NECA: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles Quarter-Scale Movie Raphael

“It’s Raph! Yeah, a little too Raph!”

Raphael was a complete revelation for me when I first saw the original Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles movie. I was only 8 or 9, but since I grew up on the cartoon, an angst-ridden turtle who likes to swear broke some paradigms. All these years later, and even though Donatello is my favorite turtle, I realize I am most likely still more Raph (a little too Raph) than the rest of them. Plus, swearing can be fun!

So, as NECA continues their line of quarter-scale turtles based on the original (and best) TMNT movie, I have to sound just as I did during my Donatello review: this figure is unreal. I am not looking to shirk the conversation about this piece, because there is a lot to cover, but if you are more of a “top line it” sort, this figure is every bit as good as Donnie, it fits in perfectly as the next addition, and you will be in awe of the likeness. Thus, when I say “a little too Raph,” I mean it, because this figure is so accurate, I am ready for it to start talking.

I have been sold on this line ever since I saw the original Don prototype at Toy Fair last year. I do not own any other quarter-scale figures, but I was never going to pass these up due to the quality, and what they represent; but just because I am a mark for them, that doesn’t mean my impressions of the final product are tainted; Raph is just that good. Whereas the Donatello figure provoked his thoughtful and playful personality, this Raph is angst-y and ready to fight, no doubt about it. A lot can be taken from a good head sculpt, and saying that is nothing enlightening or new, but the personalities of these characters are captured so strongly in these figures that you can get all you need to know just from the head band sculpts. Again, like with Donatello, Raph’s eyes say it all, and you can see his intensity come alive, even in plastic.

While 90 percent of Raph’s individual likeness is captured above the shoulders in this figure, that does not stop the overall form to be more detailed than I originally thought. Not that I believed the LEVEL of detail would be less than Donatello, I just assumed that, for all but the head and belt, everything else on Raph would be a carryover from his brother. Well, I was wrong about that, and I am still surprised. Believe it or not, while the different paint applications can be easily achieved, Raph actually has several new parts that are not common to Donatello. If you look closely at his hands for example, there are some slight variations. I believe the arms, legs, feet, and other pieces are reused, but it is not like it doesn’t make sense to do so. The paint and small changes are enough to make Raph feel very different from Don.

 

Where I have ZERO doubt about differences is the shell, and you need only glance at the two turtles standing next to each other to see they are different. It looks to me like they started with the same basic shell sculpt, but Raph has a lot of “battle damage” lines on the back shell, whereas Donnie is mostly unscathed. I really appreciate this change, and not just for the sake of being different — the extra damage fits Raph on a physical and emotional level, and I have no doubt this is movie-accurate (I checked stills). So bravo, NECA,  you once again exceeded my expectations for this line, even in spots where my standards for such things as seemingly much lower, so I am glad that guys like Randy and Trevor and making those choices. While the turtles are four brothers of similar look and origin, it is great that their individual personalities and physical forms are being preserved in these figures.

Raphael does, of course, come with both of his sais, so while he was missing one for a good chunk of the movie, you will always be ready to fight with two. I have always liked how the smaller prongs on the movie sais (I am sure there is a proper term for them) are wrapped in leather, and that is brought forth here. Both of them fit well into the front of his belt, and I LOVE that NECA included a “pointing” hand so Raph can show those young ne’er-do-wells that it is best not to mess with him. Like Don, Raph comes with a variety of different hands, and while he has a few new ones, I *think* some are straight carryovers from his brother. Raph also has a slice of pizza, and again, this is a reuse, but it is fine, even thought I think that, in the movie, Raph is the turtles who cares about pizza the least. So while Raph does have more changeable hands, he does not have a can of ooze, so I give the accessory edge to Donatello. I would have LOVED if they were able to include Raph’s hat and trench coat with this release, but I know that would have broken the bank, so I certainly cannot hold that against them.

We are half way through the brothers, and NECA is batting 1.000. While Don might be my favorite, Raph was most certainly one of the more interesting and developed characters in the movie, and his personality and likeness is captured wonderfully with this figure. I am not sure how else to tell you this, but if you are a TMNT fan, and even if you don’t do quarter scale, you are doing yourself a great disservice by not ordering these. I think they are about as close to perfect as you can get with action figures, and I could not be happier with them. Leonardo is up next, and he is already available for pre-order, so if you have not done so, go reserve him. This group is going to be KILLER once it is complete.