Rise of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Budget Figures Review
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Since I decided to jump back into writing these reviews with the recent Rise of the TMNT Mutant
XL figures, I figured it would make sense to follow it up with a review of another set of low cost figures from Playmates. There's just one
problem, I have no idea what to even call these figures. They popped up at a discount retailer last year. And while it isn't the first time that
Playmates has come up with different figures for discount retailers. But in the past, these have usually been figures that were originally designed
for the main toy line. But here, Playmates seems to have remade the four Turtles in a slightly smaller scale exclusively for this release. So I was
quite curious to see if the effort paid off.
Packaging - 6/10The packaging is pretty much exactly what I would expect for a closeout/budget toy line. The cards are just big enough for the plastic blister while still setting aside room for the J hook at the top. Graphically they use the same backgrounds and group image as the regular carded basic figures. This allows the budget figures to still fit in with the regular toys if you want to keep them MOC. The back of the card is printed in black and white, undoubtedly to save costs. But the overall quality of the printing is better than I was expecting. And they didn't skimp on the art either. They actually included background artwork. Obviously I'm grading these on a curve, but for discount/closeout store merchandise, these turned out quite well. and even as a part of the Rise of the TMNT toy line in general, they fit in fairly well.
Sculpting - 5/10The sculpting for these figures is completely new. And they turned out much better than they have any right to. The style is a bit different from the basic assortment figures. They have more or less all the same details. But there is generally less depth to the details and that gives the figures a slightly more simple/streamlined look. Personally I prefer the basic assortment figures. But I can also see where these might work as well or better for someone who prefers clean lines and a lack of articulation.
Paint - 4/10Playmates has shown in recent years that they like to limit their paint applications in favor of a lower retail price. So I didn't have high expectations for these figures. And that's exactly what we got. The paint work isn't bad, but it is absolutely the minimum paint applications that they could get away with. And there are a lot of details that were left completely unpainted such as the ankle wrappings and the bandage on Raphael's plastron. The lack of that paint does hurt the look of the figures overall, it's at a level that most would never notice their absence at a casual glance.
Articulation - 2/10The discount Turtles also have very limited articulation. Each one has only five points of articulation. Each figure has rotating joints at the neck, shoulders and "v" cut hips. The neck and shoulder joints are really the absolute minimum articulation needed by a figure. And they are nice and tight, bordering on being too tight. The hip joints are old school style "V" cut which sadly renders the leg articulation all but useless since the only position the legs can take that look in the least bit natural is standing straight up.
Accessories - 3/10Leonardo, Donatello and Michelangelo all come with their signature weapon while Raphael comes with two of his tonfas. I have to give them credit for including their weapons. But the weapons are completely unpainted, cast in plain grey plastic. At the very least, they could have cast the weapons in the Turtles' signature colors.
Value - 3/10 (6/10 if you don't have the basic assortment figures.)The big selling point of these figures seems to be their price, a mere $5 each. That great. But given that the basic assortment figures sell for under $10, I don't really feel like I need a cheaper alternative. But if you didn't buy the regular Playmates figures and still wanted a set of figures from the Rise of the TMNT cartoon, this is a chance to do so for half the cost. They are probably overkill, but more choice isn't a bad idea.
Happy Hunting:These figures showed up at the 5 Below chain of discount stores. But they are not marked as exclusives, so they may be available at other discount stores as well.
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