Glow in the Dark Ninja Turtles Doing What They Do Best :: Countdown to Halloween 2013

Which is...glowing in the dark!

I blogged about my Mummy Raphael during Countdown to Halloween 2012, but did not get a picture of him in all his glowy glory, nor have we seen my Retromutagen Ooze pre-mutant turtle on the blog before either!

This little glow in the dark turtle was originally available in cans of TMNT Retromutagen ooze...aka slime...back in the eighties. They're pretty sought after by collectors, I was lucky enouhg to find this one in a pile of TMNT accessories and other goodies at the flea market a few months back. And of course i got it all for cheap!

I keep both of these guys in my bedroom and enjoy being reminded of their presence whenever I shut off the lights.

Mummy Raphael :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

"Who's your mummy...haw haw! Sorry, just a little undead humor."

Okay, Raphael as a mummy is ridiculous too, but I can't help it. He's my favorite of all the TMNT/Universal Monsters Series one figures.

This could happen: maybe he's just injured (badly.) Or he was killed during a time warp to ancient Egypt and they mummified him and he was discovered and revived in modern times and...oh okay. But I still love him!

Mummy Raph came with a couple cobra headed blades, a smaller knife and a bracelet with a beetle on it. He also glows over almost his entire body! All the wrappings and of course his eyes, this guy practically shines in the dark!

Well that's it for series one of the TMNT/Universal Monsters mash-up. Tune in on Monday to see the only figure from Series two I currently own. In the meantime, I tried to get a group shot of all of the figures together, but my assistant felt my figure arrangement skills were lacking and insisted on helping out: we abandoned the idea due to 'creative differences,' (I wanted to photograph the toys, she wanted to chew on them,) but this 'behind the scenes' shot still remains:

Stay spooky!

Frankenstein's Michaelangelo :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

"RRraanngggnnggRRaannggGGrraaannNNaaaGGHH...dudes!"

Okay, now this is just too ridiculous! Michaelangelo as Frankenstein's Monster.

Maybe this could happen if Krang kidnapped Mikey and forced him to undergo some sort of brain transfer experiment or something with...aw who am I kidding. This one is just silly.

Silly but fun. Frankenstein's Michaelangelo comes with an ankle shackle stuck to as piece of wall, a torch, a bubbling vial and a bolt/chain nunchaku.

"Frrrieeennnd? Piiizzzaaa? Bosssannnoooovvvvaaaa?"

His eyes, teeth, nails stitches and bolts all glow.

Donatello Dracula ::Countdown to Halloween 2012

"I vant to suuuck your pepperoooooniiii...wait, that didn't come out right..."

Donatello Dracula. Okay, unlike yesterday's Wolfman Leonardo, this one is a bit of a stretch. Still, I suppose Donatello could have been bitten by a vampire and turned into one himself, right?

Although I doubt, if he had, he would have dressed himself up so silly. Hey, at least he doesn't sparkle.

Donatello Dracula came with a vampire amulet (for you to wear!) a pet bat that hangs out on his wrist, a wooden stake and a staff with bat blades on the ends. His fangs, nails, eyes and white shirt glow.

Where's Buffy when you need her?

Wolfman Leonardo :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

AROOOOOOOOOO! Werewolves of...the New York sewer system!

This is Wolfman Leonardo, part of the first TMNT/Universal Monsters Mash-up series (there were two series, for those of you keeping score) that we'll be looking at all this week! I have all of Series one and one from Series two to share with you, five figures in all. SPOOKY!

Wolfman Leo is my second favorite from series one. I like the fact that, as ridiculous as these figures are, this could actually happen - Leonardo could be changed into a werewolf just like anybody else, right? So this figure fits just fine into normal Turtle continuity in my eyes.

I received all these figures in a trade with jboy of Revenge From the Cosmic Ark, and I believe they are all complete. Wolfman Leo comes with some sort of dog headed bone stick (a chew toy maybe?), a bone handled sword, a trap and a gun - I really like the fact that not only do these figures come with themed weapons based on their monsterous appearance, but they also come with weapons to defeat them (one hopes the gun is loaded with silver bullets!)

Another thing that makes these toys tops is that they have glow-in-the-dark paint apps! Wolfturtle has a glow-in-the-dark shirt and claws/teeth/eyes. GROWL, daddy-o!

Tune in for more Universal Monsters/TMNT all this week...unless you are too scared!

Bone Beast :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

Welcome to Countdown to Halloween 2012! In short, check out Toyriffic every day in October for another Halloween themed post as we count down to the big night itself, October 31st aka Halloween! For a longer explanation of what the hell is going on around here, check out this post. And be sure to check out all the groovy ghoulie contributors at the official Countdown to Halloween website.

Now on with the show!

Today we take a look at this spooky-cycle chillingly called the Bone Beast!

Bone Beast is a Hot Wheels Thundercycle from 2004. Interestingly, nowhere on Bone Beast does it say 'Bone Beast.' That was the name given this ride on the packaging however. On the cycle it is called 'Cybertooth II' and I have no idea why it was changed between casting and packaging, but there you have it.

This cycle is a bit larger and bulkier than the recent Batcycle and others in current Hot Wheels motorcycle releases; in fact it is probably from the first iteration of this concept/design. Like the Batcycle, it fits and rolls along standard Hot Wheels orange track. Unlike the Batcycle, Bone Beast has four smaller wheels on the side and undercarriage to help it glide along the track, similar to how a log plume ride is designed in order to scoot around corners.

Bone Beast appears to be a motorcycle crossed with a Rattlesnake skeleton. SPOOKY! But what makes Bone Beast particularly paranormal is that it includes a translucent ghost-like phantasmagorical rider...with a glow in the dark skeleton inside him!

Actually just the pelvis, ribcage and skull, but it does give off a very haunting effect when racing in the dark!

My Bone Beast has blue wheels; I have seen it appear more commonly with translucent purple wheels. Bone Beast is a fun toy that I've had since I found it on the pegs back in 2004. A skeleton-ghost riding a skeleton-cycle ...what's not to love?

Tune in tomorrow for more fearsome fun!