08.06
These are the turtles that I remember reading as a kid in the comics and doodling all over my school notebooks. The original Mirage published comic came out in 1984 and was much darker, more along the lines of Daredevil, than the kid friendly 1987 cartoon series (I was a big fan of both). Can these minimates live up to my fanboy nostalgia?
Packaging
The Figures
Raphael
For those that aren’t familiar with the original comics you’re probably thinking they messed up and put all Raphaels in this set. Not so; originally all the turtles wore red bandannas (well, on the comic covers, in the pages it was all black and white). It wasn’t until the toy line in ’87 needed a way to tell the difference between them that they got different colored bandannas.
Like previous turtle figures the headpiece is in three separate pieces; two parts of the head and the bandanna sandwiched in between. The sculpt for the bandanna is all the same for each turtle but more detail in the tie in back than we’ve seen before. I love the shading on the eyes and simple lines for his mouth; gives you that hint of turtle shaped nose/lips. Honestly you can swap any of the heads to give the guys whichever expression you want, no one expression is that unique to the character (even Raphael has smiled a few times).
The turtle shell torso cover is similar to past figures with more intricate details; you’ll notice the edge of the shell has curves for each little section. Also these guys have tails! In front the belt has a sculpted tie as well. The arms and legs are normal minimate arms/legs rather than the bulkier Nickelodeon figure’s pieces. Each arm has a wrist band and large elbow pad and each leg has large knee pads; thankfully the pads don’t limit articulation. For feet they went with Nightcrawler’s two-toed feet which is a very nice touch. I could have seen the sculpted hands working well with these figures but the smaller ones work nicely keeping a simpler aesthetic.
The main difference in all the turtles besides the expression is the belt holder for their weapon. For Raphael there are two loops that easily fit his sais. Both sais and a sewer cover base plate come as accessories.
Before we get to score something has to be said about the colors. Hands-down one of the best paint jobs ever in minimate history for an entire box set! These are fairly simple colors but they are soooo incredibly vibrant with a few simple black highlights. I didn’t adjust the pictures I took, they really look that bright in person.
Ahhh, nostalgia! The colors and details really nail the fact that this is a perfect minimate!
MMC Score – 10 out of 10
Leonardo
Pretty much everything said above for Raph applies here. Colors are wonderful, details are great. Leo has a slightly different expression on his face but feel free to mix and match as you like.
Leonardo has two sword scabbards together on the back of his shell. The included long shiny katanas fit very well (much better than the translucent figure of him). Also included is a sewer cover base plate.
Another great job, another great minimate!
MMC Score – 10 out of 10
Donatello
Same colors, sculpt and details for Donatello as with the other turtles. I like his facial expression the best with one side of his mouth open.
He comes with a bo staff as his weapon and there is a single belt loop in the back of his shell to hold it. Out of all the weapons this one looks the most awkward in the belt but attribute that to a straight stick on a curved shell.
Just like his brothers, radical!
MMC Score – 10 out of 10
Michelangelo
Ah, Mikey, still my favorite. All the same figure attributes as the other ones. He has a nice grin on his face.
On the back of the box it showed nunchucks linked with the loose metal chains but instead they are one sculpted curved piece. There are four loops on the back of his shell to hold both pair. They are nice accessories but what really takes the prize is the spinning nunchucks. They’re every bit as cool as Thor’s spinning Mjolnir.
I could see how younger collectors might find these versions a bit odd and not as much fun as the newer Nickelodeon versions. But the outstanding colors, details and me being a kid of the 80’s, this set is totally awesome!
MMC Score – 10 out of 10
Review and pictures by Lurch77
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