Playmates Toys Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Monsters + Mutants line is a throwback to the vintage line that was originally released in 1993 that introduced the Turtles as iconic monsters. In the original toyline, Donatello was Dracula, Michelangelo as Frankenstein, Leonardo as The Wolfman, and Raphael as a Mummy. This new line-up for 2017 brings back these classic elements and mixes it up a little, and introduces the Turtles as different monsters this time around that their brother was originally offered as. The line also includes two Monster Hunters, or Val Helsing’s depending on how you look at it, which includes Monster Hunter Leo and Monster Hunter Raph.
Just in time for Halloween, Playmates Toys is introducing monster-themed figures based on the Season 5, 4-episode story arc, titled Tales of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. In the Monsters + Mutants story arc, which will begin airing on Nickelodeon on October 8, 2017, the evil villain Savanti Romero is back with a plan to unleash the world’s most famous monsters upon New York City. The Turtles gear up with new monster-hunting weapons to save the city and themselves!
This new line-up features Monster Hunter Leo, Monster Hunter Raph, Leonardo as The Mummy, Raphael as Dracula, Donatello as Frankenstein, and Michelangelo as The Wolfman. Each of the figures includes accessories designed to work with the monster, and pays tribute to the Turtle character themselves. While these variations of the Turtles won’t appear on the show, as the vintage toys did not, the monster elements are easily recognizable characters to children and you tell tell who the Turtle is meant to be. The vintage line also offered some additional figures such as April O’Neil as Bride Of Frankenstein, which unfortunately won’t be brought over into this new era. This is likely due to the fact that this is one of the very last waves of the current show, as Playmates Toys is looking ahead into 2018 and getting product ready that will be based on next years all new series. A bit more information on that can be found from our interview with Playmates Toys at San Diego Comic-Con 2017. We’ll have more to share with you closer to the new year, and especially during New York ToyFair 2018.
Thank you to Playmates Toys for providing their Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Monsters + Mutants – Monster Hunter Leo figure for review.
Availability: September 2017
Monster Hunter Leo has a Van Helsing vibe to him, with the brown trench coat and removable hat. With the monsters, Monster Hunter Leo and Raph are meant as the hero characters, as their mission to hunt and destroy monsters. Leonardo shares some existing parts such as the legs, hands, and chest from previous figures, and includes a newly sculpted head, coat, arms, chest harness and knives. The sheath and swords are also reused. The head sculpt is nicely tooled and has a closed mouth, with a blue bandana wrapped around his head, with white eyes showcasing stealth mode. The coat is nicely sculpted and spread out around the legs, as if wind is blowing it back. The arms are sculpted to represent sleeves for the coat, which are also painted in brown. The chest harness is painted the same brown as the coat, with the accessories hanging down from the belt, which are painted in a light brown. Two of the accessories are painted in purple (which appears to be a binocular), and a box that is light blue. The feet have light grey bandages wrapped around them, and the hands have white bandages. The knees have brown knee pads, that is painted in a darker brown. On his back, is a sheath for the swords, which is nothing new if you are already familiar with the sculpt. One sword is a little bigger than the other, and the sheath for sculpted to have a slot for each of the two sizes. The knives are newly sculpted, and have bulky blades. While there is no place to store the knives, they fit nicely in his hands.
Overall, Monster Hunter Leo is excellent. For the most part, we’ve been very happy with the Turtle line since it’s relaunch in 2012, and sending off the line with these iconic Hunters + Monsters figures is a great way to end and already great line. The detail on these is remarkable, and these each have strong sculpts that bring out the best of both of these iconic characters into this one mold.
Purchase:
eBay.com – Original toyline
