After being on the market for a few months, the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles action figures seem to be selling well. Made by Playmates, these figures have very nice cartoon detail and a ton of articulation considering that in the past, the figures had minimal, standard articulation.

Starting with the Turtles, each figure is packaged in a great card and bubble with CG cartoon artwork and a turtle shell imprinted pattern on the bubble. Leonardo, Donatello, Michelangelo and Raphael look great on the cards for those who collect mint on card.

The back of the packages feature more CG cartoon art, a bio and an also available at the bottom.

Once open, the guys show their great detail and decent articulation. You gotta love Michelangelo’s facial expression, the four turtles are well made and stand without any issues due to their large feet. Each turtle is almost sculpted to their own appearance in the cartoon with Donatello having the appearance of being tall and thin, while Michelangelo has the appearance of being slightly shorter than the others. Leonardo and Raphael are pretty much equal, although Raphael seems to sport some more bulk. These size differences are more-so visual tricks because there really isn’t that much difference between them. The sculpts don’t appear to be the same, but the differences are so subtle that it fools the eyes.
Each turtle includes a sprue tree of extra weapons and their trademark weapons are loose in the box. Leonardo has his pair of Katana, Raphael has his Sai, Donatello has his Bo and Michelangelo has his Nunchaku. The weapons can be holstered on the turtles either in their belts or in the case of Leonardo, his scabbards.

The turtles are well made for collectors and are perfect in or out of the package. For children, they will stand up to some rough play and most of their weapons will remain in their three-fingered hands for awesome Ninja action.

GRADE: A (I’m really impressed with the quality of these four figures, I think they are great in many ways and for the retail price I highly recommend picking them up)!

You can’t have the Teenage Turtles without their mentor and link to the surface. Splinter and April are also packaged in the great card and bubble with cartoon art and shell pattern, these figures would be great carded.

The back of the package features more cartoon art and bios or information on each and an also available at the bottom.

Out of the package, Splinter features an attachable tail that appears disturbingly like a worm—it simply is plugged in under his robe and is on a ball joint. Also included is a blue, translucent cane. The detail on Splinter is excellent and the articulation is very good, but one of his feet is raised (something a lot of the older and vintage turtles figures had) and makes it sometimes difficult for him to stand, but once you find the right spot, he stays up fine.
April has great detail and she is probably my favorite of the figures, I’ve always loved her character. April is 16 in the new cartoon because nickelodeon apparently found it strange for a 20-something year old to be hanging out with teenage turtles—she was always considered to be their older sister; she still is, but now by one year. April is great in every way including her appearance and articulation. However, for more detailed info, check out Miss M’s review:  http://www.nerdsociety.com/girls-rule-april-oneil/

GRADE: A (Both supporting characters are just awesome in detail and I recommend them to be added to ones collection).

What would the Turtles be without some evil villains to fight? The Foot Soldier, Shredder and Kraang look great on their cards and feature the same details as the other figures.

The back of the cards have cartoon art, bios and an also available at the bottom.

Out of the package these three villains feature great articulation (except Kraang) and a grouping of weapons for battling the turtles. The Foot Soldier has a pair of swords with a double back scabbard and a few throwing stars, Shredder has a Katana that doesn’t fit very well in his hand, its loose, but posed on a shelf it looks fine; he also includes a pair of sharp-looking throwing stars. Kraang is pretty cool for having light articulation and trouble standing. The robotic body has some nice detail and the hands can hold the two futuristic guns. The brain in the stomach is removable and made of a soft rubber with tentacles that wiggle when you shake it.

GRADE: A- (They are great figures, but there are nit-picks here and there with some of them standing and holding their weapons, I also find some of the quality to be lesser than desired. Still, the villainous figures are simply great).

Finally, how can the turtles party down without their Party Wagon! Also called the Turtle Van and officially with this line, the Shellraiser. There is nothing more therapeutic than sitting at the dining room table assembling and applying the stickers to something so cool! The box features some great artwork on the front.

The back of the box features the piece inside and some info.

The front half shows that the Party Wagon is a subway car with some graffiti throughout the side of the body. The vehicle is armored and has the door where one would walk between cars. Donatello added a very large front bumper and of course wheels and gripping poles upon the top. There is a spring-loaded firing rocket launcher and the curved silver vent next to the cannon is a button for activating the action feature.

The rear half shows the jet-powered rockets, oil drum (mutagen barrels) rear bumper and a large red side cannon. Riddled with graffiti, huge wheels on huge suspension and lights, this Turtle Van is going to raise some shell!

With all of the action features open, the front door becomes a ramp with a figure foot peg, great for displaying options. The side door opens either by hand or by the action button mentioned before. A turtle is attached to the bar which is then wound and pressed into the body of the vehicle, the door is closed and when the turtles come upon some Foot Ninjas, the button is pressed and out pops a turtle that’ll spin on the bar and knock Shred-head and his goons to the ground. The top has an opening hatch for a turtle to pop out of to work the rocket launcher. It’s important to mention the fact that there are no seats, and nothing to keep the turtle sticking up out of the hatch braced for working the cannon. Although an empty interior is kind of disappointing, I really have no need for it, so for me personally, I don’t mind.

GRADE: A- (I really like the Shellraiser, but I guess it could have had a few more extras; still, I’m quite happy with it).

My current shelf set-up shows the turtles going to battle with Shredder and his crew. Michelangelo is on top of the Party Wagon due to his obnoxious personality and his foolish immaturity–Cowabunga! Leonardo leads Raphael and Donatello against their adversaries and April and Splinter stand at the ready to help. The Shellraiser makes for a great display piece, if the shelf was large enough, I would have opened it up and even had some of the turtles hang onto the rails, but I figured this would work best.

I’ve always liked the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles ever since I was young, but to tell the truth, I never had any of the actions figures—maybe because a lot of them were kind of corny, but that was the idea. I love these figures; I feel that they top the 80’s figures hands down. I highly recommend them for collectors, fans or just get them for your kids, you won’t regret it!

Click all photos to enlarge!

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