The current Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles show on Nickelodeon is the best version of the Turtles yet. You have to understand that I say this as someone who loved the original animated series, the original Playmates action figures and the first two live action movies. I loved those Turtles but I love the new Nick Turtles even more. The series is very well done, honestly funny and is a wonderful mix-up of all things Turtle that have come before. It is also not afraid to do new and bizarrely wonderful things (for example: Ice Cream Kitty, Irma as a Kraangbot and Napolean Frog as an amphibian version of Napolean Dynamite complete with Jon Heder's voice). The show is genius and every episode is truly enjoyable.
Like I said, I loved Playmates original line of action figures. I think the new figures look amazing as well but I've held off on buying any as I know that it would open an expensive floodgate. So when I saw these "My Busy Books" figures they were a definite buy.
I discovered "My Busy Books" due to my wife's interest in the chameleon Pascal from Disney's "Tangled." She saw a figure of Pascal online and finally tracked its origin to "My Busy Books." There are several titles in the "My Busy Books" series and each includes about a dozen small plastic figures in addition to the rather short book. There are some DC superhero books, My Little Pony, Strawberry Shortcake, Hello Kitty and a bunch of assorted Disney titles. Despite all the Disney love, I've not yet seen any Star Wars or Marvel titles (other than "Big Hero 6").
The TMNT book contains 12 figures (really 11 figures... I'll explain in a bit) and a "playmat" which is really a game board for use with the figures as game pieces and the included rules. The figures come housed in a couple of compartments in the back cover of the book (with the playmat stored above). The figures stand just under 2 inches tall and are made out of a flexible (but not really rubbery) plastic. The sculpting and paint apps are really quite good for figures of this size.
Donatello has always been my favorite turtle. This tiny Donnie figure captures the look of the character well and the pose is nice. His bo staff is sculpted strapped on his back.
Michelangelo is also well done. He's lacking his freckles, although mine does have a blemish on the right cheek. Mikey has no weapons though. I understand that weapons at this size would be easily bent, broken, or damaged so I get why his nunchakus were left out, but they could have been sculpted in their stowed position like Donnie's bo. A minor complaint all things considered.
Leonardo is well detailed and painted but his pose is just odd. He looks like he's giving someone a noogie. I just don't care for it. He has his katanas sculpted on his back.
Raphael also suffers from an odd pose, like he's throwing a punch. The pose makes the figure unstable and he tips over easily. Like Mikey, he's lacking weapons which could have been sculpted on his belt. Again, minor complaint especially given his odd pose and instability.
Master Splinter is nicely done. He's got some nice paint apps as well as some unpainted sculpted detail (like his tail and the flowers on his kimono). It's nice that he's about the right size compared to the Turtles as well (Splinter is actually rather tall in this incarnation). This figure is hollow like a tiny finger puppet.
Rounding out our team of heroes is April O'Neil. She's a very slender character and at this scale she's a tiny figure, but she still about the right size compared to the other characters. The photo is a bit blurry but she is painted well. She's striking a suitably spunky pose but mine has difficulty standing (she wants to tip over backwards).
The set also contains some villains but I was disappointed that there was no Dogpound or Fishface (this was prior to the introduction of Bebop and Rocksteady). Of course, Shredder is included. His paint is a little underwhelming and I'm not sure exactly why. I also wish he was in a more action-y pose. He looks suitable for overseeing his minions but just isn't posed to take on the Turtles in a fight.
Speaking of minions, the set includes a pair of Foot Soldiers, one standing and one kicking/sweeping his leg. Both are about as detailed as you could expect (Foot Soldiers aren't exactly flashy) and have swords sculpted on their backs. Neither of them will stand unsupported though. Bummer.
The villainous side of the set is finished off with a pair of Kraang. The first is a Kraangbot. The blue color is about the best that could be hoped for without the use of translucent plastic but it does look a bit odd. There is some sculpted detail on the droid body and a nice, squishy pink Kraang peeking out of the torso. This figure will stand with some effort but then fall over if you breathe in its direction.
The second Kraang is sans droid body and completely out of scale with the rest of the figures. It actually would probably work pretty well scale-wise with the Playmates figures. Like Splinter, this Kraang is hollow underneath. While too large to be a normal Kraang, it could work as Roseanne Barr, er I mean Kraang Prime.
I mentioned earlier that the set claims to include 12 figures. Well, the 12th "figure" is a canister of mutagen. It's much too large and is actually intended as a die for the game (hence the numbers on the sides).
Given the total lack of small or micro-scale Playmates figures for the new series, these figures fill a void and they fill that void well. They are all well sculpted and painted and (for the most part) to scale with one another. My only complaint is a couple of odd poses and the fact that some of the figures are unable to stand up. These are fun little figures of characters from an amazing show. I just wish there were more of them. There are so many great characters that could be done as well as alternate poses for the main crew. Maybe they'll make a second edition of the book with new figures..?
I picked this set up well over a year ago. I'm not sure if it's easily found at brick and mortar stores anymore but it's still available on Amazon. TMNT fans and fans of small plastic figures should definitely check these out.
Thank you! Your Blog was very helpful!
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