Tattoo and Wyrm
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.35 stars by RMaster007
Having run for at least five years by this point, NECA's TMNT toon line has been scraping a bit for figures. They've done one-shots, characters in outfits not from the show, and now characters who never appeared in the show at all. The other two-pack out now alongside the ghostly pair of Creepy Eddie and Shibano-Sama consists of both a one-shot and a character who was animated around the time the show ran, but didn't actually appear in the show. The one-shot here is Tattoo, who you may recognize from the OG toy line, but he showed up in "Planet of the Turtleoids," where rather than being a good guy, he was a more neutral character. Apparently, he went from being a hamster to a sumo wrestler because of Shredder and Krang, and all he wanted was to go back home… to his cage. I guess they...[See More]

Creepy Eddie and Shibano
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Multi-Packs
Rated 4.60 stars by RMaster007
There's been a lot of NECA figures hitting shelves lately, partially thanks to the annual Haulathon event at Target. TMNT has a big presence during it like usual, but this year it's more focused on the Mirage line, with nowhere near as many toon figures as before. Still, the new toon stuff is what fans have been wanting for a while, including the much-requested Creepy Eddie. He was a one-shot character in the show, solely appearing in "Nightmare in the Lair," but he's still a memorable Freddy Kruger-esque villain. Eddie may not be as disturbing in appearance as his inspiration, but he still has a fitting design for a nightmare creature. His inhuman skin color, pointy nose and ears, and mismatched eyes make him a ghoulish-looking fellow, and Richard Force recreated him very well. It's not...[See More]

Party Wallop
Transformers - Collaborative (Hasbro) - Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles
Rated 4.75 stars by RMaster007
Last year marked the 40th anniversary of two pop culture giants: Transformers and Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. While Transformers already made a name for itself through toys, comics, and an animated series, TMNT was just a simple indie comic spawned from a one-shot, and it'd take a few more years to branch out like Transformers did. To celebrate the milestone both franchises achieved, the two were brought together by Hasbro's Collaborative series. While there have been third-party toys and pseudo-TF TMNT products (remember the old Auto Mutations?), the Party Wallop served as the first official collaboration between the two. Considering how Hasbro was utilizing plastic-free packaging for a time, I was a little surprised by how they used a cardback for this release. The graphics are what...[See More]

Pamela Voorhees
Friday the 13th (Neca) - Ultimate Collection
Rated 4.80 stars by RMaster007
When you think of slasher movies, Friday the 13th is one that often comes to mind, and Jason Voorhees has made a name for himself as one of the most well-known slashers, but how many people know that he wasn't always the villain? The first film had his mother, Pamela, as the killer, turning bloodthirsty after blaming Camp Crystal Lake's counselors for little Jason's watery death, and the second film had the now-adult and seemingly immortal Jason follow in mommy's footsteps. Just in time for both the original film's 45th anniversary and Mother's Day, Pamela is finally getting the Ultimate treatment. The packaging is typical for NECA's movie-themed Ultimates, utilizing the original poster art, though the poster here doesn't have the main youths of the film on it. I assume it's a licensing...[See More]

Shredder (Start Shredding the News)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.85 stars by RMaster007
You think with how long NECA's TMNT toon line has been going on, they'd go back and reissue a few of the older figures, but nope, barely any of them got that treatment. I assume it has to do with the fact that they're Target exclusives, but still, they at least reissue the movie figures every now and then. NECA has gone a step above and upgraded some of the earlier figures, such as April and Slash, and Shredder now gets the 2.0 treatment. The box art is once again done by Aaron Hazouri, and the concept here is unique. Shredder's got himself a "Turtle Booers Club," with a couple of other villains as members (including Mr. Ogg; potential figure tease?). The text on the back, rather than a character description, is written through Shredder hosting another club meeting. It's pretty funny,...[See More]

Panda Khan (Crouching Panda, Hidden Turtles)
Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles - Classic Cartoon (Neca) - Basic Series
Rated 4.50 stars by RMaster007
The original TMNT cartoon has provided NECA with a lot of ideas for figures, including even the most deep-cut of characters. Around last year or so, they started putting characters in outfits that haven't appeared in the show, like Space Usagi and Samurai Michelangelo, but now they're including characters that haven't appeared in the show at all. Panda Khan is the first, and like Usagi, he's an indie comic character who found recognition through the 80s-90s TMNT toyline, and his creators are letting NECA do a "what-if" figure. Aaron Hazouri once again does the box art, and it matches both the old FHE tapes and the better-animated episodes of the cartoon ("Green with Jealousy" is a notable example). Panda Khan is wielding his sword, and the turtles are hiding in the bamboo, unsure if he...[See More]

Santa Jack
Nightmare Before Christmas (Neca) - Ultimate
Rated 4.60 stars by RMaster007
Too early to feel Christmassy? It usually isn't, but it's feeling that way now that temperatures are rising. Since NECA's new Nightmare Before Christmas figures were all ready for release near the holidays, they obviously had to do a Santa Jack Skellington. The more Jack, the merrier! The same crew behind the other figures - Marty Henley, Kyle Windrix, and Andrew Lawson - did Santa Jack, and they didn't reuse any of the expressions the regular Jack had. However, this Jack only has three heads: one happy, one surprised, and one winking. Like before, the work here matches the source material very well, and the clean paint certainly helps. You can use these with the regular Jack… if you don't mind the obvious sockets on the top and sides of the heads. These are for the Santa cap and beard,...[See More]

Bart (Krusty the Clown Hat)
Simpsons (Jakks Pacific) - Mini
Rated 4.35 stars by RMaster007
I've said it before, and I'll say it again: Jakks Pacific is doing a great job with The Simpsons. Although their 5" figures are my favorite, the smaller-scale 2.5" line has been very fun as well, already having plenty of characters and even dioramas. I've almost completed wave two, having gotten Itchy recently thanks to Five Below, but I also just got all of the third wave, featuring a solid line-up of Springfield's key citizens. Of course, they needed a main family member to be the hook of the wave, and Bart fills that role again. It's the same sculpt as the first-wave Bart, but the deco is slightly different. His shirt is white, and there's Krusty's head on it as well. Krusty's likeness is printed on, with a clean result, and the paint on the sleeves and shoes is clean as well. Other...[See More]

Mayor of Halloween Town
Nightmare Before Christmas (Neca) - Ultimate
Rated 4.25 stars by RMaster007
It's been a few years since NECA announced their return to The Nightmare Before Christmas, but I'm still surprised they started making figures again, even with the long-running Diamond Select line still going (they look great, but I never got any of them… yet). Jack and Sally are the ones everyone wants, but it didn't hurt for NECA to include another character, so here's the unnamed Mayor of Halloween Town. In contrast to the tall and slender Jack and Sally, the Mayor is short and chunky, but nevertheless is one of the many unique denizens of Halloween Town. He too is sculpted by Marty Henley and Kyle Windrix, but not Andrew Lawson, so I assume he wasn't needed for the portrait here. The Mayor is identifiable by his two-faced cone-shaped head, with a jovial expression and mismatched eyes...[See More]

Batman (Lightning Strike)
Batman - Animated Series (McFarlane) - Basic Series
Rated 4.40 stars by RMaster007
Although I don't care much for most of what McFarlane is doing with DC, their rereleases of DC Direct's Batman Animated line have been pretty good. I haven't bothered with the TNBA figures after wave one because they haven't done too well with them, but the BTAS line is featuring new variants and build-a-figures, so it's been more worth getting. The original plan for wave three, which featured a Bruce Wayne BAF, got bumped back to wave four (which is coming out now), but the new wave three lineup is pretty darn good. Distribution hasn't been great, however, but my local store got in a casepack a while back and I was able to get all four figures at once. Batman once again leads the wave, and it's the same mold we've gotten in the previous two waves, with the same odd-looking head and...[See More]