I'm also doing these guys:
That's SEVEN figures in one Review... But since the Turtles share the body, it kinda makes sense to review all of them in one fell swoop. April has been in the back burner for over a year, it's the longest I've kept a figure on card. Mostly because I was unable to find a set of NECA TMNT to review with her.
Rocksteady and Bebop are filler, seeing that I got them used and not on card.
So we have TMNT Stuff from Bandai, NECA, and Playmates. It's like a supreme pizza, dude!
Reviews will begin after the jump! Before we go, TMNT + Christmas video is mandatory. Since an earlier draft of this rant was accidentally released, I've updated the review and added a bonus item.
So, Comic Book April O'Neil... Assistant to Baxter Stockman, who is not a fly and is black. She uncovered Baxter Stockman's evil plot for using Mousers to steal valuables and was about to be killed when the TMNT intervened. She is not a reporter in a sexy banana Jumpsuit.
Let's get cracking!
Articulation:
April is an oddity, seeing she's a female and the last NECA TMNT Stuff we saw was Shredder and the Foot. Chronologically speaking she came out much earlier than Shredder, but not at the House of Rants... She's been hanging MOC for over a year in my bedroom and she's seen things... Like me wearing a Batbale suit and making a bad Bale impression... Me wearing wigs of the mane 6 while doing a Buffalo Bill impression... Blain Breach y'all! I'm joking on that last one... But she's seen my web history and that one is a bit scary. Back on track since this review is long, Her articulation is a lot less when compared to the Eastman and Laird Turtles.
Here range of Articulation isn't that great, but she can do Damsel poses, so that's a plus? I think?
3.5
Paint and Sculpt:
While she is based on the Eastman and Laird April, some people claim to see a bit of Toon April in her. I am not one of those. Toon April has a rounder face and bigger boobs. With that said, she embodies the TMNT#2 April almost perfectly. Her hair is slightly neater and kinda looks like a "comic bookized" Toon April. She has the comic book lines painted through her body and outfit.
4.5
Accessories:
One Mouser with a movable jaw and one broken mouser. Kinda regret not buying the SDCC 2008 Mousers... Just to have a bunch.
It's kinda hard to gauge this April, due to the fact that she's not the usual April. The Mousers are highly appropriate and appreciated. Almost makes me wish for a Baxter Stockman.
4.5
Overall
4.16 is April's final score. I'm kinda hoping that NECA does a Toon versión of her. The coming version is fine and all, but I'm a cartoon guy at heart...
Now to tackle Bebop and Rocksteady. And Right out the bat I misplaced Rocksteady's knife... STUPID! STUPID! STUPID!
Before Tokka and Rhazar there was Bebop and Rocksteady as Shredder's mutant minions. The saving grace of the Bay Turdles was Rocksteady and Bebop appearing on the second one.
Articulation:
Rocksteady and Bebop have SIMILAR POINTS OF ARTICULATION. The ranges are different between each figure, but they are a bit limited here.
3.0 for Rocksteady and 3.5 for Bebop.
Paint and Sculpt:
I got to give Caesar his due. The Sculpt is amazeballs. They look like Cartoon and toy hybrids. Sadly, Bebop suffered the loss of his tail and ponytail. The paint is minimal to create that Toon feel BUT, Rocksteady is now sporting a Turtleneck instead of a wife beater among the other lost paint applications.
4.0 for both.
Accessories:
Both come with a Manhole stand.
Bebop has his weird drill gun thing.
Rocksteady has the removable helmet... Awesome!
Gun and knife (which I lost like a moron.)
3.0 for Rocksteady and 2.5 for Bebop.
Overall:
3.33 is Rocksteady's final score and Bebop gets a 3.33 as his score. Playmates made some good choices at times with the Figures. Others are incredibly baffling. The main reason to get these two is basically "6 inch scale version of Rocksteady and Bebop". Captain Paintbrush might visit Rocksteady and Bebop.
Now for the Heroes in a half-shell...
They have the same main Sculpt, so they CAN BE REVIEWED MOSTLY as a unit. The real difference between them is the accessories.
Articulation:
If you thought the old Comic Book NECA TMNT were awesome, then these guys will blow you away. While they have less Articulation than the first TMNT CLASSICS from Playmates, these guys can hold one legged poses due to their diecast feet. (Normally I loathe diecast parts in non-Cybertronian figures, but here it works. It allows for some balance for these top heavy toys. The "oh shell shock" pose from the games can't be done, but these guys are pretty displayable!!
5.0
Paint and Sculpt:
The paint is simplistic but effective. Seeing that it's based on the cartoon, there aren't any washes here. It's amazing how well matching the paint is between diecast and plastic parts.
The Sculpt captured the look of the toon pretty well. These are MY Turtles. The comic ones are cool, but when I think Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, these are what pops into mind... Even the 87 theme song popped up as I was writing Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.
5.0
Accessories:
This one is the tough one.
Each turtle has an extra head, six extra hands, an alternative back piece to store the weapons. That alone (in addition to their weapons) would easily give them a perfect score. Luckily, they have more stuff.
Leo has a small manhole cover
Donny has 🍕
Raph has Kunai and Shuriken. (My cat pawed the Shuriken under the fridge...)
Mikey has an extra pair of plastic chained nunchaku and the infamous grappling hook... With a super short rope.
Mikey came out the best in accessories while Leo came in a tie with Donny for the least amount of accessories.
Kinda wish we had the communicators, more pizza, a can of retromutagen ooze all purples and stuff.
5.0
Overall:
The turtles came out on top with a perfect score 5.0 and these seem to be better quality than NECA'S toon TMNT. These turtles are so good that I even rebought on eBay a 2006 Mako Splinter to have a Splinter in that scale. (Update, he arrived)
So, Splinter: in some continuities, he is the pet of Hamato Yoshi, a member of the Foot Clan who fled to 'Murica after Killing the brother of Oroku Saki. The pet learned ninjitsu by watching Yoshi practice. After Saki finds Yoshi and kills him, the rat swears revenge, gets oozed and trains turtles to become the TMNT. In other continuities, he IS Hamato Yoshi mutated into a rat man.
Articulation:
This figure is super restricted in this area. He's almost like a statue with barely poseable head and arms. 11 PoA and all are cut joints.
2.0
Paint and Sculpt:
I KNEW about the Articulation, because I already own one for my NECA TMNT. I picked this figure for 2 reasons:
-It's close to scale to the NECA TMNT and Figuarts TMNT as well.
-Aside the stylized beard, this figure Looks like Classic Splinter (not perfect but close enough to pass.) But by the time Back to the Sewer showed up, the 2006 movie had come out and some elements bled into the series... So this Splinter is kinda like a Tribute to past Splinters and became a sort of template to FUTURE Splinters.
It looks great on the sculpture department. Even the paint is decent for a Playmates toys, uh toy.
4.0
Accessories:
Walking stick
A shorter version of the stick with a grappling hook at the end.
3.0
Overall:
Master Splinter gets a 3.0 as his final score. He's a glorified diorama piece...
Now the TMNT stuff is starting to look like a good collection. I still wish we could get Casey, Splinter, Toon versions of General Trash and Granitor. I know Slash is supposed to come as well. But Ah guarantee, you want Leatherhead too! Maybe Fly Baxter?
I couldn't get the NECA Cartoon set, but someone who bought one for spare Foot Soldiers was recouping the cost and I saw Krang for a somewhat reasonable second market price and I caved.
 |
| Krang: Saki, make me a body Shredder: It's too expensive to get a First Gokin Cerebral... |
Articulation:
Krang only has two ball joints for his removable tentacles. They are removable so he can be put inside the Bubble walker
4.0
Paint and Sculpt:
As seen in the comparison to the Utrom pic, Krang is a new sculpted figure. The paint job seems a bit garish at first, but after watching a few season 1 appearances of Krang, it does him Justice. I just wish the shading was a bit more subtle in some areas.
5.0
Accessories:
Bubble walker and mini tripod. (Not pictured)
5.0
Overall:
Krang here gets a 5.0 because for a KRANG FIGURE it has gone well beyond what was needed.
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