The TMNT Line has been owned by Playmates Toys, a subsidiary of the Hong Kong toy company, Playmates holdings, for many many years (since 1966). Playmates actually sort of hovers for me between the area of too-bright, bulky, unarticulated Vs. adult collectible toy for this line.
The turtle brothers actually have a decent amount of articulation and range for their price point as well as the typical unpainted sprue accessories. The other characters look fairly close to the show but don't really have as many posing options, which is a shame.
Back in the day (oh yes I did), the older TMNT line had the characters in every kind of style and outfit imaginable, such as:
Wind up toys:
to "disguised" turtles (I had Mikey, but really was jealous of my friends' leonardo)
to some REALLY bizarre stuff:
*All images courtesy of tmnttoys.com
There have been quite a few lines since the first line based on movies and other tv shows.
I have a soft spot for TMNT toys because they were the very first action figures I remember having as a kid since I was so inundated at the time by the 1980s TV cartoon. I didn't have most of the crazy versions, but I do distinctly remember owning the basic four, krang, a mouser, foot soldier, and maybe some random versions like the turtle transforming Raph.
The TMNT toys are what actually got me first into collecting as an adult, ironically enough a few years ago. I had seen a friend get a few nice figures that looked great on his shelf and reminded me how much I missed the cartoons and make-believe pastimes of my youth, then I was introduced by the same friend to the newer TMNT (2012) series. I was kinda blown away! It was CG, but it was, what I considered, to be pretty good. The humour was great, and they even added in many japanese terms, something I think the other series --including the original--were missing.
I am kinda sad to see the series end! I'm not a big fan of the aesthetic look of the new upcoming series: Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, but I was willing to give the 2012 series a chance, so as a fan I'll do the same for this series.
Ninja Turtle Toys were also a big part of my childhood, I think I had all four of those disguised turtles plus probably too many others. I'm curious to see your thoughts on the newer TMNT toys. I've resisted getting any of them for fear of tumbling down the rabbit hole of another collection compulsion. (With the sole exception of the Usagi Yojimbo figure because Usagi gets to break all the rules)
ReplyDeleteIn terms of aesthetics, I'm not fond of the look. Raphael is modeled after a different type of turtle, but looks kinda goofy to me, especially the head. The articulation actually looks quite a bit better, with even possible ball jointed ankles? Hard to tell completely from images. Usagi Yojimbo definitely breaks all the rules.
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