Review – Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Raphael

Following my Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo action figure review (review here) there was no way that I wasn’t going to follow that review with a second in the series. And Raphael is every bit as fun as Leonardo so you can stop now and rush out and buy the four turtles from the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line (Amazon.com search*). Seriously, if you liked the look and sound of the toy in the Leonardo review then you don’t need to know anything else before you buy the four turtles.

Playmates is Serious

If there’s one way to be certain that Playmates is serious about making this new line as awesome as it can be it’s the fact that yes, as reported, each turtle action figure has a completely unique sculpt. Where Playmates could have gotten by with just paint they instead went all out and sunk the tens of thousands of dollars into the line just to make every turtle its own unique design. That’s truly astounding and I hope that their gamble pays off; these turtle action figures are enough fun that if the new cartoon does well I suspect that kids are going to love these toys.

Shared Articulation

The Raphael action figure shares the exact same articulation as the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Leonardo action figure (review here) which, since Leo was excellent, is a very good thing. Swivel-hinge shoulders, elbows, hips, and knees all give the toy a wide range of movement and the one place where I could see Playmates improving on the design is by adding a swivel joint to the feet right below the bandage line (which would effectively give the toy swivel toes). But even without that joint the articulation is perfect for posing the toy and I can’t see how kids wouldn’t love the design.

Paint Still the Weak Spot

As with Leonardo (review here), Raphael’s paint apps are the weakest part of the toy. My Raphael doesn’t have sloppy spots as bad as my Leonardo, but what you need to keep in mind before buying these is that every toy should be examined as closely as possible because some of them get the white and brown bandage colors slopped onto the skin. But if you’re careful you should be able to find fairly decent figures; the paint isn’t horrible — it’s a mass market action figure paintjob — but some of the toys have better apps than others.

So Very Much Fun

Raphael is every bit as much fun as Leonardo (review here) and Playmates is to be congratulated on putting so much energy into their new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line (Amazon.com search*). While I have yet to open anything but the basic turtles action figures — and word is the other figures have way less in the way of articulation — the toys I have opened are playable and I’m hoping that lots of kids will get these for Christmas. Great sculpts, awesome articulation, and a ton of weapons make each toy a blast to pose and display . . . and I bet they’re even more fun when you get down in the dirt and start playing out battles.

Other Thoughts

For other opinions on the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line I suggest trying out these reviews at other sites:

• Vault Review: Nickelodeon Teenage
  Mutant Ninja Turtles Leo & Raph at It’s All True.
  
• Poe’s Review > Leonardo (Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles 2012, Playmates) at Poe Ghostal’s site.
  
• Ninja Turtles Raphael Figure Review at Infinite Hollywood.
  
• Ninja Turtles Donatello Figure Review at Infinite Hollywood.

Those reviews should help you get a clear idea of what you can expect from the new Playmates Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles toy line (Amazon.com search*).

Philip Reed now has one of the vehicles and hopes to get it photographed this weekend.