Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Part 2: Shelling Toy Aisles - Vintage Toy Review Playmates TMNT

RetroBlasting concludes its multi-part feature on the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles with a vintage toy review of the original 1987 Playmates toy line!
#RetroBlasting #TeenageMutantNinjaTurtles #Playmates

[@endofanera1983]

Now that I’m older I notice my brother and I had a lot of these toys. Im astounded at how much money my parents must’ve spent on all that stuff. Thanks mom and dad.

[@thetuffament]

Compared to what they cost today back in the day they were about $4.99 a peace at its peak now for one online your lucky if you can find a packaged one for $50 and thats a real bad damaged packaged one. i love those figures I collected Ratking Casey jones General Traag Usagi Yojimbo Baxer Stockman Shredder and Metalhead. and them shits expensive bro lol

[@heavymetalelf]

I had a huge collection of them. My allowance went almost exclusively to turtles. One summer around 10 - 12 years old I went to my grandmother's for the summer and came home to them all thrown away "because they make you and your brother violent"

[@s133p3r0]

@@heavymetalelf Turtles were 5 dollars each. Plus I guarantee your granparents got some stuff from a garage sale. I bought very few from the store, my grandma found almost a whole set of he-man and others at garage sales.

[@G.M.C2005]

​@@thetuffamentI got a box of them 2 years ago at a yard sale for $2 FOR ALL

[@thetuffament]

@@G.M.C2005 Well You caught a rare sale lucky you, Lets see if you can strike gold twice

[@paulwalters5943]

As a kid, I hated the differences between cartoon and toy. As an adult and now artist?? I’m AMAZED the artistry and sculpting, creative spirit and all around badassery of the toy line models. There is no single toy line this unapologetically cool.

[@ewashock]

Ah yes, plagued with charming detail.

[@Chill59190]

I wasn't annoyed about the different variations of the TMNT figures. Because they had so many different gimmicks that we as kids actually wanted.

[@gobotimus8449]

I must say this was more of a beat down on them dude they where still awesome

[@thomasshaxon6844]

COWABUNGA!!

[@cybernitemusic]

I love this rant against the “dressed up” turtles. When I was a kid I remember I collected the original Leonardo and Donatello. I wanted the original Raphael and Michelangelo but I remember being so disappointed when they seemed to be sold out and all that were left were other variants. Even as a kid I thought those variations were stupid.

[@commanderpower79]

I loved Ninja Turtles. They were a major part of my childhood. I was getting so nostalgic with this video, I had so many of those toys including the TechnoDrome and one of each of the turtles, but each of the turtles I had had a different theme. It was good to see how and where all these came from. Very well done. So awesome.

[@retroblasting]

thanks Timothy!

[@kibagami74]

I collected a lot of the figures early on but yeah they got really outlandish. The original Turtles, the Movie Star Turtles and Krang's body were my favorites. I sold my sizeable collection on Ebay many years ago for a pittance. Never sell your old toys, *sigh*.

[@JaalKiriam]

"Barley seeds are the right of all sentient beings."-Farmer Optimus Prime-

[@jmp_fr]

+Ray Thesane rangers in disguise...

[@StockRoom209]

the transfarmers

[@nicholastosoni707]

"We know a remote farm on Cybertron, where Farmer Optimus Prime lives. Every July, peas grow there."--Unicron

[@stevenhibbert5565]

You reall mean that

[@CattyMintgum]

I love Hothead from this line, His extending neck feature is pretty cool. And I LOVE Dragons.

[@trans8010]

As a guy who grew up with this infantile preschooler designed toyline, I have to say, if you didn't like these toys aside from a scant few then that's fine, but don't insult the fans who actually adore the creativity and outlandish look of these figures by calling them so. Do not go on to say that these figures hold no value for collectors either. If you haven't noticed there is a boom happening with vintage TMNT figures and sets. I have a large collection of these and I adore them all from the original 10 to some of the more wacky and grossout designs like Muckman, Pizzaface and Scumbug. I even like the torn costume on Wingnut. These toys were very different from the other lines on shelves during their time. They stood out, and they were hefty and the gross out designs were appealing to everyone I knew growing up. These figures were works of art. Not every line is going to be MOTU. Let me also add that the MOTU figures you rave about were also cheaply produced and featured many reused parts and some figures were just god awful repurposes. The vehicles also looked like preschool lumps of plastic Bashasaurus is a very hollow and cheap looking vehicle. The legs of all these figures also will degrade and fall apart. You praise the MOTU figures but have disdain for TMNT for pretty much the same flaws.

[@trans8010]

Actually I have an entire collection of TMNT toys that move freely without any kind of resistance.

[@trans8010]

I am. Did you try to humiliate me or something with that insinuation? It was pretty weak dude.

[@trans8010]

I have videos

[@trans8010]

they're on my page. So you've been waiting all this time for information that was in front of you the entire time.

[@trans8010]

Yeah sure. I'll give you my address but how do I know I won't end up with a can of spam in the mail instead? :)

[@bubbanezatti7353]

I always thought the sculpting was innovative and gnarley, you totally missed out

[@nope5657]

Yeah, this is a sadly weird and pathetic bit of ranting for a 30-something year old man to do.

[@batangbatugan]

Oh my god, that cameo of the Knucklehead is pure genius- short, sweet and downright hilarious! Thank you again Michael for fulfilling my humble request AND for another awesome video. I can see why the toyline was such a big hit to younger kids, the figures and packaging are eye catching and colorful, the designs are unique and imaginative sometimes to the point of overkill. Plus, the toy commercials were amazing with clips from the miniseries mixed in with funny jokes, puns and one liners. And I gotta admit the guys who did the voiceovers were really hilarious and memorable.

[@retroblasting]

Agreed. I love the original wave of figures and a few choice toys after that as I said.

[@jjgillmen]

God, I loved these toys as a kid--had a whole bunch of them, including the Turtle Van and the blue Technodrome Scout sets. Great memories.

[@JoseSanchez-pu8oc]

I wish they still have those toys

[@anthonysiguido1116]

Actually donatello can carry a small dagger in the side of his belt. Look on the side of his belt

[@tyrannosaurus62]

The different shades of green was a awesome idea for the turtles . Same with their weapons and First initial on their buckles.

[@joebrevado747]

My favorite all time cartoon hero's These were the coolest action figures ever in the 80s I had almost every thing that came out the viecheles bad guys good guys you name it

[@adamplaisance405]

These are getting more and more enjoyable. Love it

[@petervenkman5483]

I think I remember using a shoebox for my Turtles' home.

[@The1queencollector]

Peter Venkman I used all sorts of boxes including Easter egg boxes, great days..

[@laeldestan1536]

I sometimes used Castle Grayskull for the turtles home base LOL.

[@tylongkicks8821]

Same here

[@auntjenifer7774]

Oh yeah ! And my spawn toys had a real club house so THEY ALL kicked it there !!!!😉

[@tylersmith9868]

You Think?

[@therealdoctorpotter6465]

Now I want a birthday party he man lol

[@wickedcrypto6004]

Ah yes ninja turtle as I remember :’)

[@auntjenifer7774]

I still remember the Christmas THAT I received my party wagon as a gift !!!! Great times and fueled my play time and imagination to the max !

[@vincentprice9156]

Dude I thought my friends and I were the only ones who thought the permanent molding of items and spiders was soo dumb but now happy to see you talking about it too! I'm 34 now and its crazy being able to see all the other former kids all grown up with the same exact opinions as my friends and I! Awesome video

[@sonicmario64]

I think the reason for the different variations of the TMNT action figures was because of the fact that the characters lived in a modern-day setting with many of the characters also being humanoid animals, which allowed so many possibilities and creativities to the characters despite them straying not too far away from the original source. Even to this day, I was never bothered at all by the many different versions of the action figures that came out when I was a kid because there was always something that would appeal to everyone who grew up to the franchise no matter how kid-friendly or cheesy the 1987 cartoon series may have been.

[@killcancersteve]

It’s funny I remember the clown turtle and general traag as being some of my favourites. Loved all the details.

[@LisaTigressHardy]

Krang, not Traag. Just thought I'd let you know.

[@Supramedical68]

TMNT was extremely popular when I was in kindergarten up to the third grade. I was in love with the action figures and that's actually what introduced me to action figures, Saturday morning cartoons, and 8 bit video games. Working on rebuilding my collection again.

[@aavenzor]

This is the funniest out of all the videos you guys have done! And I'm only halfway thru!

[@chevy-is-a-good-boy]

You didn't like the exaggerated sculpt details? I'd say the vast majority of kids loved the details - and fondly remember them because of those details. And poking fun at all the later TMNT variants, while comparing it to cartoons that didn't last half as long as the TMNT line? - apples and oranges, dude.

[@ReanimatorsMutilations]

yep i loved it

[@JohnPrepuce]

RetroBlasting is completely off-base with this review. The target market for these toys absolutely loved them. They look amazing. I remember when they came out, the colors and designs were so vibrant I put away all my other toys for a long time and focused only on collecting TMNT figures. I would even pose the toys and draw them in my sketchbook, they were that good.

[@trans8010]

@YTCensorsMe Poop Farmer Mike would agree with you.

[@razrentals8897]

The exaggerated sculpts is part of why I love the toy line. I love the little bugs and random objects found on the figures. It was so much better than all of the repaints most other lines had.

[@unstoppableExodia]

I didn't like them. I'm with Frenchie on this one. Then again I didn't much like the figures at all. The exaggerated sculpt details was just one of many reasons but it all comes down to different tastes.

[@ViralKiller]

that soft head ur squeezing is $200

[@rshank1983]

You guys are great. Thank you for ALL of the great content

[@Thraka5]

I love that pan out when you said really Huge. I was or am a long time fan of Ninja turtles and even I did not just how many figures they made!!

[@Geoffimus]

Good heavens, I'd forgotten there were that many variants...no wonder I ran screaming from this toy line. Of course, hearing that long list made me think of Cheech Marin's extremely NSFW monologue from From Dusk Til Dawn...even started hearing the list in his voice.

[@retroblasting]

Geoffimus HAHA! Good call!

[@primusvsunicron1]

Hey! It's Kevin Nash as Super shredde- AHHHHHHHH! MY QUAD!

[@professorz3036]

I actually loved the military, western, and storage shell turtles. Movie turtles were awesome!

[@jonm3915]

Holy crap I wasn't expecting this to be as funny as it is. Great job man!

[@ioannespaulusify]

And let's not forget that they screwed up with Usagi, as Usagi Yojimbo is the name of the comic book series. The name of the character is Miyamoto Usagi.

[@Bonesph]

My ex girlfriend's three-year-old son used to call Transformers turf farmers so I used to have farmer Optimus Prime...

[@Edward_Strong1982]

Ninja turtles were so polarizing. I was completely obsessed for an extremely long time

[@F13fan]

I have a huge collection of tmnt figures. And loved playing with them as a kid. I was very thankful tho to now as an adult to finally get toys from Neca that look like the toon

[@finaltheorygames1781]

ive just realized that i actually had like 90% of all these TMNT toys. like seriously.

[@cancel.lgbtq.6892]

Dang , you are so rich. Growing up we didn't have much. All I could afford was one Michealangelo figure. I would go to toys store just to look at all the figures I can't afford to buy.

[@Teatime7771]

I liked Street Sharks as much as I liked the Turtles.

[@KajiRider1997]

I was one of those kids who was lucky enough to be born in 1989 and was lucky enough to catch the tail-end of the 87 Turtles and watch the 2003 TMNT in full. Too bad The Next Mutation was in the middle...

[@kylecarson5723]

that's funny how you were talking about the excessive details, thats what got me to buy my old toys. I love that i can stare at the figures and almost find something new.

[@JanPospisilArt]

"the idea of a ninja being a samurai is stupid" Yeah. Well, except for all the samurai who were also ninja historically.

[@shozinryu4]

That Is Not True. They worked for Samurai or were ex-samurai, they were rarely both. Or some Samurai would dress like Ninja when spying on enemies but TRUE Ninja were different.

[@shozinryu4]

What you and the other person that mentioned that historical inaccuracy are regurgitating is what the Japanese told to Americans but the actual history is different and more complicated than that. My almost 30 years in the Martial Arts and as a Martial Arts researcher gives me the authority to speak on it.

[@JanPospisilArt]

@@shozinryu4 Ah yes, the ex-samurai. And the TRUE ninja. I see.

[@titanusdaconus3842]

it's amusing how you give the figures a hard time with their exavrigant paint and sculpt details. while today we're begging for more paint and sculpted details. have you SEEN modern toys? they have little paint apps, and most are hollow. Transformers and the new TMNT line are guilty of it.

[@retroblasting]

Detail is one thing, but needless simulated damage and filth is another.

[@titanusdaconus3842]

***** well it also gave the figures character. either way compaired to Today's toys and action figures they are superior in paint details. atleast for most brands especially US companies.

[@retroblasting]

Titanus Daconus True

[@titanusdaconus3842]

***** hell these days your lucky if the toy gets painted at all.

[@TheTrueDecepticreep]

This is the best retro TMNT overview video on YT.

[@This-country-sucks-4]

I have so much yet missing even more. Awesome Wish video.

[@Sl33pingLionheart]

You're literally the first person I ever heard complaining about the extra details on the figures. You sound ridiculous.

[@kylejackson7181]

I agree with you 100%!

[@kbocuts1359]

facts

[@jasonshannon8708]

Most of the variations definitely bugged me as a kid too; only maybe the many unnecessary Batman variants giving them a run for their money. Thanks for another great video.

[@retroblasting]

Jason Shannon Sure thing!

[@sethcarlow8363]

well this made my 1981 kid in me is so Happy. this was awesome,wow and cool.

[@kordianronnberg9090]

From my childhood, I remember that the only extra variants of the Turtles that made a lot of sense to me were the open-shell turtles and the plastic trench coat version - surprisingly, pretty well sculpted by Playmates standards. The storage shells were super cool, and trench coat were an integral part of the cartoon's narrative.They should probably stop there. But the joy after 30 years when I see the cave turtle on a dinosaur with a bandana and a saddle is unimaginable. It was worth experiencing this absurdity! Thanks for the great video!

[@Qsaws_]

something tell me 3d printers will be usefull for those old toys accessories

[@retroblasting]

Agreed

[@deadaccountlol9189]

I died at kama kama kama kama kama chameleon

[@Chalor.]

But it made no sense, considering Mondo Gecko is a GECKO..not a chameleon.

[@LisaTigressHardy]

I had 2 of the hard headed versions of the squishy soft headed Michaelangelo figures! I also had a GIANT Donatello plush I loved to wrestle with and also use as a pillow. I had a hot pink TMNT water bottle too from the late 80's. and a couple of TMNT books.

[@BboySalamon]

Thanks a lot! I had this Leonardo in the 1990's, I loved him so much. So sad, but I've lost him.

[@jubbeisamuro9035]

10:10 that's what made the figures fun. Go back collecting Star Wars figures if you don't like details.

[@retroblasting]

Go back to watching commercials trying to sell you crap if you don't like videos that tell the truth.

[@joeh7997]

RetroBlasting lol tmnt figs are crap? your parents probably bought you bootlegs and traumatized you for life haha

[@retroblasting]

Apparently you and "Jubbei Samuro" want nothing but positive comments about toys that you like. You're apparently not mature enough for video reviews. True video video reviews tell the positives and negatives of a toy line. Instead, you want a video that says nothing but positives. Those are called commercials.

[@Eyeyamgod]

"the idea on a ninja being a samurai is a stupid concept" um no its not. That's exactly what most ninjas were. They were samurai's. The word ninja did not exist.

[@shozinryu4]

Who told you that load of crap. The word Ninja did and does exist and being a Martial Artist and researcher for over 20 years gives me the authority to speak on it. What are your qualifications sir???

[@shozinryu4]

In fact, the Samurai Shogun would often be told by the emperor to hire Ninja to spy on their enemies. So the Samurai would hire them but they were not the same. Sometimes samurai that were excommunicated would join a Ninja clan for survival but they were never the same thing. Meaning that there weren't any Samurai that were also Ninja UNLESS; the Ninja were on assignment.

[@KittyKAT666Meow]

Dude go read a book.

[@SteveNigglechunks]

Another awesome video! Great work and kudos for all of the detail. This is by far and away my favorite KZbin channel. Keep up the great work, please!

[@retroblasting]

Thanks Eric! Will do!

[@jeremymccumber4658]

I luv the details that all of them have. Im still collecting them. From beginning to end.

[@VinkieRick]

Kama kama kama kama kama chameleon! Briliant!

[@retroblasting]

Rick Vink It came to me reflexively when I was counting kamas with characters while shooting the b-roll for this. I said it without thinking and made myself laugh.

[@VinkieRick]

I also laughed very hard. Great joke. Keep them coming.

[@zeerakimran615]

18:05 Broken Vader!

[@retroblasting]

+Zeerak Imran Congrats!!! You're the first person to spot him! :D

[@EyesOfTheInternet]

I solidly remember hearing about TMNT during pre-school recess, then I started watching it in the afternoons.

[@BrunoDuprat]

Amazing Video! I laughed hard and the nostalgia is over the roof!

[@JomasterTheSecond]

THAT'S A GECKO, NOT A CHAMELEON-- Also, screw Damage Stickers.

[@VZMkII]

Leonardo @ 14:05 "I just smoked a whole bunch of meth!"

[@auntjenifer7774]

Not cool dude.

[@cyric2010]

These were the last action figures I ever played with and collected when I was a kid. Even though I still liked him a fair bit, I always felt a little disappointed by the Shredder figure, as he didnt look very imposing. He was too small.

[@vinson311]

Thanks for this video! I just wish it was twice as long.

[@toddjalane4192]

I doubt when you were a kid in the 80s you were looking at these complaining about the articulation..

[@CeeJayThe13th]

I did. My uncle was a collector and he taught me the vocabulary but the preference for the toys that move more was all me.

[@toddjalane4192]

Oh ok I just thought most 80s/90s figures had about the same articulation pretty much...Compared to these days anyways when you can do anything with yah figures.

[@CeeJayThe13th]

@@toddjalane4192, kinda like he was saying in the video where the elbows didn't move for the certain figure. It's true (at least from my memory) that action figures started becoming more articulated as time went on but there were still toys with more or less. Personally, I really liked the small GI Joes since they had much more articulation than most of the larger toys. Also, I got a Spider-Man action figure in the early 90s that had like 26 points of articulation, which just blew my little mind. It was my favorite for the longest. I guess it's like anything though as it comes down to the individual. Some of us really dug the more articulated ones and some didn't notice or care. Btw, I was born in 86 so I'm the exact perfect age for TMNT but mostly missed the He-Man thing.

[@toddjalane4192]

@@CeeJayThe13th yeh i agree with you. I actually remember having a spiderman figure like that to now that I think about it. I remember having that 90s white ranger and he was pretty good. My faves are like the street sharks/extreme dinosaurs.. poor articulation but awesome looking figures. But yeh..

[@CeeJayThe13th]

@@toddjalane4192 Funny that you'd mention Street Sharks. I thought that they looked fantastic but I had no desire for them personally because of the lack of articulation. I think to a kid (at least to this kid) it's just more about them being more fun to play with. Street Sharks looked freaking great on a shelf but my Biker Mice From Mars were waaay more fun to play with. I had a Green Ranger that I thought pretty highly of but I was so pissed when my little brother also got a green one 😂. It wasn't about him copying me or anything, just that it meant there was less variety for us. Did your White Ranger have the head that flipped into its chest so it could have the mask or just his face? I remember thinking how it was a cool idea but I didn't like how it made their chests so much bigger to accommodate the extra hardware.

[@damandabest6344]

I like the figs but I hate the show I think the 03 tmnt cartoon is the best and the original comics by mirage only good thing from the 87 cartoon were those awesome Archie tmnt comics

[@retroblasting]

Da'Shaun Stazzola I too liked the '03 series.

[@damandabest6344]

I loved for being really accurate to the comics but being able to have differences that actually worked and bringing in miyamoto usagi for a few episodes was great BTW usagi yojimbo is a a great comic mostly because of miyamoto usagi himself a ronin rabbit cool

[@KasumiKenshirou]

Da'Shaun Stazzola It was weird for a while when the Archie comics were better than the Mirage ones, after Eastman and Laird got too busy running their empire and no longer had time to work on the comics. After that the Mirage comics were very hit and miss with their quality.

[@damandabest6344]

I agree I thought that mirage was best when they kept it more street level in new York and different hiding places on earth for the turtles but when they would go to space or diff dimensions then it would be hit or miss

[@sonicmario64]

Because I grew up watching the 1980s cartoon series, I find it to be kind of impossible to hate despite it being light-hearted and comical, and I've never been able to check out the Archie Comics series that much as a kid.

[@stevenjones6053]

I don't know man, those crazy ninja turtles were my favorite. I remember a lot of them because of all the crazy different shit stuck in my head. Ahh nostalgic

[@nvue9887]

My first action figure ever was Leonardo. Love em

[@LBDNytetrayn]

Glad to find someone else who was irritated with the toys barely resembling the cartoons/comics for all the added stickers and details...

[@retroblasting]

Yeah. Extremely annoying.

[@KasumiKenshirou]

LBDNytetrayn ***** My brother would always cut off all that extra crap and paint them to look more like the cartoon. I'd forgotten how bad some of these figures looked originally.

[@LBDNytetrayn]

I wish I'd been as inclined to do that. The most I ever did was give the figures cartoon eyes with a sharpie.

[@journeyman2003]

C’mon they are olde and getting arthritis

[@mexikollektor]

No cooler videos about vintage stuff than yours man, keep it up!

[@andyoc]

the racey pic in the sewer was dealt with very well - you were v earnest about it which was hilarious (in a cool retroblasting way). I have so many preserved figures from 80s as Im 36 y/o. I need to check joints on my turtles as Ive not looked at them in some years...also trying to replace my gi joes that are busted like Falcon and Barbecue...broken crotches....painful injuries! Great channel....makes me very sentimental. thanks...

[@therealdoctorpotter6465]

I want a birthday he man!!!!!!!!!!

[@mangalone4095]

And another thing: saying that these TMNT to dress up as Samurai is equally dumb as a DOG trying to dress up as a CAT... DUDE these are playful happy cartoon "ninjas"... NOT assassin stealth deadly searious NINJA... 😅 there is a huge difference, since you like to use analogies...

[@razrentals8897]

You’re the only person I’ve ever heard of that didn’t like all the crazy extra detail on the figures. I loved it.

[@chrisnwi1209]

Your guys reviews are great I do love your vintage star wars restorations the most though. I'm always excited when you guys put up a new video. Thanks again Mike and Melinda

[@retroblasting]

Chris Michalec Well get ready because we've got at least three new Star Wars Follies showing up in 2015!

[@thekillermanmurphyshow4410]

You forgot ghostbusters turtles

[@retroblasting]

That wasn't really the point of the montage. Enjoy your moment though.

[@thekillermanmurphyshow4410]

+RetroBlasting I wasn't trying to sound like a jerk that video was really good

[@iradhill81]

Dude this guy complains too much. Tmnt were completely awesome.

[@iradhill81]

Timothy Ward my reaction was not that he had negative things to say it was i felt an undertone that he reluctantly reviewed tmnt and wasn't really a fan. Thats my opinion and he and you have your opinions.

[@ekimba]

Haha first time here, and I loved the intro theme!

[@ryansmurda1552]

Great video. This was probably my all time favorite toys when i was a kid. I always liked Ray Fillet action figure it was like the holy grail of TMNT for me because it was impossible to find in stores and there was no ebay back then.

[@TMP912]

Great series! I love the turtles. Just started ordering a few off eBay I never got when I was a kid. Good stuff!

[@TFAbridged]

Man, I love these videos where you talk about the history of a cartoon/toyline. I would LOVE to see one done on Dino Riders one day. Great stuff as always!

[@retroblasting]

Oh the Dino Riders...so fragile and so expensive...

[@TFAbridged]

***** tell me about it. If you find something that is not broken from that line, you'll for sure be paying top dollar for it. Luckily, I still have a lot from when I was a kid, and just been trying to replace broken parts rather than entire figures.

[@roopjm]

***** I have a Triceratops and T-Rex, (absolutely no accessories) I could donate to the cause

[@EastsideShowSCP]

I really enjoy how informative you are when talking about these toys and shows! I was a huge fan of the TMNT cartoon when I was growing up.

[@retroblasting]

+Eastside Show SCP Thanks Eastside! Appreciate you watching!

[@EastsideShowSCP]

***** no problem!

[@bigpapasub2410]

+RetroBlasting samurai pizza cats is actually an anime from japan. im not sure if it came before or after tmnt, but it had a great famicom game

[@richbaker8211]

I remember coming home from school on the day the Turtles figures launched in the UK. My Mum told me that she wasn't able to get any of the figures, as the shop had sold out. I went to my room, where I was greeted with the sight of all 4 Turtles, Splinter, Shredder, Bebop and Rocksteady! That feeling is something I will never forget!

[@retroblasting]

Very cool!

[@TheNightBadger]

Another great vid... RB makes my day! There was a third Turtles playset. It was like a fold-out building. It was called the 'Turtle Lair Playset'.

[@NickRyderSGC]

I remember having not a ton of the turtle toys but quite a few - the Turtle Van and the Cycle were two of the only vehicles I had until I found a beat up Foot Cruiser that goofy flying car at a rummage sale, had the core figures - including April - she was oddly easy enough to find back when I was into Ninja Turtles, I think mine was the blue stripe version can't remember off hand, her torso cracked during play and I never quite got her to stay together just right and never really replaced her either. I had a few friends that had a ton of Ninja turtle toys so typically we'd all sort of pool our figures together and have massive battles and such in backyards, bedrooms, or lol in the sacristy of the chapel where my friend's grandfather was a deacon and he told us to stay in there while he did some chaplain work. The thing I think we all loved about the Ninja Turtles line was the fact that they were pretty damn durable, you didn't really 'need' a ton of them to have enough play value. You didn't really even need a lot of vehicles. The turtle van, for as lame as it was, made a good toy carrier and it was fun rolling it down the driveway or sidewalk. Honestly it was a good toyline for the pre-teen kids who were rough on their toys yet still had the maturity to keep accessories mostly intact - the big bonus was that a lot of them could store their weapons on their person. So when you were done playing, you put the weapons back on their belts or in their hands and you usually didn't end up losing them. In retrospect for as many as I thought I had, I really didn't have a ton. I had a few gimmicky ones that broke lol, I think ALL of us had at least a couple of the odd ball animal figures - the Frog and that goop guy I think every single person I've ever known that collected those toys as a kid had them. They were lame but they were still a character for your turtles to fight. Plus, as I recall, Ninja Turtle toys were fairly cheap compared to other toylines and were on sale a LOT. I recall getting a few when they were on sale for like 3 for $10 or whatever. I stopped really collecting new ones after the second movie and even then I still played with the ones I had. I think both I and my parents knew that it was silly to buy a dozen different variations of the same figure. So usually if I got a new one, it was a more unique one. And I recall playing with them for quite a while since my friends were usually the ones who kept getting new figures for Christmases and birthdays and random gifts - I honestly don't think for a while there that any of us really 'bought' any turtle toys (i.e.- we specifically went into a store and asked for them or bought them with our own money) for quite a while. It was an easy 'go to' gift. It's interesting that the line sort of fizzled in 96 - which was ironically around the same time that Star Wars came back on the shelves the previous year with the Power of the Force line. I think not long after I sort of started getting out of Ninja Turtles I got more into the Batman figures and the budding Toy Biz Marvel figures. Although I still find it interesting that they never really "Went away" not like how other toy lines did. Granted these 'G1'-ish Ninja Turtle toys sort of faded out in the mid/late 90s I still remember seeing enough Ninja Turtle toys of some sort on pegs at Walmart and Kaybee and Toys R Us well into the 21st century. If there was a gap it had to have been only a short blip of like a year or so.

[@shoestringscifi]

Given how many Turtle toys were made, you'd think they were Teenage Mutant Ninja Rabbits! I remember thinking TMNT had finally jumped the shark when I saw magazine ads for Star Trek Turtles, but as your excellent video explains, there was and is still a lot of mutogen left in the barrel!

[@MoteofLobross]

Around the time the hard head turtles came about, they actually did a fix on Mike's nunchucks. Instead of a straight square line of plastic, it was segmented and more flexible. I bought a second Mike just for those chucks because my original chucks broke within weeks of owning.

[@73notch]

The giant pizza shooter is forever etched in my memory. Wanted that so bad and had a blast knocking down figures with it.

[@welds2077]

My mum passed last year, in her house when renovating my childhood friend left me a surprise on the table after he finished his work. It was leonardos sword, he found it behind a skirting board. I was made up and have kept it. Loved them tnmt figures 🐢

[@retroblasting]

Our sympathies to you on the loss of your mother.

[@brycevo]

The toys were always really cool. Thank you

[@ThePhenomf4]

Muckman and joe eyeball was my favorite. I was just a sucker for anything with a ooze/slime feature. Loved it!

[@AndreEichstedt]

Great explaination and review on the Turtle Toyline ;-) Love them. ;-)

[@Pegwarmers]

Awesome recap of the line! I had a huge Turtle collection as a kid. I really want to get the giant Krang body. I'm slowly rebuilding my collection.

[@retroblasting]

SEO Toy Review Thanks SEO. This one took us a heckuva a lot of time and effort to bring to a finish.

[@godmagnus]

Muckman's sculpting was amazing and fit the character.

[@OLDSCHOOL6239]

This was damn good. You guys brought up information I had no idea about. I really didn't have the slightest clue that at the time the toy market had become so saturated with so many variations of figures! That was really interesting to find out. I've actually been buying up the Military versions here LOL. My bro had the Green Beret Ralph, I actually broke his leg as you had explain when I tried to stand him up. "Superglue" Also I had and purchased again General Tragg. I always thought it was strange to how he didn't resemble his cartoon form.

[@retroblasting]

thanks Art!

[@retroblasting]

Thanks Art!!