Rat King is out, Karai is in. Once again, Wave 11 will be the one that shall determine the direction the line will take. My biggest worry is that vintage purists manage to bully their way into the line being canned before we get most of the not core, but quite important folks to have.(ie, Neutrinos, Krang's Android Body, the Channel 6 crew just to name a few.) While wave 10 wasn't for everyone, I'm a strong believer that these figures should NOT just be "the vintage toys slightly larger and with better articulation." I understand the appeal of having the slightly larger vintage toys with better articulation angle... but at the same time, I understand that being slavishly devoted to vintage may cause us to lose some cooler stuff...
Case in Point: Ace Duck's alternate head, April's toon inspired head... that one isn't as cool, but it's a better alternative than vintage toy head.
While some characters benefit from Playmates looks (Mutagen Man, Muckman, Fly Baxter Stockman) others are hurt by it (Traag, Usagi, Rat King)
Why did you put Rat King in that list, Nefty?
Simple: The Super7 Rat King is PERFECT from the neck down. I'd rather have multiple rat accessories than rats stuck to his body. The centipede and chicken bone are dumb...
Also, I wouldn't want the stupid Snake belt with roadkill cat be a PERMANENT feature on the figure. With the ultimates line, we have lost the removable belt feature from the original line. Some of the belts for the figure are actually quite ridiculous. I would rather have the option to display the belt or not then having the belt permanently stuck on the character. Especially since most of the iterations of the character (in this case rat King) have not had him with that stupid belt on.
So, how would I "fix" the Rat King figure?
Keeping the same body...
-*IF Possible* allowing the Playmates Toys Belt to be a removable item. Include toy weapons.
-Include 3 heads: bald with a few wisps of hair like Mirage, one based on Playmates Toys likenesses, and one of the now canmed Bishie Rat King... assuming they can clear things with Playmates.
Crazy idea: since these figures have no ab crunch, how about giving him removable arms, have the neck overlay be removable in order to be able to slip in a removable torso overlay with the sculpted chicken bone, the rats on his back and an altenate neck overlay with a sculpted rat. The figure wouldn't be 100% Playmates accurate, but it makes the figure reasonably Playmates inspired.
But if Playmates stuff is still no go, then Mirage head and Bishie Rat King heads is what we got. Add more rats to the existing accessories and unfortunately for Playmates purists, call it a day.
Enough about Rat King, let me go back to the main topic: Distancing from Vintage.
Aside Nostalgia, there is no real argument for the Playmates Ninja April being superior to Super7's. Not to mention that if we adhered to that "Recreated the Playmates figures larger and wirh better articulation" idea, we wouldn't get Karai.
Getting what we never had as kids, Granitor, Karai, the other 2 Punk Frogs, THAT'S what this line becomes better than just getting the vintage toys redone with better articulation... sometimes change is good. I'd rather loose the creepy crawlies on Rat King and Traag and a bit of vintage accuracy if it means getting a "vintage line inspired" Granitor, Attila, and Rasputin.
Basically, what I want for TMNT is what Mattel had for MOTUC. If only Playmates would play ball with Super7 instead of bitching to Nickelodeon about it.
As long as the characters are made available, I'm willing to accept a small degree of variation from their vintage toy looks if it means getting all the vintage toy CHARACTERS.
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