I recently picked up my first Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle action figure. It's a license I have no nostalgic connection to: never watched or read any of their many stories from the past 25 years, and (as I stated earlier) I've never had any of the toys. So what changed all that? Quite honestly, this figure is fantastic on so many levels that I just couldn't pass him up. Here's what Playmates got right:
We'll start with the packaging. It's terrific. Colorful, eye catching, personalized with a little background about the specific character, a shot of all the figures in the entire wave, screen shots of the team, and it's efficient. There isn't much wasted space, and things are kept in place nice and tightly, without the figure being damaged or warped by stupid in-action poses. The figure is shown off well- it's darn near perfect. My only (tiny) quibble here is that the two twisties used to keep Leo in place are made of a really stiff plastic. Don't even bother trying to untwist them, it was nearly impossible- just cut em and get on with it. The weapons of choice slide into the bubble itself, while an additional mini-arsenal is included on a sprue. Accessories? In this day and age? Yup, and plenty of them! Yay, Playmates!
Next bit of Playmates goodness? Leonardo's sculpt is what really got me. I love the overall look and proportions of the entire figure, as well as on the all-important-face. Strangely enough, the part with the most interesting detail to me is the bandana, right around the eyes. The ridges and crinkles done underneath the bandana really lend a ton of expression to the face. There are scads of nicks and scars all over the figure's pads and shell, and his skin and bandage textures are awesome. Each of the turtles in the line is a unique sculpt, so you aren't going to feel ripped off buying the same figure four times with different faces. Oh, and the weapons fit perfectly in his hands, as well as in the soft rubbery scabbards on his back.
Next! Articulation-wise, Leonardo has enough to get the job done. What I mean is that there isn't a ton - he's not super-articulated by any means, but there's enough to have some fun with.
The ball-jointed head tilts and swivels enough to add some expression to most poses. Additionally, there are ball joints at the shoulders, elbows, knees and hips, with swivels above the wrist bandages. The balls at the elbows and knees provide rotating motion, as well, though their range of motion in terms of bend isn't too great. He's fun to play around with, and I can get some cool looking poses, but I have the most trouble with his legs. The one accessory I wish they would have included is a display stand with a hearty foot-peg. I don't usually use stands, so that's odd for me to say, but I'd love to get some one-legged, jumping, or kicking poses out of this guy! In any event, great job again here by Playmates. They didn't go overboard and as a result there are no loose floppy joints. I've got some figures from other toy companies with upwards of 30 points, but the ankles are so loose the figures can't stand at all on their own even in a vanilla pose. Kind of defeats the purpose. Not so, here!
Paint is the one spot where Leonardo doesn't quite shine as much. It's not that it's bad or detrimental, there just isn't very much of it. The bandana, bandages, and pads on mine are all very clean and sharp. Even the buckles on the front strap have a gold application. It's all very nice, but he's still very plastic-toy-looking. Honestly, I'm totally fine with it, though I can't help but think how incredible he'd look with a decent wash or some airbrushed highlights. I may add some paint detail to the weapons at some point, which may help out as well.
Playmates Toys used to be a top-line contender in my book. I still have those Lara Croft Adventures dioramas in my display, and I used to really admire their Simpsons line. But over the past few years, I've begun to lump them in with the lower tier, along with JAKKS Pacific, Jazwares, Zizzle and whatever other "oh, I hope my favorite property doesn't get picked up by them" companies that happened to be around. The Star Trek and Terminator: Salvation debacles probably had a lot to do with that.
But, now I can honestly say, "Wow". I'm blown away. These Ninja Turtles look great, come with lots of stuff, pose well, are well-made, and are packaged appropriately. What else did Playmates do right? Here's a short additional list:
- The entire wave of toys is readily available and is consistently being re-stocked (I've managed to find all 9 figures in the wave, along with the Shellraiser van, over the past week- contrast that with the Wal-Mart 6" Avengers, which I've seen 2 figures of once, or the Movie Masters Alfred and Catwoman, which I've seen never)
- All 9 figures were released at once, not in future "possible secret figure can't complete your Parallax" waves
- The PRICE: I've decided that $8.99 is the perfect price for an action figure. For that amount, I went ahead and bought 10 figures. For a line like the 6" Avengers, I won't buy a single figure at $16. Why? I got 10 different figures! I don't feel ripped off, and I'm enjoying myself as a toy-collector again, which I can't do when it takes me 3 months and $20 to find one figure with no accessories, warped ankles and the same sculpt as 20 other figures.
- No stupid action feature
- I like the scale: not too big, not too small at just under 5". I can display them all as a group, and they fit the vehicles appropriately
In short, this is my absolute hands-down favorite line right now, bumping Transformers Prime out of the running. I'm enjoying the figures I have, and I'm looking forward to the cartoon in the fall. I'm not sure I'll bother with the more expensive "retro classics collector (read: $15) figures" when they pop up. Like I said, I don't have any nostalgic connection to the characters, so I don't care much about the 2-toes vs. 3-toes quarrel, or the pupil-eyes vs. white-eyes look. If I like 'em, I'll pick them up, but for right now, I'm real happy with the guys I have.
As a toy collector, all I ask of the toy companies out there is to give me the best figure you can. I don't want another 3 3/4" line, or an unarticulated (5 cut joints) statue. Gimme as much useful articulation as possible, with a unique and detailed sculpt and tons of appropriate accessories that the figure can store and work with. Keep the package reasonable- no need to go crazy here with all kinds of crazy shapes and cardboard overlays, and get the toys to the shelves! Do all of that, and do it for less than ten bucks, like Playmates Toys just did! I dare you...
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