Playmates: TMNT Miscellaneous

[DEADPOOLISTHEMAN316]

So this is now a thing
https://www.bigbadtoystore.com/Product/ ... ils/131180

Ninja Elite Series. Using the same molds from their TMNT Classics figures.

Thoughts?

[DEADPOOLISTHEMAN316]

I will say, I do like the packaging for them.

[Misfit]

I saw that today as well. The TMNT Classics were okay for what they were at the time, a re-imagining of the old toys mixed in with the cartoon aesthetic. They were never great though and time has not made that any better. I have zero interest in re-buying those things with a Mirage paint scheme and I assume only hardcore TMNT completists will bother.

[Roufuss]

Minimal paint, the sculpts don't work for what they are trying to be. The fact these are similar in price to NECA's figures is awful.

Just another lazy Playmates cash-in through Diamond that sadly, a lot of comic stores will buy into because "TMNT sells! The NECA video game figures do great and I heard Target can't keep these in-stock!"

[VonDoom62]

It really obvious that Playmates desperate wants to enter the collector's market since they see NECA and now Super7 are doing so well in that department. Yet, they also don't want to put forth the effort that makes either of those lines so successful. Say what you will about NECA's shoddy distribution or Super7's exorbitant prices, the figures themselves are still good. They're well articulated, nicely constructed, they tend to have a lot of accessories, plenty of paint apps, and have good sculpts.

These figures, on the other hand, have the bare minimum in terms of paint, accessories, and sculpt. Only the articulation is anything near good. These aren't even Mirage Turtles. They're just the Classics Turtles repainted in Mirage colors, which looks really bad because the cartoon aesthetic does not match the Mirage aesthetic. The Turtles in the Mirage comics never looked like this. To think, these cost twenty-five dollars. A NECA TMNT two-pack costs $50. Now, do these look like the same quality as the NECA figures with their flat colors, wholly reused parts, unpainted weapons, and lack of accessories? No, they don't. These aren't even of the same value as Marvel Legends, which are $5 less.

Playmates has to try better than this if they want to get into the collector's market. This is completely lazy and inexcusable. I really try to avoid being so negative, these are just toys after all and I like to enjoy my hobby, but I hate Playmates so much. I really do. They gimp NECA's TMNT license so that they can release their godawful collector oriented figures and then wonder why they don't sell. Maybe it's because they refuse to actually put forth any actual effort? I'm not expecting much. If these were at least Marvel Legends quality, I'd be happy. Playmates wouldn't have to worry about NECA's stuff encroaching on their territory if they actually made figures that were actually any good.

Going by how successful and hard to find NECA's stuff is, it's clear that the TMNT fanbase is absolutely ravenous for good toys. That's the thing, though. They want GOOD toys, which Playmates refuses to make due to being cheap and lazy. They can just get away with it too because they have a stranglehold on the TMNT license. Things have at least loosened up, but there's still clearly something that's tangling up the license. Maybe Playmates isn't doing this out of laziness, though. Perhaps they just really are that stupid and have no idea what the fans want. I don't want to believe a company is that willfully ignorant, but it's either that or they're extremely cheap/lazy. I don't even know what motivated them to make repaints of the Classics Turtles into Mirage Turtles. It just doesn't work. I wonder if they think the reason NECA does so well is because they made the Mirage Turtles first. If that's the case, that's incredibly funny.

Sorry to go full-on rant mode. Like I said, I try to avoid being extremely negative. Don't like to perpetrate the stereotype that toy collectors are pedantic and entitled, but this is bad. This is really bad. I'm just so sick of it all. I just want Playmates to either actually make good quality figures or just leave the collectors' market alone and let NECA do their thing without any restrictions. Sadly, doesn't look like either of those things are in the cards any time soon.

[Misfit]

I'm actually curious if these are only being released because Playmates has to release a certain amount of TMNT product over a calendar year to keep the license. This is certainly the lazy type of release that smells of that. Worse, this set existing probably means NECA can't touch Mirage for at least a little while.

[VonDoom62]

That would make sense, actually. Playmates has to release new products to retain the license, so they just slap new paint and belts on the Classics Turtles and call it a day.

I wonder if there's a stipulation that they also have to release NEW product to retain the license, not just rereleases. Would explain why they repainted these into Mirage Turtles rather than just rereleasing the Classics Turtles as they were. These are technically new.

[Misfit]

That could be a factor. They've already re-released these same molds as 1990 movie figures and as Secret of the Ooze making Mirage one of the last ones they can do. It's probably also because no one is exploiting the Mirage brand so there's less competition, in theory. Of course, I think we all know most collectors are going to pass on these things because they're just not worth 25 bucks today and are a really poor likeness of the source material. At least the blank eyes means most of the characters won't have a lazy eye this time around.

[TENIME_art]

Hey, Playmates, if you REALLY wanna print money? Go back to the vintage rereleases. You are for your "SDCC exclusive." Now pick it back up where you left off with Toys'R'Us (though I've sadly since spent way more than TRU was charging for the ACTUAL vintage figures to try to catch up).

I'm telling you, coincide with NECA's AND Super7's. Rerelease Mutagen Man & Baxter. Rerelease Casey & April. Rerelease Rat King & Vernon (Jesus Christ, Vernon is going for a lot on eBay - I thought he'd be EASIER, but I guess there may not have been a lot TO be resold decades later).

Super7 & eBay sellers are proving those old molds & paint schemes are in heavy desire.

[jimbles]

Crazy to see these archaic base bodies still being put out. And at higher MSRP, to boot. But hey, it worked for Super7, so whatever.

[MARVEL KNIGHT 2099]

Glad I'm not the only one who saw these announced, saw what they looked like and laughed at how obvious a cash-in it was.

Playmates continues to be oblivious when it comes to trying to attract the older collector market for their properties. These figures were good for their time, but better stuff has come out since then. Even lazier when they just repaint their toon turtles into comic turtles with little effort put into it.

[MikeTRobot]

Honestly, I think playmates just has no idea how to deal with the collector market. Do they have any collector lines? Cause nothing is coming to my mind.

[KnightDamien]

Is Playmates just run by some of the most clueless human beings on earth or....?

[Rogers1938]

My wife just said, “That’s something you get out of cereal box. Not an adult collectible.”

[Wes Crayon]

My wife just said, “That’s something you get out of cereal box. Not an adult collectible.”

The flip cereal are y'all eating?? I need that cereal. $2-4 for a box of cereal and a toy of this quality is a hella good deal.

For for $25... not so much. I'd disagree with VonDoom62's contention that the TMNT never looked like this in the Mirage comics -- a LOT of artists worked on that book over the years and drew the TMNT very differently, and I'm almost certain this would more/less map to one of those styles. But it's still a pretty lazy release, and I have no interest in picking it up whatsoever. (Well, unless it ends up on deep clearance. I'd pay $5-10 for one, if only to use as a sort of evil TMNT clone in Shredder's employ.)

That said, I *do* like the look of them. If Playmates could shrink these molds down and reduce the price (I did like the size of their previous Mirage releases, but that sculpted shading was just gross), they'd be welcome additions to my TMNT collection. Honestly, Playmates should just release those Shredder/Krang figures they showed some years back at Toy Fair -- NECA's figures are better, but at least I've seen Playmates toys in the wild. (I was able to buy the Playmates classic Bebop & Rocksteady at TRU way back when; I've still never seen the NECA figures. A friend does have a set for me, though!) There are plenty of unreleased 2012 figures that I'd jump at the chance to buy. Heck, even some of the Rise toys they showed would be aces (for those of us who do enjoy the show, anyway). These just seem like a thing nobody asked for and almost nobody will want and I don't understand the point of them.