NECA Wins Comic Con With Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles!

Looking at pictures online of the NECA video game Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles got me excited for the show, but now having them I might be done collecting TMNT.

I was at an in between age when TMNT started as a cartoon. I was getting out of action figures, and doing a lot more video games, so they have a place in my heart but not as strong as the early 80’s lines. I never dressed up as one of the guys for Halloween, never had a lunch box, or any posters in my room, but one place they really got me was in video games. I loved playing games since I was five years old standing on a pile of milk crates to reach the controls in my cousins corner store, and when my dad put a machine in our store I was hooked. I would take quarters from the register a lot, so much so I could have probably bought a machine for home with all the quarters I took.

I think we got the Turtles game for a short time, because I remember it so well but I can’t be sure. What I do remember is going out to dinner with my family to an arcade, armed with two rolls of quarters I was determined to beating the game. I had every villain mapped out in my head and knew every move. I would rotate through the Turtles as I played with each death I would switch, but always coming back to my favorite Michelangelo. Those were some of my best memories as a kid, so there was no way I would be able to skip these box sets.

The two sets are perfect, and I know if I am saying the are perfect off the bat where is there to go in this review? Well lets take a look at the boys first. The old NECA figures were solid, and these follow suit. They are smooth and bright but they have some weight to them, they don’t feel like hollow figures, which is important when posing them. They can hold poses and look great in action set ups. Each figure comes with their signature weapons, Raph and Mike can’t store them but Leo and Don have belt holsters. NECA could have used the same head for the four to cut down on costs but each have an expression unique to their characters. In addition to their weapons there are a few ninja stars, as well as alternate hands for all the Turtles. There is even a whole pizza done in the pixel paint style for the guys to grab as they fight the Foot.

The Foot boxset finally gives fans of NECA TMNT work an in scale Shredder. Shredder was shown years ago at Toy Fair, but the comic book line was canceled before he could be produced. He shares some parts with the Foot Soldiers in the set, but is unique enough to make him stand out. His spikes are made from a softer plastic so be careful how you store him, they could get damaged if just thrown into a figure box. The Foot Soldiers in the set all share the same parts, but have different colors like the game. There is one classic colored purple Soldier, one white, and one orange one. The Foot set also comes with a ton of accessories, from a giant mallet to a ray gun, to the traditional ninja weapons.

This set is pure nostalgia with the spectacular sculpting from NECA. I don’t think any other company could have pulled this set off as a SDCC exclusive and made it this impressive. You can see the love of the property in this set, and the paint work to create the pixel look is flawless. This was only available to Comic Con Attendees due to licensing terms, and having this set in hand I can see why Playmates does not want to compete with NECA TMNT products. These were probably a one and done set, but how cool would it be to get one more set at SDCC next year with Rocksteady, Bebop, April, Casey Jones, and Splinter!