10/22/09

Despite all my rage, I am still just a rat in a cage!

Reports are coming in from all over geekdom (ironically, not one single solitary reporter is wearing a low neck yellow jumpsuit...except me) about the recent acquisition of all things TMNT by Nickelodeon.

Of course, the first "guy" to acquire the ninja turtles was none other than Master Splinter himself!

This Master Splinter is the re-released Playmates action figure from last year, part of the TMNT 25th anniversary commemorative release. Like Leonardo, I found Splinter at Ross for $3.99. Unlike Leonardo, Splinter does not come with a DVD episode of the original cartoon - only the four turtle releases appear to have that addition.

Splinter has a small star shaped "scar" painted on his cheek. I don't recall how that fits into the cartoon or comic version of Splinter, but I do remember Splinter losing an ear to Shredder in the movie before his owner was massacred and before he mutated into a humanoid rat. I guess that is what the scar is meant to represent.

Like all of the original TMNT releases, Splinter comes with a rack of nifty ninja weapons. And a cane. But that ain't no ordinary cane!

It hides a sword! Damn that's cool. The weapons and accessories really added to the greatness of these original TMNT toys. Sadly they are also the hardest parts to find still with the figures, which is part of why these re-releases are so welcome in my collection.

The bow/arrow combo came apart from the rack - attached to the rack were the two cane pieces and two throwing stars. I only removed the cane/sword, as the throwing stars are sure to be lost, even by me.

"First Disney/Marvel, now Nickelodeon/Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. 2009 is truly the year of the rat!"

6 comments:

  1. According to Chinese Zodica calender 2009 is the year of Ox while Rat was 2008. LOL

    Anyway he is one figure that I will get if I happen to have extra money. Somehow the toy version never resemble the cartoon version.

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  2. I just had a feeling it was going to be Master Splinter when I saw your title "Despite all my rage, I am stil just a rat in a cage!" on my bloglist haha! This 25th anni line have actually JUST arrived here in Canada at TRU. They selling at $13 each, which is a bit expensive IMO. I am tempted to get Michelangelo though since I had him when I was a kid.

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  3. I still have the Master Splinter my parents bought me when I was a kid, but with the years he's lost his robe. So, now I have a nude Splinter. Who says that rats are not confident enough to be nudists?

    If I see this re-release I'll get it, at least to have a decent god fearing TMNT shelf.

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  4. Wow. those throwing stars look even easier to lose than a Mego Star Trek communicator...

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  5. Should be interesting with the Turtles at Viacom now with a few more high profile shows and movies maybe?

    At lest we shall see Ninja Turtle reruns on Nic.

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  6. LEon, I will keep my eyes peeled for another one for you.

    Jcee - good guess! Sorry to hear about the difficulty to get this line for Canadians like yourself - they were about $13 at TRU, Target etc here too but just didn't sell, and now are showing up on the discount store shelves. I'd offer my assistance, but after shipping you're probably back up near 13 again anyways!

    Freak Studios - nothing wrong with a naked rat lol! I wasn't into TMNT during it's initial release so I have done a lot of catch-up lately!

    lol @ Arkonbey - I am sure there are a million lost TMNT throwing stars (and an equal amount of Mego communicators) that some future civilization will dig up someday.

    Yes jboy - Turtle futures look bright!

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