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Newest TMNT Toys: Ninjas in Training and Classic Leo

Posted on October 10, 2013 by Walt

Last weekend I FINALLY tracked down the Ninjas-in-Training Raphael & Michelangelo 2-pack. I’ve come across the Leonardo & Donatello one several times since first seeing it, but this was the first (and so far, only) time seeing this one.

raph_mikey_front

I also–after deciding that $60 is just WAY TOO MUCH to spend for the “classic” Party Wagon–opted instead to buy the larger-size “inspired by the 1988 cartoon” Leonardo figure.

classic_collection_leo_front

I don’t like the premium pricing on this line…much like the other “Classic Collection” “reprint” figures, these seem to ONLY be available at Toys R Us, so there’s no “competition” and such from Walmart and Target to keep the prices lower.  But over the past year of seeing these, the idea of them has grown on me, especially for there only being four figures so far that I know of…with Bebop and Rocksteady coming sometime in the near-ish future.

raph_mikey_profile

Here’s the profile from the card back for Raph & Mikey…

classic_collection_leo_back_2

Though the packaging takes a bit of the color scheme and such of the original 1988 figures, the card back for the larger Classic Collection figures definitely makes no pretense of being classic itself…just “retro.”

classic_collection_leo_back_3

And here are the four turtles. I really like the look of Michelangelo…especially for the realistic weapons–actually dangling while not in motion, as opposed to the rigidness of other toys’ iteration.

classic_collection_leo_back

And of course, the card back in its entirety…

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

TMNT Toys Through Time

Posted on September 4, 2013 by Walt

I recently discovered a new version of the Halftone app, Halftone2, which basically combines the original Halftone app with a frames app I had been using.

Rather than show off the various turtles in a bunch of individual photos, I had some fun messing around with the new app, with the results you see below.

The three different sets of turtles:

tmntfigures-all

And then the individual turtles:

tmntfigures-leonardo

tmntfigures-donatello

tmntfigures-raphael

tmntfigures-michelangelo

And then all the figures together by turtle:

tmntfigures-all-byturtle

Now, if only I had recognized the value in the figures a few years ago based on the original Mirage comics designs, I’d be alllll set!

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TMNT Classic Collection [Toy Review]

Posted on September 2, 2013 by Walt

The other day after work, I decided–on a whim–to stop by a Toys R Us to see if they, by some chance, had the new Leatherhead TMNT figure. While they did NOT…what they DID have surprised the heck outta me.

A new “Classic Collection” line of TMNT figures I’d not heard/known ANYthing about coming out!

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-all

Of course, I had to buy Leonardo…my “classic” favorite turtle…and typically, if I ever give in and buy “variants” of a turtle, I go with Leonardo.

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-leo

…But then, since these ARE re-issues of the original figures…and I can’t FIND my original figures…yet had my 2003 Turtles and 2012 Turtles here in my room…I splurged and bought the other three:

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-don

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-raph

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-mikey

The card back is identical on all the figures, with a mostly classic look…except for the Classic Collection blurb, a contemporary “About the Turtles,” the nickelodeon logo, and a lack of clip ‘n collect “profile card.”

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-card-back

The front of the card looks like what I remember from the original figures:

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-card-front_top

And the “origin” of the turtles also looks like what I remember from the originals.

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-card-origin

As said, this About the Turtles is new/contemporary:

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-card-info

I may yet opt to snag Splinter and Shredder for the heckuvit–to have all 3 versions of them as well. But for now I just wanted the four turtles themselves.

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-card-figures

I did NOT see the “Party Wagon,” though if I do, I fully intend to buy it (provided it’s–IDEALLY–NOT a $39.99+ item! I would expect $25-$30ish!).

tmntfiguresclassiccollection-card-vehicles

All in all, I’m mostly satisfied with the figures themselves. The belts are significantly looser than I remember, which is a big drawback–Raphael in particular is ready to lose HIS just standing around!

I do like that the weapons all come on the original “sprues” or whatever–the flimsy brown plastic–you have to bend/twist/break the pieces apart yourself! But this keeps with the classic-ness of the figures.

I also QUITE like that the packaging does NOT include ANY annoying twist-ties and such…the figures and weapons simply popped RIGHT out (with some applied pushing/pulling/folding the plastic inside-out).

$12.99 is a bit steep for these–they’re slightly smaller/lower “quality” than either the 2003 or 2012 line (the current 2012 line being about $9/ea). BUT for being classic, and NOT carried in Walmart or Target or such that I have seen, the extra $4 is still worth it on the whole over paying higher premiums for original or 2010 25th-anniversary editions of the turtles themselves on the card.

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TMNT New Animated Adventures FCBD 2013 [Review]

Posted on May 4, 2013 by Walt

tmntnewanimatedadventuresfcbd2013Story: Erik Burnham
Art: Dario Brizuela
Colors: Ronda Pattison
Letters: Shawn Lee
Edits: Bobby Curnow
Cover by: Dario Brizuela
Published by: IDW
Cover Price: $0.00

I’ve been “expecting” this series for quite awhile. I recall thinking it’d be one of the first TMNT things put out by IDW, and precede the new animated series. Obviously I was wrong in that expectation, but that also made me all the more curious about this issue, having watched most of the episodes so far of the tv show serving as inspiration.

I was quite gratified to find that this issue totally fits–for me, anyway–within the continuity of the show. It was like an adaptation of an episode, yet even better–because it’s an original story, with some really good art, that simply captures the spirit of the show while doing its own thing.

We open with Mikey showing off some new moves and getting teased by his brothers. Splinter steps into things, and uses the brotherly rivalry as a teaching moment–the turtles are all quite good with their chosen weapons…but what’s their skill level with an unfamiliar weapon? Ordered to maintain a temporary weapon swap, the turtles head up out of the sewers, and wind up fighting some Purple Dragons before encountering an even larger menace, and learning the wisdom Splinter set forth.

The story has these characters nailed–the personalities from the nick tv show shine through on all involved characters, and some of the quips are highly true to the show. I was especially impressed at a moment with Raphael and Donatello where Raph grabs Donnie and instructs him “Don’t you EVER try and finish that sentence”–the context and hearing the voice from the cartoon in my head nearly made me laugh out loud in a way that so rarely happens.

Visually I really enjoyed the art. Brizuela‘s name is familiar to me from work on a number of issues of Tales of the TMNT from 2004-2009. It’s very cool to see another “veteran” of Mirage TMNT doing some new TMNT work for tmntnewanimatedadventuresfcbd2013backIDW…something I hope to see more of from creators with any interest in doing so. The characters all look like their animated counterparts (though admittedly CGI to 2D); but the art’s still got a certain uniqueness about it. It’s obviously based on the cartoon, but it’s not trying to BE the cartoon. It’s also quite a lot better-looking than stills taken from the cartoon itself.

This is easily my favorite Free Comic Book Day issue this year, and I’m really looking forward to the first issue of the actual ongoing series this summer.

If you can only grab one FCBD issue this year, I’d highly recommend this to fans of the TV show or fans of Burnham or Brizuela‘s other work, and general fans of the TMNT as a whole.

Filed under: Free Comic Book Day (FCBD), IDW Publishing, TMNT New Animated Adventures (IDW) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

TMNT Action Figures 2012: Out of Their Shells

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Walt

…and here are the TMNT 2012 figures, out of their packaging!

Raphael, April O’Neil, Donatello, Michelangelo, Splinter, and Leonardo:

photo(TMNTAprilSplinter)

Shredder with Foot Soldiers:

photo(ShredderAndFootNinjas)

TMNT vs. Shredder and the Foot:

photo(TMNTvsFoot)

The Kraang:

photo(Kraang)

And just cuz I could, 2003 TMNT side-by-side with 2012 TMNT:

2003and2012TMNT

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments »

TMNT Action Figures 2012: Clip and Collect Profiles

Posted on August 15, 2012 by Walt

The new TMNT figures based on the 2012 Nickelodeon animated series are out…and after scouring local Toys R Us and Target stores, I’ve managed to snag the entire first wave of basic figures. Here are the profiles from the back of the cards:

Profile(Leonardo)

Profile(Donatello)

Profile(Raphael)

Profile(Michelangelo)

Continue reading →

Filed under: NON-REVIEW CONTENT, The Toy Chronicles | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

TMNT Action Figures 2012: The Good Guys

Posted on August 14, 2012 by Walt

The new TMNT figures based on the 2012 Nickelodeon animated series are out…and after scouring local Toys R Us and Target stores, I’ve managed to snag the entire first wave of basic figures. Here are the good guys:

TMNTfigures(Leonardo)

TMNTfigures(Donatello)

Continue reading →

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Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) #1 [Review]

Posted on August 24, 2011 by Walt


Full review posted to cxPulp.com.

Story: 4/5
Art: 3.5/5
Overall: 4.5/5

Filed under: cxPulp.com, INDEPENDENT/SMALL-PRESS PUBLISHERS, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (IDW) | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Photos From Home #14

Posted on October 1, 2009 by Walt

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)
Donatello; Michelangelo; Leonardo; Raphael

I first saw these figures in early January 2003–they were released about a month ahead of the debut of the new TMNT animated series.  I originally decided to only get Leonardo…for old time’s sake. By the time the animated series debuted, I’d given in and bought all 4 turtles as well as Shredder and Splinter. I also snagged several Foot Ninja figures during a sale at Toys R Us, and picked up a few more that summer.

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Photos From Home #4

Posted on September 16, 2009 by Walt

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (2003)
Donatello; Michelangelo; Leonardo; Raphael; Hun; Shredder; Foot Ninja (multiple); Foot Elite Guard (multiple)

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