Shell Slammin' Michelangelo

'Oh YEEEEAHHHH!'

I found this silly Michelangelo variant at the flea market a few weeks ago. Impossible to pass up for fifty cents, this is Michelangelo dressed like an eighties WWF pro wrestler. What's not to love?!?!

Originally he came with a cape and a championship belt and a themed weapon of some sort. Mine is accessory-less, but it doesn't detract from his ringside charm!

I assume the 'MTW' stands for 'Mutant Turtle Wrestling.' The hot-pink onesie is hilarious, and the sweet wrestling converse style shoes are just awesome. He has spring-loaded legs for high-flying 'rasslin moves. A silly variant to be sure, but one that could easily be canonical given Michelangelo's personality. Heck, even Spider-Man got his start this way!

BODY-SLAM!!!!

Mirage Comic Book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Action Figures by Playmates

Do not adjust your monitors. Your color settings are just fine. Contrary to what you may think, you are not seeing a quartet of Raphaels holding his brothers' weapons. What you are seeing are the newest variants of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, based on their original Mirage comic book illustrations!

These Comic Book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are hitting stores now as part of the standard Playmates TMNT toyline. If you are seeking them, look for the white 'Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles' header. Other figures in the line have the words printed in yellow, making these ones pretty easy to spot on the pegs even when they are hiding behind the other figures. So much for Ninja stealth!

Each of the four turtle brothers is available in this 'comic book' style, the only difference between them being their head sculpts/bandanas and the inclusion of their signature weapons. Some moms, kids and even collectors may opt to only get only one, feeling that the similarities are too monotonous to warrant buying more than one. But in my opinion having all four of these guys together makes for a pretty slick display, and seeing as how they are comparably cheap ($8.99 standard, and often you can find sales on multiple purchases), collecting them all is a hard proposition to resist.

As a small bonus, each figure comes with a card depicting some old-school comic book art. Unfortunately the card backs do not provide any details or any added info. But they look cool on the front!

Word on the streets is that Donatello is the 'short-packed' figure - appearing one per case as opposed to his brothers' two per case ratio. This seems to be pretty standard lately, with Donatello getting the short end of the proverbial Bo Staff. I guess the bean counters don't think he's as popular as his brethren, and maybe they are right. Regardless, if you see Donatello and are on a budget or on the fence about having them all you might want to grab him first, as he could turn out to be harder to find than the others.

That said, Playmates TMNT figures are rarely hard to find , are well distributed and very common at most retailers. So 'harder to find' may be relative, and Donny will probably still be pretty easy to get a hold of if you want him. You just might have to be a little patient - a trait toy collectors tend not to posess.

Speaking of collectors, a common complaint about these guys is that none of the Turtles have sheaths or any way to stow their weapons. This is a design aesthetic accurate to the original art, and perhaps a cost-cutting measure too (since all four turtles share the same body and belt), and really it isn't a big deal for Raph, Don and Mikey. But it is pretty noticeable with Leo, who was given sheaths as the comic art progressed. It would be nice for Leo to be able to sheath his Katana, but the lack of sheaths is not a deal breaker for me.

On the flip-side, Leonardo does have two different sized Katana. They could have easily just packed the same Katana in twice, so there's a point for Playmates.

Mikey's Nunchuku correct an earlier issue for many of his action figure releases by making the 'chain' very thick and not easily bent/stressed/broken. They don't move or bend, but they won't easily break either, or get that hideous stress-induced lightening of the plastic, so that's a plus in my book.

Michaelangelo (or is it Michelangelo?) has the best face sculpt, with his grimacing teeth showing on each side of his grizzled, edgy hard-core schnoz.

But of course Raphael is my favorite, because he's always my favorite. He comes with two good and solid Sai and a bad attitude.

The turtles are well articulated, with swivel shoulders, swivel elbows, swivel hips, swivel knees and a ball-jointed head. Some folks lament the lack of wrist articulation, but whatyagonnado? Lack of wrist articulation isn't a deal breaker for me either.

The original pre-production pics appeared to show dark paint in the sculpted scribble-marks. This paint application is not included on the figures produced, and while it looked good I am actually ok with how they look without it. I enjoy how light and shadow play on the hash-marks; it adds depth and presents a more subued effect. Anyways, it's an easy 'fix' if you are so inclined.

I know collectors are finding a lot of reasons to gripe about these guys, and invariably the comparison to the Collecotr's Grade NECA Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, which is a bit unfair to be honest. Are these guys perfect? Not quite. Are they NECA quality? No, not any moreso than JLU figures are DCDirect quality. Apples and Oranges.

For what these are, the Playmates Mirage Comic Book Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles are not only a mouthful to say, but they are totally radical, dude! They are eight-ish bucks, available darn near everywhere, well made, solid and durable for kid's play (which is the target market, as much as collectors want to argue otherwise), completely unexpected and finally...

...they are in scale with original Playmates TMNT figures! And let's face it, Casey Jones here is the 'Mirage Comic Book' version too, because there was no other source material to draw from when he was designed. He looks absolutely GREAT next to these new comic book ninja turtles.

Being able to pair Raph and Casey together on my shelf is worth the price of admission alone!

I highly recommend you grab at least one of these guys for your collection. And if you are even a fair-to-middlin TMNT fan, you should probably grab them all. They are really fun to have around, inexpensive, durable, and you can team them up with any iteration of the Turtles and their cohorts for all sorts of parallel universe hopping good times!

COWABUNGA!

In Disguise! Turtle Titan Michaelangelo :: Countdown to Halloween 2014

Ninja Turtle in disguise!

Back in 2004 I wasn't collecting Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. But there were a couple being released in conjunction with the updated toon of the time that I just couldn't resist. Usagi Yojimbo, Toddler Turtles, and this guy: Turtle Titan Michaelangelo.

Being an unabashed superhero fan and a not yet fully realized TMNT fan, I just had to pick this guy up off the toy aisle shelves.

I've never seen the episode wherein this iteration of Michaelangelo appeared, but from what I understand Mikey was inspired by a superhero called Silver Sentry, and decided to model himself into a superhero, coming up with the Turtle Titan identity.

Turtle Titan is a great action figure. His articulation is good - ball jointed shoulders and hips, neck, elbow and wrist swivels - but his sculpt and pose limits the articulation's value.

But he's such a wonderful figure visually that his pose limitations are completely forgivable.

Turtle Titan Mikey came with an arm mounted turtle shell shield and a grappling hook.

I have no idea why his left hand is sculpted like this unless part of Turtle Titans' powers was to tell everyone they are a bunch of losers.

I just love when characters go one-level-up. A mutated ninja-trained turtle isn't enough for you? How about a mutated ninja-trained turtle dressed up like a superhero?

Boss-a-nova!

I'd love to see a modern update of Turtle Titan in the new cartoon and toyline, but honestly I doubt this guy can be improved upon.

Original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle Action Figures

A few years ago I spotted a Craigslist ad selling original Star Wars and Ninja Turtles action figures. This was before my interest in Ninja Turtles, so I went thinking I would buy some of the Star Wars action figures.

When I went to the lady's house she had a bunch of her son's old toys laid out for sale. I pretty much ignored the Star Wars figures and was drawn to these four fellows and I think a couple more early TMNT figures. I even picked up the Turtle Van, but it wasn't in the best of condition so I have since moved it out of my collection.

But these guys are in excellent condition. They are missing their weapons, and Raphael's belt isn't perfect, but someday I'll be able to replace those issues.

The best part is that all these guys are the soft-head versions of the Ninja Turtles. I didn't know it at the time but the soft head versions of the TMNT figures are the first release versions.

It's near impossible to imagine that there was a time when the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a gamble, but that was the case when Playmates released the first series of action figures they were just that.

So to cut costs and potential loss, Playmates released the Turtles and other wave one figures with soft rubber heads.

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were a huge hit (no surprise there, right?) so later releases of the first few figures were made with solid plastic heads.

I have a soft headed Bebop and Rocksteady too (which may have come from this same Craigslist purchase) and I believe Shredder, Footsoldier and Splinter also each came with soft rubber heads. I'm not sure if April did too or if she didn't appear until wave two.

Other than the initials on their belts and the colored masks/pads, these first few ninja turtles are actually far more influenced by the original comic artwork than their later cartoon designs.

They are also just wonderful classic, basic action figures.

I'm glad I ignored the Star Wars stuff and instead bought up these guys!

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

I've yet to give proper thanks where it's due to those who helped me put together the whole Playmates Nickelodeon team...

The only one I purchased on my own is Raphael - I received Mikey and Don from Shawn of Branded in the 80s as part of the Halloween exchange, and I received Leo from my Secret Santa as part of the Christmas toy bloggers exchange (and I don't know whom that was to thank specifically!)

Thanks guys!

These Turtles are of course excellent toys for both die-hard collectors and kids alike. But you've all read reviews of them a million times by now I'm sure, so here are some more pretty pictures.

I gave Don a staff from one of the original series action figures since his current one is a bit on the short side.

Leonardo!

Michaelangelo! (or is it Michelangelo now?)

And of course my personal favorite, Raphael.

I'm glad I have all four brothers, and thanks again to you two out there who helped me get the 'band' together. Toy bloggers rock!

Toddler TMNT :: Reunited, and it feels so good!

After posting about my Toddler Turtles Three last month, the more I looked at the three brothers together the more I lamented the lack of Michaelangelo in their brotherhood.

So I started eyeballing eBay and found one for a good price and voila! Here he is along with his brothers - together again!

I still need Raph's training Sai and Leo's training Katana for the set to be truly complete, but having the four Toddler Mutant Ninjas-in-training Turtles together again reminds me of why I bought this set in the first place. Such a cute grouping of little turtle pals; I just want to hug them all!

Ironically, I first bought this set when my oldest daughter was a toddler, and now my youngest is a toddler, so I suppose the concept of these guys wreaking havoc all over the place feels fondly familiar, since toddlers tend to be little forces of destructive nature regardless of if they wield padded ninja training weapons or not!

Invisible Mikey and Metaluna Raph :: Countdown to Halloween 2012

After reviewing all of Series 1 and one figure from Series 2, I just couldn't let 2012's Countdown to Halloween end without picking up more of the Universal Monsters TMNT that I still needed. So I snagged Michaelangelo and Raphael for a really good deal on eBay, both mint on card (which didn't last!)

I now only need Leonardo as The Creature from the Black Lagoon to complete the collection! But on with what I do have:

I'm not generally concerned with 'complete' TMNT figures. They came with so many accessories and were an unabashed 'kids' line (as opposed to modern day 'collector' aimed toylines) so for the most part the only way to find them complete is to find them mint on card. That of course means they are a few to quite a few bucks more than a loose version, and most TMNT figures are easy to find loose and cheap.

But sometimes I have to break with tradition because an accessory is an absolute 'must' - integral to the character/version etc. In Invisible Man Michaelangelo's case, that accessory would be his bandaged face mask. Such a pivotal part of the Invisible Man characterization, a loose IM Mike without a mask would simply not have sufficed.

 "ARRRGH! AAACKKK! OOOOG!"

 "TAA-DAAAAAAA!!!! Now for my next trick, I'll eat a pizza in half."

But mask aside, IM Michaelangelo is pretty spectacular in that he actually has 'invisible' parts! A hand, a foot, and his whole head...

 - which sports a painted on bandana for extra invisible Turtle effect!

Series 2 lacks Series 1's 'glow-in'the-dark' gimmick, but Mikey's invisible bits more than make up for it.

And as per my silly 'realism within the genre' fetish, an Invisible Man Michaelangelo could actually be canon. Maybe Don created a potion for ninja stealth purposes and Mike drank it on accident and voila! Invisible Turtle!

IM Mike is definitely a high point in the Universal Monsters TMNT series', and in the whole TMNT line itself!

I also obtained Metaluna Mutant Raphael (or 'The Mutant Raphael' as the packaging depicts with no sense of irony) this time around. Raphael is my favorite Turtle, and even though I own everything from a Troll Raph to a Toddler Raph, Metaluna Mutant Raph is the wackiest Raph yet.

Still, this version of Raphael could be canon. Krang zaps Raphael with some sort of space ray and Bob's your uncle: Space Mutant Raph!

 Ok, maybe not, but that scenario is far more likely than a mummy Raph!

Although I thought I would like this one a lot, he comes across as sort of 'plain.' I suppose it's because Series 1 all have glowing bits and Mikey up there has neat invisible bits. I do like the hot pink weapons, very 'nineties' of course but fitting for such an oddball alien version of my fave Turtle.

So now all that's left is to track down a Black Lagoon Leo for a good price, which I'm confident will happen sooner or later. Until then...stay spooky, because Halloween is only four days away!