TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES

I’m a Ninja Turtles fan but not to the extent that I’m a G.I. Joe or Transformers fan. The TMNT came along a bit later in my childhood so I didn’t get as attached to them. I had a handful of the toys as a kid but I only held on to a couple of my favorites. But when Playmates unveiled their really cool new turtle figures in 2012, based on the new Nickelodeon cartoon, I was stoked about getting updated versions of the heroes in a half shell. I don’t think Leonardo and the gang have ever looked better. However I had no intention of collecting the modern TMNT toy line. I passed on Shredder, Krang, April, the Foot Soldier and Splinter from that first wave of toys; I was content with my 4 turtles. But then Metalhead came out and he was really cool looking so I got him. And then Leatherhead came out and he was cool too so I bought him. It seemed a small collection was taking shape.

All of the stores in my area are completely bogged down with multiple variations of the 4 turtles. You can get them with Battle Shells, Power Sounds, or Stealth Tech. There are pegs and pegs full of Donnie, Mikie, Leo and Raph. Most of the other characters have proven quite difficult to find: at least at first. Metalhead and Letherhead are both plentiful now but back when I first got them they were a hot commodity.

My nephew Alex (Doug’s kid) is collecting the entire Ninja Turtle line. Doug has asked me on a few occasions to keep my eyes peeled for the latest figures since they tend to be so elusive initially. For months he had me looking for Rat King, which I eventually found for him at Giant Robot Comics. The next one he had me hunting for was Cockroach Terminator.

I had no idea who Cockroach Terminator was so I wasn’t sure what I was looking for. I looked him up and discovered that he’s a giant cyborg bug; I suppose I could’ve guessed that from the name. Cockroach Terminator is a brand new creation of the Nickelodeon series. He did not appear in the old comics or cartoons so I have no nostalgic attachment to the character whats-so-ever.

Just before the holidays I was in Walmart and I spotted ol’ CT on the pegs. I looked him over and wasn’t overly impressed. They only had two of him in stock. If they had had a dozen of them I would’ve grabbed one for Alex and been done with it but because there were only 2 and I was aware of how hard he was to find I decided that I’d better get one for myself too. I’d hate to have passed him up only to regret in later if I suddenly decided I wanted him. That has happened to me before. I find you don’t regret the things you do buy, only the things you don’t.

So I got him home and opened him up and…meh. Still not impressed. He’s a good size, taller than any of the other TMNT figures in the line, so he has that going for him. I wish Playmates had made the Leatherhead figure larger as he’s quite imposing in the animated series but kinda shrimpy in toy form.

Other than the size of him I find there’s very little to get excited about. He’s relatively plain looking. This guy is a cyborg so he has a few cybernetic enhancements, most noticeably the eye, but other than that there are few signs of robotic modification. He’s got a metal antennae on his head, some exposed wires in his armpits, and a couple of other minor metal protrusions. I think they could’ve done a lot more with the concept.

The articulation on the turtle figures from this line was great but it’s been sorely lacking on the supporting cast. This figure is articulated at the neck, shoulders, elbows, and upper legs. The leg joints just plain suck. They look like they’re ball jointed but they’re very limited with only side-to-side movement. He also has a dinky little extra arm on his right side that can be moved a bit but it’s pretty pointless. There’s a gaping hole in his chest for some reason I don’t understand. He came with a buzz saw on a stick which fits through the hole but it doesn’t snap into place or anything; it just kind of sits there. I don’t see the point of it but i assume it’s a weapon he had in the cartoon. I immediately chucked the useless accessory into my parts bin where it will likley never see the light of day again. I couldn’t be bother to dig it out for this review. I’m pretty luke warm on this guy. I probably should’ve left him on the peg. At least Alex seemed to like him. 3 out of 10.