Happy Thanksgiving Everybody!

-J

TMNT 2012

The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles franchise has undoubtably been one of the most successful toy lines in action figure history. However, the turtles were pretty much forgotten in the late 90's through the mid 2000's and the toy line suffered for a while. It wasn't until Peter Laird(co-creator of the turtles) sold the franchise to Viacom in 2009 that the Ninja Turtles would make a comeback. A new TMNT cartoon was released on Nickelodeon in 2012 and was well received. Once again the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were popular. Of course the next step for the franchise was to release a series of toys.  I will be doing quick reviews of some of these characters.

The first series released nine characters

Leonardo

Donatello

Raphael

Michelangelo

Splinter

April O'Neil

Shredder

Foot Soldier

Kraang

A few differences from the original toy line that stand out are some of the character redesigns. 

April is no longer a news reporter, she is now a teenager.

Kraang is still a brain but the character is closer to the Mirage comic. The Kraang are a species of alien brains(not just one character) and the main antagonists of the show.

The second wave saw three new figures released.

Dogpound

Fishface

Metalhead

Metalhead, a classic character from the 80's toy line was redesigned for the new series.

Series 3 was varations of the four turtles so we'll just move onto the fourth wave.

Baxter Stockman

Snakeweed

Leatherhead

I'm not quite sure why Baxter has a robot body but they made him a black guy which is another similarity to the Mirage comic series. Another character from the 80's that was revived is Leatherhead. The new cartoon puts a twist on him and has him as a friend of the turtles.

Wave five

Cockroach Terminator

Rat King

A newly designed Rat King for the new series.

Wave 6

Ninjas in Training: Leo & Donnie

Ninjas in Training: Mikey & Raph

Shredder W/Removable Helmet

Mousers

Spider Bytez

I kind of like the Ninjas in training turtles. I also like that the Mousers are back in the new series.

I plan on doing an in depth review of the designs of the figure on a separate post, but I can't help mention real quick how ugly I think the packaging is.

With that being said, I actually like how the figures look considering the cartoon looks awful. 

Once again playmates has hit a home run with the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line. It's a hit with a new generation of fans and the older generation that was around for the 80's line. It looks like once again the turtles will be all over the place.

Now that shouldn't be...

This post is a selection of pictures and videos of toys that just shouldn't have been made.

The Austin Magic Pistol

Gilbert U-238 Atomic Energy Lab

I guess in the 1950's it was okay to sell uranium as a toy.

Rapping Frog

The real crime here is having to listen to 50 Cent rap.

The Punisher

I'm pretty sure this is a bootleg, but yeah....

E.T. Finger Light

Lion King Toy

Wolverine Bop Hammer

Blow me bub.

Tesco's Peekaboo Stripper Pole

British retail giant placed this in the toy section of their store

Costco Cuddle With Me Doll

Super Soaker Oozinator

Baby Wee Wee

Inflatable Slide

1989 Batman

Batman Returns Penguin

Jean St. Jean (Blackplague1348) shows his sculpt
for the Marvel Select Winter Soldier.

 

Iron Man prototype from ThreeA.

Marvel Munny Zipper Pulls by KidRobot.

Star Wars Micro Collection

In 1982 Kenner released a line of die cast Star Wars figures and playsets called the Micro
collection. The micro-scale playsets were based on key action sequences from Star Wars and The Empire Strikes Back. Each set came with a certain amount of mini metal figures and an environment or vehicle from the movies. The sets were designed to connect with each other to form a bigger environment. The sets looked good but the figures were not posable and for the time, relatively expensive.
At the time of the Micro Collection release, Masters of the Universe and G.I. Joe were growing in popularity. As a result sales did not do well and the Micro Collection was cancelled after only one year.
If they had waited for the Return of the Jedi movie to be released, maybe the toy line would have been more successful, who knows. Whatever the case may be, I always thought these playsets looked cool and the vehicles even cooler. Lets take a look at the line!

Before I go on.
1. This is going to be a lengthy post.
2. I want to point out that these pictures were taken from www.rebelscum.com and www.theswca.com. Check them out!

Bespin Control Room    

This is where you could re-enact the scene of Darth Vader throwing s**t at Luke with his mind. It also had a feature that allowed Luke to get tossed through the window(the power of the force!). It came with two Lukes and two Vaders in different poses, but it did lack overall playability.

Bespin Gantry

SPOILER ALERT!

This playset was taken from the scene where Darth Vader cuts off Lukes hand and then reveals to him that he is Lukes father. Again, two Luke figures and two Vader figures(but this time Luke gets a shiny saber of his own!). 

Bespin Freeze Chamber

This was by far the best playset from the Bespin collection. 

It came with the biggest playset and eight figures. 

 You could lower Han Solo into the freeze chamber....

and raise a Han Solo frozen in carbonite.

"He's no good to me dead."

As stated earlier these sets could be bought individually or could be purchased as a set.
Bespin World

The Bespin World playset is pretty fun when complete.

Death Star Compactor

This playset was the trash compactor scene from Star Wars. The set came with eight figures, including Obi-Wan and Darth Vader ready for their final showdown. It also came with orange trash foam.

 Death Star Escape

The Death Star Escape came with six figures, including good ol' Chewie. It also featured a moving elevator and a turret that could be "blown up".

Death Star World

This set was a little bigger than Bespin World.

Hoth Generator Attack 

This little playset was cool because it came with a vehicle. When the AT-ST(Scout Walker) was placed on the base next to the generator, a button could be pushed causing the generator and the scout walker to break apart to replicate them exploding. A cool feature and a some cool snowtrooper figures makes this a good playset.

Hoth Ion Cannon

 This set comes with eight figures including Han Solo on a Tauntaun. The ion cannon has a lever to move the cannon around and there is a button on the the playset that can blow off a piece of the snow to reveal a trap door. The set is also elevated to allow the figures to fit underneath. I assume this is to replicate the base being underground.



Hoth Turret Defense

This set comes with six figures and the turrets break apart.
I like the rebel soldier that is crawling in the snow. He can be turned over to look like he's been shot.

Hoth Wampa Cave

Remember when the Wampa slaps Luke, and Chewie and Han shoot that droid? That's what this is all about. It comes with a hanging Luke and a droid that can be put on a stand and knocked off with a push of button. 

Hoth World

As I'm writing this and looking at the pictures I can see why this line didn't do well. I remember playing with the Bespin set but I also remember playing with it for a short amount of time. There wasn't a whole lot to do with these playsets. However, like I said earlier, they still look pretty cool. Especially the vehicles. 

X-Wing Fighter

The pilot has a stomach ache.

 Comes with one pilot figure.



Stickers can be added to give the X-Wing battle damage.

The cool feature on this vehicle was that it broke apart when the button on the back was pushed.

A classic spaceship.

TIE Fighter

and this guy needs to poop.

The TIE Fighter is almost like the X-Wings counterpart. It comes with one figure and has a break apart feature. 

Snowspeeder(JC Penny Exclusive) 

This and the Millennium Falcon are the rarest of the vehicles. The Snowspeeder was only available for a brief time during the Christmas season of 1982. This vehicle has the same battle damage and break apart features as the X-Wing and TIE Fighter but comes with two figures.

What the hell is an Aluminum Falcon?

This was a Sears exclusive. It was going to have wide release in 1983 but the line was cancelled and just like the Snowspeeder, was only sold for a brief time during Christmas time of '82.

You can recreate the ending of The Empire Strikes Back.

The set come with R2-D2, C3PO, Chewbacca, Han Solo, Lando Calrissian and Luke Skywalker(minus one hand). 

Along with these playsets and vehicles, Kenner was in the early production phase of the Hoth Bacta Chamber, Bespin Torture Chamber, Dagobah, Jabba's Palace and the Emperor's Throne Room. Some of these playsets were produced but not released. I will have pictures of those playsets in a separate post.

In retrospect, I think the line suffered for four reasons.

1. The individual playsets on their own seem pretty boring. 

2. It cost a decent amount of money to have a full playset.

3. Small pieces and children don't mix.

4. Non posable figures make for limited play.

Despite the failure of the line, the Micro Collection is popular today amongst collectors. They have become very nice pieces to put on display and like most Star Wars collectibles, will be cherished by almost all Star Wars nerds.

Hope you enjoyed this picture tour of the Star Wars Micro Collection. 

-Jay