About a week ago, I came across a couple of old “cards” from my old TMNT toys from the late-1980s. These were from the “Wacky Action” turtles–motorized action figures that…well, gave them action. Nothing fancy, but quite a time capsule, and a reminder of how sorely disappointing most contemporary toy lines and card designs are to me.
First off…what I consider to be a decent-condition card front, given the toy’s long-since been opened, the blister pack or whatever-it’s-called taken apart. The card is larger than the “regular” figures were–about an inch taller and an inch and a half wider, I’d say.
The back is where I find many contemporary lines (specifically Marvel’s) and what I can think of on Star Wars) seriously lack: it’s essentially a full-color catalogue of the entire line. I count 21 unique figures shown here…and you have a mix of “good guys” and “bad guys” instead of just endless variants, or only seeing 2-3 other figures that exist.
The “blueprint” seems like a bit of filler, but it’s also directions to working the “wacky action” of the figure.
The “Portrait” was a fun feature I recall on most (if not all) of the ’80s/’90s TMNT toys…and I remember indeed “clipping and collecting” these until I took ’em to school with me and they got lost. After that I vaguely recall just hanging onto the full cards (which would seem to account for this one at least).
From what I can tell, these were the “first wave” of Wacky Action turtles, as we’re missing Leo, Shredder, and Splinter from below:
While I never appreciated the range of now-memorable characters (especially ones I believe came from the Archie comics), it was still quite an incentive to see all the figures available to try to collect. I don’t believe I ever acquired Genghis Frog, I did have the later-released Napoleon Bonafrog. I honestly don’t recall if I ever actually had this version of Usagi–but I at least remember seeing the figure a few times…and got the one from the 2003 toy line.
While I really don’t (except in a bit of nostalgic reflection) care for Bebop and Rocksteady, it’s still also cool to see a range of villains for the line–beyond the RIDICULOUS-looking and atrociously-posed Shredder. Shame, though, that Baxter Stockman was relegated to being best known as a fly, as opposed to the creepy scientist of the comics.
And spotlighting the other segments of the back of the card, here’s the legalese of the card, including the “Pizza Points.” I don’t recall if there was ever anything to redeem these for–but hey, anything to add ‘value’ for us kids cutting up the card, right?
Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: Mouser, playmates, TMNT Ninja Turtles, TMNT Toys, toys, Wacky Action, Wacky Action TMNT, Wacky Walkin Mouser | 2 Comments »
Comic Reviews by Walt 