Raphael Tumble For Ya

This is the flip-action ninja jumparoony I don't know what he's officially called Raphael:

This guy came out in 1993. I got him in a trade with Brian of Cool and Collected, and when he arrived he was clutching that weapon. I don't think he originally came with that weapon but who cares.

The reason I wanted this Raphael, besides the fact that Raphael is the coolest ninja turtle around, was because the figure's design really harkens back to the original TMNT comic book art. From the multiple gashes in his shell to the triangular toothy grimace - even the squatty pose needed to make this guy's action feature effective. Who needs NECA?

And backflipping abilities notwithstanding, this really is a cool looking ninja turtle.

As you can sort of see, he has a little counter-weight on his back to aid in his flipping ability, sculpted to look like a backpack of sorts. It's not too obtrusive, and at least they designed it to look like something of relevance, so it does little to detract from the toy's aesthetics.

His legs are spring loaded, so you push his head down and release...

...SPROING!!!...

...and he land's on his...shell.

Sometimes he does land on his feet, but getting the flip action/release just right can be tricky.

But who cares, he's a cool looking Raphael and you can't have too many of those.