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The packaging is totally new to minimates, the (dreaded?) blind bag! Blind bags seem to be all the rage with block figures ever since LEGO started their minifigure blind bag series a few years ago. I’m not a big fan of this mindset but anyway to broaded the minimate line has to be a good thing, right? And for the first time since C3 sets we have minimates in Kmart; that is to say if you’re fortunate enough to still have a Kmart store in your area.

The bag is similar size to comic con promos just slightly larger and obviously not clear plastic but completely sealed. You can feel rather easily which type of figures are inside and the stores have been consistent with the order of the figures on the display strip (check the forum for more details). Knowing ahead of time what I was looking for, these packs were easy to spot in the store but honestly they don’t scream minimates (even though it has the Minimate logo and Visit MINIMATES.COM in bold at the bottom of the bag). The packaging for all the TMNT toys are fairly consistent, same logos with similar shots of the four cartoon turtles somewhere on the package. This is not a bad thing as I could see kids easily grab one of these as an impulse buy just because they want some sort of toy that’s Turtles. On the back you can see a frame of control art for each of the figures that may show up in the pack. One slight mis-step as Mutagen Raphael is actually in the LCS sets and not in the Kmart sets.

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Mikey has always been my favorite so I had to track this version down. As much fun as the promo versions were this mutagen version relates much better to the turtle’s origin. Ahh, the ooze! I have to hand it to Nickelodeon, the new show is pretty good.

As we’ve seen before, his headpiece is a new piece with three separate pieces; two parts of the head and the bandanna sandwiched in between (check out pics here). The bandanna is the only piece that is not translucent but rather a solid orange. Mike has simple details for his eyes and mouth; there’s even some freckles on him too.

His torso cover is a large turtle shell that fits over the head peg. The details for his belt with loops in the back are sculpted right onto the shell. He’s done in a deep green translucent plastic. His arms and legs are also sculpted pieces. The forearm is built up with his arm wraps and elbow pad. The pad is a bit tight and gets in the way trying to bend the arm in certain positions. His hands look like they are a continuation of his forearm but thankfully they are separate pieces so you can move the hands around. His legs have sculpted details for his large turtle feet with wraps and knee pads.

For accessories he comes with two translucent green nunchucks that fit into the loops on his back. The nunchucks have little metal links tying them together. And since the figure is advertised as a 2 inch figure with key-ring he comes with a key-ring attachment. They improved tremendously over the Hunt key-ring figures that were at the comic cons years ago and the key-ring attachment has a longer loop that easily fits between his head and shell. What’s even nicer is the joints for the figure are tight enough that you can actually use it as a key-ring and not worry about all the pieces falling off. These are some of the most sturdy and well made minimates we’ve ever seen. One more bonus, instead of included a generic clear plastic base we get a manhole cover plastic base!

In conclusion if you are a turtle fan or a minimate fan or both; the new TMNT line is a homerun! He may be hard to track down but the Mutagen versions are superb!

MMC Score – 10 out of 10

Review and pictures by Lurch77

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