Ninja Turtle Ghostbusters

Ninja Turtle Ghostbusters

Playmates

Such a strange mash-up considering Turtlemania pretty much killed Ghostbusters' Mass Hysteria in the early 90's, but cool enough considering both share 1984 as their genesis year.  I guess there are no hard feelings between them, as they have also teamed up in the recent IDW comics series...twice so far!  So strap a proton pack on your shell and grab a slice of pizza before jumping into the Ecto-1, dude!  I ain't afraid of no anchovies!

The figures share the same bodies, just with different colored elbow pads.  They also share the same gear: pack and wand, trap, and PKE meter.  The wands are a nice (and better executed) throwback to the old Kenner GB stream gimmick.  The sculpting is great all around, but the packs could use some extra paint detail.

The heads are each unique, with the Turtles personalities matched as best they could to the four Ghostbusters.  It's kinda goofy...and weird to see the hair!  The Winston 'stache on Raph is the most unsettling of the four.  I wish they had included plain Turtle heads, but the execution is still pretty good.

Each Turtle comes with a different GB ghost.  Even though they are hollow, 1/2 representations, the sculpts are decent, the translucent coloring pops, and it's great to get a bad guy with a good guy in the same pack (another great Kenner nod.) 

Like the WWE mash-up figures, these are about 6 inches in scale (rather than Playmates 4-5 inch regular turtle lines.)  Another odd choice, but they do fit in nicely with Diamond Select's 7 inch Ghostbusters.

These were Target exclusives that I missed out on last year.  Not one Target in my area stocked these...shocking, right?!  With some time and patience, I scored the whole set loose for less than retail.  Cowabunga!  If you love either property, they are a fun novelty to add to your collection.

NECA Ninja Turtles

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles

NECA - 7-inch figures

SDCC exclusive

 

It's that special time of year again.  Every July, collectors in the fly-over states collectively scream at their computer monitors and pull their hair out over the slim chance to snag convention exclusive figures.  Some I can live without.  The worst are character exclusives that can leave a hole in your collection.  And some are so damn awesome looking, you would do anything to get.  I was somewhere in-between on these Turtles based on the 1990 live-action movie.  These are definitely as good as it gets, especially compared to Playmates' recent offerings and the original line's "real-feel" movie star turtles.  NECA started by releasing 1/4 scale movie turtles, a scale I do not collect.  They looked great, but I held out, knowing that a smaller scale would make it out.  They say the license deal with Nickelodeon/Playmates puts a stranglehold on them, keeping things like this from mass release.  I would rather they not do them at all if every fan does not have a fair shot at them.  I wasn't getting my hopes up.

 

NECA made a small amount of this box set available as preorders before San Diego Comic-con, releasing a few batches over a three day period.  Each day they sold out in about 30 seconds.  No joke.  I missed em the first day, getting as far as having them in my "cart" and getting tripped up waiting to log in to Paypal.  30 SECONDS. You can watch some pretty sad Youtube videos that document the experience.  Raphael has something to say about that...

 

For the second day, I was prepared.  I had logged into NECA early, logged into Paypal early, and was on the product page hitting F4 to refresh the screen as the clock ticked down.  Other exclusives offered popped in one at a time with each refesh, then...Bam!  Add to cart, checkout, payment...wait...breathe and cross fingers...SUCCESS!  Again, I prepared as much as I could, but I was also very, very lucky.  I heard it was just as bad on the final day.  Now scalpers are selling sets for four times the sticker price.  So disgusting that practice comes with this type of transaction.

 

Anyway, they're here and they're spectacular!  They look like they stepped right off the screen of the 1990 film (one of the best comic book adaptations of all time) and they have as good a range of articulation as actors wearing the 70 plus pound, rubber suits with animatronics running down their backs could expect!

 

You get some additional sets of hands to help convey different expressions, a cardstock pizza box (Tile Game Pizza...copyright law is fun!), a full pizza cut into slices, and the TCRI mutagen ooze canister.

 

As against keeping toys in packaging as one could get, this box is one I will be keeping.  It is designed to look like the old VHS tape box!  Radical!

 

I'm glad to have these, but I cant help but think of what comes next.  NECA is doing a 1/4 Foot Soldier and I assume the Shredder isn't too far behind.  The battle is won, but the war is far from over.  We'll meet again, awful convention-exclusive game!

 

 



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!