Since last year, NECA Toys offered fans three Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles box sets. This included two box sets at San Diego Comic-Con 2016 that were based on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles classic Arcade game, and the third set was the Shredder and the Foot Clan based on the classic Mirage comic series. This year, is a fourth set containing the Turtles, Shredder, Krang with Bubble Walker, and two Foot Soldiers was exclusive to San Diego Comic-Con 2017. This set is based on the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series and includes specific accessories, deco, and detail from the show. The packaging represents the vintage vinyl carrying case with trays as seen in the original toy line by Playmates Toys in the 1980’s and 1990’s, with artwork by Archie Comics artist Ken Mitchroney. This box set is limited to only 5,000 pieces worldwide. A fifth set was also revealed at this years San Diego Comic-Con, which includes two Rock Soldiers, Slash, and a fourth character that is yet to be revealed. Images can be found HERE.
The retail value of the set came to $200, which breaks down to $25 per figure plus all of the great accessories that you get. We were able to acquire one of these by pre-ordering in advance, rather than trying to obtain one at the show. Ironically, it would have been easier obtaining one of these at the show, as compared to the 3 minute sellout time that this experienced each day it went up on the NECA Store. Even at the hefty price tag of $200, the set has seen the price double even the week of San Diego Comic-Con from third-party sellers online, as seen in earlier sets from last year. Fans love what NECA Toys is offering with their TMNT box sets, and unfortunately, there isn’t enough of these to go around, which is why you see these going for some big bucks online that are right now reaching about the $500 mark depending on the seller.
Availability: July 19th-23rd at San Diego Comic-Con 2017
The Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles box set is inspired by the classic animated series of the 1980’s and 1990’s, and includes eight iconic characters that fans of the franchise know and love. This includes Leonardo, Raphael, Donatello, Michelangelo, Shredder, Krang with Bubble Walker, and two Foot Soldiers. The packaging for the set is incredible, and brings back the vintage feel of the vinyl carrying case with two trays inside as seen in the classic toy line by Playmates Toys. Each figure in the set includes their own iconic accessories as seen in the series, including the turtles iconic weapons, Turtle comms (both closed and open), a pizza slice, a box of pizza, a grappling hook and interchangeable hands for the Turtles. For the villain tray, these accessories include the Bubble Walker for Krang (yes, we’re counting this as an accessory), a can of mutagen, a pistol for Krang, two blasters for the Foot Soldiers, a sword and communicator for Shredder, and interchangeable hand sculpts included with each figure.
The quality of each figure is on the high-end, and well as the high-end paint applications to match their animated appearance. The Turtles are all painted in dark green, and include their iconic bandana’s and the the belt buckles with the letter of their names. The paint applications on the skin as well as the more natural looking gradations in the color work well. Each turtle is able to store their weapons inside their sheaths, with Leonardo and Donatello’s located on back, and Raphael’s and Mikey’s on the front.
One of the best offerings in this set is Krang and his bubble walker, which was not offered in 6″ scale last year. The bubble walker appears just as it did on the animated series, with Krang’s head able to fit inside, and his arms detach from the body, and attach to the walker itself. Shredder and the Foot Soldiers are retooled from last years Mirage based box set. Obviously, the head sculpts are brand new, and Shredder includes a soft-goods cape over a plastic one, and it really looks good. Shredder and the Foot Soldier’s parts were swapped with cartoon accurate sculpts, and the mix of both reused and new tooling makes it hard to even tell that anything in this set was reused. That is just how good and well thought out the process of creating these went. Shredder’s armor includes bendable spikes to go along with safety standards, and The Foot Soldiers also look like they did on the animated series. Those head sculpts are spot on, and they even include the Foot logo on the top of the forehead. The articulation on all of these figures is excellent and Shredder and the Foot Soldiers include double jointed knees and articulated toes.
Overall, this is an excellent set and there is a great homage feeling especially with the packaging. This set is now our new personal favorite as it features tooling and deco that is animated inspired, which is something that many fans prefer. With more sets on the way, this is a great set to own assuming you can find one for a reasonable price. NECA Toys continues to offer incredible toys at great value and this set is no exception. Fans of the classic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles animated series will love this box set.
Purchase:
