pair, and I’d suspect whatever is under that is the same. Hands appear to be recycled from the vacation set while both figures have new feet and new heads. There are similarities with the rest of the limbs compared with the vacation set only this time around everything is pin-less. They may have began life as the same digital mold and were just recut for tooling. The box lists three sculptors on this set: Brodie Perkins, Tony Cipriano, and Tomasz Rozejowski. Usually, that seems to happen when pieces from past sets are utilized along with new parts.

“You’ve made me the happiest warthog – I mean, woman alive!”

Regardless of how these two came together, both certainly look the part. The paint is clean and there’s plenty of linework emphasized with the paint job by Geoff Trapp and Mike Puzzo. It’s very clean on both figures even in tight places like the teeth or Rocksteady’s safety pin. Bebop does utilize some soft goods for his skirt and it looks okay. It’s not the nicest material, but they at least included a purple hem at the bottom. There’s some loose threads on mine right at the waist that are kind of annoying. The skirt is glued into place so I can’t just take it off and either trim them or push them behind the skirt. I’ll have to see if I can snip them. I like how they managed to sneak some lipstick onto Bebop and I like that his ponytail is sticking out as well. Like other recent releases in the line, there’s no cel-shading on the backs of these figures. I guess that’s out with the line, but Panda Khan had it so who can know for sure?

“Hey toitle! Check my diapy!

Accessories for this set are pretty light. Each character gets 3 sets of hands: fists, open, gripping. Rocksteady also has a pacifier which can fit in between his teeth or be held with a gripping hand. Bebop has a green purse which is made from a soft plastic and does open, though he doesn’t have anything to put inside it. The main accessory is the baby carriage which is pretty big for a baby carriage, but still not big enough for Rocksteady. It’s simply painted and does feature real wheels on it. Rocksteady can be placed in it and made to look pretty damn ridiculous which helps sell the comedic angle of the set. The handle is a very rigid ABS plastic that won’t easily slide into Bebop’s gripping hand. It almost certainly be done, but you will want to heat the hand up first or else risk snapping the thing.

“Somebody save my baby!”

Articulation for these guys is super basic and pretty standard for the line and these characters. Both feature a ball jointed head with a hinged jaw. You’ll get some nuance posing and rotation, but not much up and down. The shoulders are ball-hinged with a bicep swivel, double-jointed elbows, wrist swivels and hinge. A ball joint at the waist allows for rotation and some tilt, but little in the way of forward and back. Ball-socket hips will basically go as far as the skirt and diaper will allow on each, which is short of splits and 90 degree kicks. You can roll up the skirt for more range on Bebop, if you desire. There is a thigh swivel at the joint as well as double-jointed knees, ankle hinge, and ankle rocker. Bebop, being that he is in heels, will be a bit difficult to stand, but not impossible. There are no loose joints on either while some of the elbows and knees were pretty tight. The bicep swivels can be tricky to get moving as well due to the shoulders moving so freely. It looks like they were lubricated at the shoulder so getting the leverage needed to break the seal on the bicep took some effort.

Things are getting silly.

These two aren’t going to do anything spectacular on your shelf and they’re not really designed to. Rocksteady is meant to go in the stroller and to do that he doesn’t need to do much. Bebop just needs to stand behind it either pushing it or doing very little. They’re capable of doing as much and anyone who sees your collection is probably going to ask about them because they look so stupid. That’s basically the joke and the whole reason to get this one. If you think it’s funny then you’ll probably be happy. If the idea of these two in these outfits just seems too dumb to spend money on then it probably is. It doesn’t help that they’re sold exclusively at Target for $65. That’s a steep price. I was able to knock 10 bucks off with a current promotion going on at Target which may or may not still be active when you’re reading this. I think it’s stupid and funny so I probably would have paid full price, but I’m definitely happy to not have. They don’t appear to be shipping in big numbers, but these variant sets have a tendency to hang around either way so you could always wait for the next deal. My local store also had them in their inventory, which usually doesn’t happen with NECA unless Target is stocking them. I don’t know if that is the case or not, but if it is, then there’s a slim chance they go on sale if Target can’t unload them. With the holiday shopping season upon us, that seems unlikely.

At this point, there’s enough releases in NECA’s TMNT line for it to be a Bebop and Rocksteady line:

NECA TMNT Toon Vacation Bebop and Vacation Rocksteady

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…

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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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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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