Mutant Monster Ninja Turtles

Mutant Monster Ninja Turtles

Playmates

 

It's Halloween and the Ninja Turtles are ready to go trick or treating!  Or they're ready for another bizarre mutation in their Nickelodeon adventures?  I dunno, I don't watch it... but that show has at least kicked out some great new Turtle toys!  Towards the end of the original toyline, Playmates tackled the Turtles as the classic Universal Monsters.  Cool, for sure, but this was the kind of variant saturation that kills a line (Star Trekking' Turtles, Farmer Turtles).  Let's hope this isn't the case here!

 

Raphael as Dracula comes with some killer wooden sais... wait... shouldn't he want to keep far away from those?  Maybe his turtle shell gives him an advantage over other vampires in that department.  He's got a pretty nice felt cape to help keep his range of motion.  The only downside about this figure is that the detail on his jacket is painted on rather than sculpted.  Oh well, they did a nice job with the fangs and hair at least.  Hair?!  On a turtle?  Still looks weird.  He also comes with a little bat form of himself that can clip onto other figures.

 

Leonardo as the Mummy comes with a big, flexible cobra that wraps around his body and one Egyptian looking sword.  But Leo always has two swords!  Sad trombone sound!  The sculpted bandages are nice and the gold scarab on his leg almost makes up for it.  Some extra paint detailing on his claws would have been nice.

 

Michelangelo as the Wolfman probably has the most going on in the "new sculpt" department.  The detail on the hairy arms and legs, the letterman's jacket, and the ripped jeans look great, but would be that much better with more paint.  As if the hair wasn't weird enough (chest hair, too?!), some of it is wolf brown and some of it is turtle green. He comes with some very appropriate bone nunchucks and a slice of pizza.  I guess you might be safe from a pizza-loving werewolf?

 

Donatello as Frankenstein's Monster might be my favorite of the four. He might be close to as many new parts as Mikey, but has a few extra details that put him over the top.  I love the flat top and bolt sticking out of the top of his head.  The extra metal panels holding his shell together are a nice touch, as are the platform boots.  But my favorite part is the blue transistors sticking out of the back of his shell.  I couldn't see this detail, picking him up in-package, so it was a nice surprise.  And what's more, Donny's bo staff has been transformed into a teched-out lightning rod.

 

For as much as I complain about the lack of paint detail, these figures are pretty solid in the articulation department and a lot of fun for $8 a figure.  I do hope to see a series 2 next Halloween... bring on Metaluna Mutant Mikey!



Star Lord and Ego

Star Lord and Ego

Marvel Legends 2-pack

Hasbro

 

I hate when a character is deemed not shelf worthy or able to stand on its own at retail.  Such is the case with Ego and the Guardians of the Galaxy 2 figure line.  Granted the character isn't as cool as his comic, "living planet" mode, but he's still a main character in the movie.  Oh, and he's KURT FREAKING RUSSELL!  The main baddie of the first Guardians movie, Ronan the Accuser got the shaft when it came toy time.  Just like Iron Man 3 with the Mandarin.  What a strange and disappointing trend!

 

At least Ego got to see the light of day.  Although, to get him, you have to buy yet another Star Lord variant.  There isn't much difference in this release and the single packed version that I can tell, but the sculpt does look the cleanest it's been in the paint department.  It's definitely Chris Pratt.  He's got his guns and helmeted head, and also comes with his Walkman that was packed with first movie figure, but not the single-packed sequel figure. 

Anyway, enough about Star Lord... Ego is the star attraction here.  The sculpt is undeniably Kurt Russell.  He comes with 2 heads; one is more serious/stern, the other more jovial.  He has a wide range of articulation, as expected from Marvel Legends.  He has no other accessories, but his cape/cloak is removable.  While I would like some sort of comic-accurate Ego to display, no matter how out of scale that would be for a planet, this figure is a great placeholder for a movie figure.

 

Rocky

Rocky

Rocky IV -Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed

NECA Toys

Rocky! Rocky! Rocky! Rocky figures from NECA toys are back for the original's 40th anniversary!  The first run of figures featured Rocky and his main opponents from the first four films (sorry, not sorry, Tommy Gunn).  This time, we get some re-releases and a few more variants with some added value accessories. 

Ah...The Count of Monte Fisto himself:  pre-fight, Rocky IV Apollo Creed!  He comes with removable, patriotic jacket and hat, and a more serious head (for when it becomes evident that the Russian isn't playing any games.)  All this figure lacks is a pack-in James Brown accessory.  Well...and maybe a towel (spoilers.)

This is the ultimate Rocky IV Rocky.  He is wearing Apollo's America trunks (spoilers), which sport some bloody battle damage.  You get a molded plastic American flag to drape over him post-fight, just like the still on all the posters.  What's more, is he comes with a standard head and a mid-punch, blood-and-sweat, battle damaged head!

The sculpts on all these figures have been spot on with the actor's likenesses.  The articulation is kinda strange, but appropriate to all the action that comes with a boxing movie and doesn't get in the way of making these mini versions looking close enough to the real thing.  The detail on the boots, gloves, and trunks is amazing.  I think the most impressive thing about these overall is the difference in face, hair, and musculature of Rocky in the sculpts, just like the transformation of Stallone though the sequels.  You can definitely see the Rambo diet kicking in by part III!

I am pretty satisfied with what NECA has offered us.  I wish they could do some of the supporting characters like Adrian, Mickey, Duke, Paulie, Paulie's robot...um...maybe not Paulie's robot.  Not a huge loss, as I do have some of the Jakks Pacific figures in some of these shots.  They aren't as detailed as I'd like, but they work (even though Thunderlips has no nipples and if you remove the clothing on Adrian, she has a female wrestler build.)  I would also have liked to see an older built Stallone Rocky VI figure and an Adonis Creed.  The series goes on...never say never, stay hungry, and don't throw in the towel just yet!

Secret Wars Captain America

Secret Wars Captain America

Hasbro Marvel Legends

"When Captain America throws his mighty shield..."  Duck!  Because Vibranium will knock a lot more than just teeth loose!  I got this figure as an Amazon add-on item for about $4.  The costume is a modern take that I have no reference to (although it does look quite spiffy), but what drew me to the figure was the accessories.  This is the first Cap to have an alternate, shield-throwing effect hand!  

The shield also pegs into his back and can be clipped to his wrist when not flying through the air to KO Nazi weirdos.

Not my ideal look for Captain America (gotta stick with the classic colors and wings coming off the head), but for $4 he's more than worth it.  The paint apps are shiny and clean and, again, the shield gimmick puts him over the top.

Flying Fox

The Flying Fox

Mobile Command Center

Justice League Vehicle/Playset - Mattel

 

Zack Snyder's take on the DC Universe may suck, but at least Batman is scoring some new, wonderful toys out of the deal.  The Flying Fox Mobile Command Center is part vehicle, part playset and, like last year's awesome Batcave playset,  is a Wal-Mart Exclusive.  At $70, it may be a bit pricey for some, but accessories like this are few and far between for the 6-inch line... well worth it in my opinion.  It has some great play features and it's freaking huge!  The only gripes I have is that it was built for the slightly smaller Justice League basics figures, so cramming a Multiverse or DC Universe Classics figure in the cockpit is frustrating.  Also, as cool as some of the features are, I do wish it had some sort of compatibility with the Batmobile.  Trailers and other toys lead us to believe that this acts as a dropship for the Batmobile...oh well.  It's still a great addition to the Batcave arsenal!